2011: The Directors and Writers Thread

[aMLCproduction]

Toups any word on Y&R's new EP? I hear its a woman and it's not Ellen Wheeler?

[RavenWhitney]

We obviously don't have all the facts about the changes to DOOL writing team. Toups indicates that Dunn is replacing Whitesell as breakdown writer. Whitesell was co-headwriter. The show alreay has four breakdown writers. I doubt that Higly is going solo and that they are adding a position to the breakdown team. That makes no sense. Either one of the four current breakdown writers is replacing Whitesell as co-head which I find hard to believe since Draughon briefly held the position and Seidman/Lisanti/Ford are not headwriters or shown an interest in recent years to be HW. So maybe one of the current breakdown writers will return to scriptwriting and replace a current script writer who's being promoted? I still venture a guess that Culliton is going to be co-head. I can't believe Gary would be stripped of his own appointee to co-head when he saved the show from cancellation...unless Tomlin himself will be named headwriter (i.e. Maria Bell scenario)...

So could it be....

Written by:

Gary Tomlin

Richard Culliton

Dena Higly

or

Written by

Dena Higly

Richard Culliton

or

Richard Culliton

or...?

[Toups]

Whitesell also wrote breakdowns, so Dunn is coming in to take those breakdowns. DAYS uses 5 breakdown writers: Whitesell/Dunn, Draughon, Ford, Poteet Lisanti, and Seidman. I wouldn't want to lose Richard Culliton as a script writer. He's their best SW and he's a work horse who wrote the most scripts in all of daytime in 2009 and 2010. If I had to choose someone from the current team to be Dena's Co-HW, it would be Carolyn Culliton. CCulliton helped a lot during Sheffer's first year at ATWT and once she left (along with Demorest and Hal Corley), the writing was never the same.

[RavenWhitney]

I like Richard's scripts too but all the scripts are pretty well done. Ryan Quan's are standard fare but you can tell that he tries hard. I have my doubts that Carolyn would get a co-HW slot. Richard's got more experience and longevity as a headwriter. CC has had brief stints. It still seems to me that something larger is afoot with the writing team and I would still bet that Tomlin is getting more power either through another HW appointment or giving him more Maria Bell style leadership i.e. headwriter and exec producer. In addition to the Whitesell/Dunn move, the new casting calls and Taylor replacement lead me to believe that they are making another effort to stop the downward slide in the ratings. The show has stagnated for over a year. I still hold hope that by May we will be seeing stories NOT penned by Higly.

[RavenWhitney]

Toups: What's going on with Theresa Zimmerman..she's written four scripts since the new year...are they phasing her out? Beall has gotten a lot more scripts too.

[Khan]

Christopher Whitesell's going to turn up @ AMC. Watch.

[dragonflies]

I think he will. If K&S are out as HW's in the next few weeks(contracts should be up in March) I can see him being the new HW

[LeClerc]

I seem to recall one of the SID editors posting on twitter last year that D&D's contracts stated March 1st. So if they aren't fired by tomorrow...

[Khan]

Then AMC is officially f**ked.

[sheilaforever]

Speaking of AMC: I watched the Wendie Mallick episode and boy this show is beyond dreck. Sorry to be that blunt but the script was really dated in terms of humor (they must have found those jokes in 1980 or so) and quality. I'm not talking about the headwriting but the actual plotting in this episode plus those horrendous dialogue was unspeakable... I think it was Brown & Essensten-penned. Yuck!

[R Sinclair]

Yes, Brown & Esensten wrote that horrendous dialogue in the Wendie Malick episode.

Pedanticism aside... there's something to be said for a writing team that consists of FOUR head writers who wrote other shows into cancellation.

[LeClerc]

I actually thought, when B&E were hired back as scriptwriters, that they would be quite good. They've talked several times in interviews over the years about how important the dialogue is, how they spend hours talking with the scriptwriters when they take over a show about how they want the dialogue written, how the words have to be natural and make sense for that character etc etc .

And I always thought the dialogue on "The City" was pretty good. They didn't write it but I figured it probably most reflected their style.

[Toups]

Y&R:

- Albert Alarr first listed as Director on March 3

Seeing his name pop up on Y&R surprised me since he's the lead director at DAYS - he directed the most episodes in 2010 with 99 episodes. Wonder if the moved over to Y&R. If not, Y&R couldn't find any other freelance directors to help? I don't get it.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

This was probably when Y&R really needed directors and probably during when Barbara Bloom was still there. Alarr did direct for Port Charles during its entire run, didn't he? So, I'm sure he knew Bloom and she probably made some calls when she was still at CBS and got him to do an episode or two when they needed people.

If it's true that Sally McDonald is being promoted and filling Rauch's void, more unusual names will probably pop up as directors on the show until they find more permanent people.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Yes, B&E's script last week was horrendous, though who knows how much of that was tweaked by K&S! I just wish Lorraine Broderick would take over already, maybe pair her with Whitesell. Weren't they co-HW's on OLTL years ago? The show seems to have some pretty good elements in place, it would be great to see Lorraine build upon these elements and take them to the next level.