Eric Braeden Set to Star in The Man Who Came Back

PRESS RELEASE:

Film and Television Vet, "Y&R" Lead Eric Braeden Switches to a Stetson to Executive Produce and Star in the Wild West feature "THE MAN WHO CAME BACK"

Also starring: Billy Zane, Armand Assante, George Kennedy, Sean Young, Carol Alt, Jennifer O'Dell, James Patrick Stewart and Peter Jason.

Journeymen Director Glen Pitre penned the screenplay and will direct

Los Angeles, CA - April 20, 2007 - Film and Television Vet, Eric Braeden who has starred as quintessentially the most popular character in daytime history, Victor Newman on the #1 rated daytime drama series "The Young And The Restless" for more than 27 years, will be taking a hiatus from the long-running soap and switching to a stetson and will star and executive produce the indie feature "The Man Who Came Back," a western where he will star opposite Billy Zane and Armand Assante. Braeden starred as John Jacob Astor in the Academy Award-winning film "Titanic" directed by James Cameron, as well as "Colossus: The Forbin Project" directed by Joe Sargent and the 1960s cult classic series "The Rat Patrol," among countless others.

Also cast in the feature is veteran character actor George Kennedy, along with Sean Young, Carol Alt, Peter Jason, Jennifer O'Dell (who starred in the syndicated TV series "The Lost World") and James Patrick Stewart.

Veteran indie director Glen Pitre (who wrote and directed "Belizaire the Cajun") penned the screenplay for "The Man Who Came Back" and will direct the feature, which is a revenge picture set in the context of the bloodiest labor strike in American History in the 1870s. Steve Bowen, Chuck Walker, Sam Cable and John Castellanos are slated to produce.

Shooting commenced in late April and will continue throughout May in various locations in Texas.

SPOILERS for B&B, Passions and Days!

The Bold and the Beautiful: Don't miss tomorrow's episode when Lt. Baker gathers a cast of possible murderers (of Shane) and theorizes several scenarios before making a scandalous arrest!

Passions: Tomorrow, Jessica wakes up to another dead john, Valerie tells Eve and Julian that she has found their son. Next week, Miguel is beat up in prison, Fancy and Luis come close to making love, Whitney thinks she might be pregnant, and Chad decides to get rid of Vincent once and for all!

Days of Our Lives: Next week, Kate has a wedding surprise in store for Sami, EJ gives Steve a deadly assignment, Nick and Chelsea have a heart-to-heart, Stephanie's "bad girl" actions land her in the hospital!

Days Vet Guest-Stars on ATWT, and Other Casting News

Heather Lindell, best-known to many of us as that crazy Jan Spears from Days of Our Lives, will appear as Lynn on As the World Turns. Like Jan, Lynn appears to be a troublemaker, causing trouble for Brad and Katie on May 4, 7 and 8.

Remember, also, that today is Zach Roerig's last day in Oakdale, where he portrayed ATWT's Casey Hughes since January 2005.

Carey Cromelin returns as Wanda on Guiding Light to help welcome Josh Lewis home from prison on May 4.

Also on GL, Stephanie Gatschet returns to Springfield and continues her haunting of mom Cassie beginning May 4.

POLL: Who Should Win Outstanding Younger Actress?

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Soap Stars Eat Ice Cream, Right?

OK, this has nothing to do with soaps, but it involves ice cream and a worthy cause, so I felt the need to post this. Tonight (Wednesday, May 2) only, from 5-10 p.m., Baskin Robbins will be having "31 Cent Scoop Night" to benefit the Foundation for Fallen Firefighters. At participating locations, you can get your ice-cream fix for cheap, and perhaps have it scooped for you by a local fireman or -woman. Go to the official Web site for all the details: http://baskinrobbins.com/Promotion/31cent.aspx

Sami & Lucas' Eco Wedding

Who would have thought one of soap’s most notorious bad girls would be a part of daytime’s first “green” wedding? And I don’t mean green as in jealousy. Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) and Lucas Roberts (Bryan Datillo) of “Days of Our Lives” will exchange vows starting Tuesday, May 8th, through Thursday, May 10th, in an environmentally friendly affair.

“Days” and TheKnot.com have partnered up for this special event. The eco-friendly wedding was designed by celebrity event planner Debbie Geller of Geller Events and includes everything from organic and locally grown food and flowers to plantable favors. Other participants include The Hidden Garden (locally grown and/or organic floral arrangements); Ford’s Filling Station (organic, locally grown and free-range catering); NancyKay’s Confections (organic wedding cake); Tacori (certified green business using conflict-free diamonds); Monique Lhuillier (pure silk wedding gown); TheKnot.com (plantable seed card wedding favors); Lehr & Black (celebrity stationers providing invitations, menus and place cards made of recycled paper and raw silk); and Resource One (raw silk linens).

This is actually Sami’s 10th trip down the aisle, but she has only been married once and this time it’s to her soul mate, Lucas. The green wedding is also symbolic of how Sami has turned over a new leaf. Although she still gets herself into trouble, she has good intentions, and that’s about all we can expect from our soap villainesses. Congratulations Sami and Lucas - we’re pulling for you!

For more information on this unprecedented event and tips on how you can make your life more green, visit the Days of our Lives wedding website at www.daysofourlives.com/lumi.

OLTL Scrambles to Rewrite Story Arc

In light of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, One Life to Live has been busy rewriting and reshooting approximately 17 episodes. The story line was to revolve around a hostage crisis at a high school involving Henry and some of his classmates, and it was supposed to be the highlight their big May Sweeps episodes. Even though the hostage crisis was going to be resolved without gunfire or injury, the folks at OLTL decided that it was best to scrap the whole idea, out of respect for the victims of the VT tragedy and their families, classmates and community members.

"Out of respect to those affected by this devastating tragedy, especially the families, I felt that it was important to remove this story line from our show," executive producer Frank Valentini said in a statement.

Ths hostage drama story line began taping in March and was supposed to have begun airing on May 14th.

SPOILERS! Week of April 30th

AMC: A handcuffed Adam's heart stops -- and not in a good way.
ATWT: Brad and Katie find themselves in danger. Will Detective Jack save them in time?
B&B: Lt. Baker makes a shocking arrest in Shane's murder case.
Days: Kate finds the ammunition she needs to stop Lucas and Sami's wedding.
GH: Elizabeth undergoes an emergency C-section.
GL: Reva makes a confession to her sister Cassie about her feelings for Josh.
OLTL: Antonio does everything he can to keep Nash from visiting Jessica.
Passions: Jessica wakes up to a real-life nightmare after she's forced to take on another client.
Y&R: Someone near and dear to Gloria learns the truth about the face cream.