To write a successful storyline for this season of “Gossip Girl” is to have multitasking skills that would put a single parent octopus to shame. Though the show has a main ensemble cast of  between 6 and 10 characters, each individual member of the show follows their own journey, a journey that will, at season’s end, culminate with all the independent narrative threads being woven together to make one complete story quilt. Add in the fact that the show’s primary audience is as diverse as Blair’s collection of head gear, and you can begin to see what a tough task lies ahead for these valiant wordsmiths. With this week’s episode, “Portrait of a Lady Alexandra,” the writer’s of “Gossip Girl” tried very, very hard to keep all their dramatic juggling balls in the air. Unfortunately, the effort was palpable.

In reality, the ‘no child left behind’ act might be viewed as a highly desirable move towards a better future. In TV land, however, not so much. “Portrait of a Lady Alexandra” simply took on a bit more than it could chew in its attempt to keep a number of extraneous story-lines perpetually moving forward. Sure, no character, and no demographic, was left behind– but it really felt like some of them should have been.

At this point, there are 4 clear divisions in the relationships of the show. In one corner, we have Nate and Serena bound together by their deeply inappropriate (and related) sexual partners. In another, Georgina and Dan make it their business to lose friends and alienate people. In the third corner rest Rufus and Charlie, intertwined in an eternal game of ’7 Minutes in Heaven.’ Finally, Chuck-Blair and Lilly-Bart occupy the fourth corner, supposedly brewing a multi-offensive war campaign, but actually just staring out of windows and brooding over glasses of scotch. In “Portrait of a Lady Alexander, ” many of these groups were brought to the same place at the same time and forced to interact. The thing with pulling threads in, however, is that it places equal emphasis on all the characters. And the thing with “Gossip Girl” is, some of these characters’ stories are just not that interesting.

To be more specific, Nathaniel’s financial strife and role as unwitting vessel for scandal– a position once taken up with great aplomb and unnecessary puns by Gossip Girl herself– is not only barely relevant, but also gives Chace Crawford more screen-time to be a terrible actor. Meanwhile, Rufus and Charlie took up some space on the episode, but the impact of their movements was both negligible and immediately reversible. Same for the complicated story involving Serena, her newest undeveloped love interest, and her mother.

Essentially, all the action was up to Blair-Chuck and Dan-Georgina. The latter pair made their big play only in the last five minutes. The former, on the other hand, were gifted some Big Themes– we’re talking politics, economics and (give it a few episodes) no doubt religion too. In any other show, Big Themes would indicate the potential for Big Payoffs. However, in a show where the action is also split between Serena’s vaginal inmates and Nate’s tragic lack of business acumen– surely caused by the fact that he doesn’t appear to have gone to a single class while he was registered at Columbia last season– really Big Themes most likely indicate a Lack of Substance.

Ah well, at least everyone looks good.

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There is nothing that the CW’s “Gossip Girl” does better than a finale, and nothing worse than an opener. As the first episode for the shows 7th and last season, ‘Gone Maybe Gone’ was, in a way, the opener to the grand finale. However, in order to assess what promise the future holds for our favourite espresso chugging, Prada shopping, beret wearing Manhattan megalomaniacs, one really ought to look at this season’s second offering too: ‘High Infidelity’. While ‘Gone Maybe Gone’ answered a few of the questions season 6 left hanging in the Upper East Side air, ‘High Infidelity’ posed a whole new set. And, buried deep among them is: will this once glorious show end with a bang, or is this going to be another interminable season of half-baked plot-lines saved only by Serena’s magnificent and highly visible cleavage?

Let’s discuss.

At the end of season 6 we were where we’d been a thousand times before, each character going their own way for the summer; Blair pursuing Chuck, Chuck pursuing his father’s legacy, Serena spiraling out of control and Dan sporting the hair of a much, much cooler person. Bring on Season 7 and the gang re-unites, with lovable bad-girl Georgina in tow, as so often before, in the search for missing Serena. However, part of “Gossip Girl”‘s charm is its strict adherence to its own traditions; so what ‘High Infidelity’ brought to the fore was an indication of new factors that might shape the show’s progression. All of which are coalesced around the various relationships being torn down and rebuilt.

