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First Look: Gossip Girl Goes '80s in These "Valley Girls" Photos

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:00:09 -0700

The '80s are coming! The '80s are coming! You have to get a load of these photos from the upcoming Gossip Girl episode that could launch next Fall's spinoff starring Brittany Snow as young Lily Rhodes.

We've seen the poster, but these are actual scenes from the May 11 episode. Executive producer Josh Schwartz explains how this episode, titled "Valley Girls," will introduce the new characters (including Andrew McCarthy as Lily's father and Krysten Ritter as Carol, Lily's older sister): "It'll be flashbacks that will sort of illustrate a crisis. It will resonate thematically with something that will be happening inside that episode."

I'm so intrigued! For now we'll have to settle for some radical visuals with the new show's stars decked out in '80s fabulousness - plus No Doubt performing as fictional band Snowed Out.

For even more shots of this valley world, just read more.

View 23 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of The CW

2009 Tribeca Film Festival Spotlight: The Good Guy

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:46 -0700

I've been perusing the long list of interesting-looking movies scheduled for this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which starts this week. Some of them, like The Good Guy, are just starting to pick up buzz, and I'm anxious to find out what festivalgoers think once they've screened.

Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel finds herself in a love triangle of sorts in a film by director Julio DePietro. The movie centers on a young Wall Street hotshot named Tommy Fielding (Scott Porter). The movie's description is intriguing:

[Tommy's] a rising star at his financial firm, and his budding romance with Beth (Alexis Bledel) could be the one. Then Tommy decides to take the new guy, Daniel (Bryan Greenberg), under his wing. Daniel - a quiet, stay-at-home, Banana Republic-wearing sort of guy - isn't exactly what you would call "Wall Street material," but Tommy sets out to teach him the ways of money and seduction. But as they each continue along their upward trajectories, their high-flying business lives complicate their personal lives, and money can't always fix everything.

Sounds timely and thought-provoking. Oh, Andrew McCarthy and Anna Chlumsky (My Girl!) appear in this as well. The movie will premiere at Tribeca on April 26 and I can't wait to hear what people have to say about it.

No trailer yet, but you can check out some photos from the movie if you read more.

View 6 Photos ›

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Buzz News Roundup, 3/6

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:30:26 -0800

Andrew McCarthy will play Lily's father in the Gossip Girl spinoff pilot. - The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Jackson is set to perform 20 to 25 shows at London's O2 Arena. - Billboard
Paramount Vantage and Comedy Central have jointly acquired the rights to Ghosts/Aliens, Trey Hamburger's supernatural comedy novel, and will develop as both a series and feature. - The Hollywood Reporter
Steve Carell will star in and produce the comedy Hi-T, about a man dealing with uncontrollable mood swings after an injury forces him to take testosterone injections. - ComingSoon
Universal is finalizing a deal for The Adjustment Bureau, a "contemporary love story with sci-fi overtones" that may feature Matt Damon in the lead role. - Variety
U2 is on track to score its seventh no. 1 album next week on the Billboard 200 chart with No Line On the Horizon. - Billboard
Bravo has renewed Shear Genius and picked up a series about fashion photographers. - TV Week
20th Century Fox has signed director Tom Dey to develop a big screen adaptation of the Marmaduke comic strip. - ComingSoon
Jackie Earle Haley has been tapped to star alongside Chi McBride in Fox's drama pilot Human Target, based on the DC Comics title. - The Hollywood Reporter

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Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode Six, "The Lyin', The B*tch, and The Wardrobe"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:30:37 -0800

The latest episode of Lipstick Jungle (and first on Fridays, so here it is if you missed it) brings our friends together for the big opening of Victory's store - which, naturally, threatens to become a disaster. Meanwhile, Wendy starts figuring out her post-Parador plans and Nico gets babies on the brain. To talk about it, just read more.

