Thursday, October 18, 2012

OLTL Book On The Way: "Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live"


A new book from Jeff Giles looking back at the history of ONE LIFE TO LIVE will be released next year. The press release below offer the specifics:

Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live Digs Into the Oft-Overlooked Side of Daytime Soaps

Book Due for Publication in 2013

During its more than four decades on the air, the ABC daytime series One Life to Live told countless stories, from sensational adventures to thoughtful social commentary. But the tales that went untold -- the experiences of the writers, producers, cast and crew behind the scenes -- are just as fascinating as any kidnapping, baby switch, or courtroom confession.

As a youth during the medium’s ratings peak in the ‘80s, entertainment writer Jeff Giles absorbed years of OLTL storylines, thanks to his mother’s dedicated viewership of the ABC daytime lineup. Today, network soaps are struggling for survival against cheaper-to-produce talk shows and reality series, but their cultural impact resonates more strongly than ever -- and a tribute to the work that goes into producing them is long overdue.

“Soaps have been at the vanguard in a lot of ways, and now that so many of them are being canceled, I’m afraid they could be the canary in the coalmine for scripted entertainment,” says Giles. “I don’t think Hollywood could support a medium that tells a 40+ year story anymore.”

Giles became reacquainted with OLTL during the 2007 Writers Guild strike after reading that the show was undergoing a creative renaissance, and was quickly convinced that there was a more in-depth, less sensationalistic story to tell about the people and the work behind one of the longest-running series in a much-maligned medium.

To that end, Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live focuses on some of the most unique aspects of working on a five-day-a-week television series -- from the actors, who had to deal with the daytime stigma and the psychology of living so intimately with their characters for extended periods of time, to the crew, who produced scripts and episodes at a blistering pace while working with a dwindling pool of network resources.

Giles is currently wrapping up an extensive list of interviews, which already includes discussions with such OLTL vets as Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser, Robert S. Woods, Hilary B. Smith, Ilene Kristen, Kassie DePaiva, Michael Storm, Judith Light, and Nathan Fillion -- plus many more -- with an eye toward publishing the book by summer 2013.

About the author:
Jeff Giles is an entertainment writer and editor with over 20 years of experience, as well as the editor-in-chief of the online pop culture magazines Popdose and Dadnabbit. His work can currently be regularly seen at a variety of sites, including Rotten Tomatoes, Movies with Butter, Diffuser.fm, Ultimate Classic Rock, Loudwire, American Songwriter, and Paste Magazine.

Link:
http://oltlbook.com

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