Interview Outtakes

Most of the time when I am conducting an interview with a soap star, I have more interview material than space for printing the interview. Here are some blurbs from stars that did not make it to the print version of the interview, but were too good not to publish.

Julie Marie Berman (Lulu Spencer, “General Hospital”) on whether Dante’s feelings for her would change if he knew she had had an abortion years ago: “I think she feels like she wants to be honest about everything that’s gone on in her life, whether it’s necessary for him to know is anyone’s opinion. But in Lulu’s case, I think she wants to be completely honest with who she is and what she’s been through. This is something that is still a big thing that goes on in her head, and I don’t think she can live her life without being reminded of this. Because it has shaped who she is today, I think she wants to be honest with Dante about that episode. With that, I think she is worried that he might not look at her the same way. Even if he can accept it, I think she’s just worried that it’ll change what they have right now. Obviously if he were not to accept her for that, I think it would heartbreaking, but at the end of the day, she’ll be with someone who can accept her for the choices that she’s made in life and who she is today.”

Justin Bruening (ex-Jamie Martin, “All My Children”) on getting recognized by fans: “Sometimes you get into a little routine with something, and I remember there was a situation on ‘All My Children’ once, I was signing autographs and stuff, and you start getting used to people stopping you on the street. The second someone stops you and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re Justin, right?’ and you’re ready to sign an autograph. That happened to me once, and it was actually someone that I went to high school with who just wanted to say hi.” 

Marnie Schulenburg (ex-Allison Stewart on “As the World Turns”) on comparing getting her start on soaps to “acting boot camp”: “It’s an incredible; it’s like a school. You learn so much. If you are lucky enough to have that opportunity, then you are truly a blessed actor. This has certain limitations, because it is very specific in its delivery and in its style. So, if you are someone who wants change or wants something different to grow from, you can either do both (‘ATWT’ and NY theater) like I was lucky enough to do. I had the freedom to do other acting stuff while I was there, but you are not always able to do that. But I loved it. I loved it for the people and for what I learned from it, but I think I’m ready to try some other venue now.”

Ken Corday (Executive Producer, “Days of Our Lives”) on how the “Days”/“Friends” tie-in came about: “It happened when Jeff Zucker was the West Coast chief programmer —it came out of his fertile mind. Brandon Tartikoff, who had trained Jeff, was always a staunch believer in the talent pool of daytime television. He said, ‘You know, Ken, from your talent pool of 30 or some odd actors that we see every day, there are usually one or two who catch our eye that we want to break out.’ Alison Sweeney is the current example. It was NBC publicity that came to us and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if Drake’ — the ‘Friends’ character of Drake Ramore, who was modeled after Drake Hogestyn — ‘was the name of the character on the “Friends” version of “Days” who would be played by Joey?’ We call it cross-pollenization. It’s wonderful. It lets the primetime viewer know that NBC has respect for ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and it lets ‘Days of Our Lives’ viewers know that their favorites on primetime are watching the show.”

Y&R: Such a Tease!

* A natural disaster hits Genoa City.

* When Abby (Marcy Rylan, pictured) catches Tucker with Diane, will he be able to explain his way out it?

* Will Meggie and Deacon’s plan get in the way of Nikki walking down the aisle?

* Nina has a passionate plea for Ronan.

* Phyllis sets out to destroy Diane.

B&B: Such a Tease!

· Taylor (Hunter Tylo, pictured) and Pam gently break the news of Stephanie’s grave illness to the rest of the Forrester family.

· Whip and Aggie help Oliver develop a plan to get Hope back.

· Stephanie voices her great appreciation of Brooke, despite their checkered history.

· Aggie and Amber fight over Nick.

· While Taylor and Brooke visit a recovering Stephanie, Dayzee tells her story to Hope and Liam.

Interview: Catching Up With Jane Kaczmarek

Before her breakout role in “Malcolm in the Middle,” Jane Kaczmarek was a featured performer in a plethora of television shows, including “Raising the Bar,” “Party of Five” and “Felicity.” In the Lifetime original movie “Reviving Ophelia,” Jane switches back to drama to play the mother of a teenage girl who’s trying to escape an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. The movie, which airs tonight at 9/8c (check your listings for encore performances), is based on Mary Pipher’s seminal book for teen girls, “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.”

Celebrity Extra: As a mom, this whole subject matter must have really struck a chord with you. What were your thoughts about the script?

Jane Kaczmarek: You know, it really did. I have three children: two daughters and a son. My oldest and youngest are daughters, and my oldest is 12, so she’s kind of on the cusp of this. And I’ve always called her my little nun because she is so modest. She practices the piano and does ballet and is a very diligent kid. And it never dawned on me that something like this could happen to her. And I think what I found interesting about this script and the casting of the girl who played Rebecca, who is my daughter in the movie — she comes across as such a clean-cut, beautiful, innocent kid. You don’t think that she’s the one who’s going to get involved in this. It’s the cousin who seems kind of naughty, and you think she would be the one that would end up in the situation like this. So that was the real eye-opener for me. You know, as a mother it was a real cautionary tale about really keeping your eyes open about everything that’s going on in your kid’s life.

