General Hospital News & Gossip

News for the week of 28-Aug-2006

by Carol Banks Weber

The biggest story for fall centers around the triumphant return of Genie Francis’s Laura Spencer. She has been missed and needed by her husband, her children, her extended family of relatives and a large network of friends. She will come back to tend to them all, spread peace, joy and love everlasting, but with her own story that stands her in good stead.

What also happens: Patrick sees the world through Robin’s eyes, drawing them closer. Lulu’s pregnancy and the fallout from that will impact her, Dillon, Georgie and Diego in a socially relevant story. These crazy kids will then find themselves in an action-adventure of their own, typical of the Luke & Laura-spawned GH. Because of the failed condoms manufactured by a Quartermaine business, the Qs must deal with the battle of a lifetime to rectify the situation. Jax and Carly restart their magical relationship with an interfering third party—Sonny. He thinks he’s interfering to save Carly from Candyboy, but he may also be invested in the outcome because he still desires her for himself. This triangle will bring out the funny side of Sonny. Nikolas and Emily don’t work unless there’s an outside influence, obstacle, anvil forging their romantic alliance. This fall, it’s gonna be Colleen taking matters into her own hands, defying Helena as well, just to break up Nikolas and Emily forever. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle will even go too far for Mama Cass. Lorenzo turns on the charm with Anna so that she’ll give up the coordinates of Skye. Meanwhile the two wit and parry like a couple themselves, which raises the jealous ire of Robert. Skye comes back into town with her baby in tow, and this will cause a ripple effect with those concerned. Elizabeth has to figure out what she’s going to do about her unborn baby. She won’t abort like Lulu wants to do, but then what about the father? If it’s Jason’s, which in all likelihood, it is, then how will that affect Lucky’s sobriety? Lucky just may be able to kick this habit if he thinks he’s the father, and if Elizabeth blows his world apart with the truth, it may destroy him forever.

The dumbest story for the fall IMHO features Alexis, Ric, Sam and Jason. Alexis tries to valiantly recover from lung cancer, while meddling in the affairs of Sam and Jason. She gets the bright idea to pair up Sam with Ric, so that in the event of her death, they can raise the girls together and maintain the family unit. When Alexis isn’t plotting to pit Sam with Ric, or fighting her urge to vent at Sam and Ric for cheating, she’s nagging Sam to get away from Jason, or nagging Jason to get away from Sam. Jason seeks another, less illegal line of work, then maybe Alexis will lay off. With Sonny taking back his position as a mobster, Jason could do just about anything else. The only problem is, Jason can’t leave the mob, or all hell could bust loose.

Whee! Lots of boneheaded comments from the man many fans love to ridicule can be found in the August 22nd issue of Soap Opera Digest, in the special feature, “Just The FAQs, Ma’am.” They live in their own dream worlds, people.

LOL, head writer Bob Guza Jr. goes ahead and proclaims that next up is a bonafide story for Lucas and Guy, but “gradually” dealing with the coming out adjustment and folding “in with the other characters.” Then, the best Lucas there ever was – Ben Hogestyn – ups and signs with B&B as Harry. Don’tcha love karma?

Guza also made it about Anna and Robert “abandon”ing their daughter Robin all these years while presumed killed by a yacht explosion. However, Robin’s parents didn’t really abandon her; Anna didn’t remember who she was on AMC, and when she did finally, the first thing she did was phone up Robin and be with her. Robert’s dangerous job forced him to stay hidden to protect Robin, or else she could’ve died. I’d hardly call that letting their daughter believe they were dead (for no reason).

