My Blog

The Hollywood Talent Agency / Writers Edge Production Scam

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I got an amazing email the other day.

Dear Lee,

I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to reach out to see if you would be open to or considering pitching your book to production companies for a potential film adaptation. With the growing demand for book-to-film projects, this could be a great opportunity to bring your story to a wider audience.

To make this possible, we have submission specialist partners who can assist you in submitting your work to the right production companies. They work closely with industry professionals and can help navigate the submission process effectively.

Additionally, as part of this process, you will have the opportunity to speak with an award winning film adviser and studio manager via Zoom. This session will help prepare your work before submission and provide valuable insights into the adaptation process, ensuring you are well-equipped for the next steps.

Please let me know if this is something you’d be interested in exploring, and I’d be happy to facilitate the connection. Looking forward to your thoughts.

–
jim Collins
Producer’s Representative
Hollywood Talent Agency

I was so excited! The “Hollywood Talent Agency” was interested in CALICO! I couldn’t wait to speak to a “submission specialist partner,” “film advisor,” “studio manager,” or “producer’s representative.”

So I immediately called “Jim Collins” at the “Hollywood Talent Agency” … and it was a guy in the Philippines or somewhere else outside the U.S. who’d never heard of Jim, the talent agency, or me… but would check with his “endorsement people” to see if I had an “endorsement” and would get back to me. I emailed Jim and let him know about the snafu. A short time later, I then got this email:

Dear Lee Goldberg,

This is Darius from the Writer’s Edge Production. I actually received an endorsement from Mr. Jim Collins for a discussion for your book Calico. It was too late for me to know that there will be someone who’ll call me. So I asked the Talent Agency if there is someone named Lee Goldberg that I am expecting.

So, I got your email from them and let me know when you’re gonna call for an discussion.

Best regards,
Phone: (323) 412-8503
Email: darius@writersedgeproduction.com
Website: writersedgeproduction.com

I called back… and let “Darius” know I was recording the call… and talked with him for over half an hour. The video is below, but I cut out about 15 minutes — the guy’s grasp of English was terrible, and he had a hard time carrying on a coherent conversation while also reading from, and trying to integrate, the dialogue from his sales script. 

Nothing he said made any sense at all. It was such an obvious, ineptly executed scam, that the call isn’t much fun to watch …and wasn’t a lot of fun for me, either, since it was hard work trying to follow what Darius was saying and because it was so ridiculously easy to trip him up with just a few simple questions.

As I expected, it turned out to be the old “pitch deck” scam. You are required to have them produce a video pitch for you, which they will submit (for a fee) to their “VIP contacts” at the studios, because that’s the only way to get your book considered.

For this service, I would get a “certificate of submission” to prove the pitch deck was sent out. He warned me that only 50% of these submissions result in an option.

The only new twist to the scam was that he told that I would get to work with “an award-winning film advisor” and “studio manager” who is also an “award-winning director” and “film teacher.” When I asked him who this was amazing person was, with a shelf of awards, he said it was the acclaimed filmmaker Warut Snidvongs.

So I looked up Warut on imdb….and he has one short film to his credit as a “collaborating director,” and multiple credits as a grip, gaffer and camera operator. I don’t know if this Hollywood superstar is really involved with “Writer’s Edge Production” or “Hollywood Talent Agency,” but his credits don’t exactly inspire awe …or suggest he has any experience getting books adapted into movies. I mentioned this to Darius, who said Warut is widely respected all over the world and is working on a major motion picture right now called “Red Card.” So I looked that one up on imbd… it’s a Mandarin-language film, with a whopping $100,000 budget, and Warut is a lowly camera assistant on it.

I asked Darius what advice Warut, who is obviously someone very low on the Hollywood production ladder, could give me on selling my book to the movies. Poor Darius didn’t know how to deal with that question. He fumbled through an answer that didn’t make any sense. I suspect that Warut is the guy who’d be producing my useless pitch deck… if, indeed, Warut has anything to do with this lame operation.

