GH In The News: The PC Press Club

[xldb2004]

I'm not assuming she was drunk. She may or may not have been, however that's one thing that will be forgiven

[ulkis]

I think we're assuming drunkenness when it just might be a mental issue or simple meanness, jealousy, and bitterness. Petty jabs. Small mindedness. Ignorance. Self hate. Etc, etc. Oh, and bad spelling. Unwarranted has two "a's", not two "e's", Nancy.

 As someone else pointed out, even if she were drinking at one point, this went on for SEVEN HOURS. She wasn't drunk that whole time.

 

I think it was all of the above, although I think there's a chance obviously she was sober the entire time too.

[UYI]

Yes, this.  NLG dissing VD's acceptance speech became (due to her own idiotic tweets) about how VD is entitled and these great roles just fall in her lap, while poor NLG is slogging away in daytime on a shitty soap.  It just comes across as so pathetic.  

 

Which is the one part of this whole thing that baffles me. NLG has said many times how GRATEFUL she is to daytime, because it was an industry where she could have a steady job and raise her daughter. I've NEVER seen her act this way about daytime before. If anything, she CHOSE daytime over greater fame so she could have a child. *shrug*

Edited September 22, 2015 by UYI

[xldb2004]

Where is Olivia Pope when you need her? In Shondaland which unfortunately is now a Grahn free zone

[ch1]

Well if I was in NLG's place even if I wasn't I would go with drunk.  Otherwise she just appears to be a bitter dumbass/asshole.

[JaneDigby]

And her character was so cold and scary but so compelling! A mother/corrupt cop doing it all "for [my] girls" and being so focused on them getting opportunities - even as she killed an entire family. There was an interview before she was on L&O: CI with VDO/KE and both went nuts about her.

 

It's really so sad that Nancy Lee Grahn could not show some graciousness in Viola Davis' win. Well, now she is paying the price for it.

 

 

GTFO! That was Viola Davis. I flove that episode. From the minute Goren notices the vacuum cleaner marks on the carpet that episode is a winner and the way Terry Randolph (VD's character) goes around giving what seems like awesome life advice all in service of a murder ... awesomeness. 

[WendyCR72]

GTFO! That was Viola Davis. I flove that episode. From the minute Goren notices the vacuum cleaner marks on the carpet that episode is a winner and the way Terry Randolph (VD's character) goes around giving what seems like awesome life advice all in service of a murder ... awesomeness. 

 

Yep, that was her! Always did freak me out, too, when Goren put on the bloody shirt of the dead hubby, too. That whole episode was awesome.

[Ambrosefolly]

Which is the one part of this whole thing that baffles me. NLG has said many times how GRATEFUL she is to daytime, because it was an industry where she could have a steady job and raise her daughter. I've NEVER seen her act this way about daytime before. If anything, she CHOSE daytime over greater fame so she could have a child. *shrug*

That might have been before the 2000s and maybe a few years after, but now NLG and everyone else is stuck with crappy, plot point driven writing and the show gets no real support from Disney. I am not condoning her twitter rant,which was stupid because it that case, Viola Davis was speaking the truth. I have been saying for along time, aside from the cast that likes working with each other, GH now is probably changed a lot from the GH of 80s and 90s. While the budgets cuts are extremely stressful, I believe the worst part is the writing, because it is the area GH still has control but don't. It would be one thing if writers would just admit when their storylines aren't working, like Liz Meriwether did with New Girl or quietly try to fix what isn't working, we had Guza saying how he was trying to train the audience or RC taking back to anyone that found the major logically gaps in his writing. I am actually a bit shocked that they canned Ron so quickly. People were complaining about Guza for 9 years before anything happened, but RC was nixed in 3.  

Edited September 22, 2015 by Ambrosefolly

[sashabear21]

Maybe in the future social media will come equipped with a breathalyzer or at the very least an admonishing voice like KITT from Knight Rider that asks if you're really sure you want to post that and then point out why it may not be the best idea.  It amazes me how colossally stupid people can act on twitter. NLG really does deserve getting her ass handed to her right now.  The first tweet was bad enough, but then to keep going with progressively worse statements was a terrible idea.  I can't even watch the Corinthos Fun Time Family Hour lately without severe abdominal cramps, but it will be interesting to see if they write her off the show or not for these antics.  They didn't fire Ron or take away his twitter privileges when he would have his massive asshole meltdowns, but that didn't get the attention of major news outlets or focus on a hot-button issue.  I guess we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.   

Edited September 22, 2015 by sashabear21

[UYI]

People were complaining about Guza for 9 years before anything happened, but RC was nixed in 3.  

