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

[jfung79]

She doesn't have a history with either show. Shoot me, but I think David Kreizman would be a better choice, especially with shorter episodes. That kind of thing lends itself to one of his strengths as a writer (Inside the Light two- or three-hander, character-driven or concept episodes). My top choice is still Richard Culliton though.

The suspenseless, largely cliffhanger-less style of the Peapack era in GL should not be brought anywhere else. Rather than David Kreizman or Jill Lorie Hurst, I think Ellen Wheeler was probably the one behind that no suspense, no drama idea, though. Wheeler didn't want scenes to stay in the same place, which meant you couldn't cut away from a scene mid-conversation at a dramatic point and come back to it.

[Jonathan]

BANG!

[Soaplovers]

Kreizman proved himself a hack during his brief stint as headwriter on AMC, plus he wasn't all that great on either GL nor ATWT (in fact, his story idea involving Holly and Sebastian on GL ended up writing off Holly's character when the actress spoke out against that story.. and it didn't play out well on screen either).

I'm not sure how Jill Lorie Hurst would be as head writer. I'm not sure who exactly was head writer of GL in its final months... was it Krizman? Hurst? Lloyd gold?.. or Ellen Wheeler?

I am for hiring outside the genre to be a head writer.. and pairing them with someone within the genre. It would provide some new ideas, plus structure them within the soap opera structure.

[jfung79]

Can a writer choose to go fi-core now to work on the new shows if there is no WGA deal in place? Also, just becuase they were fi-core in 2008 doesn't mean they are fi-core now, does it?

[jfung79]

Kreizman/Swajeski's AMC was boring, but it wasn't awful. On ATWT, the big hit of the final year was Reid Oliver, and that was Kreizman's creation. Most people thought ATWT picked up a bit after Kreizman got there and declined again after he left. Kreizman's GL had highs and lows but when he was on a high, people were talking about GL (Jonathan/Tammy, Irna Phillips episode) to an extent that they hadn't been for years.

The final co-headwriters of GL were Kreizman, Jill Lorie Hurst, Christopher Dunn, and Lloyd Gold. Yes, I do think Ellen Wheeler was the real person pulling the strings and making a lot of the rules after the move to Peapack though. Anyway there's very little chance of Kreizman being hired, due to his "show-killer" reputation, deserved or not.

I wouldn't mind hiring someone outside the genre for some fresh perspective, but I think there might be some negative reaction right away like with the Foz McDermott producer selection (a selection I don't have a problem with). They aren't going to land a big big name outsider writer for such an experimental, probably not that well paying project.

[SFK]

The thing is John, there IS no minimum scale for SAG-AFTRA New Media contracts. Pay is completely negotiable between the producer(s) and talent. I'm sure PP will try to be as respectful as possible, particularly to the vets, but they can certainly low-ball a rack of newbies if that's what they feel they need to do. One thing about New Media though, if overall production costs are high enough and if this will indeed be a "pay-per-view" online setup, actors will be entitled to residuals (which I think has eluded soap actors in the past).

[Jonathan]

Is this Foz McDermott!? Why is Wonder Woman naked?

http://themightyfoz.tumblr.com/

Is it too much to assume that since he went to Penn, he has read all of Agnes Nixon's scripts which are housed in their school of communications?

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2011-05-19/features/penn-%E2%80%98all-my-children%E2%80%99-will-live-forever

[SFK]

Speaking of Stamford, there are rules about providing travel to shooting locations outside of the boroughs. PP has the added expense of providing transportation to and from a pickup spot in the city. Maybe in some cases they'll reimburse train fair, I don't know. Shoot, since production is "originating" in Stamford, maybe they will treat all cast as "local hires" and make them provide their own transportation? I'm curious to know how they'll handle all that. Stamford is like a 45 min. express ride from the city so it's no huge deal, but I can imagine the cast having to get used to the idea of not being able to bolt the moment they're done for the day as rides get arranged. I'm guessing that's sort of like what Peapack was like... Peapack being worse, of course.

[SFK]

Holy [!@#$%^&*].

[SFK]

I hope those scripts aren't just being vacuum-sealed but are being turned into pdfs so we can all enjoy them someday.

[jfung79]

Yikes, I think that's him. OK, now I'm worried, LOL.

[EnglishTea]

It is a minimum scale that will be less than they were making because of three factors - it is new media (lower scale than broadcast) and 1/2 hour format (again less than they were making for one hour broadcast contract) and it is unlikely that PP has the dollars to go higher than the minimum. Yes, it isn't peanuts, but it is less than they were making before, and if they have other projects in the works, it doesn't necessarily make financial sense.

[quartermainefan]

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[EnglishTea]

Technically, a WGA writer can not put pen to paper unless there is an established union contract. That doesn't mean someone isn't bending the rules, but it would be bending the rules.

[EnglishTea]

There isn't a minimum scale based on the projected budget such as the case with ultra-low independent films?