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[Production co.] WorldLight Pictures, Inc. (Rachid Moussadek)
- Thread starter Rainy Night
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I hope you burnt screenwriters are sharing the specifics with Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware. They'll document what's happened (one way the information on these sites remains above reproach) and make this information public at places a whole lot of writers check, including writers who may not know AW even has a board for scripts.
Think of the (screenwriting) lives you'll be saving, eh?
Maryn, public service announcer
Think of the (screenwriting) lives you'll be saving, eh?
Maryn, public service announcer
This is a rather astonishing thread for the "Script Writing" sub-forum. We usually see a thread of this nature in the "Bewares and Background Checks" neck of the woods.
I feel like maybe it belongs over there, and yet, few screenwriters ever venture into that forum because it's all novel-ish over there.
What to do! What to do!
I feel like maybe it belongs over there, and yet, few screenwriters ever venture into that forum because it's all novel-ish over there.
What to do! What to do!
- Joined
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RM
I tried to contact you, but I can't PM you for some reason and they don't allow me to e-mail you.
I'm logged in now, so PM me and then I can answer you.
I tried to contact you, but I can't PM you for some reason and they don't allow me to e-mail you.
I'm logged in now, so PM me and then I can answer you.
VERY disappointed in Rachid Moussadek.
I have been embroiled in a many months long attempt to receive money owed to me by "producer" Rachid Moussadek. We signed a contract for a first draft of an adaptation a year ago. I turned in the first draft in August, 2008. He promised to give me the money the contract stated, but to this day he has not paid me a dime. In fact, the check he did give me bounced and cost me a bank charge. So far my dealings with him have amounted to:
1) A first draft feature length screenplay written for free.
2) A 20 dollar bank charge for his bounced check.
3) Months of headaches and frustration hearing his LIES.
My advice to all who read this: STEAR CLEAR FROM THIS JOKER.
I have been embroiled in a many months long attempt to receive money owed to me by "producer" Rachid Moussadek. We signed a contract for a first draft of an adaptation a year ago. I turned in the first draft in August, 2008. He promised to give me the money the contract stated, but to this day he has not paid me a dime. In fact, the check he did give me bounced and cost me a bank charge. So far my dealings with him have amounted to:
1) A first draft feature length screenplay written for free.
2) A 20 dollar bank charge for his bounced check.
3) Months of headaches and frustration hearing his LIES.
My advice to all who read this: STEAR CLEAR FROM THIS JOKER.
Shame on CAA for "vouching" for Rachid Moussadek
I cannot write the appropriate words to describe the utter disappointment and disgust I feel when reflecting on my dealings with Rachid Moussadek. This guy to this day has not paid me a dime for a feature length screenplay/adaptation I wrote for him. We even signed a contract, but it is meaningless unless I want to go to small claims court over it. I have texts and emails confirming his statements about paying me. But still he has gone 7 months without paying, aside from a check that bounced. So far my association with Moussadek has resulted in me spending months writing a feature screenplay, a 20 dollar bank charge for his bounced check, and months of stress and frustration.
This guy sucks. And my advice is to STAY CLEAR FROM THIS JOKER!
I cannot write the appropriate words to describe the utter disappointment and disgust I feel when reflecting on my dealings with Rachid Moussadek. This guy to this day has not paid me a dime for a feature length screenplay/adaptation I wrote for him. We even signed a contract, but it is meaningless unless I want to go to small claims court over it. I have texts and emails confirming his statements about paying me. But still he has gone 7 months without paying, aside from a check that bounced. So far my association with Moussadek has resulted in me spending months writing a feature screenplay, a 20 dollar bank charge for his bounced check, and months of stress and frustration.
This guy sucks. And my advice is to STAY CLEAR FROM THIS JOKER!
Out of curiosity I did a Google search on RM and was surprised to see so much information here. I sure could have used this info back in July when I first spoke with Rachid. Would have saved me a ton of headaches, not to mention wishful thinking.
