Bravo has a rap sheet about thiiiiis long for stealing show ideas from other networks and making it work. Real Housewives of Orange County was nothing than Desperate Housewives with a pinch of The O.C. thrown in for good measure. Step it Up? More like So You Think You Can Dance: Vegas Edition. And you don't need to be told what the celebrity hosted (if Niki Taylor counts as a celebrity) model show Make Me a Supermodel ripped off.
The only thing the network can call it's own is Project Runway, and hell, they already lost that. So what's in development for the style-biting network next? Hint: It's not an original idea:
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Merchandising expert Lauren Conrad wasn't happy with the cover Us Weekly gave her this week. She agreed to give Janice Min's tabloid an exclusive interview (whatever that means with press-hungry reality tarts), and they had the audacity to write a cover line that made her look all woe is me instead of girl power. CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY WOULD DO THAT TO HER?!?!
So she took to, where else, her MySpace blog to set the record straight: "Hey! I just wanted to take a moment to clear something up. I recently did an interview to talk about the show coming back on and what everyone had to look forward to. Unfortunately it was turned into yet another 'poor me' story. The article itself is a nice one but it follows headlines that, in no way, represent my words or feelings. I do not feel betrayed by Audrina or Brody. I love them both and said nothing to contradict this. I understand that headlines sell magazines, but I value my friendships above magazine sales any day. On a more positive note, I got to see some of the first episode yesterday and it looks amazing. I’m sooooooo excited for everyone to see Paris. Best wishes and I hope everyone tunes in Monday."
Unless you're friends with Lauren, perhaps you weren't alerted to the post the way you usually are — by MySpace's PR team, which issues releases whenever one of its celebrity clientele does something meaningful like string words together. So how come tabloid TV producers and their kin weren't notified?
We're just riffing here, but a one Shelly Reinstein happens to work at MySpace PR. She used to work at Us Weekly. And her sister, Mara Reinstein? She still does.
After the jump, a photo of Lauren's dog Chloe, just 'cause. CONTINUED »
As Dolly Parton says, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap." For Lauren Conrad, it takes a lot of handlers, merchandising experts, and red carpet appearances. The reality starlet has big plans for herself, taking the path of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in turning her TV fame into retail dollars. At least she's not kidding herself: Most of her dollars come from endorsement deals, with guarantee an upfront fee and a cut of sales from whatever she's pushing.
She's on board with a toy company, a leather-goods maker and a cosmetics line. But her true passion is fashion, and it's in that world she hopes to make a name for herself. Which is why Conrad, who you'd think will accept any cheque made out to her name, actually refused one retailer's overtures to slap her name on a clothing line — because she wouldn't have any creative input!
Those two months in Paris and interning for a TV version Teen Vogue will NOT be wasted, even if she can't spell "beret."
• We've been listening to the Hot Chip song, "Ready For The Floor" on all day repeat. The video is pretty cool, too.
• In the reality TV equivalent of George Clooney rejoining the cast of ER, which never happened, Lo is going to be a featured player on The Hills next season, not just "Lauren's Friend." You mean LC's BFF from Laguna Beach? Yes, we're familiar with Lo.
• Our gay li'l brother Queerty got a redesign today. The gays always age better than the straights. Also, a lesbian endorses Hillary Clinton. Too bad no one cares about that minority this election cycle. CONTINUED »
If you’ve ever woken up on a Saturday morning and thought, “thinking isn’t for me today” and spent the day watching MTV, you know that Stephen and Lauren of Laguna Beach hooking up again is a big deal.
We’ve had that experience; our colleague Cord of Mollygood has not. And yet he has used all our witty rejoinders about the recent re-pairing on his website. Our resolution for 2008 is to get our revenge.
[Photo Credit: WireImage]
• Laguna Beach stars' sex-tape deemed "too boring" for commercial release. Unlike those crazy unscripted shenanigans on season 18 of MTV's The Real World!
• Overweight nerd has Missed Connection with frequent object of his one-sided masturbatory fantasies.
• Creative differences with Dead Horse prove to be a Dealbreaker for blogger Elizabeth Spiers.
• For the first time we can remember, we're actually worried about not having enough Law & Order.
• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tells the Senate Judiciary Committee he has nothing to hide. Except, you know, the truth.
• Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell to author children's books; Victoria "Posh" Beckham to read them in her brand new book club.
• If you're going to get nailed for insider trading, make sure you pick a totally innocuous trading symbol. Like "LGBT."
As much as we at Jossip love TV (especially reality TV and most especially Laguna Beach), every now and then a new advance in media comes around that freaks the crap out of us. The era of virtual reality reality television is upon us. We're not even sure where that would lie on the reality chart (or if it would even make it on there) but somehow we feel like it would lie somewhere near Bret Easton Ellis.
MTV is taking Laguna Beach into the virtual world, where fans of the show can play a Sims-like game of being a high schooler in the most ridiculous existence imaginable in real life.
This week, MTV will introduce Virtual Laguna Beach, an online service in which fans of the program can immerse themselves — or at least can immerse digitized, three-dimensional characters, called avatars, that they control — in virtual versions of the show’s familiar seaside hangouts.
“You can not only watch TV, but now you can actually live it,” Van Toffler, the president of the MTV Networks Music, Film and Logo Group, said in an interview.
So now you can live out your fantasy of hooking up with Stephen or finally having Alex and Jessica beat the living shit out of each other. Sigh. And you thought MySpace was taking your life a step in the "I have no actual substance or sense of reality in my life" direction.
Not in the Real World Anymore [Richard Siklos, New York Times]
Yesterday morning a book fell on Observer staffer Choire Sicha's desk. The title of this magic piece of literature was Same Sex and the City: So Your Prince Charming Is Really a Cinderella and was "written by two chicks named Lauren."
Lauren Levin and Lauren something else (who once worked at Teen Vogue) compiled their experiences into a revealing read full of "exceptional sexual politics" and NYU girls experimenting with the trashiest ways to attract attention from guys.
But, no matter how much those horny, post-pubescent guys may want to watch Lauren on Lauren action, will they really want to read it?
Well, here's a warning: Even the chapter by some chick named "Liza" called "I Got Hammered and Made Out with My Friend for $30 in Front of 12 Guys… Am I a Lesbian?" wasn't that hot. Particularly because "Liza" got hammered on six shots of Absolut Kurant. No, perhaps "Liza" isn't a lez—but she sure is a pussy.
Whatever, we'll read it. If only to find out if NYU girls and former Teen Vogue Laurens are sluttier than the new Teen Vogue Lauren — y'know Laguna Beach's LC?
We already know she can drink way more than six shots. Hello, we saw the Cabo episode.
The Cockpit: Hot Lesbian Sexy Action [Choire "I Like Ladies!" Sicha, The Daily Transom]
• Kristen Cavallari of Laguna Beach is in, Lindsay Lohan is out. Just ask the presidents of cool over at the Washington Post [WaPo]
• Was your NYE in NYC a total bust? Star magazine proves you're not alone. Celebs worth seeing hate it here, too. [Star]
• A great many people share the honorable birthday of January 1st, including the first two babies born in New York City in 2006. [NYP]
• Nobody besides Matt Drudge is talking about Michael Moore's new movie Sicko (including Michael Moore). Oh, we're onto you, Drudgie. [Variety, Drudge Report]
• Even though she's a racist bliatch, Eva Longoria's boyfriend wants to marry her. Says the Enquirer. [National Enquirer]
• After making up some story about knowing Jack Nicholson, Mischa Barton and Cisco Adler flee Aspen in a state of shame. [Rush & Molloy]
• Oh no he didn't. Trying to talk to you ex's best friend like you didn't totally play her girl is a bad idea. Even if you're Brad Pitt and the friend is Courtney Cox. [Female First]
• Without Coca-Cola, movies would totally tank. Without Matt Drudge, people could enjoy the simple art of entertainment again. But alas, he will not stop. And neither will we. [Slate]
• Newlyweds skyrocketed Jessica Simpson from C-list to B-list, while Nick Lachey somehow stuck around on the D-list. No worries though, they didn't have a prenup — which means Nick's gonna get a hefty chunk of Simpson's purse. [PerezHilton]
