On Lively’s first day on the set of my new film, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee—where Lively plays the young, troubled runaway Pippa Lee to Robin Wright Penn’s adult Pippa—she was exhausted, having arrived at 7 a.m. after working until 3 a.m. on the pop-culture soap-smash Gossip Girl the night before. The fact that her first scene in the movie would entail hysterical tears and a climactic fight with her bipolar mother, played by the powerful Maria Bello, seemed to faze her only slightly at the time, though internally, it seems, it was another story…

RM: You went to 13 different schools growing up?
BL: I did. When I was only 3 years old, my mom enrolled me in the first grade. My older brother was supposed to start school, but he didn’t want to go alone, so my mom told them I was 6 since I was so tall. But after a few weeks, they said they would have to put me in mentally disabled classes because I wasn’t up to pace with the rest of the kids. They thought that I was slow because all I wanted to do was sleep while the other kids were doing their projects. [laughs] So my mom took me out of school.

Meh. The interview kinda sucks … the fact that the Disneyland bit is the most interesting part of the whole interview is kinda sad. Thankfully, the accompanying photospread more than makes up for the this snoozy interview. After the jump, check out some of Blake’s photos from this issue of Marie Clarie magazine …

Woooo, she looks great! I love the first pic, it’s really sexy. When you compare these photos to those tragic pics of her GG co-star Leighton Meester in UK Glamour mag that we saw yesterday, well, there’s no question who’s got the better photospread this month. The interview I could really do without … but the photos are hot, hot, hot. She looks great, don’t she?

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He created a vast wilderness inhabited by scary creatures in Where the Wild Things Are, but Maurice Sendak still seemed overwhelmed by the line of media and photographers that assembled in the urban jungle for the premiere of the big-screen adaptation of his classic book. “Oh, look at this. A real red carpet,” marveled the 81-year-old author as Wild Things director Spike Jonze led him by the hand into New York City’s Alice Tully Hall at the film’s premiere. Jonze did not re-emerge, but Lauren Ambrose and Forrest Whitaker remained outside to brave the October chill and talk about voicing the Wild Things that inhabit the imagination of the story’s central character. “I was so excited to be playing the one I feel I look like, with the long, red hair,” said the flame-tressed Ambrose as she checked out a movie poster featuring an image of her character, a free-spirited monster named KW. “It was very freeing … and I didn’t have to worry about what I looked like.” For Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, composing the film’s soundtrack was a task that began when she discovered the book as a child. “I remember sitting down at the piano and trying to write a song for it when I was very young,” she said. “I even wrote a poem called Land of the Wild Things. It was longer than the book.” Producer Tom Hanks mused on the dark themes of the story, which have some wondering if kids are indeed the movie’s target audience. “Children are very complex beings. They’re not all fun and games and volleyballs and Nerf guns,” he explained. “They kind of experience bigger mood swings than adults do because they haven’t had any experience yet with loneliness or bitterness or confusion.” Still, 12-year-old Max Records, who makes his feature film debut as Max, insisted there were plenty of PG-13 antics on set. “We hoisted [Spike's] Vespa to the ceiling then covered him with yogurt and rice,” Records remembered. “That was fun.”

As I’ve mentioned many times before on the blog, I am REALLY excited to see this film. I had to stop watching movie trailers back in the Spring for fear of seeing too much of the movie too soon. Where the Wild Things Are is seriously one of my fave books ever (I used to sleep with my copy of the book when I was little) so I really hope the movie version doesn’t destroy my childhood. My hope is that the film will be able to capture the spirit of the book and build on the imaginative magic that Sendak created all those years ago. I deffo plan to see this movie when it opens this weekend. Wee :)

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

While there were a lot of pretty people on the red carpet (Alyson Hannigan looked amazing, as did Drew Barrymore) the real focus of the night was on who won what for which TV show. After the jump, check out some photos from the Emmy telecast itself, see some photos of the Emmy winners in the press room and find out who took home those coveted trophies at last night’s Emmy Awards …

After starting with 16 nominations, “Mad Men” won just three Emmy Awards at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night — but one of them was the big one, best drama series. The AMC show about ad agency executives in early 1960s Manhattan often competed against itself, particularly in the category of episode writing, where it had four of the five possible nominations. “Mad Men” also won best drama last year. “30 Rock” won best comedy at Sunday’s awards. The show won five Emmys overall. “We want to thank our friends at NBC … for keeping us on the air, even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show,” said star Tina Fey in accepting the honor. Glenn Close won best actress in a drama for her performance in “Damages,” but she turned her speech into praise for her colleagues. “I want to salute what I call my ‘category sisters,’ ” she said. “I respect you, and I’m inspired by your talent.” She also paid tribute to the show’s writers. Bryan Cranston of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” won his second straight Emmy as best actor in a drama. “I don’t know what I’m doing up here,” he said. “I feel like Cinderfella. … I stand here a humbled man.” Alec Baldwin won best actor in a comedy series for his performance in “30 Rock.” Toni Collette (”The United States of Tara”) won best actress in a comedy. Collette’s win was a mild surprise, as Tina Fey, of “30 Rock,” was considered a heavy favorite.