CE: I am not a mom, but this would be the kind of stuff that would scare the crap out of me.

JK: And I thought that Nick Thurston, who plays the boyfriend who beats her, he was so charmingly eerie. He was so sincere and so earnest. And he really loved her. You could see why she would stay with this guy. She’s just caught in this lie of protecting him, and everything is just swirling out of control.

CE: What was it about Marie or the movie itself that made you really want to be a part of this?

JK: Well, I think because it was just an unexpected look at this really, really big problem. You know, I live in Pasadena. I live in a very comfortable, leafy suburb of Los Angeles where the kids for the most part are good and the parents for the most part are hyper-responsible. And what surprised me was it was happening to a family like that.

I also like (director) Bobby Roth. He had directed an episode of a TV show that I did, and I liked the way he told the story with the camera. I thought it was a very fresh and interesting and unexpected way of working. I hadn’t worked in a year. This has been a really tumultuous year for me. My husband and I got divorced, and I hadn’t worked since “Raising the Bar” ended in the summer of 2009. So this came along, and I thought I was ready to step back into the world of “Jane the Actress.” My manager sent me flowers in Toronto and said, “Instead of ‘Reviving Ophelia,’ I think this should be called ‘Reviving Jane.’” And I had a wonderful, wonderful time working with Lifetime and with Bobby Roth, and all of the actors. It was a really, really satisfying experience.

Interview (YR): Eric Braeden on Immigration, Alternate Energy Sources and Campaign Reform

It is always a pleasure to interview Eric Braeden, who for the past 30 years has played the villain we love to hate, Victor Newman, on “The Young and the Restless.” This time around, Eric has a lot on his mind, and really, who can blame him? In the following series of interviews, Eric and I discuss the Gulf oil spill, alternative energy sources, immigration, campaign finance reform and much more.

Daytime Dial: When you first heard about the Gulf oil spill, what initially went through your mind?

Eric Braeden: What went through my mind most of all was we, obviously, have to become independent as far as energy is concerned and not rely on oil as much as we do. We need to put a lot of money into the development of alternative sources of energy, period. The second thing that came to my mind was, obviously, everyone knows that BP, apparently more than any other of the oil companies, has been warned many times because their safety measures were not upheld. That apparently applies to the huge pipeline in Alaska as well. So, hold their feet to the fire and make them pay for it. That’s all. The most obscene thing is when you see the millions of dollars they have now put into commercials. They look like Santa Claus, know what I’m saying? It’s a joke.

DD: That’s exactly what I think when I see those commercials. I think about how the money they spent “campaigning” for themselves could have really helped out the people who need it on the Gulf Coast.

EB: Absolutely, absolutely. No question about it. And my heart goes out to those who are affected by it, but when will we finally learn to devote a lot of attention and development money to alternative sources of energy? How long does it take? Our involvement in the Middle East really hinges on oil. It really does. Think about it: Do you think otherwise we would have given a damn about Saddam Hussein or about any of those people? We couldn’t have cared less. We are there because of oil.

DD: Do you think we’ll ever lessen our dependence on this form of fuel and head toward alternative energy sources?

EB: Even if we use natural gas — which we apparently have plenty in North America — according to T. Boone Pickens, we have plenty of natural gas in America, which burns 30 percent more cleanly than gasoline. He said we could almost be independent from the rest of the world. It is not that difficult, apparently, to change engines over to the use of natural gas. Already that would be one source of improvement, because I still think we have to improve our air quality whenever we can. Now imagine the developing countries like China and India, where we are going to sell hundreds of millions more cars, imagine them now contributing to the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. How disastrous will that be? We need to really be a leading example of how to fix that problem.

DD: And also, think of all the jobs it could create to develop this hydrogen technology!

EB: Definitely! And of course, the technology with hydrogen is one that has been developed, but to what degree it has prospered, I don’t know yet. I do know that there are a number of car companies that are playing with it. But we need to really be serious about it.

DD: Tell me what you would do if you could be in charge, if for only one day.

EB: First of all, I would create a public-works program. I would employ a lot of the unemployed people right now by rebuilding America’s infrastructure. The roads are in terrible disrepair; America’s bridges are in disrepair. Anyone who knows anything about that will tell you that. We could employ a lot of people in building America’s infrastructure — sort of a works program like FDR had it. That is the first thing I would do to get people their jobs back.