• Speaking of Nick, he's retained publicionado Ken Sunshine to battle Jessica's supra-publicist Rob Shuter in the gossip columns. [Lowdown]
• More Lachey news? Even we are starting to get ill. He's in talks with The WB to star in his own sitcom, where he plays a famous baseball player in a new marriage. How eerily familiar .. we already know how the mid-season cancellation is going to turn out. [Reuters]
• First Jamie Foxx thinks he's the real Ray Charles. Now Lenny Kravitz is about to take on Jimi Hendrix's likeness. [Fox 411]
• In Paris Hilton's world, it's all about leftovers. While she's parading around with Mary-Kate Olsen's ex Stavros Niarchos, her ex-fiance Paris Latsis is new pals with Tara Reid. But it's just platonic, for all our sakes. [Page Six]
• Laguna Beach's Kristin Cavallari is extending her 15 minutes, thanks to co-hosting duties for UPN's new reality show Get This Party Started. Alongside Extra's Ethan Erickson, the career reality TV starlet will repent for her on-screen sins by throwing parties for those in need. [NYDN]
• Michael Jackson still hates the Jews. Now he hates the Italians. But he loves the Muslims. [Page Six & R&M]
• That sound you hear is A-list actresses wailing in agony, because Dolce and Gabbana decided not to design for the Oscars anymore, claiming it's "too conservative." [Extra]
Just when you thought we'd seen the last of Kimberly Stewart since not getting picked for The Simple Life and the last of Talan Torriero since Laguna Beach ended, there's this happy moment — which probably took place in the back seat of Stavros Niarchos' crashed Bentley.
ET has confirmed that KIMBERLY STEWART is engaged to "Laguna Beach" cast member TALAN TORRIERO. The 26-year-old daughter of rocker ROD STEWART recently split from "Girls Gone Wild" producer JOE FRANCIS. She was previously engaged to musician CISCO ADLER back in autumn of 2004. No word yet on a wedding date for Kimberly and Talan.
Did anyone else just throw up a little bit in their mouth?
• NBC isn't thrilled that ex-Apprentice contestants Markus Garrison and Jennifer Wallen are talking on the record about producers' editing tricks, especially since they signed nondisclosure agreements. The cease-and-desist letters have been sent, threatening to collect on that little $5 million in damages clause. [Lowdown]
• If a boob is exposed on the red carpet and nobody photographs it, did it really happen? Keira Knightly almost joined the Tara Reid Club when her press walk turned explicit, but unfortunately her breasts were blocked from the flashing lenses. [Gatecrasher]
• Expect to see more of Laguna Beach's Lauren "L.C." Conrad, who's managed to turn her Teen Vogue internship into an excuse for MTV's cameras to follow her around some more. [WWD]
• It seemed like nobody wanted Kate Moss ever since her cocaine exposure, but now Burberry has reversed its decision to end its relationship with the model. First Rimmell, then Cavalli and now Burberry? Who knew drug use was such a career booster. [Vogue]
• First Paris Hilton starts dating Mary-Kate Olsen's trash and now sister Nicky is copying her sister by, uh, dating Paris' trash. [Radar]
• At last, we know what Lloyd Grove does in his spare time: read republican porno novels. The Lowdowner will be auctioning off his personally autographed copy of Scooter Libby's The Apprentice on eBay. [Lowdown]
• Quo nightclub owner Carlo Seneca has been stepping out on his wife Jessica with none other than "the world's first supermodel" Janice Dickinson. Carlo's excuse? He wanted a celeb attached to his new restaurant Pre-Post. Though, uh, Janice is already an investor. [Page Six]
• Congrats to Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Haydon, whose wedding on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach indicates we'll be blessed with a whole new generation of pretend wealth. [NYDN]
• Eddie Guerrero won't see the inside of the ring ever again. The WWE wrestler was found dead in his hotel room in Minneapolis, though there's no sign that Sean Michaels put him in a sleeper hold. [AP]
• The next time Aaron Carter's camp tries to push rumors that he's dating someone (this time it's Laguna Beach's Kristin Cavaleri) they should be sure to check whether she's already seriously smooching someone else. [Gatecrasher]
• We're not entirely shocked to learn PR princess Gretchen Braun billed much of her wedding to her clients, we're just impressively stunned to learn she got caught so fast. [Gatecrasher]