 

The fact that Brian Frons seemed to have a raging hard-on for Guza's work may have had something to do with that. 

Edited September 22, 2015 by UYI

[Tiger]

I'm still cracking up that Nancy thought 'The Underground Railroad' was an actual tunnel that Harriet Tubman dug.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Tiger

[JaneDigby]

I'm still cracking up that Nancy thought 'The Underground Railroad' was an actual tunnel that Harriet Tubman dug.

 

I missed that. Wow. I think Nancy may have suffered enough - it's gotta hurt to be that stupid. I guess we're lucky Nancy didn't think it was an actual railroad, too.

[fishcakes]

Then came the 'Harriet Tubman, tunnel digger' tweet, and really awful "THEY" tweets, 'they are being awful', 'they are being mean', 'I would have marched for them', 'I'm being attacked by Black Twitter'.  Those were more awful in a somewhat more subtle (not sure that's the right word) way.  Amusingly, the 'they' tweets and those with vaguely racist overtones have been deleted, and only the 'I'm sorry' and 'I'm a victim here' tweets/responses remain.

 

I noticed today that she deleted the worst of the tweets including the original tweet that kicked the whole thing off, although that one was more stupid and nonsensical than truly hateful. I'm not sure what deleting them accomplishes since they've all been screencapped and featured all over the internet, but I suppose it at least prevents new replies to them.

 

I'm still cracking up that Nancy thought 'The Underground Railroad' was an actual tunnel that Harriet Tubman dug.

 

Ha, yes. That's the most delightful part of this entire debacle.

[Gigi43]

Well apparently this made that show The Insider. My mother saw it and then asked me about it. It was one of the first stories she said. They left out the Underground Railroad and "These people" tweets, so I went into it all, when I got to that she changed her tune as she was all "what was she just looking for attention by being ignorant but its gotten blown up?" at first becaust I guess the Insider must have shown just what she said about actors being "irrelevant" and sticking up for all women. She also didn't believe me at first when I told her I read on a message board she continued to reply to people all night long, as she put it "no one has that little of a life".... oh that Mom of mine, she still wants to give people the benefit of any doubt. I don't know where she gets it from, I really don't. 

 

OTish: I love it when fandom's intertwine. That Criminal Intent episode with Viola that had been brought up up thread is one of my favorite CIs!

[GHScorpiosRule]

OTish: I love it when fandom's intertwine. That Criminal Intent episode with Viola that had been brought up up thread is one of my favorite CIs!

 

Hey! I know I'm on the barge and everything, but I also brought up Viola's recurring role as a badass, awesome recurring Defense Attorney on SVU! I will always be disappointed she didn't make the trifecta and appear on the Mothership.

[Gigi43]

I've been sspending time on the barge my self. I can't remember the specific cases Viola's character in SVU was involved in, even though I watch SVU almost every day. Including if I see a good rerun on at the same time as a new GH. 

 

On topic: Has anyone from GH attempted to defend NLG on twitter?

[sara416]

My two cents on the NLG topic, take it or leave it. I say all of this as a feminist and social justice advocate. One way to have taken her sentiment was that compared to say, the black woman living down the street living a "normal" life, Viola Davis is FAR from discriminated against. Viola Davis is successful and amazing and more than likely does not have to worry about the same thing that many other black people in this country face on a daily basis. Being a Hollywood actress gives her a certain level of privilege that most people do not get to enjoy. NLG is also interested in feminist and social justice causes, so perhaps she was thinking along SES lines, and not racial lines regarding the discrimination. 

 

That being said, there is absolutely discrimination in television, movies and advertising against all types of people. People are put into boxes and roles and are rarely allowed out of them. Jean Kilbourne has some amazing work on this subject. NLG should have realized that there is only so much one can communicate in 140 characters and that sometimes our thoughts don't need to be made public. And as far as her tweets saying "those people" and the Underground Railroad topic, they were ridiculous and inappropriate. 

[TheGourmez]

My two cents on the NLG topic, take it or leave it. I say all of this as a feminist and social justice advocate. One way to have taken her sentiment was that compared to say, the black woman living down the street living a "normal" life, Viola Davis is FAR from discriminated against. Viola Davis is successful and amazing and more than likely does not have to worry about the same thing that many other black people in this country face on a daily basis. Being a Hollywood actress gives her a certain level of privilege that most people do not get to enjoy. NLG is also interested in feminist and social justice causes, so perhaps she was thinking along SES lines, and not racial lines regarding the discrimination. 

