Friday, November 4, 2011

Gossip Girl: The Complete Third Season

  • GOSSIP GIRL: 3RD SEASON (DVD MOVIE)
College jounalism students plant a trashy rumor about a celibate co-ed, planning to track how the story changes as it burns through the university. But what the students never imagine is that the savagely mutating tale will turn against them.

DVD Features:
Alternate endings
Audio Commentary:Commentary by D. Guggenheim, J. Mardsen
Deleted Scenes:Deleted Scenes - 11:07
Filmographies
Interactive Menus
Music Video
Other:Travis's gossip Interviews "Grab Bag"
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Gossip is one of a spate of movies that owe a lot to Cruel Intentions. This time it's rich kids in college, but other than that Gossip stays well within the beautiful-young-people-doing-awful-things-to-each other formula. Lena Heady plays Jones, obvi! ously the Smart Girl because she is briefly seen wearing glasses. Jones hangs out with Arty Guy Travis and Handsome Rich Guy Derrick, who finances their adventures and has a little bit of a lying habit. The three are all in the same journalism class (acidic monologist Eric Bogosian plays the acidic professor) and decide to start and track a rumor for their term papers. They pick rich and beautiful couple Beau and Naomi (Joshua Jackson and Kate Hudson) as the focus of the rumor, and before you know it their juicy story starts spinning out of control into ugly territory and a truly ludicrous climax. There are attempts at making sledgehammer points about the slippery task of finding Truth, but mostly Gossip is about the guilty pleasure of watching pretty young actors be mean to each other. You'll hate yourself in the morning, but watch it anyway. --Ali DavisHere’s the dish, GG fans: the 22 episodes of Season Four couldn’t be juicier! And Gossip Girl is there ! to keep you clued in to the buzz, secrets and scandals of Manh! attan’ s elite. Between Blair and Serena’s thrilling summer in Paris, Chuck’s new girlfriend and new identity, unexpected fatherhood for Dan, a power play for Bass Industries, Blair’s too-haute-to-handle internship at W Magazine and a vicious conspiracy that threatens to bring down one of your favorite Upper East Siders, Season Four sizzles with some very surprising hookups and meltdowns. With lies and betrayals at every turn, Serena, Blair, Nate, Chuck, and Dan struggle to “keep their friends close and their frenemies closer.” The fourth season of Gossip Girl starts to show a little age; while the fashions are as couture as ever and the scandals the right level of sleaze, the season takes some inexplicable turns. But no season is complete without its parade of troublemakers, so up first is Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg), whose pregnancy announcement at the end of season three throws serious water on Dan's romantic possibilities with Serena (Blake Lively). Then t! here's Juliet (Katie Cassidy, daughter of '70s teen idol David), an impostor whose elaborate scheme to take down Serena is connected to her past and involves some serious loony-bin activity (Cassidy, who was the best thing on the short-lived Melrose Place reboot, makes a terrific foil--much less irksome than Georgina, who has by now overstayed her welcome). Finally, there's Russell Thorpe (Spin City's Michael Boatman), a ruthless businessman who angles to take over Bass Industries from Chuck (Ed Westwick). But none of these villains hold a candle to the internal evildoing within the Upper East Siders; Dan (Penn Badgley) plots against Chuck, Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) and Jenny (Taylor Momsen) plot against Serena, then turn against each other, mapping both of their exits off the series; Serena and Chuck plot against her mother, Lily (Kelly Rutherford), and finally Lily's sister Carol plots against her by employing her daughter Charlie (Kaylee DeFer). Incomprehensi! ble love matches ensue (the show's creators seem intent on hav! ing Sere na circle romantic possibilities with… pretty much everyone), but the friendship that naturally evolves between Dan and Blair becomes the season's most pleasant surprise. That Blair becomes the center of a complex romantic web between Chuck and an honest-to-goodness prince (Hugo Becker) steers the season back in the right direction; Meester and Westwick remain the emotional centers of the show and anchor it when it veers too far into Crazytown. --Ellen A. Kim

A dishy, incisive exploration of gossip â€" from celebrity rumors to literary romans à clef, personal sniping to political slander â€" by one our “great essayists” (David Brooks)