When I revealed to Darius, mostly because I was exhausted by now trying to parse his bad English, that I am a bestselling author and experienced TV producer… and that I am well aware of the pitch deck scam…and that I take great delight in outing people like him on social media…he was flummoxed.

Darius said what they do isn’t a scam because they disclose to people that they only have “50/50 chance” of getting an offer from a studio.

I said what makes it a scam is that you aren’t actually a literary or talent agency. Studios don’t require a pitch deck with a book or screenplay submission. You don’t have any VIP connections at the studios. And you, “Darius,” aren’t who you say you are…

This is all about getting aspiring authors who know even less about Hollywood than you do to pay you outrageous amounts of money for a useless pitch deck and other “services” that will never get their book sold to anybody. But it will empty their bank accounts. That is the scam, and I will let everybody know it.

He called me an awful, dishonest person.

That almost made the half-hour I wasted on this worthwhile.

UPDATE: Here is a video of the call. 

My Exchange With a JK Rowling Imposter

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I got a ridiculous email from a scammer pretending to JK Rowling. It’s such an inept, lazy, obvious scam, that it’s hard for me to believe any reasonably intelligent person would fall for it. But I was curious how this would lead to me sending one of the richest authors in the world some of my money. So I replied…

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From: J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 14, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Subject: Book
To: <lee@leegoldberg.com>

Hi,

An introduction would be nice.

I’m Joanne Rowling, the author of (Harry Potter). I’ve read books by you that I find interesting and I’d like to work with you personally. As long as you’re honest and committed, I’m happy to work with you. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this so I can give you more information and advice.

Best wishes,

Author
Joanne Rowling

On 3/13/25, 04:30 Lee Goldberg wrote:

Sorry for the delay. I was traveling overseas and didn’t have Internet. I am thrilled to get your note! I love your books. Tell me more! But I have to warn you, Stephen King also emailed me while I was away about working with him, and I’m a huge fan of his, too. I’m torn!

Lee

On 3/13/25, 04:30 J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

I’m glad you were able to respond and have a safe trip. I don’t mind, you can collaborate with Stephen King. I have a book event coming up and I’d love for you to attend. Have you heard of my charity? I’d appreciate it if you could make some donations to the charity.

Best regards 

Joanne Rowling 

On 3/13/25, 15:30 Lee Goldberg  wrote:

What a funny coincidence— Stephen King also asked me to donate to his charity! What’s yours? 

On 3/13/25, 12:15  J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

Lumos, which focuses on ending the institutionalization of children and ensuring that they have safe, loving homes and family care. 

How much are you trying to donate so that I can send the account details of the relevant secretary?

On 3/13/25, 23:50 Lee Goldberg wrote:

I didn’t say that I want to donate… but I will think about it. Tell me more about the writing project you have in mind for us. Which novel of mine did you read and what did you like about it? How does it relate to the book you have in mind?

It seems odd to me that you haven’t discussed that with me yet, only your charity. Surely as a billionaire, you can fund the charity entirely yourself. You could donate your half of the royalties from our book to them.

On 3/14/25, 8:15 J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

Hidden in smoke, this was the book of yours that I read and liked. The project is coming out very soon, I just wanted to inform you about it. Harry Potter. It would be better to explain it in person than to talk about it via messages. I have done more for my charity than you think, but I think I need support from my colleague.

On 3/14/25, 8:24  J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

Have you figured out what you want to donate to the charity? I am worried about it because the children need help in any way, and I am asking you for a favor because I want you to work with me.

On 3/14/25, 18:58 Lee Goldberg wrote:

Hidden in Smoke hasn’t come out yet…how did you read it?

And what is the project  you are referring to? (Harry Potter) isn’t something new for you. This focus on me sending your charity money sounds like a scam.