 

That being said, there is absolutely discrimination in television, movies and advertising against all types of people. People are put into boxes and roles and are rarely allowed out of them. Jean Kilbourne has some amazing work on this subject. NLG should have realized that there is only so much one can communicate in 140 characters and that sometimes our thoughts don't need to be made public. And as far as her tweets saying "those people" and the Underground Railroad topic, they were ridiculous and inappropriate. 

 

I'm pretty sure that's all what she intended. Nicely put. I think where she lost herself in the response is where her age shows--how we broach the subject of racism today is not couched in terms like color-blindedness anymore, but that *was* what the people Nancy's age were brought up to believe was the goal of the Civil Rights movement, so espousing it meant they supported it. She just hasn't learned yet about concepts like intersectionalism, etc., that have risen to the top of the discourse now. She's exposed her age and that she needs to re-learn some of the notions of equality she was taught as our understanding has changed. Hopefully, she will actually take that lesson out of the whole kerfuffle.  

[SlovakPrincess]

So I was happily, mostly avoiding the show and these forums (got tired of the rage black outs from even reading about the show) ... and then today a friend on Facebook starts posting about NLG. I am 2000% sure this man has never watched GH, so I was like "what in the fucking fuck?!"

And now I have read this forum. And OH MY GOD what was she thinking?! Whaaaaaaaat ....

And does she actually think Harriet Tubman dug tunnels?

O_o

Edited September 23, 2015 by SlovakPrincess

[Francie]

Nancy, you're welcome.

 

- Andre, former Bay executive producer and current Prisoner No. 875306.  Also still gonna win those 5 Oscars.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/daytime-emmy-winner-charged-attempted-826567?utm_source=twitter

[bantering]

Nancy Lee Grahn said something about Viola Davis being an A-list actor, and therefore shouldn't complain.

 

But it's not like Viola Davis has been an A-list actor since the age of 22 like Jennifer Lawrence, or before her, Julia Roberts or Winona Ryder.  It took decades for VD to get to where she is. VD only became well-known around 2011 or so (when The Help came out). Before that, she was slogging away like everyone else who hasn't hit a certain tier yet.  So I'm baffled as to why NLG would think that Viola Davis had it that easy or that she hasn't faced obstacles. Also, VD was speaking out for other women of color, not simply for herself. No where in her speech did I hear Viola Davis go "me, me, me, it's all about me" in her speech. She mentioned other actresses of color (i.e Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Nicole Behari, Gabriel Union, etc) So I don't even get how NLG failed to understand what VD was addressing.  

Edited September 23, 2015 by bantering

[SlovakPrincess]

Yeah, I have no idea why NLG would say Davis wasn't discriminated against. Um, how would she know??

And even if you thought someone's speech was over the top or overly dramatic ... why be a jerk about it?

[Ladybyrd]

Nancy needs to get off of twitter, grow the hell up, and recognize her privilege.  How thoughtless and insensitive do you have to be to say that Viola Davis hasn't faced discrimination? I think it's safe to say that #yesallblackpeople have. It's clear to anyone looking that minority A-listers don't have the same opportunities that white actors do. Even with her talent, beauty, and Oscar, Lupita Nyongo isn't being offered the kinds of roles that Anne Hathaway is.

 

That said, I would be sad to see her fired. I love Kassie DePaiva, but it would be hard for me to accept Alexis Davis, southern belle.

[represent]

 

Lupita Nyongo isn't being offered the kinds of roles that Anne Hathaway is.

Exactly, see this is what she's talking about when it come to opportunity. The day I see Lupita Nyongo cast as a romantic lead or even just a best friend who is actually desired by man I'll give the entertainment industry a half a check mark more for progress. I remember Louis Gossett Jr. saying that he was not allowed to have a love scene because he was actually told that they didn't want his shade of skin being shown in that light. In other words viewers weren't ready to see his skin rolling around in the sheets. Yeah it's these "little things" but as a viewer of a minority group they aren't little to me and I've noticed them all of my life.  

 

But it's not like Viola Davis has been an A-list actor since the age of 22 like Jennifer Lawrence, or before her, Julia Roberts or Winona Ryder.  It took decades for VD to get to where she is.

 

 

And I believe Julia Roberts dropped out of school. Does one honestly believe  that Viola Davis could have dropped out of school much less attend a mediocre acting school program and still get as far as she has? No, you bet VD had better have attended Julliard or Yale school of Drama, shout out to Lupita because that's where she graduated from.

 

See Chris Rock has got it right again, equality is being able to have the same opportunities with the same level of experience. It's being able to fuck up in life yet get the same amount of chances to redeem yourself and for many minorities that ain't the case. It's like he said, a black C student can't  even be the manager of McDonald's, meanwhile we had a white C student as the President of the US in George Bush Jr.. Shit you think Obama could have gotten one damn C, please, come on now. 

