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News for the week of 15-Sep-2008
A Martinez (Ray; ex-Roy, GH; ex-Cruz, SB) is taking his new gig at OLTL one day at a time. It’s not like he signed up for two years straight—as originally broached by TPTB. He currently has a five-week deal, and his attitude is, we’ll see what happens from there. But Martinez—who has to commute to New York from his home base in California—has a feeling his new role on OLTL could be a lifer. Working on OLTL affords Martinez a chance to act opposite some veterans and some talented young stars he really admires, including Robin Strasser (Dorian) and Brittany Underwood (Langston). A rare daytime/primetime hit, Martinez finds his room for growth and exploration best in the soap genre, and counts his finest work at SB when he was paired up with a similarly driven Marcy Walker (as Eden). As for Ray, Martinez describes the ex-con as someone viewers could root for, someone who may revert to the edge of villainy with his crass, impolite manner, but is far from the villain type. Ray could also, Martinez muses, wind up as Dorian’s paramour after the contention dies down. Read more about the actor’s various jobs and what he thinks about his former soap colleagues in Michael Fairman’s latest in-depth interview.
Martinez further described his character of Ray as an impolite, flawed individual who jumps at the chance to fly the jailbird coop—even if it means disrupting the life of a previously unheard-of niece back in Llanview. But Ray, he emphasized, is not a bad guy, he’s just a guy who’s been through a lot of trouble and for the moment, seeks only an exit out by almost any means necessary. The actor is playing his release in a cage-y way; for all outward appearances, Ray’s out for his own, but deep, deep down inside, there’s something else there. Returning to soaps after a few years’ absence took some getting used to, especially on days where Martinez – who thrilled fans with his appearance at the summer OLTL Fan Club Luncheon – had to memorize and enact 17 scenes, which “was a real test of stamina and preparation. Once I got past the ‘hump,’ I think I relaxed a little bit and my mind started to wander a little bit [laughs], but it went really well, I think. It’s such a great cast to work with, and it’s fun. It’s play.” –Soap Opera Digest, September 16, 2008
It was almost intimidation at first sight for John-Paul Lavoisier (Rex) when he first laid eyes on Farah Fath (Gigi; ex-Mimi, DOOL). He’d heard about Fath coming on board and felt she was way too good for him. For one thing, she’s from L.A. and was on one of the most popular, bigtime soaps-DOOL. Here’s how he put it: “I was a little nervous because she’s been doing it [acting] a lot longer than me. When I was 14, I was trying to find my hamster that disappeared in my parents’ basement for a week and thinking girls were icky. She was on DOOL, so it was sort of like, ‘Oh, God, is she judging me? She’s a pro at this.’” Facing an enormous script their first day didn’t ease Lavoisier’s jitters. Fath couldn’t believe he was ever intimidated and that he still regards her with awe. She was just sitting there off-camera waiting for her scenes to start and wondering why she was called up so early. Her impression of Lavoisier was kind, “charming and easygoing.” Eventually, the two of them realized something more important than their first impressions; they shared an enormous chemistry on- and off-screen. Taking their burgeoning relationship slowly to the next level, Lavoisier and Fath made sure not to broadcast their boyfriend/girlfriend status to everybody at OLTL right off the bat. Co-star Kathy Brier (Marcie), though, had a clue. She kept trying to set Fath up with guys she knew, so after awhile, feeling uneasy, Fath had to break the news to Brier about Lavoisier. “She goes, ‘Oh, I thought so! I saw you guys leaving work together and I told my boyfriend, ‘I think there’s something going on,’” relayed Fath. Now that they’re out as a couple, it’s safe to admit some other things, like how Fath still has their first few scenes on OLTL together, on her TiVo, how both Fath and Lavoisier have to deal with preserving their connectedness as a real-life couple from that of their fictional counterparts, and how they both were fans of the 1968 story that brought their characters together. They may have been the only two fans of the 1968 story on this entire planet, but they didn’t mind.
