Saturday, June 12, 2010

LA Confidential

Today's post is from one of our Prevuze regulars, Leslie, who attended the fabulous fan event in LA last weekend and gives us a first hand report. I'll have something to say afterward. I really don't want to since Leslie's report is so great, but it's a crisis and, as Joan Rivers might put it, "Can we talk?" Here's the inside scoop on the LA event:

As many of you know, I flew to LA for a long weekend of soap opera craziness. To best chronicle the experience, I decided that I needed photographs. That meant it was time to take the plunge into the world of digital photography. Not one to ease myself into something new, I decided to forgo a basic model and went right to an SLR. To complicate matters, I purchased the camera online, and it didn’t arrive at my doorstep until the night before my Thursday flight to LA. With much excitement, I opened the box and dug out the camera, a couple of lenses, and an impossibly thick owner’s manual. When I began to skim the manual, my jaw dropped. Mind you – I’ve shot thousands of rolls of film and even subsidized my horsy habit as a horse show photographer. By 10 PM, I managed to get the battery charged, but it was clear that I was going to have to figure out how to program and operate the beast on the flight to LA. As soon as the seat belt sign was off, I pulled out the manual and found the section for “point and shoot”. In an hour or so, I was good to go – sort of. After a harrowing ride in the Super Shuttle and settling into the hotel room, I took the camera to a cocktail party to meet a lot of nice people. I also got some much needed pointers on the use of my camera from a couple very patient ladies.



Although I had shared many e-mail conversations with her, I finally met my roommate, online buddy, and published author Margie. Over the weekend, we discussed a new fiction novel she’s writing and the trials and tribulations of editing a book to ready it for publication. She told me that editors are quick to catch point of view issues and the overuse of adverbs. Apparently, adverbs disrupt flow and should be avoided. Forgive me Margie for I have and will continue to sin because I have never met a superlative adverb I don’t absolutely adore and delightedly beat until it’s gloriously dead.



Friday afternoon was lunch at Martha Madison’s restaurant, Henry’s Hat. Belle must still be relying on Shawn’s questionable navigational skills, because Ms. Madison steered a course clear of her restaurant, which was packed with at least forty DOOL fans. We missed you Martha!



The evening featured dancing, a dessert buffet, and the promise of official sightings of DOOL stars. James was the first to arrive, and he worked his way through the room chatting with groups of fans. When Molly, Casey, Shelley, and Mark showed up, the party really got started. They danced with the fans, posed for pictures, judged a dance contest, signed autographs, and sat through a Q & A. Molly is a bubbly ball of energy, and she and Casey are quite the couple. They couldn’t have been nicer.



Before all the fan events, Alison Sweeney conducted a trivia contest on Twitter, and thirty “lucky” winners got to participate in a spinning class on Saturday morning. Since I neither twit nor tweet, I didn’t have the “golden” opportunity to win a spot in the class. Since I had full use of my legs for the remainder of the weekend, that probably was a good thing. Besides avoiding CPR is always an excellent idea.



The afternoon For Love Charitable Event benefited the Cancer Research Institute and featured James, Ali, Eric, Ari, Mark, and Lindsey. After they were introduced, we were given the opportunity to question the stars. The session was lively and humorous, and I got to ask the question that is on the minds of all the faithful Prevuzites – where’s Pookie? Ari reported that Stefano made a slipper out of him. After the Q & A, an auction followed. Auctioned items included photographs, jewelry, and autographed posters, but the last offering was dinner with James. The winning bids were $3,000. Needless to say, I dined with a group of new friends. We then moved into another room where each of the stars had a table, so we formed lines to get our photos and autographs. All the stars were so pleasant and accommodating, signed multiple autographs, and engaged everyone in conversations. Eric and Ari were incredibly gregarious, outgoing, and just plain fun, and Ali was very perky, cordial, and quite lovely. Mark was playful and appears to like beer. Lindsey was just terrific, and even asked us in what direction we would like to see her character go. As expected, the line for James was always the longest. He’s extremely reserved, funny in a very British way, incredibly charming, and devastatingly handsome. Sigh!