 

NLG, take a nap. I get that she's pissed about her career, but until she walks into a room feeling like she has to justify and explain her very existence or right to be there because of her skin color alone, she needs to keep the foot in her mouth.

Edited September 23, 2015 by represent

[jsbt]

Let me put this more politely than the pre-edit: The Julexis fanbase should really not be spamming the Nancy Lee Grahn hashtag with support for their fictional television couple right now. It is the worst possible way to handle this situation and it belittles and demeans the real issues NLG fucked up and inserted herself into. Having the general public walk into a bunch of soap fans crying out for more of Julian and Alexis is only going to set more people off, IMO.

Edited September 23, 2015 by jsbt

[ulkis]

Let me put this more politely than the pre-edit: The Julexis fanbase should really not be spamming the Nancy Lee Grahn hashtag with support for their fictional television couple right now. It is the worst possible way to handle this situation and it belittles and demeans the real issues NLG fucked up and inserted herself into. Having the general public walk into a bunch of soap fans crying out for more of Julian and Alexis is only going to set more people off, IMO.

 

The people who are spamming twitter right now probably contains the person who wrote this post last year at SoapZone:

 

Calling Julexis Army SZers!!

 

I know we have people here!

 

For all fans of our amazing super couple JULEXIS let your voices be heard!! We have a good bit if visibility in most online formats as I'm sure you guys know, so let's infuse this place with the passion we have come to know through JULEXIS!!

 

They have been WIDELY touted as the HOTTEST and most POPULAR super couple that daytime has seen in over a DECADE! The power of NLG and WDV has barely been tapped and we have already seen a REVOLUTION!

 

Talk from a recent fan event has gave us info that Julexis rated the HIGHEST a couple has EVER scored in a recent focus group poll! This is unprecedented guys!!

 

Fan check in below! Let's march on SZ!!

 

So to answer your original question, someone could probably tell this particular subset of Julian/Alexis fans to stop spamming buuut they probably would not listen.

[rur]

. . . OH MY GOD what was she thinking?! Whaaaaaaaat ....

And does she actually think Harriet Tubman dug tunnels?

O_o

In general, I agree with the first sentence above and agree with all those who think she should have stopped tweeting long before she did.

But I do have to add just a little bit in her defense. I checked her bio, and it said she grew up in Illinois. In the Great Lakes area, there were a fair number of farms that did have tunnels for escaping slaves. They were usually just between out buildings or connected to the main house, but they did exist. I'm hoping that's what she was thinking of when she typed that tunnel tweet.

[yowsah1]

Let me put this more politely than the pre-edit: The Julexis fanbase should really not be spamming the Nancy Lee Grahn hashtag with support for their fictional television couple right now. It is the worst possible way to handle this situation and it belittles and demeans the real issues NLG fucked up and inserted herself into. Having the general public walk into a bunch of soap fans crying out for more of Julian and Alexis is only going to set more people off, IMO.

 

On the other hand, it does put ABC on notice that NLG has fans who base their viewership on the show on a couple NLG is part of, which will definitely be a factor in any decision ABC might be considering to axe her.  GH just can't afford to lose any more viewers right now.

[jsbt]

On the other hand, it does put ABC on notice that NLG has fans who base their viewership on the show on a couple NLG is part of, which will definitely be a factor in any decision ABC might be considering to axe her.

 

Frankly I do not think anyone in a position of outside power at ABC gives a solitary shit about NLG or Julian/Alexis, or even knows who they are. They barely give two shits about GH.

 

If this was TG or Benard they might take pause, because I think upper management only really knows of GH as "the show with Luke and Laura" or "the show with Sonny" at best, and because they're predominantly sexist and male-driven like most of this industry. But right now, IMO, they have no interest in GH's longevity beyond how long it can stay on the air until alternative programming is fully developed and viable. They may give the show's various fanbases happy talk in the occasional Q&A, but that is all just political gladhanding while they bide their time waiting for another successful variety show or talk show to be durable enough to succeed. They forget 95% of the characters and couples' names when they're not briefed on them in advance. And I think a supporting actress on a plummeting, weakened soap opera who crashes Ben Sherwood or ABC's big moment is the least of their interest or priorities.

 

It's not like Julian and Alexis have been around twenty years and are some institution. They have had some moderate success, and ABC/GH has occasionally tried to court them (and other fanbases) to keep their numbers alive while also trying to keep the ship afloat long enough to launch their latest new afternoon show trial project - that's it. And I'd say that about any couple that's been created in the last four years, not just these two characters. I think ABC has zero loyalty to any of it.