The thing that stuck me the most about the show was how much camaraderie was being tossed about … from everyone to everyone else. Heaps of praise was laid upon Neil Patrick Harris’s performance as Emmy host and the winners kept congratulating others … it was really nice to see. Here are a few photos of some of the winners hoisting up their Emmy trophies in the press room last night:

Much congrats goes out to all the winners … even if I don’t watch all of the shows that win, it’s clear that they are much beloved by viewers and Emmy voters and they are really deserving of their accolades. Click HERE for a list of last night’s 2009 Emmy Award winners.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Clearly, Hilary is trying to get more acting gigs under her belt … she’s been in a couple of movies recently and did a guest stint on Law & Order: SVU earlier this year. This new gig on stint on Gossip Girl could be just the right vehicle to get her back on the acting map. Long gone are her days on Lizzie Maguire, so she’s got some work to do to get back in the public consciousness as an actress. While her attempt to get her own show on NBC, titled Barely Legal, didn’t get picked up by the network at least she can take heart that the folks at GG took pity saw that she would be a great asset to the show. I mean … she’s already decked out in a hipster straw hat … she’s well on her way. Do any of y’all think Hil will blend seamlessly in with the rest of the cast or will she stick out like a big “guest star” sore thumb?

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Now, it’s not entirely clear why Blake was suddenly so shy … it’s possible she didn’t want to be seen with Penn or mebbe she just didn’t want to be seen at all. Whether she was hiding a heinous blemish or she didn’t feel pretty enough for photos, it’s fortuitous that she had a large bouquet of flowers on hand to hide her normally happy visage. C’mon Blake … Penn’s shoes aren’t that bad. I suppose if she doens’t want to be seen with the lad while he wears these shoes she shouldn’t loan them out to him anymore :)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Leighton, who we saw earlier today in the new Cobra Starship music video Good Girls Go Bad, is lookin’ very fresh-faced in these photos. It really looks like the memory of her leaked sex tape is but a thing of the past. Ed, who celebrated his birthday with girlfriend and GG co-star Jessica Szohr over the weekend, was lookin’ mighty smart in his snazzy suspenders. Blake Lively was lookin’ a hot mess but, in her defense, it looks like she had yet to hit the make-up trailer. Chace Crawford looks his usual perfection. Ah … it’s good to see the GG kids back in action. While some of us will be enjoying a Summer vacay, these folks are just getting back to work. I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more from the set of Gossip Girl in the weeks and months to come.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Even with the rain, the stars shone bright Monday night at the Costume Institute’s gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Models and the hottest celebs turned out in droves to celebrate “The Model as Muse” exhibit. There was Gisele Bundchen and Chanel Iman, along with Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba (in Michelle Obama favorite Jason Wu), Renee Zellweger (in Carolina Herrera), Eva Mendes (in Calvin Klein) and Eva Longoria, wearing Diane von Furstenberg. Chairing the event were Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss and Justin Timberlake, who rocked a pair of geek-chic specs (and girlfriend Jessica Biel). For a party celebrating models, the guest list was missing a few of the big ones. Legendary supermodels Stephanie Seymour and Naomi Campbell opted out of attending the gala – reportedly in solidarity with their date, designer Azzedine Alaia, who felt his clothes were underrepresented in the exhibit. And Christy Turlington is abroad filming. But though those notable ’90s frock stars’ absence left the party, well, a lot less super – even with Cindy Crawford in the house – fashion’s new guard arrived in full force. Heidi Klum, pregnant with her fourth child and wearing J. Mendel, promised to wear “high heels in the delivery room.” Tyra Banks wore Badgley Mischka, and Rachel Roy dressed India-born Lakshmi Menon. Kanye West helped deflect reports he’s broken up with model Amber Rose by making a show of support – literally, gripping her as she teetered and adjusting her dress. Model behavior, indeed.

