Exclusive: Meet The MunnRoyds!

1 03 2010

In my Real-Life Relationships series, I wrote how One Tree Hill held the honor of being the only teen drama to ever have married cast members. But they also held the dishonor of being the only show with divorced cast members when that same couple split. I’m happy to say honor has been restored this season with the introduction of Scott Holroyd as David. Holroyd’s recurring role meant he was starring on the very same show his wife, Allison Munn, has been on as Lauren for more than a year now.

Munn and Holroyd haven’t yet had the privilege of sharing scenes together but the excitement of just working on the same set has pleased them both. They were also more than enthusiastic about doing a joint interview and officially introducing everyone to the MunnRoyds.

TeenDramaWhore: Is this your first joint interview?

Munn: This is our first joint interview–except for the man who married us. We had an interview with the man who married us and that was equally as fun.

TDW: I am very honored, then, to be your first professional joint interview.

Munn: It’s very exciting. We’re having some wine and sitting down. This is fun.

Holroyd: You got the exclusive.

TDW: I’m very excited. Allison, we covered a lot of ground in our first interview, but something I forgot to ask you was how you got involved with One Tree Hill in the first place. Was it the typical casting call-audition route?

Munn: It was. The part came down the pipes and I went in. It was cool because I was sitting in the room waiting for everyone and I didn’t know who was actually going to be in the audition but [creator] Mark Schwahn walks in and I had known Mark back when I was on What I Like About You. Mark used to come by our set a lot so I was excited to see him again because he was always so nice. And then my friend Joe Davola walked. He’s one of the producers on One Tree Hill but he was also one of the producers on What I Like About You. So it was just a little mini-reunion and it took a minute to have the actual audition because we had to catch each other up on our lives. So that was fun. Then I auditioned and I think I found out that night that I got the part. It was kind of perfect because the day I flew in, I got into Wilmington at night and it was the show’s Christmas party. I went in and I went straight to the Christmas party and got to meet everyone there, which was a lot of fun.

TDW: That’s a great way to ease the stress of having to meet everyone when you first get on set.

Munn: Oh, yeah. It’s stressful when you guest-star on a show because they’re a tight-knit group and you’re a stranger coming into their world. But these people could not have been more accommodating or nice. It’s truly been a blessing to meet these people.

TDW: Your first episode was when Jamie [Jackson Brundage] asks you out on his little date [Episode 6.16, Screenwriter‘s Blues]. Did you sign on to do just that one episode or did you know there would be more?

Munn: I was only booked for that episode and when I read the scenes, the way they originally read, there was supposed to be a flirtation with Dan [Paul Johansson]. But they were very careful to not make it that way. I don’t know if they had it in their minds that I would go on. I finished that episode and I came home over the holidays and Mark Schwahn called me and pitched me the [storyline] that I would start dating Skills [Antwon Tanner]. That was really exciting. That was a great call to get.

TDW: I’m sure. So, Scott, last year did you visit Allison on set at all?

Holroyd: Yes, actually. I knew Joe from the What I Like About Days. I met Schwahn during Allison’s work on One Tree Hill and Mark was familiar some of the work I had done. I went and visited the Jerry Rice episode [7.01, 4:30 a.m. (Apparently They Were Traveling Abroad)]. I was in North Carolina during that time and Allison texted me and said, “Hey, do you know who Jerry Rice is?”

Munn: No, I think I texted you like, “Hey, have you ever heard of some guy named Jerry Rice?” Clearly I had no idea who he was.

Holroyd: And I was like, “Uh, yes! He’s only the best wide receiver in the history of the NFL.” And she was like “Well, I’m playing football with him right now.” I turned the car around and went to set. That was the first time I was on set and hung out with everybody there.

Munn: The greatest thing also about these people is that we also got to know a lot of them back here [in Los Angeles]. When they’re not in production in North Carolina, we tend to hang out and go to dinner here in Los Angeles. So he had met them socially as well here.

TDW: So then when the part of David came up, did you have a formal audition?

Holroyd: Yeah, I went in and read for Mark. It was a typical audition and then I got the call when I was in North Carolina to visit Allison and visit family. I got the offer when I was there so I ended up not leaving North Carolina and staying for the rest of the summer to shoot [my] first four episodes. It was actually perfect timing and a perfect situation because it’s always nice to work with friends. Mark had become a pal through all of this when Allison was in season 6. We’d hang out, like she said, go out to dinner with he and his wife. It was just a fun situation for us both and it was also fun to be home because Allison and I are both from that area. My mom and dad live in Myrtle Beach, which is 45 minutes away from Wilmington so that whole summer Allison and I were there with both of our dogs and it was the best summer on record for us.

Munn: It really was. We always say there’s very few times in your life when you’re having a wonderful time and you’re aware of how lucky you are and aware of the fact you’re going to look back on this moment in your life and reflect on it and say, “Wow, remember when we got to do that?” We were very aware of how good we had it this past summer. It was wonderful.

Holroyd: Was this the first time you were working on the same project?

Munn: Well, technically no. We were both on That 70’s Show. We were never on set at the same time. Scott did an episode and I think I did the episode after him. So technically we had but not like this.

TDW: On One Tree Hill, Lauren is a much a happier character than David has been. Scott, as someone who is happily married in real life, is it difficult to get into David’s frame of mind or do you embrace the challenge of playing someone so different from you?

Holroyd: You always embrace it. It’s fun. You can kind of empathize and understand. We’ve all had disappointments and adversity in our lives and you grasp onto that to figure out where the character’s coming from. So the challenge was fun.

Munn: Believe it or not, this is one of the nicer characters he’s played. He usually plays like rapists…

Holroyd: Murderers, wife-beaters.

Munn: Wife-beaters. So, yeah, this has been a departure from his normal roles.

Holroyd: Yeah, so when I got the offer from Mark, he was like, “Yeah, this is not like the things you normally play” because he had seen some of my work before. He was like, “Gosh! There is no vigilance in [David]. He’s a nice guy.”

Munn: I think Joe Davola was surprised, too, because Joe knew mostly his work when he on Dirty Sexy Money. I don’t know if you saw his arc on that but he ran the gamut. He hit women–

Holroyd: Pistol-whipped a woman.

Munn: Pistol-whipped a woman, he shot a person, he killed a person. It was a lot for them to wrap their head around, to have Scott be the nice guy for a change. I loved seeing that. I mean, yeah, he was in pain but it was really neat for me to see Scott play that role.

TDW: At what point did you know you’d be coming back for the Taylor [Lindsey McKeon] storyline?

Holroyd: Mark called and he was happy with how things had turned out and the arc of the story. He said there’d be some more stuff coming down the pipe. That’s all I knew. I didn’t know in what way I was going to be used or what way David was going to come back but he said there’d be more stuff for me to do. So when I got the call for the next little bit with Taylor and when I read the script, I was like, “Ohhhkay. Okay.” That’s when you see a little bit of David’s…kind of vindictive side. Maybe vindictive isn’t the right word.

Munn: No, he was kind of vindictive.

TDW: I was going to say vindictive, too.

Holroyd: Yeah, but it wasn’t really honest vindictiveness. It was more…

TDW: It came from a place of hurt.

Holroyd: Yes. It came from hurt. And when he realized it was all a lie, that’s when he kind of bailed on the whole thing because he was really just relying on Taylor. I think Taylor was honest in her approach to her sisters and I think David was just kind of going along with that, like “Okay.” I think David was looking at it as “Quinn hurt me. How can I hurt her back?” Taylor was the way to do that. I think that’s how that all came about. I think David kind of relished the moments, like at the dinner scene. I think David was just relishing watching Quinn [Shantel Van Santen], even though Quinn stayed above it all. But I think he relished it until he found out she didn’t really sleep with Clay [Robert Buckley]. That’s when his world really came crashing down again. David just got–

Munn: He got kicked. He got hammered.

Holroyd: He got kicked on all sides. Even when he tried to be forceful and be a little vindictive, he got hit again. I felt bad for David and I fought for David and I thought he was right in how he approached things. I agreed with him.

Munn: I really loved seeing those flashback scenes with him and Shantel [Episode 7.07, I And Love And You] because it was nice to see David happy and in a good place. That added, for me, a lot of depth to both their characters.

TDW: It did. It gave us the point of view of where David was coming from–what was the marriage he had with Quinn like? You would think anyone would be upset they’re getting divorced but we didn’t know what Quinn was leaving behind.

Munn: Right. And it’s hard because they had such a great thing. I think a lot of people were like, “Why is Quinn leaving this great marriage?” but, being in a relationship that actually works, you do really change a lot as people. If you don’t grow together, the growing apart feels so lonely and I think that’s what Quinn was really haunted by, her loneliness. David wasn’t the man she originally married.

Holroyd: Of course, I’m gonna side with David. I don’t think he necessarily changed.

Munn: I think he grew up.

