2008 Paley Festival

• CBS learned a big lesson this week: Britney equals ratings gold. I learned you should never mess with the fanboys of Fanboys.
• The Oliver Stone Bush biopic cast is quickly filling out. I wonder who's going to play Dick Cheney? Which reminds me, all that horse-loving talk aside, I'm starting to think Kristy Lee Cook is an evil genius.
• This is one of those weeks where TV news makes a lot of sense and then none at all. I can understand why there is interest in shows about escorts after the Spitzer scandal. But a show that's just people falling? Really?
• More good stuff came out of the Paley Festival in Los Angeles this week, including the goods on Gossip Girl, Damages and Dirty Sexy Money.
• Well it's the end of the road for the March book club, thanks to everyone for reading along! I'm really excited about April's book, The Life Before Her Eyes. I hope you can hunt down a copy for yourself this weekend and join in. And don't worry, I can confidently state the new editions of these books will never be selected.
• Axl Rose, if you're listening, please finish up that that album so America can toast you with Dr. Pepper!
• Can you guess which rock songs these lyrics belong to? Also, can you guess what TV show I'm recasting based on these lyrics? "What would we do, baby, without us? Sha-la-la-laaaa. . ."

Photo courtesy of CBS

The Paley Festival has officially wrapped up its two-week stand in Los Angeles, closing out its run with panels featuring the creators of The X-Files and the cast and creative team behind Mad Men. While I'm sorry I couldn't be there for myself, at least there are video highlights to share!

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't attend Wednesday night's X-Files panel, but that doesn't mean there wasn't scoop to be had about the upcoming movie. A new trailer premiered during the panel, but it's since been pulled down from YouTube (come on, Fox, please?). E! has interviews with producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. The Futon Critic has a liveblog of the event, and The Hollywood Reporter has its own account. A couple of tidbits:

• The movie doesn't have a title yet — or rather, Carter knows what he wants to call it, but whether that becomes the official title is still in Fox's hands.
• The producers just kind of figured out the show's mythology as they went along. The movie, meanwhile, will be more "monster of the week," less aliens.
• The issue of whether Scully's baby is normal "will not go unconsidered" in the movie.

For a video clip and some of the highlights from Mad Men, just read more

I may be back in sunny San Francisco, but the Paley Festival is still going strong in LA. This week kicked off with panels for Damages and Dirty Sexy Money, with more to come from The X Files and Mad Men.

I was worried that neither the Damages nor the Dirty Sexy Money events would be very well-attended, because last week I got an e-mail from the Paley folks offering up free tickets to either panel. Sure enough, The Futon Critic reported that the crowd for Damages was "surprisingly thin." Who turns down a chance to chat with Glenn Close?

Still, it sounds like the Damages panel was well-received by those who were there — including TeamSugar's own Phasekitty, who wrote up a great rundown of the night's discussions and revelations. Among them:

• Damages is the first legal show ever to air on FX, because the network had never before found one that fit its brand. That said, the creators said this is more a drama about the "social dynamic of power in the workplace" than a legal show; in 13 episodes from the first season, only part of one scene took place in the courtroom.
• FX initially suggested Close for the lead role because of their good experience with The Shield. That got Ted Danson to pay attention, and he was looking for a different sort of project anyway. As you'll hear him say in the video clip below, he didn't want to do another half-hour comedy because he'd even ceased to amuse himself.
• David's stalker, Lila, was always intended to be a red herring, never the actual killer.
• The show has been renewed for two more seasons, and while the creators said they want to make it easy for new viewers to jump in, they also like the mystery format. The base of the show will always be the relationship between Patty and Ellen.

