'The Hills' Too Classy For Paris Hilton

Producers of The Hills seem to be desperately holding on to the last shreds of reality they possibly can - by refusing to let Paris Hilton appear on the show. Crew members of the MTV hit reality show were apparently overheard talking about Paris' attempt to get a role, saying the producers thought it would be "pushing the limits" of believability. Nicole Richie, pregnant re-instated BFF of Hilton, has been seen out partying with The Hills stars Lauren and Audrina Partridge.

Hilton may be off the list for the producers, but they're apparently not bothered about casting people for the key parts in the upcoming nuptials of Heidi Montag and fiancé Spencer Pratt. Apparently Roxy Olin, daughter of Brothers and Sisters star Ken Olin, is in final talks to star as Montag's maid of honour.

The Hills? Staged? Never.

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'Why the Hills might be the best reality yet'

[The Varsity] - You knew this post was coming and you couldn't bear that it exists. Yet because I am on deadline (again), and because I am drunk off Steam whistle beer and hot-boxed dressing rooms with Brooklyn soul singers, I feel like it's pretty necessary for me to exclaim my true love for the fakest reality TV show: The Hills.

The premise of the Hills is pretty without: 3 vaguely attractive blonde chicks (and one faux brunette) live and love in Los Angeles, while trying to make it in the big city. They live in ugly condos with swimming pools and date guys who wear diamond stud earrings. Occasionally they meet up for high-concept sushi and discuss their lives. But mostly they just create falsified "drama" with impossibly obtained medium shots. The show is supposed to be reality—but in this scripted drama comes a kind of awkward semblance of life. Sometimes the episodes are so boring the commercials for hair care products have more momentum. And sometimes there are moments of such dire pain and awkwardness, you realize that within the falsely encapsulated "TV' of the Hills there's real emotional latency that can't be hidden.

But mostly they get their hair done and drive around in luxury cars.

The New York Times did a wonderful recap of the television show, describing reality sensation Lauren Conrad as a "seamstress". It's ironic that within her internship at Teen Vogue, she works the parties she would otherwise be attending, pinning up Marc Jacobs cigarette jeans when she isn't being trashed on the cover of US Weekly. But within Lauren Conrad's classic Californian facade (when she isn't wearing sundresses, she's sporting side-swept ponytails), she's as iconic and classy as Grace Kelly. You want to root for Lauren because she's constantly getting screwed—whether it's the alcoholic boyfriend she chooses to be with instead of going to Paris (doesn't anyone in television learn this never works out?), the flighty roommate whose fiancée might have leaked her sex tape, or awkward dates with dishy models on Rodeo Drive. Lauren had a pretty stellar line to her skeezy, plastic ex-roommate Heidi on the last episode, when she pleaded for her forgiveness. Said Conrad, her icy blues affixed on Heidi's smooth cold lines: "I want to forgive you but I also want to forget you." That's what happens when you forget to buy toilet paper.

As we all can attest to, reality is disappointing. Which is why truly stellar moments can exist in this television show that would never cut it on "Gossip Girl". Take for example, Lauren's New Years Eve in which adorned in a low-slung black dress and sling backs she fights with her stupid boyfriend Jason (who's idiocy is made redundant by his formal top hat), leaves in a cab, ignores his cellular calls, and eventually makes out with him at the midnight mark as he almost scalds her with a lit cigarette and an armful of roses bought off the street. For the men in Los Angeles, romance can be compromised by bushels of posies. For the girls in the Hills, they accept this as love, as long as it comes with a gold chain from Tiffany’s.

Lately I've been really interested in the idea of Los Angeles, this weird strange place where culture seems to evaporate into billboards and the best bars are in strip malls. I like the idea of driving down freeways and eating Mexican food on the top of my convertible, someone bulky and self-tanned feeding me guacamole with cigarette-stained manicured fingernails. If New York means fighting your way through public transit to make it to a bar where you play Merle Haggard songs overtop Chuck Klosterman's Annie Lennox (this happened to a friend of a friend of mine), Los Angeles means staring at Jennifer Garner while she eats a salad. If New York is everything, Los Angeles is nothing. And I kind of want to feel nothingness right now.

The Hills is terrific televisions show because it's so easy to supplant your own experiences into what you're seeing onscreen. In the way that another person's reality can be transformative, so can Lauren Conrad's. You begin to associate their experiences as normative. You begin to feel for people whose existence is impossible to verify. Which brings me to the equally incredible "After show" on (Canadian) MTV. What's better than watching an episode? Watching it twice with bad editing and unfunny commentary from puffy teenagers on low-res web cams. Instead of reality, we receive "post-reality". And maybe that's better than we think.

