Brunch at Westwood
1998
~Recap by nicholsevansfan…
Room Set Up:
The room was pretty large, with a dance floor right in the middle of it. On each side of the dance floor were tables, about eight or nine tables on our side and about ten tables on the other side. In the front of the dance floor and room was the dais where Stephen was sitting. Two lucky fans won a raffle prize to spend the hours sitting next to Stephen there.
The Event:
Stephen walked in dancing to loud applause and music in the background, carrying an Evian bottle=-) He waved over to fans and friends. He recognized like Karen (from Australia) and her husband, who had come to the event right in the middle of their US tour. He asked us all what we were doing there, LOL (duhhhh), just being goofy=-) He then said something about being surprised people could smoke inside the room – saying in LA you can’t do that anywhere. (You would think people would have gotten the hint that some may not enjoy the nicotine air, but noooooooo, people kept on smokin).
They auctioned off a limo ride to the airport with Stephen (dropping him off). And Stephen was SO funny, doing this rich snob kind of accent, teasing, “Yes, you get a limo ride with Stef-Awn.” …LOL. Cracked me up=-)
Someone asked if Stefan was going to fool around with Laura, and Stephen, kind of in a rush, bluntly said, “Maybe. Next question.” Gee, he didn’t want to linger there for some reason. LOL. Someone asked him why Stefan wasn’t in the hospital and why he wasn’t involved in the PC General Homicide stuff, and Stephen was adamant that Stefan never should have to be at the hospital. He said he knew nothing about the PC storyline and that he didn’t think it had anything to do with his story. Someone asked if Katherine was back. He said (as his face lit up =-) “She’s back and she’s bad.” He said we would see the first scenes about 3 weeks from then. Said the fantasies were one thing, but now she was going to back for real. He didn’t seem to mind answering that question=-) Tee hee. He was asked if he was attending the party in honor of Jackie Zeman (Bobbie, GH) in NY. He said he knew nothing about it.
Someone asked if Stefan really loved Katherine. Stephen wanted to know if the person was asking Stephen or Stefan, or the show’s producers… (Their opinions differed perhaps, just like we don’t think like Stefan ?? Hmm). He answered that, based on what the show has planned, he cant answer because he doesn’t know what they have planned… that Stefan thinks he could have loved her but Laura was always in the way. (Stephen was then distracted by his egg white omelets arriving).
Stephen did an informal poll of the room to see who wanted them to get rid of Laura and Stefan thing, and got lots of applause. Then he asked who liked Stefan and Laura, and he got some applause from the other side of the room. He seemed to think it was 50/50, but I have to say it seemed like the anti-Laura and Stefan folks like us were much louder in our enthusiasm=-) He added that the Laura storyline had to be COMPLETED. As in over and done with?? Tee hee.
Someone asked if he was going to Super Soap and he said we should write the Disney people and tell them that it really isn’t fair to the actors that they aren’t allowing them to bring their families. He mentioned that a lot of actors are now considering not going for that reason, and that Ingo and Tyler said they probably wouldn’t for that reason. So there’s a chance Stephen won’t be there for that reason.
Someone asked about how many years his contract was, and Stephen said he couldn’t talk about contracts.
Someone, I think it was Cori, asked if he “Stefan” was really Nik’s father, and Stephen said “Absolutely”.
Stephen was then asked if Stefan was going to find out that Alexis was responsible for Kat’s fall. And he said he thought so…that he was told Stefan would have some great revenge against her, and that he was told it was going to be fantastic.
Stephen ate, fans danced, and then he went around the room, table by table and person by person, to sign autographs and pose for pics. Nickey and her hubby, Kathy, Cori, Karen and her hubby, ruled the dance floor =-) Andy the DJ played everything from the Macarena, to Frank Sinatra songs, swing music, to the hokey pokey, to the Chicken dance, the electric slide. Lots of fellow Trees joined in for the twist and Robin won the prize=-)! I joined in for a bit during my anthem, “I will survive” and also during YMCA. (AOL chatters will appreciate that one LOL=-)
The professional photographer came around to our tables and took pictures of the Lakeside group. Most of us Trees are in it- all fans at our tables were in the pic), and Stephen came in for the picture. Hope we see it in a magazine=-)
I had him sign a picture for me, and then he posed for a pic with me which Joyce took (thank you Joyce!!!!). We talked a bit about the awful smoke in the room (it had gotten worse, my contact lenses dried up and half of us were choking). Joyce complimented him on his jacket and I agreed that it was gorgeous=-) He looked great, as usual. I don’t remember much about what we talked about, sigh. I did get the distinct impression he wasn’t too happy with the writing. But that was JUST my impression.
