Laguna Update 10/31

Happy Halloween everyone!! So apparently today is my update day (trick-or-treat for you!!), since I am finding some fabulous finds from Google and such to post for you all: So the cast has finally graduated high school...yet the drama is not over yet. There are a few more weeks left in the season!! Jason & L.C., the official new couple looks like they are on the verge of a break up tonight after last week's preview..Tune in for tonight's episode on MTV for more madness!!

P.S. A new BOOK on Laguna Beach will be out mid-November. I put up a link on my sidebar to Amazon.com if any of you are interested in pre-ordering it. Also, thank you for the emails. It's gonna be a crazy week for me, but I will try to give you responses ASAP!!

"Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up..These are the best days of our lives.." The Ataris

The Cast Speaks Out: Life After Laguna

Definitely read this article I attached! This reporter from the Seattle Times got to recently interview some of the cast members of the second season of Laguna Beach. Read what Jason has to say about him and L.C. and the truth about his break up with Jessica. And find out what some of the cast members have been up to since that last taping of the show:


Running with the "Laguna" kids: Foam parties. Wow. Dun-zo.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - Page updated at 09:18 AM
By Pamela Sitt, Seattle Times staff reporter

If this were an episode of MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," it would be a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Alex M. and I would be shopping at Zebraclub in downtown Seattle, and I would be saying things like, "Ohmygod, so cute" about a pair of white, slouchy cowboy boots. Wow, I'm really good at being 18.

After spending the weekend chasing the Laguna kids all over town — shopping on Saturday, dinner at Joeys Saturday night, brunch at the Sheraton on Sunday — I have a confession to make: I kind of have a crush on Jason now. But hold your disbelief for just a second, because I'm getting ahead of myself here ...

Alex M., Jason, Lauren ("LC") and Dieter were in Seattle in support of Dieter's charity, Running Home 4 Teens (rh4t.com), which he founded last year to raise awareness for teenagers suffering from depression and substance abuse after battling depression himself over his breakup with Jessica. Meantime, Stephen and Kristin also happened to be in town on Saturday night to host a foam party, which I didn't realize actually existed outside of episodes of "Elimidate," but anyway.

Since UW played USC on Saturday, I used the opportunity to bring up the subject of Matt Leinart when I met Kristin at the Grand Hyatt that evening. They dated for a couple of months at the beginning of "Laguna's" second season.

"He saw me on the show ... and called me out of nowhere one day," Kristin said. "I had no idea who he was, so I looked up his picture on the USC Web site, but it was a really bad picture, so I was like, 'Ew! I'm not calling him back!' " (I looked up his picture, too, and she's right — he looked kind of like Bob Guiney from "The Bachelor." Not hot.)

Kristin, who lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing acting, arrived hand-in-hand with Brody Jenner, 22, who starred in the short-lived Fox reality series "Princes of Malibu." He just bought her a French bulldog puppy, which she named Bentley.

By the way, Kristin and Steph-en are so not getting back together. Dun-zo.

But I'm over it, because I'm pretty sure Lauren and Jason are the new Kristin and Stephen. Yes, they are totally dating, and he lo-o-oves her. He told me so as we were sitting outside Joeys Saturday night — he was smoking Parliament Lights and I was wearing his black fleece hoodie because it was cold and he offered. I know what you're thinking: I can't believe Pam was wearing fleece.

Here's what I was thinking: I can't believe Jason knows more than three words. I asked him why he never talks on the show. (Sample dialogue: "Wow." "What?" "Nothing.")

"It was just the situations they put me in. They [MTV] set you up and they'll be like, 'Listen, you're going to go to this place and talk about this.' It makes me really uncomfortable," he said.

That whole breakup scene with Jessica? Fake.

"I broke up with Jessica three or four weeks before that," Jason said. "I wasn't going to call her and break up with her on camera for real."

He doesn't talk to Jessica anymore and he said he doesn't care for Alex M. much either. (I love Alex M. I want her to be my new best friend.) Jason and Jessica dated for less than two months; Jason and Alex M. dated for "like a minute," she says. "It was really fast."

"Jason's like the guy who you get a little buzz on and then you kiss him," Alex M. said. "I'm telling you, everyone has kissed Jason." (Later, I asked Kristin if she was the only girl in Laguna who hadn't kissed Jason. "I've kissed him!" she laughed. "But that's it.")

Jessica, meanwhile, is going to community college in Laguna and recently started hanging out with Dieter again. "She comes up [to Los Angeles] and I've been going back to Laguna a lot," Dieter said. "I love the girl and I'll always love her. She knows that." As for a reunion between the couple, he said, "I dunno."

Stay tuned. "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" airs 10 p.m. Mondays on MTV; a second-season marathon is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Nov. 12. The season finale airs Nov. 14.

Some final tidbits:
• Alex H. is moving in with Alex M. (and out of Kristin's place — scandalous!) in Los Angeles. Alex M. recently set her up with a guy in a band and they are now dating.

