Monday, September 28, 2015

The O.C. In the News: Benjamin Mckenzie and Morena Baccarin Expecting a Child!

So this past weekend Benkamin Mckenzie and Morena Baccarin have stepped out with not one, not two but THREE huge announcements. Before we get into that, how bout the back story..So Morena Baccarin (Gotham actress) was married to the American film director Austin Chick (I've never heard of any of his work, wiki him and you will probably feel the same). They were married for 4 years, share a child together and this past July they announced they were getting divorced due to irreconcilable differences.


Yes divorces happen all the time but the real big deal here is that Benjamin Mckenzie, usually private about his love life has come forward this week reveling not only are they dating but there's more. Morena is 3 1/2 months pregnant, a mini Ryan Atwood is in the oven.

Media is unsure how long they have been together, some sources say that they could have been dating before or just after the divorce but regardless it was enough time to get Benjamin Mckenzie's Gotham co-star knocked up. Depending on when she has the baby, we could then figure out when the baby was conceived and that's when things may get ugly. It could reveal that she was cheating and Benjamin was banging a married lady!

The third HUGE announcement is that Morena has said in a recent interview that she plans to marry Benjamin Mckenzie, hopefully he proposes to her.



Anyways so I know what your thinking, wait a minute, this seems all to familiar..Life imitating Art..Yes in fact this isn't the first time we heard of Ryan Atwood knocking up somebody already in a relationship.


Lets break this down to an obscure O.C. level, Morena Baccarin is Theresa, Austin Chick is Eddie (they kinda look alike) and Benjamin Mckenzie is Ryan! Theresa and Ryan had a past and when those two pasts collided it created a few magical nights, one of which got Theresa pregnant via a 2 star motel room at the Mermaid Inn.


Meanwhile Theresa was still kind of with Eddie (their facebook relationship status would be "its complicated"). Eddie found out they were seeing each other and it caused a huge beef between the two, there was even a punching incident that landed Ryan in the pool, literally. LaterTheresa reveals that she is having Ryan's baby. Ryan left Newport to head back to Chino to live with Theresa and start a blue collar construction job.


People are saying that Benjamin Mckenzie and Morena Baccarin must have met on Gotham but if you think back Morena Baccarin looks pretty familiar, its because she played Miya Griffin on The O.C.! Miya was the daughter of Henry Griffin, She briefly dated Matt Ramsey (Sandy Cohen's young hotshot), in a ploy to get her father to provide more funding. The whole thing backfires, lots of drama happens, Matt Ramsey fired and gets beat up, the hospital never ends up getting built and we never see the two again. So perhaps they met on the set of The O.C. and were friends all along?



So its safe to say that Ryan Atwood is growing up, he will soon be a father and perhaps be married. Lets just hope that Morena Baccarin at least irons Ben's wife-beaters, makes him sandwiches with oranges and drops him off at his construction job every morning! Furthermore I hope there isn't a bunch of drama associated with this pairing but who am I kidding its Chino we're speaking of and he comes with fists blazing! There is also a chance that the baby isn't his, this would be a true shocker moment, get a blood test Chino!


Writer side notes: I have been waiting for news to come out about Benjamin Mckenzie dating someone for a long time.. Benjamin Mckenzie has been super private about relationships since the beginning of his fame. Due to that I find this coming out in public regarding the child etc a pretty bold move since it basically blasts himself out into the open and straight into the gossip tabloids. Lets just hope all goes well for Ben!


Saturday, September 19, 2015

The Cars of The O.C.: Luke's Dads Dealership Mustang Saleen S281 Extreme Edition

In the season 1 episode 12 "The Secret" we see a lot of Luke Ward character development happening. The episode is filled with a ton of things that were new to Luke Ward's character, an emotional roller-coaster filled with gossip, bullying and lastly humility. His character and family are forever changed by a huge secret that is discovered in the worst of ways and it all started in Luke's dad's car dealership.
But lets not get caught up in that, how could something so beautiful get lost in the drama! Luke and Ryan are paired up to work together on a school project which requires working outside of school to get it completed. During the process the guys need to stop by Luke's dads dealership so they could use his high tech film scanner, laser jet printer to get the job done (I wonder how much Mustang had to pay for this in-show commercial).

the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme

On the way they stumble on this gem! There she is, Luke has a total fast and the Furious moment here, he says "450 Horsepower, 8 cylinder!".

