| In a rare joint interview, GL's Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer ponder Josh and Reva's epic romance. More than any other couple on daytime, GL's Josh and Reva are steeped in mythology. Something magical always occurs during their semi-annual Cross Creek pilgrimages; something horrible happens whenever Reva wears a red dress. Their lusty, rough-and-tumble youth in Oklahoma makes us nostalgic for an era we never actually saw on-screen. And then there are those individual, unforgettable moments in the couple's 14-year history: the "Fountain Scene," the Florida remote, Reva's suicide attempt...the list goes on and on. Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer discuss what all of that really means to them. Digest: GL's ratings shot up in January when Josh and Reva got together at Cross Creek. Does that make you feel good? KZ: Well... RN: It does feel good, but we're always hesitant to take any credit, because then if the ratings go down, and Josh and Reva are still front and center, we'll have to take responsibility for that too. KZ: I just think the stories are finally about relationships again, and our audience is happier about that. SOD: How do you feel about your own storyline? KZ: I think it's a shame what they did to Cynthia's (Watros, Annie) character. I think she's...unreal. RN: I wish they hadn't made her so incredibly deceitful. At first, Annie was just responding out of pain, but now she's just become horribly manipulative, which is a really different thing. KZ: It's hard for Robert, because Josh has to be blind to it all. RN: Stupid is as stupid does. KZ: (laughing) That's his new saying. Meanwhile, I've become this noble, all-loving goody-goody, and I'm sick of that, too. RN: The other day, I went to a GL discussion group. There were about 80 topics posted, and I would say 20 of them were some variation on, 'Josh is the stupidest man in the world.' But at the end of the day, it's not my problem. I'm not writing it. SOD: But Josh being duped by women is a part of the whole Josh and Reva folklore, just like Cross Creek. KZ: Robert and I always get excited when we see Cross Creek in the scripts because it is a mythological place. Something great always happens there. I mean, I can't speak for him. RN: No, no, you can. I love Cross Creek. It's a safe place for me. I'm usually working there only with Kim, who I really trust, and it's just really nice. People talk about those scenes forever. SOD: As they do the "Fountain Scene." KZ: (laughing) Robert loves hearing about that scene. He had one line: "Put your clothes back on!" RN: It's funny because you do these scenes, and you think it's just another day at work. I don't remember anything special about that day. KZ: No, I remember feeling really good that day. That was the first time I was on a soap and I actually was the character. It was raw emotion and, and I lost it. And after that scene, we got applause from the crew. RN: You did. KZ: We did. RN: I applauded you, too. KZ: But it is weird how fans will remember certain scenes and forget others, and you really can't predict it. SOD: Obviously, Robert, the crew was applauding you after the "Fountain Scene," too. But on the whole, Kim gets the Emmys and the recognition, even though you were such a big part of her best work. Does that bother you? RN: No, it really doesn't. KZ: Oh, come on. RN: No, because even though I pretend I don't (he puts his hands over Zimmer's ears), I love Kim with all my heart. She's the most talented woman I have ever worked with in my entire career. And when she's up there collecting her Emmys, I think, "Well, I was there, too." SOD: It's funny because Kim says you were mean to her when she first started. KZ: He made fun of my zits and called me fat. RN: (laughing) No, no, no... KZ: He was very mean. But I also had a huge crush on him, and I think that probably heightened every little thing he said. SOD: (to Newman) Did you know she had a crush on you? RN: Oh, we had a crush on each other. KZ: You didn't have a crush on me. I was so much older than he was, which always made me feel strange. SOD: How much older? KZ: Three years? Four years? RN: Except we determined a while back that Reva is younger than Josh. KZ: Some magazine recently said of me, "Who wants to see a 45-year-old woman in a red dress?" Excuse me, I'm 42. SOD: But is it time to give the red dresses a rest? KZ: I'm a little sick of the red dress. RN: Josh and Reva have both grown up. The red dress doesn't mean what it used to. KZ: Every time I see the red dress in the script, I just know Reva's going to make a fool of herself again. That's what the red dress means to me now. SOD: (to Zimmer) It sounds like you really take the criticism in the press to heart. KZ: Uh-huh, I do. RN: She does. KZ: After all these years... RN: And I get really ticked when the magazines go after Kim. The stuff I read about how stupid Josh is, that's okay. I agree with it. But some writers go after Kim on a very personal level. KZ: In TV Guide, it was said that watching me and Justin Deas (Buzz) was like watching a pitbull and a rottweiler fighting over a ham sandwich. RN: I think that's funny. But what's odd is, I thought Kim and Justin had tremendous chemistry. SOD: Well, all of last year was kind of a write-off for GL. RN: Ever since the ghost story. SOD: (to Newman) Kim has been very open about how horrible the ghost story was. What's your take? RN: It was, without a doubt, the worst storyline concept in history. I remember about a week before it started, I woke up at 3 a.m. and woke up my wife, Britt, and said, "This is going to be a miserable failure." Nobody wanted to see Reva as a ghost. KZ: And they made me nasty, too. RN: At first, she was supposed to just be in Josh's head for 10 weeks. That's a much better idea than the ghost idea. KZ: But then Annie started seeing me. That's when the mistake happened. RN: I said early on, "If we've only got Kim for 10 weeks, let's go on remote to Italy." That way, Josh's search could end, he could find her, and then if she leaves after 10 weeks, she leaves. But I was pretty certain you were going to come back long-term. KZ: Well, I wasn't after that ghost thing. They had Megan (McTavish, ex-head writer) call to convince me. SOD: And that's when the Amish story happened. KZ: Yes. When that story was pitched to me, I was told I wouldn't be Amish. I Would be living just outside their community. Then I was talking to the costumer about nice, summery dresses I could wear. And she said, "No, no, you're in Amish clothes." And I said, "No, I'm not Amish." And she said, "Oh, yes, you are." So I called Megan and said, "You can't just make me Amish! You'll p--s off all these Amish people!" And she said, "They won't know. The Amish don't have televisions." In the end, I agreed to do it because I knew it wouldn't last. SOD: At times like that, does it help that your partners are in the business? (Zimmer is married to director A.C. Weary; Newman is married to Britt Helfer, who played Lily on LOVING.) KZ: Absolutely. RN: Britt will often present a completely different side to something I come home bitching and moaning about. KZ: Right. RN: I'll come home and say, "I can't believe they're going to do such-and-such," and she'll go, "Yeah, but you know, that could work." It frustrates the hell out of me! But she often helps me see the writers' perspective. KZ: That happens to me, too. I'll say something to A.C. about some ridiculous story and he goes, "Oh, that'll be great." SOD: Well, the Amish story and the ghost story are both gone, and the Annie story is winding down. What would you like to see happen to Josh and Reva? RN: Maybe some corporate stuff, like we did a while ago. KZ: I'd like that, too. RN: Make it the Lewises against the Spauldings again, corporation against corporation and family against family. It's the age-old storyline. Capulets and Montagues fighting, with the younger members of the family getting screwed because the older ones won't listen. KZ: (laughing) Except we're the older ones now! RN: No, we can still be the young ones. |