General Hospital News & Gossip
 |
| scoops & spoilers |
| General Hospital |
| Young and the Restless |
| news & gossip |
| This week’s News & Gossip |
| News & Gossip from last week |
| ...from two weeks ago |
| ...from three weeks ago |
| ...from four weeks ago |
News for the week of 22-Sep-2008
The question of Maurice Benard’s (Sonny) contract status has been up for speculation and debate for quite a number of weeks now. Benard admitted to burn-out throughout the many years on GH, but he’s been all for the pairing between Sonny and Kate, having made no bones about admiring actress Megan Ward. The latest series of events, grounded in more accessible reality for most fans—outside the mob warfare—has received a thumbs-up from the award-winning actor, and could indicate his willingness to stick around for several more years. “I'm really into it. It allows me to be kind of like a George Clooney for a while. There's some romance and a lightness to it. It's something I haven't done in 15 years.” –InsideBayArea.com, Barney: Martinez’s Maurice Benard has found his niche on ‘General Hospital’ by Chuck Barney-Contra Costa Times, September 18, 2008
Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) said even if he had a chance to do a big movie and leave soaps, he wouldn’t. He just likes what he does on GH too much to drop it. This was at the end of his eighth Camera Ready episode on SOAPnet. At the beginning, Anderson took a day off from work, slept in until after 11 a.m., and went wine tasting in Malibu (Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate is a favorite). He also enjoys golfing and frolicking on the beach.
Anderson and his pal Steve Burton (Jason) join Brandon Barash (Johnny) for a threesome public appearance, October 17, 8 p.m., at the Newtown, CT Treehouse – Edmond Town Hall. It’ll cost you $70-$150 to see them in person. Info: (203) 268-5857.
Due to a shoulder injury and subsequent shoulder surgery/recovery, Jason Thompson (Patrick) wasn’t able to engage in his usual love of summer sports, like hitting the beaches to surf, or even hitting the puck in hockey. He said he’s not the kind of person content to just sunbathe on a beach, he needs to be active.
Stephen Macht (Trevor) isn’t what he appears to be on GH. But then, he’s an actor, whaddya expect? Macht is actually quite a multi-talented individual outside of acting. He used to teach dramatic literature at a university before foregoing tenure to pursue acting. Now, he’s boning up to add rabbi to his resume, something he always had an eye on. One thing he admitted to not being much of an expert at is something his grown boys are—playing music. He also said he isn’t much of an artist. High on his agenda in life is to travel to the Far East, like China. “I don’t know anything about that part of the world and I do have tentative plans to do that.” –Soap Opera Digest, September 23, 2008
Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) and his fiancée Brienne Pedigo will marry September 27th. Pedigo is an ESPN reporter. Did you know that on his My Space page, Christopher has a food drive going, for families in need during these tough economic times (supposedly executive producer Jill Farren Phelps’ idea). I don’t know if it’s still going on (the last blog date was in August), but send non-perishable items to him c/o: ABC - General Hospital, 4151 Prospect Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90027. Whoever has accrued the most donations gets four free Disneyland tickets to dispense to a needy family.
Claire Coffee (Nadine) guessed that maybe some people surmised from her recent break—to attend a friend’s New York-based nuptials—that it meant curtains for her GH character. Far from the case.
Tristan Rogers (Robert, GH:NS) heralded the significant distinguishing aspects of the GH spinoff he’s in that separates it from just another ordinary soap opera in his September 15th post. Once the criticisms died down, he wrote, fans have grown accustomed to GH:NS’s different style and really begun to appreciate it, as ratings reflect. A huge distinguishing aspect that raises GH:NS above the crowd, Rogers continued, is its daytime format in a primetime slot—a format the actor himself has worked with on other ideas and projects. “What has happened on NS is that the story structure has been changed and has moved away from that of daytime. Why? Because NS has a beginning, middle and an end and has multiple story arcs in one show. This is unlike a daytime show which might develop one story arc over so many weeks,” he explained. “Each episode is self contained with issues that start and are resolved. But there are major arcs that continue on. NS is shot in High Def Video, no big deal there, many soaps are but the real difference that throws people is the fact that NS is edited like a movie. NS in the course of one episode covers two, three or more days. Daytime by comparison, might take three episodes to play out one day, hence its editing is fairly linear. This makes the NS editing look like it’s jumping all over the place. In fact it’s not. It’s just moving quicker. In a movie you accept this without thinking because it’s film. In video tape it seems to take longer to adjust to.” Sure, NS had to reference its GH origins to take off, but now, it’s a whole other, “independent” animal to Rogers, who could envision the same happening for the other ABC soaps. So, in a way, subsequent soap spinoffs into primetime could theoretically preserve the genre by creating a reinvented one.
