Gossip Girl panel
Here is Ausiello's report on the Gossip Girl panel.
"Participants: The entire cast, plus author Cecily von Ziegesar, exec producers Schwartz, Savage and Bob Levy, and Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack (moderator).
In lieu of an episode… : Schwartz introduced an extended clipathon of the first season so far, plus a bonus outtake reel.
Shhhhh!: Throughout the clip package, there was an inordinate amount of whispering and giggling coming from the row behind me. Turns out, the entire cast snuck in after the lights dimmed, and Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley, Meester and Lively were sitting right behind me!
They really are BFFs: Right before they were brought up on stage, I observed Meester and Lively frantically (and giddily) touching up each other's makeup. And at that precise moment, all was right in my world.
The other GG: There were a fair amount of Gilmore Girls fans in the audience. I know this because when Matthew Settle (aka Rufus, dad to Dan and Jenny) mentioned that his wife was a fan, a mini riot erupted in the mezzanine.
Hair today, gone tomorrow: True-blonde Meester wore a brown wig when she auditioned for Blair. Once it became clear that she was going to get the part, producers asked her to lose the wig and dye her mane instead.
Moving on a budget: Settle revealed that the CW gave the cast each $6K to relocate to New York, which he joked is about enough to cover the rent on a bathroom.
Class act: Kelly Rutherford shared a story about the scary lengths to which some paparazzi will go to snap pics of the cast — a story that only made me love her more. Recalling a recent incident in which a photog nearly got run over by a cab while trying to take her picture, she remembered telling him, "Please… I'm the mom. [Blake]'s coming in a minute."
Good timing: Jessica Szohr landed the role of Vanessa simply by crashing a barbecue Schwartz hosted. Schwartz recalled opening his door, seeing Szohr for the first time and shouting, "It's Vanessa!" Something tells me Schwartz's next barbecue is going to be teeming with uninvited aspiring actresses.
Speaking of Vanessa… : Savage noted that she's looking to "carve out more real estate" for Szohr on GG so that she's "not just part of Serena and Dan's story."
Gossip loses a girl: Blair will be down one sidekick when the show returns next month. Schwartz revealed that Nan Zhang (Kati) enrolled at Brown University during the strike — and didn't even bother to tell anyone at the show! As a result, Nicole Fiscella (Isabel) will lead Blair's minion march alone.
Animal antics: There was lots of discussion about how in the Gossip Girl books, Chuck was gay and had a pet monkey. Said discussion ended with someone on the panel (I forget who) concluding that the "monkey turned him gay."
She's obsessed!: Serena and Vanessa's Guitar Hero showdown earlier this season was supposed to have a different outcome. In the original script, Vanessa prevailed. However, Lively — a hardcore Guitar Hero competitor in real life — pleaded with Savage/Schwartz to let Serena win.
Diversity rocks!: When asked about the lack of gay characters on the show (tee-hee), Chrismukkah-lovin' Schwartz pointed out that the question he's asked most is, "Where are the Jews?"
Oh no he din't: Meester lamented that the best part of Serena and Blair's wardrobe is also the part viewers rarely get to see: their shoes. That prompted this hilariously off-color remark from Badgley: "So, we should be lifting more legs then?" Some jokes are so wrong they're right. That was one of those jokes.
Spoiler alert: Schwartz/Savage teased that this season's final five episodes will build toward a wedding — but not necessarily the one we're expecting (i.e., Lily and Bart).
Not gonna happen: On whether or not narrator Kristen Bell will ever turn up in the flesh as Gossip Girl, Savage reminded everyone that "she's not who Gossip Girl is. Gossip Girl is a state of mind." Can't we see her anyway?! Please?!"
Ausiello adds : "I'm hearing from an extremely reliable source that a male character on Gossip Girl will be revealed to be of the gay persuasion when the show returns on April 21. Who? Can't say. Won't say. It's too good a surprise. I will, however, offer five tantalizing clues.
• The revelation significantly impacts the lives of at least three people.
• The aftershocks will be felt on both sides of the East River.
• Some viewers will be surprised by the twist, others not so much.
• In the Gossip Girl novels, Dan was known to be a bit of a switch-hitter — which isn't so much a clue as it is a fact. A misleading fact? Perhaps. Perhaps not."
In any case "in the first two episodes back, the individual in question will come out, get a love interest and make out with said love interest — and not necessarily in that order".
And for those who didn't know, Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn on Buffy) with be playing a girl from Serena's past and we'll learn that S sleeping with Nate was not the real reason she left town !! So her former friend will try to sway her back to the dark side and will "succeed a little bit" as Lively said herself ! As for Blair, she's clawing her way back to the top and back to bitchiness ! And a Jennie/Blair showdown is on the way !!!!
