General Hospital
James Franco Issues Statement on the Deposing of Jill Farren Phelps as GH's EP!
Courtesy/ABC
This day just gets wackier by the moment! Now General Hospital’s ever returning guest-star Oscar nominated actor, James Franco has issued a statement on the firing of Jill Farren Phelps as executive producer at his favorite daytime home!
Franco apparently responded via email from the New York Magazine.com’s Vulture section asking the actor for his take on the Phelps firing for the hiring of One Life to Live’s Frank Valentini.
James Franco wrote: “Jill is a pro. She is experienced, innovative and loving. I had nothing but great experiences with her for two years. She was open to experimenting on General Hospital in ways that I have not found on any other film or television project. Jill helped create daring story lines that blurred the line between fiction and reality — she allowed us to do a special episode at MOCA in LA for which they won daytime Emmys, she was always open to taking the show in unexpected directions. She and I plan to work together in the future because we enjoy collaborating so much. Anyone in Soaps would be a fool not to want to work with her.”
So could Jill Phelps next project be with Franco? What do you think of the actors statement? Let us know!
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Serena Sets Her Sights on Michael; Jason’s Emotional Exit from the Mob
This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, new and old motivations come into play with dangerous consequences. According to the just released GH video spoilers video for the week of August 3-7, a bailiff calls out, “All rise!”
Now it’s Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) vs. Curtis (Donnell Turner), as the surgeon is suing the owner of the Savoy for assault that ruined is ability to operate. At the end of the day, which of these men has enough evidence against the other? Portia (Brook Kerr) is by Isaiah’s side, while Jordan (Tanisha Harper) is with Curtis.
Next, Lucy (Lynn Herring) has a plan to get the controlling shares of Deception away from Michael (Rory Gibson). She wants her daughter, Serena (Kelly Kruger) to seduce Michael. She tells her, “Pick out your most seductive suit.” Soon, we see Serena in her bathing suit at the Metro Court face to face with Michael.
Later, there is a small baggie containing three blue pills. Nina (Cynthia Watros) ask Willow (Katelyn MacMullen), “What did you do?” We also see Michael asking the same thing of Jacinda (Paige Herschell). Leading into this week, viewers know that Willow doesn’t want the former escort anywhere near her children, Amelia and Wiley. Is this how she stops her, or is Jacinda up to old tricks and wants to frame Willow? Remember when Jacindsa drugged Drew (Cameron Mathison)? Stay tuned.
Finally, in the pick-up from last Friday’s cliffhanger, an emotional Jason (Steve Burton) continues to tell Sonny (Maurice Benard) that he cannot work for him anymore. Sonny ask, “So that’s it? You’re Out?” We fade to black.
Take a look at the official GH spoilers for the week below.
MONDAY, AUGUST 3
Jason makes a sacrifice for Danny. Elizabeth becomes privy to a secret. Carly is touched. Valentin has a warning for Nina. Josslyn cautions Brennan.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4
Brook Lynn and Chase celebrate a milestone. Trina gets an earful. Carly’s plan backfires. Curtis is skeptical. Michael is anxious about his family’s’ future.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5
Sonny wants answers. Ava is struck with inspiration. Curtis’ trial begins. Brook Lynn wrestles with a big decision. Lucy and Serena scheme.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
Sonny makes a stunning announcement. Serena makes her move. Willow faces a new threat. Isaiah takes the stand. Lucy questions Laura.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
Josslyn is taken aback. Ava courts a new ally. Jordan and Anna catch up. Isaiah vents to Lucas and Elizabeth. Michael questions Jacinda.
Check out the latest ABC promo for General Hospital entitled, “What Did You Do?” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think GH is about to pair Serena with Michael? Is it curtains for Jacinda? Can anyone stop Willow once and for all, or make her pay for her crimes? What will Jason do without Sonny and the mob? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital Fan Club Weekend brought out many of your favorites to the four day event; with the main cast gathering on Saturday, August 1. Fans near and far attended the weekend held this year at the Burbank Marriott Hotel. Whether it be the main cast event or the smaller more intimate events featuring two or three cast members a great time was had by all.
