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Monday, July 24, 2006

Scott Patterson Speaks!

Finally, something Lauren Graham and Scott feel strongly about...

Sunday, July 23, 2006

The First Gilmore Girls Ep is Out

I wish I had it but I don't. Mike Ausiello had a copy leaked to him and this is what he can tell us.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Logan on Logan Action: Take One!

I wish I was Kristin V of E!Online. The lucky gal got to become a Logan on Logan sandwich at the CW TCA. You have to watch the clips. It is freaking amazing. So amazing, I was giggly. However, 2 questions: what is up with Matt Czuchry's hair and Jason Dohring's dark locks? Me not liking it at all!!! If you can't seem to get the stream online, you can check the transcripts here.

What makes me think that KV is having her best week ever? She got to interview Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars. On this interview, he wasn't as tight lipped as he used to be. Warning: If you don't want to know any big spoilers, don't read. Don't let me hear you say that I didn't warn you.

Here's the transcript:

Q: Veronica’s off to college this year! How will college Veronica be different than high school Veronica, if at all?

R: I think she’ll lose some of the outsider baggage. Whereas Neptune High School was very rigidly divided --you’re either the child of a millionaire or you work for millionaires -- that chip on her shoulder will be lessened. There will be other interesting social situations we can put her in. In episode two this year, one of the girls who was raped, we find out that the night she was raped, she went to a sorority rush function, and so Veronica goes undercover into sorority rush, which I love. You know, it’s the last place in the world that she would want to be, and so she’s putting on the floral dress and going through rush. So we’ll still have situations where she’ll feel out of place.

Q: So that’s going to be the first mystery of the year?

R: Yes, which I’m not trying to keep a secret. We sort of introduced it last year, and it wasn’t solved, so--

Q: Is Alia Shawkat coming back?

R: I hope so. We don’t have Ali booked yet, but we want to. We know that in our mapping out of the mystery, that around [episode] 5, 6 or 7, we would want to see her again, so we hope. Michael Cera, we asked, but he booked a movie, so we lost him.

Q: Have you decided yet what the second and third mystery are going to be?


R: Yes.


Q: Any clues?

R: No! I will say that all three mysteries will have decidedly different feels. We know what they are. With the second one, I know who did it. You know, we’re setting all that up. I will say that the second one was largely inspired by that Steven Soderbergh indie low budget digital film, Bubble, in which all the creative energy felt like it went into the set up, into the motives. And the nice thing is that for the second mystery, we’ve got these first nine episodes to lay in motives, so it should be interesting. I’m excited about that idea.

Q: Because there will be three different mysteries this year, it seems like the mysteries will have to be somewhat lighter or less serious I guess. Does that mean we’re going to see a somewhat lighter, different Veronica Mars this season?

R: Well, yes, the first season was all about Lily’s murder and the second season a whole bus full of kids [were killed]. I mean, people have said that Veronica Mars is a 21 episode drama series and 1 episode a thriller! It seems to have turned out that way! We spent so much money, relative to our tiny show on the series finales to turn out these great episodes, and because of the logistics of having three mysteries and not having the budget to turn out three big finales like that, yes, it will be somewhat different and that’s the downside, but I hope people will still lock in [to the storylines we have planned]. One of the upsides is to have a mystery play out over just nine episodes, you can give much bigger clues in each episode. You don’t have to do as much dilly dallying. You don’t have to do as much faking over here, there’s not as many red herrings. You can get to the crux of it faster. The danger of it is, suddenly are we easy to solve? And we haven’t done it over nine episodes, so I’m a little nervous, but so far we’re five episodes into the breaking of stories and I’m liking how it’s feeling right now. And one of the things the network has suggested we do -- and this is an idea that I really am embracing, and I think it’s a good idea for our show, and it continues in the same mode as the idea of the shorter mysteries -- is, in an effort to be more inviting to new viewers or to casual viewers, to really amp up the mystery of the weeks, and to put slightly less emphasis into the ongoing mystery. But when I say less emphasis, what I’m really talking about -- And I love this. It’s a strange note to get from a network -- is not worry about the casual viewer with our ongoing mystery, so [for example] with the serial rapist, we’re going to put those themes into each episode like we always do, but we’re not going to put any effort into catching people up. It will be there for the fans who are watching us every week. So with that extra space that we have, we’re going to dial up the mystery of the week. What [the network] is saying ‘Give us that one thing that we can put on the air and promote,’ i.e. Veronica’s going undercover in a sorority. That’s the thing that they can put in their promos, and they can sell the mystery of the week now rather than the big, overarching mystery.

Q: Will the class warfare still be a theme on the show this season, or as they get older, is it not quite as bad?

R: It’s going to be lessened this year. I mean, certainly, rather than ‘Here are the popular rich kids and here are the kids who aren’t,’ in college I think we’re going to play it much more as a series of clumps, which might be more reflective of college life. Instead of being ‘ins’ and ‘outs,’ there will be different groups on campus. I think those boys who, in high school, were kind of geeky and put upon, sort of like in real life, they get to college and sort of blossom and suddenly smart guys are kind of cooler and kids like Dick Casablancas are having a little trouble adjusting!

Q: What’s happening with Weevil?

R: He’ll reappear in episode three. We’ll find out that he went to prison briefly for assault. They didn’t get him for Thumper’s murder, but they did get him for assault, and when we first see him, he’ll be working at a car wash, which he will tell Veronica isn’t quite as fun as the song makes it sound. It’s sort of a mandated job, and Veronica just runs into him by accident, and shortly after that, Weevil pins his boss to a coke machine and he loses that job, and suddenly he needs Veronica’s help. So that’s episode three and then he gets worked back into [the regular storylines].

Q: So will Weevil be sticking around as a recurring character?

R: He will be. Yes.

Q: When will he start working as the campus janitor or something, so he will be around everybody?

R: That would be the end of episode three! Yeah, there’s no foolin’ you there!

Q: And will the Thumper murder ever be solved or…

R: The Thumper murder is in the unsolved case file there at the Neptune Sherriff Department.

Q: Will Keith ever be Sherriff again?

R: Well, not for another four years. There are no plans for that.

Q: So Lamb is still Sherriff?