On one hand we have Blair and Serena– not besties anymore, but not all up in each other’s respective grills either. Could it be that our trust-fund babies are handling themselves like young trust-fund ladies now? Highly unlikely. In fact, like many of the choices behind the relationship dynamics for the season, Serena and Blair’s feud makes barely any sense. After years of saying unconscionable things to each other, and more than one fight that would put the Real Housewives of New Jersey to shame, it seems highly improbable that ‘I never want to see you again’ was the straw that broke the Serena-Blair camel’s back.

Same thing applies to the bizarre pact between Chuck and Blair. There is no earthly reason why Chuck and Blair cannot be together. Indeed, all obstacles have been taken care of: Louis, Dan, the unborn heir assumptive of Monaco. However, instead of each episode beginning with Limo-sex and La Perla, the writers of “Gossip Girl” have decided that Chuck and Blair have to find themselves before they find each other — the implication being that they will eventually do just that, and end the show collapsing into an Iranian cushion of young love and light bondage. For the viewer, it’s the tantric sex of prime-time television (Chuck and Blair would approve).

Last but not least, Dan and Georgina are together and up to no good. Throughout the show, Dan Humphrey has prided himself on being the only moral character in a society that would make Patrick Bateman shiver in his over-shined dress shoes. Sure, at times Dan’s great morass of moral superiority manifested itself in twisted ways and his aborted relationship with Blair undoubtedly left him in a fragile state. But never in his wildest dreams would Dan Humphrey be keeping prolonged and voluntary company with a girl whose idea of a fun night out involves a sex-tape and a bit of light murder. After she destroyed his relationship, fake-carried his child and almost ended his budding literary career, it’s safe to say that beneath all that rakishly curled hair, even Dan would know better than to hop on the Georgina train again.

So there we have it, three sets of inexplicably feeble relationships defining the narrative arc of the grand finale season of what was once called the defining show of our generation. It seems “Gossip Girl”‘s writers were faced with a decision: to create plausible TV, or make TV as juicy as possible. If we’ve learned one thing from the first two episodes of the season, it’s that the choice has been made.

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Now that the summer comedy ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ is completed, the filmmakers, including Director Kirk Jones and producer David Thwaites, hope that ‘What to Expect’ succeeds in portraying the varied experience of pregnancy with genuine humor and honesty. Co-screenwriter Shauna Cross hopes the film might inject some reality back into the way pregnancy and childbirth are regarded and portrayed. “I hope that people who have gone through pregnancy feel like they can relate to it,” says the screenwriter.

“And I hope the people who are going through it go easy on themselves. Maybe they’ll opt to not judge themselves and open up to the generous spirit of the movie and just laugh a lot.”

“I think the movie really taps into the joy of having kids,” avows Chris Rock. “Being a father is the best gig I’ve ever had, and there’s really nothing anybody can do to truly prepare for everything that it is. Doesn’t matter how much money you have. Doesn’t matter what kind of job you have. Kids are great. And they love you no matter what.”

Director Kirk Jones thinks that ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’s combination of humor and emotion is something that should appeal to most moviegoers, regardless of their feelings about having children. “I believe that everyone, at one time or another, thinks about either having – or not having – children,” says Jones.

“It’s a deeply human experience that’s obviously not for everyone, and it doesn’t have to be. But I believe that whatever our thoughts are on the matter, stories about bringing new beings into the world resonate on a deeper level. I think this movie manages to look at the way things really are for expectant parents today, and to remind us all just how fun and fulfilling it really is.”

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Casting ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’, the star studded movie in theaters soon, was a daunting task – the filmmakers had to balance an ensemble cast of twelve leads – but actors were incredibly responsive to the film’s subject matter and the strength of screenwriters Shauna Cross’ and Heather Hach’s script.

Says producer David Thwaites, “You can’t ever be 100% sure about chemistry between actors until the cameras are rolling, so you have to follow your instincts. [Director Kirk Jones] and I spent a huge amount of time working out that balance. I think we have a tremendous cast – there isn’t a single role that I’d change or an actor who hasn’t exceeded my expectations.”

“It was incredible how everybody who we really hoped would be in the movie ended up in the movie,” adds author Heidi Murkoff, who also serves as executive producer on the film. “What amazed us watching the performances is how real they were. You could tell the actors wanted to be in this movie, that they were invested in it, and they were connected to the whole experience. I think that makes a big difference.”

