Really Upset, Really Really Upset.

Doc Bernard

Doc Bernard

Indie Arms Member
I think I am going to find an attorney. I just found out why a major film project flopped for me. Apparently (and I have a forwarded email to prove it) the guy I took some training with and lied to me about a bunch of crap, has been bad mouthing me to potential clients.

I outed in him in private because he was claiming to have been a SEAL and a POW, not to mention taking claim for other stunt guys work. I kept it between myself and VeriSEAL (Mr. Waterman, great guy and great job, BTW). But the email forwarded to me (inside source) from the fake SEAL to my major client makes me so mad. And what he said! (all told, I lost a approximately a $15,000 to $25,000 project, to be split 2 ways)

Ooooo, I am so angry right now I could eat my monitor.

But, first I need to vent and calm down before I stroke out. Any good entertainment attorneys anyone can recommend?

PS: I have actual proof.
 
Hey Doc! Sorry to hear your upset... I don't quite understand what happened? This guy is badmouthing you in retribution for something you said to VeriSEAL? How'd he find out?

Hey, how're you lining up these $25k projects, anyway? In Upland?

Things should slow down for me a bit in December... maybe we can meet at Biagio's sometime!

-Barry
 
The 25K job was for a BTS project for a pretty good sized film ($15m budget) out in Palmdale, and I was to be written into the script as a combat journalist while still doing the BTS stuff, pretty interesting concept too.

This guy was going around claiming to be a former SEAL, POW and a stunt man, actually "trains" people in stunts. His claims were pretty big, and for a while I believed them. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. "Used to be Steven Segal's Stunt double" "Supplied all weapons for Tears of the Sun and Trained Bruce Willis" "Was placed in coma for two weeks after crashing the General on Dukes of Hazard" "Navy SEAL captured and in a POW camp", the list goes on. The problem is he uses these lines to fool people and that is what he did with this production company, I'm afraid. He is going to kill someone with his lies and that people believe them. I was one of those people that trusted him.

Well, I wanted to advance my training, and told me he could train me in full-body burn jobs. That is a skill I wanted, but those little thoughts kept nagging at me, and during this training, I could definitely get killed. So I started researching his claims to find out who he has worked with, and what projects he has actually done, and where he trained. I drew a complete blank except for a couple of B-films that went straight to DVD.

Which made me wonder, there has never been in the history of SEAL's any POW. So I contacted VeriSEAL with my questions and his legal name, which I found out. VeriSEAL confirmed no record of his being a SEAL or POW. Now I don't know how he found out, but a safe assumption is "process of elimination". I know people in the military and have had a couple of friends that were actual SEAL's. And he knew this.

Well now, I receive a back-channel copy of an email sent by this fake to the EP of this film ( I have a low-level contact there still). And the e-mail is very clearly him and his writing style (atrocious) and he is saying I am untrustworthy and I have no skills as a camera operator and names me by name. And the email was sent shortly after I contacted VeriSEAL.

The saddest thing is, he is the stunt coordinator/trainer on this film because he convinced them of his misrepresentations and used the SEAL story to land the job.

Yeah, I think I need a lawyer.

Biagio's sounds good!
 
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Full body burn jobs! Criminy! You don't want to do that!

I mean, I wouldn't. Too much time on the burn ward when I was in training as an EMT.

As a friend, that part at least I'm not unhappy about!
 
The thing is I want to be well-rounded. And stunts have this magical allure to me (doing things that normal people wouldn't consider doing?? Oh yeah!). I enjoy what I have done so far and want more in-depth training. And I will, too.

With his comments about me as a Cam Op, had he first seen my stuff and then said that, I would have understood that was his opinion of my work. But he has never seen my footage, ever. So his saying I am not good is just plain ugly and slanderous.
 
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