Spoiler: Ask Ausiello

22 07 2010

RELEVANT QUESTIONS–DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW!!!

Question: Do you know the name of Katie Cassidy’s character on Gossip Girl? —Julie
Ausiello: As a matter of fact I do. Her name is Juliet Sharp.

Question: One Tree Hill scoop demanded. Let’s be real. Will Lucas and Peyton ever return to Tree Hill? —Taylor
Ausiello: If this turns out to be the soap’s final season, I’d say there’s an 80 percent chance both will be back in the series finale.

Question: Why is it that there is still no juicy spoilerific scoop on One Tree Hill‘s new season? —Johnny
Ausiello: Um…. did you not see my spoiler last week about three longtime series regulars being killed off in the season premiere? You’re looking for something bigger than that? Okay, here it goes: Look for Victoria and Millicent to jeopardize the future of Brooks company. (BTW, that first part about the three series regulars getting whacked was a joke. It’s okay to laugh.)

Question: I need a 90210 season 3 scoop—an amazing one! —Antonakis
Ausiello: There’s a death in the season premiere. Amazing enough for you?

Credit: EW.com


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill

Second Annual One Tree Hill Evaluation

24 05 2010

After the television season ended last year, I conducted three sets of polls to evaluate what readers thought of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and 90210.

The results of each then formed one more survey to see which teen drama really had the best season.

With last week’s conclusion to the 2009-2010 TV season, it’s time to do it again.

We’ll kick things off with a set of polls about One Tree Hill’s seventh season.

You have until Wednesday at 11:59pm eastern to vote. I’ll post the results and the next set of questions the next day.

**Please remember your answers should be based solely on the season that just ended, except for the last question, which is about the show overall.**

Note: The format is wonky for the open-ended questions.  Please put your answer in the “other” space.


Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill

News Roundup: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and The O.C.

17 04 2010
  • Daphne Zuniga (Victoria, One Tree Hill) is spearheading a charity auction to support the Los Angeles River. Among the packages you can bid on: lunch with Zuniga, Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill), Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill), Lisa Goldstein (Millicent, One Tree Hill) and Allison Munn (Lauren, One Tree Hill). Who has $1,000+ they can loan me?
  • Zuniga also recently joined Twitter. She has been added to the Twitter Directory.
  • Forbes named Chuck (Ed Westwick, Gossip Girl) one of the wealthiest fictional characters and did an interview with “him.”
  • News of the World has an interview with Eric Daman (costume designer, Gossip Girl) about the Miss Selfridge collection of Gossip Girl-inspired clothes that will be available in Britain later this month.
  • Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) was shooting the movie Sin Bin in Chicago last week. Why couldn’t he done it when I lived there?

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The O.C.

Spoiler: Watch With Kristin

10 11 2009

RELEVANT QUESTIONS–DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW!!!

Monty in New Mexico: What’s next on Gossip Girl?
I’m told that after tonight’s threeway, everything will be very messy for Dan, Olivia and Vanessa. “Things are not well,” says my source, and the threesome will have repercussions for all relationships involved, and we’ll see it all play out next week via flashbacks of the dirty deeds that were done. Also next week, a fourth wheel comes into the mix: Lady Gaga! No, she’s not actually hitting the sack for an L-O-V-D foursome (can you imagine?), but her music is the catalyst through which Dan, Olivia and Vanessa have to stay connected and work together even more closely for the time being (thanks to an assignment).

Oh, and for all of you who are sooo tired of hearing about the ménage à trois—can we all just have a cigarette and cab fare already?—I have this news to share: A main Gossip Girl character is going to get in a serious accident. One that will send her to the hospital. And that someone is Serena (Blake Lively).

Montana in Spain: Please, some scoop on One Tree Hill?
This just in: Millicent will get a DUI, Nathan will fire Clay when the Bobcats sign another player instead of him and Brooke and Julian will continue to have major problems.

Morris in Minneapolis: Anything good coming up on 90210?
I know I just said this about One Tree Hill, but now it’s also true on 90210: Someone is going to try to commit suicide. Think you know who? Also, the truth about Jen and Liam comes out in episode 11, Dixon’s birth mother will return and Debbie will start flirting with her yoga instructor.

***

Notes:

At first I wasn’t sure where she previously said about a potential suicide on One Tree Hill but then I realized it was in a spoiler chat from 2 weeks ago.

The yoga instructor Debbie flirts with will be played by Greg Vaughan (Cliff, Beverly Hills 90210). I already posted photos.

If you need a refresher on Dixon and his birth mom, check out my reaction post from last season.


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill

Exclusive: One Tree Hill’s Lee Norris Answers YOUR Questions!

