General Hospital News & Gossip

News for the week of 01-Nov-2004
by Carol Banks Weber

The Soap Opera Digest awards are back. Nominees were announced in the latest issue – November 9, 2004, currently out in supermarkets and mailboxes. They (with my picks in blue) are:

Outstanding Lead Actor: Maurice Benard (Sonny), Grant Aleksander (ex-Phillip, GL), Eric Braeden (Victor, Y&R), Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus, GL), Roger Howarth (Paul, ATWT; ex-Todd, OLTL), Ben Masters (Julian, Passions), Michael Park (Jack, ATWT).

Outstanding Lead Actress: Tamara Braun (Carly), Kassie DePaiva (Blair, OLTL), Beth Ehlers (Harley, GL), Deidre Hall (Marlena, DOOL), Cady McClain (Rosanna, ATWT; ex-Dixie, AMC), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki, Y&R), Erika Slezak (Viki, OLTL), Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R), Maura West (Carly, ATWT).

Outstanding Supporting Actor: Rick Hearst (Ric), Sean Kanan (Deacon, B&B; ex-A.J., GH), Vincent Irizarry (David, AMC), Winsor Harmon (Thorne, B&B), Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny, GL).

Outstanding Supporting Actress: Alicia Minshew (Kendall, AMC), Bobbie Eakes (Krystal, AMC; ex-Macy, B&B), Heather Tom (Kelly, OLTL; ex-Victoria, Y&R), Victoria Rowell (Dru, Y&R), Alison Sweeney (Sami, DOOL), Schae Harrison (Darla, B&B).

Outstanding Younger Lead Actor: Scott Clifton (Dillon), Jason Cook (Shawn, DOOL), Justin Hartley (Nicholas “Fox,” Passions), Agim Kaba (Aaron, ATWT), Greg Rikaart (Kevin, Y&R).

Outstanding Younger Lead Actress: Alexa Havins (Babe, AMC), Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC), Brook Kerr (Whitney, Passions), Jessica Dunphy (Alison, ATWT).

Outstanding Male Newcomer: Justin Bruening (Jamie, AMC), Dan Gauthier (Kevin, OLTL), Drew Tyler Bell (Thomas, B&B), Michael Graziadei (Daniel, Y&R), Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan “JB,” GL).

Outstanding Female Newcomer: Adrianne Leon (Brook Lynn), Levin Rambin (Lily, AMC), Silvana Arias (Paloma, Passions), Heidi Mueller (Kay, Passions), Heather Lindell (Jan, DOOL).

Favorite Couple: Jack & Erica, AMC; David & Dorian, OLTL; Michael & Marcie, OLTL; John & Marlena, DOOL; Luis & Sheridan, Passions.

Favorite Villain: Ted King (Lorenzo), Hunt Block (Craig, ATWT), Linden Ashby (Cameron, Y&R), Thaao Penghlis (Tony, DOOL).

Favorite Villainess: Jane Elliot (Tracy), Arianne Zuker (Nicole, DOOL), Crystal Hunt (Lizzie, GL), Amelia Marshall (Liz, Passions; ex-Belinda, AMC), Colleen Zenk Pinter (Barbara, ATWT).

Favorite Return: Kristina Wagner (Felicia), Thorsten Kaye (Zach; ex-Patrick, OLTL; ex-Ian, PC), Gina Tognoni (Dinah, GL; ex-Kelly, OLTL), Tuc Watkins (David, OLTL; ex-Pierce Dorman, GH), Keith Hamilton Cobb (Damon, Y&R; ex-Noah, AMC), Judi Evans (Bonnie/ex-Adrienne, DOOL; ex-Beth, GL; ex-Paulina, AW), Lesley-Anne Down (Jackie, B&B; ex-Olivia, Sunset Beach).

Favorite New Couple: Nikolas & Emily, Ric & Alexis, DOOL’s Sami & Lucas, ATWT’s Dusty & Lucy,

Favorite Triangle: OLTL’s Evangeline/John/Natalie, B&B’s Ridge/Brooke/Nick, DOOL’s Shawn/Belle/Philip, Passions’ Theresa/Fox/Whitney.

Favorite Teen: AMC’s Reggie (Michael B. Jordan), OLTL’s Starr (Kristen Alderson), ATWT’s Will (Jesse Soffer), Y&R’s Lily (Christel Khalil).

Favorite Show: GH, AMC, ATWT, B&B, DOOL, GL, OLTL, PASSIONS, Y&R.

Voting will be done by ballots, postmarked by November 29, found in SOD.

Corbin Bernsen (John Durant) has given daytime actors impressive consideration. He’s eager to include many of them in his future creative projects, under his production company, Public Media Works. One project already has a title, Parrish County, and will star former daytime actors whose soap characters were killed off. A movie, Car Pool Guy, will involve about 12 working soap actors and the interactive input of soap fans. Bernsen would like to produce 10 movies annually, with the liberal use of daytime actors in them.