First off, for those who've been burned, you have my sympathies. I was almost one of you. First call I got from him was in July when I was on vacation. He speaks a mile a minute. Told me he was repped at CAA and that I was perfect for an adaptation of a best seller he owned the rights to - BAD MONKEYS by Matt Ruff. He gave me a quick pitch, which sounded promising. CAA had the motion picture rights to the book, and they wanted a script. I asked him how long he'd been with CAA and that's when the first flag appeared. In an instant he did a 180 and apologized for wasting my time and tried ending the call. I backed up and asked him what had just happened. He said he didn't want to play games and for a writer to ask him a stupid question like how long he'd been with CAA was insulting. I went from being hired to fired and less than a minute. I backed up some more, telling him I was just trying to get a sense of who he was, and that I meant no disrespect. The call was salvaged, and he promised to have his agent at CAA send me the manuscript for my review within the week.
A week later I received a large envelope in my mailbox with CAA letterhead. My heart skipped a beat. "Maybe this guy is for real?" Inside was a signed letter addressed to me by the agent, along with the manuscript. I read the book in about a day - real page turner. Great story, great characters. This thing could be huge. And then it hits me. Why in the hell would CAA give a virtually unknown writer something this good? I asked Rachid this, but he insisted that I was right for the project (given the samples I had sent him) and that he was hiring me, not CAA. This was another flag. Then the contract came in, and what a disappointment that was. Clearly this contract was not in the writer's best interest. I had my manager look at it, as well as some friends. There was no need to pay for a lawyer on this one, because it wasn't worth it.
To his credit, he did make changes to the contract, but there were still holes in it. So I passed. I wasn't willing to take a huge risk to bang out a script without guarantees, even if the project was at CAA. As great as the book was, I wasn't convinced he owned the rights to it. And from what I've read here, it seems my gut instinct was right. I just feel bad for Burned Writer, and anyone else who got screwed.
First off, for those who've been burned, you have my sympathies. I was almost one of you. First call I got from him was in July when I was on vacation. He speaks a mile a minute. Told me he was repped at CAA and that I was perfect for an adaptation of a best seller he owned the rights to - BAD MONKEYS by Matt Ruff. He gave me a quick pitch, which sounded promising. CAA had the motion picture rights to the book, and they wanted a script. I asked him how long he'd been with CAA and that's when the first flag appeared. In an instant he did a 180 and apologized for wasting my time and tried ending the call. I backed up and asked him what had just happened. He said he didn't want to play games and for a writer to ask him a stupid question like how long he'd been with CAA was insulting. I went from being hired to fired and less than a minute. I backed up some more, telling him I was just trying to get a sense of who he was, and that I meant no disrespect. The call was salvaged, and he promised to have his agent at CAA send me the manuscript for my review within the week.
A week later I received a large envelope in my mailbox with CAA letterhead. My heart skipped a beat. "Maybe this guy is for real?" Inside was a signed letter addressed to me by the agent, along with the manuscript. I read the book in about a day - real page turner. Great story, great characters. This thing could be huge. And then it hits me. Why in the hell would CAA give a virtually unknown writer something this good? I asked Rachid this, but he insisted that I was right for the project (given the samples I had sent him) and that he was hiring me, not CAA. This was another flag. Then the contract came in, and what a disappointment that was. Clearly this contract was not in the writer's best interest. I had my manager look at it, as well as some friends. There was no need to pay for a lawyer on this one, because it wasn't worth it.
To his credit, he did make changes to the contract, but there were still holes in it. So I passed. I wasn't willing to take a huge risk to bang out a script without guarantees, even if the project was at CAA. As great as the book was, I wasn't convinced he owned the rights to it. And from what I've read here, it seems my gut instinct was right. I just feel bad for Burned Writer, and anyone else who got screwed.
More to add about Rachid Moussadek...
Interesting to hear about all these other "victims" of Rachid. I forgot to mention that he never had the rights to the book I adapted either. I was under the impression he did, but it turned out he didn't. Truth is, if the guy had enough money to buy the rights to anything, then his check to me wouldn't have bounced. In addition, and most important, Rachid works at a Car Wash. That's right. He works at a car wash, not washing the cars, but he's the guy who fills out the ticket when you enter the line. GET IT? He is not a real producer!!! CAA doesn't even represent him.
Nothing this guy said to me was true. Honestly, from the core of a struggling writer who lives in Los Angeles, NOTHING Rachid said to me turned out to be true. It really hurts when you think you could be part of something exciting only to find out the whole situation is fraudulent. What he's doing to me and others is downright cruel.