R: Right. And Sherriff Lamb, by the way, is officially a series regular now, so you’ll see him in the main titles this year.

Q: What guest stars will we see this season?

R: Well, I can tell you ones that we might see, that aren’t confirmed. We immediately, before we’d even written the role, asked Patty Hearst’s agents if she would play a member of the Hearst Board of Trustees. They said ‘yes, absolutely,’ so of course when we got that [response], we started thinking ‘Well, what if a member of the board of trustees was kidnapped?!’ That’s gone though our minds as well, so look for Patty Hearst on our show! We asked Stephen King if he would play a professor this year, and we had an idea for him early in the year, and his people said he was booked then, but he loved the show, and to [ask again] later. And now we’re going after [Daily Show comedian] Lewis Black to play a professor who’s running an experiment about prisoner abuse that Wallace and Logan get involved in, and his scene is like a page and a half rant that we just think Lewis Black would be phenomenal for. The nice thing is sometimes we have these ideas for guest stars that the network is like ‘Who?! What’re you talking about?’ and I was afraid that might happen with Lewis Black, but they were totally into the idea, so I think the offer is out and we’re just waiting for him to decide on it.

Q: What are Logan and Wallace doing mixed up in a prisoner abuse experiment?

R: They’re both in the same sociology class, and the professor gives them a choice of either participating in this experiment or writing a lengthy paper, and they choose to participate in the experiment.

Q: Will we see Lisa Rinna again?

R: I don’t think so.

Q: No? We didn’t see a body.

R: I know. Believe me when I say that if you don’t see a body, you should always expect that they might come back. But there are no plans to bring her back.

Q: What about Alyson Hannigan?

R: We’d like to.

Q: I just talked to her. She said ‘I would love to [go back and do more Veronica].’

R: Alright! Well, that’s good news. It’s just that it’s tough working in, because we have to plan an episode and hope that it falls in her week off, and that’s really difficult to do, but we love Alyson. It’s just tough to make it work.

Q: When will the season two DVD be out?

R: Early, this year. August, I think. Like August 22nd?

Q: Did you guys get a chance to do more commentary?

R: Unfortunately, no. It continues to be the same thing. We can release it in January, with everything, or we can release it early, and right now our show needs viewers early, so we released it early. Last year, I did a pilot episode commentary that I posted on my website, and I’ll probably do that again, I’d imagine, with the episode I directed.


Lastly, here's a little tidbit to expect from Gilmore Girls this year. I wasn't going to repost what David Rosenthal told KV since it's pretty much verbatim to what he told Mike Ausiello but here's something KV scooped from Rina Mimoun that MA wasn't able to get:

K: ... Let’s talk about Gilmore for a sec. I’m sure you’re excited about it.

R: Honestly, I’m totally unnecessary. [David Rosenthal]’s got it all covered. I don’t need to be there frankly! It’s off and running. I had not really known the show before. But I got really excited as I was watching it -- I watched like 50 hours of Gilmore on DVD. That’s a lot of fast talking -- and the stories that they want to tell this year I am happy about. It seems a little more provocative and thought provoking, and really fun and funny. It’s the most amazing group of writers, I have to say. We start shooting on Thursday. It’s crazy. I haven’t even met [most of the actors]. I just met Kirk. I’m very excited. Frankly, the Tai Chi moment is my favorite moment on the show, so yeah, I’m looking forward to it.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Live Blogging Part II Veronica Mars

Another live blog by Mike Ausiello. Props to the man!

VERONICA MARS PRESENTATION
4:35: Kristen Bell walks on stage alongside series creator Rob Thomas. Is there a more fabulous duo at press tour? I think not.

4:37: Kristen notices a cheesy graphic of herself in a white tank top on the huge CW monitor and groans, "Oh, honestly. I'm so over it. Can we get a new picture?" The crowd roars.

4:37: Rob concedes that Season 2 got way too convoluted. He says doing "two concurrent mysteries, lasting 22 episodes, with way too many red herrings" was a tad too ambitious. "We're going to rein that in this year. Our first mystery will be nine episodes, with no pre-emptions or repeats. Our second mystery will be seven episodes, with no pre-emptions or repeats. And our final mystery of the year will be six episodes, with no pre-emptions or repeats." Of course, he adds, "that's spoken with the confidence of a man who thinks he's going 22 episodes."

4:40: Scoop! Tina Majorino is officially on board as a series regular. Wallace, Logan and, yes, Dick will all be joining Veronica at Hearst college. And Rob confirms that two new characters will be coming on board — a roommate for Mac and a roommate for Wallace.

4:41: When Kristen heard that Dawn Ostroff was heading up CW she had no doubt Veronica would be back for a third season. "Don't tell this to all the other kids," she whispers, "but we're her favorite."

4:45: Scoop! Rob reveals that he approached self-proclaimed Mars fan Stephen King to play a "crazy sociology professor" in this season's third episode. Although the spookmesiter was booked, he asked Rob to "keep me in mind for other things." Hey, I'll play it! Please?

4:52: Kristen says that she has about "20 percent more girl" in her than Veronica.

4:54: Scoop! Charisma Carpenter will be on the show "at least once." Teddy Dunn, meanwhile, is, um, done. "We had two romantic possibilities for Veronica, and one sort of dominated the fans' interest," Rob says. "And it became clear that one suitor won out." OMG, you guys got Teddy Dunn fired!

5:02: Last season's briefcase mystery will get wrapped up in the first two episodes. Today's press tour diary, meanwhile, will get wrapped up right this second.

Kristin's Take on the TCA (Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls)

More information that you would care about. Courtesy of Kristin V of E!Online:

I'm in a super rush as The CW red carpet is about to start, so please forgive the mass of information and how it's laid out below... just wanted to make sure you were informed about everything that transpired today. Enjoy:

New Showrunner David Rosenthal, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel

The Gilmore Girls session started off with my frienemy Michael Ausiello and another TCA reporter duking it out to ask the first question. It was quite funny. They both had mics and were talking over each other at the same time. Lauren was going 'Hi Mike, Hi Mike,' not surprised by his enthusiasm. But the other reporter would not back down. Anyway, Ausiello eventually conceded. And he had to settle for Q #2... which was how do you feel about the fan sentiment which is so against the current storyline. He said he's never seen so many angry viewers, etc. Lauren laughed at that. David Rosenthal said Amy certainly left them with a full plate, but that's the stuff of good drama and they're looking forward to having it play out.

