This page contains spoilers and interviews from both Gossip Girl (the remains of), Vampire Diaries, Revenge, Once Upon a Time & Hart of Dixie from various sources. It should be clear which show the interview/spoilers are for, but if you're unsure, please don't hesitate to let me know & I'll make a bigger shout out of it. Hope you enjoy!
*spoilers will be gradually deleted at the end of each month*
*spoilers will be gradually deleted at the end of each month*
Ask Ausiello: Once Upon a Time & VD Spoilers
Question: The lack of Once Upon a Time news regarding August W. Booth/Pinocchio and his current state/possible reunion with his dad is getting on my nerves. Please tell me you have a scoop about him? —Angelique
Ausiello: The best answer series cocreator Eddy Kitsis will part with, regarding August being seen again this season, is: “Perhaps.” He goes on to add, ”We are hoping to have him back. August is an important part of the fabric of the story, and it’s a story that we
are continuing to tell.” In the meantime, though, Kitsis confirms that “you will
get the answer” to what it was that August showed Neal Cassidy to convince him
of Emma’s fantastical backstory.
Question: I have a question about Once Upon a Time: Are there any chances to get the Huntsman/Jamie Dornan back? I miss him so much!!!
Ausiello: As has often been the series creators’ refrain, you will maybe someday see Dornan again in a flashback, but never in Storybrooke. “[Sheriff] Graham is dead,” asserts Kitsis, “and if we brought him back, everyone would say we were messing with continuity. We don’t want to do that.” Kitsis notes that last season revealed one love of Emma’s life — son Henry — while this cycle introduced us to another, Neal Cassidy, who likely will resurface during February sweeps. As for a certain pushy pirate? “Hook is obviously eye-candy,” Kitsis allows. “I don’t know if Emma would stare at him and think he’d be a great father to Henry, but he might be fun in Vegas!”
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Question: I really did not appreciate the blind item bomb you left before Christmas about an actress on a TV drama dying. Just please tell me it’s not Caroline from The Vampire Diaries and all will be forgiven. —Amy
Ausiello: Carline was not the subject of the mini-blind item. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean she isn’t going to die. Hope that was helpful!
Ausiello: The best answer series cocreator Eddy Kitsis will part with, regarding August being seen again this season, is: “Perhaps.” He goes on to add, ”We are hoping to have him back. August is an important part of the fabric of the story, and it’s a story that we
are continuing to tell.” In the meantime, though, Kitsis confirms that “you will
get the answer” to what it was that August showed Neal Cassidy to convince him
of Emma’s fantastical backstory.
Question: I have a question about Once Upon a Time: Are there any chances to get the Huntsman/Jamie Dornan back? I miss him so much!!!
Ausiello: As has often been the series creators’ refrain, you will maybe someday see Dornan again in a flashback, but never in Storybrooke. “[Sheriff] Graham is dead,” asserts Kitsis, “and if we brought him back, everyone would say we were messing with continuity. We don’t want to do that.” Kitsis notes that last season revealed one love of Emma’s life — son Henry — while this cycle introduced us to another, Neal Cassidy, who likely will resurface during February sweeps. As for a certain pushy pirate? “Hook is obviously eye-candy,” Kitsis allows. “I don’t know if Emma would stare at him and think he’d be a great father to Henry, but he might be fun in Vegas!”
---------
Question: I really did not appreciate the blind item bomb you left before Christmas about an actress on a TV drama dying. Just please tell me it’s not Caroline from The Vampire Diaries and all will be forgiven. —Amy
Ausiello: Carline was not the subject of the mini-blind item. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean she isn’t going to die. Hope that was helpful!
Gossip Girl Season 6 DVD Artwork
So...you know how I posted a DVD cover for s6 before? Well...turns out that's not it.
This is:
This is:
'Vampire Diaries' Boss Talks Klaus' Holiday Massacre, the Sire Bond and More
Longtime The Vampire Diaries fans might have their suspicions that the CW hit only decided to stage a Christmas episode as an excuse to couple scary mass murder with delightful holiday cheer, but showrunner Julie Plec tells Hollywood.com that the
series' first holiday outing in four seasons was more of a happy scheduling coincidence.
"We don't do seasons in Mystic Falls," Plec says. "We try not to be specific about a
seasonal timeline, but it felt like we're four seasons in, this is the first time we've had an episode air this close to Christmas -- usually we're on hiatus. Won't it be fun to give a little bit of a holiday flavor to this episode so that we can do our great juxtaposition opera of blood and mayhem against the beauty and nostalgia of holiday music?"
Klaus' rage over Tyler's betrayal certainly played out beautifully, capping off his evil tirade by drowning a drunk Mayor Lockwood in the town square. But in addition to the loss of a beloved character (RIP), "O Come, All Ye Faithful" piled on a lot of mythology and plenty of plot details to think about until the show comes back from its holiday hiatus on Jan. 17. Here's what Plec had to say about our own burning questions, which of course multiplied as soon as we hung up the phone with the TVD boss lady.
What's Tyler's mindset once he finds out about his mother?
Tyler's first order of business actually is to mourn. This is the last thing he ever expected that would happen, and the loss of his mom is a pretty powerful thing for him. When we come back we're going to see he's not actually doing so well. He's got some stuff to deal with before he's going to pull himself together.
Is it safe to say the cure is the last thing on his mind?
Oh yeah, for sure. He's if anything reeling and looking over his shoulder wondering if Klaus is there to chop his head off. Also, I'm sure [he's] trying to figure out if there's any move he can make or anything he can do to regain the upper hand against Klaus, although it looks pretty bleak. It's not without its solutions, but it ain't pretty.
How is the state of his relationship with Caroline?
It's currently a little bit tested because of the events of this episode, but thankfully they were able to make things right with each
other before tragedy struck. Caroline's going to be more concerned about him when we come back and really want to reconnect with him and make him open up to her so that she can help him heal from this experience. Ultimately, both of them as we get deeper into the next chapter, will have to finally sort of face the Klaus problem head on and figure out what to do.
Caroline had warmed up to Klaus recently; how has that changed?
Well, I definitely think it's a setback. [Laughs]
Caroline mentioned that "trust is everything," what did she mean by that?
I think that for Caroline, she perceives that Elena is being victimized, and she has every right to believe that -- of course, Elena herself doesn't believe that. But Caroline's point of view is what it is, borne out of her own experience and her own point of view and opinion about Damon. So for her, what's going on between Elena and Damon is just not acceptable, and the idea that Stefan is standing there talking about trust and family and honesty, it's heartbreaking to see Stefan, her friend, being lied to and being betrayed and involved in a situation that Caroline really, genuinely believes is not okay. I think that will serve to bring Caroline and Stefan's friendship closer, but also put a little bit of a block between Caroline and Elena's friendship. It will not be so extreme right away, but it's definitely a chip in the armor of their girl bond.
Now that Damon has sort of let Elena go, will she be able to choose what to do of her own free will?
What Damon could have said is 'Go away, never see me again, stop thinking about me, stop caring about me, go on with your life, go live a happy life.' That's what he had to say to Charlotte when all was said and done. What he instead said was 'Go home, leave this house, I'll do this without you,' so unfortunately even in being noble -- which, it was noble in the moment because he was feeling the guilt of his own betrayal of Stefan -- he didn't quite go full monty as far as what he should have instructed her to do. So now you have two people who really, really, really feel that strong draw and pull to be together, but ultimately she's going to stay put right where he told her to go and he's going to be at that lake house missing her.
How does Stefan feel now that he knows that Damon and Elena slept together?
Stefan is going through a million emotions. First and foremost is he feels his brother lied to him. Second, of course, is jealousy, as would be the honest reaction of anybody who found out the former love of their life had slept with their brother. Third, I think, is just a colossal disappointment in both of them for doing this and not being honest about it. With Stefan there's always this inherent volatility that lurks underneath his calm demeanor that risks him spiraling. And I think there's a slight danger to him that his spiral might go too far and he's going to have to figure out how to keep himself together.
What will the next chapter of this season focus on?
This next chapter is all about that hunter's mark and trying to complete it and trying to get our team to the location of the cure, which the more we learn about it and the more we'll learn about Silas the more we'll recognize there's extreme jeopardy attached to even seeking it out in the first place. Very quickly our teams will be divided and realize that they all have different agendas, different wants, and different motives. It's going to be a little bit of a race to who gets there first. As Rebekah says in the next episode, whoever gets to it first decides what to do with it, how to use it, who to use it on, who not to, how to control it. It's a power play, and she wants to come out on top.