Holroyd: I think he was thinking ahead and he was growing up and evolving and thinking, “Hey, I have a passion”–which was Quinn’s thing, “Stick to your passion”–“but if the passion doesn’t pay the bills, let’s be honest. You don’t want to be motivated by money but money is to an extent a necessity, so let me get a job that affords us a life that we can live on and grow and have a family.” So I saw where David was coming from. I don’t think he necessarily changed who he was; he just wanted to better his family. That’s my opinion on David but, of course, I’m going to stick up for my man.

TDW: I think the fans saw it from both sides. I think there were people were questioning, “What is Quinn doing?” and they wanted to see more of David. And there were people who accepted she wasn’t happy and wanted a change and to move on. I would also venture to guess a lot of the fans are younger and not married, so it might’ve been hard to understand. Maybe because they’re not married, they think that moving on is an easier thing to do.

Munn: Yeah, that’s intuitive.

Holroyd: A lot of people were asking, “Why?” A lot people were getting frustrated with the Quinn storyline and asking “Why would she want to move on? She has no reason.” And my explanation for the storyline was when you grow, you either grow together or you grow apart and sometimes you grow apart. It’s as simple as that. I think that frustrated people. It’s so simple that it frustrated people. It would’ve been a lot of easier had there been infidelity or something else. But it was just a matter of just growing apart. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

TDW: I’ve been wondering where Quinn and David lived. I think the implication was that you guys were out of town. But I think people liked David and I know I would’ve liked to see him stick around and I came up with a way to have him stick but I didn’t know if he actually lived in Tree Hill or not.

Munn: I don’t think he does live in Tree Hill.

Holroyd: I don’t think he does either.

Munn: But what’s your way to make him stick? I want to hear it! I like it!

TDW: Well, David was in his own way a filmmaker. I guess documentary was more his style but he liked filmmaking. And you have another filmmaker in Tree Hill–you have Julian [Austin Nichols] making his movie. And I can easily see David trying to get a job on the set to be near Quinn, even though she’s moving on with Clay. You can just extend the length of that triangle, where Quinn has to deal with having her ex-husband living in town with them and working with her sister’s friend’s boyfriend, ‘cause everybody in Tree Hill is connected.

Munn: And Julian needs a good guy friend to hang out with.

TDW: He does.

Munn: And David needs a nice girlfriend who, perhaps, is a schoolteacher.

Holroyd: Named Lauren.

Munn: Named Lauren.

Holroyd: That’s a petition! Petition it! David and Lauren!

TDW: That would be great! Could you imagine if we got that going?

Holroyd: That would be insane.

TDW: I think working on Julian’s film is a totally plausible way to have David stick around and evolve into more than just Quinn’s ex.

Munn: I think you’re right.

Holroyd: Put it out there, Shari! Put it out there!

Munn: It’s up to you! I think you’re right. I think the Julian connection makes a lot of sense.

TDW: With Lauren, in 7.12 [Some Roads Leave Nowhere], that was the last episode before a hiatus for us and we saw Skills go to L.A. and people thought that was it for Skills and that therefore that would be it for Lauren. Did you think that, too, or did you know about the plans to tie her in with Mouth [Lee Norris] later on?

Munn: I didn’t know it was going to be with Mouth. I knew something was going to happen. They had the idea to have Skills come back and I would be dating someone else. I didn’t know it was going to be Mouth. So during those first scenes when I hang out with Mouth [Episode 7.14, Family Affair], I come and clean up the apartment and all that–

Holroyd: CSI-style.

Munn: Yeah, the CSI kind of stuff. We didn’t know we were going to be paired off. What I was told is that the writers watched those scenes and they could see a lot chemistry between the two of us and wrote to that.

TDW: Wow! I never would’ve guessed that it happened in that order!

Munn: I know! Me either. I remember actually talking to Paul Johansson, who directed that episode. I was like, “Look. I’ve been hanging out with this guy all day”–and typically on shows like One Tree Hill when that happens, usually romance springs from it–and I remember saying to him, “Do we need to be really careful to avoid any sort of romantic tension?” And he said, “Don’t play to it and don’t play against it. Just play the scene as it is. You don’t need to think that far ahead.” And I was like, “Okay, fine.” But I still didn’t expect us to end up having any sort of liaison, that’s for sure.

TDW: That’s such a treat to know because people watched those scenes and said, “Oh, I know what’s coming! Mouth and Lauren are getting together!”

Munn: Right! They saw it before us. That’s what some of the writers told me. It’s kind of neat that they do pay attention to that stuff and they write to it. I love that.

TDW: So then you did find out and what was your reaction?

Munn: I felt bad! As Allison, I felt bad because of Millie [Lisa Goldstein]. I didn’t feel bad because of Lauren’s relationship with Skills because of what had come out in some of the scenes. Skills moved. He didn’t ask me to move with him. When I pressured him, he was like “Fine, go with me” but that felt like it was half-hearted so I said no. And then we kept up a phone relationship for a while but then it just petered out, like he stopped calling me. I think it had been from the time Skills left and Lauren started having feelings for Mouth, I think it had been a while. It wasn’t just like a month. I think it was 3-6 months in the way the linear storyline goes. So I think that’s enough time for a relationship to peter out. Lauren kind of knew the relationship was done. We’ll see what happens with Skills. Maybe it wasn’t done on his end.

TDW: I do have a question about that but I want to go to back to something you just said. You as Allison felt bad for Millie?

Munn: Yeah, because I think their relationship has been so sweet. I love Mouth and Millie together. Of course, over the course of this season, she has treated Mouth very, very poorly and I do think Mouth deserves better. I’m pulled in both directions. When I was watching it–it’s funny, because I don’t watch it as the actress; I watch it as a fan. I love the show. So when I was watching the episode when he asked Lauren out, I was rooting for him. I wanted him to ask Lauren out because I cared for Mouth and I feel like right now Lauren is much more stable choice than Millie–however, that being said, I really do like him and Millie together.

TDW: I’m already seeing two fandoms brewing. People who not only think Mouth and Millie are the endgame for Mouth’s character but just have been attached to this couple since season 5. And then there’s other people that are just tired of the drama, tired of the back and forth and also really like Lauren and see potential in the coupling with Mouth.

Munn: Mouth is such a stand-up guy. He’s so good. And so far what we’ve seen from Lauren is that she’s grounded and good as well. I can see why the fans who are really protective of Mouth would be glad that he gravitates towards Lauren now because she seems safe. Millie’s not safe right now.

TDW: In the last episode [Episode 7.18, The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance], we first saw Lauren say, “I’ll be your partner-in-crime but I’m not going to be your rebound.” And at the end of the episode, she kind of says, “Okay, I was kind of lying. I was worried that you were going to be my rebound.” Where do you think she was coming from there?

Munn: Well, actually, in that–Joe Davola was directing that episode and he had a really great note at the beginning of that scene. And what you guys didn’t see because I think it was cut out of the episode was that a lot of us were at the funeral. You didn’t see us all at the funeral for Haley’s [Bethany Joy Galleoti] mom.

TDW: Wow! Thank you for telling me that! Keep going, please!

Munn: There was a moment in the script that was cut out of what you guys saw. Mouth looks over at Millie and Millie smiles at him and I look at that. No, wait, I don’t think Millie’s smiles  at him. It was just a moment where they pan across and they see Millie, they see Mouth and then Mouth sees me. And pretty soon, like I don’t think it’s the next scene but it’s pretty close to that, I come and knock on the door and I say my piece to Mouth. So Joe had a really good note for me. He was like, “Look. You’ve just been to a funeral. You’ve seen that life is short. You’re feeling lonely. Carpe diem.”

TDW: Nothing against the way they do the show or anything but that’s so helpful to know. That would’ve enhanced things, because you two only had two scenes in that episode that aired.

Munn: That’s true.

TDW: You had the first scene where you’re walking in town and the scene when you come to his apartment. It was very little of you two and some people said it felt weird having that second scene mixed in with the trauma of Lydia’s [Bess Armstrong] death and the funeral and what Haley was going through afterward. But there’s such another layer to it when you tell me now that you guys were at the funeral and that kind of motivated Lauren.

Munn: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I see what you’re saying. I guess it did help them [in how it aired] because they wanted the audience to be surprised by her actions but you’re right, character-wise, it did seem to come a little bit more out of nowhere.

TDW: Let me just ask you another question about the funeral. Was there any planned dialogue for that or was it always just supposed to be montage-style with a song playing?

Munn: Actually, now that you say that, I remember when we were shooting it the only dialogue was this woman who did the service. It was the typical “ashes to ashes, death to death” speech. It was sort of chilling. I was surprised to see how short that sequence was. But I think the sisters did such a great, great job–Joy and Shantel and Lindsey. They did such a great job. They made me want to cry when I saw that. But I did notice that the “ashes to ashes, death to the death,” that whole speech was taken out. So there was definitely that dialogue and there were other moments. I know you got to see Brooke [Sophia Bush] and Julian. I forget who else they showed at the funeral but they did film me and Millie and Mouth also.