Among the five couples in the film, the one that faces the biggest lifestyle change with the on-set of pregnancy are Jules, a celebrity personal trainer with her own weight loss TV show, and her partner, Evan, a professional dancer. Played by Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison, Jules and Evan have become the favored champions on the current season of Evan’s show, Celebrity Dance Factor, and their three-month run has seen both their professional and personal lives become increasingly intertwined.

“Jules doesn’t think she can get pregnant; but she does, accidentally, and it sort of speeds things up for them as a couple,” explains Diaz. “They’re both dynamic people with really busy careers, and Jules in particular is ‘Type A.’ She’s used to being in control at all times, and now that’s going to have to change.”

Morrison, currently showcased on the hit television series Glee and a veteran of musical theater, is the other Alpha parent in the power couple. “Jules and Evan are two very strong-minded people,” he says. “They butt heads all the time, and they’re challenged to find a compromise in nearly every situation or decision about the baby. From the little things up to the biggies, like circumcision.”

Jones adds, “With a baby about to enter the picture, Jules and Evan realize they have to become less selfish. They have to work with each other for the good of their child, whether that’s something that comes naturally to them or not.”

Also starring in the film are such big names as Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Rock, and Dennis Quaid, including a slew of others.

Actors Anna Kendrick, known for her work in ‘Up In The Air’ and The ‘Twilight Saga’, and “Gossip Girl’s” Chace Crawford are two of the freshest faces in the cast, playing Rosie and Marco, two young, ambitious chefs who operate rival food trucks and grapple with an unplanned pregnancy after a one-night stand. Crawford explains, “Marco and Rosie make a bet on who can sell the most signature items during the rush, and afterwards they have some drinks and, well, one thing leads to another.”

When she learns she’s pregnant, Rosie is as blindsided as Marco, and her experience reflects the film’s motto: when it comes to pregnancy, expected the unexpected. Explains Kendrick, “She wants an answer. She wants a solution. And she wants him to have a great plan. But it’s never that simple.”

With the principals cast, Jones took just as much care casting the film’s supporting roles with notable talent. Those actors include Rebel Wilson as Janice, Wendy’s assistant, Wendi McLendon-Cover as Kara, Holly’s friend, Kim Fields as Holly and Alex’s social worker, and a long list of performers, many of whom appear as themselves: Megan Mullally, Cheryl Cole, Dwyane Wade, Whitney Port, Tyce Diorio and Taboo.

“It’s very easy when you’re putting a movie together with so many lead actors to lose sight of the potential of the supporting cast,” says Jones. “But it was a joy for me every day to turn up on set and be so impressed and appreciative of the contributions of the supporting cast, all of whom delivered above and beyond.”

Image Courtesy of   http://whattoexpectthefilm.com/

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Soon to be in theaters everywhere, ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ initially came in the form of a help book by the same name, written by Heidi Murkoff. ‘What to Expect’ caught the attention of Phoenix Production producers David Thwaites and Douglas McKay, and afterwards the two discussed its potential for a feature film. They then contacted Alan Nevins, who in turn, approached Heidi and Erik Murkoff.

The question remains: how does a non-fiction pregnancy manual translate into a narrative film? Phoenix chairman Mike Medavoy admits, “Bringing the book to the screen might seem like a far-fetched idea, in a way. But I credit the vision of both David Thwaites and Doug McKay, who said, ‘Hey, we know how to do this, and we’re going to do it!’”

After reading the book and realizing just how diverse pregnancy experiences can be, David Thwaites imagined an ensemble film comprised of several interlocking stories. “It just occurred to me – having seen how different people are with their children, and how none of their pregnancies were the same – that this was something that would be well served by having a number of different couples who find themselves pregnant at the same time.”

Director Kirk Jones, the English director known for the films ‘Waking Ned Devine’ and ‘Nanny McPhee’, responded in particular to the comedic potential of the project. “The book has such a generous sense of humor, and I began to identify the potential of that in the film. Couples experiencing pregnancy for the first time are being launched headfirst into the unknown, and that’s always a rich place for comedy. And for pathos, too. I like to make films that feature humor and emotion, often at the same time. I think that’s a magical combination.”

