FYI, models don't like it when you flake :p

[misspandora]

I'm not going to call out the producer in question by name..if you want to know who he is, send me a message..

I would just like to warn other producers, that when you flake on a model at the last minute, word gets around. Good luck getting other models to work with you, if you behave unprofessionally.

I have asked the producer who cancelled our shoot at the last minute for a kill fee. (no pun intended)

He promised to pay it...even gave me a date when the money would come in. That was over 2 weeks ago. I have seen nothing. He had confirmed the shoot with me and nother model 2 weeks before it was supposed to take place, then canceled a couple days before, claiming he was low on funds. (Isn't that something you should have known earlier? Say, 2 weeks before when you told me the shoot was still on?) I notice his store is still one of the top stores on the clip stores, so...wtf?

Thanks for letting me vent.

[Bluestone]

Vent away, Pandora. It sounds like you have good reason. A commitment is a commitment after all!

Blue

[JohnM]

Sorry to hear about that. Kill fees are the norm in this business, though certain agencies don't require it with enough notice. I hope you are able to recoup.

JohnM

[Pennpaul]

Having had the pleasure to work with you, I must say that you deserve better treatment. We have always worked out schedule problems.

Pennpaul

[xj900uk]

Agree 100% MissPandora, sounds very unprofessional of him to bail unless there was a very good valid reason - and even then it sounds like he's been messin gyou around since

[theAJ]

i've been commissioning work for over 14 years now with lots of "top talent" and then started working with the models directly... the kill fee is absolutely appropriate, however i just don't get the producers that 1. don't have the funds, 2. don't show up for something they work so long on setting up and 3. try to shoot something completely different from what was agreed upon.

i have the honor and pleasure to be romantically involved with one of the top fetish models in the industry and she and i discuss at long ends the failings of the GWC (guys with camera) that behave so poorly and unrealistically.

flaky producers.... please be realistic....contract and relate to the models professionally, have the agreed fees ready, be on time (if not early), shoot what was agreed upon, be responsible and if not, be prepared to pay the kill fee in a timely manner. doing this will get you big kudos and a good reputation. the models will do their part only if you can do yours.

AJ

[JohnM]

After almost 2 decades of doing this, I have seen the other side of the coin as well. I think in the last 6 years (that is all my brain will remember), I have had to cancel a few shoots. Most were for medical reasons. One time, a model flew in (airfare we covered) with the flu and her voice was gone. We put her right back on the plane. Sent the kill fee to her agent as is proper. This, after confirming with her---she was NOT sick moments before she boarder her aircraft. We decided to give her another chance 6 weeks later and she arrived with another problem that caused the shoot to be canceled. Back on the plane. Kill fees and $1000's in lost revenue, plus employee furlows, not to mention all the customs that had to be rescheduled or refunded.

And that was a professional from a major agency. :-)

Another time---and another professional, arrived only to decide 1 day into the 3 day shoot that she no longer wanted to do anything with violent themes. Of course, having shot for a day, we were already locked into the minimum fee and had to make due getting content that she would "approve" off in-between her break downs. And this was a girl who, was fresh off of working for Kink and brands like Public Disgrace, not to mention another fetish producer known for violent content.

Then there are about the 50-100 models over the years that simply "no-called, no showed". Of course the costs of those situations---cost of crew time, reduced pay for models that did show because a custom was canceled, modified or there is a delay, etc----all those costs are absorbed by the studio. This results in less pay, less expansion, lowering employee hours and reducing what the owners can finally take to cover their personal family obligation.

There are plenty of other stories. There are many good models that do excellent jobs. But, there are models that don't, or create havoc, or are perpetually stoned, or have baby daddy issues and think they need to run and check their phone every 5 minutes--or smoke. All of this effects the productions and cost money. Much more money they all the kill fees I have every paid times a billion. But all this is absorbed, dealt with and the final production is what everyone sees and that is all that matters. It's like, everyone knows Woody Harrelson is a dick, but in the movies he is great.

There is no reverse kill fee. Only, tough shit--move on. :-)

Sometimes it seems like there is only one side to every story. I guess it makes it easy. Some like Fox, some like MSNBC. I like NPR. Everyone suffers and there is always an excuse. Some are good, some are not. It does not excuse a dick producer though. Ultimately, the producer should conform to etiquette regardless of the situation.

Thanks,
JohnM

[Pennpaul]

We try to treat every model actress fairly. We also have backup plans should a model cancel or become a "no-show". Only one model "flaked out". She came highly recommended but balked at the violent theme. As I tried to redo the scripts, she walked out and disappeared. Had she been honest I would have paid her a "show-up" fee and gas. Several models have fallen away due to real life. Wednesday Harrington is one of those.

In Miss Pandora's work with us, she had to cancel one time due to weather, We rescheduled and were successful. We activated our backup plan.

We had to cancel a week, when my mother died and I had to handle the funeral, etc in a different state. We rescheduled the shoots for individual dates