TDW: That’s good to know.

Munn: It made a lot of sense for me when I read it. I hadn’t even thought about that [since] because sometimes when you’re watching the episodes, you forget what you originally said or the original flow. I didn’t even think that that might be a little jarring. That makes a lot of sense now.

TDW: In the promo for the next batch episodes, there’s a really quick scene of Skills punching Mouth. Can you tease a little bit about what gets them to that point?

Munn: Well, I think you can probably guess what might lead to that, as per what we just talked about.

TDW: Well, you mentioned before how to you it seemed the relationship with Skills petered out because he stopped calling. But when he walks in the door in that last episode, he’s back to calling you “baby” and I got the sense that maybe things weren’t so over.

Munn: Yeah, you might be right with that. It’s funny how things can be miscommunicated but from what I knew and what Lauren knew, he had stopped calling. Lauren had called him more and he had quit returning her phone calls. And she had relayed that information to Mouth, not to lead him on but because they were friends. She was confiding in him, like, “We don’t really talk anymore. He doesn’t call me back. I don’t even know how he’s doing.” She was actually finding out more of how he was doing through Mouth than through actually talking to Skills. So when he walks back in the door and he’s like “Hey, baby!” completely casual, I think Lauren was really taken aback by that.

TDW: I think we were, too.  So now I guess you’re going to have these two friends pitted against each other.

Munn: Yeah, and it’s a shame because they have a really solid friendship. I hate that for them.

TDW: And their friendship goes back to the very first episode of the show.

Munn: Yep, the pilot. That’s a shame. Never let a lady come between you, boys!

TDW: Well, if the show lived by that, we would’ve missed out on countless storylines!

Munn: Scott just whispered “bros before hos.” That’s a twist on the “Clothes Over Bros.”

TDW: Well, that’s something Brooke and Peyton [Hilarie Burton] used to say to each other. They used to say, “Hos over bros” and once it became “Hos over psychos” [Episode 4.16, You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love]. Anyway, I know Antwon tweeted that he’s in like three of the last four episodes.

Munn: Yes, I think so. I’m forgetting how many we shot. I know he’s around, definitely. I don’t know that he’s in all of the last ones. I don’t know how much I can say without giving away too much. He’s in–sorry, I’m counting–yep, you’re right. It’s three of the last four, correct.

TDW: Can you say how many more you are in?

Munn: I just wrapped for the season and they have another one to shoot. I don’t think they’ll get mad at me for saying this but I’m not in the last two.

TDW: Oh, you’re not in the last two?

Munn: No, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the story. They’re just wrapping their season and I’m not one of the main characters, you know?

TDW: Okay, so you’re not in 7.21 or 22.

Munn: Right. But that’s not a big spoiler anything. It’s not like I get shot or I drown or anything.

TDW: What are you hearing about a season eight?

Munn: You know, nobody really knows what quite to think yet. I look at the ratings versus the ratings of other shows on the network and I think we stand a pretty good chance.

Holroyd: If you’re asking me as a fan, I think it’s definitely going to get picked up for an eighth season.

Munn: I like that. I like where his head is at! I really hope so.

Holroyd: But that’s me as a fan.

Munn: That’s Scott as fan. Honestly, I talked to the major players this week and nobody really knows for sure. But everyone is very optimistic, if that helps.

TDW: Do you know if you have a future on the show if there’s an eighth season?

Munn: You know, I never know. I would hope so but I never know.

Holroyd: David and Lauren!

Munn: David and Lauren all the way!

TDW: I would totally buy it. You guys already have the chemistry.

Munn: I know. Lauren and David and David and Skills. Oops, sorry, not David and Skills–that would be a whole different show! Who else can David date? Hmm…

Holroyd: David and Haley, what?!

Munn: Aw, no! That would be a disaster!

Holroyd: All the Scott sisters, yes!

Munn: No way!

TDW: Scott, We’ll see you next on Chuck, right?

Holroyd: Yes.

Munn: It’s very exciting. He has a really good arc on Chuck.

Holroyd: Here’s the only problem: it airs Monday nights at 8!

TDW: I know!

Holroyd: So people have to be able to record two shows at once or have two televisions. They have to watch One Tree Hill.

Munn: They have to watch One Tree Hill! If you have to choose, choose One Tree Hill but if you have another option, choose One Tree Hill and Chuck.

Holroyd: Right, there you go. I think my stuff starts in a couple of months, probably mid-April, late April. I don’t know when the season ends for One Tree Hill.

Munn: I don’t know. Shari, you probably have a better idea than I do.

TDW: The show comes back from hiatus April 26 and if it airs the last four episodes in a row, that takes through May 17.

Holroyd: Uht-oh, there’s gonna be an overlap. You need to be able to record two shows at once.

TDW: So right now the next step for you both, besides Chuck, is pilot season.

Munn: Oh, good lord, it’s a nightmare!

Holroyd: Yes.

TDW: Can you tell me a little bit about that nightmare?

Munn: It’s a nightmare in the best way. The networks are buying a lot of pilots this season. So we have been completely inundated with auditions. Sometimes it’s up to three a day and it’s exhausting. It’s one of those where you have a change of clothes in your car and you go to one and you either change in the bathroom of that one or in the car on the way to the next one. It’s been pretty crazy.

TDW: Are any of these for leading roles?

Munn: Oh, yeah. They’re all for leading roles.

TDW: That’s awesome!

Munn: Yeah, it’s great. We’re reading some really good scripts. There’s good stuff out there right now. It’s an exciting time for actors in L.A.

TDW: By chance, any of the same projects?

Munn: No! I wish!

Holroyd: That’s why One Tree Hill was such a blessing. That doesn’t often, if ever.

Munn: The planets really have to be aligned for you to even get a job. So for you to get a job co-starring your husband, it’s pretty close to impossible.

TDW: I sincerely hope it happens. It’s great having you both on One Tree Hill but it would be even better to see you in a scene together.

Munn: It would be really fun to act with Scott. I’m a huge fan of his. It would be a lot of fun. And it would be really fun to continue to get to do interviews this way because we are having a blast!

TDW: I am, too! Are you guys still drinking your wine?

Munn: Yes, we actually just poured more!

Holroyd: Cheers! (glasses clink)

TDW: I heard that! That’s great. I really appreciate your time.

Munn: Absolutely, Shari. I have to say I really respect what you do. I’ve been to your site and I think you have really great interviews. You ask such great questions. You get some really cool interviews and I just have to say I’m super-impressed with you.

TDW: Wow, thank you very much! That means a lot to me. Can I print that?!

Munn: Print it and reproduce it anywhere you want! I’m very much impressed with your journalistic skills.

Holroyd: And we’re excited that this is our first dual interview. You got the exclusive.

Munn: Yeah, you’ve got the MunnRoyds.

TDW: The MunnRoyds! Do people actually call you that?

Munn: Yes!

Holroyd: We do!

Munn: We call ourselves that and we forced our friends to call us that. It could be the title of a sitcom, “Hangin’ With The MunnRoyds.”

Holroyd: There’s Brangelina; we’re the MunnRoyds!

TDW: That works!

Munn: It sounds like a terrible infection you’d get on your foot.

Holroyd: “Oh man, I’ve got a terrible case of the MunnRoyds!”

Munn: But it works for us.

TDW: Allison, have you thought about changing your name professionally?

Munn: I haven’t.

Holroyd: No.

Munn: Holroyd is a pretty difficult name. I’m taking it personally and it’ll be on my driver’s license and all that eventually but professionally, as Scott can tell you–he’s begged me, “Honey, I promise you, you don’t have to take this name!”–it’s a burden sometimes.

Holroyd: She’s worked very hard to make a name for herself as Allison Munn. She’s made a great name for herself. It’s hard enough to have a career in this business but it’s even harder with a name like Holroyd. I’m proud of my name–

Munn: I love your name!

Holroyd: But it doesn’t make things easier.

Munn: You have to spell it about five times with each person.

Holroyd: My name is not Scott Holroyd, it’s “Scott Holroyd, H-O-L-R-O-Y-D.”

Munn: “No, it’s H-O-L-R-O-Y-D. No, not I-D, Y-D. H-O-L-No, yes, H-O-L-R-O-Y-D, yes, that’s the name!”

Holroyd: That’s my goal. I just want people to know my name.

H & M: (singing) “Say my name, say my name”

TDW: Can I make a little request, Scott? Actually to both of you. You both need to tweet a bit more.

Munn: I know! It’s hard. I get nervous. And I know Scott gets even more nervous than I do.

TDW: Why are you nervous?

Munn: Because it goes out there to a lot of people! I get shy, Shari, I get shy!

TDW: I think fans just love it because it’s really unprecedented access. Before this, we were lucky if people had official sites and actually updated them. So this is a great connection. If we don’t interact with you, we’re still hearing from you and the fans just feel closer to you.