8 11 2009

This was the third time I’ve interviewed Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill) but I can’t say “third time’s a charm” because he’s been charming every time.  And this time around, as we caught up on the phone, he was gracious enough to answer questions submitted by YOU!

TeenDramaWhore: Since we just spoke a few months ago, today I thought I would do things a little bit differently.  I asked my readers, your fans, to send in questions. So this is coming directly from them.

Lee Norris: Alright, very cool.

TDW: So Em wants to know: Do you hang out with any of your One Tree Hill costars in your  free time?

Norris: Yeah, absolutely. We’re a tight-knit family and we’ve worked together for going on seven years here so we definitely hang out. Sophia [Bush, Brooke] is a great friend of mine and we have new faces now like Austin [Nichols, Julian], who’s a good kid. You know, pretty much everyone.  We all hang out when we can. We work different schedules.

TDW: Okay, and Zella wants to know: In last week’s episode, Mouth got the idea of doing his own sports webshow/website as his new career path, and she’s wondering what web-series, podcasts, and websites do you pay attention to in real-life. And if you are into web 2.0 & social media like we are.

Norris: That’s a good question. I’m not a huge blog-follower. Other than, of course, TeenDramaWhore, a big shout-out there.

TDW: Thank you!

Norris: But I don’t go to too many blog sites. My girlfriend reads some of that stuff and will send interesting things to me so I pretty much rely on her. But otherwise, I’m pretty typical, you know, ESPN.com viewer and I try to keep up with a couple of my favorite bands’ blogs in terms of their upcoming concerts and things like diaries that they’re doing and stuff.  So that kind of thing. I’m not a huge–like I don’t do Twitter. I think it’s a really cool thing and I just don’t think I’m exciting enough to have a Twitter personally.

TDW: Awww.

Norris: I don’t. I just feel like, I don’t know. Maybe people would be interested. I guess they probably would considering I have a really cool job and work with some pretty cool people but otherwise I don’t think they really care about me eating my chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A.

TDW: You never know.  Lauren wants to know if the cast is planning on doing anymore tours or charity events?

Norris: You know, those kinds of things have always been driven by our producers. They’re really the force behind that, and the network. So it’s not typically up to the cast, but, that being said, I would love to go out and do any of those kind of things because anytime we get to go out and see the fans face-to-face, it’s obviously the best part of the job for me, to get to meet all of our fans because they’re the reason we’ve been around for so long and it’s nice when you can step outside of this little world we have in Wilmington and see that what we’re doing on this little soundstage is affecting people that live in other countries. It’s just amazing to see that it affects people in a real-life way. So I’d be all for that. And I really want–I’d really like to some, you know, we’ve been over the states quite a bit but it’d be nice to sort of go out and do some international stuff.

TDW: And Lauren also wants to know if you are interested in directing an episode.

Norris: Yeah. I would eventually like to move into directing. It’s been really fun to work with James [Lafferty, Nathan] and Soph and [Bethany Joy Galeotti, Haley] and Paul [Johansson, Dan] and watch them do it. I’m the kind of person–I’m like a major organizer and preparer. I don’t typically like to take something on until I feel like I’ve learned every possible thing about it, and directing is such a huge task that I feel like I’m still sort of figuring that whole world out. I’m observing a lot and trying to learn as much as I can, so that if the opportunity comes along, that, you know, obviously I can do–I can hopefully do–a great job. But, yeah, I’d be interested in that eventually.

TDW: A reader by the username of g90210th wants to know: Besides Mouth, who is your favorite character currently on the show, and why?

Norris: Ooh, that’s a good question! Wow. I don’t know. Is it really bad to say that Dan is my favorite character?

TDW: Not at all!  That’s totally fine.

Norris: I don’t know, it’s kind of weird. I don’t know.  I’m always, you know, intrigued as to what’s going on in that man’s mind because he’s just so…Obviously I don’t like him at all but I’m always sort of waiting to see what he’s got up his sleeve and currently kind of interesting to me is, is he really the bad guy in his relationship  right now or is Rachel [Dannel Harris] the bad guy?  They’re both pretty bad. That’s kind of interesting to me at the moment so I guess I’ll go with Dan. I bet most people wouldn’t pick Mouth to say that.

TDW: Keren wants to know: If you could be in any TV series beside OTH, which series would it be? Which character?

Norris: Okay, I’d definitely would love to be on True Blood, which is a show about vampires. I would definitely want to be–well, first of all it’s set in the South and I’m from the South so I definitely just want to be a cool, majorly-centuries-old vampire that’s really really bad-ass, I guess. I don’t know. I didn’t get swept away in the whole Twilight thing but the True Blood craze is pretty cool.  It’s a neat show.

TDW: Keren also wants to know: If you could visit any country in the world right now, which country would it be?

