HOLIDAY MIRACLE: Prospect Park Back On Track To Revive AMC and OLTL

[leahanna]

well aren't their cycles up pretty soon since it has been a year, so they actors wait around for six months and then are informed if they have a job? That doesn't seem right since they didn't cause this mess PP and ABC did

do you really think they will make them new characters on GH? If so, why can't they be in the building after Feb 8th?

[Scotty]

I believe that typically these contracts are on 13 week cycles. And the actors are still under contract with ABC, so they have that option if they choose to use it. However, they cannot be in the GH studios taping scenes as their OLTL characters at that deadline.

[Errol]

Any actor, with few exceptions, can make a character. It just takes a capable writer for us to believe a new face is the character we enjoyed. No one knows what the actors want because none of the actors said what they want publicly.

It isn't unfair and they aren't being held hostage. As I believe I read in this very thread, or elsewhere, if you rented a car and someone asked to borrow your car M-F with the expectation that they'd just have to fill up the car with gas, would the car then become theirs (ownership wise) if you told them you wanted it back and they said no? Ultimately, it's still your car. The actors knew what they were getting into when they signed those contracts, and if they didn't they have terrible managers/agents.

[dragonflies]

PP should be using these characters being on GH to bring eye balls to OLTL2.0, ASK these people to cross over for like a month to kick off the show. They should be promoting these shows out the wazoo, get commercial time. Have the actors do promos saying "check out the new One Life to Live exclusively on Hulu(and whatnot), you can catch us there to help kick off this great venture"

I agree they're holding these people hostage just so they can have a damn pissing contest. Jamey Giddens was right when he said PP only did all this so they wouldn't lose the rights, that it was "I don't want my shiny new toy but don't want anyone else to play with it(have it) either"

[leahanna]

I doubt big stars like Easton and Howarth have 13 week cycles, they probably have 26-52 week cycles

[Errol]

Roger, I see departing GH. I don't see him being re-characterized. Kristen can be a new Serena Baldwin, which actually should have happened at the get-go last year. Michael Easton can/will play Caleb Morley from Port Charles.

The company stated they are willing to share the characters. "So even though we are paying ABC millions of dollars to license the shows, we have been, and continue to be willing to equally share the characters with ‘General Hospital’ and ABC. It’s a win-win for the actors, the shows and fans, who love all of the shows and storylines. We hope to work out these agreements with ABC and the actors.”

[Scotty]

I'm not sure that anyone has those types of contracts. And I don't think I would call Easton and Howarth "big stars".

[leahanna]

yep PP doesn't realize these actors are human beings, they think they are possessions they can control

[alexisfan07]

Errol, your article states they're staying at GH. So are they giong to resume filming soon, with no storylines interrupted? And deal with loaning the actors to PP for arcs later on? Or are they still in standby mode?

[Errol]

No, the possessions they control are the characters those actors play. Regardless of what we've come to view the characters as via their portrayers, they are characters owned by Prospect Park via its license agreement with ABC. They have the right to do whatever they want with them. Ultimately, they had the right to say NO to ABC a year ago. I bet they wish they had, in hindsight.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

KA cannot play Serena. It's been spoiled that Carly Schroder is returning.

Maybe KA can play the younger sister...just Sorased. Christina. Just make KA get a dye job. And go brunette.

[Errol]

The actors are staying at GH, per ABC. ABC doesn't say how, but my sources tell me that they will try to create new roles for Howarth and Alderson, but I doubt Howarth will stick around long enough to do just that. Michael Easton is

[dragonflies]

It's NOT going to work these actors playing other characters on a show they were just playing different characters, that's a clustterfuck of clusterfuckness(I doubt that's a word lol)

PP is setting them selves up for failure if they even think of recasting any of these roles. They need FAMILIARITY especially since this is getting off the ground. You don't bring people in by giving them characters they love(and actors) and then putting someone they don't know or care about in the role.

Jim ‏@JimRomanovich

Looks like Prospect Park is now willing to share the actors. Translation? The three actors told PP to make bricks without straw...

[leahanna]

that what confuses me Errol, it seems this PC story was to make Easton Caleb, but if Caleb is let's say not a nice guy and if Easton can't work after Feb 8th, it sounds like they are not making him Caleb, so that is what confuses me

I understand PP may think this would be a win/win for the actors, but these actors live in LA, Easton has a small child, he might not want to spend months away from that child and who pays for airfare, will PP set them up in a home while they are there? Just seems like the easiest thing is let the actors go, then they have free will to do what they want-including signing with PP, but it sounds like for whatever reason neither ABC or PP wants them to be "free", maybe they are worried they might sign with DAYS or B&B or something, I don't know, none of this makes sense to me, but I thank you so much for trying to explain it to me

[Errol]

Just a rumor, and I wasn't being serious in that she could play Serena now. I meant that they should have had her playing that role or a new role from the get go and not Starr.

This isn't like when Another World was canceled and As The World Turns inherited several of its characters. P&G still owned the rights to all the shows they produced, so moving one character from one canvas to another was easy. This issue wouldn't have mattered if ABC still retained rights to the AMC/OLTL characters even after canceling the shows. Since they gave the rights to PP, ABC is in the wrong for demanding they get to keep what they were loaned because they had 10-12 months of usage of something.