How will April factor in?
April's move in opening that coffin is the catalyst for the story of the next episode, which is hell hath no fury like a Rebekah daggered and scorned. She is going to set out trying to get her petty little revenge in any way she can, and April is kind of her foot soldier in that
plan.
What's Klaus' next move?
Honestly, his actions in the next episode are a little bit surprising in that he decides to focus on the task at hand which is making sure he gets to that cure before anybody else does, because now he's sort of mark on his back that he needs to protect himself from.
The last thing a great immortal hybrid wants to be is a werewolf again. So he's singularly focused on that.
Does he have any allies left?
He makes strange bedfellows next week in his pursuit of helping Jeremy complete the hunter's mark.
series' first holiday outing in four seasons was more of a happy scheduling coincidence.
"We don't do seasons in Mystic Falls," Plec says. "We try not to be specific about a
seasonal timeline, but it felt like we're four seasons in, this is the first time we've had an episode air this close to Christmas -- usually we're on hiatus. Won't it be fun to give a little bit of a holiday flavor to this episode so that we can do our great juxtaposition opera of blood and mayhem against the beauty and nostalgia of holiday music?"
Klaus' rage over Tyler's betrayal certainly played out beautifully, capping off his evil tirade by drowning a drunk Mayor Lockwood in the town square. But in addition to the loss of a beloved character (RIP), "O Come, All Ye Faithful" piled on a lot of mythology and plenty of plot details to think about until the show comes back from its holiday hiatus on Jan. 17. Here's what Plec had to say about our own burning questions, which of course multiplied as soon as we hung up the phone with the TVD boss lady.
What's Tyler's mindset once he finds out about his mother?
Tyler's first order of business actually is to mourn. This is the last thing he ever expected that would happen, and the loss of his mom is a pretty powerful thing for him. When we come back we're going to see he's not actually doing so well. He's got some stuff to deal with before he's going to pull himself together.
Is it safe to say the cure is the last thing on his mind?
Oh yeah, for sure. He's if anything reeling and looking over his shoulder wondering if Klaus is there to chop his head off. Also, I'm sure [he's] trying to figure out if there's any move he can make or anything he can do to regain the upper hand against Klaus, although it looks pretty bleak. It's not without its solutions, but it ain't pretty.
How is the state of his relationship with Caroline?
It's currently a little bit tested because of the events of this episode, but thankfully they were able to make things right with each
other before tragedy struck. Caroline's going to be more concerned about him when we come back and really want to reconnect with him and make him open up to her so that she can help him heal from this experience. Ultimately, both of them as we get deeper into the next chapter, will have to finally sort of face the Klaus problem head on and figure out what to do.
Caroline had warmed up to Klaus recently; how has that changed?
Well, I definitely think it's a setback. [Laughs]
Caroline mentioned that "trust is everything," what did she mean by that?
I think that for Caroline, she perceives that Elena is being victimized, and she has every right to believe that -- of course, Elena herself doesn't believe that. But Caroline's point of view is what it is, borne out of her own experience and her own point of view and opinion about Damon. So for her, what's going on between Elena and Damon is just not acceptable, and the idea that Stefan is standing there talking about trust and family and honesty, it's heartbreaking to see Stefan, her friend, being lied to and being betrayed and involved in a situation that Caroline really, genuinely believes is not okay. I think that will serve to bring Caroline and Stefan's friendship closer, but also put a little bit of a block between Caroline and Elena's friendship. It will not be so extreme right away, but it's definitely a chip in the armor of their girl bond.
Now that Damon has sort of let Elena go, will she be able to choose what to do of her own free will?
What Damon could have said is 'Go away, never see me again, stop thinking about me, stop caring about me, go on with your life, go live a happy life.' That's what he had to say to Charlotte when all was said and done. What he instead said was 'Go home, leave this house, I'll do this without you,' so unfortunately even in being noble -- which, it was noble in the moment because he was feeling the guilt of his own betrayal of Stefan -- he didn't quite go full monty as far as what he should have instructed her to do. So now you have two people who really, really, really feel that strong draw and pull to be together, but ultimately she's going to stay put right where he told her to go and he's going to be at that lake house missing her.
How does Stefan feel now that he knows that Damon and Elena slept together?
Stefan is going through a million emotions. First and foremost is he feels his brother lied to him. Second, of course, is jealousy, as would be the honest reaction of anybody who found out the former love of their life had slept with their brother. Third, I think, is just a colossal disappointment in both of them for doing this and not being honest about it. With Stefan there's always this inherent volatility that lurks underneath his calm demeanor that risks him spiraling. And I think there's a slight danger to him that his spiral might go too far and he's going to have to figure out how to keep himself together.
What will the next chapter of this season focus on?
This next chapter is all about that hunter's mark and trying to complete it and trying to get our team to the location of the cure, which the more we learn about it and the more we'll learn about Silas the more we'll recognize there's extreme jeopardy attached to even seeking it out in the first place. Very quickly our teams will be divided and realize that they all have different agendas, different wants, and different motives. It's going to be a little bit of a race to who gets there first. As Rebekah says in the next episode, whoever gets to it first decides what to do with it, how to use it, who to use it on, who not to, how to control it. It's a power play, and she wants to come out on top.
How will April factor in?
April's move in opening that coffin is the catalyst for the story of the next episode, which is hell hath no fury like a Rebekah daggered and scorned. She is going to set out trying to get her petty little revenge in any way she can, and April is kind of her foot soldier in that
plan.
What's Klaus' next move?
Honestly, his actions in the next episode are a little bit surprising in that he decides to focus on the task at hand which is making sure he gets to that cure before anybody else does, because now he's sort of mark on his back that he needs to protect himself from.
The last thing a great immortal hybrid wants to be is a werewolf again. So he's singularly focused on that.
Does he have any allies left?
He makes strange bedfellows next week in his pursuit of helping Jeremy complete the hunter's mark.
Ask Ausiello: Gossip Girl & Vampire Diaries Spoilers
Question: Here’s my burning Gossip Girl finale question: How do we know Dan and Serena got married in that flash-forward? We didn’t actually see them exchange vows. —Carmen
Ausiello: Great, conspiracy-obsessed minds think alike, Carmen. I too wondered why exec producers Stephanie Savage and Josh
Schwartz opted not to show the two of them tying the knot. For all we know, Jenny had a bomb strapped to her back that was set to detonate right after the cameras cut away— retaliation for the role her brother/Gossip Girl played in running her out of town. Stranger things have happened. So, what say you Ms. Savage? “Dan and Serena do, in fact, get married.” Hmmm…until I see more
evidence, I remain suspicious.
...
Question: I am enjoying this season of The Vampire Diaries, but the one thing it needs is Katherine back! Any
chance that’s happening anytime soon? —Ali
Ausiello: “That elusive vixen is still somehow lurking in the shadows,” teases Plec, “but keeping herself well hidden… Given Klaus’ continued presence in Mystic Falls, we shall see if we’ll be able to get her back into town.” Scram, Klaus!
Ausiello: Great, conspiracy-obsessed minds think alike, Carmen. I too wondered why exec producers Stephanie Savage and Josh
Schwartz opted not to show the two of them tying the knot. For all we know, Jenny had a bomb strapped to her back that was set to detonate right after the cameras cut away— retaliation for the role her brother/Gossip Girl played in running her out of town. Stranger things have happened. So, what say you Ms. Savage? “Dan and Serena do, in fact, get married.” Hmmm…until I see more
evidence, I remain suspicious.
...
Question: I am enjoying this season of The Vampire Diaries, but the one thing it needs is Katherine back! Any
chance that’s happening anytime soon? —Ali
Ausiello: “That elusive vixen is still somehow lurking in the shadows,” teases Plec, “but keeping herself well hidden… Given Klaus’ continued presence in Mystic Falls, we shall see if we’ll be able to get her back into town.” Scram, Klaus!
TVLINE - Gossip Girl Series Finale: EP Stephanie Savage Answers All Your Burning Questions!
Got questions about Monday’s twisty, super-fun, cameo-packed Gossip Girl series finale? Well, we’ve got answers — straight from exec producer Stephanie Savage herself.
TVLINE | When did you decide that Dan would be Gossip Girl?
I don’t think we ever had another choice in our mind. It was always just a question of were we going to reveal it or not to reveal it. It was unclear if knowing Gossip Girl’s identity was something fans would want. Maybe it was more fun for everyone to not know who Gossip Girl was and be able to speculate and come up with your own ideas.