Norris: That’s a good question, too.  Gosh, you know I’ve always wanted to go to Australia but I’ve never been. I almost studied abroad there in college and it fell through at the last minute. I’ve heard wonderful things about the people and the beaches and the weather.  I’d like to do that. It’s just a long flight from here. There’s a number of places I’d like to go but  I’ve been lucky to travel to some great countries already and Australia’s one of the ones, unfortunately, I haven’t been to yet.

TDW: Becky wants to know: How has the cast changed this season with the departure of Chad [Michael Murray, Lucas] and Hilarie [Burton, Peyton] and the addition of some of the new actors?

Norris: Obviously we miss Chad and Hil because we worked for them for six years and, you know, it’s tough to say goodbye to people after that long  but, you know, I think One Tree Hill is really an ensemble show at its core. I think there’s enough of “old people” around that the show still has interesting stories left to tell about the characters. And I think you still feel the presence of Lucas and Peyton from time to time, which is important. In terms of the new characters, you know, I feel like they’ve tried to balance so you’re not completely immersed in new storylines only without the old stuff. Obviously, you know, Rob Buckley’s character Clay just had a huge revelation in terms of you finding out he’s been married and his wife passed away tragically, and I think that was a really smart way to introduce that character because certainly it’s hard enough to deal with that and obviously he’s kind of good to Nathan and Haley who are a big core part of the show. So I think that’s interesting ,and Jana Kramer [Alex] is really funny and has a lot of energy as Alex so I think they’re doing a good job of balancing the new characters so far.

TDW: Okay.  A different Lauren wants to know: When the show eventually ends, what are your plans?

Norris: Well, my plans are hopefully to continue acting because I love it. It’s a passion of mine and I’d like to continue doing it for as along as I can. And I certainly wouldn’t mind moving behind the camera, as I said, to directing. I’d look for those opportunities.

TDW: Okay, this one’s a little bit longer.  Lauren also wants to know: If you could describe each of your castmates with one word, what would it be?

Norris: Oh, wow. Okay, I’ll try. This is going to be like word association. It’s going to be like right off the bad.  So, each cast member?

TDW: Yes.

Norris: Okay. For Sophia I would say intelligent. For Austin I would say wily–in a good way. I guess that’s more than one word but anyway. For James I would say focused. Let’s see.  Gosh, I’m trying to think. We have so many cast members! For Rob I would say polite. For Lisa [Goldstein, Millicent] I would say genuine. For Paul I would say mischievous.  For Antwon [Tanner, Skills] I would say talkative. (laughs) Who am I missing? Oh, I haven’t done Joy. Oh gosh.  That’s a tough one. Let’s see.  What would I say about Joy? I would say she is…gosh, I would say, I don’t know.  She’s like such a unique person and complex. Let’s go with multi-talented.

TDW: Yeah, she definitely has that going for.

Norris: She does.  The girl is like–I don’t know if people know this but she just put together like a Broadway musical pretty much.

TDW: I know! I’m looking forward to seeing it. I hope it goes far.

Norris: She’s insanely talented. Is that everybody?

TDW: Yeah, I think you got the core cast down really well.

Norris: Oh, Shantel [VanSanten, Quinn]. I didn’t do Shantel.  She’s glamorous.

TDW: Okay. And what can you tell us about your storyline for the rest of this season?

Norris: Well I can tell you that Mouth’s in a bit of a predicament right now because he just lost his job after sticking up for Nathan. So he’s gotta figure out his career path and obviously in the last episode Julian sort of planted a seed in him, thinking about the internet so it’s going to be interesting to see if he can pick that up and run with it. And certainly I think also really important to him is obviously his relationship with Millicent and she’s starting to go down a little bit of a questionable path here after being introduced to this modeling world. How is he going to maintain this relationship with the girl that he loves but who’s changing right before his eyes? He’s got a lot to deal with. There’s no shortage of drama in Tree Hill, you know that.

TDW: And lastly, do you have any message for the fans?

Norris: Well, obviously anytime I get a chance to say anything to the fans, after seven years, we have to say thank you.  They are absolutely without a doubt the reason we’re still on the air and I just thank them for their passion and their support because obviously, you know, this is a lot of fun for this. This is a job and we appreciate the fact that you guys let us into your homes every week. So I would say thank you because I don’t think I’ll ever be able say to say thank you enough.

TDW: Well, thank you so much, Lee.  I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.

Norris: Of course, Shari. It’s always fun to talk to you so keep up the good work.

TDW: Thank you.  I hope you’ll continue to check out the site.

Norris: I will. I love it when you interview my friends.

TDW: They have such great things to say about you!

Norris: It’s pretty nice. Alright, Shari, take care!

TDW: Thank you, you too!