Jason Thompson (Patrick) takes his character’s sexy persona in stride, considering this is a job. He works hard. He keeps his nose to the grindstone. He engages in activities that feed his soul, mind and body. Most of his off time is spent as an ordinary Joe, tending to his new house, going surfing, being with his married friends and their children, he loves children, keeping in touch with his family in Canada. Going Hollywood is the last thing he ever wants for himself. “I try not to fill my time with superficial things that this life or L.A. can offer,” he said in a recently published ABC Soaps in Depth interview. “I try to fill it with some substance and keep a level head. It can go the other way very, very quickly. A little tiny bit of fame or a couple of offers here or there, and before you know it, it could be a landslide. I do not want to end up anywhere near that.” The notoriety of his antithesis of a character, as well as the teasing nicknames connotating Patrick’s sex appeal with the ladies serve merely to embarrass him and keep him grounded. Fans have called his character Dr. McDreamy, borrowing the nickname from a similar character in the primetime drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) tops all that with, Dr. McEverything. Whatever they call him, Thompson’s heard it, and felt the endearing intent. Even if he refuses buy into the drop-dead gorgeous image. “I'm not going to complain about it. I can't take credit for the way I look. That's kind of my parents' fault. At the same time, I feel very fortunate that people have taken a liking to the character and hopefully I can continue to portray him in a light that people enjoy watching.” Sometimes, he finds it hard to believe Patrick is at all a turn-on to the women with the self-serving, playa lines he’s had to utter. “There are definitely moments where I, as an actor, think, 'Oh my gosh, I'm seriously going to say this?' But I think the audience has seen tidbits of empathy in him. Like, maybe he's not as bad as he portrays himself to be. There's a heart to this guy.”

Steve Burton (Jason) had to turn down steady work on the hit primetime series, 24, because six episodes on that show would’ve been too much time off from GH. The equivalent of shooting six shows in primetime-land is about three months. With Burton as GH’s second favorite male lead, three months is unacceptable. Initially, Burton was contacted by 24 producers to guest-star for just two episodes, which then grew into six. Two, GH could handle, with executive producer Jill Farren Phelps greenlighting it. But then six, no way. Burton looked on the bright side, hey, at least he almost had a shot.

Ingo Rademacher (Jax) reportedly reported back in for GH work a little earlier than scheduled. He’d spent much of his summer vacation at his North Shore, Hawaii house. Did he build a heliport to get in and out of the traffic jams yet? Does he know where Mekong’s and what Zippy’s is yet? Just checkin’.

Tony Geary (Luke) will also report back in to GH earlier than expected, by a couple weeks, changing his late September return to early, like September 6. He’ll also return without Holly, which was previously reported on then changed.

Wally Kurth (ex-Ned?) has given up the GH ghost to search for work elsewhere, something brand new. He tried out for the recast role of Craig on ATWT and, while not getting it, enjoyed the ride. He’ll keep trying.

Nancy Lee Grahn’s (Alexis) fans took it upon themselves to celebrate her 10th GH anniversary with a few tokens of their affection. They lavished gift after gift after gift upon the grateful actress, including a message flown across the sky by a plane noting her 10 years working for ABC Daytime. Another gift appreciated, enjoyed and shared by Grahn and Co. was the martini basket. “We had a big hoo-hah party in my dressing room and a lot of drinking went on … but I won’t be mentioning any names!” –Soap Opera Digest, August 29, 2006

Lest people assume wrongly, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) doesn’t hate on smokers. She used to be one herself, her late father was one, she works with many of them in the business. But she’s not going to play PC about a serious habit known as smoking when she feels it could kill, at the very most. Contracting lung cancer, as her character recently did, and as did the late Dana Reeves and Carol Scott (an ex-GH producer), has given Grahn much food for thought, not only in having to go there as an actress with the what-ifs about leaving her family prematurely, but in serving as a reminder to the audience that dammit, this is serious, take it seriously. Two people she held dear to her heart – Scott and her father, Robert – struggled with the effects of lung disease, be it cancer or emphysema. She never forgets this, especially now; and maybe their spirits are with her, full of encouragement, maybe even using this opportunity to help spread the message that, “Smoking is not okay. The fact that you will die from a lung disease is an extremely real possibility,” Grahn explained. “It isn’t the LEAVE IT TO BEAVER age anymore. Living with any kind of cancer is overwhelming and in playing this, I literally have to go day by day with it and see what this day brings.” –Soap Opera Digest, August 29, 2006

When Nancy Lee Grahn coughs up a lung – pardon the pun – as character Alexis, she’s not acting. Grahn was told to “cough so that you are incapacitated,” and that’s exactly what she does, to the point of dry heaving. Yet, incredibly, Grahn doesn’t think she’s doing that convincing a job of pulling it off, sometimes. “I have my moments where I think I am doing okay, and then there are others where I just think, 'Somebody get me an acting coach immediately.' You'll see. By no means am I Meryl Streep.”