the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme

The car we see Luke and Ryan jump in like a bunch of kids in a semi abandoned car dealership with the keys inside the ignition (oh wait that is what is going on here) is a 2003 Mustang Saleen S281 Extreme Edition! The car features 450 horsepower in a 4.6 L, 281ci engine. This car is a limited edition version and only so many were made. Base price for this convertible was $64,504 dollars usd.

the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme

Look at that interior, its maxed out!

the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme

"Dude you have to get in!"

the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme golden retriever
Luke grins like the big Golden Retriever he is!
the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme radio KROQ 106.7 orange county
Bonus fact, When Luke checks out the Mustangs sound system the radio is set on 106.7. 106.7 is an actual California radio station called KROQ, which features Alternative Rock to the area. It is a well known and world famous station. Bands that were featured on The O.C. could have potentially been played on KROQ which makes it kinda special. Listen to the station live here and pretend that you live in The O.C.!
the oc, the o.c. luke ryan mustang dad's dealership saleen mustang s281 extreme

Luke and Ryan then sail off into the sunset together! The ultimate bromacing vehicle!

Where to find: Season 1 Episode 12 "The Secret"

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Behind the Scenes: the Valley vs The O.C.


What can I say the invention of the Valley was another reason why The O.C was and is an incredible show. Part of the charm of The O.C. was that it could constantly make fun of itself, which balanced out the mellow drama perfectly. The O.C.'s writers were conscious of what was happening in pop culture and were geniuses capitalizing thus including the Valley in the script. The Valley was a show within The O.C's universe that parodied The O.C.'s themes and stories. If you listen to the audio while the characters are watching the Valley you will hear some comical story lines. Summer Roberts was highly addicted and is seen (along with other characters) watching the show with great obsession randomly throughout the series.

Throughout the series you start to notice some funny parallels between the Valley and The O.C.. Most of the Parallels come in Season 1 episode 22 "The LA". In the episode Marissa and Summer go to the beach and stumble upon Grady Bridges (main character and young teen heartthrob of the Valley) along with some film crew filming on location (much like The O.C. did). Marissa had no clue what the Valley was so Summer fills her in in 2 seconds flat on how the Valley is her favorite show, that Grady the main character of the show is so hilarious and how he improvises most of his scenes.


Well if you've watched or read any early behind the scenes O.C. stuff about Adam Brody (Seth Cohen) you will learn that Adam was allowed periodically to improvise his lines the way he thought they should be/delivered, often making them up out of thin air. Adam would also then do the script version and let the creators decide which worked best. Later on in the show the writers would actually just write in lines that sounded improvised and would give the viewer the same spontaneous feel. In countless interviews Adam Brody has denied the great praises regarding his improvisation skills and gives most credit to the writers (modesty Brody)..So this was an obvious jab - Grady VS Cohen! Who wears the zip-up collared hoodies better!?



Next in the episode Summer and Marissa walk up to Grady. Summer excitingly starts talking to Grady about how they both love the show and watch it all the time and our huge fans yadda yadda (Marissa is still clueless who Grady even was and makes it embarrassingly known).


Marissa and Summer meet back up with Ryan and Seth at school the next day and let them both know how they met Grady Bridges of the Valley. Ryan and Seth look unimpressed as they don't even know what the Valley is. Summer reveals to them that they are all invited to hang out with Grady for his birthday party in L.A..They are super stoked...sike!



After school Ryan catches Seth watching the Valley (Seth wants to see his competition). Ryan sits down starts watching and says:

Ryan: Is that Grady?
Seth: Yeah.
Ryan: He's kinda like you.
Seth: What handsome and charming?
Ryan: Geeky and Sarcastic.
Seth: Oh god he is like me. He is like me except with his own TV show.
Ryan: I was kidding he's just a character...
Seth (interrupts): No no no, he improvises all his lines. That's totally him and he's totally me. Except on a prime time soap and Ryan dude if you could have the real me or you could have the TV me which one would you take? You would totally take the TV me, dude we're not going to L.A. because i'm going to loose Summer to the real life TV Seth Cohen.

Once again Grady vs Seth! Grady Bridges is the real life Seth Cohen! Fun-fact the word "prime-time" means a show that airs around 9:15pm to 11:00pm. Apparently most people watch TV around the 9:15-9:30 time frame making that the most valuable time for advertisers, thus making it PRIME TIME! The O.C. originally aired on Tuesday nights at 9pm/8pm central later moved to Thursday night 8pm/7pm central - a horrible time slot that contributed to the shows demise (among other things).


Later into the night Marissa, Summer, Seth and Ryan meet Grady Bridges at a night club called Luna Chicks in Los Angeles.