Come back Tuesday for another exclusive interview!

TDW Interview Index


Comments : 14 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : One Tree Hill

Exclusive: One Tree Hill’s Lisa Goldstein Says Millie Should Be Mrs. McFadden

13 09 2009

In just two seasons, Lisa Goldstein went from new girl on the block to a full-fledged member of One Tree Hill. Now, as she embarks on her third season, Goldstein discusses adjusting to fame, what she has in common with the quirky yet lovable Millicent Huxtable and why she’s in agreement with co-star Lee Norris.

TeenDramaWhore: Pre-One Tree Hill, you primarily appeared in musicals. What made you switch to TV?

Lisa Goldstein: I never really decided to “make the switch.” I have a degree in musical theatre and that is the genre I kept getting cast in. I freelanced with television and film agents when I lived in both New York and Orlando. I was constantly auditioning for TV and film while performing in professional theatre.  My agent in Orlando called and told me there was an audition for One Tree Hill, and told me I could either audition for the receptionist or the quirky fashion assistant, “Millicent”. I jumped at the chance to audition for the “quirky assistant”, I thought it would be fun. I put myself on tape and a week later heard that I had booked the role. I had my friend Nicole listen to the voicemail my agent left because I didn’t believe it. It seemed too easy!!

TDW: What are some of the biggest differences between working in theater and working on a weekly television show?

Goldstein: There are so many!! But, two of the biggest are rehearsal time and the size of your performance. I was used to having weeks of rehearsal, and on a TV set you have about five minutes. It was quite a shock to not be able to rehearse the scenes over and over before performing them. Also, in front of an audience you have to project your voice and performance to the back of the theatre, but in front of a camera everything is so much more subtle. I’d look like a total idiot if I performed in front of a camera the way I do in front of an audience. Being too big in front of the camera is actually a big fear of mine. A lot of directors come on set and tell me to be bigger and to do more.

TDW: What is it like working in Wilmington when fans are such a constant presence?

Goldstein: It is both flattering and overwhelming. I’m pretty shy in front of new people, so to have have all these people around who know my name is a lot for me. But it’s also wonderful to know that people have taken to Millie.

TDW: How do you think Millicent has changed over the 2 seasons we’ve seen her?

Goldstein: She is much more confident and I think she has Mouth [Lee Norris] to thank for that. She found someone to love her quirks and all, which made her perfectly OK with being exactly who she is. She has also become more accomplished at work and gained more responsibility which helps with the confidence as well.

TDW: What was your reaction last season when you found out Millie slept with Joe Manganiello’s Owen? (Episode 6.13: Things A Mama Don’t Know)

Goldstein: I pretty much had a heart attack. Just kidding! I honestly thought it was kind of a weird choice it seemed to come out of nowhere, but I trust Mark [Schwahn]. I know it made the season much more interesting for Lee and me. Things were getting a little stagnant and Millie and Mouth needed something big to happen, and that is exactly what did it.

TDW: What can you tell us about Millie’s story this season?

Goldstein: Ooooooooooooh! I can tell you it’s good….reeeeeeeeallly good!!

TDW: Do you have a favorite scene, storyline or memory from the set?

Goldstein: My favorite storyline is this year’s, and I’m SWORN to secrecy. : ) I also loved the stuff in the episode where Millie finds Gigi in Mouth’s bed [Episode 6.10, Even Fairytale Characters Would Be Jealous].

TDW: Lee Norris said he wants Millie to end up Mrs. McFadden. Do you agree?

Goldstein: Yes, absolutely. They’re great for each other. They fought for each other when times got really tough. They respect each other’s profession and are so supportive of one another. And they are in love.

TDW: Do you share any similarities with Millie?

Goldstein: I think it’s really hard not to have similarities with the character’s I play. I was taught to always bring a little bit of “me” to every character. So I certainly have similarities with Millie. I am a diligent worker, I am loyal, and can be pretty shy. However, I am not neurotic or jealous, and I don’t snore for exactly seven minutes at 2AM every night. : )

TDW: How has it been dealing with the loss and addition of cast members?

Goldstein: I never really worked with Chad [Michael Murray, Lucas] or Hilarie [Burton, Peyton]. I miss seeing them around set, but since I never had scenes with them it’s not all that different for me personally. The addition of cast members has been wonderful. I work with Jana Kramer, who plays Alex, a lot. We have a lot of fun together, she is hilarious.

TDW: Once OTH ends, do you plan on focusing on your strictly-acting career or do you plan on going back to musicals?

Goldstein: I hope to do both. I love doing TV and I love doing theatre, and hopefully, once One Tree Hill ends, I can continue to do both.

TDW: Will you ever get the chance to sing on OTH?  Or maybe release an album?