Some of the cast participating in the main cast event included: Cyrus Hobbi (Yuri), Gary James Fuller (James), Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), Viron Weaver (Wiley), Paige Herschell (Jacinda), Chris McKenna (Brennan), Josh Kelly (Cody), Kayden Brenna Tokarsi (Scout), Cassandra James (Terry), Laura Wright (Carly), Dominic Zamprogna (Dante), Carolyn Hennesy (Diane), Rick Hearst (Ric), Adrian Anchondo (ex-Marco), and Chloe Lanier (ex-Nelle).
In addition to, Van Hansis (Lucas), Cameron Mathison (Drew), Ryan Paevey (ex-Cassius), Easton Rocket Sweda (Leo), Maurice Benard (Sonny), Kristen Vaganos (Molly), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), Kate Mansi (ex-Kristina), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), Cynthia Watros (Nina), Kristina Wagner (Felicia) and more.
Take a look at some of the snaps from the main event arrivals below:
Photo: HutchinsPhoroi
GH’s Rick Hearst with on-screen daughter, Kristen Vaganos, plus Nancy Lee Grahn, and Kate Mansi.
Photo: HutchinsPhoto
GH’s Maurice Benard on-hand to meet the fans.
Photo: HutchinsPhoto.com
Jack Brennan in the house … Chris McKenna.
Photo: HutchinsPhoto
Adrian Anchondo, Van Hansis and Anchondo’s boyfriend, Days of Our Lives, Colton Little.
Photo: HutchinsPhoto
GH’s Josh Kelly and his gal, the former Nelle Benson of Port Charles, Chloe Lanier.
Photo: HutchinsPhoto
Who is James’ father? Not Cassius or Spinelli, actually. Actors Gary James Fuller, Ryan Paevey and Bradford Anderson!
Photo: HutchinsPhoto
One of General Hospital’s newest cast members, Kayden Brenna Tokarski attends her first GHFCW event.
Check out some more arrival images featuring: Laura Wright (Carly), Cassandra James (Terry), Carolyn Hennesy (Diane) and more in the gallery below.
Michael Fairman TV will be adding more images to this post in the day ahead.
So, were you glad to see so many of your GH favorites attending this year’s General Hospital Fan Club Weekend? Let us know via the comment section.
General Hospital
Vincent Pastore of ‘Sopranos’ Fame and ‘General Hospital’s’ Maximus Giambetti Dies at 80
Vincent Pastore, best known for his memorable role as Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s The Sopranos has passed away.
The veteran actor was found dead on August 1st in his home in the Bronx, New York. Pastore was 80-years-old. The cause of death is yet to be determined.
As well as his role on The Sopranos, many soap fans will recall he played multiple smaller roles on the beloved One Life to Live from 1995 and 2004. However, in 2008, he landed the short-term role as Maximus Giambetti on General Hospital.
PASTORE WANTED TO BE ON GENERAL HOSPITAL
Maximus was the mobster father of Sonny Corinthos’ (Maurice Benard) bodyguards: Max (Derk Cheetwood) and Milo (Drew Cheetwood)
According to Soap Opera Digest, Pastore told Soaps In Depth back in 2009, after appearing in a SOAPnet promotional campaign as a celebrity fan of General Hospital: “‘I’d love to be on the show. So they called up GH’s casting director (Mark Teschner) and Bobby (Robert Guza Jr. ex-head writer, GH) and they wrote me in!”
Pastore was a huge General Hospital fan from way back, who at one point told producers that he would watch the ABC soap opera while working in bars and nightclubs in the 70s and 80s.
Throughout his decades long career, Pastore appeared in films including: Goodfellas, Carlito’s Way and Men of Respect, The Jerky Boys: The Movie and the 1996 HBO TV movie Gotti.
In TV, besides The Sopranos, Pastore’s credits included: Law & Order, The Practice, Son of the Beach, Queens Supreme, Hawaii Five-0, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, plus the miniseries The Last Don II. Most recently, Vincent was a series regular on Gravesend and guest starred on Yellowjackets.
Pastore is survived by his daughter, Renee, son-in-law and granddaughter.
Share your remembrances and condolences for Vincent Pastore on his memorable role on ‘The Sopranos’ and his time on ‘General Hospital’ via the comment section below.