Kristin and Nick Hit the Movies

I thought it was time for some news about a different Laguna star - for a change! I know I'm not the only one who feels deprived of the tales about Kristin, Talan, Jessica - you name it. I think I've heard enough about Lauren Conrad for a lifetime!

Kristin Cavallari, 20, and her boyfriend Nick Zano, were spotted together this past weekend catching a movie at The Grove in LA. Strolling through the open-air mall hand-in-hand, both dressed in the white-tee-and-jeans combo, they giggled their way to the theater.

In other Laguna news, Talan Torriero is apparently trying to break into Broadway. Talan, 21, who's dating former Miss USA Tara Connor (how does he do it?!), was overheard at the Brooklyn Diner on West 57th Street telling some friends about his possible move to New York and his audition for Hairspray.

Lauren Conrad Defends 'The Hills' in MySpace Blog

Lauren Conrad's blog entry taken from her MySpace:

Rumors about The Hills
There have been some rumors in the press about "The Hills" being fake. Many of you have been asking me if the rumors are true. There are false rumors every week about me and I can't
address every rumor out there, but I feel like this was important for me to respond to. The show is not fake and this is really my life. I have addressed these rumors in an interview with InTouch Magazine's Nov.26th issue. I will scan the interview and put it in my pictures.

Click on the scanned photos below to see the enlarged versions of the interview with InTouch.












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'From Laguna to Los Angeles: MTV Revolutionizes Reality'

[Emory Wheel] - Who needs reality when you have “The Hills?” “Laguna Beach” and its two offshoots, “The Hills” and “Newport Beach,” have become ratings juggernauts and shaped the collective unconscious about reality — except they are not quite reality shows. The infamous statement at the beginnings of these shows states that “the drama is real,” but nothing else seems to be. The sophisticated and glossy camerawork on these shows stands in stark contrast to the hand-held, cinema verité of “The Real World.” There is something compelling about these bizarre soap operas. Why bother watching the fake (and canceled) “The OC” when a more authentic image of Republican-addled southern California is available? The travails of Lauren Conrad, her former friend and roommate Heidi Montag, and Heidi’s clueless and controlling boyfriend Spencer Pratt have captivated an entire generation of teenage girls — a fascination that follows many through their college years.This reality is contrived: The slick editing and multi-camera setups require not only some form of staging and reshoots, but also necessitate an outline of a script. These shows resemble improvised skits rather than the actual lives of a group of overly pretty Orange County teens.The voiceover before the show explaining what has previously taken place and the name tags always placed under the characters make the shows palatable to people with severe forms of ADD. These shows were created by and for the MTV generation. And with all these bleached-blonde people looking alike, the name tags come in handy.The third season of “The Hills” is now in full swing, but developments over the summer — covered in tabloids and Internet blogs — made the premiere of this show highly anticipated. Conrad and Montag, whose friendship was strained at the end of season two, are now apparently enemies. Rumors of a sex tape of Conrad and her ex-boyfriend Jason Wahler proliferated in Hollywood circles. Except when they’re fighting in trendy bars, Montag and Conrad do not appear onscreen together, giving the show two separate story arcs and keeping audiences on their toes. “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” are not dealing with reality. They are, instead, a vision of hyper-reality. They are the way our lives should be. Their jobs are glamorous and merely interrupt their lives of parties and dating. Where does all their money come from for eating at expensive L.A. eateries? Do these girls go to school? Does Spencer have a job? This is the life we all want — no need to ask such trivial questions to demolish our fantasies. So what are these shows? They are reimagined soap operas that claim to be true. They have actually managed to reinvent not only reality entertainment but also the meaning of television by somehow making the most uninteresting things fascinating.What makes these shows so fascinating is how they revel in moments of banality; pregnant pauses and awkward looks punctuate each scene. Instead of a polished show from NBC, where such instances find themselves on the cutting-room floor, MTV is intent on displaying the ditziness of the characters. Unlike other reality shows, this show has no intention of appearing like “The Real World” or “Big Brother,” with secret cameras and grainy footage. “The Hills” seeks to look like a polished drama that could be seen on the primetime schedule of any major network.“Laguna Beach” has ended its three-season run, but “The Hills” is stronger than ever in its third season. A new spin-off has emerged focusing on the exploits of another group of pretty bleached-blondes in Newport Beach, a city just south of Laguna Beach. With the break-out status of Conrad (who is launching a clothing line), Kristin Cavallari (who is now an actress) and Montag (who has just released a single with fiance Pratt rapping in the background), we can rest assured that this form of reality is here to stay. Well, at least until MTV reinvents reality one more time.

