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Guiding Light Discussion Group

Topic: Ghost Town


Topic Posted by: L.A.
Date Posted: Wed May 14 12:55:32 2008
Additional Comments: I have to ask this one more time.. Are there no backround platers/actors in the whole Bloody state of NJ??? A kids little league field with one car in the lot and lonley ol Frank the only one there?(except for creeping Blake and a sound recording of real kids playing..)A resturant where there are no other patrons except those 4 ditzy broads? not even a single server? How does Buzz pay the rent?The outdoor picnic was kind of nice, but not another living soul in the park? Same with "Main St.", empty. Maybe it's the economy, no one in Springfield besides well-to-do folks, can afford to go out.



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Posted by: MamaCee
Date posted: Wed May 14 21:43:47 2008
Message:
I just thought it soooo funny that Mallet was addressing only a few people in the -- and I'm not even sure what to call the unmowed -- "park" the other day in what seemed to be an important announcement. And I, like Leprechaun, also thought "Ghost Town" was referring to the board. How sad is that?

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Posted by: Bristol
Date posted: Wed May 14 19:49:13 2008
Message:
It's the suburbs. Everyone's in their cars, and we DO hear cars whizzing by...

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Posted by: Leprechaun
Date posted: Wed May 14 19:14:47 2008
Message:

Sorry.  I tried to post this under a post but it cut me off.

I'm guessing that using "amateurs" for extras would break the rules of the Screen Actors Guild.  They're already screwing all of the other guilds by firing their members and doing all of the work themselves (and it shows!) but the SAG is one guild/union you don't want to mess with.  (I'm gleefully picturing Ellen Wheeler waking up with a horse's head in her bed.) 

Replies: (list all replies)

  • I didn't think of that. I was thinking,
  • Soaps aren't SAG productions, they work under AFTRA--there really is no reason for not having more extras besides the fact that they do not want to pay extras. They probably also don't want to deal w/the hassle of transporting them, but I know when I've done remote shoots I'm just bussed to the locations w/the principals so it doesn't actually cost more. I just think the show doesn't want to spend the few extra hundreds of dollars and would rather have the occassional random person in the background that they don't have to pay--as long as they put up a sign stating that they are filming and by walking by you are giving them permission to use your image, then they are legally covered to get a free extra or 2!...Trip

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    Posted by: Spaulding Butler
    Date posted: Wed May 14 17:44:55 2008
    Message:

    L.A., you have just identified what I feel is one of the most patent shortcomings of the new format. GL used to feature extras quite regularly, with the resulting “public” scenes (Company, Main Street, Towers, etc.) actually feeling “real,” even if the sets were glaringly phony.  Now all public places are devoid of people. How pathetically unrealistic.

    Ellen Wheeler claims that the new format has made GL more realistic, but I think that the exact opposite effect has been “achieved.” In my opinion, the show now appears more stilted and staged than it ever did previously.

    I’m starting to feel nostalgic for the days when the Beacon Hotel and Main Street comprised virtually the only sets used on GL. (I wish the preceding sentence was sarcasm, but the new format has sullied the show to such a degree that I’m only half-kidding!)


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    Posted by: MidwestGal
    Date posted: Wed May 14 16:33:48 2008
    Message:
    I didn't think about other people being in the park or the restaurant, but I really noticed it during the Little League game. One lone dad or relative in the stands? Wouldn't be much fun for the kids! ;)

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    Posted by: muffin
    Date posted: Wed May 14 15:56:02 2008
    Message:
    ya'll are forgetting...if they USE dayplayers, they have to PAY dayplayers, lol. but if i lived near there i would do it for free...but that's just me. ha ha ha

    Replies: (list all replies)

  • Really though.. you bring up a good point... why not ask for volunteers... I'm sure there are lots of people who would do it for free! :)
  • Spaulding Butler} I agree, muffin. Surely TPTB have relatives/friends/neighbors who would be willing to appear on the show 'gratis.' Springfield doesn't even feel like a real place anymore.
  • I'm guessing that using
  • I live in So. Fla. and there is a permenant ad in all the job places for backround players, they pay about $40 a day, NY is a spit away, the same must be true there..
  • There are strict guidelines about using extras. AFTRA (and actors in the TriState area) would never allow the use of free extras or 'volunteers' to happen. The only time I have seen that happen is when Zarf/Zoe was on Erica Kane's talk show last yr. and they had ads for fans to come watch a taping of the talk show/soap opera. Somehow by making it a contest or fan event or w/e, AMC was able to get the extras for free...Trip
  • I know different area Unions have different guidelines, but I think if you don't
  • I know different area Unions have different guidelines, but I think if you don't
  • I know different area Unions have different guidelines, but I think if you don't
  • I know different area Unions have different guidelines but I think if there is no 'speaking
  • it's the same $40 or $50 a day to stand in the backroung.
  • Anybody paying that little is really getting one over on people. The rate is much, much higher than that. You can maybe get away w/$100 for a day in a non-union job, but anything union is going to be higher, and definitely higher than $40-$50...Trip

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    Posted by: Leprechaun
    Date posted: Wed May 14 15:50:59 2008
    Message:
    For a minute there I thought you were talking about this board and most GL message boards on the internet.  Talk about ghost towns!  They are really scary! 

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    Posted by: Pittman
    Date posted: Wed May 14 14:43:37 2008
    Message:

    I too found it odd to watch Frank as the lone "dad" on the bleachers while kids were heard playing.  Why weren't there other fathers / father-figures in the stands?  That's just plain lazy & so NOT realistic.

     


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