Well, I think it's pretty clear who "the b*tch" of the episode title is. I never warmed up to Dahlia, and I won't miss her, but her deviousness is impressive. Loved her myriad attempts to ruin Victory's show: having only part of the set delivered, blackmailing the models, sending over press kits for Victory Fork.
On that note: I know I once said I'd recast Lindsay Price if I could, but I'm enjoying her work as Victory this season. It helps that the writing of her stories has improved, but I'm also getting into her ditzy-but-ruthless-when-it-counts style. I'm sorry, Lindsay.
So much good Victory and Joe stuff in this episode! Joe decides to help Victory by pitching a story about himself to Nico; Nico suggests maybe he try just dealing with Victory like a normal person; he heads to a ring store to buy a massive rock.
Too bad Victory has another knight in shining toolbelt: Rodrigo builds her a new set, and when he gets Victory's special thanks at the end of the show, Joe flees, ring box and all.
But things aren't destined to be with Rodrigo, either, because even while tipsy, Victory realizes that her socialite life will always be a problem for him. Wonder if Joe's surveillance cameras picked up that exchange?

What did you think of Victory's clothes? I liked that one purple number, but the wedding dress she so artfully saved with a glass of wine and a paintbrush was just a bit . . . much.
Meanwhile, Kirby embarrasses Nico by working at Victory's show. Not exactly the night she had in mind. Finally, he confesses that the photo he sold was to a tabloid and admits that since he's worked all his life, it's going to take a while to get used to having someone around to make his life easy.
The state of their relationship is extra-interesting at the moment because Nico's starting to think about having a baby. When she runs into little Charlie on the street, it's like looking at the kid she never had. Megan's suspicious of Nico's generous behavior, but I think Nico's intentions are pure. A box full of memorabilia from Charles is only going to remind Nico of how unfulfilling her marriage was, but in Megan's hands, it can show her son that "his father was an impressive man."
Speaking of babies (heh), I loved watching Wendy's reaction to the junior executive at Parador. It doesn't help that she gives exactly the same feedback on Wendy's pitch that her teenage daughter had or that she uses words like "ginormous." She's, in Wendy's words, "a fetus in Ferragamos."
But now Wendy has a new passion project: the screenplay by the copy shop girl. Of course Wendy is starting her own production company; I'm surprised she didn't do that the instant she got fired.
Fun fact: Wendy got engaged with a plastic ring from a Coney Island vending machine. ("Shut up, it was romantic!" "Yeah, just because the claw didn't pick up a troll doll.")

Loving all the scenes with the three friends lately? Ready to meet Kirby's mom? And what does one do with a 14-carat diamond ring if not proposing with it?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode Three, "Let It Be"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:30:58 -0700

Wow, Lipstick Jungle gets intense this week. There's another death - our second in three episodes! - and a hearty dose of workplace drama. Even Victory's storylines, which are usually the comic relief, get heavy. There's a lot going on, and a lot set up for the future, so to talk about it, just read more.

When I occasionally complained last year that I wanted the show to be more focused on the women's work and how they got there, this is basically what I meant. This episode really shows how these characters' personal lives can have serious repercussions in their professional lives - and vice versa - whether it's Nico's hesitancy with Kirby or Victory's pressure to date the "right" kind of man.
And obviously nobody feels bigger repercussions than Wendy after Noah's death. I'm still surprised this storyline came up so fast, especially since we just met Noah and it seemed obvious that something big and tragic would happen - but that doesn't mean it's not working for me. Because, ultimately, it's not about Noah. It's about Wendy's compulsive need to meddle with everything and everyone around her, which we've seen since the show started. At first, I thought it was a problem that Wendy was so nice, but now her niceness is getting her into trouble in all kinds of major ways.
Major like "no longer head of a major studio" major. I mean, yikes. That shot of her standing on the street, clearly baffled by everything happening around her, is quite the cliffhanger.

Wendy and Nico both have drama with Gordon in this episode, and since Nico still has her job - for now - hers is admittedly more minor. But I see the two of them facing off in all kinds of ways in the upcoming episodes (probably with that squirrelly Mike character in the middle). To Gordon's credit, though, a "demented chic" fashion layout does sound heinous.
Nico's bigger problem is that she doesn't know how to handle Kirby in her professional life - considering that he, you know, sued for sexual harassment and it wasn't exactly a secret. He wants to go out (and not to weird clothing-switching clubs) and not be some sort of stashed-away dirty laundry. It'll be interesting to see how he emerges.
Victory's store is coming together, but that's about the only thing, since she gets two big relationship shockers this episode: first, her publicist is trying to control her dates, and second, Rodrigo has a daughter. (And third, Joe Bennett is going to great lengths to make her jealous - but that's just not working, as Victory tells him in no uncertain terms to " stop playing these little games and move on with your life.")
At least Victory got one light moment (someone had to this week!), draping her shirt over Joe's security camera so she and Rodrigo could do their nasty in peace (but not without giving Joe one last look at what he was missing).