Munn: You’re right. It’s true. And I like having that kind of access, where I can write fans back. I usually direct message fans. You feel like you have access but you don’t feel completely accessible, which is nice. I think Twitter’s really great for that.

TDW: There’s actually a fan account on there for you, linked to a fansite, I think.

Munn: Really? I’ll google myself later and find it. Awesome! I’ll do that tonight.

TDW: You guys should start a joint Web site, how about that?

Munn: Babe, we should start a joint Web site and then we could do Flip videos of us hanging out.

Holroyd: That wouldn’t be boring.

Munn: That wouldn’t be boring at all. I think it’s the need to feel creative that’s a little bit stressful.

Holroyd: The need to be witty.

Munn: Yeah, I have to think of something smart and funny to say. That’s where I get stymied a little bit.

TDW: Two suggestions.

Munn: Okay, perfect.

TDW: Mike Grubbs [Grubbs], he has a blog. And he does little blog posts but he also does short little videos from the set or other places in his life. They’re maybe, like, a minute long but they’re funny. And Jana Kramer [Alex] and her fiancé, I guess it’s his Web site but there’s like episodes of their life on there and we actually got to see footage of his marriage proposal.

Munn: I saw some of that and that was incredible! That was so cool to be able to see. I love Jana Kramer. But I haven’t seen all of their videos. I have to check those out.

TDW: I have to admit I haven’t seen all of them either and it’s kind of weird that I don’t actually know them but I saw them get engaged.

Munn: I know, right?

TDW: But, anyway, I think people love to think the characters on their show are together in real life and that can be a blessing and curse but here we have two people who are together and I think people would be interested in seeing more of it if you guys were willing to put it out there.

Munn: That’s a cool idea. Maybe we will. Babe, what do you think?

Holroyd: Shari, you may have a point.

Munn: I forced him to get the Twitter account. He’s been very hesitant to do any of the social media stuff.

TDW: I know it’s hard for some people who worry about it being a big invasion of privacy and the stalking that happens in real life is transferred to online.

Munn: Yes. And I think for people who are in a position to be stalked, like pretty famous people, I can understand why they’d be scared of that stuff. It would stink I think to be a celebrity and say I’m at a certain place for lunch and have people show up. I think that’s where some people should draw the line.

TDW: The whole service is what you make of it. People say, “I don’t want to know when so-and-so is going to the bathroom.” Well, then don’t follow the person who tells you when they’re going to the bathroom.

Munn: Exactly. You’re right. It’s like when people are upset about something that’s on television. Well, then change the channel. You have a choice.

TDW: Right. People forget what is actually in their control.

Munn: Scott is so excited he can follow Conan [O’Brien] now. That was a big day.

Holroyd: He just joined. He tweets once a day. He doesn’t follow anyone. He’s got like 500,000 followers. His first tweet was…

TDW: With his squirrel!

Holroyd: “Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.”

Munn: I love the fact that in his picture he’s got a full beard.

Holroyd: He’s embracing his unemployment.

TDW: If Conan can tweet once a day, Scott, so can you!

H & M: Oh!!!!

Munn: Way to bring it back, Shari. Shari for the win!

Holroyd: Alright, I got you. I accept your challenge.

TDW: I’m going to hold you to that! I’ll give you tomorrow off because I’m going to publish this Monday night. Monday can start your Twitter Challenge!

Munn: Can it be a week? The Twitter Challenge Week? I’ll force him to do it.

Holroyd: Okay.

TDW: Okay, starting Monday, I’ll see if you do it.

Munn: It’s on, Shari. He just said he accepted.

Holroyd: Yeah, I accept. You throw it down and I will accept it!

Munn: I’ll make sure he follows through.

TDW: Well, thank you guys so much. If nothing else, I’m just honored to be in your history book as your first joint interview.

Holroyd: There you go!

Munn: We’re the ones who are honored. We had a good time. We really did. This was fun.

TDW: Well, thank you so much. Keep drinking your wine, relax, have a good night.

Munn: Thank you so much, Shari. You, too!

TDW: Goodnight guys!

Come back Sunday for another exclusive interview!

TDW Interview Index


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Categories : One Tree Hill

Exclusive: Get To Know Mike Grubbs of One Tree Hill and Wakey!Wakey!

31 01 2010

Among One Tree Hill’s crop of fresh faces this season is Grubbs, a bartender at Tric. If you’re wondering where the name comes from (Is he supposed to be grubby? Chubby? Just an odd duck?), meet Mike Grubbs, the actor who plays him.

In our exclusive interview, Grubbs explains how his band Wakey!Wakey! led to a role on One Tree Hill, who his character may or may not get together with and how he uses Twitter to interact with his growing fanbase.

TeenDramaWhore: Let’s start at the very beginning. How did you first get involved with the show?

Mike Grubbs: It’s actually a very interesting story, Shari. A friend of [OTH creator] Mark Schwahn’s saw me play. She called Mark and said, “When you’re in New York next time, let me know. I’ll arrange it so this guy plays where you’re at.” Mark came to town and I got a call the night of. I was actually out on a date at the time and I got a call saying, “We need you to go to this place to play for Mark” and I was like, “Well, actually, you know, it’s kind of a bad night for me.” At that time I didn’t know Mark but they explained to me who he was and everything. So I said, “Yeah. Okay. I might as well try it.” But I was on a date so it took me a little while to get out there. Mark sat at this open mic night for three hours waiting to hear me play, which is pretty amazing. Most record executives, the way they handle hearing someone play for them  is you’ll fly out to where they are and go to their office and sit in some cold waiting room until whenever they’re ready to let you in and do the audition. They’ll give you maybe about 5 minutes of their time usually but Mark came and sat for 3 hours to hear me play at this open mic in Brooklyn, which just kind of points to the fact that he’s doing something right. I think that’s why shows like One Tree Hill get such good music and good people. So he came and saw me play. He was really into the songs I played and he said, “I really want to use those on the show.” So the first song was “War Sweater” and he used that on the season finale last year [Episode 6.24, Remember Me As A Time Of Day].

Then Mark and I just really became friends. It wasn’t about a professional relationship for us. When he came to New York, we’d hang out. When I went to L.A., we’d hang out. And then he was here a few months ago and we were finishing this new album we working on so I called him and said, “Hey man, I want to play you my new album,” just ‘cause he’s my friend. So we sat down and I played it for him and he was like, “I’m really into this. I really like this music and I want to help you release it. Why don’t I write you a few cameos on the show and we’ll try to have you perform on the show and bring as much attention to the project as we can?” And I was like, “Oh, this is amazing!” He knew I was a bartender–I was bartending at the time–so he wrote this little cameo for me as the bartender on the show and that went really well so that led to another. They wrote me into the next episode and then the next one and the next thing you know, now I’m Grubbs on the show and kind of a regular occurrence on it. It’s kind of cool.

TDW: How familiar were you with the show previously?

Grubbs: I had watched the earlier seasons of the show but had fallen out of touch with it for a while. I love TV and I love to watch TV but I’m kind of more of a sci-fi nerd. I really like Battlestar Galactica and nerdy stuff like that. Lost. Those are my shows. So the drama stuff hadn’t really been as much on my radar for a while so I didn’t really know what I was getting into. It was really cool to see once I actually started researching the show and catching up on what was going on. It changed so much and was so good. They had these really exciting new characters and I was just really proud to be a part of the show at this point.

TDW: It’s funny because a lot people didn’t know you were an actual musician. I saw some comments online saying, “Wait–was the bartender the guy at the piano at the end of that episode?” when you performed “Brooklyn” [Episode 7.12, Some Roads Lead Nowhere]. People explained to them that, yes, it was the character of Grubbs at the piano but the actor is also Mike Grubbs who has his own band.

Grubbs: Everyone started to piece it together. I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen but I think it might become more clear to people in the next few episodes what my part is in everything.

TDW: Was there ever a question of what name to give the character or was it just Grubbs from the outset?

Grubbs: Mark had always known me as Grubbs. That was my nickname throughout college. So it was like, what kind of bartender name can they give me? And I guess at that point, the natural name was just Grubbs. I mean, that’s who I am and he wanted the character to be as much like me as possible. So that was pretty locked in pretty early.

TDW: You were in a few episodes before we actually saw you perform rather than have that aspect of your character revealed right off the bat. Do you know what went into that decision?

Grubbs: I just think it’s something that’s maybe more exciting for the viewers, to watch the growth of the character that way. I also think, in all honesty, that Mark just wanted to make sure that I didn’t completely suck before he put me on as this character. The fact that I started as just this bartender gives us a little more arc to the character, makes it a little more exciting. But that’s really who I am. I’ve been this guy who is working every day and living a really real, normal existence just tending bar and working like everyone else. I’m not someone who’s just a musician. It kind of humanizes the character as well.

