Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Isn't Montgomery a friend of Latham's? He started there around the same time she came in. I'm surprised by the Lisa Seidman hiring as well, is she repped by the same agency who reps Maria or Griffith? I'm still not too thrilled about it. However, Toups did say it was for a trial basis, hopefully she doesn't last. And yeah, Maria doesn't know how to hire, one of the many reasons why she shouldn't be there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 This news update is all so wrong, it just kills any sort of hope one might have for her to make a right move. Lisa is repped by Sarnoff; Brett is also Sarnoff-repped. I don't know about Michael, I know Latham promoted him, but did she also hire him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Time is running out, she's made too many bad moves if you ask me. He started in May 2005, she started in November 2005. She didn't hire him, but it looks like he got most of his training from her and she did promote him. All of these people NEED TO BE FIRED: Scott Hamner, Cherie Bennett, Darin Goldberg , Neil Landau, Christian McLaughlin, Tammy Ader , Shelley Meals, Diane Messina Stanley, Kathryn Pratt, Jeff Gottesfeld, Valerie Ahern, Linda Gase , James Stanley, Robin Burger, and Marla Kanelos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Maybe because some friends of Latham are talented? You know, we all have to be careful here. There WERE improvements in dialogue, pacing under Latham. It was the broader long-arc storytelling and the plot-driven nature of some of it that was killing the show. In this last week, some episodes were pure gems. Everyone was acting like themselves, with historical relevance, AND the dialogue was top-form. I am glad that MAB/JG are working fairly carefully to evaluate the writers after each has had a chance to TRY to generate good scripts. That is careful, reasonable, fair leadership. THAT will keep Y&R out of trouble with the WGA too. (Paul Williams is finally taking care of Nikki again...something that EVEN Bill Bell didn't pay too much attention to from the late 80s on. But Paul has ALWAYS been in Nikki's orbit, and I'm so delighted he's there again). The ONLY problem on the show right now is the momentum...the long-form story with the carefully planned beats. Yes, there are other problems (underuse of some vets, most criminally Kristof at this point; need to hire/bring back a strategic few and integrate them into story; and failure to build a totally viable younger generation...although Graz/Goddard/Rikaart/Khalil/McClure ain't bad...just under/wrongly-used)...but this is all eminently addressable. My fear, though, is that ratings loss will lead to extreme action (shock and awe to try to bring back viewers)...when the actual structural/writing issues aren't that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Now you want to fire Natalie and Eric? But just look at that list: 17 people! 17 of which 14 have absolutely nothing to do with the show!! There were improvements, ask Y&RWorldTurner, who knows I liked Latham-era dialogue. But, Mark, I want some names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Nah, that's too global, too much of a baby-with-bathwater approach. I agree that the writing team may be too large, and also that at least some of the people above may need to go. BUT...let's get good leadership, and then decide. I only wish I had more confidence that Hogan was going to work. Until that, I think these breakdown/scriptwriters include some very skilled individuals. I am shocked SCOTT HAMNER isn't in your list, because I think he has done the most harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 I copy and pasted from a list I had, I thought I edited out names I wanted to keep. I fixed it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 I'm not smart enough to know the names. I mean, I really haven't followed it AS closely as the rest of you all :-). I will say that I think Gottesfeld-Bennett seem to have been a real gain for the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Oh he is, but I don't see him lasting there much longer. He was just demoted and his BFF is gone, so its only a matter of time before they fire him or he leaves on his own. Most of these breakdown writers are primetime writers, which is why a daytime soap like Y&R is so choppy. I'm not against keeping a few script writers, but the breakdown writers need to go at this point. It's not Hogan we need to have confidence in, it's Maria. She's still the head of the team and has yet to prove herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Yeah, I know people also praised McLaughlin & Ahern and Goldberg & Meals. So, this is Y&RWorldTurner's list re-done: Scott Hamner Neil Landau Tammy Ader Diane Messina Stanley Kathryn Pratt Linda Gase James Stanley Robin Burger Marla Kanelos. Does this Kathryn Pratt have anything to do with the Romanticism scholar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Sylph, as I said before, maybe we can keep a script writer or two for the dialogue, but ALL of the breakdown writers Latham hired need to go. They have absolutely no business writing for a daytime soap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 OK, so now I'm confused: the last list you posted, is it your final? Because I think many things wrong with those outlines came from Latham & Hamner, who definitely had a set of insane rules for writers to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Her email is on the page (not updated since 2003...which is a clue that she might not be there anymore). Why don't you ask her? Can we talk about those for a moment? Because I guess we saw one this last week...something like "No scene can extend into a next scene" or something like that. Which is CRAZY for a soap. What are these rules? I do think if we could list them, we could really generate an important "what not to do" list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 Yeah, it's final. Sylph, they may have had a set of insane rules, but Y&R changed once again once the writers came back without Latham and Hamner (in a position of power). The overall show was choppy again, scenes were too fast again, some stuff came out of nowhere, ect. These problems should be credited to those writers, not Latham and Hamner since Maria was around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted June 1, 2008 Members Share Posted June 1, 2008 I might, then if I receive a reply I will let all you people know. I think Chris B is who you need. He mastered the Latham-style perfectly. Hopefully, he'll pop up from somewhere and let us know. Chris also said that the Smallville duo was in full control of Latham style, possibly those two were Latham's best students. Also, do you remember these: "Bill, Steve and Barbara wanted every second of airtime focused on the characters. So we replaced some traditional Y&R stylistic devices--like slow arcs and pans at the beginning of scenes -- withmore dynamic blocking and camera movement. We're cutting away sooner, rather than taking multiple reaction shots." and "The changes were initiated by Bill Bell, Steve Kent and Barbara Bloom, wo wanted to maintain the rich look of Y&R while picking up the pace in storytelling and production. Because they were in agreement about their vision and clearly defined their goals, it made the transition easier for everyone." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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