Lauren was then asked if she hated last season's Lorelai and if she ever went to Amy and Dan to say 'Stop making Lorelai such a wuss!' She admitted it wasn't her favorite stuff to be dictated to by Luke, and ultimately that is not who Lorelai is, which is why things ended up the way they did. Re: fan anger, she said if everything went the way the fans wanted, I'd just be calling Rory up all the time and asking 'What're you doing tonight?'

David Rosenthal said he is not approaching this as the last season of Gilmore. Just looking to do 22 great episodes. Hopefully it will continue.

Lauren and Alexis were asked about the rumor that they are not interested in returning for another season and the response was actually interesting. It sounds as if Lauren is very excited about the fact that David Rosenthal is running the show very differently than Amy and Dan did. It is more collaborative, allowing her the opportunity to have more input. She said she's read the first script and she loves it. She hopes they have such a great season that it warrants more, but at the same time, she doesn't want to be the actor that she feels sorry for. She's seen lots of actors in the position of being on the show that is ready to end, but it goes on anyway, and she doesn't want that. Also, their legal contracts are up after this season, so we'll see. But she said she wouldn't want to approach these next 22 episodes as if it was the end, because that would mean she didn't support David, and that's not the case. She very much supports David.
She made it clear that yes, so far it seems that the process will be far more collaborative than it was in years past, but if any reporters write anything that makes it sound as if she said something negative about Amy and Dan, she'll be really upset. She said she's a huge fan of Amy and Dan's. They gave her an amazing opportunity and wrote some of her favorite scenes and favorite work, but she is very open to the fact that as good as that was, this new situation could be good too. Amy and Dan ran the show in a very specific way, which was very hands-on and they did everything themselves and wanted everything a certain way. In this new situation, the writing staff is bigger, they are getting scripts ahead of time, and it's going to be different. The tone that Amy and Dan set was very specific, but it's also been established over six seasons and the new writers that David has brought in are coming in as fans, who are very familiar with the tone, really excited and enthusiastic, and there may be room for their new, fresh perspective. Also, she said that she and Alexis are, at this point, very familiar with the characters and have creative input and will know if the tone was off or something wasn't right...

Lauren admitted she is not a fan of working with the dog Paul Anka. She's not into doggy humor, although she loves dogs.

Other interesting facts: Christopher will be back as a semi-regular. There will be new recurring characters, especially since Logan has moved to London and Rory will have to make new friends. Rory and Logan, however, will attempt to have a long-distance relationship.

Oh, and yes, one reporter did ask about David Rosenthal's past () and how that makes him a strange choice to run this female-centric show. He responded by saying his personal life is irrelevant and he wouldn't discuss it. When the reporter persisted, Lauren was very quick to re-iterate "That has nothing to do with anything. Next question."

Again, in a super rush to get to The CW red carpet, which starts now! Here's what you need to know from the Veronica session:

Rob Thomas, Veronica Mars

As I told you before, the season will be split up into three mysteries. The first mystery will last nine episodes, the second mystery will last for seven and the third will last for six. They will each play out in uninterrupted blocks, with no repeats and no preemptions. The personal character arcs however are not going to be split up, of course. They won't stop and start according to the mysteries. The personal storylines, such as the relationship between Logan and Veronica, will play out as usual throughout the course of the whole season.

Tina Majorino (Mac) will be a series regular, although she won't appear in all the episodes. She will be attending Hearst College along with Veronica, Wallace, Logan and ****! There will be an explanation of how Logan and **** ended up at Hearst. Veronica will continue to live at home with Keith. There will be two new series regulars, as we reported before: Piz and Parker. ("Piz" is named after the director of the Veronica Mars pilot, Mark Piznarski!) Parker will be Mac's roommate and she is everything that Mac is not, bubbly and effervescent. At first they won't have anything in common, but Parker has a heart of gold and will probably win Mac over...

Interesting fact: after Stephen King's high praise of Veronica Mars, Rob did attempt to get Stephen on the show (just as he did with Kevin Smith), but received a very polite decline, saying he was already booked, but to keep him in mind for stuff in the future.

Charisma Carpenter will be back for "at least one episode." But Rob didn't want to give away more than that on that subject. He said the whole briefcase thing does not have to do with the first 9 episode mystery, and will be wrapped up in episode two.

Re: Teddy Dunn, he is not returning to the show this year. That decision was really made by fan response to Veronica's two possible love interests. One of the love interests seemed to get much more attention, and seemed to really win out...

Monday, July 17, 2006

Gilmore Girls: Longer, Meatier, Tastier

Apparently, Rudy has gotten her hands on this before I have. She's got the meaty deets, I just added more. This is the unabridged version of Ausiello's interview.

BRAVO: If this is the last year, Rosenthal will ask Palladino how she wanted this to end.
BRAVO: Marty is coming back.
BRAVO: Christopher will be pivotal and is coming back.

BOO: Colin and Finn are not going to be seen as often now that they have graduated. (Ehm, how did Finn graduate when he doesn't even know what classes he had?)
BOO: Logan will have a long distance relationship with Rory (this is a Bravo at my end but for the Amester, I think she would've wanted to see more Logan screen time).
BOO: Alexis Bledel doesn't want to commit to another season until she sees what this season brings (unlike Lauren Graham who's gung ho about seeing this to the bitter end).
BOO: Anna and April are back, while Jess remains bye-bye.

TAKE IT AWAY, MIKE AUSIELLO!!!




Finally: Gilmore's New Boss Speaks
Here's my interview with David Rosenthal, conducted immediately following today's Gilmore Girls press tour session. Luckily, he was much more forthcoming during our little Q&A than he was on the panel.

Ausiello: What can you tell me about the first six episodes?
David Rosenthal: Obviously, the repercussions from the end of last season [will play out]. That's something that is not going to just disappear. It's a major shift, a major change in everybody's lives. It affects not just Lorelai and Christopher and Luke, but Rory as well. There are a lot of consequences, and we fully intend to explore them – the positive and the negative. It's a big deal, not just for the fans, but for us, the writers and producers of the show.