TDW: You are, without a doubt, the most recognizable face of Wakey!Wakey! but the other people you play with, what have they said about your experiences on the show?

Grubbs: They’re really stoked about it. They, of course, love the attention it brings to the project and everything. It’s really fun. The first episode I was ever on, we got together and it was just a small group of friends. They were all really close friends to me because I didn’t want it to be–like all of my friends came to me and said, “We have to throw a huge party! You’re going to be on TV!” and all this stuff. Everyone was really excited. But I wanted it to be quiet because I wanted people to actually watch the show. I didn’t want it to be a raging party with the TV on in the background and then we’d just miss it. So we kept it really small but the majority of the band was there for that. They’re super-supportive, they’re super into it and they’re really excited about it. They’re proud of me and they’re happy. It’s cool.

TDW: Can you give us any hints on what’s coming up with Grubbs and how many more episodes you’ll be in?

Grubbs: I don’t really know for a fact but I think you’re going to be seeing a fair amount more of me. But as far as what’s going to happen to my character, all I can say is of the scripts I’ve read so far, it’s really cool and it’s really exciting. People are going to love it.

TDW: There’s two little fandoms brewing. There’s some people who think Grubbs and Miranda [India de Beaufort] are going to have something going on.

Grubbs: I’ve definitely heard that one.

TDW: And there’s others that are looking for some cougar action with Victoria [Daphne Zuniga].

Grubbs: Yeah, you know, I’ve actually seen people suggest that. I saw another one suggesting I get together with Sophia Bush [Brooke], which is really funny because I love that people not only want to pair me with Brooke but her mother as well! I love that people are speculating about it because it means maybe I’m doing my job well or the writers are doing their job well and people are excited about it. As far as who my character will end up with, man, I think that all of those actresses you just mentioned are the coolest chicks in the world and I would be thrilled to be with any of them.

TDW: That’s a great answer. So what would you say has been the easiest thing working on the show, the most difficult and the most surprising?

Grubbs:I would say the easiest part of working on the show has been how accepting the cast has been of me. The first night that I got down there, James Lafferty [Nathan], Stephen Colletti [Chase] and Shantel VanSanten [Quinn]–and, actually, I think Robert Buckley [Clay] was there as well. All these people came out. I think Mark set it up so that everyone I was working on my first scene with came out to meet me so I would be comfortable with everyone the next day and they would know who I was. Honestly, they are just the most accepting and wonderful people you can ever think of working with.

That actually leads really well to the next question, the most difficult part of working on the show. It’s funny because the most difficult part of the show for me is getting used to acting on camera. I have an actual background in theater and I’ve done a lot of acting before as a theater actor but never as a screen actor so the changeover to that has been really challenging for me. I really feel lucky to have such great people on set with me and working with me to kind of teach me. The scenes that I have with India or Sophia or [Bethany Joy Galeotti, Haley], there’s always sweet, little hints that they give me. You know, “Keep your eyes up here,” “Make sure the camera catches this kind of thing”–things that you really want to look out for when filming these kind of things and it’s really amazing how much they’ve helped me. So the most difficult thing has been getting used to filming.

The most surprising thing I think was definitely how big the production scale is. I knew what One Tree Hill was, I had seen the show before and I knew Mark and all that stuff but you never can imagine what it’s like to be on set and in the process of filming until you’re there. There’s literally like a hundred crew members, a hundred extras. There’s things flying around past your head–cameras, lights, everything. It’s really overwhelming. So probably the scale of it is the most surprising thing.

TDW: Do you have any favorite anecdotes from the set or from hanging out with everyone?

Grubbs: Wow. There’s just so many great moments we have down there. When the cast goes out, it’s always a blast because everyone is super cool. We really are like a family. My favorite anecdote ever would be the first episode that I did down there [Episode 7.09, Now You Lift Your Eyes To The Sun]. Like I said before, it was completely overwhelming to me. The first day I walked on set, I didn’t know where I could go or what I could do, what was off-limits, when I was making a fool of myself. It was a whole different world and I didn’t know the etiquette of it or anything. As the day went on, I slowly became more comfortable and suddenly, before I knew it, the day was over and the episode was over for me. The first episode I was in, it was just a very small scene. So they wrapped the day and Mark Schwahn was on set and Sophia Bush was directing and, as they wrapped, finishing my last take, I didn’t really know what was going on because they do so many different takes and so many different angles and everything so I didn’t know if they were turning around or whatever and then one of the guys that works with us and says “Hey, man. That’s it for the day. You did a great job. We’re all done.” And I was like, “Okay, cool” and I kind of had a “That’s it?” moment, you know, where I was like, “Okay, well, I guess I go home now and I don’t know if I’ll ever be back” because at first it was just like a one episode cameo. So I was slowly kind of wandering off set, not knowing where to go or what to do and I heard someone yell from the other side of the room–to this day, I’m not sure who it was. I don’t know if it was Mark. I don’t know if it was Sophia. Austin Nichols [Julian] was on set that day; it could’ve been him. It could’ve been one of the other producers. All the guys that work on the show are just so cool. But somebody yells, “Hey, everybody! Can you just stop what you’re doing”–and, literally, at this point there’s like a 100 crew members on set and a 100 extras so I’m in a room with 200 people and everyone stops and turns around–“Can everyone please put their hands together for Michael Grubbs. It’s his first day ever on set, wrapping his first-ever episode” and the whole room just burst out. By that time I was friends with everybody and everyone was cheering for me. That was probably the coolest moment ever in the whole process so far.

TDW: That’s sweet. How is Wilmington treating you? It’s a bit different than Brooklyn…

Grubbs: Wilmington is quite different from Brooklyn. But it’s a really cool town. I don’t think people realize how great they have it there. The people that I’ve met, the locals and stuff, are all super sweet and super kind. There’s some really cool bars, some really cool restaurants down there, too. It’s a great scene. There’s some great little clothing stores. There’s a little place called Edge of Urge that I try to hit once every time I’m down there. They have great clothes. It’s funny that I would go all the way to Wilmington to buy clothes when I live in Brooklyn, a place where there’s so many great stores and stuff but that’s just something in Wilmington they do really well.

TDW: What’s next for Wakey!Wakey!?

Grubbs: The next thing we have coming out is this album on February 2nd. It’s called “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You.” It’s our first real live studio album and we’re super proud of it. We got really great distribution so it’s going to be widely available and just kind of another introduction of Wakey!Wakey! to America so I’m really excited to see how that goes and get that out there.

TDW: You’ve done a great job of capitalizing on social media tools like Twitter and video blogs. What value do you think they have?

Grubbs: I think there’s a big difference between actors and musicians. One of the big differences is actors, unless they’re trying to build some general form of celebrity, really want their social media to be private because they’re not trying to brand themselves. They’re trying to get people to watch the show that they’re on. They don’t really want people to take as much interest in them. For someone like myself–or India’s actually in the same boat. She’s a fantastic singer and has a MySpace page and has a lot of great music on it. For someone like her or someone like me, using Twitter, using blogs, using MySpace and different outlets to get to people to kind of spread the word of what we’re doing with the band and other stuff is a totally vital tool. I want people to know me. I want people to know my band. I want people to feel comfortable with me and my music and everything. One Tree Hill fans are so cool and so supportive of the show and they work really hard to find music. If a song’s on the show, everybody goes and finds it, which is just amazing. If they like it on the show, they talk about it and they get out there and they’re asking about it. They have just such a great community online, I’d be stupid not to talk to them and try and put my name out there as much as possible and get people to see me and follow me on Twitter and come to my Facebook page. So I think social networking is just vital. Not to mention the way it allows me to interact with the fans and just kind of connect with them; it’s really cool. I would say it’s absolutely a vital tool for anyone and definitely something to watch. So I hope everyone comes and follows me on Twitter!

TDW: You’ve had people send you questions through Twitter that you then answer through videoblogs on your Tumblr. How did that start?

Grubbs: The first day I was on set, my manager told me our goal should be to answer every question we got on Twitter and kind of let all the other stuff go. The first appearance I had on the show, the response was pretty overwhelming. We got hundreds of letters and stuff. So to respond to everyone was pretty possible. I sat down and tried to respond to all the tweets one by one and it took me like a week. I finally got it done and I went to my manager and was like, “There’s no way I can do this. There’s no way I can make this my life because all I would do is sit there and answer tweets.” So we decided the best way to do it would be to do the series “Ask Grubbs.” Basically every Wednesday what we do is I’ll sit down and pick some random questions from Twitter–I can’t answer them all but I’ll pick as many as I can–and answer them on a videoblog. So every Wednesday they can come check it out and maybe they’ll see me answer their question on the blog. It’s kind of cool that way. It’s a great way for me to easily connect with people. For instance, on the last one that I posted, there was a girl that said she fell down and hurt her leg and she was at home with ice on it listening to Wakey!Wakey!. Such a sweet, sweet little message and for me to tweet back to that seems kind of shallow. To just say, “Oh, thanks. I hope your leg feels better” seems empty. So if I get to actually go on camera and say, “Hey, you! Thank you for listening to us and I’m glad that we’re making you feel better,” it feels a lot more direct.