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GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Serena Sets Her Sights on Michael; Jason’s Emotional Exit from the Mob
‘General Hospital’ Fan Club Weekend 2026 (Photos)
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I don’t like to pretend that James Franco added anything to General Hospital with his appearances. Coming in for a few days and taping scenes with no real purpose and interspersing them over months does not make it innovative. It merely took screen time away from other characters and actors who deserved their own storylines.
I so agree. He’s just kissing her posterior because she indulged him in his lame obsession with GH and the ridiculous over the top character he created there. He was a complete waste of air time on the show and I have never seen him give worst performances.
Ive watch GH for 42 yrs and I have never seen a worse EP in the show’s history. She was completely inept. James take your lame but back to feature films and get off daytime. Your over-sized ego has had enough stroking.
i really love franco and i think that maybe you just dont get it. he has been doing a great job with his serial killer character and when he sends the dvds he allways looks like he is on the edge.
Seniron , who cares? Ive been watching soaps, TV and movies all my life. Ive watched some master actors over the years. And I have never seen worse performances than James Franco did on gh. On the edge my ass, that’s not acting, he just yells and screams and leers and makes an ass of himself. I know good acting when I see it and this isnt it. I’m so saddened back the lack of sophistication among soap fans. Any garbage they throw you, you lap it up like fillet Mignon. Sad indeed.
Wow.
On one hand, that’s a really lovely statement he’s left for a member of the soap world. Very kind, professional gesture.
On the other, JFP really isn’t worth the time it took it write such a lovely statement.
Just….wow.
Sorry, but what the @#$% does Franco know about soaps?? His GH appearances have been clearly nothing more than vanity pieces for him. He came in to a genre, to a show, that he clearly condescends to and IMO did nothing to help the show. He wasn’t woven into the canvas, he is the guest star who took over the show for his own entertainment.
Granted, the show has been pretty dreadful with or without him, but it’s been even worse with him.
I think Franco is a good actor. But I am not as impressed with his Renaissance Man impression as he apparently is. Franco’s ego is as overblown as Frons’ talent.
Thank you so much for this Boes. Im so glad that people werent deceived by his so called love for the show. He’s an egotistical jackass who needs to just get lost and take his lame, underdeveloped, melodramatic character with him. He just irks the hell out of me.
Dont get be started about Frons.
Francos good , I’ll like a scene with him & Sonny saying to Franco ” You Sick Freakin Bitch.”
I watch youtube never again ABC.
I can understand his loyalty to Jill , she was good to him, but to GH fans she had run her course. We were stuck in a rut for a very long time, and GH suffered because of that. I don’t really know whose to blame, is it Jill, or Brian Frons? or Bob Guza?, but i do know this, under all three of them, GH became the mess that it is today, and they all allowed it to happen for far to long. I’ve said this time and time again, GH has an awesome cast, great history, and fans who begged, and prayed for the show/network to hear them, and we went unheard for the longest time. Under the “right” team, theres no reason why GH, can’t rise again. But its going to take the right team, and ABC. I wish they would cherish what they have in their hands, instead of trying to kill it.
“Anyone in Soaps would be a fool not to want to work with her.”
Franco, glad you’re temporary.
thats mean, but you opinion.
There are certain notable exceptions, but stunt casting rarely ever works. The point is to generate buzz to attract new (or lapsed) viewers and then get them hooked on the story. What happened here is that people tuned in, saw something incredibly stupid, and tuned out. The problem is that current GH fans tuned out too because it took away screen time from people they actually wanted to see. Anyone who thought this was a good idea needs to be shown the door. Somebody lock it before Franco gets back in.
As far as I’m concerned, I could not care less what James Franco has to say about GH unless he says he’s done with it. His storylines are drawn out and boring and like the rest of GH under JFP, and Brian Frons watch, unwatchable. Been to GH’s own message board, a large majority agree. For a 30+ year viewer I have never seen one “star” have so much pull, who has absolutely NOTHING to do with this soap. Veteran actors who have given ABC more than 10, 15, or 20 years were pushed aside for a “top tier” actor, (in case you can’t tell that was sarcasm) who sounds like he’s reading the script for the first time)so just like it does to its fans, ABC disrespects its actors too as it has done for years. (can anyone say Rebecca Herbst)-still waiting on a s/l worthy of her abilities. Bringing back Alcazar or Ric Lansing would’ve brought more ratings than JF.