• As we told you about yesterday, the Roxy's padlocking on Friday night (underage drinking, blah blah blah)didn't pleasantly foreshadow its Halloween party last night. Suspecting they might be targeted again, promoters moved the event to Crobar — which, to the chagrin of many, does not have a rail thin blowjob balcony. [Page Six]
• When Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake aren't battling the paparazzi, they're bullying DreamWorks over Shrek 3. When studio execs posed the question of who should play long-lost relative King Arthur to Cameron, she immediately suggested her boytoy — and now DreamWorks can't say no. [Radar]
• First Lil' Kim, now Kanye West. The rapper and his music video director Hype Williams are being accused of doing a little "Gold Digging" of their own, leaving costume and makeup artists standing with their hands out waiting for their money. [Lowdown]
• The end for Leo DiCaprio and Gisele Bundchen? Rumors about that there's a third party — and it's not their careers. [Page Six]
• Martha Stewart may finally have some new viewers for her sinking shows. The house the domestic diva bought for her new reality show (which "troubled" contestants will renovate) is said to be haunted. [Page Six]
• As Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles descend upon New York City to kick off their whirlwind U.S. visit, there's only one thing to do: sick PETA on 'em. [The Scoop]
• Jennifer Lopez has been telling her camp that all she wants now is an Oscar, but her handlers say the only way that's going to happen is if she becomes a "serious" actress, which requires giving up her mass market business ventures. No more Glo by J. Lo? [The Insider]
• Al Reynolds was busted yesterday morning for driving with a suspended license, which might mean he's learned his lesson about taking a comp'd limo ride around town to gay clubs. He used his one phone call to ring wifey Star Jones, who made no effort to join him at the police station. [NYDN]
• Joe Francis has taken on a new project, but it's not involving college girls, liquor and a video camera. At least not yet. He's taken Laguna Beach's Talan Torriero under his wing, teaching him about the birds, the bees and how to break into an industry that Francis isn't even a part of. [Lowdown]
• Britney Spears believes she's somehow qualified to judge the singing ability of others, namely husband Kevin Federline. His efforts at a rock demo got laughed at by the pop tart, which is funny because that's how critics approach her music. [The Scoop]
• What's more fun than two fashion houses' public feuding? The daughters of two fashion houses' public feuding. Margherita Missoni and Francesca Versace are in separate corners as they fight over Ernst August, son of Germany's Prince Ernst of Hanover. As if they need something else to not eat over. [Page Six
• Just because Michael Moore barely employs any black people, invested in Halliburton and HMOs and lives in a community where no blacks live doesn't make him a hypocrite. [Page Six
• Why is Janet Jackson so vehemently denying that she's a mother of an 18 year old girl? Because she may have a little Wacko Jacko on the way, courtesy of Jermaine Dupri. [R&M]
• Oh look, it's Michael Jackson blaming someone else for his financial woes. [AP]
Taking its cues from the likes of, ahem, blogs, the New York Times launches into 1,400 words on how MTV is building its pseudo reality series Laguna Beach into its Osbournes-level replacement.
There's more than just Laguna Beach branded key chains, flip flops and notebooks at work here. There's the VIP DVD, which offers an exclusive scene from next week's show, plus lots of other marketing goodies.
It began a campaign that gave its audience the feeling they were already living in a "Laguna Beach" all-media universe. For those who did not catch the three-minute "Laguna Beach" commercial playing in 2,200 movie theaters across the country, there was a compilation CD. The "Laguna Beach: Complete First Season" DVD included bonus features that ranged from behind-the-scenes material (original casting tapes, deleted scenes) to old film that had been enterprisingly repackaged (a clip reel titled "Laguna Looks" featured show regulars in close-up as their trademark expressions - hound-dog lust, raised-brow surprise, squinty-eyed jealousy - register on their camera-ready faces).
How's The O.C. going to match it? They're exclusive Amazon.com fashion line is a start, but now that Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson's relationship is nearing maturity, we need a little on-set scandal please.
Editorial Director