"Participants: The entire cast, plus author Cecily von Ziegesar, exec producers Schwartz, Savage and Bob Levy, and Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack (moderator).
In lieu of an episode… : Schwartz introduced an extended clipathon of the first season so far, plus a bonus outtake reel.
Shhhhh!: Throughout the clip package, there was an inordinate amount of whispering and giggling coming from the row behind me. Turns out, the entire cast snuck in after the lights dimmed, and Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley, Meester and Lively were sitting right behind me!
They really are BFFs: Right before they were brought up on stage, I observed Meester and Lively frantically (and giddily) touching up each other's makeup. And at that precise moment, all was right in my world.
The other GG: There were a fair amount of Gilmore Girls fans in the audience. I know this because when Matthew Settle (aka Rufus, dad to Dan and Jenny) mentioned that his wife was a fan, a mini riot erupted in the mezzanine.
Hair today, gone tomorrow: True-blonde Meester wore a brown wig when she auditioned for Blair. Once it became clear that she was going to get the part, producers asked her to lose the wig and dye her mane instead.
Moving on a budget: Settle revealed that the CW gave the cast each $6K to relocate to New York, which he joked is about enough to cover the rent on a bathroom.
Class act: Kelly Rutherford shared a story about the scary lengths to which some paparazzi will go to snap pics of the cast — a story that only made me love her more. Recalling a recent incident in which a photog nearly got run over by a cab while trying to take her picture, she remembered telling him, "Please… I'm the mom. [Blake]'s coming in a minute."
Good timing: Jessica Szohr landed the role of Vanessa simply by crashing a barbecue Schwartz hosted. Schwartz recalled opening his door, seeing Szohr for the first time and shouting, "It's Vanessa!" Something tells me Schwartz's next barbecue is going to be teeming with uninvited aspiring actresses.
Speaking of Vanessa… : Savage noted that she's looking to "carve out more real estate" for Szohr on GG so that she's "not just part of Serena and Dan's story."
Gossip loses a girl: Blair will be down one sidekick when the show returns next month. Schwartz revealed that Nan Zhang (Kati) enrolled at Brown University during the strike — and didn't even bother to tell anyone at the show! As a result, Nicole Fiscella (Isabel) will lead Blair's minion march alone.
Animal antics: There was lots of discussion about how in the Gossip Girl books, Chuck was gay and had a pet monkey. Said discussion ended with someone on the panel (I forget who) concluding that the "monkey turned him gay."
She's obsessed!: Serena and Vanessa's Guitar Hero showdown earlier this season was supposed to have a different outcome. In the original script, Vanessa prevailed. However, Lively — a hardcore Guitar Hero competitor in real life — pleaded with Savage/Schwartz to let Serena win.
Diversity rocks!: When asked about the lack of gay characters on the show (tee-hee), Chrismukkah-lovin' Schwartz pointed out that the question he's asked most is, "Where are the Jews?"
Oh no he din't: Meester lamented that the best part of Serena and Blair's wardrobe is also the part viewers rarely get to see: their shoes. That prompted this hilariously off-color remark from Badgley: "So, we should be lifting more legs then?" Some jokes are so wrong they're right. That was one of those jokes.
Spoiler alert: Schwartz/Savage teased that this season's final five episodes will build toward a wedding — but not necessarily the one we're expecting (i.e., Lily and Bart).
Not gonna happen: On whether or not narrator Kristen Bell will ever turn up in the flesh as Gossip Girl, Savage reminded everyone that "she's not who Gossip Girl is. Gossip Girl is a state of mind." Can't we see her anyway?! Please?!"
Ausiello adds : "I'm hearing from an extremely reliable source that a male character on Gossip Girl will be revealed to be of the gay persuasion when the show returns on April 21. Who? Can't say. Won't say. It's too good a surprise. I will, however, offer five tantalizing clues.
• The revelation significantly impacts the lives of at least three people.
• The aftershocks will be felt on both sides of the East River.
• Some viewers will be surprised by the twist, others not so much.
• In the Gossip Girl novels, Dan was known to be a bit of a switch-hitter — which isn't so much a clue as it is a fact. A misleading fact? Perhaps. Perhaps not."
In any case "in the first two episodes back, the individual in question will come out, get a love interest and make out with said love interest — and not necessarily in that order".
And for those who didn't know, Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn on Buffy) with be playing a girl from Serena's past and we'll learn that S sleeping with Nate was not the real reason she left town !! So her former friend will try to sway her back to the dark side and will "succeed a little bit" as Lively said herself ! As for Blair, she's clawing her way back to the top and back to bitchiness ! And a Jennie/Blair showdown is on the way !!!!