Ausiello: Fans are holding out hope that maybe Lorelai and Christopher didn't sleep with each other.
Rosenthal: No, no, no. That's a pipe dream. Those were two grown-ups who woke up in bed together after spending the night together.

Ausiello: Is Matt Czuchry off the show?
Rosenthal: No. God, no. Rory's going to try to engage in a long-distance relationship. He's going to be in London; she's going to be in college. Obviously, it's a very challenging and difficult thing, and it's going to present obstacles for the two of them. But they're very much in love, so they're really going to work hard to make it work. He's very much on the show and very much a part of her life, but it's from thousands of miles away.

Ausiello: You hinted during the session that there will be other boys in her life.
Rosenthal: There will be people in her life, male and female. Perhaps the return of characters from past seasons.

Ausiello: Marty?
Rosenthal: Marty perhaps will be returning in her social circles, and perhaps some new friends who we have yet to meet. Again, not only did Logan graduate, but Colin and Finn graduated. A lot of the people she spent a lot of time with over the season have moved on, so she has to find a new life for herself at Yale.

Ausiello: I heard the first couple of episodes are dramatic.
Rosenthal: Certainly. It's a big thing we have to deal with, but there will be plenty of humor. We're not shifting gears here. We're not suddenly going to lose that spark and that humor that people know and love about Gilmore Girls. We work very hard to maintain that balance between the comedy and the drama. One of the things that I love so much about the show is the ability to shift back and forth between the comedy and the drama. And also to play so much comedy THROUGH the drama, and vice-versa. That's something that we work very hard to maintain.

Ausiello: Amy told me she believes Luke and Lorelai are soul mates. Do you agree?
Rosenthal: (Tentative) Yeah. That doesn't mean that we're going to see them behind a white picket fence a month from now. But they have a very, very deep bond. I certainly see it and feel it. But sometimes soul mates spend a lot of time not together. Just because someone's your soul mate and may be your ultimate destiny, does not mean that there's not a lot to go through before you reach that destiny.

Ausiello: Will April be back?
Rosenthal: Yes, absolutely. April is a part of his life. Luke is going to have some issues this year in terms of his deepening relationship with April and his relationship with Anna. There's a lot to get into there and we will spend a great deal of time exploring that as well.

Ausiello: Are you aware of all the anti-Gilmore sentiment out there?
Rosenthal: I'm aware of it. I do pay attention to it, but I try to keep my eye on the ball. I try to keep focused on the long term and the arcs for the season and where we want to take these characters – and keeping the show alive and growing so that that it can go more than just this season. So this won't have to be the last season of Gilmore Girls, 'cause I do feel like there's a lot more life left in the show, but I think it's up to us, the writers, to make that a reality.

Ausiello: I've never seen Luke and Lorelai fans more riled up. Do you look at that and go, "Maybe we need to do something about this. We don't want to lose these viewers."
Rosenthal: We don't want to lose the viewers, but I gotta say, in our [writers] room, half of the people don't understand at all, and the other half understand that she's been waiting around for a year for this guy and she feels like he's made a choice. That she's not longer the number one priority in his life. He has other priorities now, and at the end of last season she was really at her wits end. So I think a lot of people are sympathetic to that and understand that. Again, we're creating situations where the characters can learn things from choices they make and choices they don't make. We're just trying to keep the drama alive. If everything's settled and happy and nobody has any problems or issues, man, that's not going to make for a great TV show. But we respect and honor Luke and Lorelai's history, their relationship and whatever their future holds for them. It's a journey they're on together.

Ausiello: Do you see potential with Christopher and Lorelai as a couple?
Rosenthal: They certainly have to deal with what happened, and it is not a simple thing; it has far-reaching consequences. So, yeah… He's in the show a lot. He's going to be around a lot. I don't want to give away too much, but, yeah, he's a major part of her life this year. Absolutely.

Ausiello: At what point does everyone have to get together and decide if this is the last season?
Rosenthal: You know, that's above my pay grade. That's a network and studio decision. Look, the studio and the network I'm sure want it to come back. I know it's going to be one of the signature shows for the CW. We'll just keep doing our work and hopefully make shows that people respond to and like and we'll see what happens.

Ausiello: Did Amy offer you any advice before she left?
Rosenthal: She did. She wished me luck. I spent a terrific year last year working with Amy and Dan, and she was incredibly supportive, and she told me from the beginning that this was a distinct possibility that she would be moving on and I would be running the show. When she brought me in at the beginning of last year, that's one of the things she told me. She brought me in as an executive producer for that reason. So I feel very honored that I was her hand-picked successor. That was a great thrill for me. At the end of last season she wished me luck, and I'm thrilled to be doing it.



Live-Blogging the Gilmore Girls Session
3:40: Damn Wi-Fi!! It went down JUST as the session started. We're back up and running now.

3:43: Got the Luke/Lorelai question in. Dave didn't say anything specific about how he planned to repair the relationship, just that fans should "stay tuned."

3:50: Lauren Graham is clearly optimistic about GG post-Palladino.

3:53: Lauren left the door open to doing another season. Alexis didn't address it.

3:55: Yikes! A reporter just asked David about Heidi Klum and Lauren jumped to his defense. "It has nothing to do with anything. Next!"

3:59: David is being EXTREMELY tight-lipped about future plotlines.

4:00: Lauren concedes that things are more "open door" with David, but she doesn't want that to be seen as a diss on Amy and Dan.

4:01: If this is the final season of Gilmore Girls, David says he WILL ask Amy how she intended to end the show.

4:02: Alexis is going to see how this season goes before deciding on another year.

4:05: Bad news, Logan fans: David says Logan will be staying in London. Also, Christopher will be a bigger presence than ever before. (Don't shoot the messenger!)

4:07: No plans to being Milo back.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

"Are You Threatening Us?"

Credits go to Spoilerfix.



VERONICA MARS

Veronica Mars airs on UPN on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. The CW has renewed the series for a 3rd season of 22 episodes. However, if the show doesn't do well in the ratings, The CW can reduce the episode number to 13. The show will remain in its timeslot.