For some of the highlights from the Dirty Sexy Money panel and videos from both events, just read more

Earlier today, I shared with you a few of the highlights from the Gossip Girl panel at PaleyFest. Well, that's not all the cast and creators had to say. Read on for some more funny bits and stories from how this group of ridiculously attractive people came together for the show:

• With apologies to FabSugar, my fashion awards for the panel: Snazziest Blazer Award to Ed Westwick, Tallest Heels Award to Taylor Momsen, Best Emo Hair award to Chace Crawford, and Best "Oh, I Just Threw This On" Award to the casual-chic Lively.
• Speaking of styling, Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack, who moderated the panel, really could not stop complimenting Lively's hair, at one point calling it "the best head of hair in Hollywood." I know Molly would agree.
• Speaking of Lively, executive producer Josh Schwartz said that when they started casting the series, they found a lot of fan sites for the books that mentioned her as a choice for Serena if the series were ever made into a movie or show, which convinced them to go meet her.
• Penn Badgley, meanwhile, had done three other WB series before Gossip Girl and wasn't keen on doing another, but he'd worked with executive producer Stephanie Savage on The Mountain (which got scattered cheers from the crowd; Savage attributed the clapping to her mom and sister) and decided to give it a shot.
• On what should happen with Rufus and Lily: "It's 2008," said Matthew Settle. "I think they should have a double date with the kids!" He then let loose with an extended ode to Rutherford: "I look at you and I feel warm . . . my wife can't see this, right?"

Lots more — including what Gossip Girl series author Cecily von Ziegesar first thought when she heard the folks from The OC were adapting her work — plus some video from the panel if you read more

Hey, Upper East Siders. BuzzSugar here, with all the dish from Saturday night's Gossip Girl panel at the Paley Festival in Los Angeles. The sold-out crowd got some hints about what's coming up when the show returns with five new episodes starting April 21 and some of the scoop straight from the set — including the truth about Blake Lively's Guitar Hero skills, the plot lines that Gossip Girl series creator Cecily von Ziegesar would like to see included in the show, and how the fictional Gossip Girl blogger got her voice.

The evening started with a clip of the "Angela + Jordan = total sex in his car!" scene from My So-Called Life, which was greeted with appreciative cheers from the crowd — which was split pretty evenly between the MSCL demographic and the current teenage set. If not for the strike, we would have then gotten to see a new episode of Gossip Girl, but because none had been completed, we got a package of highlights from the season instead — including a mini gag reel of screw-ups from the set. (You know how every show seems to have that one cast member who can't help but drop an f-bomb every time he flubs a line? That's Penn Badgley.) The whole cast slipped into the auditorium to watch after the lights went down, so there was a lot of whispering and clapping going on in a row just to my left.

After clips, the cast and creative team took the stage. All of the main cast attended, along with creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, author von Ziegesar, and two of the show's other producers; the only obvious missing stars were Connor Paolo (Eric van der Woodsen) and Nicole Fiscella and Nan Zhang, who play Blair's dress-alike sidekicks Isabel and Kati. (Zhang apparently headed back to college during the strike, a fact Josh Schwartz said he only learned when they got back on set). Lively seemed to get the most applause, but there were plenty of squeals for Ed Westwick and Badgley, too.

Of course, the juiciest part of the evening was getting hints about what we'll see come April, so for the scoop (and update: here's part two!), just read more

Earlier today, I told you about some of the greatest moments from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion at the Paley Festival in Los Angeles. There were so many good moments (and a few awkward ones) that they couldn't fit in one post, so here are a few more of the highlights:

• Please, everyone, do me a favor. If ever you get a chance to ask a question at a panel like this, don't make it "Could you all tell me your favorite movies and what's on your iPod?" That's how the Q&A started, and it definitely sucked some energy out of the room. The panel played along gamely (Sarah Michelle Gellar's favorite: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut), but at some point, moderator Matt Roush interrupted to ask if we could please have a question that was actually about Buffy.
• One of the most awkward moments came when a fan asked Amber Benson to explain why she'd decided to leave the show. She initially tried getting out of it with a joke ("I was having sex with Marlon Brando . . . "), then fumbled around and blamed it on scheduling and availability, and finally turned it around to say that the important thing was the Tara and Willow relationship.
• Speaking of which, the only time Joss Whedon ever threatened to quit was when his bosses asked him if he could maybe not show the Tara/Willow kiss.
• Also, Whedon apparently liked to take people for walks and tell them they were fired, and then say "ha, just kidding!"