Then I would encourage, in the terms of tax benefits or direct support, those companies that are already on the front line of developing alternative sources of energy. But the most important thing is to get people into jobs and to fix America’s infrastructure. It would employ a lot of people … a lot of people. It would employ a lot of people who are not necessarily technically qualified to do the kind of white-collar jobs that are now more and more in demand because a lot of the blue-collar jobs have gone away. But you would employ a lot of blue-collar labor in the rebuilding of America’s infrastructure. For example, with roads, all you have to do is drive through L.A. on Sunset Boulevard or Wilshire Boulevard, and you’d be lucky if you don’t blow out your tire in potholes. It’s an outrage. And that, I assure you, happens everywhere in America. So, there would be plenty to do in the rebuilding in America’s infrastructure.

DD: What else would you do?

EB: I also think that campaign laws should be changed. I think it is absolutely outrageous how candidates are allowed to so skew the messages of other candidates. It’s just obnoxious. Isn’t it obnoxious to watch? I don’t watch it for five seconds. I just can’t. It’s bull from the onset. And people buy it. The cynicism in the business is just extraordinary. How can you believe anything in those ads? Nothing. It’s paid for by behind-the-scenes interest groups.

DD: I know — I turn the channel the moment I see a political ad starting up.

EB: Let me tell you, I think what should happen is there should be no ads — they should not be allowed. A certain amount of money should be allocated to all the candidates. They should have a series of debates without a moderator, who interrupts rudely, and let them go at each other. Just let them go at each other. I would want to see that. People are smart enough to know what they are talking about. The way the system is, we have a moderator and everyone gives his spiel, and it is all canned. I want to hear real debates. It’s not happening, and we keep on buying that stuff. So, yes, I think that every candidate running should only get so much money. Period. That’s it. And then you have a series of debates. No ads. No negative ads. I want to see what you stand for, not what you think about your opponent. That’s all.

DD: I know you have some strong views on immigration reform. Tell me your thoughts on that and how our current government is handling it.

EB: As you know, I am an immigrant to this country. I love this country, and I came in here legally. And it is extremely difficult for Europeans to get into this country now. Let me tell you about the hypocrisy in regard to immigration. As far as I’m concerned, it’s either legal or illegal. Many of them cross the border illegally, to the tune of 12 million people now. Let me tell you why we allowed that to go on. It is the most hypocritical issue, one of the most hypocritical issues in American politics on both sides, Republican and Democratic. Since the ’50s, we have been absolutely petrified of another socialist or communist revolution in Mexico, one like Cuba had. We are afraid of another Cuba south of our border. Conditions in those countries are so dismal that if you did not have that safety valve of the poor, the destitute coming to America and making a living here, they would have shouted “revolution” in Mexico. You know that. The conditions in those countries are so horrendous, and the chasm between rich and poor is so enormous, there is an obvious potential for revolution. We didn’t want that, so we just sort of, you know, winked with one eye and said: “Well, there’s the border. Let him sort of come in.”

DD: And think of all the cheap labor!

EB: Exactly! A lot of the big industries in California, Texas, etc., are profiting enormously from that cheap labor. The agricultural business in California, by the way, California produces more agricultural products than any other state in the union, which is unbeknownst to a lot of people. This is an enormously productive state. But where does agriculture profit from? From the cheap labor that comes across the border.


One should really take a very close look at when our immigration laws changed or were amended, and who was responsible. Get back to the source. Why is it so difficult for Europeans, who built this country? Immigrants from Germany, the largest ethnic group in America, from England, from Ireland, from Poland, from everywhere in Europe, they were usually trained professionals who came here. If you are an immigrant from Europe, it’s very difficult to immigrate. That we open the border, allow this cheap labor to come in, it is so hypocritical I could scream. Although I’m a liberal, in that case I’m very conservative. I say, either you’re backed by the law or you get the hell out. That’s all. Simple as it is.

DD: We could, literally, close the border, but like you said, imagine the uproar from the businesses that need the cheap labor!

EB: Of course we can close the border, but we don’t really want to. The Latin American people who come here, the ones I have known, are very hardworking people. There is nothing lazy about them. I respect them enormously. But, either there is a law or there is not a law. So, what do we do with the ones who are here? We cannot send them back. So, the 12 million illegals here, I think we need to obviously come to some accommodation and find a way for them to become citizens, because they are hardworking people. I’m not blaming them — not at all. Our government and the governments of California, Arizona and Texas have allowed them to come in. It’s nonsense that they haven’t closed the borders.

Y&R: Such a Tease!

* While Kevin battles his growing feelings for Chloe and his lingering love for Jana, Jana uses Noah to get Kevin’s attention.

* As couples fall back into old habits, Adam plots to intervene at the Harvest Festival.

* Cane (Daniel Goddard, pictured) starts keeping secrets from Lily again in order to protect her and the twins but does Lily know more than he realizes?

