2009: The Directors and Writers Thread

[Toups]

Oops, I forgot to add "Lisa Connor first listed as Breakdown Writer on March 30" in the first post. Just did it now.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Meg Bennett was listed with the other Associate Head Writers in today's GH credits.

[bellcurve]

So, I'm gonna try to open up a conversation here.

We all know most of primetime(and some in daytime) are not pleased with the new deal that they had to sign to get the Oscars going and to avoid looking like callous douches(even though I support their initiative). It was hastily executed, the DGA didn't side with the Writers, and SAG practically sat on their hands and waited for their contracts to come up in the summer. Some trades and entertainment bloggers are even reporting that the writers are not being compensated for the payments that are due to them in New Media(similar to what happened with the WGA's "wait and see" approach to the explosion of the home movie market in the 80's).

If there is another writer's strike in 2011(or whenever the WGA contracts are up), what do you think will happen? Will the Fi-Core writers(i.e. Hogan Sheffer, Maria Arena Bell, Dena Higley, Kay Alden, Jack Smith, Garin Wolf, Michael Conforti, etc.) declare financial core again or do you think they will stand up for their fellow guild writers?

Do you think if another strike happens in that short a time frame, do you think we'll see MORE writers betray the guild, especially considering the slap on the wrist some of the other fi-core writers in daytime(and Jay Leno in primetime) received?

[brimike]

They remain fi-core, no matter what. It's not reversible, nor do they switch to fi-core "again". It was a permanent decision they made. So they will all continue to write (publicly, unlike scabs) and will be credited.

I hate even saying this and putting it out in the universe - but yes, I think you're right. I think more daytime writers will go fi-core, because so little happened to the ones who did. The only one who really had any action taken against him was Victor Gialanella (as he was hired during the strike to replace the fired writers, and part of the agreement was that those people could not remain on in any capacity). And Daran Little had to return to England.

But otherwise, the others did not face any retribution (other than end up on a few people's sh!t lists). OLTL no longer has any of the writers who went fi-core during their strike (I believe - Toups, correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't been paying close enough attention), so clearly there had to be some bitterness on the striking writers' parts. But that was something that took a year to play out, and wasn't the guild's jurisdiction - but rather personal decisions made by TPTB.

That being said, if guaranteed protection, I think a lot of the older writers who don't see themselves moving into prime-time or film would absolutely make the decision to go fi-core, as long as they went to work at shows that were already run by fi-core writers (B&B, Y&R, DAYS), so it guarantees they won't be looked down upon afterwards. So what you see happening at Days now (a team with over 50% fi-core writers) will happen at more shows. And you'll probably see the shows split down the middle between the scab shows and the fi-core shows.

It's an ugly scenario. Let's hope 2011 doesn't play out like this.

[R Sinclair]

I just hope I don't have to hear Elizabeth Page whine about not being able to afford $200 haircuts... or Marina Alburger look down her nose at getting a job at *gasp* Nordstrom's to pay the bills. Those entitled bitches made me angry... because they made the writers seem like they were selfish -- which did NOT help the cause.

I remember gaining respect for Tracy Thomson during the strike due to the fact that, while she was out of work striking, she didn't speak ill of Garin Wolf going Fi-Core. She said if he didn't, they'd have no show to go back to. While she was clearly cemented in her postion, she didn't judge someone else, nor did she whine about being on strike... Kind of like Page and Alburger's "ew! How dare this strike thing, or whatever, get in the way of my ultra glam way of living! Ew! Pesky strike!" attitude.

Don't get me started on 'the writer' coming out of the wood work to voice her unwanted opinion on B&E going Fi-Core. As if she made some HUGE sacrifice to go on strike. Bitch, please. You were out of work for a year already, so it's not like you had a choice in the matter!

[Sylph]

:lol: :lol:

[bellcurve]

That's interesting. There was so much talk about what would happen to writers who declared financial core and I had no idea that kind of remained or that there was no way they could be "forgiven" for working during a strike. Like paying a hefty fine and having their guild status restored.

I hope not, but the New Media issue is really getting to people and with good reason. I wonder if(due to the way people down upon daytime), if shows that employ mainly financial core writers and alleged scabs will eventually see their guild status stripped?

And R Sinclair: Look at it this way, at least we don't have to hear Lynsey Dufour save her ugly face by saying, "We're gonna get this show back on track!" I think Dufour and Alburger's days are over. Or I sure as hell hope they are.