TVLINE | It’s no surprise that fans are now combing through six years of episodes looking for inconsistencies — like scenes where Dan was alone reading Gossip Girl’s blasts and looking surprised. How do you account for that stuff?
We didn’t want to lean in too heavily to that idea. It was nothing that we talked to the actors about. It was nothing that we wanted to be part of Penn Badgely’s performance as Dan. Or something that we wanted viewers to be actively thinking about. We were hoping to have a nice long run and we didn’t want people to be preoccupied by the question of, “Who is Gossip Girl?” So we held reins loosely and didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that one of our main characters might actually be Gossip Girl.
TVLINE | Are you then sort of asking viewers to take a leap of faith with you on this, acknowledging that all of the pieces to the puzzle might not fit?
Um… no. [Laughs] I don’t think I’m asking that.
TVLINE | Nate ended up single — why?
Well, he’s single for now. The Nate story we wanted to tell was that Dan allowed him to break the Gossip Girl story, which helped jumpstart The Spectator. And to see Nate at a place in the future where he was successful and focused on work. He didn’t have any crazy partners or distracting girlfriends. We’re seeing him come into his own as a young man and a real player in the New York scene.
TVLINE | What was the significance of Chuck and Blair naming their child Henry?
That was what Chuck renamed himself when he was shot.
TVLINE | Why was it important for you to show that Chuck and Blair had become parents?
It seemed like the ultimate coming together of their union and their future. And wanting to see that Chuck and Blair could both be good parents… See the joy that that little boy brings to his grandparents. And you got to see a little mini-Chuck in a bowtie.
TVLINE | Did you ever consider putting Dan and Blair together in the future?
Um… nope! [Laughs]
TVLINE | So it was always going to be Chuck and Blair?
I don’t know about always, but certainly by the end of last season when we were writing our Season 5 finale. We had a sense of what the endgame of the characters were going to be. We knew what we were writing to in Season 6.
TVLINE | A lot of people were surprised that Rufus and Lily didn’t reunite. Talk to me about that decision.
Obviously, Rufus and Lily together complicates the Serena and Dan dynamic. But more importantly, we felt that Rufus and Lily gave it a real college try. But after CeCe died, it was just too hard for Lily to meet Rufus in the middle. She tried to make it work with Bart Bass, and he was a little bit — or a lot — too dark. And psychotic. Dr. Van der Woodsen kind of split the difference. He’s going to let Lily drink all the gin in her teacup that she wants and not really question any of her choices like Rufus might. He’s the father of her children. So that felt like a fun, slightly twisted way to end out Lily’s romantic story. And I think it was very important that we saw that Rufus and Lily still have a very strong and loving connection with each other. And they’ll always be bonded by the relationship between their children.
TVLINE | The Lisa Loeb cameo was a fun surprise — how did that come about?
[Laughs] We didn’t want Rufus to be alone! And he has been spending a lot of time recently with Lisa Loeb. He really enjoyed his hormone-free Thanksgiving concert that he went to. And so that just felt like a nice way to give him someone who was from his world. At the end of the day, Rufus is probably most true to who he was of all the characters.
TVLINE | The Kristen Bell/Rachel Bilson sequence — how did the idea come about for that? They didn’t merely check their phones — they performed a whole comedic bit.
Once we felt certain that we could do Rachel and Kristen together, it seemed like you wanted to build more for them than just having them look at their phones. If you’re going to have those two ladies together in a scene then we wanted to have fun and play to their strengths. So Josh Schwartz and I came up with the whole idea… Having Kristen on the show was very, very special. To be able to have her onscreen for the finale was great. And to have Rachel do it with her was just the icing on the cake.
e!online - Gossip Girl Finale: Dan Was Almost Revealed in Episode 1—and More Surprises You Didn't Know!
Chuck and Blair were "always" endgame.
Dan was almost (accidentally) revealed as Gossip Girl in the very first episode.
Jack and Georgina totally would have been a thing if the scheduling worked
out.
And Jenny Humphrey's supercool job in the future was revealed—but you may have missed it!
We just got off the phone with executive producer Stephanie Savage to ask our lingering questions about last night's series finale of Gossip Girl. So if you are a fan, we highly recommend you read the following Q&A, which also reveals why Lily didn't end up with Rufus, and where Vanessa is now…
"Henry Bass" was trending on Twitter. How hard was it to find a kid who looked so much like Leighton and Ed?
We had a few good contenders, but Alex who played Henry, was just like if you made computer program of what Chuck and Blair's kid would look like he would come out. We loved it.
When did you know that Chuck and Blair were endgame?
I think it was a conversation up until the end of last season among all the writers. We wanted to write a season-five finale that would point us in the right direction. But for me and Josh Schwartz, we always felt that those guys were endgame for each other. Always.
Some people were upset that Lily and Rufus didn't end up together. William is pretty much a doofus….
When you think about the core of Lily's character, she really tried to make it work with Rufus but at the end of the day, that was too hard for her. Bart Bass was a little bit too psychotic and William kind of split the difference. William is going to let her enjoy her teacup full of gin and be as much like her mother as she's likely going to become. Rufus and Lily, that was something that was great
about the Dan and Serena wedding, was that Rufus and Lily are now connected to each other forever through their children. It was important that you felt they had a very loving, warm bond and that everybody was happy.
Did you always know Gossip Girl would be Dan? Were there any other names tossed out?
We never really entertained any other ideas of who Gossip Girl was. It was whether we were going to reveal it. Interestingly, in the pilot episode, the test audience thought that Dan was Gossip Girl. We actually had to re-edit one of our sequences. It's when he's on the computer looking at Gossip Girl, the way it was edited that he was typing as the voice was coming up, people thought that they were being told that he was Gossip Girl. So we actually had to re-edit that sequence.
Some fans have a lot of questions about why Dan did certain things…
We could have made the show two hours long with just Rufus drilling Dan about all of those things. What about this time and what about that other time? Wait, you wrote this about yourself?! My hope is that people who are really curious about that can go back and rewatch the season and get their brains going.
How hard was it to keep the cameos [Lisa Loeb, Rachel Bilson, Mayor Bloomberg] a secret?
We were so happy that none of them got out. With Mayor Bloomberg, were able to shoot in the city when he was available. It was all very dramatic with him coming in the back door so the paparazzi wouldn't see him and we shot inside. Jessica [Szohr] was in town for a movie. She did her cameo on the set of Carrie Diaries and it's Carrie Bradshaw's '80s kitchen she's standing in. And Rachel
Bilson and Kristen Bell shot on the set of Hart of Dixie. We didn't send dailies out, we didn't send out to international partners, we didn't send the last two acts to anyone. We really tried to control spoilers.
The paparazzi got wedding photos of Chuck and Blair and Dan and Serena. Was that expected or were you disappointed that happened?
The Chuck and Blair wedding, we knew as soon as we stepped outside, it would be captured by the paparazzi. But Dan and Serena, that was really disappointing and upsetting. We worked really hard to dress Blake inside, she kept away from the windows. It was a locked set. But somebody either paid someone to get into the apartment across the street, or used a fire escape and used a telephoto lens, and that really upset me because I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted that to be a surprise for fans.
Where can we start a petition for a spinoff with Jack and Georgina? Did you consider doing a whole storyline with them earlier?
Always. We always talked about them being in some ways the male and female versions of each other and perfect for each other. We love Desmond [Harrington]. We have to work around his Dexter schedule which means we only got him for one episode this season. And then we realized that Jack and Georgina had never met, and so we had the opportunity to have a fun little pilot story where it's just slight but getting them together for the first time, which was super fun.
Did Nate end up with anyone?
I think for at least our five-year flash forward, Nate is single and focused on work. And that Dan giving him the Gossip Girl exclusive is kind of what he needed to jumpstart the Spectator. And he's been able to focus on that. Not have any business partners or distracting girlfriends and become very focused and successful.
Where's Jenny in five years?
I always loved the idea that Blair would reach out to Jenny and have her become a part of Waldorf Designs. When Jenny is running up the stairs to Dan and Serena's wedding, she's using a "J by Waldorf" shopping bag. So it happened.
Where do you see Vanessa?
Vanessa's doing something very successful in her own world. Maybe she's directing an episode of season five of Carrie Diaries.
We know Serena ended up with Dan, but where is she professionally?
Serena is a powerful force in the New York social scene. We saw a glimpse this year of her philanthropic powers. Her ability to raise money and get behind causes, and that's probably what she's doing.
Why did you use the final song of Sex and the City finale as your final finale song?
