Guiding Light - NEWS ROOM

The SOAPnet Night Before Party was only a pit stop in the day of Soaps.com crew members, Shannon, Shaun and Christine. We love the people at SOAPnet and have a great relationship with them. Their event is a wonderful event and a great way for actors to chill out before the big day at the Daytime Emmys, but it was one of many things to do for me that day. This year, we ran late. I ran late, that is. My colleagues were ready and raring to go; however, I was stuck in our offices, which
were a half hour's drive from our hotel. When we finally made our way to Crimson and Opera, we were content to relax before the onslaught of
actors came down the red carpet. It was 109 degrees Fahrenheit, we were all melting and all the ladies' hair went flat, including my own. Sweat poured down our faces as we chatted up the soap stars. What, did you think it was all glam?! Glam is overrated! It's still worth it for us to get those of you who couldn't be there, the scoop and the photos, and of course all the insider information that you can handle, that comes out
of these parties!

SOAPnet Night Before Party Part 1.

Minae Noji (Dr. Kelly Lee, General Hospital) and Kent King (Dr. Lainey Winters, General Hospital) came smiling down the red carpet looking like
a million bucks. Shannon Burrell asked Minae and Kent if they were going to be a part of Night Shift again this year. Sadly, they were not. Kent
says, "It was a lot of fun though!" Shannon figures they did a great job because of the second season and Kent told him, "We are really proud of
it, and we got great numbers for SOAPnet."

Shannon asked the ladies if they had any predictions for the next night's ceremony and they agreed that though they didn't have any real predictions, they wanted Tony Geary for lead actor. "He is a really great person and a great actor," says Kent, with Minae in agreement.

Kent mentioned she grew up watching ABC shows, "But every now and then I get to watch some of the other one's….just to stay updated with what is
going on." Kent also watched a lot of talk shows growing up and still gets into those. Who gets their vote for top show? It wasn't winner,
Tyra Banks, but last year's victor, Ellen DeGeneres!

Nicole Forrester (Cassie, Guiding Light) spoke with Shannon, who has always been partial to Guiding Light. He tells her, "I'm a huge fan of
Guiding Light and I just have to say that you have done such a wonderful job of stepping into such a pivotal role and making it your own. Congratulations on your first Emmy nomination!"

Nicole: Thank You so much!

Soaps.com: Do you have any predictions for who is going to win this year?

Nicole: Not a one! It is all so mysterious and the judging process was different this year. Gosh, I have no idea….no predictions!

Soaps.com: Did the lead actress nominees all get together for lunch this year as part of the tradition?

Nicole: Yes! We had the leading ladies lunch today and it was my first time. It was lovely. Michelle picked the restaurant, Maura treated since
she won last year and it was actually the first time that I met Maura and Jeanne Cooper. So, it was really nice! (Editor's note: I (Christine)
met Jeanne. Did I mention that? Read more about that here. Note the awe on my face in the photo of me and Jeanne.) We're sorry that Nicole did not win the award, but we're sure that being
nominated is an award in itself.

We told you all about meeting Judi Evans (Bonnie (Bon Bon)/Adrienne, DAYS) in our first SOAPnet Night Before Emmy Party article, but wanted
to tease you with a little insider information about a possible return to daytime for Judi. After we congratulated her on her nomination, Shannon asked, "What are your plans now since you have left DAYS? Any chance of you coming back to daytime?"

Judi: We're working on that. I can't wait to start working again!

Soaps.com: Are you still volunteering at your son's school?

Judi: Yes, but he is on summer vacation right now. We're just kind of doing the summer thing right now and enjoying that.

Does this mean she's working with someone on a return? Is it with Days, or another show? Either way, we can't wait to see Judi back on TV soon!

Newbies to Bold and The Beautiful showed up party night! Texas Battle (Marcus) and Jacqueline Wood (Steffy) were happy to be there for the
night before party.

Shannon: Is this the first Emmy Awards for you two?

Texas and Jacqueline: Yes, for both of us.

Shannon: How many parties have you gone to so far?

Texas: Oh man. There's been a lot going on. We actually missed one yesterday.

Jacqueline: It was Heather Tom's party, but we were so busy with work that we couldn't make it.

Soaps.com: It's almost like having another job besides the acting.