One would assume incorrectly that it’s not kosher to make fun in light of Alexis contracting lung cancer. On the GH set, that’s exactly what they do, riffing off Grahn’s critical assessments of ongoing scripted story. If she objects to a line or what-not, they joke about pushing her character to the next, worse stage of lung cancer. It’s okay by her, she plays along.

With any cancer story, there’s concern regarding the authenticity of the chemotherapy, i.e., going bald. Grahn said she wouldn’t for real, and that hair/makeup’s already trying to jurryrig a bald cap with bangs for her. “I'm going to say this right now: I don't look good without my hair, so it's not going to be pretty. But I'm sure that's what real cancer patients feel like when their hair is gone. I don't think anyone feels all that swell about it. So I can't be vain about this. If the woman has cancer, you've got to do it.”

And then, there’s the annoying, perennial but requisite part where Alexis must warn Jason away from Sam. It bugs the hell out of fans, but it bugs Grahn too. “Forget the lung cancer (laughs). If I have to tell Jason to stay away from Sam one more time, I'll kill myself.”

–Soap Opera Weekly, “Carolyn’s Corner”

If Laura Wright may sound cocky, conceited even, when she talked about “kicking ass” as the fourth Carly, she’s entitled, because she’s right, she does kick ass. Everybody says so, including the venerable Steve Burton (Jason). Recently, they were fooling around on the set as siblings might, punching on each other, and he remarked with amazement, “OMG, you are Carly.” High, deserved praise.

But then back when Jennifer Bransford (Carly #3) – Wright mentioned her by name this time, props! – tanked according to those all-important, non-existent focus groups, the former GL star knew she would be the right one to take over. With only a moment’s hesitation, Wright quit her job as Cassie on the East Coast, packed her bags and took her family to L.A. to start over, chasing after a dream and hoping to reenergize her acting career.

Before she left GL, Wright suffered from a bout of malaise familiar to all us burn-out victims. Not that the malaise with her long-suffering character caused the break, it didn’t, but it sure didn’t help in retrospect. “I knew at this point in my career I needed something different. It was time. It was 8 years of playing Cassie; it was time for me to move on. The summer before, I was miserable. A friend of mine asked ‘What's wrong with you?’ I said, ‘I do not care to get up and go into work.’”

All that’s changed now that she’s successfully, immediately inhabited a role she feels she was born to play. Much of Carly, the admirable parts, mesh with Wright, the do-or-die loyalty to family and friends, the headstrong, opinionated, fun-loving adventure seeker.

And, bubbly cheerleader for her male co-stars. She took a moment from a recent Soap Opera Weekly interview to laud a few, notably Maurice Benard (Sonny), whose exacting reputation preceded him. People would warn Wright beforehand that Benard had a tendency to disrupt scenes if they weren’t going his way. But once inside the sanctity of his domain, Wright learned different. “Can I tell you, never once have I had anything but a mutual discussion of the scene with this person. I feel so safe when I work with him. There is such a respect from actor to actor. Nine times out of 10 I walk out of the scene with Maurice and scream, ‘We rock.’ He just laughs.” Her upcoming triangle with two powerhouse romantic leads, Benard and Ingo Rademacher (Jax), is met with characteristic Wright enthusiasm and openness to whatever may result. While the men are in familiar territory, the woman – in this case, Wright – will experience Sonny and Jax fighting over her for the first delicious time. “What better place to be than in between Maurice Benard and Ingo Rademacher? Wow! I know what Vanessa Marcil [ex-Brenda] felt like.”

Praise for the other men Carly has crossed and crossed paths with arose when the subject of the mens’ night out fantasies came up. Wright’s read the critical pans of the fantasies, including one written by Soap Opera Digest/It’s Only My Opinion’s Carolyn Hinsey dismissing them as unrealistic, as in, Why Carly of all people.

While Wright felt initial hesitation at being the object of so many disparate men’s fantasies, in living up to the challenge, the affable actress nevertheless threw herself into part, loving every minute of it and defending the choice to those naysayers. Men, she argued, normally don’t fantasize about women they are tied to or can have; it’s usually the femme fatale they can’t have that they wander to subconsciously.

