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26 December 2nd, 2011 James Franco Issues Statement on the Deposing of Jill Farren Phelps as GH’s EP!

Courtesy/ABC

This day just gets wackier by the moment!  Now General Hospital’s ever returning guest-star Oscar nominated actor, James Franco has issued a statement on the firing of Jill Farren Phelps as executive producer at his favorite daytime home!

Franco apparently responded via email from the New York Magazine.com’s Vulture section asking the actor for his take on the Phelps firing for the hiring of One Life to Live’s Frank Valentini.

James Franco wrote:  “Jill is a pro.  She is experienced, innovative and loving.  I had nothing but great experiences with her for two years.  She was open to experimenting on General Hospital in ways that I have not found on any other film or television project.  Jill helped create daring story lines that blurred the line between fiction and reality — she allowed us to do a special episode at MOCA in LA for which they won daytime Emmys, she was always open to taking the show in unexpected directions.  She and I plan to work together in the future because we enjoy collaborating so much.  Anyone in Soaps would be a fool not to want to work with her.”

So could Jill Phelps next project be with Franco?  What do you think of the actors statement?  Let us know!

Tags: Frank Valentini, General Hospital, james franco, jill farren phelps, New York Magazine

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1. J says:

   December 2, 2011 at 9:19 pm

   I don’t like to pretend that James Franco added anything to General Hospital with his appearances. Coming in for a few days and taping scenes with no real purpose and interspersing them over months does not make it innovative. It merely took screen time away from other characters and actors who deserved their own storylines.

   Reply

   

   dg replied December 5th, 2011 at 11:23 am

   I so agree. He’s just kissing her posterior because she indulged him in his lame obsession with GH and the ridiculous over the top character he created there. He was a complete waste of air time on the show and I have never seen him give worst performances.
   Ive watch GH for 42 yrs and I have never seen a worse EP in the show’s history. She was completely inept. James take your lame but back to feature films and get off daytime. Your over-sized ego has had enough stroking.

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   senirion replied December 22nd, 2011 at 6:15 pm

   i really love franco and i think that maybe you just dont get it. he has been doing a great job with his serial killer character and when he sends the dvds he allways looks like he is on the edge.

   

   dg replied December 23rd, 2011 at 3:59 am

   Seniron , who cares? Ive been watching soaps, TV and movies all my life. Ive watched some master actors over the years. And I have never seen worse performances than James Franco did on gh. On the edge my ass, that’s not acting, he just yells and screams and leers and makes an ass of himself. I know good acting when I see it and this isnt it. I’m so saddened back the lack of sophistication among soap fans. Any garbage they throw you, you lap it up like fillet Mignon. Sad indeed.

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2. Jules says:

   December 2, 2011 at 9:54 pm

   Wow.

   On one hand, that’s a really lovely statement he’s left for a member of the soap world. Very kind, professional gesture.

   On the other, JFP really isn’t worth the time it took it write such a lovely statement.

   Just….wow.

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3. boes says:

   December 2, 2011 at 9:55 pm

   Sorry, but what the @#$% does Franco know about soaps?? His GH appearances have been clearly nothing more than vanity pieces for him. He came in to a genre, to a show, that he clearly condescends to and IMO did nothing to help the show. He wasn’t woven into the canvas, he is the guest star who took over the show for his own entertainment.
   Granted, the show has been pretty dreadful with or without him, but it’s been even worse with him.
   I think Franco is a good actor. But I am not as impressed with his Renaissance Man impression as he apparently is. Franco’s ego is as overblown as Frons’ talent.

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   dg replied December 5th, 2011 at 11:29 am

   Thank you so much for this Boes. Im so glad that people werent deceived by his so called love for the show. He’s an egotistical jackass who needs to just get lost and take his lame, underdeveloped, melodramatic character with him. He just irks the hell out of me.

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   Jan replied December 9th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

   Dont get be started about Frons.
   Francos good , I’ll like a scene with him & Sonny saying to Franco ” You Sick Freakin Bitch.”
   I watch youtube never again ABC.

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4. aria says:

   December 2, 2011 at 10:07 pm

   I can understand his loyalty to Jill , she was good to him, but to GH fans she had run her course. We were stuck in a rut for a very long time, and GH suffered because of that. I don’t really know whose to blame, is it Jill, or Brian Frons? or Bob Guza?, but i do know this, under all three of them, GH became the mess that it is today, and they all allowed it to happen for far to long. I’ve said this time and time again, GH has an awesome cast, great history, and fans who begged, and prayed for the show/network to hear them, and we went unheard for the longest time. Under the “right” team, theres no reason why GH, can’t rise again. But its going to take the right team, and ABC. I wish they would cherish what they have in their hands, instead of trying to kill it.

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5. JustSaying says:

   December 2, 2011 at 10:24 pm

   “Anyone in Soaps would be a fool not to want to work with her.”

   Franco, glad you’re temporary.

   Reply

   

   Jan replied December 9th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

   thats mean, but you opinion.

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6. Alan says:

   December 2, 2011 at 10:54 pm

   There are certain notable exceptions, but stunt casting rarely ever works. The point is to generate buzz to attract new (or lapsed) viewers and then get them hooked on the story. What happened here is that people tuned in, saw something incredibly stupid, and tuned out. The problem is that current GH fans tuned out too because it took away screen time from people they actually wanted to see. Anyone who thought this was a good idea needs to be shown the door. Somebody lock it before Franco gets back in.

