Out on the Town - May 18, 2008

Soap stars paint a perfect picture with special needs children For much of the weekend, visiting daytime television soap stars and locals spent their time with a cocktail glass in hand. On Saturday morning the celebrities traded those in for paintbrushes. The actors, in Marco over the weekend for the Southwest Florida Soapfest, arrived Saturday morning at the Marco Island Center for the Arts to pitch in with a program called Art for Autism. The event paired the soap stars with children and young adults, many of whom have autism or other special needs. Ewa da Cruz, who plays Vienna Hyatt on AS THE WORLD TURNS, said she was touched by the experience. Da Cruz painted a picture of a beach with Fida Itayem, a 22-year-old woman with special needs. The performer said she often draws with charcoal and pencils, so she's a bit of an artist herself. A+ SERIES: County's Hollywood connections From early silent movies filmed in black and white to the latest in computer-animated storytelling, Madison County has left its footprint on American cinema. Soap stars from the county include ALL MY CHILDREN's David Canary and former ATWT and GL star James Rebhorn. Former OLTL writer Sweet's new play Men. Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Those familiar lines should be enough to interest some people in Jeffrey Sweet's "With and Without," which opens Thursday and closes the main-stage season at the Bickford Theatre in Morris Township. Sweet spent several years writing for ONE LIFE TO LIVE. B&B's Heather Tom campaigns for Clinton in Kentucky Voters in Kentucky are preparing for Tuesday's primary election. Former President Bill Clinton will be rallying for his wife on Monday in the Bluegrass state. Meanwhile, on Sunday, a famous face gears men and women to get out to the polls. Heather Tom from THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL rallied for Hillary Clinton. Tom made several stops in Kentucky, including at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Ashland. Nelson Branco's weekly "Suds Report" Ehlers and RPG reunite on ‘AMC’! ‘GH’ courts Marcil! Nuke kiss again! Joe Mascolo, Tony Geary, Michael “Graz” and Jane Elliot leave!

InTurn Season 3 Episode 11: The Star Audition

TV Guide Canada's weekly "Nelson Ratings" Nelson Branco review ;ast week's soap reviews, this week's viewing cheatsheet, and his top-rated actors! Martin and Williams on "Buzzworthy Radio" tonight at 10pm ET Director Gregori J. Martin (SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES) and Co-Director Darnell Williams (ALL MY CHILDREN) will be stopping by "Buzzworthy Radio" tonight to talk about Manhattanites, my first full-length feature film which is screening on Tuesday and Thursday night. ONE LIFE TO LIVE: 40 and Fabulous "It seems today’s OLTL writers have moved away from the outlandish story lines of the past (Mitch, back as a ghost to tell Viki that she had twins daughters from two different fathers without knowing it?) to more down-to-earth scenarios to which average daytime viewers can relate. Quite simply, when you identify with a shows characters you are more likely to stay with them day after day." PHOTOS: Soapfest 2008 Soap fans meet their favorite celebs. Frank Dicopoulos wins Humanitarian award Frank Dicopoulos was presented with the Humanitarian Artistic Achievement Award at The Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund 17th Anniversary Gala. Dicopoulos volunteers time and support to many organizations and charities. BLOG: Tom Casiello Sharing the Cynicism: "I've been very vocal over the last seven months about the mistakes TPTB make on a daily basis with these shows, and God knows I've accepted responsibility for my share of clunkers at Days in 2007. But at what point does it shift over to us on the other side of the TV screen? At one point should we stop assuming the worst about everything and just remember what it felt like to get sucked into a moment and ride it out?" When all else fails, there’s always mindless sex... : "You'll notice I tend to stay away from saying too much about GH or ATWT, only because I have a lot of close friends who work at both, and I don't want to create any bad blood. (You know I love you guys!!!) But Sonny and Carly's limo 'f^king' (Laura Wright's words, not mine) reminded me of all the other times we've seen people jump into the sack with no other motivation than tragedy: Kendall and Aiden on AMC, Cameron and Josie on AW, John and Kate on Days, and dozens more I'm too lazy to name right now - they've all done it. Life is bad, someone's dead (or near dead), tears are shed, and the next thing you know, two people are between the sheets (or in the back of a limo), swapping spit and other bodily fluids while betraying everything - their families, the memories of their lost loved ones, whatever."

