All My Children/One Life To Live online (cast info, discussion, etc)- Page 4

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 11:56am

Ha, I kinda hate to admit, but, that was my first reaction as well (re the drug bust.) I mean who goes and just randomly asks someone...

Jane, you should recognize six (though some of them haven't had a Vanity Fair style glamour shot like that in ages)--character wise, Angie, Brooke, Bianca (Eden Reigel the main "gay" Bianca actress, not the last one), Cara and Dixie. There's also the "five+ years" aged Miranda, Cassandra, and one new character, Cecila. Not sure why Kendall wasn't there as she apparently made it in time for some pics (or why Francesca James, one of the first stars and first twin characters as Kitty/Kelly Cole from '74 to the mid 80s with a lot of repeats later to see her surrogate mom MYrtle--isn't, she did make the group shot.)

The recasts and new faces don't bug me really--but that's one reason AMC did the time jump. They didn't have a big young adult population the last few years (though they were overrun with 30somethings like screenhogs Ryan and Greenlee and Kendall)--and with less actors able to come back than OLTL, which ended more recently, I think it was smart to restructure the show some. But we'll see. (I hate to say a part of me is kinda hoping Susan Lucci's Devious Maids, which doesn't look as fun as it should be, doesn't run long...)

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 1:08pm

Kasie and Flo look amazing! Love their cat fights!

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 3:02pm

Eric, could that be Dixie on the far right????

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 3:55pm

Ha, yes it is. I admit it's hard to recognize her in that photo (and he fact that Cady is kinda infamous for changing her hair every other week.)

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 4:04pm

I was thrown because the photo is a little small for me to make all of the faces out, and also, she looks kind of youngish there! I love her, though!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/13/13 at 4:23pm

I think the photos were at least slightly airbrushed, too, but she's looking great lately. Her blog is a funny read--partly because she's funny, and yet also oddly overly earnest--she just did a recent entry addressing the mild nudity in the online soaps (which she's rather very much gung-ho for.)

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/14/13 at 2:05pm

*Very very mild spoiler for OLTL*






A script has leaked featuring Tea, and Sam Jack and Tea, and Blair in various scenes all with... James. As often happens, people think this is a codename, and not that James Ford is back (I hope!)--and that James is Victor Jr. Trevor SJ has hidden his last appearances before, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's back for a month along with Roger as Todd to tie up loose ends.

In news that I don't know what to say about, Corbin Bleu has been cast in the new contract role of Jeffrey. Originally the casting call was for a black, British character in his 20s from an upper class background.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/14/13 at 5:50pm

Brief chat with the actors behind Adam, Jesse and Angie about the direction of the new AMC (one on OLTL to follow):


First thing’s first: Fans aren’t the only ones who have noticed that there are many brand new faces on the rebooted version of the show; the vets are quite aware that they’re sharing the pool with many daytime newbies — including Ryan Bittle (JR Chandler), Eric Nelsen (AJ Chandler), Jordan Lane Price (Celia Fitzgerald), Sal Stowers (Cassandra Foster), Denyse Tontz (Miranda Montogmery) and Robert Scott Wilson (Peter Cortlandt).

“Television is usually geared to a younger audience nowadays, and it was certainly in the minds of the new production company to infuse [“AMC”] with a little more youth,” explains Williams of the shift, adding that rather than bringing in a ton of new characters, it made sense for the producers to age familiar ones that already existed. “It’s called ‘All My Children,’ and that’s what it is turning out to be.”

But if you’re a fan who’s worried that the soap will more resemble a TeenNick show than the Pine Valley you’re used to, Williams says not to worry: “You have to have a sort of even balance, and if you’re going to run the show properly, you have to keep that balance. And remember when we started on the show [in the early 80s] the show was balanced almost equally with our teen storylines, the whole Tad, Liza, Greg, Jenny, Angie and myself gang. All My Children has had a reputation for being at its best when it tells well balanced youth storylines going back to Erica, Phil, Chuck and Tara as its first story, which shocked soap viewers not used to teen storylines.”

And if anyone can seamlessly integrate the youth-centric storylines with the classic stories soap fans love, Williams and Morgan say it’s their new executive producer, Ginger Smith, and the show’s creator, Agnes Nixon, who’s back to help with story direction. “It was a shame and a sin for [Agnes]… not to be able to have her participation and her input into the show [for such a long time while it was on ABC],” Morgan shares. “And now, to have her back with us, we really feel okay. We know we’re going to succeed.”

Adds Williams: “We’ve got our captain at the helm… Back to basics, back to her wonderful storytelling. And we’ve also got Ginger Smith executive producing… and she is so excited about this.”


But what about the show’s new 30-minute per day, four days a week format? It’ll be more manageable for fans to digest — and Morgan says it’ll be easier for Canary to digest, as well. “It [means] a lot less lines for him to memorize!” she says with a laugh, prompting Canary to pipe up and joke: “Maybe I could root for a 20-minute show.”