* Things start to fall apart for Meggie when someone from her past recognizes her.

* Friends and family remember Colleen on the anniversary of her death.

CASTING NEWS:
Emmy winner Michael Badalucco (“The Practice”) will be playing the role of Hogan, a charismatic tough guy bookie, who will be involved with Jeff and Kevin in finding new avenues of revenue for Jeff and Gloria's nightclub/restaurant, Gloworm. He starts airing on October 13.

Paul Leyden (“As the World Turns”) arrives in Genoa City as Blake, a police officer. His first airdate is October 6.

Days: Such a Tease!

Justin reveals that Hope (Kristian Alfonso, pictured) signed divorce papers.

Vivian realizes that Nicole was seduced by Brady.

Kayla urges Stephanie to be honest with Nathan.

Sami warns Will that Arianna can’t be trusted.

Kate realizes that Chad could never replace EJ.

Thursday – Nathan is forced to tell Melanie about Chloe’s cheating on Daniel.
Friday – Chloe finally admits the truth.

B&B: Such a Tease!

· A man makes a surprising proposition to an unavailable woman.

· A malicious woman goes out of her way to obtain the object of her desire.

· Hopes are dashed for a young man wanting to reunite with his former flame when he learns that she is now dating someone else.

· Drastic changes in management are made at both Forrester Creations and Jackie M.

· Two people set out to fulfill an outrageous goal.

ATWT Stops Spinning Friday

Don't forget to tune in to As the World Turns all this week, as the long-running show will air its final broadcast on Friday, Sept. 17. And check out my Marnie Schulenberg interview here.

Interview (Brothers and Sisters): Patricia Wettig and The 19th Wife

Patricia Wettig first caught our eye as Nancy Weston on “thirtysomething,” the nighttime drama that broke ground on every front, paving the way for many series to follow in its footsteps. The “Brothers and Sisters” star is currently starring in the Lifetime original movie “The 19th Wife,” which premieres tonight, Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Patricia plays BeckyLyn, the 19th wife of Mormon Sawyer Scott, who is accused of murdering her husband.

Daytime Dial: The role of BeckyLyn is different from any role I’ve ever seen you do. What was it about her — how did you connect with her — to made you want this role?

Patricia Wettig: I know! It is so different. It’s that fervor … that religion thing. My great-grandmother was married to a Methodist minister. And when I was growing up, she was the person I was closest to of anyone in the whole world. And she had a certain sternness about her and a certain way of doing things. But with me, she was always so loving and so kind and so soft. And nobody else responded to her like that. I don’t know what that was. And she died when I was 9 years old, and it was just such a huge loss to me. But I think it’s a little bit about her — that way about being so absolute in your faith. At least I hope I portrayed it that way. I haven’t seen the movie yet myself. Like the way she connects to her son, that underneath it all is this loving, touching place.

DD: That’s definitely what I was thinking of when you told me that with you she was very sweet and tender. I pictured BeckyLyn’s interaction with her son the moment you mentioned that, so it definitely comes off that way.

PW: Oh good! And Matt (Czuchry) was wonderful to work with. We just sort of had this instant chemistry, and that is such a blessing for an actor, I have to say. I thought that that was a really central thing for this part. And you never know who you’re going to be cast with. It was really lovely to work with him, I have to say.

DD: The way these people are thinking and living, it’s pretty way out there for most Americans. How did you relate?

PW: I guess I had to take it off of something in my own life. You have to personalize it in some ways because it is certainly not the way I live my own life and it’s not my religion. But I think I had to personalize it in the way that, what are the things that I have unshakable faith in? What are the things I would not put into jeopardy?

DD: I have to commend the writers of it and your performance of her, because she could have very easily been an unlikable character, but she wasn’t. During the jail visits, as we get to know your character, we get to see the pureness in her. You can’t not like her.

PW: Oh good. Yes, I do think it’s almost an innocence. Like a purity is how it was coming off to me on the page when I was reading it. It’s like she never really grew up and thought and formed her own thinking. And I think it’s really true for a lot of women in that sect; it’s almost like a brainwashing, like a blind faith. And other people say, well, that’s what faith is. It’s almost like being innocent and young and not looking at all the other possibilities.

DD: This is definitely going to be an eye-opener for some people as they watch this. We know what we read in the news, about Warren Jeffs, and we get the glamorized version with HBO’s “Big Love.”

PW: I like “Big Love” too, but that’s sort of the “fun” version of plural marriage. Look how handsome he is, and all of the three of the wives are so pretty. They do get into stuff, but still it all looks rather pretty to me. I don’t think it is pretty a lot of the time. When we talk about a 60-year-old man marrying a 15-year-old girl, that’s not pretty. That’s not OK with me. I’m sorry, but that’s not all right with me!