**Warning: This blog is extremely long and I probably ramble a lot because it's pretty late...Sorry in advance! No spoilers for season premiere, unless you want to know.**
I'm finally getting a chance to blog about the INCREDIBLE time I had last night. Words can't describe just how excited I was. My cousin and I headed down earlier to hang out and make sure we had plenty of time before the event actually started. After a little misunderstanding with the freeway at first, we had lunch at Paty's in Toluca Lake. We sat outside on the patio, and it was so warm outside...I cannot believe it's only January! It felt great though; perfect weather for LA.
We then decided to head to the Arclight Theater on Sunset, not realizing it was only about eight minutes away. Needless to say, we had plenty of time to spare. We walked around the theater, then decided to check out Amoeba Music, because I've always wanted to go in there. They have just about everything you can imagine. They sell all kinds of music; old and new, and all different kinds of genres. We walked up the street a little to see if there was anything else but quickly realized there really wasn't. We listened to some crazy CD Carissa bought for a few minutes in her car, then decided to get something to drink at Jack In The Box. We came back to the little quad area by the theater, and hung around just taking some time to relax. While I was messing around on my phone, a few guys walked by and Carissa said "Oh my gosh there's Joe Jonas!" I glanced up, and thinking she was joking, said, "Oh yeah it is!" And then it dawned on me that it really was him. So, naturally I jumped up and said "We have to go get a picture," and eventually I talked Carissa into it, so we tracked him down. I asked him for a picture, and he seemed hesitant at first (we probably caught him off guard), but he said, "Yeah sure!" I tried to hit the camera app on my phone, but somehow I'd ended up hitting something else and all the apps were shaking (like when you're trying to delete one). I apologized to Joe, and he was like "Oh no, you're fine" or something like that. One of his friends took it of the three of us, and Carissa asked what they were up to when we were done. They had just gotten done working out at the gym. It was really short talking to him, and it all happened so fast, but we were totally freaking out. Maybe next time I'll see Nick ;) hee hee. I guess I shouldn't have been so excited to see Joe after everything that happened with Taylor...butttttt....It would've been really hard not to. And I'm so glad Carissa spotted him. That'll teach me not to be so intrigued with my phone!
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| Us and Joe Jonas |
They let us in a few minutes to 7; checked us in, gave us our passes and we were good to go. It was finally OFFICIAL. We headed upstairs where they said to go. There were posters of the cast that was going to be there hanging up on the wall (I tried to get pictures of them, but they didn't come out very well at all), and tables with popcorn and soda. We got some of that, and headed inside to get a seat. There was a section close to the screen reserved for the cast, and a little further back it was reserved for Mark Schwann and the rest of the writers. We ended up getting the first row right behind them. We had more time to wait before the cast showed up, so I started talking to the girl sitting to my left, who was really awesome. We seemed to have a lot in common with our majors of communications and everything. She's also going to be in episode 5 of One Tree Hill this upcoming season, so she shared some of her experience with me and my cousin, like spending time on the River Court. Shortly after, the cast filed in and it was time for the show to start.
Everyone waved, smiled, and said hi as they found their seats, and the lights dimmed. Chelsea Kane, who is Stephen Colletti's girlfriend was also there because she plays an important role this season. All of a sudden "One Tree Hill" appeared on the screen and you hear Nathan's voice narrating...totally got chills and teared up at that point. It was cool knowing that they were all in the same room, in fact just rows away from all of us watching the same exact thing. It's definitely going to be an amazing season! After the show ended, the cast headed down to the front for the Q&A session. It was so surreal hearing such a dynamic cast talking about their characters, a show they've worked on for nine years, and Mark Schwann's side of things. He's seriously a genius! And they should've given everyone in the theater kleenex before we went in LOL. The things that Sophia and Joy had to say to each other were so touching. Joy said that Haley always had so many great speeches to give to Brooke during their years on the show, and that as Joy she meant every word telling Sophia, even if they were fighting or whatever other behind the scenes things were going on...in that moment she still meant them, and how they were true friends. Sophia talking about flashback moments as they filmed this one last scene in the high school (which they'll show a little more this season I believe), hearing from fans in the audience how much this show has meant to them and how they related to the story lines. Sophia mentioned there would be a really touching scene between her and Haley; she didn't want to give too much away, but said that we would know what she was talking about when it came down to it. She also shared her days of directing and what a great experience it was for her and how she grew so much because of it. Mark joked about how on top of things she was and was so prepared, etc. (the audience laughed). Mark was like, "What's going on?" She said, "They're laughing because they've seen my binder." I had actually just watched that DVD bonus feature the other night. I was inspired by it, honestly LOL. She has such a vision for what she wants to do.