It's not the final song. It's our penultimate song. It's Florence and the Machine covering that Source song. It was that moment of joy and closure and really feel like the show was ending and then start it back up again. After that song ends and we pull out of the window of our townhouse, "Kill Me" by Pretty Reckless, Taylor Momsen's band, comes up, and we're back out in the street with a new crop of kids and the voice of Gossip Girl is back.
Finale note: Whatever your feelings about the past few seasons of Gossip Girl, you gotta admit, the finale last night was pretty dang close to perfection. Chuck and Blair didn't just end up together—they had TV's most adorable son. The surprise cameos were miraculously kept secret, and squeal-worthy. And the big, show-ending reveal of Gossip Girl's identity—one Mr. Dan Humphrey
(Penn Badgley)—somehow seemed to make perfect sense, allowing for one heck of a happy ending.
TVFANATIC - Gossip Girl Questions Answered: Stephanie Savage Weighs In on Finale
Monday night's Gossip Girl series finale was one for the ages.
With cameos galore, two weddings, a five-year flash forward and the mother of all twists, the Stephanie Savage-penned "New York, I Love You XOXO" sent the show out in style after six seasons.
On deciding when Dan was Gossip Girl: "I don’t think we ever had another choice in our mind. It was always just a question of were we going to reveal
it or not to reveal it."
"It was unclear if knowing Gossip Girl’s identity was something fans would want. Maybe it was more fun for everyone to not know ... to speculate and come up with your own ideas."
On the plot holes that revelation might expose: "We didn’t want to lean in too heavily to that ... It was nothing that we wanted to be part of Penn Badgely’s performance as Dan."
"We didn't want the viewers actively thinking about it. We held the reins loosely and didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that one
of our main characters might actually be Gossip Girl."
On Kristen Bell and Rachel Bilson: "Once we felt certain that we could do Rachel and Kristen together, it seemed like you wanted to build more for them than just having them look at their phones."
"Josh Schwartz and I came up with the idea… Having Kristen on the show was very, very special. To be able to have her onscreen was
great. And to have Rachel with her was icing on the cake."
On Nate ending up single: "Well, he’s single for now. The Nate story we wanted to tell was that Dan allowed him to break the Gossip Girl story, which helped jump start The Spectator."
"He didn’t have any crazy partners or distracting girlfriends. He's very successful. We’re seeing him come into his own as a young
man and a real player in the New York scene."
On Rufly not ending up together: "Obviously, Rufus and Lily together complicates the Serena and Dan dynamic. But more importantly, we felt that Rufus and Lily gave it a real college try."
On why Chair became parents: "It seemed like the ultimate coming together of their union and their future. And wanting to see
that Chuck and Blair could both be good parents."
On Henry's name: "That was what Chuck renamed himself when he was shot."
On whether Chair was always endgame: "I don’t know about always, but certainly by the end of last season when we were writing our Season 5 finale. We had a sense of the endgame."
On whether Dair was ever an option: "Um… nope! [Laughs]"
Post Mortem: Vampire Diaries Boss on the Big Death, Elena and Damon's Struggles and More!
Tyler’s war against Klaus on The Vampire Diaries claimed its first major casualty during Thursday night’s midseason finale. The Original retaliated against his hybrid’s rebellion by drowning Tyler’s mother, Mayor Carol Lockwood — not to mention killing all 12 hybrids in Tyler’s pack.
The devastating loss caps off what has been an impressive maturation arc for Tyler this season. But now that he’s on his own, he’ll be reeling. At least he’s not entirely alone —
the tragedy secures him a place in The Society of Orphaned Children, a fast-growing Mystical Falls club that already includes Elena, Jeremy, April and Matt (who’s practically an orphan).
So how will Tyler cope with the death of his mom? What do Klaus’ actions mean for the increasingly complicated Tyler/Caroline/Klaus love triangle? On a different note, will Elena, now set free by Damon, really be able to stay away from the elder Salvatore brother? And how will April deal with finally knowing the truth about Mystic Falls’ strange happenings?
We took those burning questions and more to executive producer Julie Plec. Read on for all the scoop!
TVLINE | Why was it important for Carol to be the big casualty?
It definitely felt like the consequence of a revolution has to be either the captain that led the charge or one of the people closest to the captain. It was Tyler or Tyler’s mom. But somebody was going to have to pay.
TVLINE | We didn’t actually see Tyler react to the death. How will he deal with it?
[When] the next episode picks up, a little bit of time has happened, and we’ll see that Tyler’s not handling it altogether too well. He’s keeping to himself, refusing to show his emotions and stewing in his own grief and anger, which is making it difficult to help him.
It’s sad for Caroline, who just wants to be there for him.
TVLINE | He’s lost his dad, his mom and Uncle Mason. Is there any family that’s going to come out of the woodwork? Or is he on his own?
At the moment, he is left, sadly and tragically, alone.
TVLINE | Did Tyler just let Hayley go after that betrayal?
His first order of business was to get there and try to stop [Klaus]. Of course, we saw he was too late. After this, if he could find Hayley, he would probably give her a piece of his mind — if not a heart pulled from the chest. But she’s skedaddled. We won’t be seeing her for a while.
TVLINE | Klaus did some really horrible things in this episode, to say the least. How will that affect his budding, sort-of relationship with Caroline?
It’s definitely a fairly severe setback. I don’t think Caroline’s going to be looking at him with her goo-goo eyes anytime soon. But as we’ve seen with Klaus, he always has a way of getting under people’s skin for better or for worse. I wouldn’t say it’s the last we’ve seen of a connection between them. It’s the last that she’s going to want a connection between them.
TVLINE | Moving on to Elena, is the sire bond really broken?
No, Damon’s choice of words was really indicative of what he wants in this moment. He could have set her free and said, “Never see me again, never talk to me again, never think of me again.” He could have done all those things. Instead, he just sent her packing back to Mystic Falls. She has to go home. She has to listen to him. She’ll be sitting at home, wondering what he’s up to, and he’ll be sitting at that lake house, regretting his choice, yet knowing it’s the choice he had to make. So it’s lots of sad longing to be had between the two. [Laughs]
TVLINE | Elena’s feelings for Damon could still be real despite the sire bond. Will we get a definitive answer to that?
Until the sire bond fundamentally doesn’t exist – which as long as Elena’s a vampire, it seems to be that’s going to be in play – we’ll have to ask ourselves those questions. But the journey of Elena trying to get to the bottom of how she feels and expressing herself to him is going to be part of the ride. ‘Cause she, in fact, really believes what she feels is 100 percent genuine and real. She feels like she’s got the evidence to back it up, in that there wouldn’t be a sire bond to begin with if there wasn’t some kind of love there. It’s a tale of a couple who wants to be together and realizes that they shouldn’t, yet really wants to. [Laughs] So what do they do?
TVLINE | I was curious about something Professor Shane said about the cure for immortality. If one is made mortal again, wouldn’t he or she revert back to a dead state?
All these conversations about the cure are meant to have the audience asking those kind of questions. What does it mean? What form does it come in? What will it do to the people who take it? Can it be used as a weapon? Can it be used as gift? Is it one of those horrible Twilight Zone things where you take it and then you age to the age that you were and you’re dead? You never know. There’s a lot of different ways this could go, and our hope is to keep people guessing.
TVLINE | So clearly April takes out Rebekah’s stake, thank goodness. But what’s she going to do with all this new information that she has now?
[Laughs] April is going to be like that one person you’re like,“Shoot. Why did we let her live?” [Laughs] She’s angry. She feels manipulated. She feels lied to. And she’s not going to take it lightly. So she’s going to be a little bit of a problem in the next episode.
TVLINE | As angry as she is, I can only imagine how angry Rebekah is after being staked yet again.
Rebekah, who’s queen of betrayal, has perfected the art of revenge beautifully and really takes some of our team to task in a great, wicked way.
TVLINE | Does she go after Klaus?
No, no, no. She’s saving Klaus. She’s saving Klaus for another time, another day. First thing first, she’s trying to get back at Stefan.
The devastating loss caps off what has been an impressive maturation arc for Tyler this season. But now that he’s on his own, he’ll be reeling. At least he’s not entirely alone —
the tragedy secures him a place in The Society of Orphaned Children, a fast-growing Mystical Falls club that already includes Elena, Jeremy, April and Matt (who’s practically an orphan).
So how will Tyler cope with the death of his mom? What do Klaus’ actions mean for the increasingly complicated Tyler/Caroline/Klaus love triangle? On a different note, will Elena, now set free by Damon, really be able to stay away from the elder Salvatore brother? And how will April deal with finally knowing the truth about Mystic Falls’ strange happenings?
