RavenWhitney

10 hours ago, cassadine1991 said:

Does this mean breakdown writers are coming back to Y&R?

No. They fired all breakdown writers with the exception of Jeff Beldner. Presumably, he returned after the strike. All break downs are written by hacks Griffith and Beal as well as Jeff. Brent edits scripts written by Esser, Gazzaniga (moved from breakdown to scripts when firings happened), Martin, Banks, McCarty. Assuming they all returned after strike ended.

Jamey mentioned during strike that Sony tried to force the elimination of Days break down writers (like Y&R) but Ron fought it.Perhaps, they agreed that they'd eliminate most of the dialog writers and have the current breakdown writers do their own scripts,  a structure Monty instituted on GH during her short and disastrous return in 90s (unlike YR where Griffith/Beall/Beldner are writing all the breakdowns and handing them over to the five script writers). The other possibility is that they sped up the writing process in anticipation of the strike by having some scripts written by the outline writers. Jason47 has only mentioned Dunn's script but not Cohen's departure or these other writers appearing as script writers this week.  Maybe he has the full scoop.  Have the credits been updated to show that Noel Maxam is Consulting Producer to match his current linked in profile?  

Love her but Griffith/Beall will take a great actress and waste her as they did with Robert Newman.

Here's a profile of Pete T. Rich who mostly wrote scripts in collaboration with N. Gail Lawrence (GL, Passions, Days, AMC and a few others)

https://berkshirestyle.com/features/Pete_Rich.html

16 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Oh that would have been MAGIC!

But Jill Phelps had to be the top head writer after Nancy C left. Jill couldn't take a strong, seasoned real HW in the writers' room. 

12 hours ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

 

 

Too bad Morgan couldn't act. Never understood why they didn't replace him right away.

1 hour ago, janea4old said:

The cast updated in recent weeks to say they began shooting 9 1/2 to 10 episodes per week now.    Judi Evans said it on the Linda Dano podcast, and another actor said it at a fan event.   Jason has updated his chart to show that change, just in the recent weeks.

The fired creepy producer [name redacted] was trying to be showrunner and was "organizing scripts" after the writers strike began,  whatever that means, but it sounds like he tried supervising the writing department or .... ? ?  So he did that in May, June, and July, and was fired August 4th.  Nobody really knows who has been scab-headwriting while Ron's on strike but I think FiredGuy tried to control things for a while.   Icky.

Based on Jason's prod schedule, they've taped 39 episodes starting with the 12/27 show. Not 32 as I had indicated earlier.

11 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how many new scripts have been filmed.

Not enough! Here's an excerpt from Jason47 website of Days production schedule. Ron previously confirmed he wrote through Xmas; therefore, the show will have shot about 32 episodes since 12/26 episode was filmed (as they shoot 8 per week).  But I believe Sheri Anderson (who we assume is at least co-head writing) may have finished additional several weeks' worth of scripts.

By 9/22/22 (last year) they had 12 no tape weeks. This year to this point they have 16 weeks no tape. Clearly, the strike and Alaar debacle caused the additional 4 week studio closure.

http://www.jason47.com/days/productionschedule.html

Dear God, Brock (runs crystal cocktail glass with clanging ice cubes across forehead): I can't take it. The end of the strike may mean that Ron Carlivati may return to Days as HW and disgrace Betty Corday's memory with his Scooby Doo scripts. 

4 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

I guess Rauch and MADD were not that effective as we suffered the clone (MADD thought it was a success) and San Cristobal...(that had Rauch written all over it...outdated 80s crap the budget couldn't support, cartoon characters, showcase for who he thought the "star" was..I am surprised Reva didn't to to Eterna or back in time to the Old West) 

Why did CBS not like GL..what made it different than ATWT? I agree that the real baddie here is Babs Bloom, (the originator of the Clone idea) how that woman had a job all those years...

I believe it was CBS exec, Wendy Fischman, who created the clone story.

Teenage mentality Carlivati at his usual worst.  The best thing about the WGA strike is that Ron is unable to further damage Days (at least temporarily). 

