AMC: Brian Frons/Marj Dusay question
Peter J.
he denies disliking David Canary, takes potshots at Sam Page fans (big surprise
there), and claims that AMC is so godawful (my words, not his) because the
first writer they had paired with Gordon Rayfield dropped out at the last
minute, they had to find the replacement, and there were so many departures
(Harley, Mateo, Leo, Vanessa, Ryan, etc. never mind that Hayley and Mateo had
been unimportant for at least a year before leaving). My question comes from
his statement that the Vanessa casting decision happened BEFORE he arrived.
I read here that one of the first decisions he made when arriving at ABC was to
fire Marj, and that she and her castmates were shocked because she had just
signed a new contract. Was that true, or is Frons's version true?
Fronsie also said that AMC will try "mentoring" newer characters with older
characters to make the audience care about the younger characters. That will
include:
Spoilers:
Joni going to work as Edmund's nanny. Gee, what fun, Joni giving the bug
eyes/praying mantis stares as Maddie asks for her angel mommy.
Donna L. Bridges
<20030224195835...@mb-fv.aol.com>,
rhfan...@aol.comhatespam (Peter J.) wrote:
>... first writer they had paired with Gordon Rayfield dropped out at the last
>minute, they had to find the replacement, and there were so many departures
>(Harley, Mateo, Leo, Vanessa, Ryan, etc. never mind that Hayley and Mateo had
>been unimportant for at least a year before leaving). My question comes from
>his statement that the Vanessa casting decision happened BEFORE he arrived.
>
>I read here that one of the first decisions he made when arriving at ABC was to
>fire Marj, and that she and her castmates were shocked because she had just
>signed a new contract. Was that true, or is Frons's version true?
I thought I had posted about this. Perhaps I hadn't. That line was one
of the ones that angered me more. Marj is on Frons' head, regardless
of spin. I don't think that she had *just* signed a contract but the
team had just worked out a way to keep Vanessa, in the 6 months before
Frons & were opening that up & playing it out when he abruptly dumped
it. No choice but to go along, even with him angering a number of
actors & writers.
This is part of why it's hard to put any faith in his belief that they
have a handle on it now & can fix AMC. Yeah, right. I see no sign that
he gets it, even yet.
--
DonnaB %^>
"Commander, there's a problem. Commander?" - Ivanova in B5/Midnight on
the Firing Line
EMDRoberts
>there),
What did he say?
Mandy
RIP Jonathan Harris
You can't spell SANcTimOniouS without Santos
Just say no to MSG
Peter J.
>
>I thought I had posted about this. Perhaps I hadn't.
I didn't see anything, but I could've missed your comments.
>That line was one
>of the ones that angered me more. Marj is on Frons' head, regardless
>of spin. I don't think that she had *just* signed a contract but the
>team had just worked out a way to keep Vanessa, in the 6 months before
>Frons & were opening that up & playing it out when he abruptly dumped
>it. No choice but to go along, even with him angering a number of
>actors & writers.
>
>This is part of why it's hard to put any faith in his belief that they
>have a handle on it now & can fix AMC. Yeah, right. I see no sign that
>he gets it, even yet.
It sounds to me like he is going to do nothing to improve the show and is
making a few token statements to try to pacify people. He's playing a shell
game. I haven't heard any real promises. I don't consider an upcoming
Maria/Aidan/Edmund triangle or having the vacuous teens pushed into new orbits
as an example of the old AMC returning. The tone was that the fans are
nuisances who should take whatever they can get, and anyone who disagrees is
obsessed or pathetic.
Peter J.
>
>>takes potshots at Sam Page fans (big surprise
>>there),
>
>What did he say?
Something about how he got 1,200 e-mails from "one guy" demanding that he keep
Sam Page around. I'm sure it was more than one guy writing and e-mailing, but I
guess by claiming otherwise, that makes his fans look foolish or makes it look
like Sam had no fans at all.
Donna L. Bridges
<20030225015640...@mb-mp.aol.com>,
rhfan...@aol.comhatespam (Peter J.) wrote:
>Something about how he got 1,200 e-mails from "one guy" demanding that he keep
>Sam Page around. I'm sure it was more than one guy writing and e-mailing, but I
>guess by claiming otherwise, that makes his fans look foolish or makes it look
>like Sam had no fans at all.
I didn't take that to be a slam at any particular actor or fanbase.
Since some fans actually do this, on a regular basis, I took it to be
a reasonable expression of the problems with some fan e-mail today.