We took those burning questions and more to executive producer Julie Plec. Read on for all the scoop!
TVLINE | Why was it important for Carol to be the big casualty?
It definitely felt like the consequence of a revolution has to be either the captain that led the charge or one of the people closest to the captain. It was Tyler or Tyler’s mom. But somebody was going to have to pay.
TVLINE | We didn’t actually see Tyler react to the death. How will he deal with it?
[When] the next episode picks up, a little bit of time has happened, and we’ll see that Tyler’s not handling it altogether too well. He’s keeping to himself, refusing to show his emotions and stewing in his own grief and anger, which is making it difficult to help him.
It’s sad for Caroline, who just wants to be there for him.
TVLINE | He’s lost his dad, his mom and Uncle Mason. Is there any family that’s going to come out of the woodwork? Or is he on his own?
At the moment, he is left, sadly and tragically, alone.
TVLINE | Did Tyler just let Hayley go after that betrayal?
His first order of business was to get there and try to stop [Klaus]. Of course, we saw he was too late. After this, if he could find Hayley, he would probably give her a piece of his mind — if not a heart pulled from the chest. But she’s skedaddled. We won’t be seeing her for a while.
TVLINE | Klaus did some really horrible things in this episode, to say the least. How will that affect his budding, sort-of relationship with Caroline?
It’s definitely a fairly severe setback. I don’t think Caroline’s going to be looking at him with her goo-goo eyes anytime soon. But as we’ve seen with Klaus, he always has a way of getting under people’s skin for better or for worse. I wouldn’t say it’s the last we’ve seen of a connection between them. It’s the last that she’s going to want a connection between them.
TVLINE | Moving on to Elena, is the sire bond really broken?
No, Damon’s choice of words was really indicative of what he wants in this moment. He could have set her free and said, “Never see me again, never talk to me again, never think of me again.” He could have done all those things. Instead, he just sent her packing back to Mystic Falls. She has to go home. She has to listen to him. She’ll be sitting at home, wondering what he’s up to, and he’ll be sitting at that lake house, regretting his choice, yet knowing it’s the choice he had to make. So it’s lots of sad longing to be had between the two. [Laughs]
TVLINE | Elena’s feelings for Damon could still be real despite the sire bond. Will we get a definitive answer to that?
Until the sire bond fundamentally doesn’t exist – which as long as Elena’s a vampire, it seems to be that’s going to be in play – we’ll have to ask ourselves those questions. But the journey of Elena trying to get to the bottom of how she feels and expressing herself to him is going to be part of the ride. ‘Cause she, in fact, really believes what she feels is 100 percent genuine and real. She feels like she’s got the evidence to back it up, in that there wouldn’t be a sire bond to begin with if there wasn’t some kind of love there. It’s a tale of a couple who wants to be together and realizes that they shouldn’t, yet really wants to. [Laughs] So what do they do?
TVLINE | I was curious about something Professor Shane said about the cure for immortality. If one is made mortal again, wouldn’t he or she revert back to a dead state?
All these conversations about the cure are meant to have the audience asking those kind of questions. What does it mean? What form does it come in? What will it do to the people who take it? Can it be used as a weapon? Can it be used as gift? Is it one of those horrible Twilight Zone things where you take it and then you age to the age that you were and you’re dead? You never know. There’s a lot of different ways this could go, and our hope is to keep people guessing.
TVLINE | So clearly April takes out Rebekah’s stake, thank goodness. But what’s she going to do with all this new information that she has now?
[Laughs] April is going to be like that one person you’re like,“Shoot. Why did we let her live?” [Laughs] She’s angry. She feels manipulated. She feels lied to. And she’s not going to take it lightly. So she’s going to be a little bit of a problem in the next episode.
TVLINE | As angry as she is, I can only imagine how angry Rebekah is after being staked yet again.
Rebekah, who’s queen of betrayal, has perfected the art of revenge beautifully and really takes some of our team to task in a great, wicked way.
TVLINE | Does she go after Klaus?
No, no, no. She’s saving Klaus. She’s saving Klaus for another time, another day. First thing first, she’s trying to get back at Stefan.
Gossip Girl Co-Creator on the "Emotional" End and the Big Reveal That Almost Didn't Happen
For six seasons, anonymous blogger Gossip Girl has been able to uncover pretty much any secret and sordid scandal about S, B, Lonely Boy and the rest of the Upper East Side. It's ironic, considering what the series producers had to do to keep the identity of the unapologetically nosy snitch under wraps until Monday's Gossip Girl series finale (8/7c on The CW).
"It's been very nerve-wracking for me to try to keep it a secret," co-creator and executive producer Stephanie Savage tells TVGuide.com of the many precautions taken to keep the name concealed. "But I'm excited for people to find out. The cast and crew were definitely excited when they found out so I'm hoping our fans have the same reaction."
The show's crew went to these great lengths to protect a secret that almost even didn't make it into the finale at all. "We always had an idea in our minds of who Gossip Girl was, which we needed to be able to tell our stories, but we were never sure if we were going to reveal that," Savage says. "We weren't sure that that was something that the audience would want to know. Maybe they would like the idea of not knowing who Gossip Girl was."
However, it was a Season 5 story line — in which Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) and later, Serena (Blake Lively) filled in for Gossip Girl — that changed producers' minds. "Last year we did so much storytelling with Gossip Girl in the character that it felt like this year we needed to reveal her true self," she says.
Savage emphasizes the importance of this kind of flexibility when discussing the series finale, which was first announced last May. "I think it's something that you might have certain ideas or images of when you start, but you really have to be open to the journey the show takes you on and where the characters go," she says of crafting the final hour. "I think there were some character endgames that were always in our minds, but again, you have to be open to maybe that's not where fate is going to take people."
Savage specifically points to bad boy-turned-Blair's knight in shining armor, Chuck, as having changed the most from the pilot to the finale. "I feel like Chuck has gone on the biggest journey of any one on the show. In the pilot, he's pretty much a pure villain. He's not a character that has a lot of layers. That was something Ed Westwick really brought as an actor," Savage says. "And his chemistry with Leighton [Meester] — when we saw them together on screen and the power of the two of them working together but also being attracted to each other, which really inspired us to grow that character and give him some more layers."
So will Chuck and Blair get their happy ending after Bart fell to his death — for realz this time! — at the end of the penultimate episode? "Obviously Chuck was up there when Bart met his demise and he was seen earlier at the event publicly speaking out against him so a lot of people will be looking for him," Savage says. "Chuck and Blair are both where they wanted to be, but are circumstances such that they'll be able to be together the way that they wanted to? Or have too many things happened that will stand in their way?"
Previews for the finale hint at the two tying the knot, but Savage won't confirm or deny. "There definitely is a wedding," she says. "Whether people get hitched without a hitch or whether there's complications is something to tune in for."
Savage teases several other milestones in the episode, including a flashback scene that shows Dan (Penn Badgley) and Serena at some point before the events in the pilot took place. Another big moment will be an on-screen appearance by Kristen Bell, who has voiced Gossip Girl for the last six years. "It was really funny and very, very special to be shooting with her. She's an intimate part of our family but yet we never get to see her," Savage says. "To be able to make her a part of our storytelling just felt like the perfect way to crown her work with us over the years."
Although Gossip Girl will finally be unveiled, Savage says not everything will be so cut-and-dried. "It's Gossip Girl, so I think you want to give closure, but everything doesn't necessarily have a perfect bow on it. There's always going to be unanswered questions and twists you didn't see coming," Savage says. "The tone of the show is not completely sentimental — there's a little bit of a bite to it and I think the finale is going to have that."
Despite these question marks and surprise twists, Savage is still confident fans will walk away satisfied. "It's definitely emotional, but I think we left the show in a great place and I'm very proud of everything we've accomplished," she says.
"It's been very nerve-wracking for me to try to keep it a secret," co-creator and executive producer Stephanie Savage tells TVGuide.com of the many precautions taken to keep the name concealed. "But I'm excited for people to find out. The cast and crew were definitely excited when they found out so I'm hoping our fans have the same reaction."
The show's crew went to these great lengths to protect a secret that almost even didn't make it into the finale at all. "We always had an idea in our minds of who Gossip Girl was, which we needed to be able to tell our stories, but we were never sure if we were going to reveal that," Savage says. "We weren't sure that that was something that the audience would want to know. Maybe they would like the idea of not knowing who Gossip Girl was."