Wow. What a scoop! Mr. Maxam has directed Days episodes through July as tracked in a post elsewhere on this board by Jason47 

Noel Maxam is now "Consulting Producer" at Corday Productions (as of April 2023) according to his linkedin profile.  Badumbummmmmm

https://www.linkedin.com/in/noel-maxam-406a828/

7 hours ago, JAS0N47 said:

I always thought that was the full list. I think Jeanne Ford lives in Maryland, so I always thought she would be WGAE, like the Cullitons. Yet Ford is listed on the fi-core list of the WGAW list. That's why my assumption has always been it's the full list of the entire WGA fi-core. Unless I am totally wrong, I just thought WGAE were for writers who lived in the eastern half of the US, and WGAW was for writers who lived in the western half of the US.

Here's the WG East list of ficore writers.  No new names but they deleted at some point deceased writers including Hogan Sheffer and Barbara Esensten.  Meg Kelly went ficore in 2007 but she's not on either list. Not sure if she's around.  I'm sure if other writers went fi core WG East will eventually update the list.  Technically, I don't think it's fair to call ficore writer scabs. The scabs are the ones who don't take fi core status, but cross the picket lines (virtually of course) to write the soaps.  It's well know that, in the past, soaps have hired non union writers (novelists) and production folks.  It's been widely reported over the years, for instance, that AW 1988 strike writing staff consisted of Donna Swajeski (NBC exec), Janet Iacubuzio (AW prod. assistant), Mimi Leahey (soap magazine writer), Michael Zazlow (yes Roger Thorpe from GL) and his wife Susan Hufford and Nerissa Radell (I believe she was the wife of a tv or network lawyer exec at the time).  I also directly learned years after the 81 strike from the Edge of Night actor (Ernie) who played Cliff Nelson that Lois Kibbee (actress and novelist) and Laurie Durbrow (P&G exec producer) wrote Edge during that strike.  Of course, Kibbee was hired a few months after the strike ended, when Slesar didn't renew Steve Lehrman's script contract, validating that strike writers get hired because sometimes they are better than the striking staff writers. We know that Dena and Mark, Victor Gialanella went ficore and wrote Days in 07/08 but names weren't mentioned in the credits ever. Most of these non union writers get hired for a time after the strike ends.  AW fired half of it's pre 88 strike writers and replaced them with all of the writers mentioned above.  Watching soaps after strikes end, you can almost predict who was writing the show pre strike when unknown names appear.  After the 81 strike, when Pat Falken Smith quit GH (after Monty had ruined her plots during the strike) then we saw Thom Racina and Leah Laiman join the staff (never having written soaps before the strike). We also learned that ABC purchased the rights to Racina's novel about freezing the world which served as the central GH plot during the length of the strike.....badumbum...

https://www.wgaeast.org/enforcement/wgae-financial-core-list/

On 7/30/2023 at 11:29 AM, JAS0N47 said:

Janet Spellman has been with the show for 39 years, so she is a great option, as is Greg Meng.

I could also see Sonia Blangiardo in the running given she'd be cheaper, is with the show and has produced some streaming content.  Ken may have to try to save face and appoint a woman.  Janet seems like the safest option. 

1 hour ago, Michael said:

I feel a little icky speculating on such upsetting situations for the victims, but I'm pretty sure (based on a lot of context clues) that the actress in the love scene is Martha Madison. She wiped Days from her socials a few months back and seemed to be going off-contract, and it didn't seem to make any sense.

Jamey Giddens did the same thing.  No one will convince me he left Days voluntarily because he got a new gig. He wiped Twitter bio and Facebook of any mention of his days job even though he worked until the strike and his scripts are airing through close to end of the year.  I think Albert is toast. No way he stays indefinitely.  

2 hours ago, cassadine1991 said:

I wonder who they’ll pick for GH

Well, Gary Tomlin (current GH director and Ficore) would be the obvious choice. My other guess would be that they rehired Michael Conforti (former GH writer and ficore) who was fired from Y&R with the writer blood bath.  But we'll know soon because they probably hired writers to work beginning in May even if the striking writers left a few months of story and scripts.

During the 2007/08 strike, some soaps listed their Ficore writers, some didn't list but used Ficore and others may have only used scabs.

Days is interesting. Corday immediately hired Dena and Mark Higely and Victor Gialanella, the latter two had gone ficore in 2007. Dena didn't but the guild found out and she later had to go ficore in 2008. None of these writers were ever listed in the credit crawl during the strike.  Hogan Shefer and Meg Kelly, the pre strike writers declared ficore status at the start of the strike but Corday didn't want them but he had to pay them while they sat and did nothing.

