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SOD: Highlights from the article "Secrets of the Set"
Topic Started: Feb 26 2016, 10:28 PM (3,860 Views)
talbab1994
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"Paycuts, contract changes and tactical renegotiations are the name of the game in today's soap environment." It's all about budget. It's not just the veteran actors who were asked to take pay cuts. The number of people on the crew has been cut also.

Actors are left with very little bargaining power and it's a take it or leave it kind of attitude because of all the younger actors who will work for anything. The pay scale has changed. Contract renewals don't go so well because of this and a lot of vets are off contracts which just hurts them. Vets are made to feel that they are lucky for whatever they get and it does no good to complain. Psychologically, the writers will stop writing for a vet actor 10 weeks beforehand when a veteran actor is in renegotiation talks. Management will come in and give them a low ball offer and they take it because they want to work.

Stars are quietly transitioned to a new status too. They will tell the actors that they are going from contract to recurring but they aren't permitted to say anything. They will keep them in opening credits because people know when they're out of that or out of credits, there's been a change. There are many actors on recurring that we think are contract.

There's a push for younger actors but some actors feel that they need to please the audience. "I don't know a ton of 16 year olds watching Bold & Beautiful or GH or whatever show. The way I look at it, there's a finite time that the shows will have with its audience, so why not give your audience that history....".

This person interviewed feels that bringing back a big name from the show doesn't necessarily mean that it will work. You can't have the show bring back a person and have that person only work one or two days a week and have them doing nothing. It doesn't work.

For those favorites that were on shows that have a hard time getting back in the business? There's no room and not enough shows to do that. The show has all the power. Many actors can't get a job on another soap.

Because of the production models, there's not much room for creativity within a scene. If there's hair in someone's face or if something is in the background that shouldn't be there, it doesn't matter. There's not much rehearsal time and some actors feels like they aren't part of the creative process. The most important part...getting it done.

Writing....not much interaction between actors and writers. Not many people fight for their characters because it wouldn't accomplish anything. The power of the actor has diminished. This actor didn't get the feeling that the writers were writing what they really wanted but isn't sure if it's network interference or just money talking.

People are worried that things will end for them at any time. The vets feel this more because the newbies don't really know any better.

They are thankful for the fans because they stick with them...always!

There's more...it's an interesting article so look it up in SOD!
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cord08
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I've heard much of this before, but reading it all at once is just sad.

The part about lowballing actors (although it probably happens on most -- if not all -- the shows) reminds me of what's been happening at GH lately.

The switching people to recurring has me wondering about a few folks at Days as well. Hmmm. It could explain a few things.

All in all, these types of moves are a big part of why soaps are dying. Reap what you sow, I guess.
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No1_ILoveLucyFan
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Well that's not depressing at all....
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BeeBee


Thanks for the write up.Unfortunately many workers are in the same boat when it comes to the take it or leave it attitude of employers.
That is the main reason I am reluctant to wish someone off the show even when I don't like the character or acting style and am very happy for people like RSW getting work elsewhere.
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talbab1994
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I have to tell you that as I was reading and writing the summary for this article, I just kept going back to Days for some odd reason. The writing, the amount of episodes they tape per week, etc. I think because they are taping MONTHS in advance, it just seemed like someone from Days.

Regardless, it's sad. You never want to see this and unfortunately that's the way jobs are now.
Edited by talbab1994, Feb 26 2016, 11:05 PM.
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cord08
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talbab1994
Feb 26 2016, 11:04 PM
I have to tell you that as I was reading and writing the summary for this article, I just kept going back to Days for some odd reason. The writing, the amount of episodes they tape per week, etc. I think because they are taping MONTHS in advance, it just seemed like someone from Days.

Regardless, it's sad. You never want to see this and unfortunately that's the way jobs are now.
I actually think it sounded completely like GH -- that is if they interviewed one person from one show for the whole article. Is that what it sounded like?
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Hugo


I thought this was mostly about GH. But I'm sure things aren't much better on Days.
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lysie


It can't be all about Days because Days doesn't have opening credits.
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PhoenixRising05
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I think some is Days and some is GH. The CBS soaps are not even close to the desperation levels of Days and GH.

I thought that comment about the writers not wanting what they want to write was important. So often it's easy to jump on the writers and alot of times it's not all on them. Granted, you have some really bad ones that have shown us time and time again that they stink (Higley, for example) but there are alot of writers that have proven themselves to be good whose material just gets completely diluted and/or completely thrown out because of the way things are now. There was always interference and politics and such but it's never been this bad.
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nananana7
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talbab1994
Feb 26 2016, 10:28 PM
Stars are quietly transitioned to a new status too. They will tell the actors that they are going from contract to recurring but they aren't permitted to say anything. They will keep them in opening credits because people know when they're out of that or out of credits, there's been a change. There are many actors on recurring that we think are contract.
This is true for B&B. B&B leaves people in the opening credits for some time after they have gone to recurring. However, B&B does update the closing credits, so if you know to look there, you can tell.