Prior to appearing on GH as a successful, ruthless federal prosecutor and Carly’s long-lost father John Durant, actor Bernsen disclosed to the soap press his approach to embarking in such a new role. He picks out the externals of the character, the type of clothes and shoes John would wear, and how he’d conduct himself during conversation. He also tries to avoid meeting his future co-stars, to keep the on-screen meetings fresh for his character. He did as best as he could in GH’s case, except Tamara Braun (Carly) wound up inadvertently circumventing his plan by phoning him up at home the night before his first day on the set. Turned out, Bernsen didn’t mind one bit. “Tamara's phone call broke the barrier and I knew I'd be working with a wonderful actress. I wasn't intimidated but I was lost to the process a little bit. I was thrown into the lion's den and trying to get a hold of how their routine worked.”

Like many Carly fans, Bernsen felt himself moved to tears upon watching scenes of his and Braun’s characters admitting for the first time that they cared for each other, as father and daughter. He also had high praise for his co-stars, especially the accessibility of Braun, whom he referred to as fantastic. -SoapNet-sponsored online chat with fans, October 22, 2004

When Halloween comes around, Cynthia Preston (Faith) does it up right, right alongside special effects expert/husband Kyle. The two of them always dress up for their friends’ parties, once as vampires, c/o Preston’s make-up. Other times, she whipped up her magic to be a Harlequin clown and a cat, without much cost. At one of those fun-filled parties, she ran into some celebs, Martin Landau and Billy Idol. She didn’t even recognize Idol as himself, assuming it was a guest gifted in the art of costuming. Weeks before this year’s Halloween, Preston didn’t yet know who she’d end up being, but she would dress for the occasion.

Baby talk from Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth)... Her second, Ella, almost came into the world via C-section. Herbst did everything she could to avoid surgery, from ice packs on the tummy, a flashlight and a melody-playing Winnie, the Pooh, to finally acupuncture, when finally, voila!, her baby girl turned. At the time of birth, last April 12, Herbst only had to push about three times for Ella to appear. Now, Herbst and husband Michael Saucedo (ex-Juan) have two children, boy Ethan, 3, and Ella, a couple months old, prompting the question, will a third be another E name? “We just happened to like the names. I’m sure if we have another kid, it won’t be Elmo or anything [laughs].” Ethan liked Sarah for his little sister’s name, which probably comes from a dinosaur he watches in a children’s program on TV, Herbst mused. If the diminutive young actress does have another baby, she’ll probably lose the pregnancy weight in a jiffy, just as she’d done with Ethan and Ella. She’s able to lose the weight from her last pregnancy – about 50 pounds – so quickly and easily simply by being a mom, keeping track of her toddler son, going up and down her stairs at home, breastfeeding (which she did a lot more with Ella than Ethan) and generally eating right like she always does. Not that she caught any flak from her superiors at work, they never pressured her to starve herself back to an impossibly skinny shape. –Soap Opera Digest, November 2, 2004

Before Natalia Livingston (Emily) finally fixed up her dressing room in comforting shades of golds, creams, whites and splashes of red, the soap newcomer used to be nervous about visiting fans wanting a peek, begging off embarrassedly for fear they’d think it was a pigsty. Now, she can proudly show them around to her framed pictures of family, friends, colleagues, old Hollywood and that one of Mother Teresa (a gift from her brother, who plans to join the priesthood). Most of the stuff she used to brighten up her dressing room came from inexpensive department store chains like Target, Marshalls and JoAnn Fabrics. The GH dressing rooms underwent updating shortly before she redecorated anyway, new paint, ceilings and carpets.

Nikolas fans are thrilled that Tyler Christopher also plays the darker, edgier Connor Bishop, giving their favorite actor a chance to pull off an Emmy-award-winning duality of the most convincing order. Convincing is the aim of the young, sexy actor, who already sees distinctions between noble, cultured Prince Nikolas and scrappy, everyman soldier Connor.

Christopher’s been working on beautifying and updating his house. When he first bought it not so long ago, the place was a ramshackle mess. He’s had to hire a reconstructive crew to join him and cousin Derk Cheetwood (Max) in turning the shack into his first home. He won’t have to do much of any work on the pool house, thanks to producers of Knock First, an ABC Family home improvement/reality TV show. They plan to transform his half-finished pool area into a work of art. He just has to let them film the process, a sacrifice he doesn’t mind. “...it’s not one of those ‘bring in a bulldozer’ type of shows. They’ll bring in some furniture, decorate and probably fix the floor.” –Soap Opera Digest, November 2, 2004

Everybody who knows me knows by now that I am in love with British actor Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Dreamcatcher, The Forsyte Saga, An Unfinished Life, Brides). Well, actors, too, can harbor puppy-love crushes themselves. AMC’s Eden Riegel (Bianca) digs GH’s Scott Clifton (Dillon), his humor, his old soul, his ability to not take this superstardom stuff too seriously. GH’s Cynthia Preston (Faith) positively swoons for DOOL’s Peter Reckell (Bo). And Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline, OLTL) remembers her childhood crush on Darnell Williams’ Jesse Hubbard over at AMC, paired up with Debbi Morgan’s Angie Baxter—Goldsberry’s first experience with a black supercouple.