However, it was a Season 5 story line — in which Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) and later, Serena (Blake Lively) filled in for Gossip Girl — that changed producers' minds. "Last year we did so much storytelling with Gossip Girl in the character that it felt like this year we needed to reveal her true self," she says.
Savage emphasizes the importance of this kind of flexibility when discussing the series finale, which was first announced last May. "I think it's something that you might have certain ideas or images of when you start, but you really have to be open to the journey the show takes you on and where the characters go," she says of crafting the final hour. "I think there were some character endgames that were always in our minds, but again, you have to be open to maybe that's not where fate is going to take people."
Savage specifically points to bad boy-turned-Blair's knight in shining armor, Chuck, as having changed the most from the pilot to the finale. "I feel like Chuck has gone on the biggest journey of any one on the show. In the pilot, he's pretty much a pure villain. He's not a character that has a lot of layers. That was something Ed Westwick really brought as an actor," Savage says. "And his chemistry with Leighton [Meester] — when we saw them together on screen and the power of the two of them working together but also being attracted to each other, which really inspired us to grow that character and give him some more layers."
So will Chuck and Blair get their happy ending after Bart fell to his death — for realz this time! — at the end of the penultimate episode? "Obviously Chuck was up there when Bart met his demise and he was seen earlier at the event publicly speaking out against him so a lot of people will be looking for him," Savage says. "Chuck and Blair are both where they wanted to be, but are circumstances such that they'll be able to be together the way that they wanted to? Or have too many things happened that will stand in their way?"
Previews for the finale hint at the two tying the knot, but Savage won't confirm or deny. "There definitely is a wedding," she says. "Whether people get hitched without a hitch or whether there's complications is something to tune in for."
Savage teases several other milestones in the episode, including a flashback scene that shows Dan (Penn Badgley) and Serena at some point before the events in the pilot took place. Another big moment will be an on-screen appearance by Kristen Bell, who has voiced Gossip Girl for the last six years. "It was really funny and very, very special to be shooting with her. She's an intimate part of our family but yet we never get to see her," Savage says. "To be able to make her a part of our storytelling just felt like the perfect way to crown her work with us over the years."
Although Gossip Girl will finally be unveiled, Savage says not everything will be so cut-and-dried. "It's Gossip Girl, so I think you want to give closure, but everything doesn't necessarily have a perfect bow on it. There's always going to be unanswered questions and twists you didn't see coming," Savage says. "The tone of the show is not completely sentimental — there's a little bit of a bite to it and I think the finale is going to have that."
Despite these question marks and surprise twists, Savage is still confident fans will walk away satisfied. "It's definitely emotional, but I think we left the show in a great place and I'm very proud of everything we've accomplished," she says.
GG - Series Finale: See the Very Last Scene Ever Shot!
Note to anyone who (like us) thought Penn Badgley cut off his hair after he wrapped production on Gossip Girl: His buzz cut will make a very special appearance in the
series finale!
We've scored an exclusive first look at a critical scene from Monday's very last episode—in which we see a short-haired Dan Humphrey (Badgley) meeting up with a
retro-scarfed Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
Gossip Girlshowrunner Stephanie Savage confirms it's a flashback, and also the very last scene that the show's mains stars ever shot.
"Itwas actually really awesome," Savage reveals. "I had the idea for the flashback, but the only way I felt it would remotely work is if Dan had his first-episode hair or else it's hard to sell it as a flashback. But how hard would it be to sell Penn on cutting his hair? I was telling this to our costume designer and he said, ‘Just the other day Penn said when the show was over, he wants to cut all his hair off.' I said I would do whatever humanly possible to make sure that was his last scene. It ended up not only being his last scene but Blake [Lively], Leighton[Meester], Chace [Crawford] and Ed's last scenes, too. They all stuck around for each other's coverage, we brought out a
cake, it was really a great last moment for all of them. It was the perfect way to wrap them off."
series finale!
We've scored an exclusive first look at a critical scene from Monday's very last episode—in which we see a short-haired Dan Humphrey (Badgley) meeting up with a
retro-scarfed Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
Gossip Girlshowrunner Stephanie Savage confirms it's a flashback, and also the very last scene that the show's mains stars ever shot.
"Itwas actually really awesome," Savage reveals. "I had the idea for the flashback, but the only way I felt it would remotely work is if Dan had his first-episode hair or else it's hard to sell it as a flashback. But how hard would it be to sell Penn on cutting his hair? I was telling this to our costume designer and he said, ‘Just the other day Penn said when the show was over, he wants to cut all his hair off.' I said I would do whatever humanly possible to make sure that was his last scene. It ended up not only being his last scene but Blake [Lively], Leighton[Meester], Chace [Crawford] and Ed's last scenes, too. They all stuck around for each other's coverage, we brought out a
cake, it was really a great last moment for all of them. It was the perfect way to wrap them off."
Vampire Diaries - Joseph Morgan talks Klaus' priorities and his place as the Captain of the Klaroline ship
In Thursday's episode of "The Vampire Diaries," we'll once again see Klaus and Caroline bond over a glass of champagne -apparently, that's their thing now. Though she's still secretly dating Tyler, there's no doubt that Caroline has warmed up to Klaus's advances. In turn, he may be slightly distracted from his evil quest to turn Elena back into a human bloodbag.
When Zap2it spoke with Joseph Morgan, he assured us that wooing Caroline is becoming a more significant priority for Klaus. "I would say that she's certainly a priority at this point, yes," Morgan says. "He's definitely still got his own agendas, and he's still invested in finding the cure for Elena and creating more hybrids, but he's quite captivated by Caroline. She's really gotten under his skin at this point. She brings out a more playful side to him, which I think he loves, though still with a certain sociopathic glint in his eye."
Often when we speak to "Vampire Diaries" actors, they tell us they prefer their characters' dark sides. Paul Wesley, for example, has
been pretty vocal about his affinity for Stefan's Ripper nature as opposed to Stefan-as-romantic-hero. For Morgan, though, Klaus's lighthearted scenes with Caroline come as a welcome change.
"I do like it, because it's something different," he says. "Working with Candice [Accola] is wonderful, obviously, and I love exploring the great range that the writers have given Klaus this season. Last year, when they brought in Rebekah and the family, I was very pleased because it gave us a chance to see a new side of Klaus, to see the way he is with people he cares about, people he's close to. This is like that in that with a love interest, it's a whole new element to him to explore."
Besides -- it's not all giggling over champagne and painting lonely snowflakes. "To the people who think he's 'gone soft' or whatever," Morgan warns, "I can assure you that he's still more than capable of all of the terrible things he did in the beginning."
That said, he's not exactly rooting for Klaus and Caroline to ride off into the sunset together any time soon. The appeal for Morgan is in the new challenges, not necessarily the happy ending.
"I think I encouraged it in the beginning, because I re-tweeted a few fan videos, and now they think I'm a 'shipper,'" he laughs. "The 'captain of the ship.' It's not that, though. You know, even back in Season 2 I was hoping for a love interest, just to have the opportunity to explore that side of Klaus and to add another layer, and to see a different kind of chemistry. I'm always looking
forward to trying something new with the character."
Part of making Klaus more accessible as a love interest has been about blurring the lines between hero and villain. This season, we saw all of our "heroes" band together to murder an innocent hybrid -- who had just risked his life to help them free Elena. Caroline, Stefan, and Jeremy conspired to kill Chris to save Elena, and Tyler was the only one questioning their actions.
On a similar note, where Klaus was the evil villainous adversary last season, we've seen more and more that he's working with the gang instead of against them. "If we were going to keep Klaus around into Season 4, we really had to give them a common purpose,
Morgan says. "If he really wanted to kill everyone, I think he'd just have done it, given his strength and his age, so we had to get them to a point where they had a reason to work together. Paul and I always laugh about it, because Klaus is constantly saying to Stefan, 'Okay, here's the plan! Tell no one!' and Stefan just goes along with it, just trusts him blindly. He's definitely still a threat, but he's a different kind of threat."
Tyler is slowly staging a revolution against Klaus, while Klaus is too distracted by Caroline's allure to notice that his power is being stripped systematically. That doesn't mean Klaus is any less formidable an opponent for the new alpha hybrid, though. "There's
absolutely an explosive conclusion to that story," Morgan promises. "We've been building toward something very big, and it's not going to disappoint, I'll tell you that much."
In "O Come, All Ye Faithful," the latest Mystic Falls town event has a winter wonderland theme, and features some of Klaus's artwork.