I have friend in Scotland who knows you well.   I am going to have Ian forward these emails to you for confirmation. Let me know when you hear from him.

On 3/14/25, 11:55 am  J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

I know it may sound surprising to you, but I have an inside’s view of every area where books are published. Donating to my charity is something you should be happy about, as it brings many benefits, such as attending several of my book readings and meetings. My new project is not about Harry Potter, but about a storyline related to it. I will explain it to you in more detail, when you visit London.

On 3/14/25, 11:59 am  J. K. Rowling <JoanneRowling@publicist.com> wrote:

No one knows me better than myself. And if you misunderstood our conversation for something fraudulent is an accusation you don’t want to mention. I am very well known for my reputation.

On 3/14/25, 12:09 pm Lee Goldberg wrote:

My friend didn’t wait to forward the emails …he called her. 

She wasn’t very happy to hear about this scam. I think you’d better start running.

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That bit about my friend calling JR Rowling is a lie, of course. But I don’t feel bad about misleading a scammer. Obviously, I didn’t hear back from “JK Rowling” again. 

Remembering Joseph Wambaugh

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Lee Goldberg with Joseph Wambaugh Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2012

I’m very sad to hear about Joseph Wambaugh‘s passing.

Like my brother Tod Goldberg, who has posted a Facebook remembrance of Joe, I don’t remember how I first met him, only that he was a friend of our family for years. It was probably through my Mom, and maybe at the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. But I have all of his books signed, and several photos with him over the years.

The last time we actually saw each other face-to-face (but not the last time we talked) was at the 2012 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books…he’d asked me to interview him on stage to promote his latest HOLLYWOOD STATION novel. I was delighted to do it. I read up on his old interviews, watched on YouTube his old appearances on Johnny Carson and Tom Snyder, and figured I’d just ask him the questions I knew he already had great answers for…and a few fresh questions of my own.

We had lunch together beforehand, and it was all great….but just before we were supposed to go on stage, he pulled me aside and said…”I can’t do it. We have to cancel the interview.” I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. He was having a panic attack. I told him you’ve been on Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, this is nothing. I’m going to ask you softball questions you’ve been asked before, nothing you can’t answer. But he shook his head. I can’t do it. I’ve lost it. I’m terrible. I said you’ll be fine, if you don’t have the anecdote, I’ll give you a gentle reminder. You’ll kill, trust me.

And he did. He was wonderful, totally at ease, funny, insightful, his usual. But as we got off stage, he was shaking…and he said, “that’s it, I’m done. I won’t appear on stage ever again.”

To my knowledge, he never did.

But we stayed in touch. He blurbed a book of mine (KING CITY), he blurbed a book for Brash (Jack Bunker’s TRUE GRIFT…and there’s a great story behind that, too, but I will let Jack share it), and he congratulated me on LOST HILLS, which he thought was a great crime novel. I resisted the urge to ask him if I could use it as a blurb 🙂

He told me the secret to his cop novels was taking fellow cops to Ruth’s Chris, buying them a steak and some drinks, and letting them talk…and then just listening to what they had to say. Not so much to the specific stories, but the way they *told* their stories, what were the key details that matter to them, the observations they made, the language they used, how they held their bodies as they spoke… it never failed to inspire him.

And his work never failed to inspire me.

He will be missed.

Gene Hackman

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Lee with Gene Hackman in Owensboro

I was saddened to hear about Gene Hackman’s passing. I had a brief encounter with him after he retired and had become an author.

He was a guest at the International Mystery Writer’s Festival at the RiverPark Center in Owensboro, KY, which was run at the time by Zev Buffman, a well-known Broadway producer.

When I arrived, I was brought on stage, given the key to the city, a gavel making me an honorary judge advocate, and then the Governor (or was it the Secretary of State?) honored me as a Kentucky Colonel, telling me I was joining a long list of people including Pope John Paul, Elvis Presley, Florence Henderson, Teddy Rosevelt, Harlan Sanders, etc. I joked that he was making a terrible mistake, he had the wrong person, etc. There was a lot of laughs and that was that.