 

I do not think they will fire Nancy and I hope they don't. I feel a bit sorry for her. I think she's an incredible actress who's deserved better onscreen for the better part of fifteen years. But she is extremely vulnerable, and I don't think anyone at the network has any interest in her character or her onscreen couple right now, and I think trying to push them or the media, or social media, and pressurize them as though this is Luke and Laura or Sonny and Brenda and the 1990s is only going to provoke an adverse reaction. What she did here has become much, much bigger than the network's occasional need to patronize us while GH is on life support.

Edited September 23, 2015 by jsbt

[Ambrosefolly]

Exactly, see this is what she's talking about when it come to opportunity. The day I see Lupita Nyongo cast as a romantic lead or even just a best friend who is actually desired by man I'll give the entertainment industry a half a check mark more for progress. I remember Louis Gossett Jr. saying that he was not allowed to have a love scene because he was actually told that they didn't want his shade of skin being shown in that light. In other words viewers weren't ready to see his skin rolling around in the sheets. Yeah it's these "little things" but as a viewer of a minority group they aren't little to me and I've noticed them all of my life.  

 

 

And I believe Julia Roberts dropped out of school. Does one honestly believe  that Viola Davis could have dropped out of school much less attend a mediocre acting school program and still get as far as she has? No, you bet VD had better have attended Julliard or Yale school of Drama, shout out to Lupita because that's where she graduated from.

 

See Chris Rock has got it right again, equality is being able to have the same opportunities with the same level of experience. It's being able to fuck up in life yet get the same amount of chances to redeem yourself and for many minorities that ain't the case. It's like he said, a black C student can't  even be the manager of McDonald's, meanwhile we had a white C student as the President of the US in George Bush Jr.. Shit you think Obama could have gotten one damn C, please, come on now. 

 

NLG, take a nap. I get that she's pissed about her career, but until she walks into a room feeling like she has to justify and explain her very existence or right to be there because of her skin color alone, she needs to keep the foot in her mouth.

As far as Julia Roberts vs Viola Davis, she really isn't in the same league as Viola. I think that Viola is seen as on par with Meryl Streep (who went to Yale) or Kathy Bates (who did complete college). Halle Berry might be the closest counterpart to Julia Roberts, as she only completed community college before moving into entertainment. In a round about way, VD might have lucked out she wasn't the over praised starlet in her youth and is getting her career upswing in her 40s. Winona Ryder's stardom was mentioned, but her career taken a nosedive since she lost her youth.

 

However I don't know if NLG tweeted drunk, but she might have watched it drunk because she missed Viola larger point. For one thing, I think Viola did recognize that the industry, especially now, is writing black women in leading roles. She was one of 3 that were nominated. However, there is no black young actress that be promoted in the midst of the young Hollywood starlets, because there are no roles for them . At least among the young males, there is Michel B Jordan (who got his start in daytime). 

 

Which brings me to GH, which NLG should know, has a huge problem with diversity. All of daytime has (or at least had) a huge problem with this. The one credit I will give to FV/RC is that they did create the role of Jordan and her writing is as terrible as everyone else's writing.That  allows them to edge out JFP/Guza who effectively cleansed black people off the canvas. However, they failed to really write for TJ, and basically wasted Tequin Richmond's time.At least in GH past, they attempted some diversity. Simone and Tom Hardy were paired and had a son, the Wards were directly linked to Qs, and Dara was there as DA (who needs to make a comeback, but let her be resistant to Sonny's charms) . Guza turned Justus into a mob lackey and killed him off, he could have brought Tom Hardy jr on at anytime but didn't, he created Maya, but didn't write for her and then wrote her off and Shawn was just a complete insult. 

Edited September 23, 2015 by Ambrosefolly

[UYI]

^^^^Don't forget Taggert! Now if only hating Sonny & Jason would mean you're ALLOWED to stay on the show! 

[Francie]

My two cents on the NLG topic, take it or leave it. I say all of this as a feminist and social justice advocate. One way to have taken her sentiment was that compared to say, the black woman living down the street living a "normal" life, Viola Davis is FAR from discriminated against.

That is exactly what NLG was trying to say, and exactly why it got the response that it did.  Just because a black person has achieved success -- achieved a great deal of success -- doesn't mean that she hasn't faced discrimination. I have absolutely no doubt in the world that she has. Overt and subtle. 

 

The fact that Viola Davis would not have been sent to audition for most of the roles that Nancy was able to audition for throughout her 20s and 30s is part of that discrimination.  And that was merely the point Viola was making in her speech.