So there I was, sitting on my bed, bag of microwave popcorn on my lap, large glass of iced Coke on my nightstand, waiting to watch the October 28^th Oprah show with Maurice Benard (Sonny) and wife Paula in it, among other guest stars, to talk about his struggles and triumphs with manic depression when— What the hell?! Oprah eats a million-dollar sandwich, ribs, truffles, chocolate chip cookies, crappy raisin-infested meatballs and some frozen hot chocolate from Manhattan’s Serenity? Who gives a fawk? Where’s Benard?? That’s the question on everybody’s lips. If the answer – in the form of an actual, final airdate – ever appears, I’ll let you know. Sounds like Oprah bumped the show to eat herself another 20 pounds.

Former costume designer Lori Ann Robinson has decided to devote her full-time attention to the private sector, as an image consultant. LAR Consultants provides one-on-one attention to detail for mostly businessmen and women, but she is open to “working with those individuals both in and out of the entertainment industry. ... While I was working in TV land I had some private clients that I had been working with for years. After GH, I decided to pursue this full time.” Robinson also conducts seminars; there’s one coming up on November 6 in Pasadena.

Gladise Jimenez (ex-Carmen, B&B; ex-Ramona, Y&R) will play the role of Maria, who will interact with the teens, Brook Lynn, Dillon, Georgie, Diego, as of November 23 onward. Maria, it will turn out, has family ties to Diego, as in, she’s his sister. Jimenez (I believe) is also the mother of a son she shares with Sean Kanan (Deacon, B&B; ex-A.J.).

Jonathan Jackson’s (ex-Lucky) minor but haunting bit part as an abusive boyfriend of a murder victim in the Al Pacino movie, *Insomnia, attracted the attention of a screenplay writer set to transform horror novelist Stephen King’s ebook, Riding The Bullet. Mick Garris was so impressed with Jackson’s depth that he hired him to play the lead role in the new movie, out in limited release in theatres near you, as the dark, tormented young man named Alan, struggling with the death of his father and the impending death of his sickly mother. In the movie, Alan meets up with an odd man who calls himself George (David Arquette), and who takes him for a ride literally through hell. George challenges Alan to face his fears about life and his misconceptions about the seductive appeal of death in a choice: either the young man gives up his own life or his mother’s. Jackson found the movie appealing from a personal and professional standpoint. His character is complex, dark, and troubled, and his story is that of a man coming to terms with death and learning to appreciate life—a modern spiritual tale if there ever was one, he said. In filming the movie, Jackson left the horror to the writer, Garris, to concentrate wholly on his character development. “I just play the character as truthfully and honestly as I can, and to me this movie is a very emotional kind of spiritual movie, ... because a lot of visions that Alan has, because he's an artist, are very spiritual, and I was kind of coming at it from that direction. And I think that just made everything come alive from a character point of view.” The role itself, for Jackson, was quite a find. Usually, the scripts he mulls over about characters his age are very one-dimensional, the actor said. –scifi.com [*On an eerie note, “Insomnia” is also the title of one of Stephen King’s novels, the one I first assumed Jackson would co-star in when news of Al Pacino’s same-titled, but different – and ultimately disappointing – movie came out.]

Gossip for the week of 01-Nov-2004
by Carol Banks Weber

Corbin Bernsen thinks his alter-ego, John Durant – an old fogie, mind you – would match well with a sweet, young thing like, say, Emily or Courtney. All together now...

Sarah Brown (ex-the real Carly) did so well over at ATWT as Julia, her bosses are praying to the soap gods that she’ll find it in her heart to stay a little longer. So much for the GH return rumor.

More than one astute SZ poster observed the plotholes rampant in Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) playing Connor, with blond hair and a scar. Number one among them: Photos of the presumed-dead soldier looked nothing like Prince Cassadine. Just chalk it up to the insanity of Mary’s viewpoint. Remember, kids, with insanity as the defense, GH writers can purport anything without giving it too much thought.

While I’m on plotholes, an SOD reader brought up the striking resemblance between John Durant’s late mother and daughter, and how that should’ve played in his instant recognition of Carly when she first ran into him at the Manhattan pub. I never even noticed that, I’m so well-trained by GH’s buttheads to let most of the inconsistencies and BS go.

NEm might soon fade away into the background, as TPTB realize finally that the couple almost everybody on the boards loves to ridicule to death lacks that special something to merit such constant screentime. That, or this is more wishful thinking from the NUm contingent.

TPTB are so determined to thwart online scoopsters that they recently (might’ve) closed the set to re-film several key scenes in a storyline, purportedly to change an ending from what had been reported online. A strong guess is that this has a lot to do with letting Sam and Sonny’s unborn baby, Adele, live after all, after having saved Kristina with her stem cells. Eye on Soaps’ gossip columnist, Sage Bourland (who retired from the spoiler business as of last Monday, but not the gossip and the commentary, btw), had been giving away very detailed previews way into November Sweeps, with the rest of the scoop-meisters following suit, so that must have something to do with this hasty revision. I personally hope they saved baby Adele/Lila. I don’t want to see a child die, for any reason, fact or fiction.

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