I was staying at the Comfort Inn, off the freeway, along with some of the other authors, but also truck drivers, traveling families, etc. It’s place people usually stay on their way to somewhere else.

So, the next moring, I went down for breakfast, and it was mobbed with people…families, screaming kids, etc. I sat down with the late Bob Levinson to eat my bagel and Gene Hackman comes in. At first, nobody noticed him. The last person you expect to see at a Comfort Inn in Owensboro is somebody famous, certainly not an Oscar winning actor.

Hackman went through the motions of gathering his breakfast, and one by one, people recognized him… they were startled. They’d did spit-takes, or jumped back, or shrieked, and on each occasion, he smiled politely and took their shock in stride. It impressed me. It was also hilarious. Bob and I could have spent all day watching people react to Gene Hackman.

Later that day, Hackman was also brought up on stage, and given the key to the city and the gavel, and then the Governor made him a Kentucky Colonel, repeating the bit that Hackman was joining such luminaries as bla bla bla bla and, of course, the Governor looked at me now with a glint in his eye, Lee Goldberg.

Later, I approached Hackman and asked if I could have my picture taken with him, and he said of course…we also exchanged signed books.

I asked him what he was doing in Owensboro, and he said that Zev had given him one of his first jobs on Broadway, so if Zev calls, he shows up. I mentioned how impressed I was by his reaction at breakfast to being recognized and he said was used to it, but it had also surprised him, because off-camera, he looks like such an “everyman,” that he can often get away unnoticed.

I think that may have been one of his great gifts as an actor. He didn’t look like a movie star. He looked like a regular guy … but I think, when he wanted to, he could also *be* one.

My Call with the “Brokers AB Literary Agency” Scammers

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Yesterday I got a phone message from “Jamie Brown” at Brokers AB, a “literary agency,” informing me that four major publishing companies wanted to buy my book for $250-400K. All Brokers AB wants in return is a 12% commission on the sale. Wow, how exciting! I googled Brokers AB, and learned they also do business as “WGA Publications,” and even have the audacity to list the Writers Guild of America website as part of their company. They are based in one of those “WeWork”-type shared offices in Oxnard, CA.  I called them back today… and played along for a while before questioning their entire, idiotic scam. Here is the entirety of the phone call.

EIGHT VERY BAD NIGHTS is here!

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Eight Very Bad Nights

It’s pub day for the short story anthology Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanuhhah Noir, which includes my nasty novella “If Were a Rich Man,” featuring Ray Boyd, the “anti-Reacher,” a character I introduced in my collection Crown Vic.

The other ten stories in Eight Very Bad Nights are by James D.F. Hannah, David L. Ulin, Ivy Pochoda,  Nikki Dolson, J.R. Angelella, Jim Ruland, Liska Jacobs, Gabino Iglesias, and Stefanie Leder, and my brother Tod, who edited the book and wrote the foreword.

This is the first time Tod and I have been in a book together…and it’s perhaps the first time you can clearly tell by our stories that we’re brothers. I’m sure if we swapped bylines on his story and mine, nobody would notice the difference. But you can be the judge of that. 

The reviews for the book have been terrific, but of course I’m especially happy about the ones that call out my story for special attention…

“My favorite story in Eight Very Bad Nights is Lee Goldberg’s “If I Were a Rich Man,” featuring his anti-hero Ray Boyd tracking down a bundle of stolen cash during Hanukkah. Boyd plays all the notes just right and even falls into a honeytrap with both eyes open. Of course, everything works out for Boyd and the trip is a blast.” Dark City Underground

“Tod Goldberg’s titular story as well as brother Lee’s “If I Were a Rich Man” — the latter involving a Jewish ex-con, now a dementia patient in a retirement home in Merced — bring on the funny while being wildly observant.” Los Angeles Times

Fair warning… “If I Were a Rich Man” is a sharp and crude departure from my other fiction. It’s full of violence and explicit sex. So if you’re looking for the kind of stuff I wrote with Janet Evanovich, or for Monk and Diagnosis Murder, you are going to be disappointed and, perhaps, offended. 

