Matt Ashford signs on as BAY producer

Every other day, there seems to be more news to report about THE BAY web series which has just recently signed on to air on television with several different countries before it has even premiered.

As per Matt Ashford's FB page:

"I wish to let you know that I have agreed to join the producing team of "the Bay"
Along with Marybeth, Tristan, Martha, Charley, Gregori and all of his producing team I hope to contribute to this series from behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera.This is an exciting new development for me and I hope it wil...l be for you as well! Please standby for up coming announcements from me- thank you- Matt"

Dancing With The Stars Line-Up for Season 11

Guess my source for Jack Wagner was full of it, LOL! Anyway, a lot of people are kvetching about the line-up...but I don't think it's any worse than normal. Since I'm a child of the 80s, I like Michael Bolton, Jennifer Grey and David Hasselhoff. Last season was so lackluster that I never even watched the finale. Guess I should go ahead and do that.

Michael Bolton: Singer

Margaret Cho: Comedian

Rick Fox: Former NBA pro (Los Angeles Lakers)

Jennifer Grey: Dirty Dancing

David Hasselhoff: Actor/Singer

Florence Henderson: The Brady Bunch

Kyle Massey: Corey In The House

Brandy Norwood: Singer/Actress

Bristol Palin: Daughter of ex-Gov. of Alaska Sarah Palin

Audrina Patridge: The Hills

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino: The Jersey Shore

Kurt Warner: Former NFL pro (Arizona Cardinals)

More good news for THE BAY!!!

From Gregori J. Martin's FB page:

"Well folks,

You heard it from me first! As it seems, my new series THE BAY The Series (2010) has been approved for broadcast television in 19 countries in Europe, including the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Sweden, and more! An iPhone App will be available shortly of "Confessions" and the upcoming episodes, premiering Sept 15th. We are also in talks for an additional television distribution deal that can put us in over 25 millions homes throughout the US. Keep in mind that THE BAY The Series will always be available as a web series online as well.

We still have several more episodes to produce. Please help by making your pledge via our kickstarter campaign at the link below, and be a part of "television" history! Only 6 days to go and over $4,000 needed to reach our goal;) We can do this folks!

On behalf of Lanyfilms Prod thank you as always for your continued support!"

Roger Howarth to return to OLTL!

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) -- It was only a matter of time before speculation began about the the possibility of Roger Howarth returning to his "One Life to Live" roots soon after word broke late last year that CBS' "As The World Turns" would be ending its 54-year run on television. Now nine months later, Soap Opera Network has learned exclusively that Howarth will indeed be returning to the ABC soap in the near future.

"You thought the tease a couple weeks back with Tea proclaiming this isn’t Todd as she pointed to a picture of Roger Howarth was not the start of something bigger? Think again," says a setside source.

Speaking of Tea [Delgado], rumors have been running rampant that portrayer Florencia Lozano is out now that her character looks to be on death's door. When pressed for comment, an ABC spokesperson would only say "tune in tomorrow for Tea's fate."

A first airdate for Howarth has not been set, but we've been told to expect him on screen as early as December or January. But what does news of Howarth's return mean for Trevor St. John? It wouldn't be much of a stretch for the actor to have been playing an impostor after all this time as he originally joined the cast in May 2003 in the role of Walker Laurence, only to be revealed to be Todd Manning albeit with plastic surgery in August of that same year. We've been assured, however, that the actor's job is not in any danger.

Earlier this week there was a big deal made out of a "One Life to Live" cast meeting, which took place earlier today at the shows Manhattan studio. Could Howarth's return have been on the agenda at the big meeting? Will he be the real Todd Manning or will "One Life to Live" pull a "General Hospital" and have Howarth return as a new character leaving St. John in the role of Todd ala how "GH" handled the return of Sarah Joy Brown, who originated the role of Carly Corinthos only to find Laura Wright occupying the role? Stay tuned to find out.

"One Life to Live" airs Weekdays on ABC. Anytime on ABC.com."

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My comments: I'm so excited about this news, provided OLTL doesn't mess it up. I don't even care who's the real Todd and who's the imposter...as long as both Trevor St. John and Roger Howarth stay mean and sexy (...and it would be nice if Howarth would grow the long biker hair back)! My question is (provided Tea doesn't really die -- I think Greg's poisoning her by Eli's order) which Todd will Blair end up...and which Todd will Tea end up with? This could be a great plot twist to raise OLTL out of the danger zone. It could be a bomb storyline that will sign their death warrant. Tune in for tomorrow!

