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Where to write OLTL Execs and
Stars:
One Life to
Live
c/o ABC-TV
56 West 66th St.
New York, NY
10023
OLTL Contacts: [write to the above address]
OLTL Head Writer: Josh Griffith
OLTL Executive Producer: Frank Valentini
ABC Daytime President: Brian Frons
Soap Magazine Contacts:
Soap
Opera Weekly -- Contact Public
Opinion
Soap Opera
Digest - Sound Off
Soaps In Depth -- Speak Out!
So you want to be on One Life to Live!
Here's how...
One Life To Live
Attention: Julie Madison
157 Columbus Ave., 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10023
Mark the envelope headshot and be sure to include your resume.
What is the difference is
between a breakdown writer and a staff
writer?
Each show (and Headwriter) handles
things a little differently, says Jonathan Reiner (TV guide
online), but as a general rule, "each week a
breakdown writer meets with the Headwriter and the
Associate headwriters and talks over the content for
his/her day (an episode), then works up a 14 to 18 page
document (double-spaced) which outlines the 21 or so
scenes, including actors, sets, important props, etc. A
dialogue or Scriptwriter (sometimes referred to as a
staff writer) can work from this to turn the breakdown
into a script. Traditionally the breakdown writer
doesn't include dialogue, but several breakdown writers
like to include key phrases or actual lines because it's
sometimes important to include dialogue to get the tone
right for the scene."
Do head writers get
residuals for characters they create?
According to Jonathan Reiner, creators
do get residuals even after having left a show. "The
head writer gets residuals in foreign markets or
domestic re-use, if there is any; so does the writer who
wrote the breakdown and the writer who wrote the script.
It's an accounting nightmare, but every once in awhile a
writer will get a packet of checks. The HW gets more
than the breakdown writer does and the scriptwriters,
for some strange reason."
Contract Definitions
Have you ever wondered what the
difference is between recurring and contract roles, or
why a particular character doesn't appear in the opening
of OLTL? There are three categories into which an actor
or actress might fall: Contract roles, Recurring roles,
or work as an Extra.
Contract
roles
Contract roles are generally given
for a thirteen-week period, while others may last a year
or two. Photos in the show's opening are usually updated
every thirteen weeks, and are in direct correlation with
a performer's contract status. In most instances, if an
actor appears in the opening, he or she has a contract
role. Performers are signed to contracts with specified
pay amounts similar to professional sports players.
However, a two-year contract does not necessarily mean
that a performer will remain on the show for two years.
An example is Patricia Mauceri (Carlotta), who
was recently bumped from contract to recurring status.
Recurring
roles
It appears that certain performers
are kept on recurring status as a way to keep the show's
budget low. Michael Storm (Dr. Larry) comes to
mind, as he hasn't had a significant story line for
years except for his on and off occurrence at Llanview
Hospital whenever there is a medical emergency. An
interesting side note is that ABC does not release
promotional material or photographs of performers in
recurring roles.
Extra's
In
general these roles last for only one episode. Extras,
such as customers in a restaurant scene or a hospital
corridor are usually given non-speaking roles. An "
Extra" rarely has spoken lines, but occasionally may be
given a few words, such as "Hello" or "Thank you."
How much money do Soap
Stars take home?
Courtesy
of Soap Opera Digest
When it
comes to soap actors' salaries, few industries keep
their secrets the way daytime does. "This is an industry
where people are notoriously tightlipped about what
people make, and the rumors are not always based on
truth," explains TV Guide soap columnist Michael Logan.
"It's not like it is in prime-time or in the movies,
where salaries are actually promoted. People don't like
to talk money."
How much an actor makes and how often they work depends on which soap they appear -- and how clever their agent is in getting them what they want. Bargaining points range from long option cycles, high guarantees, short contract lengths, big money per episode, and liberal out clauses (which give an actor time off for other projects, like TV movies). And then there are perks, those little bonuses often not stated in contracts -- like a parking space or a dressing room with a window -- that make the job that much nicer for stars.
Information provided by Michel Kinter, Executive
assistant with New York's AFTRA local, based on a
one-hour soap opera. The minimum salary a principal
performer on soap can make is $682 per day.
New Kid On The Block
(1-5 years):
Salary
Range: $900-1,300 per episode
Guarantee: 1-3 days per week
guarantee (3 only if they're in a very important
story)
Typical Salary:
$114,000, pre-tax ($1,100 x 2 days per week x 52
weeks per year)
Tried and
True: (5-10 years):
Salary Range:
$1,200-$2,500 per episode
Guarantee: 1-3 days (performers
who've been around this long typically have a guarantee
at the higher end of the scale)
Typical Salary: $192,400,
pre-tax (1,850 x 2 days per week x 52 weeks per
year)
Veterans (10 years
and up):
Salary
Range: $1,500-$4,000 per episode (only a
handful make more than $4,000 per episode)
Guarantee: 1-3 days
Typical Salary: $286,000,
pre-tax ($2,750 x 2 days per week x 52 weeks per
year)
Doubling
Up:
When an actor has to double his/her
workload, the paycheck is negotiable. "Actors are
generally paid for both roles," explains Stephen Burrow,
Executive director of New York's AFTRA local. "For an
ongoing role, the person may actually negotiate for both
roles. For the second role, they'll get paid not less
than minimum."
Are Soap Execs paying attention to their Online Fans?
The Internet is rapidly becoming a popular vehicle to voice one's opinions, especially in Soap land. But, are the "Powers That Be" influenced by what the fans have to say? In a Soap Opera Magazine interview, two of Daytime's Soap Executives have mixed feelings about it.Pat Fill-Krushel, President of ABC Daytime, told SOM that the most important thing about their ABC Daytime web site is that they can get an immediate sense of how fans are feeling. They get a weekly report of what the issues are, that are posted on the message boards, and they even take a peek themselves when they have the time. They also conduct online polls to get initial reactions to a story.
However, Fili explained that they have to be careful about measuring popular opinion by the Internet alone. Online viewers make up just a fraction of their audience, and tend to be younger (a lot of them are in college).
Fili went on to say that they tend to pay more attention to someone who actually sends a personal letter, than to the organized campaigns on the Internet, by fans who want to influence the Soap Execs to rehire a recently fired actor or cut short a despised story line. "We know if we get a couple of letters, that represents many other fans who feel the same way."
Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, Executive Producer, for GL, ATWT, AW, pointed out that even though online fans can immediately voice their displeasure with a story line, it's not realistic for them to expect any immediate effect on the show. The reason is that the shows are written 6-8 weeks ahead of air, and produced 2-3 weeks ahead of air.
Do actors pay attention to
their Online fans?
Apparantly so! In an Online Interview with The Llanview
Banner, Michael Storm (Dr. Larry Wolek) said, "In
my personal experience, when Larry has been part of
something that the fans have loved, the posted response
has been phenomenal (and much appreciated by me, I might
add!)"
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