Goldstein: Since there are already two female cast members that sing [Bethany Joy Galeotti, Haley; Kate Voegele, Mia], I highly doubt I’ll ever sing on the show, but you never know. I also don’t really have any desire to release an album. I’d rather just sing on stage, but… again… you never know.

TDW: Do you have a Twitter account or any interest in getting one?

Goldstein: I had a twitter account for about 2.5 seconds and couldn’t stand it. So no I don’t have one and I don’t plan on getting one.

Come back tomorrow for a live-blog of One Tree Hill’s season 7 premiere and come back again next Sunday for another exclusive interview!

Complete TDW Interview Index


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : One Tree Hill

Get Ready for One Tree Hill Season 7!

12 09 2009

We’re days away from One Tree Hill’s season 7 premiere!

Here’s what you need to know about last season:

After season 5 ended with a massive cliff-hanger–which girl did Lucas ask to marry him?–it is revealed that Peyton is the one Luke called and they travel to Las Vegas to get married. Realizing they want their friends and family to witness the nuptials, Leyton returns to Tree Hill where they move in together.  A few months later, Peyton finds out she’s pregnant but soon suffers complications.  The duo decide to follow the motto of carpe diem and pull-off a last-minute wedding.  The wedding night takes a disastrous turn when Peyton suffers yet another pregnancy complication but it leads to the birth of the beautiful and healthy Sawyer Brooke Scott.  We last see a happy Leyton and baby Sawyer driving in The Comet..

Earlier in the season, Lucas is ecstatic when he finds out An Unkindness of Ravens will be made into a movie.  He’s thrown for a loop, however, when the producer ends up being Peyton’s ex, Julian Baker.  Julian decides not to cause any trouble with Leyton and instead works peacefully with Lucas on the film.  After finding a director and casting the lead roles, the film is shut down.

Peyton finds out who her birth father is but is unable to forge a relationship with him.  She continues to work with Mia (who starts dating Brooke’s ex, Chase) on her music career, and helps Haley resume hers.

Brooke gets off to a bumpy start when she is assualted one night at Clothes Over Bros.  Convinced her mother is responsible for the attack, the two drift further apart.  Brooke’s faith in herself and humanity is restored when she takes in Sam, one of Haley’s troubled young students.  The two adjust to living together and develop a mother-daughter dynamic, which comes to an end when Sam decides to live with her birth mother.

Throughout this, Brooke continues to find happiness in her love life.  She rejects Owen when he comes back to town, and reluctantly starts a relationship with Julian.  Despite his efforts to convince her how much he loves her, Brooke is apprehensive to commit.  In the finale, she mends her relationship with her mother and ultimately decides Julian is one the for her and goes to him to declare her love.

Haley, Nathan and Jamie find life as they know it disrupted when Quentin–Haley’s student, Nathan’s motivator and Jamie’s role model–is murdered.  Haley is fired from her job as a teacher at Tree Hill High after she refuses to censor one of Sam’s essays. Nathan, in an effort to make his way back to the NBA, plays Slamball before realizing it is too dangerous for him.  He joins a minor league team and, in the finale, is called up to the NBA as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats.  Jamie’s growing pains include dealing  a school bully and his first crush, finding out the truth about Grandpa Dan’s past and being nearly kidnapped by Nanny Carrie (again).

Dan faces struggles in almost every aspect of his life: he’s kidnapped and tortured by Nanny Carrie, his sons still refuse to have anything to do with him and his heart conditions worse.  Add on an explosive confrontation with ex-wife Deb, and it makes for one trying year in the life of Dan Scott.

Speaking of Deb, she breaks up with Skills who takes it badly and first but rebounds with Jamie’s teacher, Miss Lauren.

Mouth and Millicent take a big step and move in together, but their relationship progress is thrawted when Gigi coms back to town and tries to get with Mouth.  After some time apart, Mouth is able to win Millicent back and they resume their relationship.

The season ends with everyone (except for Dan, perhaps) in a state of happiness and satisfaction.

Come back tomorrow for an exclusive One Tree Hill interview and come back Monday night at 8pm eastern for a live-blog of the season 7 premiere!


Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : One Tree Hill

Exclusive: Lee Norris Looks Back on One Tree Hill’s Six Seasons

9 08 2009

Lee Norris first worked his way into the hearts of young viewers as Stewart Minkus on the ABC hit Boy Meets World.  Exactly 10 years after BMW’s debut, Norris took on the role of Marvin “Mouth” McFadden on One Tree Hill.  Nearly six years later, Norris is still going strong as OTH goes into its seventh season.

In an exclusive interview for TDW, Norris reflected on his favorite storylines,  traveling for the show and who he wants to be Mrs. McFadden…

TeenDramaWhore: I recently rewatched the early season 1 episodes of One Tree Hill and it was amazing to see Mouth’s origins compared to where he is now.  He had such a small role in the beginning.  Did you have any idea how the role and character would evolve?

