| INFLUENCES 07.27.09 9:00 AM |
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Reality vs. TV: The Events of Gossip Girl
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 | The runway for the Eleanor Waldorf fashion show
Photo: Warner Bros. Television Entertainment/Giovanni Rufino |
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For fans of Gossip Girl, what the show’s characters are wearing and where they’re going can be as important as whom they’re sleeping with or scheming against. That focus on the visual creates the challenge and the charm of the job for Loren Weeks, production designer for the CW’s ratings-challenged but much-obsessed-over chronicle of pretty private-school kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
It seems like every other episode has a reference to “the social event of the season,” so some of the show’s most lavish and labor-intensive sets are for events: school dances that likely don’t look anything like your prom or uptown benefits that could pass for the real thing. “They’re important to the show because we’re portraying a group of people who live in high society, in which there are lots of events,” Weeks says. These gatherings also spark pivotal scenes, when characters fight, kiss, or get caught doing one or the other. “Everyone needs a reason to get dressed up and come to one place,” says art director Malchus Janocko.
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RELATED TOPICS
The CW, Gossip Girl, Warner Brothers |
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| NEWS 05.20.09 4:01 PM |
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In the News: Celebrities Return to Washington Social Scene, Life Ball Draws 40,000
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Vienna Swells During 2009 Life Ball: An estimated 40,000 people visited Vienna, Austria, over the weekend to take part in the 17th annual Life Ball, Europe's largest H.I.V./AIDS charity event. The night ended up something of a combination between a black-tie benefit and Mardi Gras, with Bill Clinton and Eva Longoria Parker speaking to the crowd about social responsibility and Pamela Anderson and Katy Perry dressed as sea creatures in an ocean-themed runway show. Held at Vienna's town hall, the event also included a pool filled with more than 600,000 gallons of water, filled with dancers dressed as sea monsters, jellyfish, and mermaids. [NYT]
Obama Administration Keeps Celebrities in Washington: Obama's presidency has brought a resurgence of celebrities to Washington—and not just for big events like the inauguration and the White House Correspondents' Dinner. From official White House events to local campaign stumping for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, celebrities including Will.i.am, James Earl Jones, and actor-turned-White House staffer Kal Penn have not been strangers to the town's social scene. Event planners in Washington should strongly consider beefing up their step-and-repeats. [Examiner]
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RELATED TOPICS
Life Ball, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Will.i.am, Louis Vuitton, Richard Prince, Bravo, Gossip Girl, History Channel |
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