Working closely with some of these men in these fantasy sequences delighted Wright and gave her insight into their best assets compared to their characters. Derk Cheetwood (Max) is “a lot cooler” than his bodyguard character, she raved. Max and Carly could be the next big supercouple, hand-picked to present at the next Emmys, she added. Handsome Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) resembles his character, except he’s “probably a lot smarter and wouldn’t have psycho nanny around.” Jason Thompson (Patrick) may not share the playa mode of his alter-ego, but he and Dr. McEverything are both pretty “cool.” Rick Hearst is thankfully nothing like “the freak” Ric. And Greg Vaughan (Lucky)… “damn. I didn't get to kiss my cousin.”

Ted King’s (Lorenzo; ex-Luis) not one to easily open up to the press – as EYE ON SOAPS’ Katrina Rasbold once affirmed in a column this past summer. But Soap Opera Digest writer Tom Stacy managed to loosen the October 1st-born actor up to:

• joke a bit about giving Robin Christopher (Skye) a hard time about giving her all to Lorenzo fill-in Jay Pickett that time King was out with a throat ailment,
• marvel at his innate, easygoing chemistry with Finola Hughes (Anna) on- and off-screen even though they’d never worked together before GH – they came close with Charmed,
• reveal his personal interest in the secret of a long-lasting marriage, as well as his courting of a New York-based, non-actress beauty he’s enamored of, and
• agree to writing a regular music column entitled, “King’s Spin,” for SOD publication, coming in the next issue.

Amidst the revelation, King admitted he could’ve died after a New Orleans “Fun in the Sun” appearance. There with co-stars to help raise awareness and funds for Hurricane Katrina relief, King suffered throat shut-down. A few more days, his doctor informed him, and he would’ve been a goner from the bacterial infection. “My throat had completely closed up. I couldn’t swallow,” King described. “It was like a scene out of Marathon Man, where Laurence Olivier drills Dustin Hoffman’s teeth.” Not only that, but Kelly Monaco (Sam) suffered from the flu and Greg Vaughan (Lucky) passed a painful kidney stone; both were with King in New Orleans. –Soap Opera Digest, “Fit For A King” by Tom Stacy, August 22, 2006

Typically, everybody queried and quoted on Genie Francis’s return as Laura has been happy about the casting news. None more happy than the GH vets who knew Francis when she was a teenager the age of Julie Marie Berman (Lulu). Stuart Damon (Alan), who’s fond of calling Francis “Johnny” for no reason in particular, and Leslie Charleson (Monica) love the idea of treating fans to the resurgence. Denise Alexander (Lesley) and Rachel Ames (Audrey), too, although Alexander has a vested interest in Francis’s four-week return. She hopes to share some reunion scenes with her on-screen daughter for decades.

Set decorator Jennifer Elliott’s favorite room in GH’s house is the one owned by Carly. Characterized as an upbeat, contemporary reflection of current designer trends and a hip, modern reflection of the character, Carly’s house elicits plenty of positive feedback from viewers with a yen to recreate some of the accents for themselves. “Every week I get e-mails and letters from people who want to know about the colors on her walls,” Elliott said, for starters. The colors were taken from a popular palette of pale aqua with chocolate brown (the living room) and a purple-pink (the dining room). The former Scanlon house and Ric’s Martha’s Vineyard house set was redesigned with the new – the dining set – and the renewed – reupholstered sofas. Some of Carly’s knickknacks also stand out as enviable must-haves, like the quartz crystal candleholders, a 20-lb., quartz crystal rock, the Lucite mantle. Personally, I’m salivating over her formerly black leather and chrome Barcelona chairs turned white leather. “The directors kind of hate [them], though, because they always get in their way [laughs].” –Soap Opera Digest, “Background Information,” August 29, 2006

Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) will participate in the L.A. area Triathlon September 10, while raising money for Down Syndrome research. He’s asked fans to submit pledges for every minute he stays under his target goal of finishing in two hours and 50 minutes, as well as for donations outright. Down Syndrome is an important, personal matter to the actor, who is also doing the triathlon for his nephew Payton Asmo, 4. Interested parties can download, print out copies and pass out a PDF file of a flyer to help in Christopher’s efforts.