--
DonnaB %^>
"My father always told me: 'The best way to understand someone is to
fight him, make him angry. That's when you see the real person.'" -
Sinclair to Ivanova in B5/Midnight on the Firing Line
Polydegmon
That surprises me since my email was undeliverable. I did send him a dozen
postcards each with a reason to keep Sam tho.
Oh well, it's moot now. As Sam Page goes, so go I. I can't take any of the ABC
shows anymore. Pretty much going cold turkey after (too many) years.
Poly
Seth J. Bookey
>>emdro...@aol.com (EMDRoberts) wrote:
Actually, it is possible for one obsessed fan to set up a repeating email
to annoy the person of his choice with his demands about a castmember.
Carolyn Hinsey has complained in her SOD column about being spammed by
someone with that sort of software. I wouldn't be surprised if Frons got
1200 from one person.
HOWEVER, I am also sure Frons has gotten other fans' emails about Sam Page
also, and that he's just being rude and dissful. I am not sure what the
gameplan concerning AMC is, but if pissing people off who are 20-, 25-,
30-year viewers is the goal, mission accomplished. What amazes me is that
a) they haven't studied why Y&R is consistenly number one (maybe core
families and consistent storytelling?), and b) they haven't looked next
door to Llanview, where the powers that be have brought back an
Emmy-winning writing duo and the difference is like night and day now that
they are back?
It seems clear that AMC is the show they want to "experiment" with, and
if they really think the experiments will end with somehow gaining a
whole new audience that brings up ratings while simultaneously driving
away its most loyal fan base, well, good luck!
--Seth
--
Donna L. Bridges
Msg.# <b3gcui$joh$2...@reader1.panix.com>, "Seth J. Bookey"
<seth...@panix.com> wrote:
> ... What amazes me is that
> a) they haven't studied why Y&R is consistenly number one (maybe core
> families and consistent storytelling?),
Or maybe location, location, location. But, hey maybe they have been
studying it since AMC's steep fast descent might be an approximation
of Y&R's.
> b) they haven't looked next
> door to Llanview, where the powers that be have brought back an
> Emmy-winning writing duo and the difference is like night and day now that
> they are back?
But, you're talking about the same 'they'.
> It seems clear that AMC is the show they want to "experiment" with, and
> if they really think the experiments will end with somehow gaining a
> whole new audience that brings up ratings while simultaneously driving
> away its most loyal fan base, well, good luck!
I still think PC is the lab experiment. AMC I don't know what it is.
It still feels like he has a beef with someone, maybe Agnes.
--
DonnaB %^>
"Commander, this little breach of security isn't going to affect my
Christmas bonus, is it?" - Garibaldi to Sinclair in B5/The Gathering
Susan Barnett
rhfan...@aol.comhatespam wrote on 2/24/03 4:58 PM:
> Brian Frons gave a very spin-controllish interview for the new SOD issue,
> where
> he denies disliking David Canary,
He probably doesn't "dislike" David Canary as a person or an actor -- he
just doesn't think he belongs on AMC! Which is why he's a jerk.
takes potshots at Sam Page fans (big
> surprise
> there),
Well....HMPH!!!! I happen to be a Sam Page fan and I take umbrage at this!
and claims that AMC is so godawful (my words, not his) because the
> first writer they had paired with Gordon Rayfield dropped out at the last
> minute, they had to find the replacement, and there were so many departures
> (Harley, Mateo, Leo, Vanessa, Ryan, etc. never mind that Hayley and Mateo had
> been unimportant for at least a year before leaving).
Just because a bunch of characters leave, why does that mean the writing has
to be so godawful (my word, too)? And just because one writer drops out,
does that mean that the whole show has to be so unremittingly insulting,
dumb and idiotic for months on end? Does it mean that the characters they do
have left have to be either vulgar (Simone), abusive (Edmund), faithless
(Jake), mean (EEK, Greenlea) or just out-and-out boring (JR, Lori, Jamie,
Joanie, Tad, Chris, Bianca, Maggie, Henry, Trey, Reggie, Adam, Liza, etc.)?
That one writer must have been really something to have his absence create
such devastation!
My question comes from
> his statement that the Vanessa casting decision happened BEFORE he arrived.
>
> I read here that one of the first decisions he made when arriving at ABC was
> to
> fire Marj, and that she and her castmates were shocked because she had just
> signed a new contract. Was that true, or is Frons's version true?
The way I remember it is that he got rid of Marj.
