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Robert Guza Jr.: The Write Stuff, Part 1

As befits a wordsmith, head writer Robert Guza Jr. had plenty of say about what to expect on his soap, GENERAL HOSPITAL, this fall — far more than we could fit in print. Here, we give him some room to run…

Soap Opera Weekly: Laura awakened to find Lulu in Shadybrook. What’s next?
Robert Guza Jr.: The thing that is interesting is that very similar situations drove them into the institution. Laura believed that she killed Rick Webber and found that intolerable; her mind just could not wrap around it. Lulu knows she killed Logan, so it’s very much Lulu’s terror that she is going to go down the same path as her mother. Laura helps Lulu, who is hallucinating big time — seeing Logan standing there with a knife in him. Lulu is manifesting her guilt instead of being able to atone for it, go on trial, and so forth. It’s gotten inside her and it’s twisted her to the extent that she is seeing it manifested in hallucinations of Logan. It’s really wonderful stuff. Genie Francis (Laura) and Julie Marie Berman (Lulu) have some kind of connection. It’s just incredible. They act together, and it’s almost like you can see deep inside their souls. This is a very, very emotional sequence — compounded by the fact that we are going to wonder if Laura is really back.

Weekly: Is she really back?
Guza: Or is it just Lulu so desperately needing the advice, the comfort and the consoling that she has conjured up her mother?

Weekly: It’s suspicious that Laura doesn’t want Lulu telling anyone else that she is awake.
Guza: That’s very true. Lulu is like, “Oh, my God, this is good — let me get the boys,” and Laura is like, “No, no, you can’t tell them yet. I don’t want to get their hopes up in case this doesn’t take.” We are thinking, “Yeah, that makes sense.” Also, what happens is, a doctor shows up from Switzerland, where Laura was part of the time. If a doctor is there, how can it not be real? By the end of the fall/early winter, you will know the answer. You will also know about Laura’s future.

Weekly: It would be too convenient if she just faded away again.
Guza: We are not going to resolve this in the same way that we did before. Not at all.

Weekly: The timing of Genie’s return is interesting: Anthony Geary (Luke) was not back from his annual vacation when she taped.
Guza: But he is coming!

Weekly: And I understand Genie is going to be taping some more shows in October, correct?
Guza: Yeah. We are trying to work out the precise dates. She did a very popular Hallmark movie [The Note], and she is doing [a sequel], so part of this revolves around trying to schedule all of that.

Weekly: Will she have enough material taped to take Laura through the winter?
Guza: I hope so. I love having her around. She is just wonderful.

Weekly: Well, everyone definitely wants to see the Spencer clan back together.
Guza: So do we. You don’t hear any arguments from us!

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