For Y&R, No Hughes Ain't Good News

VIDEO: GUIDING LIGHT: A Day in the Life Earlier this month WTVH traveled to New York City to go behind the scenes of Guiding Light where we got the scoop on a day in the life of star Kim Zimmer. Per this story, new actors on soaps earn between $72,000 and $135,000 a year while actors who have been around five to ten years earn between $150,000 and $400,000. Dog howls Y&R theme song on Letterman Parker the dog has been singing to THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS theme for years, but Monday night, the Waterloo, Ont., pet got his biggest reception yet. The Old English sheepdog howled his way into the hearts of viewers as part of the Stupid Pet Tricks segment on LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. Here's a clip of Parker singing at home: AUDIO: Interview with OLTL's John Brotherton "The Llanview Lowdown" interviewed ONE LIFE TO LIVE star John Brotherton on Monday's show. 1 McTavish: Room For 'All My Children' When it came time for longtime soap opera writer Megan McTavish to remodel the kitchen of her historic Colebrook home, she kept in mind the needs of her five family members — Gus, Sophie, Faith, Mac and Poppy. The family needed room to spread out. Floors that couldn't be easily damaged. And, oh yes, space to store dog food, bowls and leashes. "These dogs are my passion, my kids, my family," McTavish said of her five Bernese mountain dogs. "They live in my house, they live with me, and this whole kitchen redesign has made that much easier. I got the kitchen of my dreams." INTERVIEW: AMC's Billy Miller "I really do not know what is going happen between them," reveals Miller when I asked if Ritchie is going to seek revenge on his sis once again. "I think Ritchie, for the lack of a better word, has laid off the sister revenge for the moment.  He has bigger fish to fry." Finola Hughes to Y&R Hughes will play Sabrina's mother, Zara. "Expect Fireworks," Hughes says. "Zara is quite the troublemaker and has a very complicated relationship with Sabrina. She deserted her daughter for years, leaving her in boarding schools while she flitted off to live her own life. Now she's back and thrilled that Sabrina is marrying a billionaire." OLTL's Kristen Alderson & Brandon Buddy on THE VIEW

The New 90210

In the May 26 issue of TV Guide — on sale this week — Michael Logan ran an interview with Finola Hughes, aka Anna Devane on ABC's GENERAL HOSPITAL, about her upcoming guest stint on CBS' THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. But just after that issue went to press, execs at ABC and GH had a collective cow over Hughes's temporary defection and pressured the actress to drop out of the Y&R role. ABC has now issued the following statement: "GENERAL HOSPITAL always planned a big summer storyline revolving around the characters of Anna Devane and Robin Scorpio as the mother-daughter relationship continues to grow in the face of Robin becoming a mother for the first time. Upon learning Finola Hughes had booked a role in a short story arc on a competing daytime drama, GENERAL HOSPITAL requested that she honor her commitment to our show, and she graciously obliged." Y&R had set Hughes for a four-episode appearance as Zara, the flirty, opportunistic mother of Sabrina (played by Raya Meddine). The character is due to arrive in Genoa City June 19, just in time for Sabrina's wedding to mega-mogul Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Word is, the powers at the CBS-Sony soap are furious that their big casting coup was squelched and that Hughes caved in to ABC. A Y&R rep insists the deal with Hughes was signed and sealed — otherwise she wouldn't have been allowed to get on the phone with me to discuss the role (the "exclusive" was set up by a show publicist). Hughes herself told me that there was no scheduling conflict with the two soaps, and that she is not currently under contract to GH (as a free agent, she also hosts Style's How Do I Look?). Y&R exec producer Josh Griffith is refusing to discuss the situation, choosing instead to send out this statement: "We think Finola is an exceptional actress. We're sorry things didn't work out, and we'd love to work with her in the future." Y&R has yet to replace Hughes, who was due to begin taping May 28. Here's what the actress told me about the character: "Expect fireworks. Zara is quite the troublemaker and has a very complicated relationship with Sabrina. She deserted her daughter for years, leaving her in boarding schools while she flitted off to live her own life. Now she's back and thrilled that Sabrina is marrying a billionaire."