>
> Fronsie also said that AMC will try "mentoring" newer characters with older
> characters to make the audience care about the younger characters. That will
> include:
>
> Spoilers:
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> Joni going to work as Edmund's nanny. Gee, what fun, Joni giving the bug
> eyes/praying mantis stares as Maddie asks for her angel mommy.
Yeah -- good idea. Pair one loathsome character with another one.
Susan
Susan Barnett
rhfan...@aol.comhatespam wrote on 2/24/03 10:56 PM:
>> emdro...@aol.com (EMDRoberts) wrote:
>
>
>
>>
>>> takes potshots at Sam Page fans (big surprise
>>> there),
>>
>> What did he say?
>
> Something about how he got 1,200 e-mails from "one guy" demanding that he keep
> Sam Page around. I'm sure it was more than one guy writing and e-mailing, but
> I
> guess by claiming otherwise, that makes his fans look foolish
That's always a good move -- make the fans look and/or feel foolish. Way to
build loyalty to the show!
or makes it look
> like Sam had no fans at all.
The thing I really don't understand is if Sam Page has fans (and I believe
he does), why get rid of him? If the viewers like him, that's what should be
the deciding factor -- not whether Frons likes him! Is the show being
produced for the viewers, or just for Frons' pleasure?
Susan
Polydegmon
>produced for the viewers, or just for Frons' pleasure?
I've asked that about several ABC execs lately.
Donna L. Bridges
<20030225155154...@mb-fm.aol.com>, polyd...@aol.com
(Polydegmon) wrote:
Who else?
--
DonnaB %^>
"On my world, there are books, thousands of pages, about the power of
one mind to change the Universe, but none said it as clearly as this."
- Delenn to Sinclair in B5/The Gathering
Claudine
>have a handle on it now & can fix AMC. Yeah, right. I see no sign that
>he gets it, even yet.
It keeps sinking deeper and deeper into the shit. I have no hope.
Claudine
Claudine
>keep
>Sam Page around. I'm sure it was more than one guy writing and e-mailing, but
>I
>guess by claiming otherwise, that makes his fans look foolish or makes it
>look
>like Sam had no fans at all.
>
As opposed to the 23,000 (yeah, right) Greenlee fans that wrote in against Sam
under multiple names because he dared kiss her. Frons has to learn to figure
out the games before he makes decisions. I wasn't a big Sam Page fan... but he
was a decent actor compared to the others... it's not his fault the writers
dicked over his character.
Claudine
Peter J.
>
>I didn't take that to be a slam at any particular actor or fanbase.
>Since some fans actually do this, on a regular basis, I took it to be
>a reasonable expression of the problems with some fan e-mail today.
>
He mentioned Sam specifically. By using his name he implied that the only
person who even cared was some guy sending 1200 e-mails. If he weren't trying
to take a potshot, he would have just mentioned 1200 e-mails from one guy in
support of an actor.
I really don't want to get into an argument about this, so we'll just agree to
disagree.
Polydegmon
>
>Who else?
Oh, it's a long list and 'lately' twists time a bit - the GH writing team for
thinking Ned would ever be so blase about an arranged rape or Alexis do a Viki
- the OLTL writing team for epic mishaps, not least of which is the amazingly
'not dead yet' role of Victor Lord... Abusive Edmund, etc.
Going back, anything JFP has ever done, not using Taggert for jack, releasing
Mac from contract and storyline - canceling every ABC primetime show I've liked
in about a second (Maximum Bob, Spy Games, the Takes A Thief thing with Stamos)
while "America's Sadistic Videos" churns on and on....
You know, general "No wonder my dvd collection keeps growing" thoughts.
Poly
Donna L. Bridges
<20030225184949...@mb-ml.aol.com>,
rhfan...@aol.comhatespam (Peter J.) wrote:
> He mentioned Sam specifically. By using his name he implied that the only
> person who even cared was some guy sending 1200 e-mails. If he weren't trying
> to take a potshot, he would have just mentioned 1200 e-mails from one guy in
> support of an actor.
>
> I really don't want to get into an argument about this, so we'll just agree to
> disagree.
Sure, no problem. I may continue to discuss in this thread. But, don't
worry. I won't be arguing with you.
--
DonnaB %^>
"It was a dark and stormy night." - A wrinkle in time, by Madeline
L'Engle, 1962 (you were thinking Snoopy, perhaps?), 1st line
Peter J.
>
>Sure, no problem. I may continue to discuss in this thread. But, don't
>worry. I won't be arguing with you
OK. No worries then.
Which of the ABC soaps does Frons consider in the best shape? Is it still GH?
Or does he prefer PC now?