In the event of a house fire, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) might reach for her favorite jean skirt decorated with butterflies and some of her nana’s silk nightgowns for the memory of cuddling up with her wearing one.

Hughes Goes Humanitarian

By Mae-B, former PCO Commissioner of Haute Couture
Even with her role as GH’s Anna Devane, hosting duties on How Do I Look? and her own jewelry line, Finola Hughes isn’t about to let a jam-packed schedule keep her from devoting time and energy to a cause she’s passionate about – relief efforts in Darfur, Sudan.

In 2003, rebel groups launched a series of attacks in retaliation for what they believed were massacres and pillagings perpetrated against non-Arabs by the Sudanese. The attacks involved setting villages on fire and chasing off residents far from their homes and into refugee camps.

The current death toll from the civil unrest is estimated at 400,000, with millions of others forced into refugee camps. After reading a 2003 New York Times piece about the humanitarian crisis, Hughes says she felt compelled to help.

“I couldn't believe what was going on in Darfur. I put something up on my Web site asking people to write to their Congressman and giving them addresses.” She also befriended a Sudanese family who escaped the country ravaged by a war 20 years ago, and has since learned much about the situation.

Currently, Hughes is actively involved in raising money for relief efforts, with the goal of helping to build a support centre to promote economic self-sufficiency among Sudanese women. She says she also stays in close touch with an international crisis group to keep apprised of the ever-changing situation on the ground in Darfur. Hughes recognizes, however, that striking a balance between the need for thoughtful aid planning and the immediate relief requirements is a daunting task.

“It takes a long time to get a foundation together. That's the way I do things: Do it right and go slow. Of course, you can't really go slow, because the crisis is so huge. The situation there is devastating, and it's getting worse.” –SoapOperaDigest.com, Feature Interview

An Entertainment Weekly music critic, initials ME, picked up on what I did long ago, back when Rick Springfield’s (Noah) power ‘80s album, Working Class Dog, came out. Dude was dark, man, dark. All the hits from that album had to do with coveting, hating, resenting, and running away from love. Eh, props is props: “Given his pretty-boy looks and soap-opera resume, it’s easy to see why Rick has become an I Love the 80s punchline,” ME’s “Critic’s Corner” began. “But with this reissue of his breakthrough album, it’s worth reevaluating his status in the pop pantheon. Despite what you think, the entire album is a relentlessly catchy power-pop classic. What’s more, below the chug-chugging grooves and chipper melodies, Dog is not exactly a fun listen.” Then the critic went on to detail several songs which reveal the “tortured sexual anxiety and romantic angst” of a screwed-up individual. “Everybody’s Girl” in particular was singled out as particularly “mean-spirited.” Ronnie, the dog on Springfield’s album cover decked out in a working class shirt and tie, belonged to Springfield and would make a second appearance on his follow-up. –Entertainment Weekly, August 18, 2006

EYE ON SOAPS’ Trish Fodor wrote another, more recent review of Springfield, live in concert, with plenty of fan-dy superlatives. Dig this: “Fit, energetic and sporting a wicked cool tattoo and the signature rock-n-roll earring, Rick Springfield was sizzling hot and I was sixteen again!” Read what the rocker did to a female fan who couldn’t sing along to a hit.

Greg Vaughan (Lucky) has always thought about traveling to Greece, home of his ancestors. Maybe for his belated honeymoon. Julie Marie Berman (Lulu) envisioned the exotic locales of Vietnam and Ireland as possibilities. Myself, I’d have to go with Scotland and England, Scotland for the Bay City Rollers and England for Damian Lewis and Mark King, if anybody cares.

Laura Wright (Carly) can’t say enough good things about one of Oprah Winfrey’s book club recommendations, Night by Elie Wiesel. The book chronicles the Holocaust survivor’s travails.

Gossip for the week of 28-Aug-2006

by Carol Banks Weber

Julie Marie Berman (Lulu) and Scott Clifton (Dillon) are currently out-acting their veteran peers in this unplanned teen pregnancy story. Their scenes on the docks last week were beyond Emmy-worthy. I’ve never seen Clifton this gut-wrenching, this open to a flood of demeaning insecurity. Berman lights up the screen and anybody she’s with, especially Clifton. She even managed to reduce Maurice Benard (Sonny) into a supporting player, and that’s saying something. With such virtuoso talents in these young actors, it’s such a shame GH’s PTB continue to use them as filler. If they’d only used Ben Hogestyn as Lucas, too…

Here’s a thought. If they’re going to explore faulty condoms from Edward’s company, will they only focus on unplanned teen pregnancies or go full throttle with the other consequences? Like, um, getting HIV?