Book author Heidi Murkoff admits she was initially skeptical about an adaptation, but she was soon won over by the producers’ take on the project. She says, “These guys plugged into the sensibility of ‘What to Expect’: the warmth, the friendliness, the hand-holding, and also the humor. I knew the book was in great hands.”

Murkoff’s husband and Executive Producer of the film Erik Murkoff agrees, “The further we got into the project, the better it got. But it really started with the script, along with a great director and wonderful cast, and it built and built and built. We’re very lucky.”

Faced with limitless story possibilities, the filmmakers approached screenwriters Shauna Cross and Heather Hach to fashion an appealing cast of characters whose experience might represent the diversity of the pregnancy experience. The structure itself, according to Hach, was immediately evident. “I was incredibly pregnant myself when I came aboard this project, so it was really on my brain and in my heart,” she recalls. “And it just made sense to me: there are three trimesters and there are also three acts in a movie so there was an inherent story there.”

Shauna Cross, who’s also a mother, set her sights on bringing as much humor as possible to the characters’ experiences. “While I found pregnancy touching and sweet, I also thought so much of it was funny,” she says. “I wanted to push that and make it feel modern, so that this film could be our generation’s version of how we get through this stuff now.”

By the final draft of the script, the writers and filmmakers had built a vibrant ensemble comedy around five different couples, each one incorporating unique experiences and addressing both male and female points-of-view. Producer Arnold Messer says, “We were quite conscientious in our attempts to make sure the film looked at a whole range of perspectives on child-rearing. As much as it’s a movie about babies; it’s also a movie about people who don’t want babies. As much as it’s a movie about motherhood; it’s also about fatherhood.”

Director Kirk Jones also felt strongly that the book’s candor and honesty should be reflected in the film. In keeping with his dictum, the screenplay candidly addresses many issues surrounding pregnancy, including the physical challenges of carrying a child to term, infertility and adoption. “Often pregnancy is portrayed the way people in the media talk about it: women have this wonderful glow and an amazing experience,” says Jones. “But it’s also pretty tough. And our script didn’t flinch from being truthful, honest and grounded.”

Image Courtesy of   http://whattoexpectthefilm.com/

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Since its first publication in 1985, ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ has become a modern standard and the definitive bible for expectant parents. The perennial New York Times bestseller, authored by Heidi Murkoff, was named one of USA Today’s 25 most influential books of the past 25 years and is now the first book in a series that has sold 35 million copies worldwide.

The book offers exactly what it promises: a wealth of up-to-the-minute information and advice about the mysterious and unpredictable process of pregnancy. But its true appeal is its singular voice: totally frank, modern, empathetic and very funny. That’s exactly what sets ‘What to Expect’ apart from the glut of imitators and what attracted producers at Phoenix Pictures – Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer and David Thwaites – to the idea of adapting ‘What to Expect’ for the screen with Lionsgate and Alcon Entertainment.

“I think it’s very, very clever, this movie concept based on the book,” says actress Cameron Diaz, who plays one of five expectant mothers in the ensemble comedy. “I’ve always heard the title being talked about. It’s one of those books that have been around and a part of almost everyone’s life. When you read it, it feels like you’re getting advice from your best friend who’s been through it all.”

Co-star Jennifer Lopez agrees wholeheartedly. “The book is amazing, which is why it’s so popular,” she says. “It tells you exactly, week to week, what’s happening to you in the moment. I think women, by nature, when we’re pregnant, are so worried that everything’s going to go okay. And here you have this book saying, ‘This is supposed to be happening. Don’t worry. You’re supposed to feel like this.’ I think the movie does the exact same thing. It reassures you by telling five totally different stories about being pregnant and making you laugh.”

A father of two, Chris Rock admits that the book, ‘What to Expect’, is still on his wife’s nightstand…and his oldest daughter is nine. “This book’s been in my face for ten years,” he says. “But it really helped. It’s rough having a baby. My wife was pretty cool. But just imagine carrying around a seven- or eight-pound ham for nine months. Forget it even being in your body – just have it in a bag that you can’t put down – and you’ve got to sleep with that ham and swim with the ham and take a bath with the ham. No matter where you go, you’ve got to carry this ham. So, you know what? You’re allowed to complain.”

Image Courtesy of   http://whattoexpectthefilm.com/

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