Red Varden Studios

RUN RUN as fast as you can from this man and Justin Ward!!! I brought a reality show that I had created, had copy rights for and the Option Agreement on, and Zig managed to minimize me to janitor status.
Patted me on the head and said, we appreciate your passion, but let us take it from here. We’ll give you a little something, but with no title. In fact, since you are pushing for what’s rightfully yours, one of the Executive Producer positions, and industry standard compensation for such, they said. we now don’t want to work with you and have told the talent you are too difficult to work with”. BUT… They still wanted me to be on the show! What happened to «too hard to work with»? Oh. That was a BS story, a red herring to get the talent to come up against me so I would fold on title and profit, determined by a contract that they would never create, not respect or acknowledge the industry standard for my writing, my work, connections, and introductions. They created SO much DRAMA between me and my talent due to my talents lack of experience and desperation for a show, from both of Justin and Zig’s lies, persuasion, bestowing of fear and manipulation that it cost us the show and a 20 year friendship.
Instead of these two Bert and Ernies apologizing to me professionally for overstepping their bounds and agreeing to back up and look at contracts, titles and industry standards prior to getting into the water all the way with a trailer being done and major commitments, they decided to act like 9 year olds and play games and become defensive when necessary conversations took place! They wanted what was not rightfully Justin Wards, whom I took on… and bullied me all the way down to a nobody. A hard-​to-​work-​with-​woman, and they just wanted to speak with the male talent «to make some sense to her». Unbelievable.
These guys thought that because we were fairly new to this portion of the industry, that they could brownbag us, or force our noses. Which they did for a portion of us.
Worst experience in a very long time professionally, in any setting for me. This Zig and Justin show were the real reality stars.
He and Justin Ward are some of the most unprofessional people I have ever begun to do business with.
I’ve done thousands of business deals and never have had a person be so arrogant, pushy, sensitive, irresponsible, hypocritical and flat slimy to work with! He will steal your ideas and say, «thank you for your passion, no off you go!» When you’re due thousands!!!
Just keep going when Sesame Street comes on.

I owe much of my career success to Zig and the Red Varden Program. I currently work at Bravo and formerly worked at FremantleMedia — two huge and recognizable companies that I would have had NO access to had it not been for this program and it’s network of current and former graduates.
Zig is hard because he cares. When you go out into the industry, you’re a representative of your former employers and the the coworkers that came up with you. If your resume is formatted improperly, you don’t know the difference between an agent and a manager, and are unwilling to apply yourself to the program — you’ll have a difficult time. Alas — you’ll also have the most to gain from this educational and challenging program.
For the hackers out there that complain or undermine Zig’s influence — over 400 people have graduated from the program and currently work at major networks in both broadcast and cable (CBS, ABC, Bravo, E!, etc.), top agencies (CAA, WME, Abrams, Innovative, etc.) and production companies of all sizes (Fremantle, Eyeworks, Good Clean Fun, etc.). This is not an accident and specifically is traceable to his influence as a teacher and mentor.
As far as Red Varden Studios’ work — they just sold a project to MTV and are working on a digital project with one of the largest online stars/​talents in the world. They also closed two film deals recently and are expanding into feature length film — no doubt because of the number of professionals that he’s groomed that now work at major studios.
Zig personally has worked on History Channel’s Top Shot, Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, Spike’s Auction Hunters, TV One’s R&B Divas Los Angeles, Travel Channel’s Spring Breaking Point and will be working on Fox’s BIG upcoming fall series UTOPIA. He’s also a former exec from Fox — something you’re not going to find on IMDB, so stop the hating. These credits reflect a true professional who is widely regarded with respect and trust.
If you’re ready for the big leagues, or at least want to find out if you are — then Red Varden Studios is a fantastic collaborative partner in that journey.

I went through Zig’s program about 4 years ago when I moved back to LA from NY. The best way I can describe it is a bootcamp.
The poor reviews don’t surprise me, the good reviews don’t surprise me. I’m a sensitive flower and the first couple weeks, I drove home in tears. After a couple weeks, I had developed that «thick skin» that all job applications will ask you to have. I was there for about a month and got an agency job, a jump I hadn’t been able to manage beforehand. It wasn’t easy or pleasant, but I’m very glad I did it.
The biggest thing you’ll get from RV is a network of peers that are all moving up in entertainment with you. My fellow intern alumns are now some of my closest friends in LA and it’s awesome seeing them kick ass in their careers. Believe it or not, as soon as you graduate, Zig is sweet as pie. He’s been my first call when I need brutally honest career advice. I like being a part of this close-​knit network and it’s strange that the brief month I spent there years ago continues to pay off today.

The Red Varden Internship is a valuable one to say the least. I have to disagree with the previous Unilocaler. In the few months that I have been there I have learned serious hands on skills. I am not running to get coffee or printing papers. I am doing administrative work as well as learning everything you need to know to get you to the next level. Rolling calls, casting, logging, script coverage etc. Every day is exciting and challenging. I have learned skills that can be applied to any job for that matter. As you are learning skills in the entertainment industry and creating/​assisting with projects you are also learning how to be a professional. Every week I see people left and right getting jobs because of this program. It may be challenging but its worth it!
As far as Zigs attitude, he is not abusive. He is an informative stern leader. A lax attitude isn’t always going to push you to do your best. I have yet to witness anything but positivity from Zig and all of the interns there.

