RavenWhitney

Can someone get their hands on the WGE fi core list as of 2023?  We know of other fi core writers: Fran Newman, Michael Conforti, Jim Brown, deceased: Hogan Sheffer and Barbara Esesten.  Of course, Ken hired Sheri just has he rehired Dena (and Mark) to replace Hogan and Meg during the strike and kept them. Ron's retirement iong overdue....Maybe Peacock saw an opportunity to finally put Ron out to pasture.

Sheri Anderson is likely back at Days. But she isn't currently the story consultant. She left over a year ago.

So, the four Black writers Ron hired over the last two years are gone: Davis, Anthony, Giddens and Brown (soon).  Anthony hinted on his FB that he's not done with days so maybe they rehired him to write scripts.

So, here's what Griffith's Y&R writer bloodbath seems to look like:

Fired Breakdown Writers: Conforti, Hawthorne, Slater

Fired Editor: Bibel

Fired Script Writer: Ensley (she's posted an "Open to Hire" image on her linkedIN page

Hired Script writer: Rebecca Taylor 

Reassigned: Boyd now script editor

Reassigned: Gazzaniga from breakdown to script writer

Makes sense that Beall would keep longtime writing friend, Beldner.  But I'm surprised they cut Ficore Conforti a few months before the strike.

Looks like Shannon Peace may be out as breakdown writer at GH unless she wrote an episode this week. I think her last outline was almost a month ago. And Emily Culliton appears to be on contract as her replacement?  Kind of wild to see Emily and Kate Hall writing an episode together given Emily's the Culliton's daughter and Kate is Courtney Simon's daughter.

And Jazmen Brown's name should be disappearing from Days credits soon. He was on staff for six months through Nov 22 according to his linkedin profile.  I think scripts (i.e. drivel) are written about 7 months ahead.

LOL

Kin, Kin, Kin...

Ron and the other writers complain about scabs, but he knows damn well that soaps will continue during strikes.  His script editor and one of his breakdown writers on Days (Fran Myers and Jean Ford) are fi core writers. Now, I'm sure Corday would have never let him replace them. Both of those woman wrote his OLTL under Gary Tomlin (also fi core), and OLTL was no worse during the 2008 strike than when Ron took over Dena's crap. Many union writers got their start on soaps during the past strikes.  Many have been named on this board: swajeksi, Iacubuio, Leahy, Kibbee, Chastain  to name a few.

17 hours ago, lucaslesann23 said:

The credits for tommorow are

Josh Griffith 

Amanda Beall

Brent Boyd

Lynn Martin

Simone Hawthorne

Breakdown writers still showing up. Simone is one of them. Lynn writes scripts. Brent is script editor.

21 hours ago, lucaslesann23 said:

Thursday May 11th is the first YR episode without breakdown writers, Just Josh Griffith, Amanda Beal Brent Boyd and Marin Gazzaniga

Marin is one of the breakdown writers. This means that Brent (Script Editor) probably wrote the script unless Marin wasn't fired and moved to script writer.

Who removes their current employer from their twitter and facebook bio their current employer - more than a month before they "resign" when their written material will air for another 8 months?  Peacock cleaning its feathers?

Here's the list of FICore writers from 2008 some of whom will remain writing for shows if there's a May 1 2023 strike. And we don't know yet if any current soap writers have declared FIcore status as the WGA has made no announcements in recent years. 

YR: Josh Griffith (and Michael Conforti who hasn't been listed as an outline writer since March 20 episode, hard to believe they would fire a FiCore writer a few months before the strike).  I'm assuming Beall was given producer title which will allow her to continue to work (although she's not supposed to contribute to the writing...hahahaha). 

GH: Director/Gary Tomlin. Frank hired him to write OLTL during the 2008 strike.

Days: Jeanne Ford and Fran Myers (both of whom have been with the show for decades except for brief periods here and there)

BB: Brad Bell won't write the show during the strike I'm sure....hahahaha. 

Some of the 2008 writers are deceased RIP: Sheffer, Esensten and some will never be rehired (Higley). Jim Brown is in his 70s but was most recently a script writer on YR. Lisanti worked for Frank and Gary on OLTL during and after strike; she could return although she's 69 and I believe retired.

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2008/02/breaking-news-list-of-financial-core-writers

4 hours ago, victoria foxton said:

  

 

Megan McTavish looking at Aggie's AMC story bible as she plots in her brain to destroy the show......

13 hours ago, Adam said:

Is this the same Rebecca Taylor who used to write atrocious scripts for AMC back in the day?

Yes. She's been around of years and was on Days staff until last year.

Has Jamey Giddens been fired from Days?  He recently removed  Days from his career blurb on both Twitter and Facebook.....Days writes outlines 11 months ahead so if he's out his crap outlines will continue to air for a while...

Donna Swajeksi was the strike writer but it's been said that Michael Zalow, Susan Hufford, Mimi Leahy, Nerissa Radell, and Janet Iacubuzio were all on the strike staff, and of course all were hired after Harding was fired. We don't know if Laibson and Swajeski controlled all story during the five month strike, used some Lemay material etc.. I would guess that Zazlow/Hufford contributed story as well.  I always thought the strike writers did a fairly decent job keeping the show going and Harding's stuff threw a boring money wrench into it.  Harding was passed his prime by 1988 and unable to sustain the pace of an hour show after Monty GH era of adventure and faced pace plots.  He was good as consultant.

Rebecca Taylor McCarty returns as script writer to Y&R on March 30

No one will be surprised if it's FICORE writer, Michael Conforti, who was not fired.