It turns out that Maddy’s funky headpiece was designed by Marc Jacobs and, apparently, is a look that was used on the runway at the Fall fashion shows this year. Unfortch, I think the contraption makes her look like a geriatric Playboy bunny. Not a good look for her. Methinks that she was heavily inspired to wear something “wacky” at last night’s Costume Institute Gala after she attended Lady GaGa’s concert in NYC over the weekend. But, there were many other folks who looked utterly faboo at last night’s event. Vicky B. rocked her usual short skirt look (meh). But there were a lot of really great looks on the red carpet last night. After the jump, check out a few more pics from last night’s event and see who rocked and who LOLed …

Anne Hatahway looked amazing … I love the 60’s Brigitte Bardot look. Blake Lively also looked stunning. That girl is a fashionista, she rarely looks bad and very often outshines everyone else in her close vicinity. Jessica Biel tried to look glam, I just don’t think she can carry flouffy dresses well at all. Heidi Klum, who is lookin’ really pregs already (but mostly due to the dress) looked fab as usual. The event looked like it was a fun affair. Some folks got it right, some got it wrong and Madonna tried and failed to look cool … Celebrity Prom, indeed.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Every teen drama that is set in high school has to go thru the graduation episode so, again, these photos should come as no surprise to anyone nor should they spoil the drama to come. It remains to be see exactly what kind of drama might unfold come graduation day. Blair is a wild card this season … could she end up ruining the day for everyone? We know that bad girl Georgina Sparks will be returning to the Upper East Side in the coming eps, does she have some surprises up her sleeve for the big day? Monday night’s ep of GG was really very fun, it’s great to have the show back on the air. I can’t wait to see more. What do YOU suppose might go down on graduation day that might possibly make the day a memorable one for the Gossip Girl gang?

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

It’s been a heart-wrenching month for fans of the CW Network’s sexily subversive drama Gossip Girl while TV’s hottest show took a brief hiatus. But now Blair, Serena, Chuck Bass and Co. are back — and on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone. To get the dirt on what it’s like starring as beautiful young people in New York while being beautiful young people in New York, Jason Gay hung out with the cast on set and after hours, tagging along to their favorite drinking haunts — where the beverage of choice is the potent Golden Monkey — and catching the action as the show filmed on the streets of the Big Apple. “The outdoor sets were pretty fun, because the fans come out,” Gay says. “There were many kids from local private schools, foreign tourists and tons of paparazzi. It’s strange to to see a mob of paparazzi photograph Blake and Serena in character as they film an outdoor scene. It’s as if the reality of the show exists behind two lenses — in real time and TV time. All the actors enjoy the outside stuff because of the fans, too. It’s like playing on stage or something. More energy, more excitement and the sense that anything could happen. And sometimes it does. There is no such thing as a closed set in NYC!” Despite barely scraping together 3 million viewers a week, the show has become the most talked-about, culturally relevant series on television. “It’s not a conventional TV hit in terms of viewership. Its numbers are low and it loses to stuff like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, a far more wholesome show that runs on cable,” Gay says. “But in terms of having a ‘moment,’ however you want to define it, GG definitely is having one. It will be very interesting to see if the show grows, or remains a clubby, small hit. Teen shows seldom have long runs — and I don’t get the feeling this will turn into ER. But it seems to be here to stay as long as the principals involved want to keep doing it.” Part of the show’s appeal is its authenticity. “The show is sharp and connected to modern life, references, music and so on. Gossip Girl doesn’t feel like something that got drummed up in some network focus group by 55-year-old white dudes,” Gay explains. “No one’s going to accuse Gossip Girl of being The Wire or Mad Men, but if you roll with the fantasy/absurdity, it’s fun to watch, from the infighting to the insane clothes and snappy dialogue.” Right now, the stars who bring those tart lines to life — Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley — somehow haven’t let fame go to their heads, according to Gay. “They’ve all reached the point where they’re in the public eye, but they’re not rolling around in blacked-out SUVs or being chased around like Madonna. A lot of them take the subway and they still complain about the price of rents and monthly car parking,” Gay reveals. “They’re in a nice place in their careers. They’re now recognizable enough to get interest for other things, but not so recognizable that daily life is a drag.” Though he’s now a Gossip guru, Gay admits, “I didn’t jump on the bandwagon immediately. But by the end of the first season, I was getting so annoyed with the fuss I had to check it out.” So what’s his favorite Gossip Girl moment? “The scene in the ‘Non-Judging Breakfast Club’ episode where Blair, Chuck and Nate rally behind Serena after she confesses about her wild night with Georgina. Nate and Blair then confess regrettable things they’ve done, and when Blair asks Chuck to contribute, he just says, ‘I’m Chuck Bass,’ ” Gay says. “It’s the kind of thing that if you watched the show for the first time, it would mean nothing to do you, but if you’re a fan, you’re dying. I think that’s one of the shrewder things about Gossip Girl — it does reward its loyal viewers.”

