General Hospital
James Franco on the art of soap acting and more!

Courtesy/NY Festival
I have to say, James Franco is doing a fantastic job bringing attention to soaps right now, not only with his acting, charisma, and performance art connections, but also his writing. Check out his entry in a new piece out today by the actor entitled, The Limits of Control which is on Lapham’s Quarterly website. In the piece, he details the control actors have in certain parts of the medium they work in, which adds to their performances or possibly subtracts. Franco wrote these words below, which to soapers, means he completely “gets” the soap actor’s style and what they have to work with.
Franco, Recently, I performed in the soap opera General Hospital. It is easy to make fun of soaps, with their melodramatic plot lines, constant exposition, unnatural lighting, swelling music, and lack of action. Most of these aspects are due to the extreme speed at which soaps are produced. With five episodes a week, at least sixty pages need to be shot in a day. That’s a feature film’s worth of material shot every two days. This pace allows for very few takes, usually one. Soap acting is generally considered inferior to other acting, with the lack of takes cited as the reason. However, there are many fine film performances that are made up of just a few takes: Clint Eastwood is famous for doing one or two takes when directing; Robert Altman was very loose with his direction, always looking for spontaneity and truth; Gus Van Sant does very few set-ups, and very few takes. Innumerable directors of Oscar-winning films have used such techniques. The reason that soap actors look the way they do is context—how they are filmed, what they are saying, and how they are blocked. There is absolutely no way to act in a soap and pull off a performance like Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Robert De Niro in Raging Bull, Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice, or Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. These incredible performances are supported by the incredible filmmaking that is behind them. They are given the time, dialogue, space, and aesthetic of films made by great directors.
This isn’t to say that soap opera performers are worse than film actors, or that their performances are inferior. The soap opera performance should always be perceived in context: it involves actors working in a tradition that soap audiences have come to expect and love. Soap actors are delivering exactly what they are supposed to—they are in tune with their audience and they are not attempting to transcend it. If Brando had tried to play Terry Malloy in a soap, he wouldn’t have had the time to sculpt the performance into the brooding, tortured, nuanced emotional force that won him an Oscar. The contender wouldn’t have been a somebody, instead he’d just have been another mumbling dope with bad eye makeup.”
So what do you think of Franco’s thoughts on soap acting?
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: ‘From Your Biggest Fan’

This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, official spoilers for the ABC daytime drama series, and the just released video teaser, reveal that several women are in serious peril, but in very different ways.
First, Lulu (Alexa Havins) finds out that Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) is suing her for libel! Looks like Willow took Chase’s (Josh Swickard) advice to fight back on these “allegations” levied by an “out-of-it “Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) who now claims everything he told Lulu in their recorded interview was a lie. However, the GH faithful viewers know what Sidwell said is true.
Willow is ready to prove her innocence to the Quartermaines too after entering their home. Will anyone be able to crack Willow and get her to admit to all she has perpetrated, but in a court of law, so she can be sentenced for some of her crimes, or will she continue to walk around Port Charles forever unscathed?

