General Hospital News & Gossip
News for the week of 04-Aug-2008
Genie Francis (Laura) has no problem reprising her role, however short-term. She approves of the reason, for Laura to help Lulu out, and could only hope for more returns in the future, but that’s not up to her. She’s always been ready to rejoin GH, even when she lived in England with her director husband and their two children over three years ago. Besides the short-term GH return, Francis will film a follow-up to the Hallmark hit movie, The Note, while her husband Jonathan Frakes will direct a TNT show, with the whole family based in L.A. for a bit. She hasn’t abandoned her home base of Maine, or her home store. But she did reveal that the economy hasn’t been the greatest up there. When she hankers for the Big City and all it has to offer, she said she can simply head down to New York. Francis has kept in contact with some of her GH buddies, Kin Shriner (Scott), Jackie Zeman (Bobbie) and Denise Alexander (Lesley).
A photographer/reporter from TMZ.com stopped Francis at LAX on August 1st (check out the footage) to inquire about Rick Springfield (Noah/Eli) on GH, and she hadn’t a clue. At least I think the TMZ guy mumbled Rick Springfield’s name. Before she got into her limo, Francis was asked what she thought about presidential candidate John McCain’s latest controversial ad comparing rival-candidate Barack Obama to the celebrity of a Paris Hilton or a Britney Spears. Francis just looked down for a few seconds, grinning, and finally said she had wanted Hillary Clinton to win.
Rick Springfield (Noah/Eli) breaks down his music and his musicianship with Popdose’s Jon Cummings (July 31, 2008) in one of the most thorough, informed celeb interviews I’ve ever read (thanks to editor-in-chief/“exasperated ring leader” Jeff Giles for the alert). Springfield had appeared in an impressive array of talk and news shows, from Oprah to Good Morning, America, before debuting his song, “What’s Victoria’s Secret?,” on GH last week as Eli Love in concert. “What’s Victoria’s Secret?” sounded familiar to me, and I’m sure, many other fans familiar with ‘80s rock; it opens with a guitar lick borrowed from Springfield’s first monster hit back then, “Jesse’s Girl.” That was intentional. So was joining up with the New Door record label, a haven for former rockers looking to make comebacks. His opening track comes from the record label’s first new Springfield effort, Venus In Overdrive. Jeff Moskow—who’s with parent company, UMe as its vice president of marketing and A&R—“has been there for me my whole career, and there are some great people from the label who have been involved all the way through the process. It’s great to be back at a label with people who are excited about you as an artist, not just somebody who makes something to get onto the shelves in a store. And now that the record is out, I can really feel them supporting it, which is also nice. There’s a real united front on this one.”
Reporter Jon Cummings was able to bring Springfield out of his normally reclusive shell and get the rocker to expound on his evolution as an artist in his work and his relationship with the fans who’ve stuck by him through these past decades, no matter what. The liner notes on his debut album are peppered with photographs of Springfield and his devoted following. Those fans have lifted him up, boosted his ego, sometimes to gargantuan proportions, and eventually taught him humility, and what really matters. “Once you’re past that burst of success you get more interested in what you loved about music in the first place,” Springfield explained. “And as I started opening myself up to the fans I began to hear the stories about how songs help people through tough times in their lives, and what my music means to them. It’s humbling. So I’ve learned to have a great deal of respect for my fans, and I do whatever I can to give them a little something extra. That’s why I’m doing this cruise in the fall.” Read more of this awesome interview, including the bit at the end about Springfield’s sold-out, November 13th celebrity cruise (a money-making trend for fans of artists with devoted followings, like jazzer Dave Koz).
There’s another TMZ.com reference to GH, sort of, further on down the scroll when they talk about Megan Fox (Transformers), Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda) and Tiffani Amber Thiessen all having fallen for the same guy once. Beverly Hills, 90210’s Brian Austin Green snagged all three at one point, dating Thiessen, fathering a child, Kassius, with Marcil, and currently seeing (and trying to beef up—for a movie role) Fox. The TMZ guys couldn’t figure out what was so attractive about a one-act ordinary dude like Green. Fox was photographed walking down a sidewalk with Green and Marcil’s son, btw.
Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) checks his inner chick when hanging around co-star Kirsten Storms (Maxie) and her roommates—a sister and a pal. They are kind of neighbors, so the hanging out occurs naturally, with TV-watching, The Bachelor and white-wine-sipping a mainstay. Anderson joked that he’d suddenly notice himself being a girly-man and then go, “What am I doing? Am I having an identity crisis? Get me some beers!” –Soap Opera Weekly
Like most responsible moms, Sarah Brown (Claudia; ex-Carly) makes sure her daughter Jordan, 10, doesn’t watch television programming inappropriate for her age. That means, no GH. But sometimes, a little GH will come on, like when Brown is fixing Jordan dinner. Then, Brown will hear “You bitch!” coming from the TV screen, which causes her to be appalled and Jordan to giggle. “It makes her really giggle when it’s Mommy’s show. She’s proud of me.” –Soap Opera Digest, August 5, 2008
Steve Burton (Jason) is able to compartmentalize his health and fitness. Oh, I’m sure he takes care of his heart, body, mind and spiritual soul in general. But the dude knows when to relax and enjoy all that life has to offer in terms of junk food for the soul, and when to kick the habit and shape up, usually when an acting job calls for it. It’s well-known that Burton eats everything and anything in sight around football season, letting himself go, and then come spring, he’ll watch his waistline (along with the rest of the female and gay population). Good pal Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) attested to the relaxed and enjoying part of Burton at his July GH Fan Club event. Anderson told fans about the time Burton would come calling after GH work with greasy burgers, and the two would have a grand old time filling up on their cholesterol, watch the boob tube and crash (Burton on the futon). Word is that Burton has to cut back on those burgers and beef up accordingly in preparation for some love scenes. That’s fantastic news for us, slobber, salivate.
A lot of people can recite the opening theme of 1990s TV show The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, but Brandon Barash (Johnny) is ridiculous. He can sing along like nobody’s business.
Vincent Pastore (Big Pussy, The Sopranos) visits GH in October as Maximus Giambetti, father to bodyguards Max and Milo. Only, he has been led to believe that Max and Milo run their own mob business in Port Charles. When he finds out different, all hell breaks loose. Pastore was asked to be on GH as a special guest star following work on some daytime promos assuring viewers that watching soaps is cool.
GH: NS is pulling in the numbers with the prized 18-49 female demo, almost assuring a third season—although nobody’s promising that moon yet. GH: NS may also pull in the fan faves come this fall.
The first show of GH: NS’s 2nd season went over like a ton of bricks, if you’re me, or gave SOAPnet a much-needed ratings boost, if you’re everybody else on the face of the cable-viewing planet. I couldn’t get over the T&A in the co-ed hospital locker room (check out Dr. Claire’s awesome hooters on my Deep Dish Pieces TV Guide blog. Marlena De Lacroix wrote about the first two 2nd season episodes so far; the first didn’t fare as well as the second in her eyes).
GH: NS executive producer Lisa de Cazotte went from OLTL, AMC, Santa Barbara and Sunset Beach, to PSNS, to this, her most high-tech, high-profile foray yet. She and her team will utilize the latest technology to produce the most current in film-making, with high definition shooting in a high-tech studio and enlisting the wizards at Stargate Digital, as the show had done for its premiere season. Cazotte also intends to capitalize on GH: NS’s hit first season, as well as the returns of GH vets Robert and Jagger and a continuation of the “serious stories” that so compelled its audience before. While GH and NS have the same wardrobe and props departments, and many of the production crew, there is a dedicated studio for the spinoff to do its thing. Thursdays and Fridays are when the soap tapes (these two days per week constitute one episode in the can), with the rest of the week devoted to “editing, table reads, production meetings and casting sessions,” she said. –Soap Opera Digest, August 5, 2008
Billy Dee Williams (Toussaint) will appear on Private Practice, an ABC primetime drama coming up this fall. He’ll work with Taye Diggs/Dr. Sam Bennett.
My reason for living – Graham Shiels (Cody) – landed another acting gig, on USA Network’s Burn Notice.
Gossip for the week of 04-Aug-2008
Sarah Brown (Claudia) received props from GH fans for hosting her free GH Fan Club Weekend event. The actress wanted to make sure the fans didn’t have to pay for a thing, not even her headshots. So when she learned that a few fans were asked to fork over $15 for them anyway, she allegedly blew her top, reported Soap Opera Weekly’s crack team of investigative journalists.