Episode 3.01: Welcome Wagon
Airdate: Fall 2006

07/14 - The episode will feature 24-year-old student Fagan, African-American 20-year-old Nancy who is a feminist, Honey a drop dead gorgeous woman in her 20s that could recur, and new recurring character Moe, a gangly and odd 19-year-old. Source: SpoilerFix.com
07/08 - Two new series regular will be added to the show. They will each appear in 7 out of the 13 episodes ordered. If the series gets more than 13 episodes, they may stick around. Both characters go to Hearst College. One is a 20-year-old female named Parker who is a charming party girl. The other, a love interest for Veronica, is a college freshman named Piz. They are both set to make their first appearance in the season premiere. Source: SpoilerFix.com [Note: According to a few sources, they decided to not make Piz be a potential interest after all.]

SUPERNATURAL



Episode 2.01: In My Time of Dying
Airdate: Fall 2006

07/13 - "John will definitely have survived the car crash, he's alive and well, and he'll soon have a face-to-face confrontation with the demon," [reveals series creator Eric Kripke.] Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide
07/04 - Tessa is a reaper trying to convince Dean to move on (die). To save Dean's life, John is forced to make a chilling agreement with the fire demon. Source: SpoilerFix BuddyTV Spoilers Chat
07/01 - A shaken John vows to help his oldest son at any cost. While Sam frets at his comatose brother's bedside, Dean's consciousness wanders the hospital with Tessa, a woman apparently in the same situation. But her frustration grows as he shakes off her subtle manipulations. Sam and John reach a truce, but the father knows more about his son's mysterious abilities than he lets on. Source: SpoilerFix.com


Episode 2.02: Everybody Loves a Clown
Airdate: Fall 2006

07/14 - Miles, a frequent assistant of Ellen and Alex, becomes a new ally for the Winchesters. Among his many talents is his technological genius and the ability to look into the future. Probably recurring. Source: SpoilerFix.com
07/13 - Ellen is shocked to hear John's whereabouts. Alex struggles to control her jealousy and resentment when the boys take over her first solo hunt, eventually establishing a gentle rivalry. Dean's adversity to "chick-flick moments" leads to a harsh lecture for Sam. Source: SpoilerFix.com
07/13 - "We will introduce a new set of 'hunters' this season — a mom and her daughter, who will be about the same age as the Winchester boys," [reveals series creator Eric Kripke.] Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide
07/08 - Dean and Sam meet Ellen, a tough roadhouse bar owner who shares a cryptic history with John. Ellen's daugher, Alex, is a fellow hunter who resents the boys. Alex is in her 20s and Ellen is in her mid-30s to early 40s. Both characters are possibly recurring this season. Source: SpoilerFix.com

GILMORE GIRLS



Episode 7.01: The Long Morrow
Airdate: Fall 2006

07/14 - Paris starts a small business to help student prep for the SATs. She meets a student named Kaitlin and her mother. After being brutally honest about what she thinks of Kaitlin, she agrees to help her study for the SATs. She then has the mother and the daughter take an aptitude test to know what potential Kaitlin has and what comes from genetics. At the diner, Luke is particularly irritated especially when a customer tries to leave without paying his bill. When Taylor's Thunderbird is stranded in front of the diner, Taylor wants it to stay there until the insurance company takes a look at it. Luke must decide if he wants it towed or not. Being depressed and unsure, Luke can't make a decision. Source: SpoilerFix.com

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Early Fall Spoilers Ahead


Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Prison Break and Supernatural is serving you a new dish courtesy of Kristin and Ausiello. Nothing really significant up on Spoilerfix. I'll let you guys know if anything's up and up at that site.

Oh, and here's a little something for all those wishing Troy Vandergraff would be a series regular in VM's season 3:

Question: Any preseason scoop on Smallville? — Carrie

Ausiello: Holy Kryptonite, yes! For those of you who didn't see the Super prattle I posted yesterday in the Ausiello Report, Jimmy Olsen will make his eagerly anticipated debut in the season premiere, and he's going to look a lot like Veronica Mars' ex, Troy Vandegraff (aka, actor Aaron Ashmore). Additionally, several of my Super moles now confirm that Jimmy is definitely being eyed as a love interest for Chloe. Now, here's the other big news I teased about in AR: Sources say that a pivotal comic-book character will show up this season — and it's got "fanboy orgasm" written all over it. Can't say more, but expect an announcement very soon (like, perhaps, in next week's issue of TV Guide magazine).

-- If he can pull an Olsen as good as Cyclops pulled a Richard in Superman Returns, I might not have to get all pissy that I've lost my Troy boy. --

From forevermars: Do you have any scoop on season three of Veronica Mars?
Yes! Sources tell me that producers are looking to bring in two new series regulars as we speak. Both are college kids, a party girl named Parker and (Logan-lovers, hold your breath) a hot freshman boy named Piz who's a romantic interest for Veronica. But don't freak, because that doesn't necessarily mean we've seen the last of LoVe.

I actually ran into Kristen Bell at an event last week and asked her what she thinks the future holds and this is what she had to say: "I think Veronica and Logan will always be an on-again, off-again thing. That's my gut instinct, and I feel like it works so well with the show, because Jason is such an amazing actor. Who knows if they'll ever give the audience closure, at the end of five or 10 years or whatever, but I think they'll always be on-again, off-again. They're star-crossed, ya know?" As long as they're tonsil-crossed, I'm happy.


From pwitter: In the names of all things Creek-related (Rob was a writer on Dawson's Creek, ya know), anything on VM?
Check you out, fancy-pants! Kristin asked Kristen if she thinks college Veronica will be different from high school Veronica, and she said: "I hope she becomes more open, although I don't know if that's contradictory to why we love her so much, because she's sort of closed off and confident in that sort of way that's really charming. But I hope she opens up a little bit more because she's been through so much in the first two years that hopefully they'll allow her to have a little break and focus on the plotline for the show, as opposed to, like, her inner workings. I feel like the first year was definitely about her inner workings and her life turmoil, and in the second year, she kind of had closure to Lily's death. So, I hope she can have a more normal life and she opens up just a little bit more this season."


From aliciajo: WTF kind of name is Piz?
Hopefully, one who's last name isn't Off.

Question: Do you know anything about the rumors of a new love interest for Veronica named Piz in Season 3? — Daniel

Ausiello: It's true. Piz is one of two new recurring roles the show is casting; the other is a female peer of Veronica's at Hearst. My colleague Ileane Rudolph asked Kristen Bell about the new-love-interest rumors on Monday, and this was her response: "I don't know how she couldn't [have a new love interest]. But they haven't told me anything about the new season yet."

Question: I need Gilmore Girls spoilers — and fast. — June

Ausiello: My Stars Hollow mole tells me the first six episodes are going to be very, very, very dramatic for Luke and Lorelai. Hopefully I'll get more details from new GG boss Dave Rosenthal when I see him Monday at press tour. BTW, I've gotten confirmation that Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel will be joining Dave R. at CW's Gilmore Girls session. Originally it was just going to be Lauren and Dave. I have a feeling that one's going to be standing room only.

Question: What can you tell us about Sara on Prison Break? Is she still alive? — Clara

Ausiello: Yes, but you did not hear it from me.

Question: Any spoilers for the new season of Supernatural? Specifically, will Jeffrey Dean Morgan (John) survive the car crash? — Angie

Ausiello: Here's the straight scoop from series creator Eric Kripke himself (warning: you're just inches away from a major spoiler about last May's cliff-hanger; proceed at your own peril): "We will introduce a new set of 'hunters' this season — a mom and her daughter, who will be about the same age as the Winchester boys. John will definitely have survived the car crash, he’s alive and well, and he’ll soon have a face-to-face confrontation with the demon."

Oh, before I end, another reason why 7th Heaven needs to be booted off the air:
Question: Are David Gallagher (Simon) and Mackenzie Rosman (Ruthie) really leaving 7th Heaven? What's the latest?!? — Anthony

Ausiello: The latest is that Brenda Hampton is still trying to get them to change their minds. But as of now, they're done.

Friday, July 07, 2006

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part II

Sunday that night, something happened. It happened so fast, I didn't really know how to react. I was surprised, scared, confused, grateful and emotional. Apparently, the boredom I suffered all day was supposed to be made up in one night.

I remember telling my brother to wait for a couple of moments as I called my mom. She won't get my dad up for my call. To this day, I still don't know WHY she thought my news wasn't worth waking my dad up. It was almost akin to, "Uhm, I am having a heart attack." "That's nice dear. Now be a good girl and wait for it to happen in the morning."

So at this point, I lay in bed, contemplative. Things are going to change.

The following day, we were supposed to head out to Vancouver. But since my brother asked us so nicely to take care of his car so that we could use it later in the week, we obliged. Two hours later, my cousin drove us to Bellvue to meet none other than Ickle buddy Amy.

Nilly and I hatched this plan that we were going to have her paged, have Nilly direct her to a certain section of the magazine section and give her heck for it.

Sadly, the BN store we went to was the main one. I had to call her and ruin my surprise since I wasn't going to start going to all of the BN stores in Bellvue. Her store was about another 80 blocks or so (trust me, it felt like it) down the street. So, when we got there, I saw their store manager, ask him where Amy was (who was conveniently tucked at the cashier counter) so I could meet up with her. She waved to me as she passed by since there was a little "problem" when we walked in.

So I waited... And waited... And waited.

Finally, crisis averted, I was able to talk to Ames. (This just post staring at Amy's CB. Little cutie she has tucked in the back room.)

I gave her the Dixie Chicks CD (like it was such an incognito act), and told her the news.

It's so cute trying to see someone hold back a squeal. Definitely, if it weren't a work environment, I think we would've broke everyone's eardrum at this point.

We talked, we hung out. Until Amy had to get magazines and do some work.

So Nilly and I looked around the store. I picked out a book for me to read on the flight back. Then I asked Nilly to purchase the book for me. Of course, this time, Amy was back behind the counter. Of course Nilly had to give her a hard time.

I have to give Amy this, she can roll with the likes of Nilly. She gets mega points for that.

Then we decided we were all going to have dinner tonight.

OH MY GOD...

I didn't know it was going to be an act of Congress just to get moving.

First and foremost, the drive between Bellvue and Lynnwood is a good 30-50 minutes depending on traffic and the number of people in your car. So when I told Amy we'd shoot for 6 pm at a restaurant close to her work area, I thought we were pretty set.

WRONG.

At 6 pm, all my relatives were still scrambling to get shoes on, fighting on who was going to drive what.

Then the WHERE changed. So I got on the phone, apologized to Amy that there was a change of venue.

Only to find out when we got to the place that the venue we were supposed to rendezvous at had been closed.

So we headed to another sushi joint.

It was supposed to be great. It was supposed to be cool.

It wasn't supposed to be super crowded at a Monday night.

Seeing that seating 18 people would've been a problem, venue changed ONE MORE TIME. Other than the fact that I was mortified that I had to embarrassingly call Amy for the thousandth time to tell her that we're going to a place none of us ever tried (finally got to tell Andrew that when I pretty much threw myself over the hood of their car so that the won't get into the parking lot), we ended up in this chi-chi sushi spot.

Amy and Andrew got to meet at least a part of my nutzoid family. I was happy I was able to sit next to Amy during the meal discussing anything and everything as we pretended to read Katakane menus. Honestly, I just looked at the photos, pointed out the sushi I recognized and wanted to eat and then moved on.

The dinner was long (which meant we got to talking a lot more). After the meal, I finally announced to the table our big surprise. As I told Amy, I didn't want anyone to stop me from eating sushi at this point.

Later that evening, we went to the less inhabited part of Alki Point (as Andrew pointed out, we weren't really at the Point which was partially the reason why we were there. So that we won't get annoyed by the teenagers dotting the Point itself). We took pictures and talked a little more before Amy and Andrew had to bid us adieu.

Of course I had to ask Amy to join us in viewing Superman Returns.

That Monday was probably one of the most memorable Mondays I might have forever engraved in my head.

Tuesday, we went to Vancouver. As much as I've heard everyone hype up the Canadian city, Nilly and I found it disappointing.

Maybe it was because we really didn't have an agenda.

Maybe it was because we really don't shop or club hop (you sort of give that up when you're in Podunk Town).

Maybe it was because we were surprised that a large section of the city closed at 7pm and there was nothing left to do but patronize smoking and drinking establishments.

Sadly, by 10, we decided to head back.