Courtesy/ABC
A SONNY TAKEDOWN
Meanwhile, Josslyn (Eden McCoy) wants to take down Sonny (Maurice Benard). So, she has decided to leverage being forced by the WSB to take the CEO position of her father’s company, JJE, in order to do so.
Sonny contends he has gone straight and is no longer in the mob, but try as he might, he may have to fall back into his old ways so people see the light!
Knowing Josslyn, and everyone else refuses to believe he had nothing to do with the prison beatdown of Curtis (Donnell Turner) and Sidwell, Sonny says, “If Josslyn thinks I’m gonna let her destroy me. She’s dead wrong.”
ROSES AND CAR TROUBLE
Meanwhile, looks like Trina’s stalker is amping up their obsession. Now, at her latest musical gig at the Cat’s Eye Lounge, she receives a card and a bouquet of roses. The card reads, ‘From your biggest fan.”
Later, we see Trina sitting in her car having trouble getting it to start. Suddenly, there is a knock on her car window. Quinn (Jequan Jackson) is standing there with a smile on his face, and says, “Car trouble?” Trina is startled. Is Quinn just there to help out, or is something more heinous about to go down? Stay tuned.
Now below, take a look at more GH spoilers for the week of October 12-16.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
Drew confronts Lulu. Dante has questions for Sidwell. Trina is under surveillance. Emma supports Gio. A winning bid is made for the piers.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
Carly surprises Valentin. Drew lays out his plan. Dante encourages Lulu. Sonny targets a new rival. Elizabeth wants answers.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Jason is taken to task. Tracy voices her concern. Brook Lynn is given food for thought. Michael reflects on his past. Britt defends Lucas.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
Sonny and Ric plot. Joe questions Willow. Josslyn defends herself. Chase ponders his future. Monet advises Curtis.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Britt is triggered by Jason. Trina is in need of rescue. Ric takes on a new client. Elizabeth and Dante get closer. Gio has second thoughts.
Check out the official GH promo for this week entitled, “Dangerous Obsession” below, followed by our recent chat with Tabyana Ali on her latest stalker storyline and more, via the Michael Fairman Channel.
Now weigh-in: At this point, who do you think will be revealed as Trina’s stalker? How will Josslyn try to destroy Sonny and how will he counter her maneuver? Are you sick and tired of Willow never paying for any of her crimes? Let us know via the comment section below.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Eva LaRue Talks Guest Performer Daytime Emmy Nod With Maurice Benard: ‘I Only Have a Nomination Because of You’

It was back in episodes of June of 2025 that saw the undoing and ultimate death of Natalia Rogers-Ramirez after complex and poignant scenes delivered by soap opera vet, Eva LaRue on General Hospital. Prior to her demise, Sonny (Maurice Benard) had Natalia believing they were going to head out of the country and set up their lives together, only for Sonny to pull out at the last moment after learning of all of Natalia’s deception.
Throughout her run on GH, LaRue’s Natalia became one of the most hated characters of the year, especially because of the character’s bigotry against her own gay children, Marco (Adrian Anchondo) and Blaze (Jacqueline Grace Lopez), and that she was revealed to be the ex-wife of Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota). But even with all that, Eva triumphed and secured a Daytime Emmy nomination going into the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards on October 30 in the Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series.
LaRue faces tough competition from the other nominees that include: Christopher Sean (Paul, Days of our Lives), Jasmine Burke (June Hughes, Beyond the Gates), Jeff Kober (ex-Cyrus Renault, General Hospital), and Ray Wise (ex-Ian Ward, The Young and the Restless).

Photo: NATAS
EVA LARUE SCORED HER FOURTH EMMY NOMINATION
Now, on a new Sunday, October 11 edition of Maurice Benard’s mental health series, State of Mind, the two former co-stars talked about LaRue’s fourth Daytime Emmy nomination. She previously won an Emmy for her work as as Celeste Rosales on The Young and the Restless in this same category in 2020, and was nominated three other times including this year.
The others were for co-writing the song, “Dance with You Again” for All My Children in 2004 and in 1997 in the Supporting Actress category her role as Mario Santos on the beloved ABC soap opera.
Speaking on her nomination, LaRue says it’s Maurice who was truly helped her deliver her performances. “I only have a nomination because of you,” she said to the three-time Daytime Emmy winning Lead Actor. “You said to me that you were going to get nominated.” Eva added, “God bless the writers because they wrote some fantastic stuff for me to go out on.”
Maurice responded, “You had levels in your work that day that we did those scenes. But you were on fire!”

