2008: The Directors and Writers Thread

[MarkH]

Dear Sylph, maybe you are being narrow minded though.

Say, for example, we have a script writer with carpal tunnel syndrome. Or an aged script writer with osteoarthritis in the finger joints, who is not helped by ergonomic keyboards. Or a vision-impaired script writer who has not mastered sightless typing or a braille keyboard.

On and on.

I confess that in the modern era, I would not expect MUCH use of a typist. But there are viable reasons why I might expect SOME use.

Even if someone used the voice-to-text software, that is flawed...and I imagine that it also would not format the text into a script.

The world is not all equally abled.

[Sylph]

Mark, Mark, how can you think I haven't thought about that?

In this case, I just think it's a mistaken title: Toups called the guy properly "writers' assistant".

[MarkH]

Oh well, the label "script typist" makes me smile. I wish it would appear on the all the shows . THAT is a job I could get .

[Sylph]

You know... He actually does type. I mean if there were a proper room for writers on Passions, the writers assistant actually takes notes from the meetings and later re-types them: for the chief writer, for staff writers, producers etc.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

How far does DAYS tape in advance? When can we expect Tomlin/Whitesell to be in the credits?

I know Y&R is like 3-4 weeks in advance, or it was the last time I heard, so I expect Rauch in the credits later in the month or the first week of October.

[Toups]

3 or 4 weeks. Tomlin should be in the credits this week.

Whitesell probably next month.

[brimike]

Here's the deal with "script typists"

Basically, this is the production coordinator at each soap that takes the original script written by the script writer, and retypes it with the various hand-written cuts and edits from the script editor, the head writer, that episode's director and the executive producer (and maybe an actor here and there) and is responsible each day for getting out the absolute FINAL draft of the script to everyone who needs it. Every show has this position, but I think only Passions referred to it as "Script Typist". Other shows call it a "Production Coordinator" or a "Script Coordinator" (although not everyone with those two titles does this job... Script Coordinator and Production Coordinator mean different things on different shows). Depends on the show. Yes, it's a tedious job, but one quite necessary to the process, as so many people involved are constantly hand-noting scripts that tape next week or the week after (during down time and breaks from THAT day's taped show), and somebody has to coordinate everybody's changes into one finished product. There's zero creativity involved, but you've got to stay on top of each script as it comes in, and all the changes. And you've got to know who made what changes in case somebody disagrees.

[R Sinclair]

That's what I thought. That's why I was confused with Sylph's shock. Oh, well.

[Sylph]

The problem was in the fact that I've never heard of a title script typist. And I didn't know it means the same as script/production coordinator. And I know what a coordinator does. Had I know it, there wouldn't have been any problems.

[YRBB]

Well, I didn't know what a script typist is, I didn't know it was the same thing as script coordinator and I didn't know what a script coordinator does until now. There, I said it.

[Sylph]

I wonder what's going to happen with Darran Little... What "role" does he have now on the show... I any. Pratt doesn't seem like a guy who would keep him.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

If Little is a Frons move, Pratt might relent and do nothing.

It doesn't look like Pratt has any intention of bringing back the traditional breakdown position, so AMC could use all the help it can get. I know Sara A. Bibel said something about Pratt slowing down the pace at which the writer's submitted their work a few weeks back, so I guess that helps a bit.

I wonder what writers Pratt will be brining in, if anymore. I'm surprised Thomson has been the only one we've heard of thus far, and she's already in the credits.

[MarkH]

Did you all see the little feature called "Who is Maria Arena Bell" in the 9/23 SOD?

I learned a few things:

- MAB's stepfather was a garment manufacturer, and her dad was in garment retail, in LA

- she always wanted to be a novelist

- she was a fiction writing major at Northwestern, where she met alumna Lee Phillip Bell

- she told Lee she had a fashion background, but wanted to be a writer

- Lee said "we're creating 'Rags', set in the fashion industry in LA".

- Here is one quote: "My first meeting with Bill, he said, 'We're about to introduce a new character'. He told me to come up with what this person could be like. My stepdad was an irascible, tough knockoff artist, so I made him into a woman and came up with the character of Sally Spectra. It was hilarious. So my first job was on B&B, shepherding the fashion storylines and I was Brad's writing partner. Bill become my mentor."

- later wrote for Y&R too, which is when she started dating Bill Jr.

- upon marriage and children, she decided to "go back to the kind of writing I wanted to do"...TV development, novel, magazine writing

I knew some, but not all of this. That she created my beloved Sally Spectra elevates her a notch for me.

ETA: She has this to say about her writing collaborators:

"I think Hogan (Sheffer) is terrific...I love working with him. He's a great writer. Hogan's strength is bringing this enthusiasm and fun. I love him and Scott Hamner, who is the other co-head writer and very talented. Scott is a little more conservative than Hogan and I think they both bring a great deal to the show in their own way. This has always been a collaborative medium, so it's good to have those guys."

[AddictedToSoaps]

Wow, she created Sally!? Cool.

RIP Darlene! :(

[Y&RWorldTurner]

God, what the hell is it about Scott Hamner that makes people fall in love with him? He f-u-c-k-ing sucks!

From Latham's BFF to Maria's close pal, and the last big remnant of the LML era that has yet to be purged from the show, I just don't get it.

Doesn't sound like he has too much power though, and I guess they need someone to inform them about crap that went on under LML's reign of terror.