Just got torpedoed by a 'Celebrity'

[sm70911]

Apologies this is a whinge and I should know better by now. Last year I spent a lot of time doing a Nike brand project. Whilst its not high paid its it's great career wise because once you have done that its a big brand that leads to what is the really pretty lucrative stuff in my business.
Fast forward to this February I got offered the chance to do a very large Popstar 'celebrity' driven soda campaign. Its really long and labor intensive process to get awarded, but it was a job that meant I had what we needed to meet the next years financial goals in one hit. It meant my wife could have gotten the project she has been wanting to do off the ground, and we would have the luxury of some breathing room.

Anyhow long story short I was the client choice and got the job but i just got bounced because the 'celebrity' decided that after 4 weeks work he wanted someone who he felt would quote make him look better The guy he demanded is a talentless twit but co incidentally is his 'friend' ... If you call people you know from the world of night clubs and dumb parties your friends. I know its going to suck as a campaign, they shoot in three weeks !
TBH In the end i just don't get the celebrity thing, its just so vapid. All the primping and stalling with meaningless concerns, the judgemental attitude, always being late for meetings. I knew the guy was a total idiot when in the fourth meeting we were talking about the 'car' for the drive away shot in one of the spots and i had a couple of pics of the Carrera GT on the mood board and he announced
Yo Is that a Lamborghini ?, no its a Porsche GT ... "Yeah you know i think a Porsche is a haters car ..."
Anyhow upside I'm out of here they have my invoice for all the prep and the kill fee. I hope it comes out of this clowns check.

Again apologies I know this is really pretty minor in the larger scheme of things. Looking forward to getting home jumping in the hater mobile and going to Hershey even if I can't afford the sports seats Ive been dreaming of.
Thanks, sometimes the anonymity of the internet just helps.

[Laneco]

I hope you aren't offended by this but I busted up laughing at "hater-mobile"!

It sounds like the celeb is the type who will one day wake up dead broke and "friendless..."

angela

[Hugh R]

Are you a Director or DP? I don't interact with the "Talent" on any of my shows.

[futuresoptions]

Hater's Car - Chuckle...

[Gogar]

Wash your hands and keep moving and be cool on the way out the door.

Someone will remember and call you down the road with something even better.

[Rikao4]

I would have said great..

please spell that for me..


Rika

[look 171]

I am going to generalize here. I have been in your shoes. Many of them have no back bone. often it is their people who make decisions for them that will screw you 7 days til' Sunday. If you are good and get things done on time, they will call you back. That's how those guys work. You have to put up with a lot of their poor personal or business ways. It will be worth it at the end if you can take that kind of crap. In one ear, out the other. Once you are established, they tend to beat down your door because they want you. It requires a tiny bit of luck but a lot of hard work.

Are you in CA?

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by look 171

Are you in CA?

If he is, it's a long drive in the hater mobile to NJ!

I wouldn't work with "celebs" for all the tea in China. I couldn't.

Like the contractor that gets bumped off the job before the first shovel hits the dirt, it might be the best thing that happened to you.

[944Larry]

I feel for you. I flew in a TV commercial about 20 years ago. The production company only paid me half my money. Don't do that kind of stuff anymore.

[carr914]

I used to have a Limo company and had the Contract with the Home shopping Network. They would fly in all the B & C Grade Celebs we would scoot them around. After a while my Drivers wouldn't take the jobs and I had to do it. Couldn't wait for the Contract to end.

But on the Flip side, I had a Deal with a Rock Band that I liked, so I also drove that one. The Lead Singer & I are still friends 12 Years later

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Zeke

If he is, it's a long drive in the hater mobile to NJ!

I wouldn't work with "celebs" for all the tea in China. I couldn't.

Like the contractor that gets bumped off the job before the first shovel hits the dirt, it might be the best thing that happened to you.

There are a couple of people in that Hollywood crowd that I will purposely step on dog siht, like you said, before I walk into their house. I will not work with them, yet they call sometimes and just seem to not get the message. Some are fantastic.

[porsche4life]

Always nice to be micro managed like that. We have issues when a customer comes to you with "artwork" that won't work for whatever reason. Then you find out that someone close to the customer designed it, and they want to use it, despite the fact that it won't read, last, w/e.....

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Wash your hands and keep moving and be cool on the way out the door.

Someone will remember and call you down the road with something even better.

Yep!

[sm70911]

Thanks so much for all the support fellow haters, it really is much appreciated.
Totally agree there are some great people out there sadly some of whom get some really bad advice. This guy is not one of them, hes just an idiot getting worse advice.
Just have to move on and get back on the phone next week. There is a plus to all this crap. The 'Celeb' is currently 'living' in the UK and thats where I have been prepping before we were supposed to move the unit to Europe on Weds. At least now I'm going to be in London for my dads 70th birthday which in reality is really way more important and very cool.
I have to be careful but I was supposed to be the director. The DP and my Producer also got binned with me in favor of some really second rate people. So tonight the three of us are running up an epic bar tab, and watching some of his 'people' scurry away whenever the DP (6'3 and solid muscle walks past them) its too funny. It was only a few days ago the 'team' were throwing up dumb gang signs and acting tough during an earlier 'disagreement' ... clowns. As for being a 'Celebrity' ... you can keep it.

Thanks again & Cheers to all of you.

[stealthn]

Sounds like another clown ryhmer who thinks that are the sheetz

I still can't beleive they pay people to ryhme or call themselves singers with auto tune set at 100