We'll see some holiday-themed cheer and certainly some sparks -- but this is still "The Vampire Diaries," and rumors are brewing about a possible death in this episode. When we asked Morgan whether Klaus has a hand in the bloodshed, his lips were zipped.
"When we do these interviews, they send us an email with talking points, and at the bottom there's a section that says 'DNR,'" he
laughs. "That's Do Not Reveal, and that's right in there on the list. And it's underlined, so I really really can't say anything."
Outside of his work on "Vampire Diaries," Morgan has completed a short film, "Revelation," with his "Vampire Diaries" co-star Persia White in the lead role. The ten-minute piece was recently submitted to six festivals, and fans can look forward to a 30-second teaser trailer being released relatively soon.
"Ultimately, the goal is to stream it online for free, but unfortunately, for some of the festivals we submitted it to, like Cannes, having it available online would immediately disqualify us, so I'm trying to do everything in the right order," Morgan says. "I do feel a bit bad, because I tweeted about it so much and haven't been able to release it yet, but my hope is eventually to have a screening in Atlanta and then to make it available for free online."
When Zap2it spoke with Joseph Morgan, he assured us that wooing Caroline is becoming a more significant priority for Klaus. "I would say that she's certainly a priority at this point, yes," Morgan says. "He's definitely still got his own agendas, and he's still invested in finding the cure for Elena and creating more hybrids, but he's quite captivated by Caroline. She's really gotten under his skin at this point. She brings out a more playful side to him, which I think he loves, though still with a certain sociopathic glint in his eye."
Often when we speak to "Vampire Diaries" actors, they tell us they prefer their characters' dark sides. Paul Wesley, for example, has
been pretty vocal about his affinity for Stefan's Ripper nature as opposed to Stefan-as-romantic-hero. For Morgan, though, Klaus's lighthearted scenes with Caroline come as a welcome change.
"I do like it, because it's something different," he says. "Working with Candice [Accola] is wonderful, obviously, and I love exploring the great range that the writers have given Klaus this season. Last year, when they brought in Rebekah and the family, I was very pleased because it gave us a chance to see a new side of Klaus, to see the way he is with people he cares about, people he's close to. This is like that in that with a love interest, it's a whole new element to him to explore."
Besides -- it's not all giggling over champagne and painting lonely snowflakes. "To the people who think he's 'gone soft' or whatever," Morgan warns, "I can assure you that he's still more than capable of all of the terrible things he did in the beginning."
That said, he's not exactly rooting for Klaus and Caroline to ride off into the sunset together any time soon. The appeal for Morgan is in the new challenges, not necessarily the happy ending.
"I think I encouraged it in the beginning, because I re-tweeted a few fan videos, and now they think I'm a 'shipper,'" he laughs. "The 'captain of the ship.' It's not that, though. You know, even back in Season 2 I was hoping for a love interest, just to have the opportunity to explore that side of Klaus and to add another layer, and to see a different kind of chemistry. I'm always looking
forward to trying something new with the character."
Part of making Klaus more accessible as a love interest has been about blurring the lines between hero and villain. This season, we saw all of our "heroes" band together to murder an innocent hybrid -- who had just risked his life to help them free Elena. Caroline, Stefan, and Jeremy conspired to kill Chris to save Elena, and Tyler was the only one questioning their actions.
On a similar note, where Klaus was the evil villainous adversary last season, we've seen more and more that he's working with the gang instead of against them. "If we were going to keep Klaus around into Season 4, we really had to give them a common purpose,
Morgan says. "If he really wanted to kill everyone, I think he'd just have done it, given his strength and his age, so we had to get them to a point where they had a reason to work together. Paul and I always laugh about it, because Klaus is constantly saying to Stefan, 'Okay, here's the plan! Tell no one!' and Stefan just goes along with it, just trusts him blindly. He's definitely still a threat, but he's a different kind of threat."
Tyler is slowly staging a revolution against Klaus, while Klaus is too distracted by Caroline's allure to notice that his power is being stripped systematically. That doesn't mean Klaus is any less formidable an opponent for the new alpha hybrid, though. "There's
absolutely an explosive conclusion to that story," Morgan promises. "We've been building toward something very big, and it's not going to disappoint, I'll tell you that much."
In "O Come, All Ye Faithful," the latest Mystic Falls town event has a winter wonderland theme, and features some of Klaus's artwork.
We'll see some holiday-themed cheer and certainly some sparks -- but this is still "The Vampire Diaries," and rumors are brewing about a possible death in this episode. When we asked Morgan whether Klaus has a hand in the bloodshed, his lips were zipped.
"When we do these interviews, they send us an email with talking points, and at the bottom there's a section that says 'DNR,'" he
laughs. "That's Do Not Reveal, and that's right in there on the list. And it's underlined, so I really really can't say anything."
Outside of his work on "Vampire Diaries," Morgan has completed a short film, "Revelation," with his "Vampire Diaries" co-star Persia White in the lead role. The ten-minute piece was recently submitted to six festivals, and fans can look forward to a 30-second teaser trailer being released relatively soon.
"Ultimately, the goal is to stream it online for free, but unfortunately, for some of the festivals we submitted it to, like Cannes, having it available online would immediately disqualify us, so I'm trying to do everything in the right order," Morgan says. "I do feel a bit bad, because I tweeted about it so much and haven't been able to release it yet, but my hope is eventually to have a screening in Atlanta and then to make it available for free online."
Leighton joins the cast of Any Tom, Dick, or Harry
I am excited to announce the cast of ANY TOM, DICK, OR HARRY. The film will star Carter Jenkins as “JJ,” Cameron Bowen as “Drew,” Karan Soni as “Ernie,” Jonny Weston as “Hugo,” Davida Williams as “Korleigh,” Meredith Hagner as “Jenny,” and Leighton Meester as “Barbara.” Also cast are Guinevere Turner as “Mindy,”Natalie Thurn as “Lindsay,” Stephen Durham, and David Grammar. Created by Hadley Klein and Carter Jenkins, ANY TOM, DICK, OR HARRY is written and directed by Hadley Klein. Damon Dash serves as Executive Producer. Co-Producer, Davida Williams. It is produced by Alex Holcomb and Charles Rice. Production begins December 13 in Los Angeles.
Ask Ausiello: Gossip Girl Spoilers
Question: Can it really be happening? Is Gossip Girl really coming to an end? Since I know it is, can you let me in on some series finale secrets — especially regarding the flash-forward? —John
Ausiello: Three future couplings will surprise you. Two won’t.
Question: Do you have one last Gossip Girl scoop for me? — Kayla
Ausiello: There’s a twist in the final 15 minutes that I dare say will prove more polarizing than the incendiary Dan-Blair-Chuck triangle.
Ausiello: Three future couplings will surprise you. Two won’t.
Question: Do you have one last Gossip Girl scoop for me? — Kayla
Ausiello: There’s a twist in the final 15 minutes that I dare say will prove more polarizing than the incendiary Dan-Blair-Chuck triangle.
Ed Westwick - Rolling Stones: 50 & Counting concert
US Weekly - Gossip Girl Series Finale (scan)
Leighton filming “God Only Knows” in Providence
The Vampire Diaries’ Damon and Elena: Are Her Feelings Real? The Big Boss Spills!
To say Vampire Diaries fans have been put through the emotional wringer this week is something of an understatement. Damon and Elena finally slept together—and to the shock of precisely no one, Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev have crazy-hot chemistry! But that was followed up only seconds later by the realization that Elena is most likely sired to Damon, which may or may not cause her to be something of a romantic sex-bot.
Now, anyone who has been blessed with the gift of sight probably feels an uncontrollable urge to be Somerhalder's sex-bot, so we're pretty convinced this has nothing to do with the whole sire thing, but hey, we aren't writing the show.
No matter who you're rooting for in the show's core love triangle (Stefan-Elena-Damon), you're probably hungry for info on whether Elena's feelings are in fact legit. Here's what executive producer Julie Plec is willing to spill…
Does Elena really love Damon? Or is it all that blasted sire stuff?
Damon and Elena are both going to be asking themselves these questions. Damon, used to rejection, is probably going to question it even more than Elena, who has a very strong opinion about how she feels.
When does Elena find out?
Next week.
Is there any real hope for Damon and Elena as a legit couple?
The sire bond issue will force them each to dig deep into their feelings towards each other as they try to define and defend them. This could either make them stronger than ever or tear them apart.
How does Stefan react to Elena being sired to Damon?
For Stefan, the shock turns to hope that this helps explain why he and Elena grew so far apart. But we'll also see a lot more of Stefan finding his own strength and redefining what he wants for himself.