Lee Norris: I really had no idea.  During the pilot and Season 1, I was still a full-time college student at Wake Forest University.  I would get these scripts Fed-Ex’d to my dorm room and each time I got one delivered, it was a surprise.  I wasn’t under any sort of contract at that point, so I never knew how many episodes I’d be involved in.

I had a few conversations with Mark Schwahn, our creator, and he told me that he really believed in the character and thought it added an interesting element to the show.  I think the big turning point was when Mouth did the cheerleading routine in the first season [ed. note: Episode 1.17, Spirit in the Night].  It was so quirky and different and it got a great response from the fans… and then Mark started building the character from there.  I was so grateful that there were fans out there who identified with Mouth — girls and guys — that were the kids in high school who floated between all the different social cliques.  To be made a series regular was really rewarding for me, but also felt very natural since my character had been there since the Pilot episode.  So no, I had no idea what was in store for me, but I’ve been extremely grateful.

TDW: Do you and Mouth share any similarities?  Do you have any interest in sports or journalism?

Norris: Sure, we have some similarities.  He’s kind of spontaneous in that “Baby Got Back”-at-karaoke-night kind of way, haha, [ed. note: Episode 2.5, I Will Dare] and I like to have fun like that.  Don’t be looking for me at karaoke joints, but I do like to have fun.  I think he is a fiercely loyal friend, and that’s something I try to mirror in my life.  But he’s also done some really dumb things relationship wise, haha, so I’d like to think we’re not similar in that respect.

I love sports… when I auditioned for the role, I wore my Wake Forest basketball t-shirt to the audition, and Mark gave me a little grief because he went to Maryland (an ACC rival).  And in terms of journalism, I was an English major in school and I wrote for the school newspaper in high-school, so that’s sort of a natural fit as well.

TDW: Do you have a favorite episode, storyline or scene?

Norris: My favorite episode is still the school shooting episode [ed. note: Episode 3.16, With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept] .  But I also love any of the scenes where it’s basically the whole cast together.  When you get all of us in the same scene, it’s crazy!  Usually it involves a late night of shooting and everyone gets kind of loopy, and those are the most fun.  I also liked the storyline dealing with Mouth’s grandpa [ed. note: Episode 3.7, Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends].  It was nice to see someone in his family, and I also got to interact with Hilarie [Burton, Peyton] in that storyline and we had never gotten to do much together before.

TDW: I recently interviewed Allison Scagliotti (Abby) about the school shooting storyline, which is a fan favorite.  What do you remember from the filming of those episodes?  How did you initially react when you found out about the storyline?

Norris: As I said, that is my favorite episode.  When I heard about it, I just thought it was really smart.  Mark took this old character in Jimmy Edwards [Colin Fickes], who hadn’t been around in seasons, and used his re-emergence to tell this amazingly powerful story about life in high-school as an outsider.  It was really controversial and he had to fight really hard to get the episode made, but it was definitely worth it.  All of the actors and crew put in the longest hours on that episode and everyone really stepped up their game.

Those of us who were locked in the tutor center would file into this little room day after day and film these emotionally draining scenes, and I remember doing this part where Mouth sort of breaks down.  And I was really drained afterwards and [Bethany Joy Galeotti, Haley] looked at me and gave me some really encouraging words.  Little things like that stick in my memory.  This is random, but I remember listening to “Fix You,” by Coldplay the whole time I filmed that episode.  I’m really proud of the work we did, and I think it really set us apart from some other teen shows in that it had a lot of heart.

TDW: Do you have a favorite memory from the set?

Norris: It’s tough to pick just one after 6 1/2 years.  Two of my favorite memories involve episodes where the entire company traveled.  Early on we went to Myrtle Beach to film, and more recently we went to Honey Grove, Texas.  On the Myrtle Beach trip, we were all staying in the same hotel and it was like summer camp.  We all snuck down to the pool after hours and went swimming, so that was pretty fun.

And then in Texas, we got to watch an episode of the show with the kids who won the contest to bring our show to their town.  We literally sat in one of their living rooms and watched an episode with them, and it was so surreal to see them look at the TV screen and then look at us sitting in the room with them.  During certain parts of the episode, they would cry, laugh, etc., and it was just awesome to see our little show affect people that we had never even met before.

TDW: Mouth has had several relationships on the show but also very strong friendships with Brooke (Sophia Bush) and Rachel (Danneel Harris).  Why do you think that is?