Keeping their real-life relationship safe from the cameras has gone well for Lavoisier and Fath so far. They’re able to separate what goes on off-screen from on-, insofar as dealing with one another in character. When they interact on-screen, it’s as their fictional alter-egos. Well, except for one thing, for Lavoisier… kissing. He admitted that when Rex has to kiss Gigi, it’s really Lavoisier kissing his girlfriend Fath, he can’t hold back from those emotions. This elicited an “awww” from said girlfriend.
Lavoisier and Fath were so good at keeping their real-life relationship secret that not even his mom knew until she called up to inquire about it. Fath said she urged him to let his mom in on their relationship before she found out about it some other way but alas…
–Soap Opera Digest, “Two Cute” by Lauren Flynn, September 16, 2008
Langston has undergone a subtle change in her appearance. She’s still edgy—look at that purple streak in her brown hair—but there’s a newfound maturity too. It’s thanks in large part to Dorian’s influence. Hairstylist Laurie Cacioli said the edgy part of Langston comes by virtue of Manic Panic’s Infra Red hair color. The rest of her hair is styled and set with Curly Sexy Hair’s 24/7 Curls Instant-Set Curling Spray, a one-inch barrel ceramic curling iron and Big Sexy Hair’s Big Shine hair spray. Costume designer Susan Gammie also remarked upon Langston’s maturity in terms of her fashion sense, which has gone from shocking youth to a little more toned-down classic, in say, a wool and cashmere tunic sweater paired with nylon and spandex zipper leggings.
Langston gains a cousin in Lola, aka actress Camila Banus, 18. The Miami actress has done Spanish telenovelas and appeared in Dexter on Showtime. Look for Lola to start trouble October 3.
The original, troubled bad girl, Jen Rappaport, aka actress Jessica Morris, will return in spirit form for Rex as he lay in a coma.
Florencia Lozano reprises her role as attorney Tea Delgado, sometime in December. Lozano’s done quite a number of movies this year, Veronika Decides to Die, The Ministers, TransBeMan, Deception, and the TV show Lipstick Jungle.
Gossip for the week of 15-Sep-2008
Kathy Brier’s (Marcie) leaving OLTL? She should. TPTB really have not done her character justice since Marcie was made to run off with Tommy. Marcie as a character and Marcie’s marriage to Michael were swept under the rug for plot-driven drivel that also managed to convolute Trevor St. John’s character of Todd.
What they’re planning to do to Todd is criminal but typical of the soap cliché. Remember when he lied to Blair that her baby (Jack) died after she gave birth to him, and then he sold it on the black market with David’s help? The idiot’s gonna pull the same maneuver, but with his own daughter Starr. This is beyond heinous, and on top of further victimizing Marty, the woman he brutally raped, he’s gonna put his daughter (and Marcie) through needless hell. For what? When a character refuses to evolve, especially after experiencing a near-death lethal injection, that’s the end of the character as far as I’m concerned.
Jeremy in Chicago at SoapTown USA’s CRAZE mentioned the other week the racially inappropriate remark (“lazy bitch”) allowed to be uttered by blonde bimbo Tess to a black nurse. He was astounded and aghast. This gave me an idea, though, to save Tess’s portrayer Bree Williamson from the bad acting chapter in the soap history books. Why not make Tess a racist bitch? Wouldn’t this save her from another plot-driven bomb (imprisoning Natalie in the Llanfair dungeon, with none the wiser) and challenge her in a socially relevant, human interest umbrella story?
The reviews of Andrea Evans’ return as Tina weren’t very kind. Part of the blame belongs to head writer Ron Carlivati—OLTL’s so-called savior—who didn’t think to put her in scenes with family and work out that reunion first. Instead, she was thrown into one of the worst soap stories ever in the history of soap stories—the Mendorra caper—with mostly strangers, some of whom couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag. Now, she’s back home, but again, stuck in a no-win situation with Tess in a bad retread of the 1995 story in which Viki's alter imprisoned her read-headed nemesis in the secret room in Llanfair's basement. Because of TPTB’s blunders, Evans may have to just go back out the airport door where she came in.
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