 

Now, on top of the discrimination that Viola has overcome, she now has to face the people like Nancy Lee Grahn who are bitter over the fact that Shonda Rhimes created a television show to show case her. At the heart of Nancy Lee Grahn's tweets wasn't racial bias, but a sentiment of "Why can't someone create a show for MEEEEEEE?!!!!"

 

And the world responded to her, "Sit down and let this woman have her moment."

Edited September 23, 2015 by Francie

[JaneDigby]

My two cents on the NLG topic, take it or leave it. I say all of this as a feminist and social justice advocate. One way to have taken her sentiment was that compared to say, the black woman living down the street living a "normal" life, Viola Davis is FAR from discriminated against. Viola Davis is successful and amazing and more than likely does not have to worry about the same thing that many other black people in this country face on a daily basis. Being a Hollywood actress gives her a certain level of privilege that most people do not get to enjoy. 

 

 

I hear what you are saying and appreciate that you waded into the cesspool that is the NLG fiasco to say it. The idea that Viola Davis has enjoyed certain "advantages" (which, one could argue are really just the equivalent of a fair shot) that other non-white actresses have not is, imho, fair game. I'm sure there are hundreds of equally, possibly more, talented actresses of any color who haven't had the opportunities that Viola Davis has. That strikes me as the nature of acting in general - luck plays a huge part. The difference is that you can't be lucky if you never get a shot. 

 

Unfortunately, NLG didn't make that nuanced point. She claimed that VD had never been discriminated against. As a feminist, she should know better. At the very darn least VD has been discriminated against as a woman (do you look "sexy" enough? are you too "old" for the role? etc.) 

 

At the heart of Nancy Lee Grahn's tweets wasn't racial bias, but a sentiment of "Why can't someone create a show for MEEEEEEE?!!!!"

And the world responded to her, "Sit down and let this woman have her moment."

 

Francie, this covers it for me with just side of "Hell, Nancy, you're really going to snip at another woman in an industry where women are woefully underrepresented in positions of power? Way to let the sisterhood down. Don't just have any old seat, you need a Lazy-Boy-Lounger for a full lie-down."

Edited September 23, 2015 by JaneDigby

[Francie]

Talk from a recent fan event has gave us info that Julexis rated the HIGHEST a couple has EVER scored in a recent focus group poll! This is unprecedented guys!!

 

If there is any truth to this, there is only one point it proves:  Focus groups are fucked up and never should be employed to dictate storyline or other behind-the-scenes decisions.

 

You don't know how much I want to clip the scene from 30rock where Alec Baldwin's character says "It tested well with focus groups," and then it cuts to a flashback of him opening a pizza box in front of twelve people and saying, "If you agree with me, I'll give you pizza."

[sunnyface]

It could be anyone from any soap-but the only person I know of, whose contract is about to expire on GH, is Jane's.

 

 

Forget about the launch boat to or from the barge, I'd jump into the water and swim to shore.

[IWantCandy71]

If there is any truth to this, there is only one point it proves:  Focus groups are fucked up and never should be employed to dictate storyline or other behind-the-scenes decisions.

 

You don't know how much I want to clip the scene from 30rock where Alec Baldwin's character says "It tested well with focus groups," and then it cuts to a flashback of him opening a pizza box in front of twelve people and saying, "If you agree with me, I'll give you pizza."

 

Alec Baldwin is awesome.This show is not.

IDK if this should go in unpopular opinions instead, but I feel sorry for Frank Valentini. You know the man makes his tweets about something that's going to happen on GH every day, right? Well, all the man did yesterday was tweet that Paul's secret was about to be revealed. Several brain trusts came in before the show even aired and tweeted things like "um, that was yesterday, Frank".

And all I can think is how these people first of all, were wrong. Because he was obviously referring to the Paul as DA thing, not the Paul as mobster thing. It just made those people making those comments come across looking like dumb boxes of hair. Not to mention rude. And true, it appeared those comments were posted before the show aired, but it's just the rude, snotty way he was talked to.

I don't care if he DOES do a not great job as EP. If the "fans" of the show I worked for talked to me like that, I'd find out who their favorites were and kill them off. :)

Then some other person replies to this same tweet and tells him that if he can't support NLG, he can "piss off". Piss off? Because he's not patting that big mouth  on the head and telling her what a wonderful person she is? I look at it like this: if she isn't going to be fired, they ARE supporting her.

Anyway-I can't imagine the idiotic crap he has to read from people. The show needs help, yes. But he shouldn't have to take that insanity.

