In Star Magazine: Meg's New Hunk? Thursday November 13, 2003
BENJAMIN MCKENZIE, 25, hunky star of Fox's The O.C., may resemble Russell Crowe but he breaks out laughing when asked about rumors he's dating former Crowe flame Meg Ryan (who's about to turn 42) "I think I look more like Meg Ryan than I do like Russell Crowe!" McKenzie told Star on Oct. 28 at a party at New York's LQ club celebrating The O.C.'s fall premiere, declaring, "Those rumors are unfortunately very false. But I have to see this new movie In the Cut," featuring Ryan naked. McKenzie joined castmates Mischa Barton and Adam Brody at the event. ___________________
In Cosmo's December issue has Micha's "now" pic and how you may have seen her before in the Sixth Sense ("then" pic). Also, little OC mentions here and there, like when people were asked what's sexy, one person mention the OC.
posted by Jen @ 8:30 AM |
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
From TVGuide.com O.C. Cutie's True Love by Ben Katner
Many an actor has been moved to pursue a career in showbiz after seeing a particularly meaningful movie. But The O.C.'s witty and winsome Adam Brody is probably the only one who'd admit that, for him, that film was I Know What You Did Last Summer. "It was a huge influence on me," the former video-store salesclerk confesses to TV Guide Online. "I always walked by [the VHS box] on the shelf and thought [of leads Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe], 'Those kids have it made.'
"At the time, I thought the movie was very cool," he continues, "but it was more their lives that I wanted. And, like everyone, I was in love with Jennifer Love Hewitt."
Ah, but the future Gilmore Girls sweetheart had a lot to learn before he'd be prepared to merge into the fast lane. "I thought acting was all about looks," he says. "That's what [the power brokers] tell you — you either have the look or you don't. So I'd walk by the mirror and if I was having a good hair day, I'd be like, 'I'm gonna make it. It's undeniable.' And if I was looking particularly haggard, I'd go, 'It's never gonna happen. I'm blowing it.'
"It's [dumb]," he adds. "But that's what they teach you."
Although the boyish 23-year-old seems to have been born to become the thinking teenager's pin-up, his confidence wasn't what it might have been, no doubt because his parents weren't exactly jumping for joy over his out-of-nowhere desire to go Hollywood. "It wasn't something that I'd been expressing for a long time," he recalls, "so they were kind of like, 'What the f---?!'" Brody's lawyer dad was particularly perturbed. "He said, 'All right, have fun being a waiter.'"
Now that The O.C. has made the up-and-comer a hot commodity, he's looking forward to even bigger, better things — among them, high-profile features that might put him in closer proximity to his onetime muse, Hewitt. "It seems to me as though the film community is looking at the [cast] with open arms," he says optimistically. "Now, I could eat my words — no one's actually done anything yet — but it seems like there's a lot of opportunity." Coming soon: We Know What He'll Be Doing Next Summer? — Additional reporting by Shawna Malcom
posted by Jen @ 8:05 AM |
Monday, November 10, 2003
From TV Guide.com last week: O.C. Newbie Makes Waves by Ben Katner
From the start, The O.C.'s adorably dorky Seth has been snobbish Summer's to do with as she pleases: kiss, dis, dismiss... you name it. But the rich witch's spell over him may be broken in tonight's episode of the hit Fox soap (airing at 8 ET), when Samaire Armstrong returns as Anna, the babelicious bookworm with the good sense to notice Seth's inner hottie.
"She's pretty happy to see him when she shows up [after her sailing trip to Tahiti]," the Not Another Teen Movie co-star tells TV Guide Online. "Definitely, the feelings are there. They have a really strong connection, because they have so many quirky things in common that nobody would understand but the two of them. They really share something sweet."
At first, though, Anna gets roped into her fellow boatnik's hare-brained scheme to make Summer see him the way that Anna, and viewers, do. Needless to say, chaos ensues. "He's tried everything to get Summer's attention, even naming his boat after her," the 22-year-old scene-stealer observes. "So Anna decides that maybe if she pays a little more attention to him in front of Summer, then maybe Summer will notice him and he can get her out of his system.
"But," she adds with a laugh, "[this plot] might come back to bite Anna on the ass!"
Even if, when push comes to love, Seth insists on making himself into one of the boys of Summer, O.C. fans can still go ahead and get attached to her wry rival: Anna is here to stay! Not only does the junior achiever enroll in the regulars' highfalutin high school, but her portrayer teases that, after inflating her crush's ego, he may need to be cut back down to size. "You might be right on there," she admits. "Just wait until you see what happens — you're gonna die!" _________________________
O.C. Hunk Plays Fame Game by Ben Katner
Don't call The O.C.'s Benjamin McKenzie an overnight sensation: The heartthrob at the heart of Fox's unexpectedly witty new primetime soap opera was in Hollywood for a whole year before being anointed an It boy. As a result, he graciously accepts the "burden" of his newfound popularity. After all, being asked for an autograph beats the heck out of being asked for a menu!
Being recognizable "can be tricky," the 27-year-old tells TV Guide Online, then adds sarcastically, "I'm not going to say, 'Oh, [my castmates and I] are so huge, we can't go anywhere and my life is terrible.' [The loss of anonymity] is slightly unfortunate, but also pretty flattering. I mean, no one ever comes up to me and, like, slaps me or, you know, calls me an a--hole."
On the contrary, face to face with Ryan's handsome portrayer, many an admirer can't make any remark at all, never mind a disparaging one. Take, for instance, the O.C. devotee who recently made a pilgrimage to the set on the occasion of her 16th birthday. "I don't think she could say anything," McKenzie chuckles. "She wasn't hyperventilating, but sort of, you know, speechless — like, classically without speech."
No doubt, the rising star's fan club will grow exponentially as he follows in the footsteps of teen-idol forebears Johnny Depp and James Van Der Beek, and begins appearing in features. Nothing is set in stone yet, or even written in pencil. However, he admits, "I have been able to get into meetings [with producers] that I definitely would not have been able to get into six months ago. Hopefully, I can put something together."
In the end, McKenzie is less concerned with headlining a Thanksgiving 2004 blockbuster than he is with avoiding any association with a turkey. So if it takes him a little longer to rise to the ranks of his idols, quirky leading men Edward Norton and Sam Rockwell, that's just fine with him. "I'd much rather sit out [a hiatus]," he insists, "than jump into a bad movie that I end up regretting." — Additional reporting by Shawna Malcom
posted by Jen @ 8:38 AM |
Check out... -ELLEgirl magazine with Micha's on the cover, 4 pages about her and a little snippit of Samaire -ELLEgirl.com contains a little quiz to find your OC perfect match and a little transcript of meeting Micha -E! Online for a bounty of info about Kristin's day on-set -E! News Live on Wednesday at 7pm for behind-the-scenes clips before the episodes airs at 9pm -an E! live chat with Adam Brody on Monday November 17th -Gilmore Girls this week with Lane and Mrs. Kim discussing Dave (Adam Brody) and a special gift (marriage jug???) -US Weekly magazine (with Reese Witherspoon on the cover) has little blurbs and such -Seventeen magazine discussing men's style tanks (with pic of Micha), star style (Micha), music (Micha likes the Ramones) & boyfriend prediction test (scene with Micha & Ben)