Some more — including the chances of a Buffy movie or Broadway show — plus a video clip from the panel if you read more

Buffy, Tara, Spike, and Xander, together again! A large part of the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer took the stage Thursday night at the PaleyFest in Los Angeles, revealing some secrets from their eight years of working on the series and taking questions from appreciative fans who often credited Buffy with shaping their whole lives.

And when I say appreciative, there really should be a capital A. This crowd of more than 800 cheered at everything — from the opening clip of one of Sarah Michelle Gellar's 1994 scenes on All My Children to the introduction of the panel's moderator. (In terms of cast members, James Marsters seemed to get the most applause, but show creator Joss Whedon was the only person to get a standing ovation.)

In attendance: Whedon, writer/producers Marti Noxon and David Greenwalt, and cast members Gellar, Marsters, Amber Benson (Tara), Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), Seth Green (Oz), and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn). Both Eliza Dushku and Alyson Hannigan were listed in the program, but neither showed — bummer. But the others kept the conversation lively — especially Green, who had a one-liner for everything, for better or worse.

The night really got going with a screening of the musical episode "Once More with Feeling" (not a sing-along, sadly). The episode proved to be a perfect starting point for talking about what's made Buffy so enduring, so for the scoop (update: here's part two of my report), just read more

I'm so excited to get down to the Paley Festival tonight, where the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be reuniting! While the Buffy panel was one of the hottest tickets in town, there's been lots of other great TV action all week, including panels with the stars of Chuck and Friday Night Lights.

The coolest revelation from the Chuck panel was that Chuck was originally supposed to have a girlfriend when the season started; then his relationship with Sarah would have been more like a love triangle right from the get-go. But the writers ultimately realized that having Chuck juggle two girls and be a spy might be a bit much, so Kayla was cut. You can watch a video clip of Josh Schwartz talking about saying farewell to the character after the jump. The Chuck writers are back at work now, and the show will start filming again in May. Yay!

Meanwhile, news about whether FNL will be renewed should be coming in a couple of weeks, but it certainly sounds like the cast and writers were feeling hopeful at Paley. And if (or when) the show comes back, the writers have a few things on their minds: making football a bigger part of the story again and possibly introducing new characters so the supposed seniors don't stay in high school forever. And if the show returns, we'll get to see Smash's transition to college football, which was a particularly moving storyline this season.

To watch that Chuck clip, as well as some video from the FNL panel, just read more

The 2008 Paley Festival, a big ol' convention for TV stars, writers, and fans, kicked off over the weekend in Los Angeles. This year's 25th annual festival includes panels for several Buzz-approved shows —Pushing Daisies, Chuck, and Friday Night Lights, among many others — and I'm pleased to report that I'll be heading down to LA for two of them: Thursday night's Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion and Saturday's gab-fest with the cast of Gossip Girl.

If you've got questions for those folks, feel free to leave them in the comments — or, better yet, pass them on yourselves! The festival organizers are taking questions from fans for the upcoming events. Awesomely, they're also posting video highlights and, eventually, photos from each panel — and the Gossip Girl panel will be streamed live in full on Saturday.

The festival really got started over the weekend with the Pushing Daisies panel; check out reports from TV Guide and fan site ThePiemaker for what went down. And to watch a video with Chi McBride demonstrating his very Emerson Cod-esque wit, just read more

From the results of the latest recast, it's clear we've got some Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans around here. So here's some news just for you: The cast of the show will be reuniting in March for the Paley Festival in Los Angeles. The festival features panel discussions with the cast, writers, and producers of various television shows, and the Buffy reunion is set to be one of the highlights of this year's event.

There's no word yet on which specific cast members will be attending; I'll keep an eye out for that when the full Paley schedule comes out Feb. 4. But for the moment, let's speculate: Which cast members would need to show up for you to feel the Buffy reunion was complete?

This year's Paley Festival, which will be held from March 14 to 27, sounds fantastic all around. Here are some of the other events already lined up:

• Panel discussions for Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, and Dancing with the Stars.
• An evening with Judd Apatow.
• A tribute to Elvis' 1968 comeback special with Priscilla Presley.

I love that so many of my favorite shows will be represented this year. Live in LA or think Buffy's a good reason to go? Check out this site for more information.