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Does Head Writer Ron Carlivati Want James Franco To Play Himself On General Hospital?

Courtesy/L.A.Times

Courtesy/L.A.Times

According to an item from Showbiz 411.com’s Roger Friedman, General Hospital’s head writer, Ron Carlivati may be interested in bringing back the original “Franco”, motion picture star James Franco, back to the ABC soap opera, but this time not as the fictitious Franco who is now played by Roger Howarth … but as himself!  Got that?

Friedman reports that he had a conversation with the WGA nominated head writer of the town of Port Charles over the weekend during the WGA Award ceremonies.  The item says:  “Ron told me he wants the real Franco to make one more return. I think the idea is that the multi-tasking actor would play himself, and I guess confront the fictitious Franco. Anyway, the soap is now the hip show that Franco wanted it to be when he was on it.”

So, what would you think if James Franco returned to General Hospital but this time as himself?  Can you imagine what the scenes would be like having a “Franco” showdown between Roger Howarth’s Franco and the real James Franco?  Comment below!

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Great idea if the writers can make it exciting.. GH is great these days I hope they keep it up.

no, no, no, no, no, no

NO!, NO!, NO!, NO!, NO!

ditto here! had enough of him the first time! and don’t be messing with the ‘franco’ character again. It’s not like Roger can go back to playing Todd… and this idea of one franco confronting the other franco? what is that… Todd 1 vs. Todd 2. (victor), 2.0?

please don’t bring him back!

I agree Joshua! A thousand times NO!!!

The Franco reminder we have now, is too much.l

It sounds idiotic to me.

YES!!!YES!!! YES!!! I Love James Franco and his character. I am sure Ron would write a great script for JF I hope so..

The only reason I would want to see James is if he came back to kill Franco!!! That character needs to go!!!

Amen! That’s a great ideal to get rid of Franco once and for all.

Making Roger “Franco” was the MOST boneheaded idea CarToony has ever come up with. I don’t know what they were smokin’, but it had to be some pretty powerful stuff! 🙁

I agree! Get rid of Franco / Todd! So annoying on OLTL & now on GH!

James franco needs to come back. Todd from OLTL Sucks as franco!!

I’d love to see him come back!

Sounds dumb! JF is a great actor, but his Franco was a mess cause the show was such a mess. GH has finally dug itself out of what the writers created. Why go back?! And if they even bring Jason back, GAG! I have enjoyed the show since he left. I love Steve Burton, & Jason, but it became way to much, It was the Jason show. There is more of a story to tell in PC, so tell it. Use AJ more.

Enough of the stunt casting. Tell some decent, plausible stories, Ron, or step down. For God’s sake! This show is a mess.

GH is not a mess, it is exciting variety..
There is a variety of stories, something for everyone..
I like all the stories..
RC and team is doing a great job!!
(so are the actors)

I think the cast of GH is just way too big , why not write for the characters that were on GH & make the newcomers apart of their storylines , right now the newcomers are getting the storylines & the GH characters are apart of their storylines.And the newcomers keep coming , meanwhile half the cast are invisible & they have to be in order to accommodate all these newcomers. I am all for tuning in to watch GH’s storylines but this is too far away from the GH I have watched through the years & all the credit does indeed go to RC & FV for creating a whole different version of what once was GH.

Jeff, you said it. Thank you.

Bernie, the cast has contracts that guarantee them so much on screen time..
some of the old timers do not want to be on the set everyday and have other irons in the fire..
the new guests rarely stay past their story, which brings variety..
It is not always RC’s fault the actors themselves want what hey want, too .. time off and lighter days..
I hope James Franco returns, it will be a short stay but it would be dangerous fun..

April 1, I will be a 51 year viewer, and GH has returned to its G Monty glory days. It is NOT a mess, ABC has FINALLY got a EP and HW that actually know what they are doing. The terrible part is that One Life To Live’s loss is definately GH’s gain. I have recently even got my sister, who had quit watching a couple of years ago, watching again, and she has said how great GH is once again.

I don’t know how any one can say the show is a mess, it’s awesome, what more do people want?

SU0000, The screen time guarantees in the contracts are decided by and offered by the producer, Frank. It is his decision who gets offered the larger contracts. To suggest that Roger Howarth, Michael Easton, Kristin Alderson, Maura West, Teresa Castillo and William Devry have the largest contracts because they are willing to work and other actors are not is totally without any basis or evidence.

Some actors came back for short stays like Jack Wagner, but to claim that John J York, Kristina Malandro, Jane Elliot, Sean Kanan, and others are not on screen more is because they don;t want to work as much is absurd.

The characters that dominate, the OLTL 3, Sabrina etc, do so because that is the way Frank and Ron want it. Do you really think the actors from their old show and the other newbies they have brought on are the one’s that dominate because other actors don;t want to work as much? How absolutely ridiculous.

And SU0000, I forgot about Tristan Rogers. Did he not get a contract from GH because he didn’t want to work as much? He seems pretty excited to have a contract on Y&R. GH thought they could use him at will to draw fans in while their favored actors from OLTL and the newbies are taken care of with contracts and screen time. They were wrong.