Norris: I honestly don’t know why he’s had so many relationships.  As an actor, it’s not really my place to question the storylines, though.  Our writers have gotten us to 7 seasons, so I trust them even if I don’t always understand something.  Mouth was never a jock or a pretty-boy, so-to-speak, so it’s not surprising that his romantic aspirations with Brooke and Rachel didn’t really pan out.  But I think he had good friendships with them because he truly liked them as people, and not just because of how ‘hot’ they were.

TDW: Mouth and Millicent have hit several bumps in their relationship, whether it be Gigi, Owen or job opportunities.  Do you think they’ll last?  Do you want them to?

Norris: I think they will last, and I’d be happy to see that.  Lisa Goldstein, who plays Millie, is so awesome and we have the best time working together.  We both went to school in North Carolina and we have a lot of similar interests, so it’s very easy chemistry with her.  Gigi and Owen are just two obstacles that they had to overcome.  I think any great relationship that is worthwhile will always be tested.

TDW: What was your reaction when you found out they were bringing Gigi back?

Norris: On a personal level, Kelsey Chow who plays Gigi is the sweetest girl, so I was happy to work with her again.  On the storyline side, again, it’s not really important what I think.  No matter what I’m given to do, I just try and commit to it and make the most out of it.  There are people out there who passionately love my character and those who can’t stand him.  You’re never going to make everyone happy, but for those out there who watch our show with an open mind, and for those who identify with my character, they are the reasons that I work so hard.  I’m so grateful for my job and my fans, and they deserve nothing but the absolute best from me, no matter how I might feel about a particular storyline.

TDW: In season 5, the show jumped ahead four years and now there will be another jump.  Where do you think Mouth will be in another 5 years?

Norris: At the end of last season, Mouth made it pretty clear that he was happy with his job and with his girl, so hopefully he’ll still be involved with both in 5 years, although it might be nice if Millie was Mrs. McFadden at that point!

TDW: What can you tell us about the upcoming season and your storylines?  Will you be a regular and on for the whole season?

Norris: Yes, I’m signed on for this season.  I mentioned in another interview that I had to do some naked scenes, and the interviewer incorrectly assumed that it meant love scenes between me and Millie [ed. note: I think he’s referring to this]. My naked stuff is actually funny stuff, not romantic.  I read a comment from a girl who is apparently horrified about seeing me partially naked; that made me laugh!  I love how passionate our fans are.  Don’t worry girls, if I’m not your cup of tea there will be plenty of nakedness from the other guys on the show.  But on a more serious note, I really like where Mouth is headed this year.  Nothing is drastically different, but he’s going to face some tough dilemmas where he has to choose between his career and personal life.  And Millie has a really interesting arc this season, so we’ll see how Mouth deals with that.

TDW: Which role are you recognized for more: Mouth or Stewart Minkus on Boy Meets World?

Norris: It used to be Minkus all the time, but now that OTH is re-running everyday on SoapNet, it’s kind of a toss up.  Older fans tend to know me as Minkus, or even Chuckie Lee from ‘The Torkelsons,’ but OTH is popular with all age groups… I’ve had grandmas come up to me.  One lady kept calling me “Mouse,” I didn’t have the heart to correct her, haha.

TDW: Are you still in touch with any of the BMW cast?

Norris: Not really, unfortunately.  Most of them live on the West coast and it’s been so many years.  I hope they’re all well, it would be fun to reconnect sometime.

TDW: What is your upcoming movie, Blood Done Sign My Name, about? Does it have a release date yet?

Norris: It’s a true story about a racial murder in North Carolina that happened in the Vietnam War era.  I played one of the accused murderers, so it was completely different for me.  It’s an independent film and it deals with such a controversial subject, so I believe they’re still trying to figure out the best way and time to release it.  It was a great experience and I hope people get to see it.

TDW: Lastly, there are a lot of people on Twitter claiming to be One Tree Hill actors but are actually impostors.  Have you thought about getting your own account?

Norris: There are people that pretend to be me on Twitter, Facebook, etc.  It’s flattering in one respect, but at the same time it’s kind of a drag because they’ll write things I’d never write, or deny friend requests, etc.  I don’t think I’ll be doing any of that.  I occasionally post messages on OTHForums.com and I like that medium for interacting with the fans.  Also, I have some amazingly talented fans that started lee-norris.net and leemichaelnorris.com, so if anyone wants to know what’s going on in my career, they can always check those out.

Click here to see a picture of Norris and me from last year!

Come back next Sunday for another exclusive interview!

TDW Interview Index


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : One Tree Hill

News Roundup: Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek and The O.C.