On our way home, it seemed like the only interesting thing that really happened to us was the boarder patrol guy holding us up for 10 minutes to give us an update on the rain drenched North Eastern part of the country.

How sad can that be?

Wednesday and Thursday, we finally slowed down a bit. I got to visit my other cousin and her family. Got to run downtown for some Cow Chip cookies and visit the Pike for some comic books, posters and buttons. We went to this leftist second hand bookstore around the same area.

Got to see Amy for one last time when we met up to watch Superman Returns. I think by that point, Ames was too overwhelmed to meet my brother, Chicken Scratch, and my other cousin and his girlfriend. (Ask Ames, she'll tell you that I have a TON of relatives... and she has only seen the "regular gang"!)

I won't spoil this for you all but ask Amy about the "joke" Nilly had about watching Spiderman III. You'd get a kick out of it.

Friday, we visited the Seahawk store for some Seahawk jerseys before flying back home.

Home again, home again... At 2:23 AM.

At this point, I was jonesing for some pizza.

At this point, I should've been thinking about sleep.

At this point, I didn't want to go to work at 3 pm.

But then I realized that the time spent in Seattle was enough for me to see things in a different light.

I guess my batteries are recharged once more for another crazy stretch of work in the land of pee, blood and poop.

And that's how I spent my summer vacation.

Pictures to follow when I download them from the camera.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Pausing For a Station Identification (or News Break)

As AA posted today:

Question: Please help us put an end to our agony: There have been rumors, but do you know for sure if Milo Ventimiglia and Alexis Bledel have broken up? — Marianna

Ausiello: This is your lucky day, Marianna. Last Friday, Milo himself dropped by the TV Guide offices for a quick meet-and-greet with the staff, and guess what question popped out of my mouth first? C'mon, guess. [Pause] Yes — your question! And sadly, it's true. He confirmed that he and Alexis are no longer an item and he's back on the market. The extremely private actor then added with a laugh, "And that's about all you'll get out of me." Well, that's all the private stuff, anyway. Milo did dish about a possible return to Gilmore Girls, saying it's "never going to happen" — especially now that Team Palladino have hit the road. "I felt [Jess' story] was done a long time ago, but Dan and Amy kept saying, 'We got some cool things, and we're really hoping you'll be a part of it.' So I went back and I kind of enjoyed what Jess turned into. He turned into a grown-up. Watching that last episode, I was like, 'It's done.'" Milo said a bunch of other stuff about GG and his roles in Rocky 6 and Heroes, which, if you're interested, I can post in the Ausiello Report later this week, or whenever I feel like it. Just let me know.

Here's his interview with MV posted on the Ausiello blogs where it's a little tricky to get to with their advertisement not closing and all:

Milo Ventimiglia Q&A

By popular demand (152 e-mails and counting), here's the complete transcript of my interview with Milo Ventimiglia, conducted last Friday during a preplanned meet-and-greet at TV Guide's Gotham headquarters. Juicy, scoopy bits abound — particularly the stuff about Lauren Graham's Gilmore Girls contract that you just know I'll be asking her about tomorrow if, er, when she lands her first Emmy nomination!

Ausiello: Inquiring minds (read: TVGuide.com readers) must know: Are you single?
Milo: Yeah.

Ausiello: How's single life treating you?
Milo: [Chuckles] That's about all you'll get out of me.

Ausiello: Any chance of you going back to Gilmore Girls?
Milo: Never gonna happen.

Ausiello: Because the Palladinos are gone?
Milo: Yup.

Ausiello: But what if the new show-runner, Dave Rosenthal, asks you? He might be a fan of yours.
Milo: I appreciate that, but I'm pretty busy this year.

Ausiello: So you feel that Jess' story is done?
Milo: I felt that it was done a long time ago, but Dan and Amy kept saying, "We got some cool things, and we're really hoping you'll be a part of it." So I went back and I kind of enjoyed what Jess turned into. He turned into a grown-up. Watching [my] last episode, I was like, "It's done."

Ausiello: Were you surprised that Amy and Dan left?
Milo: No. I think they thought that [Warner Bros.] was willing to take care of them like they take care of John Wells and Aaron Sorkin. Those guys have major empires. [Amy and Dan] had always been developing with the studio and trying to find some things to do, so the fact that they stepped away doesn't surprise me. Amy said she knows what happens in the last scene of the final episode, so who knows how that's going to turn out. But I'm not going to be part of it. It was always nice that they kept wanting me to come back. And I always had a good experience working with them. And, I have to admit, they gave me my first public push. All the work that I did [before Gilmore Girls] was very much under the radar, and still pretty much under the radar.

Ausiello: Do you think next season will be the last?
Milo: I know Alexis' contract is up, and she really wants to leave.

Ausiello: Lauren's contract will be up as well.
Milo: No, it's not. I think she bartered for more money one year to secure another [season].

Ausiello: Are you sure? I just talked to her, and she made it pretty clear that she was only contracted for one more season.
Milo: Eh, you probably know more than me.

Ausiello: How was Rocky VI?
Milo: Rocky VI was fun.

Ausiello: Did you do any boxing?
Milo: No. None. I'm his son. I'm a Philadelphia businessman with, like, suits off the rack. Rocky's on his own; Adrian's passed away. My character's off working in corporate Philadelphia. Paulie, in the original script, had a girlfriend, and was still working at the meatpacking place, so Rocky was just on his own. He didn't have anybody around. He starts thinking about boxing again, and ESPN does this thing where they match up old fighters and new fighters in a computer to see who would win per stat. And they match up Rocky versus the current champion, and in the computer, Rocky wins. So there's all this speculation about what would happen if they fought. Here's a guy in his mid- to late fifties, and the other guy is in his prime. It's obvious that the current champion would win, not Rocky. It actually comes to a head when they set up an exhibition match to see who would win it. We shot many different endings.

Ausiello: What kind of shape is Sylvester Stallone in?
Milo: The best. He was in great shape. He was at fighting weight. I couldn't get over his stamina, and I'm not even talking about boxing so much. He wrote the film, produced it, directed it and acted in it. The responsibility of all those things, as well as being in peak physical shape and having a pretty good temperament... I found him to be patient, incredibly intelligent. He really wanted the cast and crew to understand what he was going for. I never had a hard time understanding what he was looking for. And he was really respectful to the people who were working hard, who put the time in, did their homework and came prepared. I hope he gets some recognition for being an artist, because he really is. Of course he's done a lot of big action movies — Tango and Cash, whatever — but when I first read the script, take away 30 years of Rocky history and it was a beautiful, beautiful script that he wrote.