But in reality, the new format and shooting schedule has been a bit of an adjustment, especially for those who have been on the show for many years. “I’m loving this, but it’s hard work,” Canary admits. “And the older we get, the harder it gets.”

But that’s not necessarily a complaint, because Canary, Morgan and Williams are just happy that “AMC” is back — hectic shooting schedule and all. “I can’t tell you how unbelievable it is,” Morgan says. “It’s like the stars all in alignment.”

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/14/13 at 6:38pm

amen!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/15/13 at 5:24pm

Erika Slezak interview:



With six Outstanding Lead Actress Daytime Emmy Awards under her belt — or rather, on her shelf — “One Life to Live’s” Erika Slezak (Victoria Lord) is one woman to be respected. So when she says TOLN’s version of the iconic show she’s been a part of for more than 40 years is going to be stellar, you’d damn well better believe her!

“I think we’re in great shape. I really do,” the actress reveals. “I have ultimate faith in [co-headwriter] Susan Horgan. She emailed me a few weeks ago, and she said, ‘You’re going to love this. This is so exciting.” I had lunch with her right after she took the job, and we talked for like three hours just about where the show was when it ended, and she already had so many crazy, wonderful ideas, and I thought, ‘This is going to be great.’”



“And Jenn Pepperman… is, I think, a brilliant choice for an executive producer,” the actress continues. “She knows the show, and she knows the medium so well. She understands what storytelling is all about. And she’s a smart cookie. She’s really smart and with it, and I know she’s been working her tail off for the last two months.”

Slezak is confident the results of all of that hard work will pay off, and she couldn’t be happier. “When the whole thing fell apart last year, everybody kind of sank down and said, ‘Okay, now we move on with our lives and go in another direction,’” she recalls. “And I kept waiting. I waited for a year for the incredible sadness and misery to crash in on me about not having a job, about missing ‘One Life to Live’ and missing Viki and my characters. And it never really happened. I’m still waiting! My husband kept saying to me, ‘Are you ok? You seem fine.’ And I said ‘I am fine. I had a fabulous job for 41 years… and I can’t complain. And now I get to be home with my family, and I’m fine. Ok.’ So when it all came up again, I thought, ‘Oh, am I ready for this?’ And yes, I am! The answer is yes. Because I never wanted to stop working.”

Especially because, as the actress notes, getting together with the cast and crew again is kind of like a family reunion. “[It’s] brilliant, because none of us have seen each other for a year,” she enthuses. “We’re… like kids. It’s terrific.”

But there’s one new cast member who’s so beautiful, Slezak jokes she’s not exactly sure she’d like to share the screen with her! “The girl that is going to play Destiny… is so gorgeous,” she says of Laura Harrier. “I saw a photo and I said, ‘Oohh, I don’t want to work with her!’”

All joking aside, Slezak is thrilled that “OLTL” is bringing in fresh faces, as well as pushing the boundaries content wise. “It’s going to be very exciting; we have a lot more freedom with the scripts,” she previews. “I don’t think Viki is going to launch into saying four letter words, and no nude scenes for Vicki! But other than that, it’s a very exciting, groundbreaking thing.”

Slezak is also thrilled that show creator Agnes Nixon will be a part of things again. “Agnes has pushed for this more than anybody; this has been a dream of hers,” says Slezak of “OLTL” and “All My Children” returning. “She was devastated when ABC cancelled both shows — and she is a classy lady, so she never came out and said [it] — but I know that she was heartbroken… So the fact that this is actually happening is brilliant.”

“There is no one who can guide you better than Agnes can,” she continues. “I don’t think she has the time or necessarily the will to write script after script, but she can certainly oversee it and say, ‘No, this is not right.’ She’s so smart. She’s done this for so long, and it was crucial that she be involved in this. And I am so glad that she is.”

And she thanks Prospect Park executives, Jeff Kwatinetz and Rich Frank, for making everything — from the return of the shows, to the return of Nixon — happen. “They have made so many people so happy,” she enthuses. “Not just the actors and the people who are working again, but the fans, who are thrilled — thrilled. And it is only because of them really not taking no for an answer that this is happening. So it’s brilliant.”

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/15/13 at 5:30pm

And one with Eden Reigel. It sounds like so far Binks is only contracted for the first set of 40 episodes (about ten weeks.)

“I’m so excited to be back playing Bianca again; it’s so surreal,” Reigel exclaims. “I feel like I’m living in a dream.”


And rightfully so: It’s been three years since she’s stepped into the shoes of Erica Kane’s daughter. And a lot has changed since then, including the fact that Bianca’s daughter, Miranda (played by Denyse Tontz), is now a teenager! “It’s come full circle, because I was the teenaged daughter when I first started on the show, and I was the one giving my mother grief,” the Virginia native recalls. “And now I’m getting to see what Bianca is like as a mother of a grown child, and maybe getting some of the grief back [that] she gave to Erica.”