Brandon Buddy out at OLTL

Old news as of this posting, but Brandon Buddy (Cole) is being let go from One Life To Live. I really wasn't feeling the whole thing with Starr and Cole anyway, but at least I knew Cole when he was on the screen. Is it just me or is it hard to tell Ford and all of his siblings apart until I hear the dialogue?

The big meeting of the OLTL set was today, but I haven't heard anything about cancellation yet; so no news is good news.

Jack Wagner on DWTS!

The Bold and The Beautiful star Jack Wagner is slated to be on Dancing With the Stars this season. Are we going to get to see him dance to his 1980s hit "All I Need"? Enquiring minds want to know!

THE BAY - Confessions of the Garretts, pt. 3

This 3rd Confession is from Sara Garrett (Mary Beth Evans). She talks more about Steve Jensen (Matthew Ashford) and how he has tormented her over the years, including nearly killing her son, Brian (Dylan Bruce). Aside from that, she describes how she was forced to stay on a yacht by an obsessed filmmaker and was rescued by an Italian painter named Arturo Tonelli (Matthew Borlenghi). Sara proves she is no docile victim when she "confesses" that she faked the kidnapping of daughter Marly (Martha Madison) in order to win her husband back from Janice (Lilly Melgar). Staples of the soap genre such as mistaken identity, amnesia and faked kidnappings are all showing up as well.

Mary Beth Evans is no stranger to over-the-top soap opera storylines...so as she describes one crazy twist after another, somehow she makes it entirely believable that Sara Garrett is simply a woman who has lived an extraordinary life.

Daphnee Duplaix opens with ALL AMERICAN GIRLS

Posted by Playbill.com

All-American Girls, which is billed as "the untold story of the all-Negro female baseball team in 1945 Chicago," officially opens Aug. 25 following previews that began Aug. 4 at the Actors Temple Theatre.

Penned by Layon Gray, the production runs in repertory with Gray's Black Angels Over Tuskegee.

The cast of All-American Girls features "One Life to Live" star Daphnee Duplaix and model Mari White as well as Setor Attipoe, Yasha Jackson, Ashley Jeffrey, Arlene McGruder, Chantal Nchako, Catherine Peoples and Antoinette Robertson.

Stuart Damon on ATWT

Stuart Damon will be appearing one last time as mobster "Uncle Ralph" on As The World Turns this week.

VENICE second season preview clip

The time for the second season of Venice is getting closer at hand with this nice high-resolution teaser clip on YouTube. So with Shawn Christian and Peter Reckell added to the mix, I can't decide if Venice is looking more like Days of Our Lives or if Days of Our Lives is looking more like Venice.

THE BAY - Confessions of the Garretts, pt. 2

This second BAY confession is from Brian Garrett Nelson (Dylan Bruce). I admit with this confession I had to listen to twice and make notes of who all was who...and then I had to go to the cast list and look up the actors so I could get better visual ideas of what was all going on with everyone. It took me a little more work to keep up with this one.

Can I say that I adore the intro music already? It has a nice dramatic urgency to it that screams serious angst to come. Love it!

We learn more from Brian about Sara Garrett (Mary Beth Evans), Steve Jensen (Matthew Ashford), Zoey Johnson (Taylor Stanley), Marly Nelson-Foster (Martha Madison), Frankie Ramos (Diego Serrano), Pete Garrett (Kristos Andrews), Tony Foster (Gavin Houston) and Janice Ramos (Lilly Melgar).

Check out the link for THE BAY - Confessions of the Garretts, pt 2.

Jackie Zeman and Lesli Kay join THE BAY

As per THE BAY's webpage:

"We'd like to welcome two lovely soap veterans to the cast of THE BAY. Lesli Kay (Felicia THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL, Molly AS THE WORLD TURNS, Lois GENERAL HOSPITAL) will make her appearance in the 7th Chapter in the role of Belinda Madison, the money hungry daughter of Mayor Jack Madison (Nicolas Coster). Jacklyn Zeman (best known to daytime for her role as Bobbie Spencer) will also be joining the cast for the season finale. Details on her character TBA.

We excitedly welcome both actresses to the canvas."