OLTL had Tomlin, Jean Ford and Fran Myers Newman (all ficore) listed in the credits.

GH had Wolf and Conforti who were listed in the credits.

GL and ATWT didn't list any writers during the entire strike.  

AMC had Daran Little and Brown/Estensen. Not sure if Daran declared ficore initially or was pulling a Dena Higely but he eventually declared ficore.  I believe Brown/Esensten were listed as the writers during the credits of the strike episodes.  I believe Marla Kanalos and Stephen Demorest were fired after the strike and replaced by Daran and maybe one other scab, and they sued.  Not sure the outcome but Stephen never returned to soap writing. 

Y&R had ficore writers listed almost immediately: Griffith, Maria Bell and Paula Cwikily.  

It will be interesting to see which shows list their ficore writers as their material starts to air.  

On Amanda Beall, my guess is that her producer title includes job duties that put in squarely involved in script editing etc.  Do you think she's not going to produce a day's script just because she's not "writing" as co head when she's in the studio, behind closed doors with Griffith?  

19 hours ago, dragonflies said:

 

All the actor botox, fillers and caked on make up will positively wilt in that heat!

As a multi decades long soap watcher, I remember being concerned in past strikes about my soaps not having their head writers for long periods.  I remember Edge of Night 1981 (which was actually well written by Laurie Durbrow and Lois Kibbee) and GH 1981 (which never recovered from Thom Racina strike material freeze the world plot) which ruined Smith's plotting.  It was hit or miss. But this strike is potentially a blessing at least to GH which has been awful under Van Etten/O'Connor and Days under Carlivati.  I have to bleieve that Sheri Anderson will do a capable job at Days. And I'm guessing (ficore) Gary Tomlin will have a hand in GH stories given he was Valentini's choice for OLTL in 2007/08 and is on staff at GH.  There's no hope for Y&R given Griffith remains.  And I can't speak to Bold because I've never been able to stomach that show since its premiere.

39 minutes ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

@Soapsuds I posted a picture of her at the studio, balloons about, standing between Drake & Deidre, 2 weeks ago. 

I'm hoping Ken offers her the co-HW spot & Ron quits because that way the show won't have to pay a penalty. 

Also, in the months leading up to the strike, the following writers were terminated or retired: Cheryl Davis, Jazmen Brown, Dorell Anthony, Richard Culliton and Carolyn Culliton. And exec producer's wife has now written some scripts (again) and FiCore writer (Fran Myers) son, Henry, was added to the writing staff.  Seems to me that Sony/Peacock is making dramatic changes to the writing staff.  I am hoping Ron never returns to the show.

Today Days tapes last of Ron's scripts before strike started. Ron said he wrote up to Xmas and this week Days taped up to 12/26 episode. I'm looking forward to hearing how Sheri Anderson retools the show with the January scripts.  The best thing about a protracted strike is that Ron can't turn in any material. I'm hoping Ken fires him once the strike is over and keeps Sheri as he did during 07-08 strike when he rehired Dena and kept her, firing Hogan Sheffer.

Leonard Kantor was a prolific and successful television writer until his death at 59 (likely from HIV/AIDS) in NYC in 1984. He was brought in to The Doctors in 1982 to help young writer, Barbara Morgenroth, in the final six months of the show.  

Doris Frankel was briefly head writer of Somerset with Winifred Wolfe in 74. It was a much talked about period when the writers focused on Ellen's May/December romance with a much younger man and the introduction of Carrie along with several other senior citizens.  i watched with my grandmother and it was smartly written and entertaining. Doris also wrote for AMC

Dave Rupel, GH scriptwriter, posted strike photos on his Facebook (publicly available) of several soap writers and actors picketing. They each had signs that had funny comments.  In attendance (and who I recognized), Sara Bibel, Chris Dunn, Kate Simon Hall.  There was one writer in the photo who had a sign saying she had been through every writers' strike since 81. I don't recognize her. Can anyone identify her?

15 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Have you checked the link posted upthread? Errol posted the link and I posted again afterwards. It has the list by year, including 2023, there appear to be only 4 writers listed as Fi-Core so far in 2023.

The list provided at the link only covers writers who belong to the WEST division not the EAST of Writers Guild.