ICAM – the show’s become a mess and bringing back Franco is a stunt. They should never have brought Roger back as Franco. It’s a waste of his talent – redeeming a psycho serial killer and rapist is bizarre – Roger would have made a great real Q or Cassadine – not evil.. but not good… Ron should start writing good stories. Carly is a favorite character, but she’s become FF material because of this ridiculous Heather storyline. Heather is a ridiculous character and hasn’t been written well since her return and they silly ‘back to life – escaping prison every other day” stories are repetitive and annoying. Carly and Franco pairing is an embarrassment – Carly w/ AJ as the new Monica and Alan makes way more sense and the actors have real chemistry. Sabrina is as dull as toast. I realize Ron is pushing her on us because he gets royalties for new characters – but please… recast her then. Obrecht on a daily basis – spare me (again royalties for Ron) – But I will give him Britt… love her w/ Nik – nice actress… I could go on for days at the mistakes the show’s making, but I think you get the idea.

I agree Lona. I recall my grandmother watching her “stories” every day at noon. Her stories were filled with people she knew and loved. Where’s the stories? Where’s the characters we know and love? Please, no more stunt casting.

I couldn’t agree more, Jeff. This sounds like the silly season on GH will be permanent. 🙁

Oh thank you GH50 person. I wanted to say what you did but felt too tired and depressed. As usual, you said it much better than I could have.

wow!
James Franco is a ham lol he would jump at the chance to be on GH again in his Franco roll..
IF, it happens and we RH and JF together on screen in a story, it would be incredibly great! A block buster !!

The 2 Franco’s facing off!!! wow & wow!!

((I hope it comes to be!!)

“A Blockbuster!” Sue, you do realize Blockbuster went out of business due to poor micro and macro planning don’t you?

Franco wouldn’t be playing Franco…he’d be playing himeself…James Franco. Still could be fun because James Franco is not only brilliant and great looking…he’s also a bit of a nut! (in a creative way of course…ahem.)

Oh what a brilliant….er, brilliantly STUPID idea. First they decide to cast the very talented Roger as the result of James Franco’s mental masturbation and now they think it would just be so very keen to have the real Franco come in to meet the manifestation of said mental masturbation. Poor Roger.
With making Dr O the chief of staff, Victor Cassadine the head of the WSB, and Sabrina the Disney star of the Perils of Pauline, General Hospital has become a self parody. It’s so campy it makes Beach Blanket Babylon look like King Lear. What about character driven stories? What about drawing back old viewers like me with well written drama involving characters with whom we have invested a lot of time and emotions? Hearing news like this only reinforces my decision to stop watching GH. Ron is so damn tone deaf that he can only not hear the plaintiff wails of disgruntled fans, he can not hear the toll of those bells. And Ron? Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

In the words of SHREK…NO MORE FAIRY TALE CREATURES IN MY SWAMP!!!!

I think that they’re perhaps not hearing THESE posts. On twitter, they get good and bad feedback. In “real life”…they get different feedback on the streets than they do on social media. The bottom line is the ratings are up and they’ve been declared a success and as having saved GH from the chopping block…so I guess they’re good where they are.

For me, personally, I’ve been enjoying it and am so glad that the show is safe at least a year. However, I too am disappointed that they didn’t do more with Frisco, Robert, Sean Donnelly…they don’t utilize Felicia and Mac other than an occasional conversation…it’s like these characters are present living in the neighborhood somewhere…but we just don’t get see them a lot.

I don’t get why they paired Anna and Duke up again if they do nothing with them. They’re barely together…I used to love Anna and Duke. There’s no romance, adventure, banter…I’d almost rather have left their relationship in the past then see it so dull now. And I love Ian Buchanan. And yeah, he’s now involved with Sonny but so far he’s just filler.

Liz. What can we say about Liz. She was fired, rehired…and they still don’t give her a real story. I’d hate to see her go…she’s a familiar face on the canvas who I truly like…they started something with her and AJ and then just dropped it. And AJ…don’t get me started on him! I LOVE AJ…and they put him on the back burner for Robin’s storyline…bring him back already and make it interesting!

I think the problem is that while I like GH and would more than hate to lose it…shudder…there’s no more sense of community or family. It’s like separate vignettes. They used to have groups of friends…Lucky/Liz/Nicolas/Emily…Robin/Stone/Brenda….Jax/Alexis/Ned/Lois…the Q’s…there were just more groups…and somehow these groups intertwined.

I need more intertwining! :/

Oh this I like–“No more fairy tale creatures in my swamp!” Perfect.

Today, a woman tweeted Ron the following, and I think it pretty much sums up the quality of the show.

“My 11 year just told me watching GH is the best hour of her life!!! #Generalhospital #GH @carlivatiron”

Out of the mouths of babes….but of course, Ron would take this as the highest form of flattery.

Isn’t this guy ALREADY in everything already? I SWEAR I saw him in the extra-long commercial during the Superbowl….(and I hope you can hear my sarcasm from here…)
wolfy

And like Franco, I was redundant in my first sentence. (sigh….)