Kim Zimmer to OLTL

As reported by SOAP OPERA DIGEST:

"Soap Opera Digest can report exclusively that former GUIDING LIGHT star Kim Zimmer (ex-Reva) will return to daytime this fall to reprise the role of Echo DiSavoy on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, which she last played in October 1983. "I'm so excited," Zimmer raves. "I feel like it's all come full circle." Echo was actually her second role on the show; she started out as Bonnie Harmer in 1978, then went on to play Nola on THE DOCTORS, and returned to OLTL to create troublemaker Echo in 1983. "And then they fired me!" she laughs. "She was asked to leave town, and it was the best thing that could have happened to everyone involved. I went to GUIDING LIGHT and had a wonderful 27 years there and now I'm happy to be back at ONE LIFE. And so I'm very grateful to [Executive Producer] Frank [Valentini] for making the phone call."

Echo will first resurface on October 1, and will be in big story with Clint (Jerry verDorn), Viki (Erika Slezak) and Dorian (Robin Strasser), as well as others."

Tristan Rogers gone from REALITY BYTES to THE BAY

Only a few days ago, Tristan Rogers (ex-Robert, GH) twittered that he was resigning from the web series, Reality Bytes, as producer, director and actor. Now he is taking on the role of producer in The Bay, the web series he is also slated to act in. Looks like Reality Bytes' loss will be The Bay's gain...and that the drama has already started before the series have been launched.

LIVE CALL-IN SHOW with NICOLAS COSTER

Soap veteran NICOLAS COSTER will be joining OUTTAKES to talk about his upcoming appearance on THE BAY web series. We'll also be discussing his varied acting career, including his popular role as "Lionel Lockridge" on SANTA BARBARA. Tentatively scheduled for Monday, August 16th, at 4 PM PST / 7 PM EST. Call (347) 989-0605 or join in the chatroom to participate in the show. If calling in with a question, please make sure and press "1" when prompted by the recording.

LIVE CALL-IN SHOW with SAVE OUR SOAPS 2010

OUTTAKES Interview with Tami King and Sue O'Konis, group leaders of the Facebook group SAVE OUR SOAPS 2010. This group is now focusing on trying to get back "As the World Turns/Guiding Light" and also saving the whole soap opera genre which is in danger of extinction. They are holding a rally in New York City on September 20, 2010.

Join us on Friday, August 13th, at 10:00 PM EST. Call (347) 989-0605 or ask questions in the chatroom. You must register with Blogtalkradio to participate in the chat. If you have a question, pleas press "1" when prompted by the Blogtalkradio message.

See you all there!

THE BAY - Confessions of the Garretts, Pt 1

So for those of us who have missed Mary Beth Evans, despite the occasional appearance as Kayla (DAYS) or Sierra (ATWT), here we get a great Evans performance in spades! With these "confessionals", this is a way for some backstory to be told in a short time to set up the scene for the beginning of Gregori Martin's THE BAY series. The link to Part 1 is here.

I am particularly excited to hear about the dysfunctional twisted relationship of Sara to Steve Jensen (to be played by Matthew Ashford). Back during the glory decade of Days of Our Lives, both Mary Beth and Matthew gave powerhouse performances with the storyline of the Jack/Kayla marriage ultimately leading to rape. Although these are different characters, I know that these two can play angst like nobody's business; and I for one can't wait to see it!

A big thank you to Gregori Martin for recognizing great actors when you have them. Also, for recognizing that drama and good storytelling can still happen with character over 30. Good times ahead!

Gina Gallego replaces Stacy Haiduk on DAYS

As reported earlier, Stacy Haiduk had a scheduling conflict with DAYS for the role of Warden Smith. She has been replaced by Gina Gallego (ex-Gina, B&B; ex-Santana, GENERATIONS). Gallego will first appear in early October. "We are huge fans of Stacy's and would love to have her back on DAYS in the future if something becomes available," says a spokesperson in a statement.

Susan Seaforth Hayes airdates on Y&R

Susan Seaforth Hayes will be appearing on The Young and The Restless as Joanna on August 17th and 18th.

Haiduk recast on DAYS

Stacy Haiduk (ex-Patty and Emily, Y&R) says via FB that she shot 3 episodes on DAYS and has already been recast.

Here is her post on FB:

For all you guys out there who were all set to watch me on DAYS I have some bad news. DAYS has dropped me. It all started when I booked a guest spot on a new show for FOX, RIDE-ALONG. The show will shoot in Chicago and I have to leave town for that. There was a conflict in scheduling so FOX pushed me to their second week. But when ONE day was still in conflict, instead of working things out DAYS decided to drop me.