Jacqueline: It is. I've only been there for a few weeks, but it's a lot to get thrown into with the shooting…and then all of the media stuff.
But, it's fun.

Soaps.com: Are the two of you going to interact much on-screen?

Texas: Actually, yes. We are starting to build our chemistry now.

Soaps.com: And Steffy is just adding fuel to the fire with Donna being his mom?

Jacqueline: (Laughter)…Yes! Steffy is very spunky and edgy…kind of rebellious. We will see how it all plays out.

Very interesting. We're all loving having these two added to the cast and are looking forward to seeing what happens next between the pair!

Here's something that we don't see that often - younger crew strolling down the red carpet. It's very refreshing to speak to the younger crew
and get their take on the red carpet antics. We had a lot to discuss with Brandon Buddy (Cole, One Life To Live) and Kristen Alderson (Starr),
One Life To Live), regarding their controversial teen pregnancy storyline.

Shannon: What was the most challenging thing about the big storyline with you and Starr?

Brandon: Basically not to offend anyone. It's a very controversial subject and we (the actors, writers, directors and producers) wanted to
do it where people could learn from it. We want teenagers to think about decisions that are going to impact the rest of their lives! It scared me
when I first found out what was going on, but I felt as long as people are learning from it…then it's worth it.

Shannon: I read some of the upcoming twists with the storyline. Starr's going to want to do one thing with the baby (give it to Marcie) but Cole
has other plans?

Brandon: Yeah. Right now Starr and Cole are on two opposite ends of what they want to do with this baby, which causes a lot of controversy and a
lot of conflict.

Shannon: What was the most challenging part of this storyline for you?

Kristen: The biggest challenge was that I haven't been through it. I saw the pregnancy storyline as a huge challenge. You don't want to upset any
of the fans. You don't want to ruffle any feathers or portray it in the wrong way. So how I decided to do it was to just take the journey with
Starr and go through it with her. It's kind of weird, but I've been living scene to scene with it. It was a learning experience for the both
of us. It's been nerve wracking. I didn't think it was going to be so hard, but then all of a sudden I had this pregnancy test in my hand and all of the cast and crew that have known me for ten years were like "Oh my God! You're our baby and now you've got a pregnancy test!" Laughter…
It scared me and I put it down. I was like, "Oh my gosh!" Stuff like that really has helped me with the storyline.

Christine: Did you do any research for the storyline?

Kristen: Yes. I actually met with a girl named Ashley that got pregnant at sixteen and had the baby at seventeen. She chose adoption for her
baby. It was really inspiring and it helped me to understand what she was going through. She told me her body changes and different things like that. She was one of my main sources of study.

Christine: From what we know and spoke with Brandon about already, Starr and Cole are on opposite ends of what to do with the baby. What can we expect to see coming up?

Kristen: Drama of course. As usual!

That's what we're banking on, Kristen! Stay tuned to find out what happens with this storyline.

Moving on, we met with All My Children star, Bobbie Eakes (Krystal).

Shannon: I have to say that I love the movie Sordid Lives and can't wait for the July 23 premier of the series on the LOGO channel.

Bobbie: Oh, you need to meet my husband (David Steen) too. He plays G.W. on the series.

Shannon: Oh wow. That is awesome!

David: If you love the movie, you are going to love the series. It's actually better than the movie!

Shannon: The previews do look great.

Bobbie: Laughing… He's the one on the bed with Rue McClanahan (Peggy)!

Shannon: Too funny! I love the Golden Girls too! Bobbie, aren't you going to be in the series as well?

Bobbie: I do have a little cameo, but he is the big star! He got me in on it with him.

Soaps.com: What was it like to work together?

Bobbie: I was working separately on an entirely different part. We didn't even see each other during it.

David: You'll see my on-screen wife (played by Caroline Rhea) really involved with watching her soaps and screaming at the TV at Bobbie's
character. It really is funny!

Switching gears, we asked if Bobbie was excited about the new head writer at AMC. Indeed she was. "We are very excited about Chuck Pratt. He's got quite a record and reputation!"

Having a new head writer is always a little stress worthy to the fans, but hearing this makes us look forward to seeing new and wonderful storylines develop on the show this coming year.


Christine Fix and Shannon Burrell
Soaps.com