The evening’s festivities were held at a venue that I can only describe as a Motel 6 on steroids, and the party took place outside under a tent. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is Nadia’s charity. As we walked in, she greeted all the attendees, so I got to shake her hand. Nadia is truly a class act, and the woman is drop dead gorgeous. Eat your hearts out guys! Nadia is even better looking in person than on TV. While the afternoon event was very structured, the evening event was labeled a “cocktail style mingle”. In other words, it was a free for all. At first, there weren’t enough chairs, so we did a lot of standing. The actors arrived at different times with James and Ali being the first to arrive and leave. There was no central area for photos and autographs. As stars stood between tables and chairs, everyone flocked around their favorites. To raise money, attendees were encouraged to bid on a chance to have their photograph taken with one of the stars. To get the bidding higher on Eric, Nadia offered the winner a grope along with the photograph. Eric is a very attractive guy with one killer smile but I’m old enough to be his mother. The term “cougar” is bad enough, but I thought a grope would move me into “dirty old lady” territory. I decided to take a pass.



At different times during the evening, all the actors we had previously met made appearances. When Jay arrived, he talked to everyone and made sure we all got our photographs. He’s a nice guy, very cute, and the dimpled smile is great. After it had turned dark, Galen and Shawn arrived. When Galen walked in, he was surrounded by fans. As the flashes went off around him, he smiled brilliantly. The way the light reflected off of Galen’s skin made it seem kind of surreal. I’d never witnessed anything like it. It was hard to get close to him, so I was thankful for the telephoto lens. I did the best I could Bulldog, and, yes, Galen is quite handsome. I was going to try to get you an autograph but standing on the cement in high heals had taken its toll. My poor feet were begging for mercy. I got a few shots of Shawn and headed for a chair. I was tired.



To say the least, my weekend in LA was fabulous. Not only did I get to rub elbows with glamorous soap stars, but I also got to meet a group of fantastic ladies. Online communities are so much fun. After an exhausting weekend, it was great to get home. Then I logged on to my PC and read Corday’s interview. Gasp!!



It is now my pleasure to welcome Prevuze to the dais.



* * *
I really, really, really didn't want to do this because today should have just been all Leslie's post. I don't want to upstage her, but if I don't say something, it would kind of leave us hanging, just as Leslie was left when she got home and read that interview.

However, as Leslie mentioned everybody got a blind-side tackle this week that unexpectedly, thoughtlessly, even cruelly, probably insincerely and perhaps permanently* cast a cloud over a lot of happy events that preceded it.

*I can sling adverbs with the worst of them, too.

So here goes...

This past Monday viewers, regardless of personal affinity for any couple, got kind of a double-whammy. First, we all saw the long-awaited actual kiss between Sami and EJ. Hot 'n sloppy. Just what you were looking for.

Then, right on the same day, without even missing a beat or giving the Ejami's time to bask in the moment, Days of our Lives Executive Producer Ken Corday, in an interview with the Soap Opera Network dropped a bombshell. In that interview he said he was sure the fans wanted Sami and Rafe together and they would be. If you haven't read the interview and would like to, you can find it here: CLICK HERE.

To the Ejamis, this had to be a Lucas Horton caliber sucker punch. I mean, come on, even if you're a Safe fan or even a lurking Lumi fan, ya gotta admit, the guy could have waited a little bit before dropping that bombshell. That was like giving a kid a new bike for Christmas and then telling her she can't ride it.

One of our Ejami commenters saw the kiss on Prevuze II and then read the article and her reaction was pretty typical when she said, "Especially loved the video in Prevuze II, but now it has been spoiled after reading the Corday interview. I feel completely deflated. ;( "

Another Ejami commenter was more succinct, "Is Corday suffering from a head injury?"

One of our Safe commenters spoke for that group with a great big, "SSSQQQQUUUUUEEEEEEEEE!" as we would expect.

I even heard from one of those lurking Lumis who "retweeted" something I said about it with the reaction, "Karma's a bitch."

I guess if you can't say anything else good about DOOL (and I usually don't) you've got to admit it provokes emotions.

Well, to throw in my two cents worth I guess I'd offer these thoughts:

To the Safes: Enjoy it for all it's worth. You've suffered right along with everyone else on this show and finally got some good news.

To the Ejamis: We've learned in the past Corday and the rest of TPTB at DOOL all have repeatedly proven their eyes are brown because they are so full of BS. What they say today can go right out the window tomorrow.