My, my … what suggestive photos. The second photo, of the girls sharing an ice cream cone, is the one that is used as the magazine’s coverphoto. But, the entire young cast of the series is featured in the mag. After the jump, check out a few more photos of Gossip Girl gang — Blake, Leighton, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Jessica Szohr, Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen — together in bed …

“They didn’t tell us anything about the concept,” Blake Lively says. “We didn’t know we’d have any props, but we saw this big fun table — like a kid’s birthday party. Um, some of it was a little mature for a kid’s birthday party. Some of the … inflatable items. But it’s all been a surprise; it’s been really fun” … “There’s so many pictures I love,” photographer Richardson says. “The ice cream ones were amazing. The ones inside were awesome with everyone and the pillow fight and all in bed. It’s just been awesome — they’re great, wonderful. Two thumbs up.”

Hahaha … I love that Ed decided to show off his very hairy chest by exposing it almost fully in the bed shot. The photos look like a lot of fun and I bet the gang had a blast at the shoot. I’m actually surprised that it took this long for the cast of GG to make it to the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. They’ve deffo pushed their way into the current pop culture. I love these pics … do you?

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In the world of Gossip Girl, there are few signs of economic hardship. Mostly, it’s a contest between the haves and have-mores: For example, the Humphrey clan—members include Serena’s on-and-off boyfriend Dan (Penn Badgley), his sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen), and their hipster dad, Rufus (Matthew Settle)—lives in the artsy, waterfront area of Brooklyn that’s one part Williamsburg, one part DUMBO, and must find their way among families who divide their time among Park Avenue, the Hamptons, and Tuscany. After Lily’s latest husband, Bart, dies, the family learns that he “has more towers than Trump, more bucks than Bloomberg.” Thus far, the only character to suffer a serious reversal of fortune is Nate, played by Chace Crawford, who is forced to move in with the Humphreys when his father—a swindler and coke fiend—flees the country. In this New York, nothing as commonplace as bear markets can bring about financial ruin: It requires a dastardly character flaw. Gossip Girl was adapted from the best-selling young-adult fiction series by Cecily von Ziegesar, who was working as an editor at a book-packaging company when the idea floated up to create a more-contemporary line of fiction about private school kids in New York. Von Ziegesar, who had attended the Upper East Side girls’ academy Nightingale-Bamford and knew well the milieu, volunteered to take on the proposal. She invented the Constance Billard School for Girls, where Serena and her BFF and sometime-rival Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) hold court. “The characters came right away,” von Ziegesar says over lunch at Fred’s in Barneys, a crowded watering hole for the blonde, slim, and soignée, and where von Ziegesar, who is blonde, slim, and soignée, fits right in. “It flooded out of me; I always wanted to write, but I never thought I’d be writing for teenagers” … The show has taken many departures from the novels, especially in the second season, which has abandoned any lingering pretense of term papers or gym class in favor of a Dangerous Liaisons romance between Blair and the sulfurous Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), as well as what to wear for such an assignation. “The fashion is just unbelievable. You can watch our show on mute and be entertained,” Lively says. And she’s not overstating it. The characters wear designer clothes that teeter between unattainable chic and self-parody, be it Bass’s wearing a tuxedo covered with paillettes that shimmer like a matador’s suit or Blair’s attending the dean’s party at Yale with an Alice-in-Plunderland pewter-colored satin bow in her hair. For her part, Lively is entranced by Serena’s authentically local look. “Just being here, walking around, you pick it up really quickly,” she explains. “In New York, you put on skinny jeans and riding boots and a leather coat and handbag, and you take on that posture and character,” Lively says. “It becomes very natural.” Lively’s natural style? Costume National boots, dark Rag & Bone trousers, and a Joie cashmere vest over a Ports 1961 white pointelle cashmere sweater, punctuated by Chanel earrings, a Chanel handbag, and a Jeri Cohen diamond bracelet. (”They let me borrow it, and now I can’t take it off,” Lively says mischievously.)

The full interview can be read in the February issue of Vogue magazine (the truncated version is online HERE) but will prolly not offer anything all that new that we haven’t heard already. For me, the photos are the real draw. After the jump, check out a few photos from Blake’s Vogue magazine photospread …

Yeah, she looks pretty spectacular but with Vogue’s styling (and airbrushing) and photography by Mario Testino you’d expect nothing less than the spectacular. The photos are very sophisticated, I think, and show Blake in a more mature light. She deffo has that old Hollywood glam look. I really like these photos. What do y’all think? Are these great or what?

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