30 07 2009
  • In an interview with MTV, Taylor Momsen (Jenny, Gossip Girl) says she got permission from producer Stephanie Savage before cutting her hair last season.
  • A very Happy Birthday to Lisa Goldstein (Millicent, One Tree Hill).  She turned 28 today.
  • An article on filming in North Carolina mentions both One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek.
  • Kevin Williamson, the creator of Dawson’s Creek, is on Twitter.
  • Greg Berlanti, one of Dawson’s Creek’s writer-producers, recalled in an interview the difficulty in scripting Jack’s (Kerr Smith) first kiss with a guy–which also happened to be the first for network primetime TV.
  • Zap2it says reports of “suicidal actions” by Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) are false.
  • Olivia Wilde (Alex, The O.C.) is included in a TVGuide.com photo gallery called “TV Stars Go to the Movies.”

Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The O.C.

Spoiler: Watch with Kristin OTH Edition

15 05 2009

RELEVANT QUESTIONS–DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW!!!

Danielle in Brookvale, NSW, Australia: Please tell me Brooke and Julian get together!? It’s about time there is a happy ending for Brooke. So far this season she has had her company, lost her company, had Sam, lost Sam, had Julian, lost Julian and officially lost Lucas to Peyton. Please give Brooke some love!
It’s sweet how concerned you are about Brooke’s future…and rightly so. The poor girl has been to hell and back this season—don’t forget that break-in and beating! Luckily, TPTB over in Tree Hill took note and her happy ending is on the way. Julian is back in the finale and it looks like B. Davis is finally getting her fairy-tale “movie” ending. And who better to give it to her than the Hollywood director himself? We’re just sayin’.

Jaymes in Oakland: Since Katie Voegle’s CD is coming out in real life too, is Mia going to stick around Tree Hill?
Mia and Chase (Stephen Coletti) are still going strong, but she is getting ready to hit the road to promote her new album. In the finale, Chase shows up at Mia’s CD signing and what she writes definitely makes for an awww-worthy moment. No word yet on if the duo will be back in the restructured show next year.

Joan in Los Angeles: I can’t imagine One Tree Hill without Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray. I hope they didn’t really leave because of money issues!
While we can’t speak for CMM (although that video from a few months back spoke volumes), our best frenemy scored an interview with Hilarie after the news of her departure broke, and it sounds like at least her departure from the show was pretty amicable. Hilarie said, “Everyone was kind of agreeable about the situation. There were a lot of really wonderful conversations. It wasn’t a rash decision; a lot of thought, emotion and kindness was put into it. I would hope that that‘s the story that gets out.”

What about Nick Lachey? Is he coming back for more?
If you mean is there any more “Nick Lachey-ing” in the finale, thankfully, no. The former pop star’s last appearance of the season was last week, but if you just can’t get enough of their constant first-and-last-name-calling of Nick Lachey, check out this week’s Condensed Soup on E! Online for Joel McHale‘s take on the cameos. Hilarious!

lc_mundell: Does Ashley Rickards (Sam) make an appearance at all in the One Tree Hill finale? You said everything ends so pleasantly, and I can’t imagine Brooke having a happy ending that doesn’t involve Sam.
Unfortunately Sam doesn’t come back, but there is a sweet moment with Brooke talking to Sam on the phone. Like we said before, don’t worry about Brooke’s happy ending. It’s on the way.

Amyjbennett: We know that James Lafferty filmed with the NBA’s Bobcats.  Is that a dream sequence?
Interesting question, Amy. If by dream sequence you mean a scene that is dream-like because Nathan can’t believe it’s true, then yes, Nathan joining the Bobcats is a dream sequence.

Karen Novak: I would like to know if Dan Scott lives or if they are going to have him die? Please don’t have him die as he adds so much to the show and his relationship with Jamie is adorable.
Dan is still alive and kicking, but definitely still struggling with his conscience. In fact, the finale finds him in the company of a familiar—and beloved—former Tree Hill face who becomes a surprising ally in the birth of a new Dan Scott. In fact, two former castmembers are back for the finale. Guesses?

Sabrina in Prescott, Ariz: Is Millicent leaving Mouth behind and moving to New York? How could Brooke do that to them!
Don’t worry about this adorkable couple. They’ll survive whatever unexpected changes come to Clothes Over Bros.

Jessica: If Lucas and Peyton aren’t coming back to One Tree Hill, do they at least get a proper send-off?
That has been the topic of discussion this week and in our opinion, the answer is yes. If you haven’t already heard, cover your eyes now: Peyton and baby Scott beat the odds and live happily ever after in the finale. Okay, so it’s not that cut-and-dried, but after all of the heartache and loss Peyton has survived during six seasons of OTH, this final episode is a cakewalk. All elements of Lucas-Peyton saga are present in their final scene and we even get the traditional Chad Michael Murray voiceover. Fans are not left with a big question mark ending for Leyton. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that they do get their happily ever after.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : One Tree Hill

« Previous Entries


%d bloggers like this: