Here's a bunch of misc. news and info. I am goin' up to Boston this weekend so I wanted to make sure I posted this up here for you all. And, check out the Fox's website for the literal countdown to the show's 2nd Season ---
"Marissa spent the summer by herself, drinking and lonely," series creator Josh Schwartz said yesterday during a conference call with reporters to promote the new season, starting Nov. 4. Other newbies include Michael Cassidy, 21, as Zach, a waspy jock who's the son of a congressman; Shannon Lucio, 24, as brainiac Lindsay; and native New Yorker Olivia Wilde, 20, as Alex, who runs The Bait Shop, a new rock club/hang out.
Schwartz says that The Bait Shop will feature performances by up-and-coming bands. According to Schwartz, his portrayal of rich kids living in an exclusive Southern California community has turned out to be pretty close to the real thing.
"I watched the first episode of 'Laguna Beach,' the MTV reality series [about kids from the real Orange Country] and we're pretty close," he says.
Schwartz added that Linda Lavin will be making another guest appearance as a Jewish grandmother called The Nana.
The O.C.'s kid creator, Josh Schwartz, has been mad busy dreaming up drama for Season 2, which kicks off Nov. 4 on Fox. So busy, in fact, that the ambitious 28-year-old hit the pause button on plans for his next big nighttime sudser.
"It's tentatively titled Athens," Schwartz tells TV Guide Online. "It'll be set in a New England college town — probably Boston — and it is going to chronicle the lives and loves of the professors, students and the townies who live around the college."
"We were rushing, at first, to try to get it on the air in January [2005]," he continues, "but it's extremely difficult to launch a new show after the first year of [The O.C.]. Year 2 is an incredible year for any television show. As The O.C. started up again, I started to feel myself potentially getting pulled away. I wanted both things to be great. I don't think anybody benefits if The O.C. suffers and the new show is not any good.
"So what we've done is we rolled Athens back a little bit and we're gonna try to get it on the air in August, right around the time The O.C. launched. That'll allow me to get through this year completely focused on The O.C. and then launch right into the second show."
Now let's dish our fave Orange County-based dramafest. You already know four newbies — including Skin's Olivia Wilde — are coming in to mix it up with Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer, all of whom are single again.
"We don't have any big stunt-casting plans at this point," Schwartz notes. "The new cast members are all great, but there's no J.Lo." Forget her, what about Seth's Jewish nana, who was fighting cancer when last seen?
"Linda Lavin will definitely be back," Schwartz chuckles. "The nana was a very popular character. I'm happy to say that the chemotherapy, therefore, is working. She'll be back late in the spring, maybe around Passover again." Not for Chrismakkuh? "No," he responds. "We have enough holiday spirit with Chrismakkuh."
Speaking of special occasions, fans can't help but wonder if Benjamin McKenzie and Co. be graduating from high school anytime soon. Ryan's portrayer is 26, after all. "I think everyone's got a different opinion on this," Schwartz teases. "The actors and the network certainly have their own takes on it — and those two are probably not the same take. But I foresee at least this year and next year in high school. Then, I'll cross that bridge when we come to it at the end of Year 3, should we be lucky enough to come back for Year 4."
At least they're giving Ryan's bare-knuckled brawling a rest. "It's a long time before we really see any fists flying," he says, "and even then, it's not much of a fight."
posted by Jen @ 7:53 AM |
Thursday, October 14, 2004
TV writers dabble in comic books in their spare timeOfficially, they work on "The O.C.," "Jack & Bobby" and "Law & Order" -- but in their spare time they are comic book writers. "It's not like we need the money, but it's something that many of us just want to do," says "O.C." exec producer Allan Heinberg, whose comic book "Young Avengers" comes out in February. "I get together with a bunch of TV writer friends at the comic shop. We don't talk about our television shows, we talk about comics and what we enjoy."
