AMC: "Grossly over-budget"

[Errol]

Since the info seems to already be out there, I guess I can respond to this.

From my understanding, someone forgot to to sign the lease to the warehouse next door to AMC's new studio in Los Angeles before the announcement was made about the move last August. Because of this, the reason AMC moved to LA was nullified as they are doing exactly the same thing they were doing in New York with the only difference being their studio space is larger so some sets don't need to be taken down at all, whereas others needs to be trucked in like they always did when they were in New York. This would push them over budget because it wasn't expected since the reason the show moved was because ABC was in the process of slashing their budget to begin with. It was either slash the budget and move the show to keep it under that amount or cancel the show. Obviously, things haven't worked out the way they were planned out. Does this mean that AMC or OLTL are in danger of being canceled in the next couple of months? No. ABC won't cancel a show until AFTER SOAPnet is off the air because they expect an influx of viewers back to ABC since many transitioned their soap viewing solely based on the availability of SOAPnet.

PS. The new AMC studio is not Disney/ABC owned. It is rented. At least that lease got signed on time. LOL.

[LeClerc]

That's a good point. I didn't include anything about the commuting actors. I also believe they paid for David Canary's rental home. I'm not sure if that would come out of the show's budget or the move budget though.

I was thinking that too as I was typing everything out. Flying AM's family out to LA in and of itself is small potatoes. As is building one huge set you can't use like they did with Erica's penthouse. And flying the girl who played Bailey out to LA to tape one episode after the move. But all those things add up.

Maybe it's my TV then. I find some of the scenes really dark. I actually do still think the lighting has improved with the move though, don't get me wrong.

[leahanna]

that's good to know that both shows have at least 18 more months, probably makes for a better work environment also, not waiting for the ax to drop all the time. I would think maybe tell GH not to have three shootouts an episode maybe just have one an dthat would save money so AMC and OLTL won't keep having to slash their budgets. But OMG someone forgot to sign lease, WOW, that's unbelievable? So how was AMC chosen over OLTL to move? I always wondered that

[EricMontreal22]

Thanks Errol. But surely that situation isn't permanent and within the next 6 months will be rectified?

[LeClerc]

So the storage facility screw-up is true. Thanks Errol.

Would you say that was JHC's fault? She seems to get the blame for it but it seems to me that signing that lease wouldn't be her responsibility.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

So then there's no way to change or remedy this? Will there be a point in time when the show will be able to sign another lease (and in time)??

[EricMontreal22]

THIS will make some people mad, but I'm sure it's cuz AMC is the bigger brand--YES demos and budget aside--for ABC so they thought if they had to suddenly choose to move one of the two, it'd be the one to go. People can argue this all they want but....

exactly--Errol wasn't suggesting but many have--that it's a permanent problem but obviously that's just BS...

[LeClerc]

Well I guess now we know why the show is grossly over-budget. That was easy. So much for my spending all night typing up this thread lol.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

I truly hope it's not a permanent thing, that would really suck. And I appreciate what you wrote, LeClerc!

[EricMontreal22]

But if that's why, it's a situation easily remedied, so would play no real part in cancelation concerns....

*confused* So why is Jamie gleeful?

[Errol]

As stated before in this thread and many others, OLTL tends to keep costs down by shooting things ahead of schedule. AMC follows the traditional filming schedule of 3 weeks before airdate. While not a bad thing, in this day and age you need to work on trying to save as much money as possible. Days is doing it, OLTL is doing it, GH and AMC are not. They are therefore over budget some weeks and others right on schedule. Obviously that is based on the storyline taking place. The reason AMC was chosen was because they were over budget too much, and still are it seems, so they needed a way to save costs so they moved AMC to LA to do that. OLTL didn't move because ABC owns the facility they moved to and they wouldn't be able to fill the space if OLTL stayed where they were. In all honesty, it was the best business decision ABC has ever made under the Frons regime. The fact that OLTL vacated a studio right across the street from ABC headquarters and said building was owned by ABC anyway, it only made sense to make that space pure office space for Disney/ABC employees.

[Mr. Vixen]

I could see AMC being overbudget, but only because they probably have one that is virtually impossible to meet.

GH obviously has a larger budget than either show.

My only guess as to why OLTL would come in under budget regularly is because there isn't any "star" power there. I mean Erika Slezak probably get's paid the most, but I don't see her getting paid in the same range as Lucci or Willey. I just don't, i don't know why...