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7. peytra says:

   December 3, 2011 at 3:47 am

   As far as I’m concerned, I could not care less what James Franco has to say about GH unless he says he’s done with it. His storylines are drawn out and boring and like the rest of GH under JFP, and Brian Frons watch, unwatchable. Been to GH’s own message board, a large majority agree. For a 30+ year viewer I have never seen one “star” have so much pull, who has absolutely NOTHING to do with this soap. Veteran actors who have given ABC more than 10, 15, or 20 years were pushed aside for a “top tier” actor, (in case you can’t tell that was sarcasm) who sounds like he’s reading the script for the first time)so just like it does to its fans, ABC disrespects its actors too as it has done for years. (can anyone say Rebecca Herbst)-still waiting on a s/l worthy of her abilities. Bringing back Alcazar or Ric Lansing would’ve brought more ratings than JF.

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8. My2Cents says:

   December 3, 2011 at 5:09 am

   STFU Franco! You have NO say-so in anything!

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9. sharon says:

   December 3, 2011 at 7:56 am

   Jill was partially responsible for destroying GH. And the Franco stories were horrible. If JF liked working with her so much, he can have her.

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10. Jared says:

    December 3, 2011 at 8:46 am

    Huh? That’s all I have to say.

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11. My2Cents says:

    December 3, 2011 at 9:25 am

    When did James Franco get a say? With Guza’s obsession for him & Vanessa?

    Reply
12. Chantal says:

    December 3, 2011 at 9:50 am

    Surely, he was never a fan of GH’s legacy…

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13. PP says:

    December 3, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Where was he when the soaps came under attack and two have been cancelled? She just must have kissed up to him and let him dabble and play in our stories. Our shows are not his lab for experiments…to try new forays in the blurring of fantasy and fiction …in HIS mind anyway. He needs to snap out of his famtasy and either shut up on things he has no real knowledge of or stand up for the story telling and professionalism that all soaps do. Good luck to both, maybe now GH can become the great show it once was and will be. Don’t tell me, he is good friends with and a friend of serial killer frons too!

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14. Harlee says:

    December 3, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    JFP has caused each soap she was on problems…

    Beverlee M. left
    Killed off Maureen Bauer
    Killed off Frankie Frame
    Everything she destroyed on GH, don’t know details never watch GH
    Not sure about SB never watch that soap.

    Need I say anymore.

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    jp replied December 3rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    Don’t forget she was also responsible for Robin Strasser to leave OLTL in the early 2000s. I totally forgot she killed Frankie on Another World.

    Well, I guess you can say there s not too many jobs in daytime anymore for her since we are down to four soaps.

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15. Robert in Jersey City says:

    December 3, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Anyone notice he’s the only one supporting the woman that killed off Alan?

    Reply
16. Allie says:

    December 3, 2011 at 10:59 pm

    Glad that James Franco said something about Jill Farren Phelps and hope this does not want him to return to GH. Love him!

    Reply
17. Elizabeth says:

    December 5, 2011 at 11:21 am

    I am always upset when I see people lose their jobs. Unless it’s politicians! lol! Even Guza, Frons and JPF. I can’t help it, it’s just how I am. I also believe that while these people did great damage to the show I love, that doesn’t mean they are evil horrible people, we have no idea exactly how these things came about and knowing how it is at my job – the CEO makes a choice and the rest of the EVP’s have to follow suit and make it happen. Sure, the EVP’s take the heat for following through on the CEO’s choice, but they also get paid to take the heat. So it’s essentially what they are paid to do.

    I believe that we have demonized Guza, Frons and JPF too much – I think this will be evident when nothing really changes on the show despite them being gone. That means it’s all coming from ABC higher ups.

    I say all of this because I completely understand how James Franco, and other actors, have had such great things to say about JPF. We don’t know her, we have made quite a few declarative statements regarding how horrible these people are (I see them in this thread of comments as well as in all the internet gossip sites and message boards) but the truth is, they aren’t evil. I am OK with people having positive things to say about any one of them. I don’t have to agree, but I am kind of tired of us fans and insiders being so harsh on people who I believe are mostly just following orders – if they don’t then they get fired and news ones come in.

    I am sure I am being a bit naive in some aspects here, but I am kind of tired of people acting like Guza, Frons and JPF are horrible people – not just horrible at their jobs.

    I hate what has happed to my soap (GH) as well as with OLTL and AMC, but I don’t think there is ANYTHING Guza, Frons or JPF could have done to change the future – because ABC/DISNEY wanted it this way. So if they didn’t deliver, someone else would have.

    I think we need to start going higher up on who we complain about destroy daytime. We need to go to the source, and that source does not begin with the head of ABC Daytime, we have to go higher.

    Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. I guess the point is that James Franco and others who enjoyed working with JPF or Guza or even Frons just goes to show that while they might be horrible at business, that doesn’t mean they are just plain horrible.

    Reply
18. dg says:

    December 5, 2011 at 11:35 am

    Obviously James Franco has no idea of JFP’s horrendous track record. She wrecked Another World and it was cancelled after her stint there as EP. She tanked OLTL and for the last decade or so she has done a complete hatchet job on GH. She is inept, unimaginative and a just plain hack.
    JF can go on kissing her backside till the cows come home for all I care as long as both she and he take their useless carcasses off the GH sound stage.

    Reply
19. Solonge Vaden says:

    January 2, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    Innovative,Jill Phelps,I think not. being a woman, she should have stop women being butt monkeys on GH. Females should have been shown stronger and not always depending on a man. Innovative don’t mean being raped on a honeymoon and worrying about your baby being a child of rape. thats totally gross. The best thing Jill P. could have done is that Franco and his storyline with her when she left.

    Reply