On 3/9/2023 at 7:31 PM, Toups said:

Y&R

- Sara A. Bibel last listed as Script Editor on March 3

 

 

- Brent Boyd first listed as Script Editor on March 6

 

 

 

DAYS

- Dorell Anthony last listed as Script Writer on February 24

Jeff Beldner's last breakdown was March 3; he may be gone as well.  He's been with the show since August 2012.  

10 hours ago, janea4old said:

Lorraine Broderick at the WGA awards for Days - pictures - receiving award for Days from Susan Lucci .. pics on this thread:

https://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/62177-article-‘days-of-our-lives’-de-facto-winner-of-2023-writers-guild-award-for-daytime-drama/

 

Yes, she was nominated for scripts airing in 2022, but she retired in December 2021. The outlines are written over 11 months in advance. Chris Dunn replaced her on the break down team and he announced he joined the soap on his FB page in Dec 2021 but his name didn't appear until Nov 22 and LB name was removed in Dec 22.  Not sure how she lasted ten + years under Dena, Josh and Ron.  

2 hours ago, Toups said:

If they are preparing for a strike, there’s a chance Michael Conforti wasn’t fired because he went Fi-Core in 2007.   I don’t think Beall went Fi-Core so if she doesn’t again this time, maybe there’s a workaround because she’s a Producer now. 

That would make sense if the reporting about five writers being fired is true. Would make sense to keep Conforti.  Will be interesting to get confirmation of who exactly was fired. To keep Conforti will speak volumes about the production company's motive re strike, lower cost labor etc. And giving Beall a producer credit means she continues to work on the show during strike. 

There has to be some connection between the pending writer's strike, budget considerations and these firings.  If these writer's aren't on staff on May 1, they don't need to be rehired when strike is over. Meanwhile, the show can bring in fi core or other cheap scab labor to write the outlines after the strike ends.  Josh and Mandy can write outlines for a few months until strike is over.

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-contract-negotiations-march-20-amptp-1235531974/

Sara Bibel confirms she's fired as well. She is not one of the five reported in the Wrap. She's currently script editor, not breakdown writer. So that means they fired six writers.

Natalie, Michael, Jeff, Simone and Marin are the current breakdown writers. Sara is editor.

ATWT and GL eliminated breakdown writers after the 2007 strike. But GL appointed four co-heads who wrote the outlines for the remainder of the life of the show: Kreizman, Hurst, Dunn, Gold and they moved Swajeski to script writer.

ATWT ended up keeping Laiman/Iacubuzio (Whitesell for a short time) as breakdown writers through its cancellation.

I watched soaps since late 60s as a kid through 2000s. The shows got worse when they expanded the head writing teams in two ways, teasing out character and playing intimate beats.  But given how much plot was required by networks and owners (after Monty ruined daytime along with Jim Reilly in the 90s), shows had to crank out shorter overlapping stories heavy on plot.  Even Doug had five or six rotating outline writers at the time of his death.  Some writers kept small staffs i.e. for much of Swajeski's AW run she had three outline writers and the show was solid if boring at times.  

In the 70s, the Dobsons wrote GL without outline writers as did the Soderbergs during same time period. If you go back and watch these shows, they are slow and plodding at times but that's what viewers expected.  Lemay's AW in the 70s at many high moments but his dialog was stilted and he also rotated script writers (at times having four and other times having none). Tom King was his outline writer for the few years of those 8 he was head writer.  Curlee/Demorest tried to write many breakdowns after they fired Broderick and only had Williams and Mulcahey as outline writers for a time but it didn't last. 

Sally seems talented as a consultant and collaborator, contributing to a show with a solid structure. Generations was a bore but in hindsight was gold compared to the crap that ensued on the shows through to today.  No one could have successfully succeeded James Reilly on Days; he had ruined the show's narrative structure and its veterans, and the only outcome was to copy him which is why Broderick didn't make it and Langan wrote and controlled the show for so long.  Langan was a producer giving the honchos an updated version of Reilly.  Sally would have been good on Y&R if she had joined a powerhouse head writing team ala Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest. If CBS had been smart that's the show the Demorests should have been added to for the longterm under Alden/Smith etc.  That is, if the execs wanted to keep character and story intertwined and melodramatic. 

when did they realize she can't act?

The problem with Rauch and P&G by 1979/80 is that they were trying to copy instead of invent.  The Corringtons were doing fine at SFT and having them create a show based in Texas when they lived and breathed New Orleans was the first mistake.  Daytime audience did not need to see a cheap rip off of Dallas which had premiered in 1978.  The Corringtons might have had a better long term bible if they had been able to write what they knew: New Orleans.  In any event, Beverlee would have been out of place on any show taking place in the south. It was dumb.  I thought AW slightly recovered with Soderberg/Purser.  They created bunch of characters and stories that lasted for years afterwards.  

I've been watching 1984/85 episodes on youtube, posted by "Astheworldstillturns"   There are a string of spring 85 episodes in March and April.  The writing team is not shown in the credits for 12 consecutive episodes between 4/4 and 4/15. The last posted episode with writer credits is 3/20.  Horgan/Wasserman/Klein are head writers on 3/20 and when the writing credits return it's Horgan with two producers, Michael Laibson and Bonnie Bogart.  Benjamin is gone from the list of break down writers. Jane Willis added.  Lefferts replaced by Lemay as creative consultant. Does anyone know if Calhoun temp fired the writing staff and Bogard/Laibson/Lemay were writing during that interim 2 to 3 week period?  It encompasses Bob and Kim's wedding. I don't believe there was a writer's strike.