Forget about the launch boat to or from the barge, I'd jump into the water and swim to shore.

 

Oh, if she leaves, they can start turning out the lights. Not because she is holding this show up-but because if SHE doesn't see any hope-there ain't none.

 

And oops. I forgot the worst part about the tweeting to Frank. Poor Richard Burgi was included in all of this, too. And I just have to wonder if he saw that  and face palmed.

Edited September 23, 2015 by IWantCandy71

[DollEyes]

More thoughts on "Grahn-gate," as I call it: I've got no sympathy for NLG because she brought this shitstorm on herself, by herself.  NLG has learned the hard way that Black Twitter Does. Not. Play. This is a classic example of "White-splaining," as in White people thinking that they know much better about the problems of minorities than we do ourselves. At least when Taylor Swift got into her little beef with Nicki Minaj, IIRC, she didn't send more tweets to make things even worse. Swift admitted her mistake, quickly apologized and made up with Minaj. Viola Davis and Shonda Rhimes probably won't put NLG on blast, but I wouldn't blame them if they did.

 

  If NLG wants to save her job on this shitty show, then IMO, to borrow a page from Lean On Me, she should make a formal, public apology-and not on Twitter-to Ms. Davis, Ms. Rhimes and for insulting every actress of color, especially Black actresses, in the business.

[bantering]

VD was clearly talking about history and the history of her race, so I'm still baffled as to how NLG seemed to personalize the speech so much and assume that  VD was talking  only about her career trajectory or plight. NLG did sound envious that VD was getting parts she couldn't get, which makes the whole twitter situation even weirder. The words were so clear, direct, and concise I figure you'd have to be pretty dumb not to properly understand what VD was saying.

Edited September 23, 2015 by bantering

[represent]

 

That is exactly what NLG was trying to say, and exactly why it got the response that it did.  Just because a black person has achieved success -- achieved a great deal of success -- doesn't mean that she hasn't faced discrimination. I have absolutely no doubt in the world that she has. Overt and subtle.

Exactly, Halle Berry won an Oscar which I have a hard time with because I find her to be a pretty bad actress. Her voice fails to carry and she just has absolutely no screen presence.  While I clapped for her win in the back of my mind I was thinking....yeah, the academy can rest easy for a while since they gave us a "token."  Let's just put it this way, I find Jennifer Lopez to be a better actress. Yeah I can truly sit through and enjoy a Lopez romantic flick, and I've seen her on a couple of action movies too, on cable that is.... I'm not paying movie theater prices to see her. Point is, she has a screen presence that Berry does not have.

 

At any rate, that Oscar didn't help Halle Berry all that much, because she has admitted that she's gotten the "we don't know how to cast you" talk because of her mixed race and I  believe her, except like I said, in her case, she's not a good actress IMO.  And I think her manager has got to suck because he/she brought that shitty Catwoman script to her, ugh. 

 

I think I saw a post further back, about how one of the GH writers years ago admitted they didn't know how to write for minorities or it may have been specifically black actors, and I like that he/she admitted that, that's where fixing the injustice starts. If you can't admit out loud you have a blind spot how are you going to fix it? The question is, what has GH done behind the scenes since then to help bring diversity to the forefront of this soap? Is the writer's room still filled with writers who see the world through the same "eyes"? I don't know.

Edited September 23, 2015 by represent

[SlovakPrincess]

One of the good points TG made in his infamous post-retirement interviews was that ABC should have been using a publicist type person to handle social media. Not Ron, or Frank, or any of the actors, who are bound to take things personally when the trolls come out (understandably - except for Ron who took it way too far and was also being an ass to the actors themselves at times, if I recall).

Not that that would have stopped NLG from her Twitter death spiral, which was not GH-related.

Does Twitter have an instant-messaging function, outside of the public feed? I like to imagine that FH or whoever else was also live-tweeting that night were sending NLG desperate messages like "GO TO BED NANCY!!!"

[Francie]

The fact that Brian Frons seemed to have a raging hard-on for Guza's work may have had something to do with that. 

The demos also never went below 500,000 on Guza's watch.

[kristabell]

Exactly, Halle Berry won an Oscar which I have a hard time with because I find her to be a pretty bad actress. Her voice fails to carry and she just has absolutely no screen presence.  While I clapped for her win in the back of my mind I was thinking....yeah, the academy can rest easy for a while since they gave us a "token."  Let's just put it this way, I find Jennifer Lopez to be a better actress. Yeah I can truly sit through and enjoy a Lopez romantic flick, and I've seen her on a couple of action movies too, on cable that is.... I'm not paying movie theater prices to see her. Point is, she has a screen presence that Berry does not have.

