John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center

This is just a money grab. They want your money it’s not at all a place for serious people don’t waste your time. Went to one audition and I went in with an open mind but with the lame sales pitch I soon realized all they wanted was money and that’s all. Was told to pay almost 2000 $ for classes on how to chew food on camera lol…

STAY AWAY!!! I applied on-​line for a casting seeking extras for various film projects in the Boston area and apparently the casting company was John Casablancas because I received a call and voicemail from a man named Christian from JC a few days later. He asked if I would be able to come in to meet with him that upcoming Saturday at 2pm. I agreed and specifically asked if I had to join the agency in order to go to castings for the extra roles. (I had already been to the John Casablancas in Hartford and I know they ask you to pay outrageous fees for photo shoots, «modeling classes,» etc in order to join their agency). Christian reassured me that my meeting with him on Saturday was NOT a casting or audition for JC but specifically a meeting between me and him to determine if they would like to send me to the castings for extras for these film projects. I asked him several times because I wanted to make sure I was not driving from 2 hours away in Connecticut just in attempts for them to get me to shell out $$ to join their agency. Several times he re-​assured me that this would not be the case.
When I arrived Saturday, low and behold Christian was not there! Also, my 2pm meeting time with Christian was really a huge group interview with a bunch of starry-​eyed brainwashed looking teenagers that looked like they would be willing to spend thousands in order to join JC and get zero out of it. I asked a couple of the employees if Christian was there because I was supposed to meet him and also if this was an audition for the agency or just for the extra roles. The employees were extremely rude and wouldn’t give me a direct answer. Finally I spoke to the employee at the front desk that gave me a straight answer which was that this 2pm meeting was really an audition for the agency and I must be with JC in order to get these extra roles even though Christian adamantly convinced me that this was not the case.
Moral of the story: JC employees will tell bold faced lies just to get people to walk in their door. I would never have driven 2 hours if I knew this was the case. These people don’t care about you or your time! They are a JOKE!

I contacted this place a year ago and recently started getting texts regarding audition opportunities. I went in to audition for a commercial and received a call the next day that I «made it to the second cut.» They wanted to see me audition again. I made an appointment for 4:30, but was not called into an office until almost 5:00. When I was in the office, I was asked how serious I was about modeling, acting, etc. I told them I was there for a second audition and I was excited about it. They then said, «well there are a lot of people that have trained and have taken classes. We would select someone like that before we would select someone with no experience.» This honestly makes complete sense. I had just taken a shot at it for the hell of it. Since I received a phone call about a «second interview» I made an appointment, drove an hour to the agency, waited 30 minutes beyond my appointment to talk to someone, and was then told I needed to take classes to have a chance. They showed me all sorts of payment plans and made it sound very easy. Sure I can afford $ 50 a week, but I’m not too pumped that I was lied to about a second interview. I asked the women to explain this to me. Why was I lied to? There was no interview. She said she didn’t know. My file had been handed to her two minutes before she met with me, and she had never been told why I was there. Thank you John Casablanca. Its places like this that make me review everything in life.

I am suspicious about John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center. After I had an audition there and was told that the school has direct connections with casting agents and sends its students right out to auditions for McDonald’s and other commercials, I Googled this school, and the word «scam» immediately popped up beside the name when I typed it in. The ripoff reports about this school make me conclude that it is as much of a scam as John Robert Powers of New England is: a school posing as a talent agency to snake more than $ 2,000 out of you.
The lack of professionalism in their marketing materials suggests this. Their e-​mail confirming my audition said the school was located in West Newton, but it’s really in Newton Corner. A photocopied letter in the promo brochure mentioned that the movies «Here Comes the Boom» and «Ted» were going to be filmed in Boston, but they were released in 2012. I typed in «John Casablancas» in Wikipedia, and it brought me to the entry for Elite Model Management, the chain modeling agency John Casablancas actually founded in 1972 in Paris. The entry did not mention John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center at all.
Like JRP New England, JC is another quasi-​agency school named after its non-​founder. So think before you pay.