ATWT Paley Center Event
Random things from The Paley Center event last night:
I can definitely see why Eric loved talking to Don Hastings about the old days of ATWT. It was truly fascinating, hearing all their memories/experiences over the years. Don is a flippin riot, omg! I swear he & Eileen Fulton could definitely start their own comedy team & I'd be all over that.
They talked about what it was like to film the show live & when it was only 30 minutes long. He was like "I used to be 6'7"!" Haha. He also said something about how they filmed above Grand Central Station & sometimes the plates in a hutch they had in one of the sets (or the hutch itself) would shake & they'd all look at their watches & be like "Train's right on time today." Eileen also thanked CG for giving Lisa the 50th Anniversary episode, which was touching. I also remember Don liking the storyline where he & Kim found out they had a daughter they didn't know existed.
Kathryn was talking about coming on when it was live too. She said she wasn't comfortable with Kim at 1st. She also said that one day, she observed a scene where Eileen didn't necessarily say the words exactly like they were written on the page, but she was impressed because she felt like she observed Eileen taking Lisa *off* the page & making the character her own. It was a really beautiful moment. Made me tear up a bit. Kathryn also had me tearing up a bit when she said she looked out into the 1st 2 rows of the audience & saw a lot of their ATWT family sitting there & how they'd been there for each other for so many years.
Colleen Zenk-Pinter is seriously gorgeous IRL. Somehow I found myself standing right in front of her at the reception & I couldn't stop staring. She was all excited too during the panel because Barbara FINALLY got rescued! Like seriously excited. It was awesome.
And she talked about how Anthony Herrera is her "fictional husband" and she's his "fictional wife" - they call each other this IRL - and she seems to hold him in the highest regard. She was also talking about coming on in 1978 & Douglas Marland. How Barbara "went from being a doormat to a bitch on wheels" practically overnight. LOL. Douglas Marland really got the entire panel's respect & if I'm not mistaken, some of their favorite storylines came from his time there.
Terri Columbino kept crying, which was sad. She feels like it's hard to say goodbye to Katie because she's like a real person to her (her "imaginary friend" lol). I remember she said something about how the characters memories have become her memories as well, which make it even more meaningful for her, sharing these memories. Something like that. Her & Trent both really liked Katie/Henry both as bff's & a romantic pairing, and CZP joked & was like "He's mine now!"
And of course there was mention of Henry's time as Geneva Swift & something about a storyline where there was 3 pregnancies at once. And Austin Peck talked too from the audience about how much he liked playing Brad & the opportunity given to him to play this character.
CG said something about how the more he knew the actors as people, the easier it was to write for their characters & the easier it was to come up with stories for them that play on their strengths & weaknesses, which I found interesting. And a little scary if he actually believes this, because some of his stories are truly batshit. He & JP both seemed like surprisingly nice people though, even if not so great show-runners.
Van was amazing, as always. He just seems to glow. And the entire reception, people kept coming up to him, basically cornered him in this section right by the elevators & that's where he stayed the entire time, but he never once said no to anyone asking for a pic - even said it was his pleasure - & chatted with everyone with a smile on his face. He really is just a great guy (and really freaking cute in person too! omg, I'd somehow managed to forget that fact). We had a funny conversation about Silly bands, my friends & I.
His godson gave him one & he asked about my friend's as well & he was like "They're popular with *children*. Let's be real here."