Y&R seems to be fairly consistent with opening credit images and who is showing as contract in the closing credits.

I haven't watched GH opening credits in ages so I can't comment on that.
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concerned
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This is why I don't understand the continual bringing in of new characters rather than using the character they have that the audience is already invested in and they are already contractually paying.
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concerned
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Head writers should get paid a bonus for being able to write good stories with the least amount of new characters.
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thepadange
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PhoenixRising05
Feb 27 2016, 01:45 AM
I think some is Days and some is GH. The CBS soaps are not even close to the desperation levels of Days and GH.

It totally sounds like it could be CBS soaps though. The opening credits, vets.

GH barely has any vets on contract (with the exception of FH and GF who signed new contracts not so long ago).

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thepadange
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cord08
Feb 26 2016, 11:23 PM
talbab1994
Feb 26 2016, 11:04 PM
I have to tell you that as I was reading and writing the summary for this article, I just kept going back to Days for some odd reason. The writing, the amount of episodes they tape per week, etc. I think because they are taping MONTHS in advance, it just seemed like someone from Days.

Regardless, it's sad. You never want to see this and unfortunately that's the way jobs are now.
I actually think it sounded completely like GH -- that is if they interviewed one person from one show for the whole article. Is that what it sounded like?
It almost sounded like it was SK talking about GH and B&B to me. LOL
Edited by thepadange, Feb 27 2016, 06:57 AM.
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nananana7
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thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 06:36 AM
It almost sounded like it was SK talking about GH and B&B to me. LOL
Who is "SK" in this context?
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thepadange
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nananana7
Feb 27 2016, 07:06 AM
thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 06:36 AM
It almost sounded like it was SK talking about GH and B&B to me. LOL
Who is "SK" in this context?
Sean Kanan. (I was just kidding though, I have no idea who it was).
Edited by thepadange, Feb 27 2016, 07:56 AM.
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talbab1994
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thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 07:50 AM
nananana7
Feb 27 2016, 07:06 AM
thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 06:36 AM
It almost sounded like it was SK talking about GH and B&B to me. LOL
Who is "SK" in this context?
Sean Kanan. (I was just kidding though, I have no idea who it was/were)
I was thinking WK since he's been on soaps on all three networks.

Who knows...kinda fun speculating though....😉
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thepadange
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talbab1994
Feb 27 2016, 07:54 AM
thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 07:50 AM
nananana7
Feb 27 2016, 07:06 AM

Quoting limited to 3 levels deep
Sean Kanan. (I was just kidding though, I have no idea who it was/were)
I was thinking WK since he's been on soaps on all three networks.

Who knows...kinda fun speculating though....😉
You never know, but WK always sounds very positive and thankful in his tweets.
I guessed it was SK because he was pretty honest (and not very positive) re: his exit from GH. In January there were some speculations re: his status on B&B as well. It was stated he hadn't had a story for months and his name was removed from the end credits (I don't watch the show, so I don't know whether it's true or not) but B&B representative reported he will be back. The sources say he's taping again.
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nananana7
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thepadange
Feb 27 2016, 08:23 AM
I guessed it was SK because he was pretty honest (and not very positive) re: his exit from GH. In January there were some speculations re: his status on B&B as well. It was stated he hadn't had a story for months and his name was removed from the end credits (I don't watch the show, so I don't know whether it's true or not) but B&B representative reported he will be back. The sources say he's taping again.
Sean Kanan was removed from the contract section of the *closing* credits at some point during January 2016. However he was barely shown during 2015, so either he had a low contract guarantee, or they didn't adjust the closing credits.

Beginning in February 2016, he has appeared in episodes during 3 of the 4 weeks of Feb 2016, and we know of an upcoming mid-March appearance. I've seen him listed with the recurring/guest cast in the credits -- during the weeks in which he appears.

However he is still in the opening credits. It seems that B&B updates the opening credits only once or twice a year, so it's sometimes out-of-date. I'm basing this on my observation of their closing credits every week since March 2015.
http://daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/9270266/1/

I had assumed he transitioned from contract to recurring a some point in January- an assumption based on when he was removed from the contract section of the closing credits. But now I'm not so sure.

I did notice that it took B&B over a month to remove Ashlyn Pearce from the closing credits ... more than a month after her character had died and all the flashbacks/videos of her death had been concluded.

This discussion makes me wonder about things... Sean K was barely on during 2015. Maybe he was dropped to recurring a while before they updated the closing credits. That wouldn't have occurred to me until I read this discussion.

But then again, we don't know if he was even involved in the interview, or if they are referencing B&B at all.
Edited by nananana7, Feb 27 2016, 11:30 AM.
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DrewHamilton
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Very very sad article to read and realize is a reality in the daytime world of today.
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