To the Lumis: Just because Lucas is gone doesn't mean he won't be back (on a more permanent basis, not just for the funeral). Look how many other characters have left and come back. Keep on truckin'.

We all know this: However it all winds up, the eventual outcome will depend on two things (which, if you think about it are really one thing) — ratings and money. If Sami started dating milquetoast Oliver Snodgrass, an accountant who ties fishing flies for a hobby, and that caused ratings and advertising revenue to go through the roof, the Salivers (Olimis?) would beat out the Safes, Ejamis and Lumis hands down. You can take it to the bank, because DOOL sure as shootin' would.

I really don't have a dog in this hunt although I've been accused of being a devoted follower of any one of Sami and her boyfriends and "against" others. I have even been (proudly) banned by certain bulletin boards in the past because the people there thought I hated their couple. Anyway, I'm not saying this because I'm an Ejami person, but it is my personal opinion that Ken Corday has no more idea how this will turn out than you or I do. If you have read Prevuze long enough you know I am convinced the writers have virtually no plan or direction at all and make it up as they go along.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ken Corday gave another interview tomorrow and said EJ and Sami would get together and then another next week when he said Lucas is coming back and is the guy for Sami.

So just keep watching, and I'll keep commenting and we'll let the chips fall where they may — and where the money takes them.

Frankly, my money is on Oliver.

* * *
Now that I got that off my chest, once again, thanks to Leslie for her wonderful report and pictures.

And I'm hopefully (an adverb that's rarely used as originally intended) wishing you a great weekend and will leave you with these words of wisdom:

"The adverb is not your friend." —Steven King.

NOTE – you can now follow Prevuze on twitter at: http://twitter.com/prevuze

Prevuze II has a video of the daily show previews, which should be available by noon (EST) on any given day. To see Prevuze II: CLICK HERE


22 Comments:

Anonymous Linda said...

Leslie you seem to have more pictures of James than anyone else. Probably just a coincidence, though. :-D

5:18 AM  
Blogger jen h said...

leslie, thank you so much for sharing your lovely pictures.

i tend to agree with prevuze on the ejami/lumi/safe debates. ken corday and dena higley have both made promises about things in the past that haven't come to fruition, so i would take anything either of them say with a grain of salt. i do think that the end of this particular story will have sami and rafe reunite, but that doesn't mean ejami is dead for good.

5:26 AM  
Blogger Applecheeks said...

It was a dark and stormy morning....but then I booted up Prevuze and the day was brightened considerably by Leslie's Excellent Adventure!

Looks like you were able to get up close & personal with just about everyone. Thanks for sharing.

One question...did you get to ask any of them if they read Prevuze?

Prevuze analysis and Jennifer's comment are oh, so right. This is a soap and no matter who Sami gets together with, it won't last. Happy soap couples don't make front-burner stories. EVERYONE (except maybe Alice) has been through multiple soul mates at one time or another.

That said, it would be nice if TPTB gave the respective fan bases more than a nano-second of enjoyment before jerking the rug out from under them.

For EJamis it started way before The Kiss/The Interview debacle. Think back to when Lucas was in jail and Sami FINALLY realized she loved EJ and they made love. The couple didn't even make it out of bed before Lucas walked in on them and threw Sami's emotions into freefall. I mean, come on! Couldn't there have been a week or two of EJami romance & lovin' before the Lumis got their turn?

I'll get off my soapbox and go back to enjoy Leslie's pictures some more. Have a great weekend everyone.

5:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Leslie-
You are one lucky woman! I'm impressed that you even took pictures of people not named James. (Gosh he's smokin' hot). Thank you so much for posting all the pics, it's gonna be really hard to choose my new wallpaper. If they had offered a grope opportunity on James, would you have gone for it?
-Cookie-
PS-Thanks to Prevuze for allowing Leslie to share the yumminess.

6:29 AM  
Anonymous wekng1 said...

I haven't laughed so hard in a while. Thanks Leslie for posting your recap. I love those pics. ;-D The rant about KC is right on. The man has no clue what so ever....

6:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

One thing is sure : people are very interested and passionate about who will ends up with Sami even if the writing for Sami is critized (and very lame IMO under this regime).
Leslie did Ali Sweeney have the 2nd longest line ? I will not be surprised if it was the case, i heard that last november at the Days events she was the most popular star with JS ! (yeah they beat Bo/PR and Hope/KA who are pretty popular too).

6:54 AM  
Anonymous Kiren said...

Thanks for the play-by-play leslie! The whole thign was just a bundle of laughs.

I don't trust a word that comes out of KC's mouth, so he can suck it. By suck it I mean a lemon or something your dirty dianes!

6:59 AM  
Anonymous Kiren said...

I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.

~ Stephen King

7:19 AM  
Anonymous Bulldog said...

Leslie -

Thank you for such an enjoyable report! I just knew you would come through for us. I thought the pictures were great. (And thank you for the picture of Galen.)

I did see one DOOL star in person, Joe Mascolo. I wasn't even brave enough to stand in line to get his autograph - he might've said something to me which required a response - so I admire that you got in there and mingled.

I totally agree about the couples being up in the air. Think Bope. Barly. And somewhere out there you just know there's a lone Billbo fan who believes Billie will come back because they they are the ultimate couple. HA

Thanks again, Leslie and Prevuze! I will go back and reread your report again. Happy weekend!

7:41 AM  
Anonymous James Fan said...

Leslie - Applause!
James Scott - Thud!

7:55 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Oh, Nadia and her big... eyes!

I got to ask the question that is on the minds of all the faithful Prevuzites – where’s Pookie?

Now I can rest easy with that question answered.

Lindsey was just terrific, and even asked us in what direction we would like to see her character go.

Any way from Passions, thanks.

~I'm glad you had a nice time, Leslie.

I don't mind if Rafe and Sami end up together, after all, I am a fan and that's apparently what I want. However there can be no drama if Sami indefinitely ends up with Mr. Hernandez, so I don't see that happening. I don't really see Ejami happening either, for a time anyway.

Adding to what Bulldog said, there must be hope for peeps who still want Sami with Austin, Brandon, or Lucas.

Perhaps one day you crazy people.

8:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Leslie, thanks for your report. You obviously managed to figure out your new camera because you got some great pictures. I, too,would like to know if the grope opportunity had been available for James, would you have taken it?

Prevuze, I like your take on the whole Ken Corday debacle.

11:29 AM  
Blogger Margie Church said...

Leslie, I am so impressed by your humorous recap. (She's as shy as they come and this was a huge event for her to attend and write about!) The shots are awesome!

As for the EJAMI funeral, I'm not making excuses but does Corday really know about all these fan events? I'd love to know what it's like to have Corday's responsibilities. Do they actually work within some kind of boundaries or do the advertisers and networks dictate the tiny blips in show ratings. And publishing deadlines are publishing deadlines.

What aggrevates me the most is the touchstone approach they have taken with my favorite couple. Kiss and run, love and run. Create 15 ways from Sunday to make you hate one or the other character for their stupidity. They are never really given a chance to explore their feelings or a relationship before somebody pulls the drain plug on their dastardly deed. Utter crap. Sami could have walked away from the recent kiss - she didn't have to dash like her hair caught fire or admit, more or less, that's her MO. UGH.

Not to take anything away from the other actors who attended our event but many times I asked myself whether they wondered why they showed up. With James and Ali together all eyes, cameras, questions and thoughts were on them during the QA. Hello? Give me SAFE? In the world of super couples, it's more fun for the writers to keep them apart and these writers must have a keen sense of just how much frustration they've shoveled our way as EJAMI fans. It's not like we keep quiet. The demand and marketability of James Scott is well known and appreciated. Alison is sought after and well-respected. That must be because we want SAFE, right? Not.

1:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't worry. He doesn't write the stories and he doesn't know where they're going. He probably repeats the last thing he was told, but it changes constantly.

2:48 PM  
Anonymous Leslie said...

Linda said...
Leslie you seem to have more pictures of James than anyone else. Probably just a coincidence, though. :-D

That's correct. I also spend a lot of time hanging out at piers in Salem.

If they had offered a grope opportunity on James, would you have gone for it?

I might have bid on a photo opportunity but I would have kept my hands to myself. Besides, at several of the events, there was hired muscle to protect the talent.

Leslie did Ali Sweeney have the 2nd longest line?