Photo: ABC
MAURICE BENARD’S BOLD EMMY PREDICTION
Explaining the category she is nominated for to Benard, LaRue said, “I’m nominated for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series. So (the category) was those of us who were like not on contract, but we were there for a while. I mean now, I feel like that guest thing is so much more competitive than it ever was, because so many of the soap operas are taking people off contract, which then throws them into the Guest category.”
Benard, who shares he has great Emmy karma predicting the acting awards on daytime’s biggest night, made his bold 2026 prediction sharing his pick. “I would say you’re gonna win (to LaRue). And I would say if not, it’s between you and somebody else. There’s no reason why you wouldn’t win for the ‘Guest’ category.”
You can watch part 1 of the conversation between Eva LaRue and Maurice Benard on State of Mind below. With part 2 being released next Sunday on October 18.
Now, let us know, do you think Eva has a chance at grabbing the gold for her work as Natalia-Rogers Ramirez on General Hospital? Would you like to see her win? It’s been a very heavy time for Eva after just recently losing her brother. Let us know your thoughts via the comment section.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Who Winds Up Hitting the Sheets First? Jordan and Michael or Curtis and Monet?

After today’s Friday, October 9 episode of General Hospital, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard) informs Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner), that not only is she Jordan’s (Tanisha Harper) half-sister, but the best damn lawyer there is to get him out of spending the rest of his prison sentence in Pentonville. Does he believe her?
If Monet can come through, would Curtis look at her in a whole new light, especially since his girlfriend, Jordan has headed to Europe with Michael (Rory Gibson) to visit the burn clinic to restore her face and remove the scars that have plagued her since the car accident with him?
It appears GH is ready to shake-up the couples and the romance on the long-running ABC soap opera. We already know Tanisha Harper previewed that the series is trying out the chemistry between Harper and her GH co-star Rory Gibson, and that Michael and Jordan might explore their burgeoning feelings for one another since both currently work together at Aurora Media, and understand what the other went through following horrific sets of circumstances that left them scarred.

Photo: ABC
As for Monet, she would like nothing more than to stick to her sister as their is still a deep troubled history between the two yet to be fully revealed. It would seem Monet would love to flaunt a relationship with Curtis. And knowing Curtis, he will be so eternally grateful to Monet for helping him gain his freedom that this might be a possible scenario. But the question becomes, who cheats on who first?
Do you think Jordan and Michael hook-up while away from Port Charles? Does Monet take advantage of Curtis, if and when, he becomes a free man? Does Curtis already sense Jordan pulling away from him but is keeping that inside, or will this all come as shocker if he were to learn Michael and Jordan have become closer?

Photo: ABC
While much of this is speculation, it does seem like the trajectory of the storyline; given that Michael’s recent love interest Jacinda (Paige Herschell) was written-out of the story, and it appears that Serena Baldwin (Kelly Kruger) is now being put in the romantic path of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).
GH spoilers for the week of October 12-16 indicate that on Wednesday, October 14, Michael reflects on his past, while on Thursday, October 16 Monet advises Curtis.
So, do you think that Jordan hits the sheets with Michael, and Monet and Curtis will hook up? Or, do you think it will all be a giant tease? If it becomes true, who would you be rooting for to end up together? Any of them? Let us know in the comment section below.
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James franco is so full of it. This whole article is somehow “justifying” his film star self going into soaps. And it’s quite backhanded. Can’t he say “I went to soaps so I could try all kinds of mediums. Period.” and then he could shut up abt it forever. He’s saying that soaps are crappy bec that’s what the audience expects them to be. Certainly majority, if not all of the soaps are in bad, crappy states, and the ratings reflect that. There’s a lot of disatisfaction now bec of the bad writing and worse performances. But most probably nothing (at that time) was more addictive and dramatic and edge of your seat exciting than Bill Bell penning Y&R’s Sheila escaping to B&B. The acting, writing, directing were all engrossing. It was the definition of great soaps, it was gripping and the audience kept coming back for more. Soaps don’t know how to do that now. And what the hell is james franco saying abt characters not beinf fully fleshed out? Soaps have the luxury of creating storylines for the same characters for years, so the character evolves over long periods of time. B&B’s Felicia may not be the best ex., but the character evolved not bec of Brad bell’s neglectful writing, but bec Lesli Kay was able to develop the character bec of her performances. Here’s hoping Nancy Grahn delivers a verbal smackdown thru twitter directed at pretentious james franco again. His movie star presence did not even translate in the ratings.