Heidi Dreams Big!

[AllHeadlineNews.com] - Heidi Montag's dream is to win an Academy Award. Considering she successfully played a part in convincing the public that "The Hills" was 'reality television', her acting ability may be better than believed. The 21-year-old star of the MTV show revealed her dream to Blender magazine and listed her acting resume as evidence that she has what it takes to be named alongside actresses such as Meryl Streep and Jodie Foster. Heidi said, "I've always been singing. I've been dancing since I was 2 - hip-hop, jazz, tap, everything. I was a wicked stepsister in Cinderella. I was a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream. I was Beatrice in... an old English play. Acting, singing, dancing - it's always been in me."

The TV personality then added, "I also plan to win an Oscar." Heidi, who is part of a public war with 'co-star' Lauren Conrad, explained how she has already gotten so far in her career.

The blonde beauty said, "I like to read a couple books at once. I was reading the Princess Diana book. I'm reading a book about Chicago and the mob. Right now I'm also reading the Bible, beginning to end. I'm very religious. That's how I've gotten to where I am."

Heidi & Lauren: Secretly Friends?!

It's come after weeks of speculation regarding The Hills' 'realness'...but we may now find ourselves asking another question. Are Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag secretly friends?!

Monday's episode of The Hills may have showed Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag's feud to be going on indefinitely, but a recent meeting, seen by a passer-by, between the former besties, seems to indicate the two may have patched up their differences...or perhaps they never fell out at all.

According to Star magazine, Lauren and Heidi met up secretly in late October and were obviously on good terms. An onlooker said, "There were no MTV cameras around. This seemed like the real deal. I saw Heidi coming to visit Lauren at her apartment without her fiancé Spencer Pratt."

The onlooker also saw Heidi get into Lauren's black BMW. "They were laughing, hugging and being very affectionate with one another…I think Lauren and Heidi made a secret pact not to tell anyone," the source added.

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LC Comments on Just How Real 'The Hills' Is

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has asked the question the nation has had on its lips for months - is the show actually real? Is it orchestrated by producers and scripted by the producers, or is it a genuine look at the lives of the pretty young things?

Well, says Lauren, it's completely real. The relationships, the tears, the drama - everything. She also comments on her feelings regarding ex-BFF Heidi Montag in the exclusive video and, of course, her "is-he-isn't-he" semi-boyfriend Brody Jenner. And just watch how she blushes when his name's mentioned!

Check out the video here.

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The Real Orange County Forum: Your Number One Spot!

Want somewhere new and fresh to express all your views about Laguna Beach, The Hills and Newport Harbor? Sick of hearing what everyone else has to say about your favorite characters? Want to vent about Spencer and Heidi?

Well, your wish is our command.

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We've teamed up with Ali, the site's owner, to bring you a new free forum which gives you all the space you need to tell us, and everyone else, exactly what you think. Register and get involved in competitions, polls, debates, get exclusive gossip (things we aren't allowed to say on the main site)!

Don't let this opportunity pass - join NOW completely FREE to be a part of the newest, hottest forum around.

'Truth is greater with fiction' - an article from the Baltimore Sun

[The Baltimore Sun] - Reality starlet Audrina Partridge swears The Hills, MTV's highest-rated show, is real. Truth be told, it has to be. No scribe worth his guild card should lay claim to a show constructed like a doughnut:

The center (bland, goody two-shoes Lauren Conrad) holds scant interest -- it's all the surrounding unhealthy ingredients that tempt us: ambitious ex-friend Heidi Montag; her svengali fiance Spencer Pratt; hanger-on Justin "Bobby" Brescia; stern boss Lisa Love.
Blogs, tabloids and other media have complained in recent days and weeks about fiction in the reality drama, which depicts Conrad, Partridge, friend Whitney Port and Montag living it up in Los Angeles. The evidence: a Conrad date describing the producers setting up a stagey meeting between him and her ex-boyfriend; photos of Pratt "picking up" Montag at the airport minutes after dropping her off; a fellow restaurant diner complaining that Conrad repeated her order five times for the cameras' benefit.