When Thursday comes around, do you miss your friends? Well, cheer up. They'll be there for you starting Nov. 4. Not the friends of "Friends," who are, like, soooo first-half-of-2004, but the friends of "The O.C." - or, as Fox calls it, with a sly poke at an old NBC catch-phrase, "OCTV." Unlike most of the shows Fox launched this summer, which ranged from the mediocre ("North Shore," "The Casino") to the unwatchable ("Quintuplets," "Method & Red"), this series about the lives of a Southern California family and their neighbors started out hot in its August 2003 debut and has just gotten hotter. A couple of years ago, it would have seemed silly for the network to pin its Thursday-night hopes on a drama running opposite CBS' "Survivor" and a pair of NBC comedies, one of which, "Joey," is a spinoff of you-know-what. But "Joey" has proved to be something less than must-see TV, and the ninth edition of "Survivor" is showing its age. So "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz is optimistic about the drama's move from Wednesday to Thursday, which will happen when the World Series is over. "Wednesday night was really competitive for us in terms of (ABC's) 'The Bachelor' and (NBC's) 'The West Wing,' " Schwartz told TV critics a few months ago at a session to promote the series. "We have our fan base, and I think we're going to be able to build on that audience and expand." Although Fox originally sold the show as a teens-on-the-beach drama - think "Dawson's Creek, 90210" - its appeal has cut across age groups. That's at least partly because it's not the kind of series where "teenagers are geniuses, and the world would be a better place if it weren't for those pesky adults," said Peter Gallagher, who plays Sandy Cohen, father to one young man, Seth (Adam Brody), and mentor to another, Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie). At first, the show focused primarily on Ryan, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who is taken in by do-gooder lawyer Sandy and his wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), a businesswoman who pays the mortgage on the family's outrageously luxurious house. But later in the first season, other characters began competing for attention, including the likable, loquacious and slightly nerdy Seth. "I was at a golf course," Brody recounted, "and 15 little Seth Cohens came up to me. They're like 16, and they all had, you know, their little indie rock (look). And they were, like, 'Seth Cohen's our hero!' " Ice princess Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) has also come into her own. Known at first for such pronouncements as "Eeeeew," she became softer and more sensitive when she began to return the attention of the love-struck Seth. "Watching Summer's cold, cold heart melt in front of Seth was really fun," Schwartz said. Then there's Julie (Melinda Clarke), the neighbor who went from merely grasping to hissable after marrying, of all people, Kirsten's rich father, Caleb (Alan Dale). At a party recently, Clarke confided with a grin, a young man thanked her, saying, "Because of you, I'm dating my best friend's mother." The series' best running joke is "The Valley," a fictional soap opera that the characters watch and which, not coincidentally, bears a certain resemblance to "The O.C." itself. "Who knows?" said Schwartz. "One day, maybe 'The Valley' will be a spinoff." He was joking, of course. But stranger things have happened.
BREAKING NEWS ALERT! Stars of Fox's ``THE OC'' and WB's ``EVERWOOD'' Join KERRY at KRAVE 11 p.m. Sat. 10/09/04
for Saturday (Oct. 9)--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WHO: SENATOR KERRY's daughter Alexandra Kerry, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson and Gregory Smith WHAT & WHY: Alexandra Kerry and the stars of FOX's "The O.C.," Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson, along with "EVERWOOD's" Gregory Smith (WB Network), will be making an appearance on the KRAVE stage to urge people to "GET OUT AND VOTE EARLY" where in Nevada, early voting is permissible and encouraged and begins next Saturday. Admission for the night at KRAVE is $10.00 for NEVADA RESIDENTS and $20.00 for others. The music of DJ Kimberly S. will be spinning from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (21 and over only). WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2004 at 11 p.m. on stage at KRAVE WHERE: KRAVE - The Alternative Nightclub "On the Vegas Strip at Harmon" 3663 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89109 702-836-0830 www.kravelasvegas.com SOURCE: John Summers, Communications Director for the Nevada Democratic Party Cell: 702-300-4566
posted by Jen @ 3:16 PM |
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Mischa's New Leading Man Is A Chimp! October 12, 2004 (ET)
MISCHA BARTON puts her best foot forward as the new spokesmodel for classic Keds Champion sneakers and Keds' upcoming spring 2005 collection. The move is part of the footwear company's strategy to appeal to hip teens, and as the "The O.C." is one of the hottest shows on TV, the 18-year-old star's classic style and beauty make her a natural to get the message out.
"I met with them and they had such cool ideas and their sneakers are going in so many new directions, I thought they could be brought back and be cool again," Mischa tells ET about her decision to sign on the dotted line for the footwear company.
On tonight's ET, we were exclusively on the backlot at Universal Studios when Mischa and her new co-star KODUA, a chimpanzee, posed for high-fashion photographer PAMELA HANSON, who was shooting the photos for the national print and outdoor advertising campaigns, as well as the direct mail, in-store materials and online promotions.
"The chimp is awesome," she shares. "I love the chimp. He looks high maintenance like a child, and I definitely don't need a child. So I will go with a dog first and work my way up. I would love to have a house of dogs and chimps, but they don't seem to get along, so maybe not."
Not only will the blonde beauty, who also stumps for Neutrogena and Aeropostale, be wearing Keds for the ad campaign, premiering in mid-Feb. 2005, but she will also be making personal appearances on behalf of the Keds brand, as well as wearing the sneaks on "The O.C." and in her personal life.
"Everyone I talk to about doing this campaign gets very excited because so many memories are attached to the brand name, so it is exciting," she says.
Mischa shot the ads on a break from "The O.C.," which was wrapping its eighth episode of the second season. The British-born actress told ET she has a new love interest this season, but what she is most excited about is the cool bands who have guested so far this year, including MODEST MOUSE, THE WALKMEN and THE KILLERS.
"I think the second season is really exciting for everybody because we are already so aware of what last season was and we have gone through all the mistakes and know what we want to do this season," she explains. "We are airing on a new night and there is excitement about that. All the scripts have been great so far -- funny and dramatic. It has just been good."
