By Drew Grant 12/20/12 1:25pm

Gossip Girl

Goodbye strangers, it's been nice! (CW)

Gossip Girl Finale Keeps Fans Wondering Why We Loved These Jerks in the First Place

One time we tried to watch an episode of Gossip Girl. It was 2007, and Obama was gaining grass-roots support among young voters thanks to the hard work and dedication of Will.i.Am, Scarlett Johansson and two teenage newcomers, Blake Lively and Penn Badgley.

Yes, these two–dare we say–heroes had stood up together (in accordance with CW regulations) and announced in a commercial that they were voting for Barack Obama. The two co-stars, who, from the little we had seen of their program, were not especially interesting but found themselves endlessly fascinating, were given special celebrity passes because they were dating both on and off the show. And that’s always fun. Read More

By Drew Grant 12/20/12 9:35am

2012 in review

10 Photos

Biggest Over/Underachiever: James Franco

Celebrity Superlatives: Class of 2012

This has been a big year for the young Hollywood crowd! Channing Tatum made the cover of People‘s Sexiest Man Alive, Taylor Swift dated both a Kennedy and a New Direction, and Lena Dunham did everything else. But now that the year is coming to an end, it’s time we hand out the awards like “Best Smile” and “Most Likely to Become President” (both go to Ryan Gosling). Give a hand for your 2012 Class of Celebrity Superlatives! Read More

By Drew Grant 9/27/12 3:00pm

TV programming

blair

Update: Gossip Girl Producer Sells Wuthering Heights Show to NBC; Sets It in Napa, Obviously [Video]

Somehow, someway, a studio exec over at NBC approved of a concept that will almost certainly involve Katherine screaming “Heathcliff!” while running through a sunny vineyard. And yes, someone from Gossip Girl was involved in the creation of this Bront-rosity.

Oh! But we totally know who should cover the (obvious) theme song. (Updated below) Read More

By Drew Grant 9/20/12 2:37pm

Big Apple Idolatry

Lady Gaga's maternity wear (Getty Images)

Big Apple Idolatry: Celebrities are Fat, on Drugs, Possibly Pregnant

— The Church of Scientology has written a strongly-worded letter to Vanity Fair about Maureen Orth’s cover story on Tom Cruise and the woman auditioned to be his girlfriend, Nazanin Boniadi. It’s eight pages long. In it, the church threatens, “If Vanity Fair goes forward with publication of such defamatory allegations, now that it is on notice that the story is false, the stain on its reputation will last long after any reader even remembers the article. The sting of the jury verdict will last longer still; far longer than any pleasure from racing to publish a poorly researched and sourced story.” Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 9/04/12 7:12pm

off the record

Chace Crawford's name, misspelled by the post on the Post's header in the same way the press release misspelled it.

How Your Gossip Sausage Gets Made: Page Six Seems To Borrow Language–and ‘News!’–From Press Release

On Saturday, Off the Record received a press release from Los Angeles-based celebrity PR firm Sprock. It was pretty thin gruel: “Actor Keith Collins & Actor John Stamos” were spotted at Westside Tavern, with Mr. Stamos “discussing his performances in his always sold out Broadway Play ‘The Best Man On Broadway’ [sic, throughout].”

“Also at Read More

By Foster Kamer 6/01/12 4:44pm

HOW IT ACTUALLY GOES DOWN

Screenshot_4

The Secrets of Cameo Appearances on Gossip Girl: Exposed!

There’s no telling whether or not, on Gossip Girl debut in September 2007, the show’s creators anticipated the distinct fervor over the show from adults. In turn, this obsession turned into a mobius strip perpetuated by the mechanism that is the Highbrow Cameo Appearance, whose significance would only be truly appreciated by those with the context to understand what canny remark the writers were making by bringing them in. Read More

By The Editors 1/31/12 7:03pm

Opening Shot

(Future AU Senator??) Julian Assange

A Season of Too Many Stars

Last week, Michael Bloomberg attended a press conference for the 100th episode of Gossip Girl. “I just don’t see how Blair could marry Prince Louis when she’s clearly in love with Chuck,” said the New York mayor, who apparently had nothing bigger on his plate to worry at that moment, such as the allegations of rape made against Greg Kelly, the son of his police Commissioner Ray Kelly, or the NYPD head’s own cameo in an anti-Muslim training video for NYPD recruits.

“I just wish that Nate and Vanessa had been able to work things out … but, again, I’m just a casual fan,” he added. Read More

By Drew Grant 1/27/12 12:13pm

Mayor Bloomberg

OMFG! Mayor Bloomberg is totally freaking out over Blake Lively

5 Reasons Mayor Bloomberg is a Teenage Girl

Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference for the 100th episode of Gossip Girl.
“I just don’t see how Blair could marry Prince Louis when she’s clearly in love with Chuck,” said the New York mayor, who has nothing bigger on his plate to worry about right now. “I just wish that Nate and Vanessa had been able to work things out… But again I’m just a casual fan.”

By itself, this might have been an irreverent, fun comment, written by one of his younger staffers. But look more closely, and it becomes clear that Mayor Bloomberg is, in fact, a 16-year-old teenager on the verge of womanhood. Read More