If it wasn’t for Zig, I would not be where I am today. His program is not for everyone and the people bad mouthing it most likely will not succeed in this industry. Zig has taught me everything I know about this industry, and oddly enough I am a TV, Film and Media Studies graduate. I am a former intern, who was not asked to write a review like someone stated in a previous review. Zig’s program teaches you lessons and skills that puts you ahead of the game. He teaches you how to become career savvy. Without Zig, I would not have America’s number one cable network on my resume or have the production/​management company that produces The Walking Dead on my resume. Hollywood is tough, this industry is tough. For the people who can’t handle the program, you should really stop being a big baby and stop writing things on sites such as Unilocal!You are giving the company a bad rep because you couldn’t handle it! That hurts me, the person who stuck through it and busted my ass to get where I am today. Zig teaches you to have thick skin and be prepared for how the REAL WORLD is brutal. I would recommend this program and I think it is a great experience.

My internship experience at Red Varden Studios was life changing. Speaking as someone who had no experience working in the industry and no connections to land my first job, the RVS experience is exactly what I needed.
This internship is not for everyone. You have to want to be great in order to intern there. This means showing up on time and following instructions. If you are asked to bring a leather padfolio, bring one! There’s a reason for it. If you show up to an interview wearing jeans then that means you don’t respect the job that you’re interviewing for or the person interviewing you. Simple stuff, but a lot of recent grads have no clue how the real world works. For every «silly» thing you won’t do, much smarter people are waiting in line to do it for free.
I guarantee that any bad reviews of RVS are coming from people who did not approaching this program with a certain level of humility, ambition, determination, and most importantly a high level professionalism that is required of this internship. And yes it works. Just about everyone I interned with is working and has been promoted in a variety of capacities. If it weren’t for Zig, a lot of us would be serving coffee or flipping burgers instead of working at agencies, production companies, and studios.
If you’re lucky enough to intern at Red Varden, then please study all of the materials and follow directions and network your ass off with other interns and assistants. It will make you a great assistant as you embark on your entertainment career.

This place is a joke. Don’t work here, and by work I mean take an internship because there are no actual paid employees. The internship program is a big scam to get free labor, but what you’re actually doing is questionable since these «studios» haven’t produced anything except for one reality show that never aired. Don’t take my word for it, look them up on imdb. Nobody that’s serious in LA has ever heard of them.
If you’re going to work for free at least do it somewhere reputable that has connections, and never ever believe that getting a rigorous entertainment business internship means having to put up with an abusive, controlling supervisor named Zig. Apparently he just likes to take out his frustration over his shortcomings in the entertainment business on an office full of college students and recent grads. He actually had the audacity to yell at someone during an interview for not bringing a leather-​bound portfolio.
I wouldn’t trust any of the other reviews on here (11 filtered when I checked) because they’re all fake — note that they’re all first reviews. Probably made by interns that Zig forced to write them.

Let me start by saying, being at Red Varden is hard work. But the benefits always outweigh the blood, sweat and tears you put into kicking a** during your time there. Going into the program, I’m sure I was just as skeptical as everyone else, and I remained skeptical until I realized that on average, an intern got a job every week. I’m currently working at an agency and I know that, as cliché as it sounds, without this program I probably wouldn’t have gotten this job.
This program allows you to gain hands on experience with tv and digital projects in development. You get a chance to make casting calls, do Skype interviews with candidates, draft treatments, one sheets, and casting reels, go into the field to produce, etc. You also get your hands on training materials that teach you how to be the best assistant your bosses will have ever had, and will get you into an executive position in ²⁄₃ years instead of ⁵⁄₆ years. One other benefit of the program is that you actually work for two companies — Red Varden Studios and Base Camp Films.
Still not convinced? Do you know the top five production companies? The big five broadcast networks? What a lay off or overall deal is? The difference between a studio and a network, or between an agent and a manager? If you didn’t say ‘YES!’ to all these questions, you should definitely be in this program.
There are days when you will get yelled at, question Zig’s teaching methods, and want to quit. But the people who work through that and take it as a learning experience, graduate from the program and excel. I know that not only does Zig have my back, but 500 past interns do as well.
I could go on forever about my experiences here, but to potential interns: have realistic expectations. If you can’t hack it here, you probably shouldn’t be in this industry. Commit to the program and commit to the training and I promise that you will never regret the experience.
If you are reading this and have questions, you are more than welcome to contact me.

Where do I start. First let me say I read the other reviews of this company’s training program before I attended the interview with the Owner. Despite the warnings I decided to follow through with the meeting. I am new to Los angeles and like many I am looking for a way to get into the entertainment industry. Here is what I liked and things I found unsettling.
Things I liked
1. I liked how nice all the other 20+ non paid interns were. (No one in the office was a paid employee except for the owner.)
2. It was definitely a learning experience, Hollywood can be brutal.
Things I disliked
The owner was very much abrasive and dismissal. He asked me questions, then criticized everything I said. I was criticized about my Name (I’m not joking), my business degree, my inexperience in the industry, my aspirations within the industry and my attire (dress pants and a cardigan) I should have bought a women’s business suit I suppose.
Also while waiting in the office to be called in I noticed there were a few movie posters hanging on the wall, however I didn’t recognize any of them which made me believe the company projects probably weren’t that successful.
Since I declined the internship offer, (he said I needed to give him 3 days a week, I work full time so can only do 2.) I will not say this program is a scam or useless. However I will say even without scheduling conflicts I would not take the job because if I am going to work for free I expect to be treated like nothing less than human.
If you are entertaining the idea of interviewing with this company, be aware that all the Hollywood stereotypes that you have heard about surrounding rude, arrogant and ego driven individuals all answer true with this man. By all means go to the interview, see for yourself then decide. It was a very unpleasant experience for me but it was still an experience.