Nelson Branco's Soap Opera Uncensored: Issue 45 Page 5
casting FOJs is legitimate. When you've done as many shows as I have and have been in the business this long, you accumulate some really wonderful actors as friends. Hiring people from my past shows is just a natural thing. They are fabulous actors and I know they can deliver. Nobody ever tells Steven Bochco or David Kelley they shouldn't keep hiring actors they believe in and bring them along from show to show. [Laughs] And let me be very clear that I am not comparing myself to Bochco and Kelly! My point is that you don't get that blowback in primetime like you do in daytime. That said, I have no current plans to bring on any FOJs. But if one of them is right for a role, I'm not going to ignore it just because the fans might be mad at me.
I mean them no harm. In the course of my career I have made a very public mistake or four. Killing Maureen will go down as one of the biggest blunders in soap history and I agree! I have learned my lessons and, hopefully, I will never make those mistakes again. Many of the people who are mad have been mad for years and will probably stay that way. But I think I have also done some good stuff in this business. I want the fans of Y&R to know that I very much care what they think about the show, that I am here to honor its legacy and that I'm going to do my absolute best. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be here and know that I am very lucky. That is not lost on me.
Should Genie Francis Be Worried: Genie and I had a wonderful talk when I came to Y&R and I think we're really quite fond of each other. She's a magnificent actress.
After reassessing JFP’s executive appointment on daytime’s number-one soap, I completely endorse her new title only because she is needed to rein in these out-of-control egos. But, I know in six months she’ll become a problem.
• Thanks to Brenda Dickson, Victoria Rowell looks like the sanest actress in Hollyweird. On her titular website, Dickson revealed she’s penning a tell-all memoir on her site claiming that Y&R has been canceled, Bill Bell sexually harassed her, and destroyed her career on purpose. Yikes! You know Dickson got the idea after reading Jeanne Cooper’s memoir.
• “You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say.”
—TRUMAN CAPOTE
Insiders tell UNCENSORED that Josh Griffith has opted not to re-write the final scripts of Maria Area Bell's final scripts. He’s choosing to focus on the future not the present or past.
• At the Paley Center, Maria Arena Bell addressed her ouster. With a straight face, she said, “It was a great, great experience and, like every good soap opera story, I did get killed off. But I’ve got to say that there may be an evil twin somewhere down the line.”
No! Even when she’s fired, she still can’t help but think of doppelgangers! Is it possible that there could be another clone out there with no talent and even worse fashion sense?
The Emmy winner further illustrated how delusional she is when she remarked, “Bill Bell was my mentor; I was his legacy.”
Tell that to Brad Bell, honey!
• My future husband Marco Dapper is quite the dapper guy, as proven in an interview in DIGEST this week. The most interesting fact is that Dapper continues to tend tables at an L.A. bistro despite acting on the number-one soap opera! How cool, huh? He says he’s been recognized by Y&R fans, which “is embarrassing when you’re serving them food, but I still make $400 cash waiting tables over the weekend, [so] why should I give that up no?” He’s smart and humble, too. He’s perfect.
Shhh!
SOAP OPERA MYSTERY HOUR
This week’s hottest blind item!
• Which hunk has been showing up on set drunk than ever?
Casting Coach
LINDSAY LOHAN
Considering the former ANOTHER WORLD ingénue is in major debt (which is probably why she is repeatedly accused of stealing jewelry), a soap opera should cast Lindsay Lohan in a role! The publicity would be awesome — and would even justify all the backstage problems, which would no doubt ensue. How about Lohan replace Yvonne Zima on Y&R?
The next issue of SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED will be out next week!