At press time, Rena Sofer (ex-Lois, GENERAL HOSPITAL) was in negotiations with MELROSE PLACE about a contract role for the fall season. A source close to Sofer says that the character would come to L.A. tied to Amanda (Heather Locklear), and would then become involved in a love triangle.
�����"I can't talk about it because we don't have a deal," said Sofer at press time. The actress worked with MP Executive Producer Aaron Spelling on a pilot earlier this year called GLORY, GLORY which was not picked up for the fall season. "He knows me from that," she pointed out, adding, 'I'll call you if - or when - we sign a deal."
�����If Sofer does clinch the role, she'll be part of a recent wave of soap stars to head to MP or Spelling's other prime-time sudser, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210. Among them: Steve Wilder (ex-Jack, DAYS OF OUR LIVES), who joins MP in the fall, and Vanessa Marcil (soon-to-be ex-Brenda, GH) and Daniel Cosgrove (ex-Scott, ALL MY CHLDREN), who are headed to 90210.
�����Spelling has a long history of mining soaps for talent. And he acknowledges that this practice sometimes draws flak. "Every time I mention to producer friends of mine that we're bringing a daytime actor to a prime-time show, they say, 'You are?' I don't understand that," Spelling muses. "I can't imagine MELROSE PLACE without Jack Wagner [Peter; ex-Frisco, GH; ex-Warren, SANTA BARBARA]." Spelling has high praise for some of his latest additions. He calls Marcil "fantastic" and says he wanted her after viewing a week's worth of her GH tapes. Of Cosgrove, he raves, "I was just stunned by him.... He's adorable and nice."
�����As far as the snooty 'tude toward daytime stars, Spelling pronounces, "It's this close to bigotry: If you're on daytime, you shouldn't be on prime-time. Everybody we have used from daytime has been marvelous."