Monday, October 08, 2007 || The Hills: Burning Questions Answered!
On MTV's reality show The Hills (tonight at 10 pm/ET), Teen Vogue intern Lauren Conrad and her well-heeled friends bicker, wear fabulous clothes and hang out in L.A. hot spots, all with the cameras following them. The girls — and the show's executive producer — dish on how they afford those awesome digs, how often they get a break from the cameras and just how real the reality series is.Once and for all, is the show staged?
Yes and no. "Who I am on the show is who I am in real life," Audrina Patridge says. "What you see is what you get." But it wasn't just a coincidence that friends-turned-enemies Lauren and Heidi Montag went to the trendy restaurant Ketchup on the same night. "Lauren and Jason [Wahler] were going there, and Heidi and Spencer [Pratt] wanted to celebrate their anniversary," says exec producer Adam DiVello. "Ketchup was one of the spots Spencer wanted to go to, so it just sort of worked out. It wasn't planned on our behalf, but it is a little fake."
How long do the girls have cameras with them each day?
Sometimes hours, sometimes not at all. (Monday and Tuesday are their days off.) "We don't have a set schedule," Audrina says. "It depends on what's going on." At the beginning of each week, the girls speak with producers about their plans. "I hate to say we schedule their lives, but we definitely schedule out what we want to cover," DiVello says. So if they are going on a date or to the Hollywood hot spot Les Deux, then the MTV crews tag along. But if they're bumming around the house solo, the cameras will probably skip it.
The girls are always dressed to the nines and look as though they just stepped out of the salon. Does the show provide wardrobe, hair and makeup?
Nope, the girls are responsible for how they look. "That's partly why it's reality," Audrina says. But she does admit she always wears makeup and tries to dress "halfway decent" when the cameras are rolling.
Is Heidi and Spencer's relationship a sham?
Not according to DiVello. "They're very much in love when I see them," he says. "They're a real couple and definitely engaged. It's not staged for the sake of our show. If they've got something else going on, we've yet to see it."
How do Lauren and Audrina afford that apartment?
We have no idea. MTV won't name the complex (it's not really called Hillside Villas) because when people find out, they camp in front waiting to see the stars. But a swanky two-bedroom apartment in that area costs about $3,000 a month. Audrina works part-time as a receptionist at Epic Records and Lauren is an intern at Teen Vogue. You do the math.
Do Lauren and Audrina have a standing reservation at Les Deux?
No, but they're friends with the promoters and owners, so they know they'll always be whisked past the velvet rope. Plus, the other clubgoers seem to have gotten used to seeing the cast there all the time, so the camera crews can go about their business pretty much unbothered. "It's like a home away from home," Audrina says. If your home always has a fully stocked bar, that is.
source: tvguide.com
posted by Lysandra @ 1:20 PM
"New City, New Drama"
10 Comments:
For the fourth question, MTV pays for their apartment, and the "Hillside Villas in West Hollywood" is really the "Palazzo at Park La Brea", just outside of Weho, next to the Grove. I'm actually planning on moving there in a month, but definitely not in a $3000 unit!
Lauren comes from money. Her parents might pay for part while she's still in school.
I get the impression that Lauren would never be able to cut it in the real world on her own.
LC makes enough money to pay her rent. I am pretty sure that MTV is probably paying while they are filming. LC makes most likely 1-2 millions from the hills per season, she gets some revenues from the DVD/books sales; plus, she makes money from her MARK contract as well as appearances. She is probably making money for AT&T mobile and she is the new spokeperson for some contact lens company not to mention her new clothing line. I am sure the girl does not need her parents to pay her way these days. She recently said in an interview that she was shopping for a house...
She also made a ton of money in personal appearences during the first season of The Hills. She did lots of them all over the country with other LB'ers at the time.
I think I read somewhere where she said she's financially independent and proud of it. I remember thinking, well yeah, you're on a reality show and have lots of opportunities because of that, which you got from being on another reality show, which you got on because your family lives in Laguna Beach. Had all this reality stuff never happened, I seriously doubt she'd be independent (and nothing wrong with that by the way if she's still in school).
Don't get me wrong - that's life and she'd be stupid not to take opportunities, but she’s definitely not in the same group as your typical financially independent college student and I’m not really sure if it’s something to really be proud of. However, buying a house at her age is another category, IMO, and she should be proud of that.
And please don't call me an LC hater - I'd say the same thing about Kristin. Its just a pet peeve of mine with these people - they sometimes act like part-time jobs and actually paying for things themselves is some kind of feat. I think these kids live too much in their own bubble and don’t realize how good they really have it.
3:09 very well said, I COMPLETELY agree.
Lauren has worked for what she has gotten in her life. She had to audition for her role on MTV LB. Moreover, she was blessed with good looks and instantly became a fan favorite. She also has been able to keep her fans and grow her fans base. So yeah... she worked hard for her money and deserve all.
Lauren is an extremely lucky girl in my opinion. Not to be too mean, just being realistic, but I don't get the impression that she is extremely hard-working or talented in fashion, etc. and is not particularly charismatic. She just seems like your typical, normal, pretty girl. So to be in the position she is in now, she's very lucky. At least she seems to realize it to a certain extent.
^Agree. I wasn’t trying to put her down or say she’s undeserving. But I don’t get why a lot of people commend her for her hard work and/or being financially independent when a good part has been luck. It’s just sad to me when you have people who work very hard, make a real difference, and don’t get anywhere near the same recognition.
And I’m not even one of these people, but I’d also never talk about how grounded I was because I had a part-time job in high school/college, paid for my car myself (or drove a - gasp - hand-me down), etc. There are so many people out there who aren’t so lucky and I wonder if these kids even realize it.
I guess I can see how they mean it in reference to people like Jason who are rich with substance abuse problems and do nothing with their lives, but that’s kind of setting the bar a bit low, IMO.
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