Cough, cough, um, if Bianca’s lucky, Miranda will give her the grief that Binks gave Erica. If she’s not so lucky, Miranda will give her the type of grief that Erica used to give to Mona! “Obviously, there’s a mirror between Mona and Erica and Miranda and Bianca, so it’s very interesting to see the generations go on,” Riegel notes. “It’s just like life, really… and it’s very moving to me to see the stories continue to be told with all of that history behind it.”


Speaking of other Kane women, Riegel says that Bianca’s former portrayer, Christina Bennett Lind, tweeted her when she heard the news that the role had been filled. “When she found out the news that I was going to be reprising the role… she was so supportive and delightful,” the actress says, adding that she believes Bennett played a fabulous Binks. “She did a great job as Bianca. It was a different Bianca than mine; she made it her own, and I was so proud watching it.”

But at the same time, Riegel is excited to be the one to take Erica’s daughter through the next stages of her life. “There’s a lot of meaty stuff to deal with right off the bat,” she teases of Bianca’s TOLN debut. “Ultimately, it was just such a great opportunity for me to return to this place where I first started, and I just had to see Bianca through this chapter.”

At the same time, Reigel is going through a new chapter of her own. She and her husband, Andrew Miller — a high school classmate of Cameron Mathison (Ryan Lavery) — welcomed their first child, Jack Oscar, in May 2011. And in addition to being a mom, the actress, who resides in Los Angeles, is also juggling outside projects with her “AMC” role. “I had another obligation in LA when [the “AMC” role] came up, so I was only able to commit for a short period of time,” she explains.

One of those obligations is starring in the play “American Misfit,” which is running at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles from April 4 through May 12. “[“AMC”] was able to work with [my schedule], which was amazing,” she says. “And I’m not sure how long [my run as Bianca will be], or if I’ll return.”


Either way, she’s extremely happy to be back on the soap that launched her career. “I feel like, in a way, that I’ve stepped back in time,” she shares. “But in another way, since it’s this new frontier and so forward-thinking… and everything is made new again, it’s very, very exciting. But to still have the same faces and the same people that all of our viewers grew up with or followed like their own family, and to see it have that continuity, is so reassuring and so comforting. I think the viewers will really enjoy getting to check in with the friends and family that they miss.”

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/15/13 at 5:39pm

I think Viki has a thing for the word "brilliant." Or is that Niki talking?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/15/13 at 5:59pm

That's definitely vintage Vicki--said in her slight New England accent.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/18/13 at 3:32pm

Really great blog by Cady McClain, despite the odd misspellings. You would think she could spell Cortlandt by now? A bit of a spoiler about Celia and her connections to Pine Valley:

http://cadymcclain.com/lets-talk-about-the-kids-of-all-my-children/

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/19/13 at 5:18pm

Here is the first trailer.


See first trailer for 'All My Children,' 'One Life to Live' -- VIDEO

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 11:03am

I'm a complete idiot by not noticing that Starr Manning has been entirely absent from this process. Does this mean I'm finally free of her tyranny???

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 4:12pm

Unfortunately not. They've been pretty quiet about what her status is on GH, but her character was just described as leaving, so she might be making a brief appearance at least on One Life.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 4:24pm

Eh...I can handle an appearance.

I sat next to Vimal Patel on the subway yesterday. It took EVERYTHING in me not to say something.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 4:50pm

I sorta wish the show wouldn't bother trying to get Star or John back from GH--they dominated the show to a fault the last few years (as did Todd/Victor, but I can get why they feel the need to give some closure to that story.) There's some fan controversy about the fact Vimal is on recurring status, and his wife is on contract, although neither were on contract when the show was on network--you should have asked him about it :P

An article and interviews about how increased sexualityis being used to sell the shows online: http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2013/03/sex-sex-sex-how-toln-plans-to-reignite-the-daytime-fire

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 6:57pm

AMC/OLTL both just released a casting call for "extremely attractive" men of all races who could "club dance." Will OLTL and AMC share a gaybar? LOL

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 4:15pm

'One Live to Live' lost two of its actors to 'General Hospital'.


'One Life to Live' loses actors to 'General Hospital'

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/25/13 at 4:57pm

This fight between GH and PP is beyond stupid. From the fan reaction I've seen, people could care less about Star or John returning to One Life, so just let them continue as their characters on GH. Or let them go (I'm not sure anyone at GH is invested enough in them to care at this point.) They seem to have more or less worked things out with Todd, but it all is becoming a silly game of one of the studios saying one thing and then other saying "yeah well if you're going to do that, we won't let you do this..."

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 8:01pm

Hulu three minute AMC trailer http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/473209#i0,p0,d1 The sets look way better than I expected. (Woot Angie and Jesse actually get a house.)

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 9:39pm

I can live one full life without Todd or Starr.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 11:32pm

Really great 10 min recap-trailers for both shows. The AMC one has some shocking new clips (I guess we know? who JR killed?) and I love how Vicki hosts One Life's

AMC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo67KsXsfUU&feature=player_embedded#!

One Life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOxJXM49ALI&feature=player_embedded#!

*I am way too excited for both*