Interesting to hear about all these other "victims" of Rachid. I forgot to mention that he never had the rights to the book I adapted either. I was under the impression he did, but it turned out he didn't. Truth is, if the guy had enough money to buy the rights to anything, then his check to me wouldn't have bounced. In addition, and most important, Rachid works at a Car Wash. That's right. He works at a car wash, not washing the cars, but he's the guy who fills out the ticket when you enter the line. GET IT? He is not a real producer!!! CAA doesn't even represent him.
Nothing this guy said to me was true. Honestly, from the core of a struggling writer who lives in Los Angeles, NOTHING Rachid said to me turned out to be true. It really hurts when you think you could be part of something exciting only to find out the whole situation is fraudulent. What he's doing to me and others is downright cruel.
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Have you thought about calling out his contact at CAA? The agent's name he works with, or claims to work with, is Matthew Snyder. The package Rachid sent me had a signed letter from Matthew, which I can only imagine Rachid forged. If it's no use for you to go after him in small claims, you should try and push back on CAA. He's obviously hurting their credibility by claiming he's repped there, and that he owns the rights to property at CAA (which isn't the case). We know he's using CAA letterhead, etc. Seems like there's a good case for misrepresentation and fraud. We know he's a joke, but I personally believe what he's doing is illegal, or should be.
Rachid is a LIAR!!!!!
He paid me a hundred bucks. Nut he owed me three thousand. He was hard to find after I gave him what he wanted. He's a total piece of crap. And lat time we talked (phone), I guaranteed him that I will punch him in the face if I ever see him again....Beware!!!
He paid me a hundred bucks. Nut he owed me three thousand. He was hard to find after I gave him what he wanted. He's a total piece of crap. And lat time we talked (phone), I guaranteed him that I will punch him in the face if I ever see him again....Beware!!!
I wrote a version of Bad Monkeys for him!
That's the same novel he sent me. I did a version for him last year. He paid me a hundred bucks, and gave me a bogus contract.
That's the same novel he sent me. I did a version for him last year. He paid me a hundred bucks, and gave me a bogus contract.
When was this? He first approached me in July. We parted ways by August. I got the feeling he was going to have several different writers adapt Bad Monkeys at the same time, then work with whoever wrote the best script. He denied this, of course. The guy is a loser, and the people at CAA should be ashamed of themselves for vouching for him.
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Rachid
He hired me to write it several months back. I've heard of others, and now you. But, I've recently got a deal with a big company and I gave them my draft. I believe we are going to contact Rachid and his people at CAA. Should be interesting.
He hired me to write it several months back. I've heard of others, and now you. But, I've recently got a deal with a big company and I gave them my draft. I believe we are going to contact Rachid and his people at CAA. Should be interesting.
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You know this is kinda scary for someone like me thats SO GREEN... oh the hurtles I have to cross... Thats ok, I know now how to cross them.... with good writing! I would've sent him all kinds of stuff. Although in the end I probably would've hopped a plane to h-wood and tracked him down just to punch him in the face. What a jerk!
If this guy is such a dweeb I'd be extremely surprised if anyone at CAA would give him the time of day, unless, of course, they've been taken in in the same way as everyone else, which is possible.
However, unless they think he's got buckets of money or can get hold of it, which sounds unlikely, CAA will sever all contact with him faster than a grand piano falling off the top of the Empire State. I've met there a few times and they can sniff bullshit a mile off.
The only time a prodco contacted me out of the blue was when I'd written a book and someone at the prodco had read it and was trying to get hold of me regarding the film. They were totally 100% legit because they've made a ton of films and some of them have won Academy awards.
Unless you're somebody (which I'm not, but I live in hope) then you will NOT be contacted by anyone worth speaking to. You will have to be the cat until such time as you have sufficient clout to become the mouse.
And mice, though nimble, still get eaten.
However, unless they think he's got buckets of money or can get hold of it, which sounds unlikely, CAA will sever all contact with him faster than a grand piano falling off the top of the Empire State. I've met there a few times and they can sniff bullshit a mile off.
The only time a prodco contacted me out of the blue was when I'd written a book and someone at the prodco had read it and was trying to get hold of me regarding the film. They were totally 100% legit because they've made a ton of films and some of them have won Academy awards.
Unless you're somebody (which I'm not, but I live in hope) then you will NOT be contacted by anyone worth speaking to. You will have to be the cat until such time as you have sufficient clout to become the mouse.
And mice, though nimble, still get eaten.