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News for the week of 14-Sep-2015
If the stars align, Tequan Richmond (T.J.) could be in a hot new Showtime drama. Richmond will take on the leading role of Emmett, a teenager who has three kids with three women, but has to raise one of the kids on his own. The as-yet-untitled, coming-of-age drama is in the pilot stage right now, and features other rising stars, including Aisha Hinds (Under The Dome), Alex Henderson (Empire), Olivia Dawson (Empire), and Jason Weaver (The Ladykillers). Deadline has more about the pilot project.
Nicolas Bechtel (Spencer) landed a new acting role on a potential hit Disney Channel series called Stuck In The Middle. The new series will also make a splash for diversity by focusing on a Latino family of seven, to debut in the spring of next year. Bechtel plays Danny, one of the younger children. Jenna Ortega (Jane the Virgin) plays the leading role of Harley, the middle child with a lot to juggle.
Michael Fairman received a lot of shit for his September 7th interview with controversial soap newcomer Bryan Craig (Morgan). The substance of the interview wasn’t so much the problem with viewers critical of Craig’s social media behavior, so much as the misrepresentation of facts leading up to the actor’s Twitter beef with fans — one in particular, whom he threatened with bodily harm. Fans did also have an issue with Fairman’s softball questions. (But Fairman isn’t known for his hard-hitting journalism, as the blogger’s widely regarded as a friend to soaps.) Nevertheless, the heart of the interview presented Craig as a knowledgeable and appreciative soap actor, well aware of his role on the show and extremely excited for the umbrella storyline that gives him and the rest of the cast some juicy material. He’s talking about the story putting the spotlight back on the Corinthos clan, after Sonny is shot moments before his wedding to Carly, as well as the possibility that Sonny’s youngest son Morgan suffers from the same bipolar disorder.
Craig’s excitement is real. “I was excited to have something different to play than I have ever played before. Frank Valentini (executive producer, GH) had me shave my head [for a harder look], which is cool, to go through a physical change for a storyline. Also, I was excited to play it, because Maurice Benard (Sonny) actually suffers from that illness, and so I knew that it would be a storyline that was close to home for him. I knew I could get a lot of information from him on how to play it correctly, and kind of have a ‘coach,’ if you will, that would be right there. I was also excited to research it and educate myself more on it, because I really had no idea what this entails. So, it’s been a new adventure on the show that I have been able to take.”
Despite fans accusing Fairman of softball journalism, the soap blogger did ask Craig about the odd discrepancy between Kiki and Morgan’s reactions in the courtroom scene when Ava reveals herself. Morgan didn’t look surprised at all. Craig said that was a conscious choice, in total character. “I fought for that, because they wanted me to play surprised. I was like, ‘Absolutely not!’ I was like, ‘Please, do not make my character look that stupid.’ I said, ‘Let me at least take the angle of being angry,’ and of ‘You’ve got to be kidding me?’ Rather than it being: ‘Oh, my God! Ava!’”
Craig even gave credit where credit was due, by acknowledging that recently ousted head writer Ron Carlivati (and executive producer Frank Valentini) both made the bipolar story happen. “But that was when Ron was here writing the show, and that was not the start of the new material, and it was done phenomenally. I reached out to Ron and told him this story has been so awesome. I thanked him so much for obviously writing this material,” Craig said. “… What is really cool about it is it sort of wraps-around with my first year on the show. Ron wrote me that big wedding scene, which got me my first Daytime Emmy nomination, and that was a turning point. Coming in and being a new guy on the soaps can be tough. People don’t really take a liking to you, and that is the first time, I think, that people started to go, ‘Oh, maybe this kid is alright. Maybe he can act a little bit.’ I felt like Ron truly came full-circle with it through this material that he just wrote for me a few years later on his way out. I found it ironic, and really cool.”
Playing bipolar tore Craig apart. It didn’t do Maurice Benard (Sonny) any favors, either. Craig opened up about the process that became a little too real for both of them, starting with those first scenes of discovery. “I did not sleep the entire night before. I did that kind of purposely. I was in a really bad place coming to work already. Maurice will tell you, and Frank will tell you, I came on to the set crying already, and really messed up. When the scene started and I saw Maurice, I mean that was not acting. Maurice was picturing his real-life young son and thinking, ‘What if my son grows up and has this issue?’ You could see that in Maurice’s eyes. So, when I saw that it broke me up. Frank was on set for every single scene, and was right there with us. He was absolutely phenomenal in working with us. You could hear a pin drop on the set that day. Everyone was moved out that did not need to be there. It was just extremely well set up for us as actors, and that is another reason I think it turned out well.”
Neither actor wants this bipolar story to drag out, for both their sakes, but especially for Benard’s who tends to go deep and take it personally. Craig actually had to have therapy and talk with Benard on the phone a lot to deal with playing possibly a bipolar person. “Maurice and I were in talks on the phone every day after work. It was really about me helping him keep sane, and him helping me keep sane outside of work,” Craig confessed.
So the bipolar story will not linger forever without a resolution, not if the actors have any say in the matter. They strongly requested Valentini put Morgan on bipolar meds sooner than later. “You just can’t keep playing this for so long, because in real life normally someone would get treated. I think Maurice and I would lose our minds if we had to play this for another two months. I don’t think they need to draw it out for that long. You will see him lose it, and then get some help … and then comeback from that. I think everyone wants to see that happen.”
Michael Fairman and Bryan Craig get into the Twitter incident in some detail. Read the interview for more.
GH cast a certain black actor to play romance with a female lead already heating up the canvas. He aced the screen test with the actress, causing quite a commotion for those lucky enough to witness the moment. Chemistry off the charts…
Gossip for the week of 14-Sep-2015
Others may disagree, but I found myself digging into last week’s riveting drama surrounding Sonny and Carly’s wedding preparations and the kidnapping that went awry. It’s a case of show over tell, and it worked. Here’s an excerpt from my September 13-posted SoapHub commentary, “Live on the Redemption Tour: It’s All About Sonny Now”: “By showing Sonny as a vulnerable, real, multi-faceted human being instead of a Teflon Don, TPTB raised the stakes for the audience by making them care, by making them believe it could be them in the same position, and then what? They brought the glorification of the mob under Guza down to our eye level.
“More significantly, they finally gave Sonny the heart of gold everyone around him had always hyped incessantly with their meaningless words. They did this by showing us what this mobster is capable of, rather than telling us. That way, we are left to our own conclusions.”
As soon as Jake Doe turned into Jason Morgan last week on the docks, saving Sonny from certain goons, the Internet exploded with the rumor that his portrayer would jump ship back to Y&R. Alas, the rumor could be nothing more than Y&R fans’/PTB’s wishful thinking.
Michael assumes control of the mob, in Sonny’s absence. The Quartermaines will play a major role in the next mob war, because of Michael ratcheting up his involvement. Of course Michael’s biggest rival in business — Nikolas — will join in the fun too, as well as the rest of the Spencers (because of Dante).
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.