Ali definitely had lots of fans waiting to meet her. She was also the star with the most commitments so she didn't stick around as long as the others.

(And thank you for the picture of Galen.)

Bulldog - that photo was hard to get because people kept stepping in front of the camera. By the time Galen arrived, I was pooped so I wasn't up to fighting for a better spot. Anyway, I do have a few others that I will e-mail to you.

Thanks to Prevuze for giving me my adverb filled forum. I was happy to bring the faithful Prevuzites my report.

Oh, yes - super rant Prevuze!!!

3:12 PM  
Anonymous Emily said...

Thank you Leslie!! Those pictures of James will keep a smile on my face while I clean the house today. :)

4:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow!!! Great pics/play by play from Leslie and also great commentary on the workings of Ken Corday's mind...great comments....

Thanks for all you do keeping up informed!!!!

5:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great reporting, Leslie! And I think your pics were terrific. (and I make my living taking pictures.) I also have to say that it was quite classy of you to take pics of Galen and post those as thoughtfully as all the others. You represent EJami fans very well.

As for the Prevuze commentary...wow! Thank you so much for appreciating and publicly commenting on the raw deal that EJami's keep getting from tptb. Sure, we're not the only fan base to get dumped on...but, with EJami's, it seems as though tptb take that whole "keep them angry enough to keep watching" thing to a new, ridiculous level. It's as though a very large group of fans is completely disrespected and continuously pooped upon. What's with that? In MY business, we keep the customers coming back by treating them well, giving them what they want and repeatedly exceeding their expectations. Kenny lives in a whole different, special little world, doesn't he?

8:42 PM  
Anonymous SocRMum1 said...

What a great recap, Leslie! You did your camera proud - terrific photos! Those stars sure are purty! :)

And I have to agree with Prevuze...nothing is forever in Soaps, unless you're being shipped off to Switzerland. I don't see that happening to Sami anytime soon so I'm not going to sweat Corday's foot landing squarely down his throat. I love, love, love EJami...but bring back Patrick Muldoon and I might be a Saustin shipper, too.

9:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great recap Leslie. It was truly a fabulous opportunity to meet many of the actors. I hope there is something like this next year. I know I would go again in a heartbeat.

I must admit I totally agreed with your quick assessment on the Days Charity Event and the Motel 6 comment. Nadia and the other cast members was just a delight in person. I hope Nadia's charity raised a ton of money! However, I must admit the next time you go to one of their events you should wear football attire. The pushing and shoving to meet the actors was absolutely ridiculous. I thought at the events the actors were suppose to have some type of assistant to help them with the crowd but they must have been partying too. Clearly this was one of the most unorganized events that weekend.

As far as the Corday comments goes, all I have to say is who cares. He was probably confused in the interview and was talking about last year. LOL Whoever you are rooting for just remember this is a soap and nothing is set in stone.

8:19 AM  
Anonymous Berg said...

As a fan base - the EJAMIS have been pooped on quite a bit.

There was that whole controversial rape issue, which I got to say even as an EJAMI fan, sucked for us. Then there is always some kind of lying. Lying that EJ was the father of her baby, kidnapping his own daughter...etc. etc. We never get a solid I love you from Sami. She was barely with Rafe and that's what we get. We have had one hookup with EJ which resulted in a kid she lied about, and she ran from EJ to Lucas. Meanwhile she hooks up with Rafe left and right (barf bags needed). This is the problem with EJAMI. We have never really had EJAMI.

The Corday comment is typical. Once they had EJ be the kidnapper, I knew once again all down hill. And sorry Safe fans, but I don't think Safe has the numbers and is WHAT fans want to see. Honestly if you paired Sami with someone else, at least it wouldn't be like watching wall paper dry. I would rather see her back with Lucas. I can't believe I just said that too.

Great recap Leslie. Thank you for sharing. I was surprised to see Galen aka Starfish had so many fans. Surely if he keeps his mouth shut he has his attributes. But longest line....there is a reason it goes to James every time.

4:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm late to the party but just wanted to say thanks to Leslie for the great pics and play-by-play of the Days event. I'll bet it was awesome!

And Prevuze, thanks for putting the whole Ejami/Safe debacle into perspective.

9:14 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home


Blogarama     Globe Of Blogs