• Casey's stepdad invented the frozen burrito and she lives in the old Gucci mansion in Laguna, according to Alex M. "MTV kind of forced me to be friends with her," she said.

• Alex M. is recording an album. So is Talan.

• Jason, Stephen and Dieter live together in Los Angeles in a 16th floor high-rise. Jason and Stephen are taking acting classes; Dieter is interning at a talent agency. None of them cleans the apartment. "You walk in there and you don't even see the floor," Jason said.

• Kristin just scored a small role in an upcoming Al Pacino movie called "88 Minutes." She doesn't know what the part is, and she didn't have to audition.

• Stephen is currently single and looking. He wants someone who is mature, has a good personality, loves to have fun and "can keep up." And by the way, he never hooked up with Paris Hilton.

E! True Story: Laguna Beach

Found this online a little while ago..It's the E! True Story of Laguna Beach:

From Partying with Paris to Keeping Up with the Kristins, the True Story Behind MTV's Cult Hit, Laguna Beach
by Kristin Veitch Oct. 7, 2005

Go on. Admit it. You watch it. I mean, um, not that I do or anything. But with the gazillion airings nearly every day of the week, you'd probably have to be a cave-dwelling TV phobe not to have gotten sucked into at least one episode of MTV's Laguna Beach, which by the way, is now the ninth highest-rated cable series on television.

It's TV's dirtiest little secret. It's the show no one admits to watching (certainly not over the age of 16), and when they do, they pull those curtains tight so the neighbors don't see--especially that blabbermouth bitch down in 3A.

Again, um, not that I actually watch it.

If I did, I could tell you this totally addictive series looks like The O.C. but feels like The Real World: Orange County, or as producer Gary Auerbach calls it, television's first "dramality," a "hybrid animal that's in between the drama that people are used to watching and reality shows."

The concept is, frankly, a bit confusing to those of us-- crap, did I say us? I meant, you people--who follow this show religiously and ask: Is this thing real? Given its slick cinematography and tight storyline, it's either the most amazingly produced reality show ever, or...a completely fabricated sham.

The truth? It's a little of both.

Thanks to a little hard-core digging among reliable sources who work on the show, I've come up with the scoop on precisely what's real and what isn't, plus, other behind-the-scenes secrets about the pretty little rich (or are they?) kids who are fast becoming Hollywood's elite.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Laguna Beach but Were Afraid to Ask

It Is Real...Kinda, Sorta: This "dramality" is real in the sense that the these are actual high school students and what we see is actually happening in their lives. What's not so real, according to show insiders, is how, where and when these things go down. Believe it or not, the castmembers only "work" Thursday through Sunday (How do I get on this show?), so important "scenes" are often delayed and then set up by producers to make sure they're caught on film.

A few key examples: The now infamous bonfire scene where Jessica first sees Alex M. and Jason together was completely orchestrated by producers. Before the bonfire, the crew spent hours lighting the beach and the mountains in the background before the kids were allowed to interact with each other. When Jason finally arrived, they told him how to enter the scene and where to go. Similarly, the big confrontation in Cabo between Jessica and Alex M. was specifically planned for that night. Producers saw the situation and knew Alex M. would confront Jessica, so they instructed her not to go off on her "man-stealing slut"/calling-the-kettle-black tirade until the cameras were ready.

There's a Reason They Giggle: My spies tell me most of the scenes with the guys or girls talking about a specific dishy subject (like Kristin telling Alex H. how she makes guys like Talan fall in love with her; or Alex M. and Taylor bitching about Kacy; and again, not that I watch this show) are coached by producers. They light the scene, get the cameras rolling, then say, "Talk about why Alex is so mad at you" or "Talk about why Kristin is such a bitch."

This off-camera coaching is actually the reason we often see castmembers laughing when they talk about serious situations. (Kristin, in particular, does it a lot.) They've just been instructed on what to talk about, and it just feels...odd.

The Castmembers Are Bona Fide Celebrities: If the picture at right is any indication, these kids have become big-time A-listers on the Hollywood party circuit. Just ask our Party Girl, they're always on the list. Not only are the LB kids hangin' with Paris and Nicole and Lindsay these days, they can go anywhere and everywhere they want, no matter their age and how many people they bring, and, of course, it's all free.

Most of the castmembers are now living in L.A., partying and pursuing Hollywood dreams with their managers, agents and publicists. While Alex M. is meeting this very week with a few record companies, including Atlantic Records, the rest are trying to become actors, including Kristin,who told me at a recent Us Weekly party, "I wanna do movies. It's been going pretty well. I'm reading some scripts right now and taking acting classes, so it's in the process."

[Dishy side note: Kristin is repped by the same publicist as Lindsay Lohan, and my sources tell me the story Kristin told Rolling Stone--about Lindsay flipping out when she saw Kristin in Talan's bed--is 100 percent true. It happened last spring, so these kids have been mixing with the Hollywood crowd for a long time now.]

All this Hollywood hoopla hasn't exactly been welcomed by the producers, who have fought tooth and nail--with increased pay and exclusivity contracts--to keep these regular kids from becoming stars, since it ruins the original concept of the show. And now they have a serious dilemma on their hands because...