I have shot 3 episodes. I am sure they will still air them. I am disappointed. My agents told me they will be recasting the part.. That is the news I received today. I will keep you posted. Thanks everyone for your love and support. Love Stace

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Seriously, what is wrong with these people? They couldn't have shot around her for a day. They could have just set up another day of Carly and Chloe squabbling about telling Daniel the truth and no one would have known the difference! DAYS wouldn't have treated her right anyway; so I suppose in a way Haiduk lucked out.

Web Series Review - What If?, Part 2

Maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but now the trapped-in-an-elevator and sitting-next-to-each-other-on-an-airplane scenarios are getting kind of tedious. I know the soaps are short of time and money, but couldn't they have dug out a few other sets just for variety? How about being stuck in the Port Charles Hospital waiting room? Or meeting at a party at Llanfair? Just something a little different!

Jason Morgan (GH)/ Greenlee Smythe (AMC) - My least favorite episode so far. God, could Greenlee have been any more annoying? If I had written it, I would have had Jason take her out (and I mean mob-style) right there on the plane! I think it was supposed to be funny.

Jesse and Angie Hubbard (AMC) / Starr Manning (OLTL) - Angie and Jesse rock with their mix of marital angst and humor. They totally steal the episode from Starr, who was just sort of there.

Dante Falconeri (GH) / Tess Buchanan (OLTL) - Disappointing. For one thing, Dante is not the type of character who does one night stands. We saw that when Claudia tried to seduce him a while back. Also, he tends to go for the damsels in distress; so I would think Jessica would be more his type than Tess.

Luke Spencer (GH) / Viki Banks (OLTL) - (pictured above) - One of the episodes I was really looking forward to, starring two soap actor legends. The thing is I wanted a little less conversation and a little more action. Basically, this was just a recap of character history. I'm assuming most of the people interested in the "What If" series already have a fairly good knowledge of the ABC soap characters.

Soap Round-Up 8/2 to 8/6

SOAP OF THE WEEK - THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. I loved the Glowworm Opening. This reminded me of soaps in the 80s -- giving an excuse for all the characters to dress to the nines and snark at each other.

Winner Moments: Fun to see the Newman girls go wild at the club opening while Ashley looked drop dead gorgeous. Lauren and Jill are fun adversaries when they don't go over the top in the graveyard. Great to see the "old" Phyllis back! Last but not least, the surprise Adam/Sharon kiss. Yes, he's a rat who swapped her baby and all that...but there was a hawtness factor with this kiss. Or maybe I've just missed having Michael Muhney around. I'm pretty much ready for Phyllis and Sharon to ditch Nick for good for the bad boys Deacon and Adam.

Loser moments: Not too long ago, Paul was kissing Lauren when she was high on the weird pills. Now he's kissing Cricket just for old times sake. And yet he's the first one to give someone a morality lecture when he gets on his high horse! If Jana wants to get her man back, she needs to stop wearing ridiculous outfits at parties. I'm ready for Mac to do a good deed in Africa or Ethiopia, somewhere far from Genoa City!

SOAP ACTORS OF THE WEEK: Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R) tied with Florencia Lozeno (Tea, OLTL). I couldn't decide which actress was better. They both rocked it!

ALL MY CHILDREN

Winner: Angie's week to shine with the blindness vs. pregancy storyline

Loser: Marissa going along with getting pregnant, doing anything for that loser JR.

AS THE WORLD TURNS

Winner: Henry just looks really funny in drag.

Loser: Wouldn't it have been cooler for Barbara to have been kidnapped by James Stenbeck rather than Iris?

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

Winner: Susan Flannery for actually having all these scenes about this monotonous Hope/Oliver/Brooke nonsense and making think that "Stephanie" cares about any of this garbage.

Best Line: Nick to Jackie: "Mother, I don't want to shame you. I just want to make sure your reality checks don't bounce!"

Losers: Where do I start? Poor Brandon Beemer having to endure the gray statue body paint? Bridget whining incessantly? Hope trying to forget Oliver's accidental escapade with Brooke by recreating the event? And if I had a dollar for everything I have to hear that stupid "motion...motion..." song again!

DAYS OF OUR LIVES

Winners: The EJ/Sami proposal was sweet for as long as it lasted. Brady Black is being a badass and I like it! Better than seeing him be the constant pushover; and he is way hotter with Nicole than Arianna. Great to see Doug and Julie again in a real scene.

Losers: Was it really necessary for the "Chloe behind the screen" scene to go on for three episodes? Is NightTime Hope almost at an end? Why is she going to jail instead of going to a mental facility?

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Winners: Carly ran the show this week with her manipulations to bring Dante down! Robin just had to say she got an email from Brenda...and Sonny's like "Claire who?"

