--Previous Message--
: If all the advertisers wanted was young
: viewers we would not see the myriad of
: pharmaceutical ads that have invaded the
: commercial space on the show over the past
: several years. I believe that the
: showrunners and advertisers have, to a
: certain extent, accepted the fact that the
: core of their audience, and the genre's
: audience, skew older. I think they have
: also begun to realize that there are indeed
: products in the great marketplace where
: older consumers are willing to be persuaded
: to switch brands because the fact of the
: matter is that younger people today are not
: loyal to ANY brand the way they were in
: previous times.
:
: I think that Frank likens himself to be a
: cool and hip EP on a show that he wants to
: make cool and hip, and in his shallow and
: clueless mind neither Genie nor Laura embody
: that image. They gave it a try in 2015 when
: they dressed her in the stiletto boots and
: the leather moto jacket and (this is JUST my
: opinion) she looked a bit ridiculous and
: more than a bit uncomfortable, at least in
: the boots. They could do WAY better than
: they have, as was evident when LnLU Genie
: posted those comparative hairstyles. But
: the character's nature isn't one to dress
: like Sam. She could however, be dressed
: like Alexis, or even Ava. Quite easily.
:
: --Previous Message--
: We all read it and I agree with what Jane
: said. Maybe we should be talking to the AD
: Men. But re Genie..they will have to give
: her something. She can't just sulk back in
: there after all of this. Mostly it was the
: way Frank handled it, don't you agree? It's
: not taking the Contract, it's not 12 times a
: year... it's the way he handled her and her
: audience. I would NEVER walk back in there
: as Long as he was there without a public
: apology or his ass out.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Great interview. Great person. She says
: what
: we have been discussing here. People age
: out of the current demand for a younger
: audience. That's what the advertisers
: think. As long as that feeling persists,
: the veteran characters are not going to be
: in demand. I think Genie should consider
: recurring. Unless, she really wants to do a
: career turnaround and try theater or an
: occasional TV film, her best bet might be to
: be recurring and fit in other things into
: her off-time. It really might be good news
: in disguise for her. After all, if you are
: not contracted, they don't own you. She
: could go on and off GH almost at will.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I think she's a straight shooter and tells
: it
: like it is. Here's an excerpt where she
: talks about why we don't see what we want.
: I believe her.
:
:
:
:
:
: https://www.tvinsider.com/173624/general-hospital-jane-elliot-tracy-quartermaine-abc/
:
: Q: GH never made you and your character the
: center of the show—the rich, powerful,
: dynamic hub from which all spokes
: emanate—the way Guiding Light did with
: Beverlee McKinsey or The Bold and the
: Beautiful did with Susan Flannery.
:
: JE: Or One Life to Live with Erika Slezak.
: As far as I'm concerned, they should have
: made Tracy the head of the mob. She should
: have gone one-on-one with Sonny.
:
: Q: Instead, she’s mostly been a supporting
: player, providing the energy and color and
: chaos when it was desperately needed but she
: was never the power base.
:
: JE: That might have done that with Tracy in
: my earlier years but it would never happen
: today. Not that long ago I had a
: conversation with an ABC executive about why
: they were playing all the young people on
: the show and not playing the veterans. There
: is a constant cry from the audience:
: "Play the vets!" Me, Leslie
: Charleson, Kin Shriner, Jackie Zeman, Lynn
: Herring, Genie Francis, you know the list.
: And what I was told by this network exec is
: that the young actors are played heavily
: because that's what the advertisers want.
: They believe they will attract a younger
: audience that way, because young viewers are
: the ones who haven't yet decided whether to
: buy Kleenex or Puffs and they can be swayed
: by advertising. Older viewers are not so
: susceptible. They don’t change their minds
: and make new, different choices.
:
: Q: Says the 70-year-old woman who just shook
: up her life in a massive way.
:
: JE: Hey, I’m not saying that I believe this
: to be true! But it’s how the business
: operates. Yes, by playing Tracy and the
: other older characters, you might get your
: lapsed audience back, but it's not the
: audience they want. So this is not about the
: fault of the producers or the writers or the
: network. It's all driven by the advertisers
: and the need to attract young shoppers. This
: wasn't always the case. Soaps used to be
: about storytelling and characters of all
: ages and types. We’re not doing that now. We
: go from event to event to event. The stories
: are activity driven, rather than driven by
: emotion. And, unfortunately, it’s easier to
: write an event than an emotional story, one
: that has depth and breadth and passion and
: heart. My hat’s off to anybody who is doing
: it in this soap business of today, because
: it’s all dictated by schedule and finance
: rather than what’s best for the stories. You
: are told which actors you can use, based on
: who hasn’t worked beyond their guarantees.
: You are told which sets you must use. You
: can’t fault the writers for the restrictions
: and constraints they work under.
:
:
:
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