After Ryan sees Grady he asks Seth "How does that guy play a highschooler?", Seth responds with "Hollywood man!". This is of course a funny jab at the teen actors of The O.C..All of which were clear into their 20's when they started The O.C. except for Marissa (she's was the only REAL main character teenager when the show started).

Summer VS Paris Hilton. As Summer and Seth walk around in the club Paris Hilton accidentally bumps into Summer. Paris Hilton gives Seth a smile in a flirty way and Summer notices and gets mad. Paris Hilton says "Relax all you L.A. chicks are so lame!", Summer immediately says "We aren't from L.A. we're from Orange County!". Paris Hilton says "Orange County? Eww." As Seth grabs her away from Paris Summer is heard mumbling "She said Eww!".

This is of course a call-back to Summer in Season 1 Episode 1 when she finds out Ryan is from Chino, "Chino Eww!". Karma's a you know what!


Things go pretty well and the gang is having a good time. Seth looses Summer in the crowd, he gets worried that she ran off with Grady.

Grady and Summer watching dailies from the Valley in Grady's pimped out ride
Grady wants Summer to listen to his band
Grady tries to make a move on Summer (repulsed), Seth finds Summer in the nick of time

Adam Brody playing drums in his band Big Japan

While looking for Summer Seth finds her And Grady in his private limo listening to music (Grady's band), Seth opens the door then mocks that he knew this is where Grady and Summer was because of the really bad music and says "I heard some really awful music and I knew it could only be from self indulgent actors with instruments". This of course was another parallel to Adam Brody. Adam Brody is in a band called Big Japan, he is the drummer.

The last notable parallel is in the name of the episode "The L.A." this is obviously mocking "The O.C.", people (mainly Orange County locals) had a problem with the show being called The O.C. because not that many people would casually say they lived in the O.C. they would say they lived in Orange County. Just like nobody would say I live in "The L.A.". This is also a parallel to the name of the show the Valley which basically is a cool way to say Los Angeles. Los Angeles is called the Valley because its located in the San Fernando Valley.

During the proven success of The O.C., came the copy cats (naturally), Laguna Beach came on the scene one year after The O.C.. Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was a scripted reality show on MTV that was based incredibly loose to The O.C., (beach, rich kids and drama minus the heart and humor of The O.C.). It was suppose to feel like a reality show. a "real" show. When The O.C. writers caught wind of this, it inspired them to create another on screen parody in The O.C., a show called Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley (which is a parody reality show of the Valley). Which is watched by a few characters in The O.C..

Extra credit: Grady Bridges real name is Jake Needleman (this is a callback to the original last name of the Cohens on an early draft of the pilot, which was later cancelled and changed to Cohen). Think about it, no actually say this out loud - Seth Needleman, has a horrible ring to it doesn't it - but its also a very Jewish name like Cohen, so I get where the writers were coming from!


Where to find: Season 1 episode 22 "The LA"

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Lovable Props From The O.C.: Riviera Magazine


Here we have Riviera's Magazine's man of the year Caleb Nichol edition prop magazine. Interesting fact about Alan Dale (the actor that plays Caleb Nichol), he was 56 years old in 2003. I figure that one of the reasons the casting directors chose Alan Dale because he looked to be in his 60's. An interesting thing about Riviera Magazine is that it was/is a real magazine in Orange County (I always thought it was a fictitious publication). However recently the name has changed to Modern Luxury Orange County as well as a bunch of other cities. I bet back in 2003 this was a nice advertising plug for Riviera Magazine and perhaps drove up subscription numbers!

Before the name was changed


Magazine as it looks today




Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The O.C. Merchandise: A Seth Cohen Action Figure Almost Happened!

seth cohen skateboard action figure the oc o.c.seth cohen skateboard action figure the oc o.c.seth cohen skateboard action figure the oc o.c.

You heard it right, a Seth Cohen action figure was kinda suppose to happen. Back in 2005 a company called Strange Mark Studios (or SMS) posted on the custom action figure site joeacevedo.com details about the figure. Complete with photos of the prototype! 


seth cohen 78 blue tshirt ryan atwood eating cereal wife beater

According to the site they called the prototype "Skater Seth", which is appropriate although I think he only uses his skateboard in a handful of episodes (I'll have to fact check Captain Oats to verify). Look at that likeness though, curly hair, proper attire, pretty spot on replica clothing (see photo above, same shirt artwork worn in the pilot episode), not so sure about the chain wallet though - that's more a Chino thing (ewwww!). So yeah this could have happened, makes you wonder why another company didn't scoop up the idea! Sighhhh..Here's the link to the site!

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