Are you surprised the Noah fallout came so fast and so hard? Does Gordon have a point, or are you squarely on Wendy and Nico's side in their various disputes? And was anyone else happy to see Joe's sassy assistant back (and railing against dressing rooms that only have curtains - sing it, sister)?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode 7, "Carpe Threesome"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:32:07 -0700

Threesome? Yup. Lipstick Jungle reached the end of its first mini-season last night with an episode focused on threesomes - only one of which was the literal sort. I'm glad we'll get a few more episodes in the Fall, because while I liked this episode (and it clearly could have served as a series finale if necessary), I wish it would have focused more on the show's central threesome: Wendy, Nico, and Victory. That said, it did help bring our girls back together after last week's Nico vs. Wendy dustup, so to read my thoughts and share yours, just read more.

Opening with a Nico/Kirby shower scene: nice. We're not going to get any eye candy like that for months, so might as well pack some extra in this episode.
Nico's storyline frustrated me a little - and not just because they dipped into the "husband has a heart attack while wife's with another man" well. I just have a hard time understanding why she wants her marriage back. We haven't seen her be anything but miserable with Charles; he's certainly never shown her any affection. That's not to say that I condone infidelity, but I just wanted to know why it would be good for her to work things out with Charles.
Speaking of which, I'm a little surprised that Nico didn't immediately realize Megan is (probably) having an affair with Charles, long before the pink paper note fell out of his papers. (Also, pink paper note? Cliche much?) Megan's behavior seemed exactly like how Nico would act if the situation were reversed, trying to play it cool but ending up awfully unsubtle.
A thought: Does Nico just want to be with Charles because she doesn't want to be the woman who loses her husband to another woman?
The heart attack also seemed like the easiest way the writers could have settled the Wendy/Nico feud. Of course, when the chips are really down, your good friends are going to come through for you.

The other two storylines were a lot more tangential than I would have liked for a pseudo-finale. Wendy's, in particular, just left me cold. I'm glad she's a go-getter; I'm glad she convinced the writer to finish her script and that youth isn't everything; I'm glad we got to see her being a good mom even via cell phone. But why?
Victory's story started interesting - Joe Bennett with Swiss truffles - then got strange, then got better at the end. Were we supposed to find the threesome hot? Or just bizarre? Maybe we don't know enough about Victory's character yet to know whether she'd be an "ah, what the heck?" kind of girl.
That said, I somehow still did not predict Joe Bennett ending up in bed with another woman. I don't know why; it's not like we've seen him have any trouble getting exactly what he wants. I've never been the biggest fan of their relationship in the first place, and yet I still felt a little sorry for Victory.
Worst line of the night: "This night is still a puppy." I know the character who said it was drunk, but even drunk characters should have sober writers giving them lines. Second worst: "Maybe he gave her an extension." "Ba dum-bum." OK, that last one made me laugh a little.
Charles: "This thing is stuck on a channel that keeps showing a program called Hey, Paula. Should've just let me die."

Your thoughts? And where would you like to see the story pick up in the Fall?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Link Time! 3/4

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:31:35 -0800

Do you love Joel McHale as much as I do? Popwatch has an interview with him tomorrow and wants to hear your questions for the Soup host.
FilmExperience has a list of actors for whom 2008 looks to be a banner year, including Eric Bana, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Banks, among others.
Vulture wonders why the Saturday Night Live cast is funny everywhere except SNL.
According to Stereogum, the Meatloaf documentary appears to be dramatic.
Brat Pack flashback! TV Squad turns its spotlight on Andrew McCarthy.
Apparently, the next horror remake to come from production company Platinum Dunes will be Rosemary's Baby, according to ShockTilYouDrop.
Pop Candy wants to know about your favorite books on rock music.
The TV Addict fantasy-recasts the Gossip Girl role that Mischa Barton reportedly turned down.
PopSugarUK's latest installment of her awesome interview with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson is really interesting, as the girls get political.