To his successful examinations of some of the most powerful forces in modern life â€" envy, ambition, snobbery, friendship â€" the keen observer and critic Joseph Epstein now adds Gossip. No trivial matter, despite its reputation, gossip, he argues, is an eternal and necessary human enterprise. Proving that ! he himself is a master of the art, Epstein serves up delightful mini-biographies of the Great Gossips of the Western World along with many choice bits from his own experience. He also makes a powerful case that gossip has morphed from its old-fashioned best â€" clever, mocking, a great private pleasure â€" to a corrosive new-school version, thanks to the reach of the mass media and the Internet. Gossip has invaded and changed for the worse politics and journalism, causing unsubstantiated information to be presented as fact. Contemporary gossip claims to reveal truth, but as Epstein shows, it’s our belief in truth that gossip today threatens to undermine and destroy.

Written in his trademark erudite and witty style, Gossip captures the complexity of this immensely entertaining subject.
Spotted: Our beloved Upper East Siders, all grown up. Though high school may be behind most of them, you can be sure a future of love, scandal and, of course, secrets awaits! . Based on the best-selling series of young-adult novels by Ce! cily von Ziegesar, this drama is told through the eyes of an all-knowing blogger -- Gossip Girl -- who, via constant, avidly read text messages, is determined to uncover and fuel every scandal possible on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where gossip rules, and affluent young people find themselves with the money, access and appetite to explore all the temptations New York City has to offer. Keeping track of the shifting friendships, jealousies and turmoil in this wealthy and complex world isn't easy; that's why there's Gossip Girl. Executive produced by Josh Schwartz (Chuck, The O.C.) and Stephanie Savage (The O.C.), Gossip Girl has won a legion of devoted and fashion-forward fans.For the Upper East Siders of Gossip Girl, their first year of college means some hierarchical changes. At NYU, Blair (Leighton Meester) gets a cold reception from the students she was hoping to make her minions; alternately, Dan (Penn Badgley) finally hits his stride, inclu! ding dating a movie star (guest star Hilary Duff) but struggling with growing feelings for his bestie Vanessa (Jessica Szohr). Serena (Blake Lively) tries various jobs in an effort to be taken seriously, but as usual ends up falling for the wrong guy and getting herself in one jam after another, the most serious of which involves her daddy issues when he (guest star William Baldwin) reappears into her family's lives. Meanwhile, Chuck (Ed Westwick) is finally happy in his relationship with Blair and, buoyed by her love, launches his own hotel to emerge from his late father's shadow. As scheming and backstabbing are the bread and butter of Gossip Girl, many villains cycle through, including Michelle Trachtenberg's return as Georgina and Desmond Harrington (Dexter) as Chuck's uncle. But the true evolving baddie in the third season is Jenny (Taylor Momsen), now the Queen Bee of Constance Billard and showing a new meanness that leaves her betraying her closest frie! nds and family, trying to steal Nate (Chace Crawford) from Ser! ena, and (gasp!) dealing drugs. Blair and Chuck may be vicious, but at least they're multidimensional and easy to root for--they remain the central couple of the series, with Meester and Westwick's undeniable chemistry and strong acting--whereas Jenny has become (literally) the petulant child whom you just want to give a good spanking. Unfortunately, no amount of tears ever really redeems her, since her transformation from loathing the social elitism to leading the Mean Girls is so abrupt.

The best episodes are when the cast turns into the Scooby Gang to dig for the truth about someone's nefarious ways, with Serena as the far-too-trusting victim (for a girl who's far from sheltered, she's also really dense about people's ulterior motives and really horrible at learning that you should never hide things from your boyfriend). Of course, there's always a college party or a fabulous gala (this season includes a cotillion, a wedding, and a state dinner!) to bring everyone together an! d have an excuse to wear fabulous couture. Season 3 may take the series out of high school and into the real world, but really, the only difference is they're not wearing school uniforms. Bonus features include a featurette on the many formal events across the three seasons (the Kiss on the Lips party, the black and white party, proms, masquerade balls, etc.), including tips on how to throw your own Gossip Girl party; a blooper reel; and a music video from Lady Gaga, who makes a cameo in one episode. --Ellen A. Kim

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