But engineering should come as little surprise in a show that's seen as a hybrid, transcending traditional candid reality shows like The Real World and competitions like Survivor. In light of the Writers Guild of America strike, The Hills shows how far "reality" editing can go -- and where it comes up short.

"You have reality shows in which characters have no writers feeding them lines -- but they look like real drama shows," notes Kim Reed, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based writer for TelevisionWithoutPity.com. "Certainly, if there were writers, I think the dialogue [on The Hills] would be better, instead of long shots of them staring at each other."

In an e-mail, show creator Adam DiVello addressed the marriage of reality and editing, such as "pickup shots" after the initial shoot that provide continuity or a frame of reference -- an example being Pratt "picking up" Montag at the airport.

"And there are times when we ask cast members to rephrase their questions because we don't have the aid of confessionals/interviews ... this helps to put the conversation into context," he writes.

Reed blames some of the listless dialogue on the need for exposition.
"I think they say, 'Whitney, we need you to ask Lauren about what happened last night.' ... [But] there are only so many ways to say, 'So what's going on with you and Stephen?'"

DiVello does draw a line. "We never ask them to say anything they weren't already saying on their own," he wrote. "Ultimately, we're trying to produce a show that is entertaining, but we in no way affect the reality of the storylines."

In a scripted television drama or comedy, the recipe for a leading lady is complex, often mixing a dysfunctional background, drive, self-awareness, a distinctive personality, wit and quirks. Think of Desperate Housewives' flighty Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) or The Closer's neurotic Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick). Or even MTV alumnae: The Osbournes' outrageous Sharon Osbourne or Daria's cynical Daria Morgendorffer (voice of Tracy Grandstaff).

The Hills' Conrad, a 21-year-old fashion student and Teen Vogue intern, is depicted as level-headed, well-mannered, caring, pretty and stylish (though not Project Runway material). She comes from a comfortable background in Orange County (the setting for the teen reality show Laguna Beach, before Conrad was spun off into The Hills). Her biggest problems? A predilection for bad boys and a "one-date curse" with potential mates. She'd make a nice neighbor or PTA member.

But Conrad doesn't appear assertive, witty or ingenious. When she meets her idol, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, she can't be bothered to stand up to greet him. Sometimes, she's a passive participant in her own life. "[Producers] can never make you say or do something," Conrad told Entertainment Weekly. "You can always blame editing, but they can't do magic."

If only they could. There's not enough complexity to her, or enough that the cameras are showing, to make the show a pop-culture behemoth. The Hills is MTV's ratings leader, and it's a top-rated cable show among 18-to-34-year-olds, according to Nielsen data. But episodes from the third season, which began airing in August, have topped out at 4.2 million viewers; that doesn't include Web or On Demand viewing. At its peak in 2002, The Osbournes drew an MTV record of 7.8 million viewers.

Like The Osbournes, The Hills benefits from the reflected glamour of its SoCal setting; Conrad frolics at the pool, frequents hot clubs and has helped run Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood parties. But the producers have to turn to the enemies and peripheral characters for dramatic behavior and entertaining dialogue.

The episodes, airing at 10 p.m. Mondays, don't depict the fame or side projects the subjects have developed: Conrad has designed her own fashion line (with MTV's backing), endorses Avon's mark. line of youth-oriented cosmetics and frequents celebrity-studded events. Montag has recorded pop songs in pursuit of a music career. They have appeared on the covers of Us, Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Cosmo Girl.

But DiVello and the other producers maintain the focus on their jobs and social lives. That choice limits the dramatic options in a season that already lacks on-screen tension between Conrad and Montag, who are not talking. (Previews -- and DiVello -- do indicate a killer confrontation in tomorrow's episode.)

"We try to stick to their day-to-day lives and keep the storylines relatable to our audience without playing up their celebrity," he writes. "Otherwise, it would be more of a diary of a reality star."

In doing so, the show gives up some drama and tells its greatest lie -- but as DiVello grasped, that may be its greatest strength as well. Reed puts it this way: "The show sells the idea of Lauren as a young woman making it on her own. She used to be always so hung up on Stephen. She went to college and dropped out after a semester. Now she's making it on her own. If the show acknowledges how the MTV connection makes it happen, then it loses some of its arc.

"The show's only 22 minutes a week, and they have a choice of showing what their lives are really like or showing this dramatic stuff."
And as we all know, what our lives are really like bears little resemblance to must-see TV.