 

The “Stellar Literary California” Scam

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Today I got an unsolicited call from a “business consultant” at “Stellar Literary California” offering me a literary agent and self-publishing services. His pitch quickly disintegrated without much prodding. My favorite part was when he tried to convince me that he was calling from California….and not the Philippines or somewhere like it.

I did say one thing in the conversation that wasn’t true…not that this putz would know the difference: you don’t get 100% of the royalties if you publish through KPD. What I should have said is that there is no upfront charge for formating, interior design, or a basic cover. (Sorry my disheveled appearance and the crumbs on my face… I was writing & munching popcorn when I got this call and rushed to return it).

You can learn more about “Stellar Literary” at Writer Beware

 

Scaring Myself: The Challenges of Writing a Dual Time-Line Thriller

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My thriller Calico, out this week in a new paperback and deeply discounted ebook editions, is both a contemporary police procedural…and a traditional western set in 1883. What the two storylines share is a body, buried in a shallow grave in California’s desolate Mojave desert.

I’d been thinking about the story for years… but put off writing it because I had too many contractual commitments and not enough time in-between them to do it. Those are lies, of course, excuses I told myself to justify not writing the book.

The truth is, the story terrified me. Thrillers are hard enough to write without trying to balance two time-lines and, on top of that, two wildly different genres (actually, three genres, but talking about that would be a spoiler).

The challenge of telling two connected stories, one in the past and one in the present, is making sure the reader isn’t ahead of the characters in either time-line. Because if you fail, it will kill the suspense and the mystery. There will be no surprises. Yet, you also don’t want to withhold information from the reader, because that would be cheating. The trick is knowing when to cut away from on time-line to the other, so the reader is never quite sure how much they really know. Maintaining that delicate balancing act throughout the story is the sweet spot because, if you can pull it off, it creates a palpable tension that generates excitement… the thrill in thriller.

You also have to create two protagonists, one in each time-line, that the reader will find equally compelling and that will anchor the reader so they can endure the shifting POVs. In Calico, those characters are Beth McDade, a disgraced ex-LAPD cop, seeking redemption as a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s detective in the Mojave Desert in present day…and, in 1882, it’s unskilled wanderer Ben, desperately trying to survive in a silver mining camp located in a scorching, dry, desolate hell-scape. Ben’s choices in the past will have a profound impact on Beth’s life over 135 years later, when a homicide investigation will either redeem her… or destroy her.

I created a spreadsheet to track the two time lines…as well as the key plot moves/reveals which, if given away too soon or too late, could ruin the entire book. I also used the spread sheet to get a sense of the pacing, of when it would be the right time, emotionally or thematically, to shift time periods, to keep the narrative momentum moving at warp-speed.

Beyond telling a two-track story, I wanted to take the two genres (actually three) and, while delivering on the familiar tropes, also subvert all the baked-in cliches and expectations. So, I gave myself another delicate balancing act to perform: delivering a true police procedural and a western (and that other genre I’m not revealing), while also de-constructing them to create something new.

And if you’re crossing genres, and time-lines, it’s essential that you maintain the same tone and pacing across them both, so it doesn’t feel like two different books, but one relentlessly engaging thriller.

Calico was the hardest book I’ve ever written (out of nearly 40) but, in some ways, it’s been the most creatively rewarding. I’m glad I took the risk. Because I believe if I don’t occasionally scare or challenge myself, I’m going to fail anyway – because my writing will become formulaic and complacent. 

I hope you’ll read Calico… and that you’ll let me know if my high-wire act worked…or if I hit the ground with a sickening splat.