Ausiello: When does it open?
Milo: December 22. I think they're going to start running trailers for it with Pirates of the Caribbean.

Ausiello: Did you ever think about waiting to see how the movie does before committing to a TV show like Heroes? This could launch a movie career for you.
Milo: You know what? Doing both is fine. TV is steady work. I never expect a job to give me that huge break. I just go in and do the best work I can.

Ausiello: Speaking of Heroes, your character believes he can fly. Will you be wearing tights?
Milo: (Laughs) No, but they made sure my jacket was [big enough] in the pilot so when I fall it opens wide [like a cape]. There's an element of the superhero, so there is going to be action and suspense and what not. But at the base of it, [series creator] Tim Kring really wanted to have these everyday people dealing with the fear and exhilaration of having certain powers, like flying or walking through walls or bending space and time. That's what the story is. It's these people going through regular human emotions of, 'F--k, I can't believe I'm about to jump off this building, but I really, really bet I can.' A lot of the stuff I've done has been very cerebral, very wordy, but the characters that I've played are very different than what I'm playing here. This guy has a really big heart. He looks after other people before he looks after himself. But at the same time, Tim didn't want him to be a pushover or a wuss. He didn't want him to not be able to stand up for himself and for others around him.

Ausiello: Have you seen Superman Returns?
Milo: Not yet. I'm excited to see it. I saw the last X-Men movie, and I got really excited about seeing a Bryan Singer film. I was a big fan of the first two X-Men movies.

Ausiello: The third one sucked.
Milo: I wouldn't say sucked, it just wasn't the first two.

Ausiello: You're probably going to be asked this at press tour, so you can rehearse your response now: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Milo: I would want the power of persuasion. Think about it: You could walk into a foreign country and start a war — if you're so evil. If you're peaceful, you could walk into a foreign country and end a war just by talking to someone. It's kind of like Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi-type thing.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part I


Hey everyone!

Miss me? I hope so. I know I have been incognito recently but I needed a break from everything. I haven't done squat in ages and I thought a breather would get me back into the groove.

But before I start writing a compulsary summary of what I've been up to, I just wanted to add to the list of the break-up couples in Tinseltown. The recent couple added to the list: Jessica Biel and Chris Evans.

Now cry.

Apparently, this year is the summer of break-ups. Now if I could just scoop the eventual doom of HB and FrankenKatie, I would be ever so grateful.

Now for the real goods...

Last week, the Nillster and I finally got to leave Podunk Town for the brighter lights and bigger city. That place? The Emerald City: Seattle.

We love Seattle. I can be biased but I love the Evergreen City. Seattle has everything: temperate climate, a beautiful, relatively clean city, a booming downtown, tons of character, the ferry, Mount Raineer and Baker and Helen, clean water and tons more interesting stuff Podunk would not be able to offer unless it stops pretending to be cute and "charming" to say the least to all visitors who have never seen the Amish population and the buggies they drive.

Anyway, arriving at midnight, my lovely brother picked us up from Sea-Tac. Forty minutes later, he dropped us off at our aunt's place in Lynwood. The one thing I had to warn the Nilly about (constantly) is the uncanny ability of my race to consume copious amounts of food and alcohol. I don't know what it is it about the combination but to me, this habit has been ingrained in me. To outsiders, we just look like a bunch of partygoers (and sometimes, we are. We'd make a fiesta out of any event just to get loaded with food and spirits).

So yeah, we were greeted with food. Good food. The Nilly was immediately offered a drink. I turned the drink down for water (which I direly needed). Had some food despite my tired state. Our body clocks were trying to tell us that we're way past our bedtimes (3 AM). However, my cousin was just too tickled pink to see us (I haven't seen Chris since '97. Since then, he's gotten his degree in Law. He just passed the bar and now is a fully fledged lawyer). After moments of introduction, Nilly was engaged in anecdotes and arguments almost immediately. It was actually quite stimulating. Conversation went on until the wee hours of the morning. Finally, I conked out at 6 AM EST.

Unfortunately, my body clock decided to wake up my usual 9 AM EST.

It sucked.

But then, I never complained at what I got that morning. A wake-up call and conversation with my grandma. See, she's 87 years old and still very active. She cooks a mean breakfast and can converse real well, not much in English, mind you, but enough to entertain you.

Later that day (when my cousins got up), we headed to Snoqualmie Falls, the place made famous by the defunct TV Show Twin Peaks. So Nilly, my cousins and I decided to go to the base of the falls and catch some of the water spray.

Loved it.

Until Nilly decided to rock hop. In a quick moment, he lost his footing and fell in the water; rapid, cold water. I was more terrified than anything else. He survived the waist-deep ravaging water and was able to get on the boulder he wanted to sit on. There, my baby, was wet. I was feeling cold for him.

Funny, the only thing he was upset about was that his Diesel watch got ruined.

After almost an hour, we finally trekked back up to the top of the steep hill. God, that sucked. However, it was good exercise for the food we had to consume once we got back.

Now, the troop of guests increased, two of my other cousins emerged with their significant others. Nikki's boyfriend also showed up. That night we were supposed to go bar hopping but we ended up going to the worst bowling alley I've ever been to in a long time. There were divots on the balls, craters on the lanes and overly waxed floors that a strike was nigh to impossible. Trust me, I am not the best bowler ever (think Rory in 'Show and Tell'. That's how bad I am) and I felt sorry for everyone else in the group that could actually bowl.

That night (or should I say, morning) was almost a repeat of the day before. We slept at about 3 AM. Got back up at about 9 AM PST. Sunday, we were at my cousin Mark's place for a barbecue.

Nilly played several games of basketball. I lay on the grass pretending I was on the beach. It was the first time Seattle had gotten temperatures in the near 90s. Without a cloud in the sky, I baked. Not once did it cross my mind that the NE part of our world was getting soaked in torrential downpour causing floods and disastrous road conditions.

To be continued...