As we look forward to a new Gossip Girl episode this Wednesday night, here's a fun glance at the cast goofing around on the set:
Blake Lively and Leighton Meester share a laugh in between takes.
Did you think Ed Westwick rolled out of bed and was instantly good looking? A bit of make up is needed.
Stephanie Savage is the producer of Gossip Girl.
Below, she answers a question from Entertainment Weekly about the differences between the television series and the books it is based on:
What do you want to say to the avid GG book fans who complain about the tweaked characters and plotlines on the TV show?
I think that one's a book and one's a TV show you have to write for the medium you are in. In television, a lot of the stories need to be more emotionally grounded. The books also have a longer reset period between them, so you can jump over big story issues between books, whereas with television, viewers kind of expect continuity between the episodes.
It would be very jarring for people if Serena and [her best friend] Blair [played by Leighton Meester] got into a giant fight in the first episode, but in the second episode they were friends again and we never explained why.
So I think you just have to deal with different expectations of the medium that you're working in, and you also have to be free as a writer. The series has 11 books in it right now, but God willing, we're hoping to make 100 episodes.
So you have to be able to find characters that, as a writer, you can just really dig into and live with and put a part of yourself in, and try to update them too. I think Cecily went to school in the '80s, and the books were written in the early 2000s, and there's certain things that might have worked in the books that maybe don't feel like they're going to work now.
The cast of Gossip Girl is featured with a photo spread in the upcoming issue of Hollywood Life magazine.
Here's a peak at the pictorial:
Leighton Meester seduces the camera.
Ed Westwick does his bet Chuck Bass face.
We hope Carrie Underwood isn't jealous of this Blake Lively and Chace Crawford photo.
Where can you find your favorite Gossip Girl cast members this week? Glad you asked!
Not much to add on this post. We just wanted to say:
How hilarious is Chuck Bass?!?
Ed Westwick and his portrayal of this character makes us crack up. Just look at this Gossip Girl photo of him from last night's episode, "Bad News Blair." He's so ready to play basketball!
Is Chuck your favorite Gossip Girl character? Tell us who is at our Gossip Girl forum!
It's impossible not to compare Gossip Girl with The OC.
Both shows were created by Josh Schwartz and both shows focus on the lives of well-off high school kids. With that in mind, here's a comparison of various Gossip Girl character and characters from The OC...
Marissa vs. Serena: Serena (Blake Lively, right) seems to have it all, but in addition to a party girl reputation, dark family secrets and a disregard for high society, Serena one-ups the sulky Coop with a history of BFF betrayal.
Summer vs. Blair: Like Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson, left), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is the queen bee with the designer clothes and riches to her name. But she lacks Summer's loyal following: Blair's hot boyfriend Nate has already cheated on her, while the return of ex-best friend Serena is putting her crown in jeopardy.
Who is Connor Paolo? He portrays Eric van der Woodson, the younger, troubled brother of Serena (Blake Lively).
The young actor was recently interview by New York Magazine...
Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
This changes on a weekly basis. After seeing Raging Bull it was Jake La Motta. Every time I hear "Imagine," it's John Lennon. Currently, it's George Morfogen, who played Rebadow on Oz. I legitimately bumped into the man twice this week, and despite my screaming his character's name both times, he remained gracious and appreciative.
What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
Anything served past 3 a.m. qualifies as great.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Hurry up and wait, and that goes for school too.
Where do you get your coffee?
I only drink coffee when I need it. And if I need it, I really need it. I don't care where it comes from.
What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Spring Awakening. And I highly recommend it.
Do you give money to panhandlers?
As much as possible. It's the only time in our lives that, try as we might, we cannot completely ignore the poverty staring us in the face. Even when it appears that someone is not in dire need or will use the money for some less-than-holy purpose, it feels wrong not to give when I can.
Here's some great news:
Word around town is that The CW has ordered the back nine episodes of Gossip Girl, making the primetime soap the first freshman show of the fall to get a full-season order.
The series was one of the first shows to premiere last month and has scored solid Nielsen digits in its three-week run. Numbers have been further boosted by just-released DVR data showing ratings for the premiere increased 9% when including recording viewings of the show that take place six days after its first broadcast.
Gossip Girl has also been a hit on iTunes, with two episodes of the show ranking in the service's top five most downloaded TV episodes.
The bad news for Gossip Girl so far is that ratings among The CW's target audience of 18-34 year-old viewers aren't so strong.
Through three weeks, the show has lost more than a third of its America's Next Top Model lead-in and has lagged well behind timeslot rivals Bionic Woman and Private Practice in those demographics.
Among teenagers, however, Gossip Girl is a certifiable smash.
For the week that ended September 30, the series was the top-rated new show among teens 12-17, averaging a 2.5 rating. It held that rating again this week and is is averaging a 2.6 season to date for this age group.
On any other network, of course, teens alone wouldn't cut it. Gossip Girl would be off the air faster than Chuck (Ed Westwick) could down a shot of whiskey. But this is the CW - and it skews much younger, needing to take time to develop shows that show such potential.
There is precedent for a series such as this to build an older fan base: Beverly Hills, 90210 was an immediate hit with teens, but took much longer catch with the older crowd.
Right now, Gossip Girl is the youngest-skewing show on any English-language broadcast network, with a median age of 22.8 years old, about three years younger than last year's youngest-skewing program, One Tree Hill.
And that show has been on the air for years.
Every week, New York Magazine profiles the most recent episode of Gossip Girl and asks: which parts of the show are realistic? And which are more far-fetched than Britney Spears spending a quiet night at home?
This week's feature focuses on the fact that the series pretty much tells us there are only three or four colleges in the entire country. Here's what else the magazine had to say about the show's depiction of life on the Upper East Side...
We'll Buy It!
Blair: "My father left my mother for a 31-year-old model. A male model." That's just awesome.
"Super-successful parents expect nothing less from their offspring. And when it comes to college, that means the Ivies. It's more than just getting into college, it's setting a course for the rest of your life. And those who aren't legacies are no exception. When parents have sacrificed for their children, what kid would want to let them down?" It may not be how your parents would have put it, but the sentiment is uncomfortably still the same.
Blair's two sidekicks donned fake Steve Urkel glasses for the Ivy Mixer. Who hasn't tried to look geek-hot when the situation fits?
An underclassmen a cappella group sings Fergie's "Glamorous." In chapel. Okay, singing it in a house of God may be a stretch, but high school a cappella is just that absurd.
That's a Bit Rich
"Brown doesn't offer degrees in Slut." Wait: you can make your own major at Brown. So, Blair, Serena can major in Slut if she wants to. And she can do it Pass/Fail!
It's beginning to be offensive how every time they cut to the Humphrey's "Williamsburg" apartment, they show a building directly Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
Blair wears a Marni belt during field-hockey practice. Even she knows grass stains don't come out of white leather.
Dan (Penn Badgley) is number two in the class at his snooty Upper East Side private school? Then why does he want to go to Dartmouth?