GH is obviously the most expensive. They paid for James Franco, and I doubt he was cheap. I mean sure he's kind of a C lister, but he is a "movie" name, and I'm sure he got paid more than the average contract cast member at GH. You have Anthony Geary, which I'm sure gets paid more than anyone, despite the fact that he's never even ON the show half the year. And you have Vanessa Marcil, who I'm SURE cost a pretty penny. Plus Franco's stint used the Adam Lambert song "Mad World", which means there was licensing fees involved...Plus there was a location shoot, which costs money.

And of course GH has all of it's "stunts" which probably don't come cheap. And they have probably the largest cast of any show (just a guess...not sure). I'm pretty sure they have the largest contract cast of any of the soaps...And Guza said he has "over 45 characters on the show" which means there's gotta be quite a few recurring characters too...And they cost money as well. I mean sure, Jackie Zeman isn't costing him tons of money, but Adrianne Leon and Dahlia Salem, and even to an extent Carolyn Hennesy, are on all the time, and are getting paid per-appearance, meaning they don't have a set amount of money to get paid every month of every year, which means it can't be "built" into the budget, right?

So GH has to have a massive budget to accomadate all these things. And I'm sure the show isn't making the type of revenue from Fan Club Weekends, etc. to pay for all these extra events. I'm sure it's coming out of the OLTL/AMC budgets....

But OLTL isn't doing "stunts". There really aren't any..ever. The sets have been the same for a long, long time. I can't remember the time a set was repainted or redone at all. Most of the episodes utilize the same few sets, and really there hasn't been a new one in a very long time, that I can remember. So not having to build sets, or even store that many probably, and not ever updating them, has to be a huge money saver. Plus, like I said, I don't see anyone on that show earning a Lucci or Geary salary...Erika Slezak might get paid the most, because she's the longest serving, but no one from OLTL is really a "household name" like Lucci, therefore they probably can't really get away with demanding more money, because if they were to leave the show it wouldn't be all that crippling.

And OLTL is so focuses on the "teens"...I doubt they cost much. They're a bunch of actors who are young, wanted to act, and needed a break. I'm sure they're not demanding huge salaries. I'm sure they come cheap. And because there are so many of them on the show, how much could it really cost to keep them around?

AMC has a smaller cast, but it also has Lucci. While I know she's taken pay cuts, I'm sure she's still expensive to keep around. And they fly her back and forth between NYC, and I'm sure pay for her to stay at some ritzy hotel while she's there. Same goes for Alicia Minshew, and apparently, her whole family. Debbi Morgan doesn't live in LA either, so while she's there, I'm sure she's being accomodated as well.

And they just moved. I don't know how much of that factors into the actual budget of AMC, but if it does, that could have been crippling for them. And with the move to HD, does that come out of the budget? If it does, that would probably kill a good chunk of the already probably low budget.

Also, a lot of the cast of AMC are veterans to the show. Maybe not for a long long time, but a lot of people on the show have been with the show for a while now, and while I'm sure a lot of them took pay decreseas, they probably earn more than the newbies. And Rebecca Budig wasn't cheap either, I assume...Not Vanessa Marcil expensive, but not cheap. Plus, AMC appears to have more sets than OLTL doesn't it? Maybe I imagined that, but when I watch, that's how it seems. And don't they have to pay to store them? That can't be cheap.

So either way, I'm not thinking AMC is a spend crazy show. I'm thinking that GH is given all the money they ask for, but it subsequently comes out of AMC and even OLTL's budget. I wouldn't be surprised if more of it comes from AMC. Because if OLTL is consistently coming in under or on budget, wouldn't ABC want to cut AMC's to show try and force them to do the same?

[marceline]

I appreciate it too. It was nice to see some hard and fast facts.

Because, like a lot of OLTL fans, he believes that everything AMC gets comes at OLTL's expense.

[Southofnowhere]

JHC is the EP and the budget is under her control.

In a few months AMC won't be able to the park stuff unless they buy an show making machine.

IMO AMC would have been better off moving to CT like all the talk shows. What made them think things would be cheaper in LA?

[EricMontreal22]

Though this could explain why both DAYS and especially OLTL as of late have suffered from severely unpopular storylines and characters being played out for MONTHS before any changes happen.