They Are Planning a Third Season: Show insiders tell me producers are currently negotiating their individual contracts for season three and have to figure out how to shoot another season, given that their current cast have all graduated and are bed-hopping their way into Us Weekly. I'm told they're toying with the idea of introducing a few new kids that are seniors this year (they're casting now), but ultimately, the show will focus on the current cast, living in Los Angeles, and will pop back into Laguna from time to time. They'll try to focus on the drama that doesn't involve Hollywood or Lindsay or Paris. So, expect a lot of teeth brushing and butt scratching.

There Are Storylines You Don't See: Even though we've never seen it on the show, Stephen and Jason are actually good friends. So much so that Stephen is perfectly fine with the fact that Jason and Stephen's former flame LC have been getting, um, cozy, from time to time (I'm guessing because he still has the hots for Kristin).

The Kids Aren't as Wealthy as They're Made Out to Be: Word is, one of the castmembers actually lives in a trailer park, and most of the castmembers live fairly middle-income existences (at least by O.C. standards). That said, LC and Kristin are seriously loaded. So loaded, in fact, that according to my spies, they're somewhat competitive--when LC's family built that humongous house overlooking the Pacific, Kristin's family felt the need to follow suit.

Bottom line, just as its theme song suggests, Laguna Beach might not be all it seems and "perfect" might not be so "perfect"...but damn, if it isn't so totally addictive, mind-numbingly entertaining that this die-hard fan will be watching every minute of it.

There. I said it. Me--a fan. Live with it.

Who's Who in Laguna Beach

Just in case you have never watched the show before or just caught on to the show more recently, here is a brief bio on each "character" on Laguna Beach:

Seattle Times: Arts & Entertainment
Who's who in "Laguna Beach"
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Kristin, 18: Laguna's breakout star and resident Mean Girl. "The way I was portrayed, I hated it," she says. "I feel like that's 10 percent of my personality. ... It's funny because if people only knew, I am the same dorky girl."

Stephen, 19: Major heartthrob involved in love triangle with Kristin and Lauren ("LC") in season one, downgraded to so last year status in season two. Currently single and looking.

Jason, 19: Laguna's second-season "bad boy." Was subject of a scandalicious love triangle with Jessica and Alex M., currently dating Lauren. Was away at boarding school during the first season.

Lauren ("LC"), 19: Laguna's "good girl" and narrator of season one, returned to Laguna after one semester of college during season two. Currently dating Jason and studying fashion in Los Angeles.

Alex M., 18: Portrayed as boyfriend-stealer and Kristin's arch-rival in season two. "They made me look like homewrecker girl, which is not true at all," she says. On her feud with Jessica: "It was like fighting with your girlfriend for two days in high school, and they prolong it for a month. And we both know Jason wasn't worth it."

Jessica, 18: Appeared briefly in season one as Dieter's girlfriend and Kristin's friend, dated Jason and lost him to Alex M. in season two. Recently started hanging out with Dieter again.

Pamela Sitt, Seattle Times staff reporter

Jason & L.C...Together??

First it was Jessica, then it was Alex...now it's L.C.!! Honestly, Jason needs to make up his mind already. So on this Monday's episode, the "odd" couple found their way into each other's arms, even though they barely speak to each other. They apparently found some sort of connection at L.C.'s End-of-the-Year barbecue, and ended up going out on a date shortly after. L.C. claimed to be "102%" over Stephen, which is possibly why she even thought of giving Jason a chance.

Does anyone actually think this relationship will last? Or will Jason prove to be the biggest jerk of all time and fall for another Laguna Beach beauty? We'll find out next week, when more about this budding relationship is revealed...

Here are some speculations from other sources that might hint that this "surprising" relationship was "set-up" by Laguna Beach producers:
Grill Trouble, Entertainment Weekly
"Boyfriends are Like Purses" Recap, Reality TV Calendar

10/10 Episode Commentary

It's that time of year again: Senior prom! How intense was last night's episode? The girls prom anxieties are lifted by guys' memorable prom proposals. From fake towing of cars, getting dressed as gorillas, and flowers and a romantic letter in your garage, the guys sure know how to make a girl feel special (Well except for the gorillas..It was a little dumb...Sorry boys!!). The whole group gets together once again for pictures and backstabbing talk about each other before the night even begins. As if prom night couldn't get any more dramatic! Also, I love Kristen, but it was kind of rude of her to leave Talan in the dust and hook up with other guys, while her prom date stands around. Alex M. & Jason back together (Sneak peek to next week's episode: L.C. & Jason might get together!!)? Hish school days are winding down, but the drama keeps getting more intense. I cannot wait for next week, when L.C. throws an end of the year BBQ at her house. Tune in!!

Extra: I found these which I thought some of you might find interesting: Laguna Beach yearbook pictures!!

Get Ready!!

Looks like it's set. MTV announced it today. There will be a THIRD SEASON of Laguna Beach!!

Save the date: Monday, November 14th is the season finale!!