The cast shared so many of their favorite moments like Paul having to kiss Joy for the 20s episode they did (also written by Chad Michael Murray), the cracker scene for Shantel, Rob, and Jackson, the school shooting for Mark I believe (critics had been saying how they hadn't done a show that really made a difference or mattered kind of thing in the last season, and this was the one they had been making while discussing shows that were in jeopardy of not being picked up). That was also the very first full episode of One Tree Hill that I ever watched, and it definitely stuck with me. It was a little too intense and honest for me at the time, but now, that's what made me fall in love with it...the honesty and realness that came through the screen. While all these other shows are trying to sugar coat it...this one is telling you how life really is. There are wonderful moments that take your breath away and then there are others that bring nothing but darkness, and how you can rise above it.
At one point during the Q&A someone shouted, "What happened to Peyton?", to which Tyler Hilton replied, "I actually just ran into Hillarie this morning...She was at The Aroma Cafe, so it's funny that you mentioned that." He also shared a story of when they were filming the Honeygrove prom episode they hung out at some kid's house, and he played some of his music for them, and they were all impressed with him. Now, he has a recording contract and is getting ready to tour with Taylor Swift or something; pretty cool!
Jackson talked about his "Cuss jar". Anytime someone says a bad word around him, they'll owe him money. Chad apparently owes him about 100$ LOL. Sophia said the F word, and just before, she'd told him to cover his ears, but that she'd pay him the 20$ she owed him. When he was asked about his plans after OTH he said, "I'm going back to school!" He's so bashful and adorable. Probably the most likable kid on the planet!
Paul seems very strong and solemn. One of his funniest moments was when he was sort of zoning out a little, and they were like "Paul, are you okay?" or something like that...He says "Oh, I'm just enjoying myself over here." I don't know there was just something funny about that! HAHA.
I guess I could go on and on about all these little things that they shared. If you get a chance, look up some of the videos from last night. You won't be sorry, I promise :) I have a feeling this season is going to be very different from all the others. They've described it as being very "dark." Not sure quite exactly what it is, but I'm especially anxious for all the Haley/Nathan story lines. AH!!! And I will still be watching when 8:00 on Wednesday rolls around. YAY! The cast wrapped up after about an hour or so of answering questions, while Mark Schwann stuck around a few more minutes to give away some season 8 DVD's.
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| The tall guy standing up a few inches above the crowd would be Paul! |
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| Stephen Colletti |
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| Picture Shantel tweeted...I'm somewhere to the right...probably about where it cuts off LOL. |
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| "I'm on my way...home sweet home..." |
Favorite quote of the night @ Arclight:
“It’s very rare that you have real, vulnerable moments with your friends, where you just look at them and tell them exactly what you think about them and how much they mean to you. And one of the amazing opportunities I feel that I’ve had over the seasons of the show is, Haley gives all these great speeches, to Brooke. And it’s always ‘You have the biggest heart, you’re so compassionate’ and she’s all of these amazing words that she gets to say and every time I’ve ever had that, I’ve meant every word, from Joy to Sophia.”
Here are some great videos I found online from the event!
http://www.twitvid.com/BC6XC
That's all for now,
Shelby <3