 

At any rate, that Oscar didn't help Halle Berry all that much, because she has admitted that she's gotten the "we don't know how to cast you" talk because of her mixed race and I  believe her, except like I said, in her case, she's not a good actress IMO.  And I think her manager has got to suck because he/she brought that shitty Catwoman script to her, ugh. 

 

I think I saw a post further back, about how one of the GH writers years ago admitted they didn't know how to write for minorities or it may have been specifically black actors, and I like that he/she admitted that, that's where fixing the injustice starts. If you can't admit out loud you have a blind spot how are you going to fix it? The question is, what has GH done behind the scenes since then to help bring diversity to the forefront of this soap? Is the writer's room still filled with writers who see the world through the same "eyes"? I don't know.

 

Yes, it is; and that, in my opinion, is at least 80% of what's wrong with their writing. The entire crew - production, casting, writing, direction - is white. Many are male. There may be a couple under 40 years old, but I doubt it. They are still writing storylines from two or three decades ago, because that's where their experiences are; and they wouldn't have the first clue how to write for someone of color (honestly, they can't write well for women in 2015 either.) 

[UYI]

It should be noted though that for many years, GH DID have a black female writer, Michele Val Jean. She was the writer the most invested in Liz's rape story--she is a rape survivor herself, and wanted to do the story justice--but she left a few years ago and is now at B&B, which is definitely the better show for her to be working on now anyway.

Edited September 23, 2015 by UYI

[Ladybyrd]

 

One of the good points TG made in his infamous post-retirement interviews was that ABC should have been using a publicist type person to handle social media. Not Ron, or Frank, or any of the actors, who are bound to take things personally when the trolls come out (understandably - except for Ron who took it way too far and was also being an ass to the actors themselves at times, if I recall).

Not that that would have stopped NLG from her Twitter death spiral, which was not GH-related.

 

 

They should at the very least make everyone working on the show attend a seminar on how not to be a complete idiot.  My teacher friends are all hyper vigilant about what they post; it blows my mind that Nancy, Bryan, and Ron, among others, were so…stupid.

It's 2015 and twitter is not new. We all have heard horror stories about how easy it is to ruin your career and/or life with a thoughtless tweet. How are these people not more careful?

 

The demos also never went below 500,000 on Guza's watch.

 

In fairness, soap ratings across the board are on a slow, excruciating descent. Part of that is the quality of the show, but most of it is an aging fan base, fewer people at homes in the afternoons, less unemployment nationally than we had a few years ago, more options on cable/netflix/etc. The ratings Guza got felt shockingly low at the time compared to earlier years.  If GH is still on in another 3 years, we'll all be looking at Carlivati's ratings and calling those the salad days.

[UYI]

There was an interview with Nancy, Jane and Fin in TV Guide earlier this year. I distinctly remember them being asked about social media like Twitter, and Jane was talking about why she stays off of it, while Nancy, I think, was trying to tell her how awesome it was.

 

Um, not to judge or anything, but I think Nancy should have listened to Jane a little more that day.

[OnceSane]

Does Twitter have an instant-messaging function, outside of the public feed? I like to imagine that FH or whoever else was also live-tweeting that night were sending NLG desperate messages like "GO TO BED NANCY!!!"

Yes, it's called DM (or direct message), and only the sender and recipient can see it.

[peachmangosteen]

The demos also never went below 500,000 on Guza's watch.

 

Well I guess that's why we're going back to The Sonny Corinthos Hour again.

[aw86]

So RP did a periscope from set today.  He said NLG was on set today and everything is fine, that people who cared what happened with NLG were "trolls," and that her speaking her mind was "refreshing"

So...yeah.  Obviously no one at GH talked to the cast about social media etiquette yet.  And now I have another reason to dislike RP besides him being a block of wood

[UYI]

So RP did a periscope from set today.  He said NLG was on set today and everything is fine, that people who cared what happened with NLG were "trolls," and that her speaking her mind was "refreshing"

So...yeah.  Obviously no one at GH talked to the cast about social media etiquette yet.  And now I have another reason to dislike RP besides him being a block of wood

 

Oh Ryan, you're so pretty...DON'T DO THIS TO ME. :(

[ulkis]

So RP did a periscope from set today.  He said NLG was on set today and everything is fine

 

Yes Ryan Paevey. Because I'm so sure Nancy Lee Grahn and Frank Valentini volunteered exactly whatever discussions may or may not have happened between them.

Oh Ryan, you're so pretty...DON'T DO THIS TO ME. :(

 

I mean, to be fair, maybe he was told to say something morale boost-y.