Best line: Helena: "I'll be having a massage...with benefits."

Loser: This whole "Mom of Franco" thing doesn't do it for me.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Winners: Todd and Tea owned it with the wedding, the confusion of Todd with the different face (Roger Howarth fans all over the world were freaking out!) and the heartbreaking scene of Tea deciding to go into hospice. Evil Eli making Hannah overdose was pretty fun and creepy.

Best Line: Jack to Blair about Eli: "Wake up and smell the carnage, Ma! The dude is a killer!"

Losers: Were all the little fantasy scenarios of Natalie's pregnancy really necessary? I'm not a fan of two main characters getting pregnant at the same time. I'm still scarred by the DAYS baby switch stuff with Sami and Nicole.

Maura West going to Y&R

As reported by TV Guide, Maura West is headed to Y&R as Diane Jenkins on October 8th.

THE BAY Teaser

Click here to see THE BAY Teaser clip. I especially liked Camden Toy (pictured above) at the end. He creeps me out!!!

Carl Gordon 1932-2010

Actor Carl Gordon died on July 20 at the age of 78. He was battling non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He may be most remembered for his role as Andrew Emerson on the 1990's Fox show ROC, but also appeared in numerous other primetime shows, theather and films. He received his degree from Brooklyn College. He was part of the original ELECTRIC COMPANY.

Gordon also played roles on daytime including Ward Griffin on AS THE WORLD TURNS and Fred Wayne on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Alston-Gordon, five daughters and a son.

OUTTAKES with Laura Wright and Bradford Anderson

A great time was had by all on August 1st at Uncle Vinny’s Comedy Club in Staten Island with Laura Wright (Carly) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) of General Hospital. This was a cheese and wine tasting, promoting Laura’s winery (run with husband John) called Standing Sun. Plenty of pix, autographs and dish!

Here are some of the highlights of the Q&A with Laura and Bradford:

- When congratulated on his marriage, Bradford joked that half the time he didn’t know if people were talking about his new marriage of his Emmy nomination.

- Laura and Bradford loved being in Vegas for the Emmys.

- No big Disney GH event this year because it is too expensive.

- Ingo Rademacher (Jax) is actually a funny surfer dude.

- James Franco (Franco) is great to work with and always nice to the crew.

- Vanessa Marcil (Brenda) has not fully grasped all of the Brenda madness and doesn’t recall all of her storylines.

- Dahlia Salem (Claire Walsh) is great to work with.

- The Carly plot to get revenge on Dante will wrap up soon.

- Laura Wright doesn’t consider the character of Carly crazy at all, LOL.

- Loved working with Dakin Matthews (Judge Carroll) who has a ton of TV credits.

- Spinelli’s peculiar way of speaking has always been scripted that way. It was hard for Bradford to pick up at first but now it is like a second language.

- Laura loved doing the cabin scenes with Sarah Brown (Claudia).

- Lexie Ainsworth (Christine) is an “old soul” according to Bradford.

- “Maxie can take a freaking leap!” Bradford joked when asked about “Spixie”. She was so mean to Spinelli that Bradford thinks Spinelli should move on with BRENDA!!!

- Laura’s “What If” sequence with Cameron Matheson (Ryan, AMC) was supposed to involve a lot more skin and a lot less clothes, but she said no way!

- Julie Marie Berman (Lulu), Kelly Monaco (Sam) and Steve Burton (Jason) all have a tendency to crack up on the set.

- Steve Burton has really helped Chad Duell (Michael) learn the ropes around the set.

The Standing Sun Wine was excellent. My favorite was the Pinot Noir. Go to this link to find out more about it.

THE BAY Fundraiser Party

For some great pix of THE BAY fundraiser, go to Mary Beth Evans' website at this link.

A few changes coming up as announced by Lanyfilms Prod: "We've decided to go in a different direction with Charles Shaughnessy's character on our series. While he will still be playing the Captain of the police force, he will no longer be playing middle-eastern. His new character will be Englishman Captain Elliot Sanders. To play his daughter, Isabella Sanders on the series is soap opera newcomer and Shakespearean trained actress, Claire-Louise Sedgley. The English-born actress played a leading role in Gregori J. Martin's film LIGHTS OUT. We welcome Ms. Sedgley to the cast. Marie Wilson who was formerly slated to play the part, will still be part of the cast in another role. Character TBA. We apologize for any confusion but we're sure you'll be pleased with the changes!"