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Post by Sparkster on Feb 23, 2011 16:41:17 GMT -5
daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/8462150/1/Last October, Days of our Lives announced that they had hired Emmy winner Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily, GH) to play the role of Taylor, Nicole's sister, who hasn't been seen or mentioned since 1999. The actress began airing at then end of January, but three weeks later, she was replaced by another popular GH actress - Tamara Braun (ex Carly; ex Reese, AMC) - who won an Emmy in 2009 for her portrayal of Day's Ava. So, why the switch? "The storyline is going in a different directions," says executive producer Ken Corday. "Tamara brings a different quality in the role and that's why we made the decision. We made this choice carefully. It wasn't an arbitrary thing and we believe it's in the best interest of the show and the character. Natalia is a great actress and a very lovely person, but it's the nature of the business. It's not like it's the first time for us or the first time on daytime." The exec admits there was some momentary trepidation about bringing back an actress who had recently appeared on the show. "Sure, there's hesitation, because she's very recognizable in another role, but I knew her capabilities as an actress would far outweigh the fact that she played Ava. We did it with Josh [Taylor, Roman], although that was a lot of time in between, and this is two years. But I know the viewers get accustomed to things quickly." Corday reveals he always felt Braun would be back in Salem, thanks to a memorable conversation in early 2009. "It was the night she and Darin [Brooks, ex-Max] won the Emmy and she was there with her mom," he recalls. "She and I didn't have the kind of relationship where I would be that candid, but the night she won, she was so happy and I was so effusive, the last thing I said to her was, 'I believe you'll be back on the show.' And she looked at me and said, 'Call anytime.' That's how it went down, and here we are almost two years later and I made the phone call." With DAYS's new production schedule- which is taping two months ahead of what's airing- Livingston will be on-screen until late April. "It concerns me, but there's nothing we can do now ," Corday admits. "That is the blessing and curse of our production schedule- the show is very far ahead." Co-Star James Scott has mixed emotions about the switch. "I am sad to see Natalia go," he says. "It's a shame. She is a wonderful actress and I loved working with her. I understand they wanted to change the direction of the story, but I don't exactly know why. But it's lovely to have Tamara back. I am so over the moon to be working with her and it will completely change the dynamic of the story. She and I work well together. She and Ari [Zucker, Nicole] work wonderful together." Adds Co-Executive Producer Gary Tomlin," Natalia Livingston is an amazing actress and a consummate professional. She is a class act and everyone at the studio adores her."
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Post by Kpatch on Feb 23, 2011 18:30:49 GMT -5
Sparky, you're the best! Thank you for posting the information.
I really couldn't stand Ava. I mean really couldn't stand her. Now it's possible that my problem with Ava stemmed from the fact that she came between Steve and Kayla, one of my three all-time favorite couples. Or maybe because she was responsible for Shawn Brady's death. Oh heck, that's plenty of reason to hate her.
At any rate, I will try to keep an open mind to that actress playing the new Taylor, but I can't make any promises. I do remember that she and Nicole shared some good scenes back then.
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Post by Pallison on Feb 23, 2011 20:40:50 GMT -5
Oh, I did not know any of this.....I am happy about it though...I liked the actress who played Ava and this actress just hasn't done it for me so far...... And strangely enough, I don't remember Nicole and Ava having scenes together.....   Mr. Scott doesn't know exactly why..?? Oh no, they didn't consult with him first...?? Imagine that....... |
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Post by Kpatch on Feb 23, 2011 20:49:27 GMT -5
Pallison, just for you. I have this clip saved to my favorites, but I never make it past the first two minutes. Whew. If you want to skip the sexy Philip and Chloe scene (although I don't know why anyone would), there's a scene with Nicole and Ava at the Brady Pub and it starts at the 2 minute mark.
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Post by sportsgirl on Feb 23, 2011 21:59:48 GMT -5
Yes I remember. They became sort of friends. I also hated Ava because she had come between John & Marlena.
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Post by addictedtodool on Feb 24, 2011 15:06:13 GMT -5
Nice clip jkjpatch. Yowza  I hated Ava too, but thought Tamara was quite wonderful in the role. And you are right...killing Papa Shawn was reason enough to hate her. When she went to live in DiMansion and had loves scenes with NuJohn (YUKKKKKKKK) I was more than ready for her to get out of Salem. If she can be that horrible to EJ? I'll be her number one fan. |
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Post by DancingDays on Feb 24, 2011 15:17:36 GMT -5
I was not watching during the Ava storyline, but after that clip (thank you, btw) I can't seem to get passed the idea that Tamara is older than Ari (and looks it too) but is supposed to be playing her younger sister. At least Natalia looked considerably younger than Ari.
Plus, knowing so soon that the charcter is going to go in a "different direction" makes it harder to really get invested in any way in the current storyline. I can't take Taylor at face value because she's going to change so drastically in just a couple of months. Argh.
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Post by ghoulgirl on Feb 27, 2011 21:23:23 GMT -5
I wasn't watching during the Ava storyline (but I LOVE the name!) so I don't think the switch is going to bother me much. Thanks for posting Sparkster!
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Post by Kpatch on Mar 4, 2011 22:39:31 GMT -5
This is from Soap Opera Digest Insider:
Last week, we asked: Do you think it was a good move for DAYS to replace Natalia Livingston with Tamara Braun as Taylor?
You said:
Yes! Livingston wasn't a good fit and we already know Braun has great chemistry with the cast. 20%
No! I was really liking Livingston's chemistry with James Scott and Arianne Zucker. 80%
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Post by DancingDays on Mar 4, 2011 22:44:43 GMT -5
Clearly they only asked a small handfull of people. I really doubt 80% of viewers liked Natalia. Seems like at least 95% on this board hated/strongly disliked her. Now I feel like we're just killing time till Tamara gets there.
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Post by ghoulgirl on Mar 4, 2011 23:04:52 GMT -5
I am looking forward to seeing Tamara Braun. I didn't know her as Ava . That being said, I think a lot of people were kind of put off about Tamara because she had played the part of Ava already. Maybe that was part of that outrageous vote. If anything I would have guessed it was kind of 50/50 or the complete opposite. I am surprised by the results.
Then again, I saw another vote done once and they had voted 85% loving Bo and Carly together. I was like huh? They were great the first time around. But definitely not the second time around. They wrote it just terribly.
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Post by Kpatch on Mar 4, 2011 23:09:02 GMT -5
You make a good point, DD and GG. SOD has a poll for favorite couple and every week, week after week after week after week (okay, I'm getting to my point), the winner for Days is Sami and Rafe. I understand they are popular, but it's hard to imagine that no one else EVER wins.
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Post by Sparkster on Mar 5, 2011 17:39:24 GMT -5
I don't know, I like Tamara Braun but I think I'm still going to have a hard time believing her to be Nicole's younger sister.
In terms of the SOD vote, yeah, those things are skewed I'm sure. Based on what I've read here and other boards, people have most certainly not liked the character of Taylor nor the portrayal by Natalia.
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