I wasn’t at liberty to divulge this GH Fan Club Weekend prattle, because it doesn’t make Kin Shriner (Scott) look particularly good, and I already promised I’d keep my mouth shut. But then days later, posters at the SoapZone GH boardcame out with it, so now I’m free! Shriner wasn’t a pill to every fan who met up with him at the July series of events, but he was to enough of ‘em to matter. According to the alleged eyewitness accounts, the actor couldn’t be bothered to stick around to sign autographs at his table, or be at all gracious, he was even overheard saying that the only reason he was around was to pimp his event. Some fans were so turned off by his abysmal behavior that they removed him from their digital cameras. One poster wrote, “A friend of mine was his escort during the Luncheon and she said he was a straight up ass to her and pretty much ignored the fans.”
Nikolas takes back up with Claudia, as Nadine finally realizes she means nothing more to the Cassadine Prince than minor amusement. Claudia and Nikolas cross each other’s paths, in more ways than one.
Karpov takes over Port Charles. Now, it seems Kate is familiar with the Russian mob thug. The Russian mob thug happens upon Jason and Elizabeth’s paternity secret. But before he can pounce, Elizabeth fakes her and her children’s death by auto accident.
A planned August carnival may have been scrapped in favor of … you guessed it … more of Guza’s mob love. Lord, I wish the writers’ strike never ended.
Ever wonder what Dr. Matt Hunter’s deal is with Eli Love and the love child? He was listening in intently. Perhaps because he’s the love child of Dr. Noah Drake, and therefore the half-brother of Dr. Patrick Drake. Collective groan.
There’s buzz about an upcoming Liason sighting (what happened to their wedding???). Frankly, at this point, I could care less. The rooting value went out the window with the overload of angst (I think I read that in a Perkie’s Observation over at Daytime Confidential; her August 1st update is spot-on) piled on Jason. We get that he’s the Jesus Christ Almighty (with troublesome hair) of GH, but enough is enough…
…is enough with the mob overload! I’m not the only fan fed up with mob this and mob that (this has Guza written all over). In small doses, usually when something blows up, I’m all up in that grill. But constantly being the focus day in and day out, it’s driving me insane. And, a raise of hands from those of you sick of Lourdes butting in on Johnny/Joe and Lulu/Linda. I actually screamed out loud, “For Christ’s sake, bizzotch! GET OUT!” IOW, don’t care.
Outgoing GH cast member Josh Duhon (Logan) hosted his own fan event July 27th in New York City and let fans in on what really is going on with him. Y&R asked if he’d be interested in a Billy Abbott recast, but he bagged on that. Since he’s 25, single and available, he felt he could do more abroad—mainstream stuff—but other actors with families would do well to work in daytime, since it’s more regular. But on to what really matters to us GH fans, WTF happened to his character?! Without any malice, Duhon explained that, during the writers’ strike, interim writers—with executive producer Jill Farren Phelps behind them—mapped out a compelling, character-based story for him, and really for other under-utilized characters too (he named Rick Hearst’s Ric as one that JFP really liked). But as soon as the writers’ strike ended and head writer Bob Guza Jr. came back, that all ended. The stories you saw involving Logan and Ric were scrapped, Logan nearly became the Text Message Killer until ABC bigwigs put the kibosh on that, and then Logan was relegated to pushing Anthony around on a wheelchair. Duhon and Sarah Brown (Claudia) approached TPTB in hopes of garnering a story with them in it, but were turned down. Brown and Jason Cook (Dr. Matt; ex-Shawn, DOOL), according to Duhon, were brought on merely as stunt casting, with Cook drawn in to draw away the DOOL’s fans. But then they had to write for them somehow. Also, without malice, Duhon said that the “second coming of” Sonny was the likeable Brandon Barash (Johnny); he’s the one the writers write for now. Duhon was happy for Barash, whom he would keep in contact with for sure. On a sad note, when Kin Shriner (Scott) found out that there’d be big story for him to play out this summer, he called Duhon to say, “The Baldwin Clan is back!,” only to hear Duhon correct, “No, just Baldwin is back!” Scott didn’t hear about Logan’s murder until way after the fact because Shriner was in Florida on a break. –Soaps.com message board
Antonio Sabato Jr. (Jagger, GH: NS) threw down a couple of potential rumor-gems while discussing his soap return with Soap Opera Weekly’s Carolyn Hinsey. Like, it’s very possible Vanessa Marcil will make it back again as Brenda, and perhaps Brenda’s the mom with Jagger as the dad to son Stone. Sabato Jr. is also under the impression that other vets will make their way back by the time school starts. But for GH: NS, GH cross-overs could kick off once the 2nd season’s over.
General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2008 Carol Banks Weber. Published by SoapZone.com / Jeff Jungblut. No part of this page may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and may not be representative of SoapZone.com or its advertisers. Don't steal scoops.