Come back tomorrow night after One Tree Hill to find out how you can win an autographed copy of “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You” and get a shout-out on Grubbs’  blog.

Then come back next week for another exclusive interview!

TDW Interview Index


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Categories : One Tree Hill

Live-Blog: One Tree Hill 7.12 and Gossip Girl 3.12

7 12 2009

Last Week’s Reaction Post

Keep refreshing this page throughout the show for plot developments, quotes and commentary.

ONE TREE HILL

EPISODE 7.12: Some Roads Lead Nowhere

  • No previously on!
  • This is the last new episode until January 18.
  • Clay is sitting by a fire. He doesn’t look happy.
  • He gets a message on his phone and throws it into the water without checking it.
  • Cut to Alex’s phone in the water. Then we get the same aerial shot last week ended on as the blood filters through the water.
  • Rachel tells Dan’s they’re going to have a good show.
  • Jamie, dressed like a bullfighter (I forget the exact name) says moving to Spain is “bullshit”! Cut to him with soap in his mouth! LOL
  • Julian finds Alex in the tub and tries to lift her out. Did he listen to her message? How he’d get into her room?
  • Skills tells Lauren he got the job. She seems shocked, but didn’t she know it was coming?
  • Millicent walks into the bathroom and sees the blood filled tub with more blood dripping on the sides…but no Alex. She starts crying hysterically.
  • Julian is sitting somewhere distressed. I imagine the hospital.
  • Mouth comes into the bathroom and Millicent cries in his arms.
  • Brooke sits next to Julian at the hospital.
  • 90210 promo
  • Haley is yelling at Jamie, saying they don’t use that language and Spain will be great.
  • Q1: Forgiveness is love, you know.–Jamie
  • Q2: “How is it my fault?” “He’s quoting your father!”–Naley
  • Nathan says he goes to the bar when he has a bad day. Jamie’s excited! LOl
  • Quinn comes to Clay’s. He’s still packing.
  • She says what’s going on “sucks turtle eggs.”
  • Q3: “Turtle eggs, really?” “I don’t know. It sucks something.”
  • Quinn says she heard from his assistant that Joe Turner’s mom is sick. Apparently he plays for some team and this sickness is good news for Clay. I imagine for Nate.
  • Nathan brings Jamie to Tric, where Nate tells Grubbs Jamie is his old college roommate.
  • LOL! Jamie just make a joke about his birthday month always changes! That was priceless!
  • Jamie is served beer…root beer. Two cherries.
  • That was a really cute scene. Wish I had all the dialogue.
  • The SportsArc peeps want Skills in L.A. on Monday.
  • Lauren tells him he’s going to do great but says she’s hurt he didn’t ask her to go with him.
  • So then he asks and she says she can’t but it was nice to be asked.
  • Alex wakes up in a hospital bed to see Julian by her side.
  • Q4: “I can’t believe I made it to heaven.” “I can’t believe you put me through hell.”–Alex and Julian
  • Q5: “You came.” “Of course I came.” “That’s what she said.”–Alex and Julian
  • Um, I thought those were Brooke’s jokes?!
  • Julian says he got her voicemail and was going to see her to take back the mean things he said.
  • He explains the movie got financing and she needs to get better because he won’t make it without her.
  • Gossip Girl promo
  • Life UneXpected promo. LUX stars Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek).
  • LOL Jamie is venting to Grubbs as a drunk man would.
  • Q6: I bet they don’t even have recess.–Jamie
  • Miranda comes up and Nate says they haven’t told Jamie about the tour yet.
  • Grubbs’ psychic powers don’t work on Miranda. He keeps predicting her drinks incorrectly.
  • Interesting to see Miranda interacting with someone other than Lily.
  • Clay is with Joe Turner in the hospital. He admits he’s not with the agency anymore.
  • Joe says his mom has cancer and she has less than a year to leave. He doesn’t know what’s he going to do.
  • He asks Clay if he ever lost someone close to him. Jackpot?
  • Clay says yes but doesn’t say who. He recommends making the most of the time they have together and asks him if he wants to play closer to help.
  • Millicent tells Mouth she stole a dress from Brooke.
  • Mouth says she needs to tell Brooke the truth. She’s the one who trusted her and helped her all this time.
  • Mouth questions how Millie can’t see how special she is.
  • Q7: When I look at that mirror, I just want to cut a line on it and snort it. That’s what I see.–Millie
  • Brooke comes into CoB and tells her mom that Alex will be as OK as can be, given she just tried to kill herself.
  • Victoria is telling the press it was exhaustion.
  • Brooke says everything is a mess, citing Millie’s arrest, Alex, her fights with Julian, etc.
  • Victoria points out that Millie stole the red dress.
  • Julian is still by Alex’s bedside.
  • Q8: Do you know what happens when you die, Alex? You die. That’s what happens.–Julian
  • Clay and Quinn are in the car when he suddenly starts talking about Sara’s death and how he was talking to her about a pen right before she died.
  • Q9: I just think we waste our words and we waste our moments and we don’t take the time to say what’s really in our hearts.–Clay
  • Q10: You danced with her and you held her before she died. I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye.–Quinn
  • How about actually, you know, being able to *say* goodbye and profess your love one last time? That’s all I want.
  • Dan is in the hallway, filming the show live. He admits that it’s “malicious” towards the families of Keith and Jimmy.
  • He says he’s going to deviate from the teleprompter…
  • Q11: Because this is my final show. And nobody knew that until now. So…I suggest you stick around because with the look on my wife’s face, there’s going to be a few surprizes.
  • Promo for the Warriors in Pink campaign with 90210
  • Clay is the phone with an agent or coach or saying that, with Joe Turner, he can make the deal they want work.
  • Now they’re at the Bobcats gym, looking for the general manager. Quinn will pose as a cheerleader so Clay can get inside.
  • Nathan and Grubbs are throwing tomatoes at Jamie, who is wrapped in a garbage bag and wearing goggles.
  • Haley comes in and pretends to be alarmed until she throws one at Nate. Kind of funny.
  • Clay is talking to the manager, who is surprised Clay is there without an agency.
  • He explains that Joe Turner wants to play close to home and will sign a long-term deal. If they trade the guy they have now, they can get Joe. And presumable Nate.
  • Quinn is dressed in the cheerleader work-out clothes. She has to perform a panel of judges or coaches, I guess.
  • This is kind of gratuitous. Or at least pointless. Now it’s kind of funny.
  • Tthe manager spots Quinn doing hilarious, random moves. This is probably her best scene ever.
  • Clay and the manger are both amused.