[brimike]

That's a good question. I don't know the answer to it. I believe that all television shows are required to follow guild regulations, but I could be wrong.

The thing about fi-core writers is that they continue to pay union dues, keep their pension, and also receive health insurance. They just can't vote, run for office, or receive any awards, if I remember correctly.

I think it also bears repeating that "fi-core" status exists in all unions, in all industries. It's not just a Writers' Guild option. It's a law the Supreme Court passed decades ago, under the belief that no union can force you to stop working during a strike. It also basically undermines the whole union system. So if you're anti-union, fi-core status seems like the best of all possible worlds (Who needs an award?). If you're pro-union, it's the worst decision you can ever make. So a status change like this can be incredibly toxic and divisive, no matter which side of the fence you're on.

Many (not all, but many) soap fans applaud the "fi-core" writers for saving their shows last year. And I don't disagree altogether with that statement in the short term. But what going fi-core means in the long-term for all of television is a different story. Which is why it's such an extremely controversial subject. A short-sighted soap fan can look at someone like MAB and think "She got LML out, so yay for going fi-core!". But then you look at a show like OLTL, that got completely derailed by its fi-core writers last year (Starr's pregnancy, Allison's coma), and it's a whole different story.

I think the only statement both sides of the argument can agree on is that no matter which way you look at it, it does create a poisonous working environment when the dust settles, and that never translates to a cohesive vision on air. I can't think of any soap that had a stellar summer last year, in those first six months after the strike ended.

[MarkH]

Except, look at Y&R. Now we have a mix of fi-core and WGA writers there, and there SEEMS to be a cohesive vision. How is that working?

[R Sinclair]

Because Ma Bell practically has the whole damn Writer's Guild on that staff. It's easy to get lost in the shuffle.

[bellcurve]

LOL.

[brimike]

That's a damn good question. I think it's probably because there are only two fi-core writers: Maria Bell and Hogan Sheffer. Bell hadn't written for a soap in... fifteen years or something like that? Nor did she need to. (I'm assuming she wasn't looking for a job before the strike happened.) So her reasons for going fi-core were not to keep the job she already had, or because she needed the money and staged some kind of coup. My perception is that she stepped in to help "the family business". Someone had to do it, and it's not like she was "turning her back on her fellow writers" she had been working with for years. I honestly don't know and I'm wary of speculating on anything that happened behind closed doors at any show back then, because people will read it as fact. And I really have no clue. But my sense of MAB going fi-core was more of a necessary evil than anything else. If anything, Josh Griffith seemed to be the one staging a coup (especially with what happened over the summer).

As for Sheffer, he also went fi-core while he was employed at DOOL (not Y&R). So going over to Y&R, there is no hostility. No preconceived notions. No bitterness. Sheffer went fi-core right before he was fired (and didn't go fi-core so he could go back to Days and write, the way Esensten and Brown, and Higley did, so Days was forced to pay him off without him actually doing any work). The only person who should be bitter at Sheffer is Corday.

Does that mean the two of them going fi-core is excusable? That depends how you look at it. Really pro-union people look down on ALL fi-core situations, no matter what. Others take it on a case-by-case basis. It really comes down to your own personal decisions.

The problems arise when you have a show like AMC or OLTL or GH, where the whole team is employed when the strike happens - but half go fi-core and continue working, and the other half goes on strike - and then they all have to work together again when the strike ends. That's where the tension lies. But that really didn't happen at Y&R or Days. HOgan got hired at Y&R months after the strike ended, and the only person who really should have an axe to grind with Maria Bell is LML. (And I still think that had more to do with Griffith than the Bells, but I really don't know). So there's no reason for anyone on the current Y&R team to have any hostility towards Sheffer or MAB - unless you're Latham, Corday or Griffith.

But this really is one of those subjects where somebody else can have an equally valid... and complete opposite... opinion based on their personal beliefs.

[Khan]

And I do. ;-)

The fact is, neither Maria nor Hogan signs the other writers' paychecks, so it probably doesn't matter to them anyway. And even if they did (actually sign the paychecks)? Heck, I, for one, would overlook that they weren't union. After all, I have mouths to feed and bills to pay, right, lol?

[detroitpiston]

LMFAO!

[JackPeyton]

what do we think of Courtney Simon?