This sounds like RC wants to write the tale of two …Franco’s

This is exactly what I think is going on. What a terrible idea — UGH! Enough already….the Franco reincarnation is not working. It didn’t work when RH was just playing Franco, it didn’t work when the brain tumor was the “cause” of Franco’s serial killing, and it isn’t working now that Franco has been given new parents….just cut your losses and move on already!

JF would be wise to stay away from this train wreck!

That’s what I was thinking as well. The tale of two Franco’s, just like the tale of two Todd’s on One Life to Live. I have a good sense this is where he’s headed with this storyline, makes sense. Looking forward to it, GH is on fire, by far the best soap. Good storylines and very entertaining. Wonder if they will bring Steve Burton back, his picture was shown on yesterday’s episode by Victor Cassidine.

I disagree. It’s nothing like The Tale Of Two Todds on OLTL. As OTT as it was at least had the purpose of reinstating the original actor, Roger Howarth, as “the real Todd.” This is…well I don’t really know what it is aside from a really dumb idea.

I’m not a fan of breaking the 4th wall. James Franco is a real person who for a time played the fictional role of Franco on GH which is now being played by Roger Howarth. Where can they go with that? RH is obviously not going to be booted out so James Franco can resume the role so what then? Lame one liners
about how RH’s Franco was always just imitating the real James Franco?

Dumb, dumb dumb. RC needs to learn to write well crafted stories for the cast he has rather than an endless stream of stunts and gags.

wont bff steve burton throw a fit? i don’t see it happening with james franco being tight with steve burton and jill faren phelps, they would prob get him to do “their show”.. plus RC needs to go back to reality and get rid of all the cartoon crap he’s doing lately.

Shhhh– don’t give them any ideas, otherwise before we know it JFP will make James Franco the new Adam Newman on Y&R.

Lol. Dont think she hasnt thought it.

Lets just concentrate on the characters and actors we already got and especially underused like Monica, A.J., and Liz…at least Liz is in more scenes but could still use her own storyline!!!

Batman will next become part of GH…Nikolaus Cassidine will become the superhero…he does have the mansion and a butler named Alfred…Lucky Felix will move into the mansion as his trusty sidekick Robin and together they will fight Victor and Dr.O and their diabolical plots(BAM! POW!) see you next week…same bat time…same bat channel…, lol!!!

Ooh I like the idea of Nicolas as a superhero like batman or green arrow after all he is a billionaire an he got one killer bod!

Great idea JimH!!! Very appropriate!!! Since I can’t get Robert back with Anna… all for it!!!!

Hmmm? Sounds like RH may be leaving the show? Or perhaps he is the real Jason who may come back from the dead?

Good I never liked RH as Franco it does not fit RH.

Sounds to me like they want to de-Franco RH as Franco. I can see that happening, because RH as Franco has not worked! Franco/Todd is so bad it’s embarrassing, and it wastes RH’s talents. And frankly, the character still makes my skin crawl. Franco and Carly do not work! The only hesitation I have is Cartini rarely admits they made a mistake. They made a huge one making RH Franco.

PLEASE NO! I’m sick of James Franco. He is in everything! I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up on Barney yet!

I haven’t been able to accept RH as Franco, and I don’t think I could accept the real JF as any other character.

GREAT IDEA! And he can be the new police commissioner! Seriously????

ONE WORD ; NO

sometimes i wish the internet had been around in the 80s because we could look up how many people would have complained vociferously that those newbies (you know, forgettable characters like Anna or Duke, say) were the producers’ favourite new playthings and they were obscuring the vets that everyone wanted to see and wasn’t it time to get rid of them because nobody wanted them and everyone hated them. and seeing as people seem to hold sabrina’s RRRRs against her (i can assure you when i speak to a fellow italian, i speak differently), i’m sure anna and duke’s accents were being lambasted.

Ron C. is obviously bereft of any good ideas. As if we needed any more proof, considering what’s on screen these days.
And here I thought it couldn’t get worse….

First reaction is no not again. Thanks to Roger, I realize it wasnt the Franco character I hated. The actor Franco crappy appearance was problem. But Im interested to see how the writers would use actor Franco. Roger knows how to act on soap. Both actors together could be amusing.

I love James Franco and the roll Rodger is playing stinks,

Yes

Maybe bring back the real Franco. And then some how Jason?

Recast jason

Ron loves to do crazy stupid crap with GH i hope this never happends it would be so lame and embrassing

GH has become such a jumbled up mess I can’t stand to watch it. It seems like they have new characters every month. What about bringing back the Qs like FV said over a year ago. No more Franco anything. They need to kill off Franco. Next month Donald Trump and Daffy Duck will on the show. Sheesh.

Oh please, no more (James) Franco! His namesake character was such a sick, demented freak that I swore off the show for a good, long year during his reign of terror on Port Charles….only since RoHo’s more comical version erased that awful memory of the original incarnation have I been able to watch the role without revulsion.

YEESSSS! I hate the fact that they have a new Franco actor and it isn’t James Franco himself i think that is dumb. They need James Franco back to play the real Franco at least one more time. I dont like the new Franco at all. He doesn’t fit the role of Franco

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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