STFU Franco! You have NO say-so in anything!
Jill was partially responsible for destroying GH. And the Franco stories were horrible. If JF liked working with her so much, he can have her.
Huh? That’s all I have to say.
When did James Franco get a say? With Guza’s obsession for him & Vanessa?
Surely, he was never a fan of GH’s legacy…
Where was he when the soaps came under attack and two have been cancelled? She just must have kissed up to him and let him dabble and play in our stories. Our shows are not his lab for experiments…to try new forays in the blurring of fantasy and fiction …in HIS mind anyway. He needs to snap out of his famtasy and either shut up on things he has no real knowledge of or stand up for the story telling and professionalism that all soaps do. Good luck to both, maybe now GH can become the great show it once was and will be. Don’t tell me, he is good friends with and a friend of serial killer frons too!
JFP has caused each soap she was on problems…
Beverlee M. left
Killed off Maureen Bauer
Killed off Frankie Frame
Everything she destroyed on GH, don’t know details never watch GH
Not sure about SB never watch that soap.
Need I say anymore.
Don’t forget she was also responsible for Robin Strasser to leave OLTL in the early 2000s. I totally forgot she killed Frankie on Another World.
Well, I guess you can say there s not too many jobs in daytime anymore for her since we are down to four soaps.
Anyone notice he’s the only one supporting the woman that killed off Alan?
Glad that James Franco said something about Jill Farren Phelps and hope this does not want him to return to GH. Love him!
I am always upset when I see people lose their jobs. Unless it’s politicians! lol! Even Guza, Frons and JPF. I can’t help it, it’s just how I am. I also believe that while these people did great damage to the show I love, that doesn’t mean they are evil horrible people, we have no idea exactly how these things came about and knowing how it is at my job – the CEO makes a choice and the rest of the EVP’s have to follow suit and make it happen. Sure, the EVP’s take the heat for following through on the CEO’s choice, but they also get paid to take the heat. So it’s essentially what they are paid to do.
I believe that we have demonized Guza, Frons and JPF too much – I think this will be evident when nothing really changes on the show despite them being gone. That means it’s all coming from ABC higher ups.
I say all of this because I completely understand how James Franco, and other actors, have had such great things to say about JPF. We don’t know her, we have made quite a few declarative statements regarding how horrible these people are (I see them in this thread of comments as well as in all the internet gossip sites and message boards) but the truth is, they aren’t evil. I am OK with people having positive things to say about any one of them. I don’t have to agree, but I am kind of tired of us fans and insiders being so harsh on people who I believe are mostly just following orders – if they don’t then they get fired and news ones come in.
I am sure I am being a bit naive in some aspects here, but I am kind of tired of people acting like Guza, Frons and JPF are horrible people – not just horrible at their jobs.
I hate what has happed to my soap (GH) as well as with OLTL and AMC, but I don’t think there is ANYTHING Guza, Frons or JPF could have done to change the future – because ABC/DISNEY wanted it this way. So if they didn’t deliver, someone else would have.
I think we need to start going higher up on who we complain about destroy daytime. We need to go to the source, and that source does not begin with the head of ABC Daytime, we have to go higher.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. I guess the point is that James Franco and others who enjoyed working with JPF or Guza or even Frons just goes to show that while they might be horrible at business, that doesn’t mean they are just plain horrible.
Obviously James Franco has no idea of JFP’s horrendous track record. She wrecked Another World and it was cancelled after her stint there as EP. She tanked OLTL and for the last decade or so she has done a complete hatchet job on GH. She is inept, unimaginative and a just plain hack.
JF can go on kissing her backside till the cows come home for all I care as long as both she and he take their useless carcasses off the GH sound stage.
Innovative,Jill Phelps,I think not. being a woman, she should have stop women being butt monkeys on GH. Females should have been shown stronger and not always depending on a man. Innovative don’t mean being raped on a honeymoon and worrying about your baby being a child of rape. thats totally gross. The best thing Jill P. could have done is that Franco and his storyline with her when she left.