These are some of the questions asked by the interviewers- the questions I remember:
He was asked why the Cassadines are so dark on screen (sets, makeup, hair). Stephen answered that the lighting is just really bad. He said people always tell him he looks younger, that his hair looks lighter and that he looks better when they see him in person. He talked about how movies light for every scene but on soaps they have one kind of lighting for the entire set in general. He explained about how, when they have a light that is kind of closer in height to the actor for some close-ups (on occasion), they end up looking a whole lot better. (He called them love lights, tee hee).
Another question was, ‘Do Stephen and Tony Geary get along in real life?’ Stephen answered jokingly, “Off screen we’re lovers”. LOL!!!! He said they’re buddies and say hi to each other in the hallways, but that actors from GH don’t socialize much outside of work since they see each other so much at work. He said he spends time with his family and learns his lines on the little time off he has.
One of the fan interviewers was more of a Patch/Days fan. Stephen did an informal poll of who wanted him back on Days, who still watched Days versus who wanted him on GH. I think GH won out=-) He said he was happy at GH at the moment, although IF they ever started writing Days better and wanted him back that “maybe”. I think he was trying to be good to the Days fans there, since there were more GH fans. JMO. Then he mentioned that Days had asked Mary Beth back as Kayla during – thinking she was off of GH (but she couldn’t because she was still on contract with GH). A few Days fans said they wanted him back on Days and he said something like, “Get all your friends to write Corday”. But he was just doing that (IMO) to be good to those fans I think. I don’t think he meant anything more by it. Kinda said it in passing.
Stephen was asked if he and Mary Beth were close and he was teasing the person who asked, “What do you want to know?” LOL, because the question about socializing with costars had already been answered. (He had answered that he doesn’t have time to see costars after work most of the time b/c he spends time with his family, although once in a long while he might get together with Mary Beth). So the person asked about how he was close to MBE on Days when she was having her first child…and he told the story for everyone. (He had spent so much time with MBE in her pregnancy b/c they were working so much. He went to visit the baby, but SN had a cold, so he wore a surgical mask and he videotaped the baby.)
He was also asked about being a mentor to the younger actors on the show. He said he only knew of one actor who said that- Tyler. At the audition, Tyler was a brand new actor and had never worked before, and they hit it off right away. So Stephen tried to help him out as much as possible…describing his take on a scene, etc. He said he did the same for the other actors at the audition, but that Tyler got the part because he was the best actor.
As Andy the DJ auctioned off a visit to the GH set, Stephen looked at the selection of songs that Andy had. Stephen played “Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” and we all sang along with him. He tried to get Daniel to sing along with him (the little boy that was there). Stephen also sung along to a really awful song LOL … I can’t remember the name, but I think it was like “dancing in the tulips”. OY. Scary. LOL. Then came the meatball song! “ON top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese…I lost my poor meatball …”.Stephen tried to get Daniel to sing along (he did for a bit) and had us all sing along, too.
Then we were back to more questions and answers. He was asked if he wanted to produce when he was finished acting. He said he didn’t know if he liked producing, but he did enjoy directing a lot…and that he didn’t think he would ever be “finished” with the acting because he loved it.
I told him I really enjoyed him in The Lizard King and wanted to see him in a play again. So I asked what play/role he would want to be in. He said “The Big Knife” by Clifford Odets.
He was asked if Stefan was going to prison and he said no, Stefan was too cool for “The Big House”.
I raised my hand to ask another question and he answered “Again??” (He was teasing). And Trees were teasing me “Liiizzzzz” LOL. BUT I HAD TO!! I asked if he had started TAPING with Mary Beth yet, in scenes where Stefan finds out Katherine is alive. He said he had already taped the scenes where Stefan finds out Katherine was alive and had taped with her on Thursday and Friday (Aug. 6 and 7). And that it would probably air *about* 3 weeks from then.
He was asked if she looks any different and he said that she is all made up to look like Helena, and then joked around about “how wonderful” Helena was to keep Katherine because she (Helena) just loves Stefan so much, LOL.
Other stuff:
Stephen auctioned off a t-shirt he had gotten made for the event – of him in one of the outfits from the Greek flashbacks. The picture was a GH wardrobe dept file picture (one of a kind) signed by him. He came to the center of the room and modeled the t-shirt, and he did a funny walk with the shirt over his head. It was classic!! Linda Pidutti the Lakeside Association President bought the t-shirt=-)
Gallery: Click on the picture to view a larger version. Click on the picture again to close the large view screen.
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