Now, anyone who has been blessed with the gift of sight probably feels an uncontrollable urge to be Somerhalder's sex-bot, so we're pretty convinced this has nothing to do with the whole sire thing, but hey, we aren't writing the show.
No matter who you're rooting for in the show's core love triangle (Stefan-Elena-Damon), you're probably hungry for info on whether Elena's feelings are in fact legit. Here's what executive producer Julie Plec is willing to spill…
Does Elena really love Damon? Or is it all that blasted sire stuff?
Damon and Elena are both going to be asking themselves these questions. Damon, used to rejection, is probably going to question it even more than Elena, who has a very strong opinion about how she feels.
When does Elena find out?
Next week.
Is there any real hope for Damon and Elena as a legit couple?
The sire bond issue will force them each to dig deep into their feelings towards each other as they try to define and defend them. This could either make them stronger than ever or tear them apart.
How does Stefan react to Elena being sired to Damon?
For Stefan, the shock turns to hope that this helps explain why he and Elena grew so far apart. But we'll also see a lot more of Stefan finding his own strength and redefining what he wants for himself.
Ask Ausiello: Gossip Girl Spoilers
Question: Is there any chance of Nate and Serena getting back together as a couple before or during the series finale of Gossip Girl? —Erin
Ausiello: Answer’s still no, Erin. Ask me one more time and your IP address will be turned over to the authorities.
Question: You said last week that we would get more Gossip Girl spoilers. Can we get those now please? —Léa
Ausiello: I found out what Kristen Bell will be doing in the series finale and it’s brilliant.
Ausiello: Answer’s still no, Erin. Ask me one more time and your IP address will be turned over to the authorities.
Question: You said last week that we would get more Gossip Girl spoilers. Can we get those now please? —Léa
Ausiello: I found out what Kristen Bell will be doing in the series finale and it’s brilliant.
'The Vampire Diaries' EP Julie Plec talks 'My Brother's Keeper': Damon and Elena do the deed -- but are her feelings real?
Okay, "Vampire Diaries" fans, we know you've had an emotional evening. Regardless of who you're rooting for when it comes to the love triangle, tonight's Miss Mystic Falls pageant was packed with unexpected twists and turns. Elena didn't hesitate to tell Damon that she and Stefan had broken up because of her feelings for the elder Salvatore brother, and while Damon sympathized with Stefan's heartbreak, he wasn't particularly sorry about the whole thing.
That became abundantly clear when Elena decided to crash at Chez Salvatore to get away from her vampire hunter brother. After a little whiskey and a romantic fireside dance, Delena fans finally got their wish when Damon and Elena couldn't resist any longer, and
finally slept together. Of course, it was a bittersweet moment, because on the other side of their tiny town, Caroline and Stefan realized that Elena is sired to Damon. It's a rare condition for vampires, as Damon pointed out in Season 3, but does happen.
For the record, we haven't seen any evidence from any of Klaus' sired hybrids that being sired causes one to have romantic or sexual
feelings toward someone, which is worth remembering as the story moves forward.
The sire bond does explain a lot of the curious things about Elena's vampire transition -- most notably the fact that she can't stomach
blood unless it comes directly from a human vein. No other vampire we've seen so far has been such a picky eater, and personally, I'm glad that finally makes sense! There are still a lot of unanswered questions, though, so I tracked down executive producer Julie Plec for an exclusive interview to follow up the controversial episode. If there's one thing you should take from this, it's that there's still plenty of hope that Elena's feelings for Damon are real -- so don't
Zap2it: The sire bond has been highly speculated about over the last couple of weeks. How long has this been in the works? Did you guys know, when Elena turned, that you'd go this route?
Plec: We came up with it back when we launched Tyler's hybrid story, actually. When Tyler was sired to Klaus, and Damon said, "Oh, s***, I know what this is," that planted the seed of, when we finally go down this road with Elena, whoever's blood she drank to become a vampire sired her to that vampire. From there it was a natural conclusion that it should be Damon, so it's actually something that's been in the works for a very long time. The reason we kept the hybrid storyline alive this year and kept it sort of front and center was in order to create that context for the audience so that when we found out Elena was sired, it would all make sense.
It's definitely alarming for fans who have been waiting to see Damon and Elena get together for them to finally hook up, but have it be intercut with evidence that her feelings for him might not be genuine. Is there still hope that her feelings for him are real?
Without taking sides one way or the other, just looking at it objectively from our point of view as storytellers, there is more hope than ever for them. It's just combined with a lot of very deep questions. Damon is a character who, his whole life -- as a vampire and as a human -- was looking for love and acceptance, and for someone to finally say, "Hey, you're good enough." He finally gets that from Elena, and now he has to question it. He wants to believe it's real. She truly believes it's real. But there's that nagging doubt, as to how much of it is true love and how much is the effects of a sire bond. It's a question that's going to take these two people who do care about each other so deeply, and just put the tiniest bit of an obstacle in their path. They have to figure out how to get around it.
I've been sort of sad to see people on Twitter calling Elena derogatory names because they feel like she moved too
fast, sleeping with Damon right after the breakup with Stefan. Did you guys have any concern in the writers' room that she was jumping into his arms, and his bed, too quickly?
Plec: What we wanted to do in the writers' room was to give Stefan and Elena the most human, honest, and respectable breakup between a couple that had been that important for so long, and to put a real end to that, so that there was a freedom for her to now give in to this passion and this interest that's been brewing for over two and a half seasons. In the real world, would it happen that quickly? Maybe not. But I do think that the punctuation on the breakup is her finally giving in to these feelings for Damon, and then to raise the question of "Oh, God. Is that what she really felt or is it all part of the supernatural link between them?"
I loved Stefan in this episode. He's really on the edge -- particularly in the scenes with Jeremy, when he was really kind of scary. Does his heartbreak over Elena have the potential to push him back into his ripper ways?
Plec: Oh, he's definitely walking the tightrope on the edge there, and will continue to do so. He's trying to be reasonable, he's trying to be rational, but he's very clearly emotionally driven by a desire to, as she called him out on, "fix her." To Stefan's credit, he might be right. He might actually be right, that this is not who she is and this is not who she's supposed to be, so his desire is to try to correct that at all costs. So the question which we'll be exploring is: is this who she is? We don't know.
Before the breakup, Damon and Stefan were in the best place they've been, as brothers, in a long time. Is that in jeopardy now?
Plec: Well, it's been compromised by circumstance, but both of them, to their credit in the next episode, try to take the high road. What comes out of them both trying to take the high road, and to do what's right by each other, and do right by Elena, actually launches the whole next chapter of the show.
This week, Stefan found a murderer to turn into a vampire and kill, but in last week's episode, Jeremy's victim was a hybrid friend of Tyler's who had just helped them. There's sort of this disregard for other lives, outside of their immediate circle. Is that something that's going to be addressed down the line? Obviously, it caused some tension
between Tyler and Caroline.
What that served to do was to basically let Tyler be the voice of conscience, and the voice of reason. He's saying, "Hey, you guys are all doing something in the name of what you percieve to be good, and I don't approve, and it's not okay, and it's not cool." It's a little bit of that Jiminy Cricket reminder that our heroes are doing things to protect what they love, but there's a big shady gray area there. On our show, there's a very fine line separating hero from villain. We want it to be clear that just because Stefan and Damon think something's right, doesn't mean it is.
Next week Stefan tells Damon about the sire bond suspicions, and head to New Orleans for some answers, and we get a look back at where they were in the 1940s. What are you most looking forward to people seeing?
It's a nice window into Damon and who he was then, and who he wanted to be, especially in relationship to his brother, and how he wanted to do right by his brother back then. It kind of informs his decision about how to do right by his brother today. We revisit our favorite girl Lexi, who has been working hard since the ripper days to get Stefan back on track. She brings him to Damon to say, "Okay, the next step in your recovery is to reconcile with your brother." It's a nice moment of insight into where they were at the time.
Leighton Meester at the Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection Launch in NYC
Gossip Girl - 6x10 "New York, I Love You" Episode Synopsis
TWO-HOUR SERIES FINALE -- GOSSIP GIRL IDENTITY REVEALED IN SERIES FINALE -- The Series Finale begins with the stars and executive producers bidding farewell to the Upper East Side in a look back at the show’s many unforgettable moments. Then, in a fashionable farewell to remember, our favorite Upper East Siders join forces for one last soiree, and the shocking identity of Gossip Girl is finally revealed. Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, Kaylee DeFer, Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle star. Mark Piznarski directed the episode written by Stephanie Savage.