Sonya Eddy (Epiphany) made sure to keep her on-screen kiss with Billy Dee Williams (Toussaint, GH:NS) from her mom who’s a big fan. She didn’t want her mom to go crazy, she just wanted her to watch first. The second her mom did watch, late at night which isn’t her normal TV-viewing routine, she made sure to phone up daughter Eddy with her excitement. “She couldn’t believe I didn’t say anything. Of course, now she’s gong to read about it, too! [Imitating her mother] ‘I know you didn’t tell a national magazine that! Did they spell my name right [laughs]?’ I love you, momma!” –Soap Opera Digest, September 23, 2008
Kent King (Lainey; ex-Imani, PC) was turned onto a self-defense system that helps women fend off attackers and keep themselves fit in the process. Her ex-boyfriend recommended Bojuka, and she’s since recommended it to her female co-stars (Minae Noji/Kelly, Rebecca Herbst/Elizabeth, Natalia Livingston/ex-Emily). King’s big on Bojuka, ever since she and Kiko Ellsworth (ex-Stan; ex-Jamal, PC) took classes in 2003. While training in Bojuka, she fell for a fellow classmate in current boyfriend Christian Cardona, also a filmmaker. An instructor, King lauds Bojuka as a self-defense system that relies on the basics, going for an attacker’s most vulnerable points—the eyes, the groin, the throat. Nothing too complicated here. “One of the key things is understanding that it’s not about a combination of moves,” she explained. “People get misdirected in that they go to class and think, ‘Do this. Do that.’ But if you get into a real-life situation, all that goes out the window. There is an animal in us that will fight for its life, but women are taught to be nice and polite and to not hurt anybody. The first thing we have to do is to get that animal out and let her know she’s worth fighting for.” Also key is having the women learn to fight off guys two, three, four times their height and weight. It can be done, King said, with this system. –Soap Opera Digest, “Daytime’s Got Talent!,” September 23, 2008
Skipping to the October 7th episode of GH:NS, “Truth and Consequences,” look for Leslie Charleson to bring Monica over as a doctor, when a patient flatlines on the table and it’s Patrick’s job on the line, as well as Finola Hughes’ Anna tending to a recovering Robert right before his condition grows grave. Then, for the October 21st finale—made up in two parts—Robert’s pals Sean and Tiffany return.
Rick Hearst (Ric) signed on to continue with GH.
Olivia has a brother. Of course she does. He’s Vito. Of course he is. The actor playing him is Peter Allas (The Last Sentinel, Day Break, Without A Trace, Point Pleasant, Riptide, The Sopranos). Allas was Salvatore in a 2006 episode of the HBO series about a mob family. Big surprise.
Robert LaSardo (ex-Mateo/ex-Manny) is so good at playing bad, it’s almost hard to believe the guy playing bad is so good…if that makes any sense. LaSardo—heavily in demand in Hollywood playing, what else?, bad guys on film—counted soap fans as being the most loyal and the most kind. Unlike most of the mainstream, soap fans are there through thick and thin, he said. “It really warms my heart, especially in an industry that’s so fickle, where two months after your film comes out, you’re forgotten about. But these people remember what affects them and it makes you want to continue to do good work.” The good work LaSardo continued to do post-GH included the movies, Autopsy – filmed in an actual mental institution in Louisiana, and Death Race – a remake of the 1975 film starring Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine. –Soap Opera Digest & Weekly online, interview by Tom Stacy, read September 18th
Gossip for the week of 22-Sep-2008
Could working opposite the scintillating Sarah Joy Brown (Claudia) have been part of the allure for Rick Hearst (Ric) to re-sign on the dotted line? And when will Maurice Benard (Sonny) follow suit?
For November Sweeps, head writer Bob Guza Jr. has another inventive twist in mind. This time, a funeral will flash on the screen, and then time would reverse as events are put into place leading up to this devastating death.
Will the funeral be Kate’s? Hard to imagine recovering from a bullet to the chest, even at Miracle Hospital. If a miracle happens anyway, and Kate survives, she’ll witness Sonny going dark and deep, and back into the mob to exact payback. Jason will once again separate himself from his only happiness—Liz and the kids—with a renewed sense that his mob world is no place for family.
Robert Scorpio will attend Patrick and Robin’s wedding on GH, later this fall. That is, if he survives his colon-cancer treatments. People are saying GH:NS head writer Sri Rao would never kill off a soap hero like Robert, but GH head writer Bob Guza Jr. would (IMHO). In a heartbeat, baby.
Patrick and Robin’s baby will come into this world with HIV complications. TPTB don’t intend to ignore the mom’s HIV status.
Several couples will have weddings this fall—in addition to Sonny and Kate: Elizabeth and Jason, Patrick and Robin, Johnny and Lulu, Lucky and Sam, Ric and Claudia, me and Jax, Jeff and Nikolas…
New GH opening credits, coming soon (week of September 29th is the date of filming).
TIIC are gonna age Cameron and Morgan. The child actor (what’s his name anyway?) who played Morgan already shot his final scenes, supposedly.
General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2024 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.