  • Now this is intercut with the tomato fight. Kinda cute. It’s working well together and with this episode, unlike last week’s supposedly “funny” stuff.
  • Clay’s cheering for her was kind of adorable, too.
  • Q12: Yeah! Alright! Sucks to be next!–Clay
  • Brooke sits by Alex’s bed as she sleeps.
  • Rachel is POed as she watches Dan doing his show…on his terms.
  • Q13: I’m a wealthy man but let’s face it. You shouldn’t be able to murder a man in cold blood and profit from it.–Dan
  • He says he’s giving ALL of it back and eyes Rachel.
  • He says it’s time for him to go and shuts off the counter.
  • Haley and co. are covered in tomatoes. It’s pretty funny.
  • Haley says she’ll miss TRIC. Her first performance was there.
  • She also says she’ll miss the bathrooms. LOL Love the slutty wedding sex last season!
  • Jamie is eating cherries just as I did all last week! Funny!
  • Jamie says he’ll miss Grandpa Dan.
  • Dan is still filming. He says there’s no such thing as forgiveness.
  • Q14: There’s just what comes next…There’s only pain and guilt and the misery of knowing who you are and what you did. So don’t do it. Just stop before it’s too late.–Dan
  • Rachel storms off. She kinda looked like she had tears in her eyes.
  • A gun shot sounds and
  • Q15: I miss you, big brother. Every second of every day. It’s there. And that’s all there is.–Dan
  • Jamie is playing with Chester. I love seeing that bunny.
  • Nathan says the guys will be there soon for the contact signing.
  • Nate spots Jamie’s jersey in the garbage.
  • He says he knows Jamie isn’t thrilled about playing overseas.
  • Q16: “My agents did the best they could.” “So did Clay. But you fired him.”–Nathan and Jamie
  • Good point, Jamie!
  • Quinn and Clay are talking about her fear of the ocean.
  • She says it has to do with immensity and Clay says life is immense.
  • Quinn jokes that she’ll need an agent if she gets the job.
  • Clay says she’s a terrible dancer but he was turned on. LOL
  • Brooke is talking to Alex as she sleeps, saying it’s selfish to try suicide when there are other people who clamoring to live and they can’t.
  • Millie walks in and asks if everything’s okay.
  • Q17: She’s gonna live. It’s debatable with you.–Brooke
  • Millie apologizes and Brooke asks what happened.
  • She explains she was trying to lose weight and “it” was just there in Alex’s closet.
  • Brooke finally realizes that Millie’s been doing drugs.
  • Q18: You’re not my model anymore. But you’re still my friend. Just go get some help.–Brooke
  • Cut to Millie in a rehab.
  • Mouth says he’s proud of her and wishes he could stay.
  • She says she needs to do this alone.
  • But she adds how good they were together and they sadly agree that sometimes it doesn’t work out.
  • Q19: I will always be there for you, sweet girl.–Mouth
  • Brooke is drawing a sketch of Millie before she rips it up and throws towards the garbage can and misses.
  • Q20: That’s not a very good shooting percentage.–Julian
  • Julian tells her he loves her, misses her and wants to be with her. Then he says he’s going to make the movie with Alex.
  • She doesn’t look happy.
  • She asks when Julian when he first met Peyton.
  • He says she was crying in the copy room.
  • And then Brooke asks when they first starting dating.
  • He says when she needed help with Sam.
  • Brooke points out that now Alex needs help.
  • Julian talks about his mom. She was always trying to do stuff for everyone else but no one ever told her how special she was. She turned to pills and alcohol and “became the not so special person she thought she was all along.”
  • Brooke points out that fixing Alex won’t fix his mom.
  • Q21: Maybe I can help her before her fire burns out. And if not, at least I tried.–Julian
  • And we thought Lucas had a savior complex!
  • Brooke is not happy. I don’t blame her.
  • Those were a lot of sad, emotional scenes in a row. I kind of loved it.
  • Gossip Girl promo
  • Nate is getting $7 million for the deal!
  • Nathan is about to sign the contact when Clay and Quinn walk in.
  • Jamie calls him Uncle Clay. Hmmm.
  • Clay says he has something he can do for Nathan.
  • The agents say they don’t have time for this. Nathan looks at Jamie and says they do have time.
  • Clay admits he was was arrogant and aggressive and forgot about putting the client first.
  • He says the Sacramento Kings want Nathan for $15 million…with 3 conditions.
  • 1. Nathan signs with Clay. 2. The no-trade clause is waved…so Nathan and Joe Turner are immediately traded to the Bobcats! 3…
  • Q22: I plan on falling completely and insanely in love with Quinn.–Clay
  • Wow. That was quite moving, too.
  • Clay says he needs to get to work, turns and leaves with a big smile.
  • Quinn is smiling, too.
  • Naley is ecstatic.
  • Grubbs is playing the piano music that was in the promo.
  • Skills and Lauren are saying goobye. She’s crying.
  • He says he loves her and always will. She will, too.
  • Rachel is at the lawyer, confirming that all the money is gone.
  • All that’s left for her is divorce papers.
  • Dan is at a bus, getting ready to board when Nathan walks up.
  • He says he heard about the show. He says he’s going to resign with the Bobcats and thanks him (um, what?) for helping him get there.
  • He says Jamie wants to say goodbye.
  • Jamie runs up, asking him why he’s leaving.
  • Q23: “I’ve done a lot of bad things, Jamie. And I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. I forgive you.”–Dan and Jamie
  • Miranda watches Grubbs playing the piano and singing the music, like Mia does. This must be a WakeyWakey song. I really like it.
  • Millie is escaping from rehab via the fire escape.
  • Clay is on the beach. He starts to take off his jacket and walks to the water.
  • Nathan and Joe are doing a press conference.
  • They’re asked how it happened so far and Nate says they have a great agent.
  • Quinn sees Clay in the water. He says he’ll come out but she says she’ll come in.
  • She takes off her sweater and walks in.
  • Q24: “Did you mean what you said? About falling in love with me?” “Insanely in love. Yeah.”–Quinn and Clay
  • They kiss.
  • Haley is putting bags on her tour bus. Nathan and Jamie join her.
  • Julian is again by Alex’s bedside.
  • She apologizes again.
  • He says if she ever does this again, he won’t miss her and he won’t think of her. Reverse psychology, huh?
  • She promises and they hold hands as Brooke watches from the window.
  • Now Brooke’s in Clothes over Bros when a guy walks in.
  • It’s Alexander Coine (or something like that). He’s the Australian businessman we knew was coming. He says Victoria hired him as the new designer.
  • Fade to black.
  • Crap ending for a great episode and a long hiatus!
  • Preview: Alexander meets Julian, Millie is in court and Victoria tells the judge that Millie works for her, Jamie introduces Haley at a concert, Julian asks Alex how she is, Alex says everyone is staring at her scars, Nathan runs into Taylor

