Three former actors of Collywood TV are threatening legal action against their former employer, Junior Hart, after he allegedly failed to pay them their respective salaries.
Speaking to Dominica News Online former actress of the Jamaican/African production company, Josette Andrew, revealed that she was employed with Collywood TV as an actress and had agreed via contract with Hart to be paid after six months.
“He agreed he would pay every six months and at the end of the six months he gave a story about Marpin and other things,” she stated. “We continued working with him … I have worked with him for nine months and up till now he hasn’t paid and when I brought my payment to his attention he got angry and cut me off from scenes.”
According to Andrew soon after that incident, she brought her contract to an attorney who explained to her that it was fraudulent. She pointed out further that the lawyer wrote a letter to Hart but was unable to serve it to him as he was out of state.
“We are trying to get a hold of him and we cannot find him,” the disappointed actress said. “We want to take him to court collectively but we are unable to do that because they need an address as to where he is and we do not have one for him.”
She added she believes that Hart is hiding out somewhere in the Caribbean since he had told local actors that he was going to bring Collywood TV to other islands.
Andrew began working with Collywood TV in 2012 and is of the opinion that Hart came to Dominica with the intention to deceive his actors.
“It is hurting to see that. He is not local, he came all the way from England and took advantage of us,” Andrew noted. “I asked him if he thought that we are stupid enough to work for him and not pay us, but he left. Nobody got paid.”
In the meantime, one of the company’s main actors, Matthew Laplume, described Hart’s action as a fraud.
“Junior Hart came to Dominica and pretended to be a producer,” he told DNO. “He had people audition for different roles in his television series but in doing that he could not pay any of the people that performed. To me that is fraud.”
Laplume explained that although the cast members received contracts, Hart “hustled” to have them returned to him and therefore the actors were unable to seek proper legal advice or to read through the contracts properly.
“He would give you the contract and then give you a certain time to return it but he would be hustling you to bring the contract in and therefore sometimes most of us didn’t get a chance to read the contract and understand it,” he explained.
Laplume and Andrew added that the Hart has been owing them since 2012.
Dominica News Online’s efforts to locate and contact Hart have so far been unsuccessful.
Typical Dominicans…politics, politics. None of you dont know nothing about the film/movie industry or how it works. Mr Hart did not deceive anybody or these people. I have an agreement the same as Jossett and Mathew, The agreement is a management agreement and nothing to so with payment. The deal was that Mr Hart invest money in these people where Collywood pays all their travel and food expense whenever they are doing a shoot and that expense payment will be taken back out of any profits made by the production. Dominica is a poor Island and no advertising revenue could be achieved from local advertisers. Marpin decided to raise the fees that Collywood was paying to them so Collywood rightly pulled the plug on Marpin. Until Collywood gets back all that it has spent on the productions, nobody gets paid and that is how the business is all over the world with any independent production company. It’s plain these people don’t know the business. The man is not doing anything wrong, he is investing and like any other business, share holders dont get paid until profits are made. Hopefully this is educating these know it all.
Like many i was optimistic about the prospect of working with collywood and suffered the same fate.
He told a close associate who confided i. Me that ‘ you don’t have to pay dominicans you can get them to work freely’
He gives no scripts for productions only scenarios.
Once you challenge him or ask pertinent questions then you are dismissed.
I had a contract which stipulated that i was to pay him a percentage as my agent if i work with any other group. This was lucid.
But payment.. Lol.. After carefully reading and consulting proper authority.. I would have never gotten payed.
Imagine for the modelling aspect my friend asked if the
They make Hart fool them again. They cannot be serious. Which dotish person signs a contract and don’t keep a copy? Well allyou were good desperate for allyou to sign, payment in six months? Well check the red clinic, Skerrit will set allyou up.
Magwaysa, look mess Papa!!! The poor victims appear to have been scammed into following a man, Mr. Hart who seems to have no heart, down a yellow brick road. Foolishly, they believed the yellow brick road would turn to green but sadly all they can see now is red. Hopefully, this was a lesson learnt.
lol lol lol
hmm, wow just wow. i really enjoy watching collywood tv until when they removed it from marpin 2k4. but i would never have imagines he was not paying the actors/actresses. thats sad.
no one likes to work for free. so when he benefiting from his fat wallet the employees are here trying to find bread on ground? nope. i definitely agree with the girl. sue him!!
Hmmm!
I wonder what the Dominica Film Commision saying about that!
I worked with him. Its only one day a week we worked thats why the six months was not such a big deal.
booyaka
I thought I saw that man at the Financial Centre this week. Check to see if he not working at the ICT Department.
English accent…promise of fame…and…right on the ship..wonder if a local production company would have received all that grace…
u all hear jamaican and african and u all going trusting in that one thing fame does do people things yuh
“He agreed he would pay every six months and at the end of the six months he gave a story about Marpin and other things,” she stated. “We continued working with him … I have worked with him for nine months and up till now he hasn’t paid and when I brought my payment to his attention he got angry and cut me off from scenes.”
So, why are you crying now?
I do not believe anybody with commonsense would agree to such a silly contract, or agreement, why would you want to work for someone for six long months without receiving some sort of salary! The first six months he fail to pay should be a warning that the man is shady, and has no intention to pay, one cannot have people working and not pay them; if he is in Dominica operating that way he should be locked up because his actions constitute fraud!
Are you that desperate to be in film, video tape, or CD that you signed a stupid contract like that. Let me tell you how some contracts supposed to work, if you are getting paid by the episodes, in some case if you are a notes star, a percentage is paid at the commencement of shooting, by the time the full episode is completed you should have received full payment for that episode.
If the producer, director wish to cut you at the end of that episode, or in the middle of any episode he/she can, however the bottom line is people do work for nothing, even when they are desperate! If there is anybody in our country working people and not pay them that person should be deported from the country.
If your employer is a Dominican, he/she should be in jail too!
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
you cannot sign something without understanding it . Even tho he hustles you , you have the time to read well and even ask him for a duplicate or you even do so . in my honest view I think the collywood shows are pointless and lacking . hart I never trusted who approached me once and I turned him down myself since we couldn’t settle on an offer to uplift the program . my condolence to you the deceived .
It good for that news about Mr.Hart and his production to reach CMC News for I know all caribbean countries look at the news so they will be aware.
When it comes to this independent TV thing, the only way the actors will make money is if the movie makes money and I wouldn’t be surprised if that is what was agreed upon in the contract. If the movie/soap was successful they probably would be getting on-going royalties as long as it remained in circulation.
On the other hand they could have just worked for a flat fee and it would have ended there regardless of the success or failure of the venture.
No contract = No proof. Publish the contract and let the public decide.
Jossette is not telling the truth. She did not understand the agreement with Collywood as I am working and living in Barbados and I was featured in one of Collywood production. The deal is simple. What this person has stated is exactly what the deal is. Artists are paid by ROYALTIES which if you know what royalties is, meaning is the production goes out and makes money all concerned gets a percentage. Seeing all the challenges that Collywood had in Dominica with Marpin where must the money come from to pay the company and the actors as Marpin was not paying for contents. Come on people use your heads. If a production company is paying out to create content, dont this Jossette girl know that a producer must first get back all expenses first and then from profits that is the only time you will get paid. That is the deal I have in another production and the production went onto make a profit and I am being paid. In fact I have now built my house in Barbados so thank you very much Collywood and especially Mr Hart. I think this Jossett girl and those other’s have sour grapes.
So you should be one of the actors that travels with their production and you would see if you could pay ur ticket to go back home
6 months without pay? That should have been a red flag. Normally actors get a percentage up front, and the rest after production wraps up. Lesson learned- read the contract. When he was rushing you that should have been a 2nd red flag. If he has property in DA girl go and get what you are owed. The fridge and stove will work!
This man has come back to England I saw him last week in Dagenham walking with his now wife… I live near him…
I can be your PI if the price is right….
But Mathew yu not easy man. I thought you said one day in your bar that yu all was being paid royalties form Collywood and the company have to first sell the TV soap series before yu all can get paid. How yu change your tune now partner because the man drop yu all. I remember yu saying that yu doing this for experience and want to become a good actor. I lost man, lost by the way you going on public paper showing your ignorance in agreeing to a contract and not reading it properly partner.
When the Hart man came around talking about film production people lamblasted and lambased the film commission and Ms Bully. “Twop pwahsay par kar faire jour ouvert”. That is where it was heading. Our local people would not have done that. Besides we all know where to find them.
But DNO so long i tellin allu mr was a …..
allu never followed up….
i forwarded emails from cnn and all
where he claimed they did stories on his work
and cnn has no knowledge of mr….
allu never publish it….
That man need to come better than that. He generating money from the people work, whether they were proffessional or not. So he need to pay.
Go ask his wife family where to find Mr. Hart…All you should know where…Is the same house all you were filming the so called soap Opera in.
next time make copies of your contracts
What difference would that make if you sign before reading?
Thank You! who signs a contract and not keep a copy?
in search of fame not money.
firsy rule always read the print. they did not get pay for six month and went back to work for three more. those actors was never interested in geting pay.
“am going to be on TV no need topay me”
If it was a Dominican that had not paid them for 6 months, you would have heard about it a long time ago! Hmmm, how interesting.
Article quote: “He would give you the contract and then give you a certain time to return it but he would be hustling you to bring the contract in and therefore sometimes most of us didn’t get a chance to read the contract and understand it,” he explained.
How on earth can you sign a contract without first going through it with a fine-tooth comb to read and understand exactly what it is about. All of you should have done so before working for Hart & Collywood TV. Right now he’s going to make sums of money for himself without any payment to you all.
That I do not understand at all.
Hahaha take that. When this man started his ranting on the airwaves and beating his chest like turkey, I warned you all the members to distance yourselves from the…, instead you all cam on DNO and “salay” those of us who took our fastness and talk. This man is nothing but a …….., wait for money.
To the actors who were allegedly stiffed. Your first mistake was not to thoroughly read your contract because you claim you were hustled into signing and returning them. This is improper practice. You have the right under law to demand more time if you so need and to seek legal advice to ensure that you know what you are getting into. A person hustling you to sign a contract should be the first sign that things are not right . I wish you all the best though in getting what is due to you.
Dno, what about efforts to locate a copy of the allegedly fraudulent contracts?
A word of advise. Never sign anything which you haven’t read and understood. I’m not in the legal professional, but I know this much.
If the person is hustling you, there is something they don’t want you to read on the contract.
A word of advice: Never take advice from someone purporting to give advise(sic).
Lol……I could have told you all that…oh the gullibility
Always knew that COLLYWOOD thing was a fake just to try and use our nice D.A girls.
I am certainly not surprised. Hart started out by auditioning girls for modeling. I am not afraid to say that the opportunity sounded good to me so i went to the casting call. But after i saw how he hustled us to sign our contracts, i pulled out. I always smelled scam artist!
Why I am not surprised.
I have said this before and I will say it again. Dominicans are some of the most gullible people I know. Just tell them something that makes them feel nice and they all go googoo-gaga.
If someone expresses some skepticism, they all come out calling the person negative.
I have seen some of the Nigerian movies and I laugh my head off. Not that the movies are inherently funny, but for the bad acting. But I like them anyway.
So when I hear about this Collywood and his plan to go international, the first thing that came to my mind was: if the quality is the same as that of Nollywood, there movies or TV shows are not going anywhere.
have you guys ever take a good look at Mr. Hart? i was never impressed by his persona. i voiced my concerns to some of my friends who told me i look at things to closely.
I can’t blame a man from trying, and i blame these actors too because if it was a local man that was trying something they would never have so much patience.
through csme these situations must be communicated to all authorities in member states so that this man can be stopped in any country where he tries to set up shop.we must tackle such situations collectively as a region to eradicate these fraud stars and be proactive.
but everybody coming and full allu man? first was man in helicopter to birng allu on cruise ship now man from England to make allu movie satrs?, zuh pah fehb ………well skerrit know why he not giving allu international airport allu not ready for outsiders if everybody coming and full allu so easy ….scooby dooby doo where are you?you got to pay them workers ….
Please go take some English (spelling) lessons!
Your (We Bonjai) comment made me lol. The person critcizing your spelling is another foo fool. They don’t understand computer short hand. Must be some old person that’s outta da era. Never mind the spelling. I got your point and it was funny.
Lolololololol. It’s like saying………. I want a cheekeen and a MULT………LOL…… AYE DOMINICANS SA LA