New Genie Francis Interview

[JaneAusten]

I wasn't sure where to post this. There are no spoilers in here not that I could see after reading it. But its a pretty interesting interview maybe a tad bitter about General Hospital.

http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/the-young-and-the-restless/the-genie-francis-interview-pretty-the-young-and-the-restless/2011/11/04/

[DaytimeFan]

I think it's a great interview, regardless of the piss poor writing for Genevieve, what a hack character, I appreciate Genie Francis' candour.

Nice to hear that Jeanne and Jess welcomed her to Y&R, I've heard it's a very select clique of a set sometimes.

Interesting that she's not close with Tony Geary. I know he is close to Jackie Zeman. Hmmm.

[DRW50]

I always remember that awards show where he didn't thank her. To me that was glaring.

With the age difference, what they were both going through at the height of their success, neither one of them ever wanting to play Luke and Laura again when they returned to the roles in 1993, and Geary's deep loathing of what the relationship stood for, I'm not surprised they aren't close.

As for Genie as an actress I think the problem is she isn't very talented at what she would like to play - every time she's played a bitch role, it's flopped, at least on soaps. So these characters become milquetoast, and no one cares.

I'm glad that she at least got to move on from Laura but her Y&R run was one of the biggest examples ever of stunt casting gone wrong.

[Mr. Vixen]

Interesting...I love her.

[quartermainefan]

I think it is really strange they are not close. They are the only two actors who went through Luke and Laura and the whole hoopla, and you would think that would be a bonding experience.

[DRW50]

I think it would have been a bonding experience if they hadn't hated everything they went through, but based on some of their comments over the years, I think they hated just about every minute.

[quartermainefan]

Fraternity pledges bond specifically because they go through stuff they hate. The fact that they hated it and did it together is what would or should have made the bond, unless the thing they hated was each other.

[DRW50]

I'm not sure they hated each other, but they seem to have little in common, and the circumstances of their working together were something that seemed to deeply offend them both (rape as seduction). Add in all the pressures and egos and the somewhat offputting personalities of both (at least in interviews) and I'm not surprised they weren't close.

[Paul Raven]

Like many jobs,you work closely with someone and get on well.but don't want to socialize or keep in touch.

Genie was younger and then moved on to marriage and children,while Tony was off in Amsterdam,doing his own thing.

[remos]

From what I understand, there was a whole lot of bad blood being expressed for years. Things said and done that were just unacceptable.

But why should they be close? Just because come circles of fandom think LnL are a forever thing doesn't mean the actors themselves have anything in common. It's just a job to them.

[Cat]

They were close when they were first on the show (late 70s, early 80s), when GF was very young, mixed up girl and TG a struggling actor also dealing with drug addiction. They bonded over that and the fact that fame was thrust upon them quite suddenly.

But the fact that GH treated Genie as a second-class citizen next to Tony always rankled her, she was continuously put down and belittled by GH producers, even when she returned in 1993. GH was a "nest of vipers" as Sean Kanan put it. TG did little to support GF, especially when JFP came on board. He was more interested in pushing the envelope (he always had a twisted relationship with the fans. I think he feels GH fans are crazy, inbred and stupid, TBH). Oh, and he kept going to Amsterdam every three months. When GF wanted to same vacation deal, Frons and Phelps felt Genie was getting uppity, so they made her play the most retconned, humiliating SL and wrote her off the show. Then spent the next 12 years painting Luke & Laura in a negative light, much to longtime fans' consternation.

TG, bless him, has never been loyal to anybody but himself, except maybe JJ with whom he has always been close. A prime example of this was when Nathan Parsons came to the show and not long after Greg Vaughan was fired. He gave those interviews where he would yahoo about NP and JMB being "real actors" and thank goodness a certain non-actor was finally gone, etc.

[remos]

That's only one part of the picture - the part that leaves out GF's blatant homophobia, hateful remarks regarding such and childish fear of him giving her HIV/AIDS.

[Cheap21]

Do tell more. What is all that about and did she give an interview saying that type of stuff?

[juppiter]

Moar plz.

[DRW50]

It's interesting as I didn't think they worked together during the height of that. I guess they were together briefly in 1983 and 1984, when that was first starting.

Either way, I never liked Luke and Laura. I can see why the actors also never liked it. I just wish the show had been more respectful about it to the fans of Luke and Laura.