The Scam
By
Leonard Zwelling
On Tuesday, August 27, we returned home from a week out of town. I found ten messages on our home phone. That is very unusual given that few people we know call us on our home phone. I’m not really sure why we keep it, but if the cell phones go out, it’s always there, and it’s part of our AT&T bundle.
I listened to all ten messages. Most were garbage. A few were people trying to sell me their services to market my books. Visitors to my website know that I have three books that have been published since I retired, but they are all self-published. No major publishing house or literary agent was interested in me or my work. There is a major industry of people offering to market self-published books. These sycophants try to lure you in with promises of moving your book up the Amazon charts. They always want money up front. It rarely pays off if ever.
But one of the new messages was from a Danielle Hopkins who was from Sony Pictures. She wanted to buy my novel for $300,000. She left a number. I called. She picked up.
Indeed, she wanted to purchase the rights to my book to make a movie. She wanted no money up front. I asked her to e-mail me her ideas and next steps. Here is what I got (in part):
My name is Joel Camarena, executive secretary of Danielle Hopkins and I’m reaching out on behalf of Sony Pictures Entertainment in collaboration with HBO Max. After reading your extraordinary book, “Conflict of Interest: Money Drives Medicine and People Die.”, we were truly captivated by its powerful narrative and believe it has immense potential for adaptation into a feature film.
As a globally recognized leader in filmmaking, Sony Pictures Entertainment has a long-standing tradition of producing top-tier films, and together with Max, a platform with millions of global subscribers, we’re eager to bring exceptional literary works like yours to the big screen. After careful consideration and internal discussions, we are thrilled to formally offer $300,000 for the exclusive film rights to your book.
Well, I thought. We finally had a real offer. The email had Sony’s logo on it and looked very official. I searched the web and found that Danielle Hopkins and Joel Camarena exist and work in motion pictures. Then, I called back.
Ms. Hopkins said that I needed to retain the services of an entertainment attorney who works in New York so that that person can represent me in negotiations. I tried my own lawyer sources. No one really knew an entertainment attorney in New York. Ah, but Ms. Hopkins knew one. Here’s what Ms. Hopkins’ assistant sent back:
As discussions move forward with Sony and HBO regarding the film acquisition, I would like to propose that we bring in an experienced entertainment attorney to assist with negotiations and representation. Given the scope and importance of this project, I believe it will be beneficial to have strong legal counsel guiding the process.
I recommend reaching out to Attorney Craig Wagner of Paradigm Talent Agency, who specializes in entertainment law and has extensive experience working on projects with major studios and networks. His expertise would provide valuable support in ensuring that all agreements are structured to our best advantage.
A direct phone number was provided. I called Mr. Wagner. He outlined precisely what his services would be for me and sent me a contract to retain him for $6000. But before I wrote any checks or signed any contracts, I did some more digging.
Craig Wagner is the real deal. He has impeccable credentials and teaches entertainment law at UCLA. I found a phone number for him that was different than the one Ms. Hopkins had provided. I called and left a message.
Mr. Wagner returned my call. It was a different Mr. Wagner than the one I had spoken to earlier. He was shocked that his name was being used like it was and assured me that no entertainment attorney would ever take on a client in this fashion for a film deal. Only through a literary agent would a lawyer be brought into a film deal.
And, at about that time, my son Andrew called me. He had put the emails I had received from Ms. Hopkins through Chat GPT and asked the large language AI tool if this was likely fraudulent. The answer was that it was likely to be—99% likely.
The real Mr. Wagner is sending cease and desist notices to the phony one. The real Craig Wagner wrote this to me:
We are going to prepare a cease & desist letter. We will notify Sony as well as send copies of our letter to the Los Angeles District Attorney, FBI and ICANN.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers out there. Be advised to do your due diligence. I would not rely on emails that are often fake.
Thanks for alerting us to this situation.
The take home lesson for my co-author and me is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. We have been scammed before and continue to be plagued with such schemes. Self-published authors often are.
Of course, my dream is to get one of my books made into a film or be picked up by a traditional publisher. It’s a one in a thousand chance. All we self-published authors have the same dream. Few of these dreams are ever fulfilled. Believe me I have tried for years.
But thanks to my son and my due diligence about the attorney, we ducked this scam. Let’s hope two things. First, I can keep avoiding scams. Second, that one day I’ll get a real offer.