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode 4, "Bombay Highway"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:33:57 -0800

NBC gave Lipstick Jungle an additional six episodes this week, and this episode actually made me glad for it. Despite myself, I'm starting to get into Wendy and Nico's stories, even though some parts still grate on me (my pet frustration this week: virtually everything related to Wendy's career). Even Victory had her moments.

Mostly, I appreciated the way the women's three stories tied into each other this week. (Not to keep harping on poor Cashmere Mafia, but that's something that show never quite got down.) Nico confiding her affair set into motion several other threads for the rest of the characters: Wendy's concern about keeping her own marriage alive, Wendy and Nico's belief that Victory can't understand their lives because she's not married, and Wendy's frustrations with Nico spilling into a conflict with Victory. I think that's how real friends act, and it should be the core of the show. To read more of my take on the episode, just read more.

It's a good thing that Kirby dropped the lawsuit, because Nico was clearly never going to be able to lie her way out of it. "There are a lot of people at a photo shoot"? You've got to do better than that! Of course, it's not like telling the truth was really an option.
Do you think Kirby really just wanted Nico (as opposed to any settlement money) all along? Or did he just want to see how she would react? I think he legitimately does want to be with her, but there's still something about him that puts me on edge. When he asked Nico how many other men she'd done this to, I found myself wondering how many other women he'd gotten involved with like this. Am I too pessimistic about him?
Meanwhile, the writers are giving Nico an easy - or, at least, easier - out by insinuating that Charles might be having an affair with one of his students. I suppose it's easier to feel sympathy for her if she's not the only one cheating. Also: Was it implied that Nico was one of Charles's students once upon a time, with that line about her still owing him a paper?
After a couple of weeks of Saint Wendy, I'm glad we've seen more complex sides of her in the last few episodes. She's a micromanager, which can annoy her friends and family, and she's not thrilled when things don't go according to plan. I'm glad she found a balance, letting both Victory and her star have their moments after things got really ugly. That said: Is anyone else wondering where the paparazzi photos of their red carpet fight will end up?

Also, given the drama of Wendy's reaction shot, I thought Victory's dress was going to be a true monstrosity. Instead, it was just a little low-cut.
Shane turning the washing machine on in the middle of spontaneous sex: nasty-hot or nasty-nasty?
Two funny alcohol-related moments: Victory's "Does this room have a minibar?" and its echo later with the starlet hunting for Victory's bourbon.
Does Lindsay Price as Victory Ford remind anyone else of Eva Longoria Parker as Gaby Solis?
Speaking of which, Victory and Joe are still the weak link for me. On the one hand, I'm glad he didn't try to fly her anywhere dramatic and, like, buy her her own personal Alp this week. On the other hand, they're kind of boring in New York.

Your thoughts? Happy about the additional episodes? Yay or nay on Kirby and Nico? And spring rolls with pizza: gross or awesome?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Reminder: Recast Pretty In Pink

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 07:36:57 -0800

If you're looking to relive the '80s this weekend, why not take a stab at my latest Recast challenge: that irresistible rich/poor teen dramedy, Pretty in Pink?

Even today, this Molly Ringwald movie really holds up, thanks to a killer soundtrack, curious wardrobe choices, and great performances. If you were recasting it today, which actors would be ideal? Leave your entry us in the comment section, and I'll pick one winner to feature next Tuesday, March 13, complete with a "new" cast photo.

Characters to recast
Andie (Molly Ringwald)
Blaine (Andrew McCarthy)
Duckie (Jon Cryer)
Steff (James Spader)
Iona (Annie Potts)

Recast Pretty in Pink

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:45:00 -0800

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I'll ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. This week, I thought I'd take a break from all the cinema classics and beloved sitcoms we've been recasting lately and go back to the '80s with that irresistible rich/poor teen dramedy, Pretty in Pink.

Characters to recast
Andie (Molly Ringwald)
Blaine (Andrew McCarthy)
Duckie (Jon Cryer)
Steff (James Spader)
Iona (Annie Potts)