Nah, soaps on ABC are chicken-bleep. They’ll more likely explore the possibilities of Lulu’s and Elizabeth’s and Sam’s unplanned pregnancies via the flawed condom. In some camps, Liz’s bun may only be figurative.

Btw, Dillon and Lulu may face an unplanned teen pregnancy, but like many have done in the past, they’ll also face a convenient miscarriage. You didn’t think GH’s writers would allow the births of any babies do you? Plot device, people, plot device.

Black actor Michael Cory Davis might be tapped to join GH’s cast – in yet another futile shot for diversity – as a possible relation of Epiphany’s.

If my fondest dream comes true (no, not that one, put it back in your pants, Damian), Kelly Monaco’s Sam will finally make good on her constant threats to leave town, never to darken PC’s door again.

If, however, my worst nightmare comes true, then Sam and Jason will make up, I’ll keep hearing their insipid love song like a godawful ear worm, and Sam will fill up my TV screen 24/7 with her disingenuous BS.

The rumors have Kelly Monaco going diva, insisting on JaSam or else she walks. ABC Daytime President Brian Frons might give Ms. Diva whatever her little heart desires.

Apparently he gave her primo credit for a jump in ratings, causing the boards to erupt into WWIII and at least one poster to RME back at me for a “tacky” comment I made about putting Monaco on as Sam in her birthday suit from now on. Tacky is as tacky does, dude.

…Over head writer Bob Guza’s objections? He’d most likely favor Steve Burton’s (Jason) agenda, which might be to escape Sam’s dependent clutches and try another chick out. Fans are wondering out loud why else he’d agree to a shirtless love scene with Elizabeth.

Joseph Mascolo (soon-to-be-ex Massimo, B&B; ex-Stefano, DOOL) to take back the reins as gangsta, Nicholas Van Buren aka Domino? He pshaws.

(The following are from The Wub Tub, at Wubs.net.)

There’s been a lot of official pshawing going on about Lucky’s Jonathan Jackson returning along with Genie Francis’s Laura. But then, the official spokespersons are usually fronting like their jobs depend on it.

Lulu just may let Dillon have their baby, with Georgie as the constant mother figure, bowing out of the picture. Or, she and Dillon will raise the baby together only to have Helena swoop in and swipe it until the kid’s SORAS’d to age 18.

Elizabeth’s baby with Jason (or Lucky, my bet’s on Jason) will die in her womb before it sees the light of day, or may suffer from a miscarriage in the same manner as OLTL’s Jessica with Megan.

Heads are rolling everywhere on ABC Daytime. GH is no exception. Some names bandied about as on the chopping block, or reduced to wallpaper (same diff): Rick Hearst (Ric), Kirsten Storms (Maxie), Leslie Charleson (Monica), Stuart Damon (Alan), Jackie Zeman (Bobbie), John Ingle (Edward). But, Ted King (Lorenzo) and Robin Christopher (Skye) seem to be safe.

A coupla weeks back, I received back to back messages from some vocal Ted King (Lorenzo) fans, loud and clear. They told me to stop spreading lies (under the gossip section, mind you) that he was dissatisfied with playing opposite some or all of his female leads… that he in fact preferred, along with many of his fans, to go back to the badass Lorenzo of old instead of playing house with Skye, and that this time, the badass Lorenzo would do them all proud, flexing the muscle, wielding the power around town. King himself mentioned some of this same fan feedback from the July GH Fan Club Weekend in an August 22nd Soap Opera Digest interview with Tom Stacy. King said, “They don’t like the fact that he was cleaning his life up, which I think is fascinating. They really like the nefarious side of Alcazar.”

Nefarious and badass are all well and good, but completely futile when faced with the specter of the Sonny and Jason Show. A little humanity couldn’t hurt his cause. I’d write more, but I’ve been writing continuously for 24 hours now, and I’m shot.

General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2006 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.