GOSSIP GIRL

EPISODE 3.12: The Debarted

  • Previously on: Bart died in an accident, Chuck wants to make money by age 21, Jenny and Eric are feuding, Gabrielle knows Dan loves Vanessa, Serena finds the letter and tells Lily not to judge her, Nate tells Serena not to get in the car and Tripp beckons her to come.
  • This is the last new episode until March 8.
  • A car is driving at night in the rain.
  • Serena and Trip are in there. They don’t look happy.
  • They start to fight over the radio.
  • Tripp says he loves her but she says everything is ruined already and it’s too late and he says it doesn’t have to be.
  • Serena spots some wolves in the road. They swerve and crash.
  • It’s now 12 hours earlier.
  • Blair is trying to charm Chuck with food.
  • He’s being distant.
  • She accuses him of trying to avoid the day. I think it’s the anniversary of Bart’s death.
  • He says he has a meeting and Blair says she’s coming, too.
  • Lily is cleaning out the coat closest…again. She’s looking for the letter.
  • Rufus is perplexed, of course.
  • Lily admits she’s mad at Serena for covorting with a married politician.
  • Rufus says he can help her out because he’s “totally free.”
  • Lily says she expected him to say that, kind of nastily.
  • Rufus senses it and Lily apologizes and says she likes how he’s made family the priority.
  • Serena and Tripp appear to be in a cottage somewhere.
  • He’s getting on the commitee he wants.
  • Serena says everything will blow over but he says it will blow up first.
  • Q1: If getting together means everything will fall apart, so be it.–Serena
  • Does she really think she’s going to be a politican’s wife? Starting now? For the rest of her life? That’s so not Serena. She’s clearly not thinking about the future at al.
  • Blair is turned off when Chuck takes her to a homeless shelter.
  • Q2: This whole Scrooge act. You should be at home today or laying flowers on your father’s grave.–Blair
  • Chuck tells Blair to take the limo and leave.
  • Q3: Fine. Pretend you don’t get sad. But I know…You, Chuck Bass, are not your father.–Blair
  • Tripp is on the phone with someone, saying they should talk.
  • Q4: What better way to choose your path than making it your destiny?–Gossip Girl
  • Someone says “you did the right thing, son” and puts his arm on Chuck’s shoulder.
  • It’s Bart!
  • But I believe we know if it’s a ghost.
  • Chuck shrugs him off and walks in the building.
  • Jenny runs into the mean girls when another girl comes up and kind of fights with her over a designer bag.
  • The girl was sent by Eric and Kira. They are using her to take down Jenny.
  • Have we seen this girl before? I don’t remember.
  • Dan is telling Nate than Gabrielle was right: he is in love with Vanessa.
  • Surprised they’re talking about this given V and Nate’s past.
  • Nate says Dan can man up and go after his love or set his sights on someone else.
  • Enter Vanessa and a friend. They invite Dan to join them and Paul at the girl’s vacation house.
  • Dan turns them down. Nate yells at him, saying this is his chance to get V or at least the other girl, Willa.
  • Dan yells after them that he will in fact go.
  • Rufus goes to the condo association meeting, where the women are pleased to see Rufus.
  • They insinuate he has nothing to do so they always expected him to come at some point.
  • He pretends not to be insulted.
  • Serena is calling Tripp, wondering where he is.
  • Tripp claims he’s with his grandfather. I doubt it.
  • Serena says she came to be with him and she’s alone.
  • He apologizes and says he’s sorry he’s a mess and he’ll be home tonight.
  • Tripp is with Maureen. He tells to stick with their plan and they’ll get it all: his career, his relationship AND her marriage.
  • Maureen says Serena is just a phase but Tripp says “that’s where our opinions diverge.”
  • Maureen says she’s going to make a “personal, woman-to-woman” appeal to Serena.
  • Bart is telling Chuck he’s been working impressively but tells him just to sign the contact already.
  • Chuck says he doesn’t need his advice and that he’s been doing well without him.
  • Bart says he hasn’t seen anything this past year that shows he’s successful. In fact, he calls Chuck a “disappointment.”
  • Q5: You opened your heart to Blair and it made you weak. You can’t be one person at work and another person at home. When you’re soft, you’re sort. And let’s face it–your soft.–Bart.
  • Ouch.
  • Chuck storms off and Bart’s gone.
  • Serena is calling Nate.
  • I can’t believe he would even talk to her after she rejected him and left him!
  • She says she’s at the cottage but doesn’t know how to turn on the heat.
  • He doesn’t either, but leads her to his old pot stash in the meantime.
  • Nate asks where Tripp is and she says he’s with grandfather.
  • Nate looks uneasy.
  • She says they’re glad they can still talk and they hang up.
  • Maureen comes in.
  • Serena says she needs to leave or she’ll tell Tripp. Maureen says Tripp is the one who told her she was there.
  • She explains they are keeping their marriage and Serena can be the mistress.
  • Q6: You’re getting whatever you’re getting. Screwed. I think that’s what they call it.–Maureen
  • Q7: I’m Jackie. You’re Marilyn.–Maureen
  • Maureen says Tripp is skeptical but didn’t know she had the letter.
  • Maureen wonders what Rufus would say about the letter, which says Serena’s father and Lily were together in a hotel room and you can only imagine what they were doing!
  • She adds that, with what she knows, she could’ve forced her out altogether but she’s not.
  • 90210 promo
  • Promo for a fashion book by GG designer Eric Daman.
  • Blair finds Chuck drunk in bed.
  • He says she doesn’t need him take care of him.
  • Q8: I know how hard it was for you to let you guard down, to let me in. But you’ve changed.–Blair
  • He spies Bart peering in the windows.
  • Chuck says he’s buying the homeless building.
  • Q9: “Just tell me what you need me to do.” “I need you to get out of here now.”–Blair and Chuck
  • Blair leaves and Bart says there’s still hope for him.
  • Eric is with the mean girls and Jenny comes up, giving them matching bags to her own.
  • Eric is thrown for a loop and asks where they get the money.
  • Blair is with Lily, assuming she needs to be comforted.
  • But Lily has forgotten it is even the anniversary! She hides it well, though.
  • Blair says Chuck has never been to his mom’s grave and doesn’t even know where it is.
  • Rufus comes in and Blair explains the anniversary. Rufus comforts Lily saying he understands now why she was being distant.
  • She says she’s so grateful she has him and never wants to lose him. Hmm.
  • Serena is getting advice from Nate on Tripp and Maureen. Um, really? You’re going to the guy that’s in love with you? I guess he really will sacrifice anything for her, including his pride.
  • S says she’s just waiting for Tripp to get back from seeing grandfather.
  • Nate reveals that grandfather is in Bermuda! Serena is understandably shocked.
  • Nassau County! Nate is going to Nassau County! That’s where I live! =D
  • Dan goes to Willa’s room, ready to go on the trip.
  • She says she sent Vanessa and Paul on their way. She wants to show him something.
  • So…she shows him a video of a naked “performance piece.”
  • Lily comes to see Chuck and asks him to come to the cemetary.
  • He says he has business to do.
  • She says Bart was a person who liked to be alone but they aren’t like that. They need people and he needs her now to come with her and honor him.
  • He says to work is to honor him.
  • They are interrupted when Serena calls.
  • She apologizes for leaving with Tripp and not taking her advice. She says Maureen has the letter and Lily obviously understands the ramifications.
  • She says she knows Tripp is lying to him and can’t trust him.
  • Lily tells her to come home and she will tell Rufus and truth and Serena will be safer.
  • Serena is leaving as Tripp comes back. She calls him out on lying.
  • He says he wants to be with her more than anything and can explain.
  • She says she’ll get in the car but no talking allowed.
  • And now we have the car crash in pieces, intercut with Nate and Chuck in their respective vehicles.
  • Chuck ignores Blair’s call.
  • Tripp comes to first in the car and is shocked to see Serena with her head bloody and on the dashboard. Light echoes of Ryan and Marissa.
  • He calls Maureen and says he needs help.
  • Cops and medics are attending to the accident when Nate pulls up.
  • He runs out and sees Serena being wheeled into an ambulance.
  • She groggily asks for Tripp…who isn’t there!
  • Nate is clearly disgusted.
  • He calls Tripp and leaves a message saying to meet him at the hospital or he’s telling the cops he was driving.
  • Rufus is making comfort food for Lily.
  • She says, since the kids aren’t home, there’s something she needs to tell him.
  • Rufus says it sounds serious and she says it is.
  • Lily’s phone rings and she says it’s 516 and might be Serena.
  • 516 is my area code!
  • Dan is making out with Willa when he stops and says he can’t do this.
  • He gets a call and then knocks on Blair’s door, telling her Serena was in a car accident. She’s obviously upset.
  • Vanessa asks what’s going on and Dan says to just come with him.
  • Blair calls Chuck who, likewise, is upset and says he’s coming.
  • Tripp shows up at the hospital and Nate blasts him for leaving Serena and even moving her to make it look like she was driving.
  • Tripp is eager to see Serena but Nate says what he did is unforgivable.
  • Maureen comes up and says that Nate telling the truth won’t help since Serena has her own history of drinking, drugs and many men.
  • She turns to leave and Tripp is supposed to follow but he says he wants to see Serena.
  • And, finally, Nate decks him!
  • Q10: Spotted: the fall of a politician and the rise of a hero.–Gossip Girl
  • Lily is by Serena’s bedside. Serena says she had to learn the hard way and Lily says “like mother, like daughter.”
  • Serena concludes that Lily didn’t tell Rufus the truth. Lily makes up excuses and Serena says she just needs to rest.
  • Blair comes in. She’s in a robe and a jacket.
  • Q11: “Nice outfit.” “You too.”–Serena and Blair
  • It’s touching how upset Blair is.
  • Serena tells Blair she was right about Tripp.
  • Chuck is walking down the hall when it flashes back to last year. Serena is walking down the hall and tells Chuck to go into see his dad.
  • He does, and Lily is standing with Bart and the doctor. Lily says there’s nothing more they can do.
  • Chuck turns and leaves.
  • In the present day, Chuck crawls to the floor in the hospital, breathing deeply.
  • Blair comes over and Chuck asks how Serena is and if everyone is there.
  • Blair says Serena is fine and everyone here.
  • Q12: “My father always thought I was weak. And I was. I couldn’t be here when…I left right away. I’ve been pushing myself to prove him wrong and I’ve been pushing you away.” “I don’t think you ran away because you couldn’t handle death. I think because you couldn’t handle feelings. But you’re not like that anymore. You carry people and you carry me. You’re becoming a man in a way your father never was. Come. Let’s say goodbye.”–Chuck and Blair
  • Incredibly moving. Excellent work by Ed Westwick.
  • As Chuck passes by a hospital room, has a vision of a sheet being put over Bart’s dead body.
  • He thanks Blair and kisses her.
  • Jenny and Eric reconcile at the hospital, calling a truce.
  • But it can’t last if Jenny dosen’t change her ways.
  • Rufus is about to leave the penthouse when Maureen comes in.
  • She says she’s been having marriage problems and doesn’t want to see someone suffer the way she has.
  • Q13: Somehow this ended up in my pocket at Thanksgiving. Just read it.–Maureen
  • She gives him the letter and leaves.
  • Dan and Vanessa are at the hospital.
  • She’s wondering what could’ve happened with the car accident was different and the injuries were more serious.
  • Q14: Vanessa, I love you.–Dan
  • Vanessa doesn’t get the seriousness of it and thinks he saying it a family-friendly way but his look then says it all!
  • She talks it up to people making big declarations after something serious happens and says she’s going to go see Serena.
  • He’s clearly bummed.
  • Also surprised he’s not more concerned about Serena given their past.
  • Lily comes home and spots the letter sitting out and Rufus MIA.
  • Rufus is with the woman from the condo association meeting.
  • Serena turns over in her bed to see Nate sleeping in the chair besides it.
  • Q15: Only sleeping beauty finds her prince.–Gossip Girl
  • Jenny sneaks out and meets up with Damian. They are going to do more drug dealing.
  • Q16: Queen Bee likes a thrill, eh?–Damian
  • Q17: “It’s not easy being Queen or cheap.” “Well, stick with me, Jenny Humphrey, and you’ll have enough cash to underwrite your entire kingdom.”–Jenny and Damian
  • Chuck steps out of the car at the cometary and sees someone at his dad’s grave, with yellow roses just like he has.
  • He assumes it’s Lily.
  • The woman turns and says “Charles.”
  • Then she’s gone!
  • Left behind is a locket with an E on it and Bart’s picture.
  • Fade to black.
  • Now that’s a good ending for a great episode and a long break!
  • Preview: Blair pretends to be having sex with Chuck to avoid Serena coming in but she comes in anyway, Blair and Chuck kiss, Jenny and Damian kiss, Lily asks what’s going on, Blair says she loves surprises, Chuck says he has to know, Blair holds the locket, Nate says we’ve waited a long time for this.

Those are my thoughts. What’s yours?


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