STOP EVERYTHING: The Hills Has Been Axed

Oh. My. Word. The Hills has been officially cancelled.

I'm sure it's no secret of my love for MTV's reality hit The Hills. I've been a fan of it's compelling mix of "drama", beautiful people, gorgeous photography and crow barring of numerous popular songs into one episode for awhile now and I was a bit sad to hear this week that the show had been axed.


If I'm being honest, as discussed here before, the show had peaked in terms of what it tried to do and the attempt at rebooting the show with Kristin Cavallari last season clearly didn't work the way the producers had hoped.




Ideally when Lauren left last year that would have been it. It felt like a nice way to wrap what the show had done as opposed to the jump the shark antics of Speidi and their new cute kid next door neighbour (you know your show is in the shit when a cute kid comes in. Fact.) and assorted Audrina "drama" that never got off the ground.


Still with the end of The Hills comes a conclusion to a show that did something a bit different with the reality TV genre. As a spin off of Laguna Beach, the format itself wasn't new but what worked with The Hills was how it honed the "reality filmed as a TV drama" aesthetic into something beautiful to look at. The show also perfected the ability to use the broad strokes of established drama cliches (the best friend, the villain, the harsh boss etc) to paint a vivid picture of the lives of some stupidly privileged blondes. There's been spin offs from the show directly and in various international markets and not to mention spoofs aplenty.

Love it or loathe it The Hills became a genuine pop culture phenomenon. Playing off our ever more intense love for pointless celebrities (the great legacy of reality) and glossy attention deficit TV, it was another reminder of MTV's knack for pulling the right show out at the right time and their ability to keep their paws in their coveted youth audience.


The interesting thing was seeing how the show negotiated becoming a pop culture hit and the cast became famous outside of the show. The peak of this was Season 3 when a real life sex tape rumour became the basis for the now infamous Heidi/Lauren feud. The attempt to keep the burgeoning celebrity lifestyles of Audrina et al out of the show was interesting not least for how it made the show seem more and more ludicrous as time went on.


From what I've read on the next season, it sounds like they might attempt to bring these elements into the show, which could make for an interesting watch. Like many a hit US show, this was allowed run that little bit too long but I'll still have some fantastic TV memories and I'm sure Heidi Montag is only delighted someone was willing to pay her to pretend to eat lunch in order to get a new face.


RIP The Hills. May you live a legacy of blondes, "drama" and quasi celebrity careers in your wake.

Uncomfortable Viewing Alert: Heidi Montag Laughs At Herself

Well this isn't the first time Miss Heidi Montag has appeared on this blog. But with her recent plastic surgery transformation and car crash lifestyle it's hard not too be sucked into the trainwreck whirlpool that is Planet Montag.

As is now customary for many famous folk to prove their normality to the masses Heidi has done a video for Funny Or Die, the infamous comedy site home to numerous spoofs and viral video hits. From Lindsay Lohan to Denise Richards, plenty of famous ladies have made fun of their image in an effort to seem self aware and in on the joke.

Heidi's video is no exception. It's actually quite funny and it's nice to see all those years of awful acting on The Hills haven't dulled Heidi's comic timing. But my god how frightening is her face? She's not far off Jocelyn Wildenstein at this stage. And Spencer looks radically slimmed down too (apparently he's been taken off The Hills temporarily after intimidating a member of the crew. Jaysus.)

Interestingly the video has a bit of a "point" aimed at setting up a consumer agency in the US to help those facing large bills/debt in the current economic climate.

Which is all very well but when Heidi constantly looks like she's about to fall over because of her new boobs and joking that her face doesn't move (is she even joking?) it's hard to pay attention. Still this is an enjoyable video and certainly less upsetting then Lindsay Lohan's one last year.

Although if this is what Heidi Version 3.0 looks like on camera, I can't wait to see how they address that on the new season of The Hills.

Heidi Montag Says No to Plastic from Heidi Montag

Heidi Montag: Yoga Disciple and Gift to Paparazzi Everywhere

At this stage I'm sure I've exhausted everybody's patience for talking about Hills related matters. And I honestly feel like I shouldn't be paying Heidi Montag any more attention then she is due. But holy balls.. this video of her doing yoga for staged paparazzi photos is unbelievable. The video and photos can be seen at The Superficial, a really great gossip blog here. And below is the video in question. Brace yourselves for this one:





I'm aware that there is room for some searing analysis here where you point out how years of playing pretend with her own life for a "reality TV show" have warped Heidi's own perception of herself and made her a mass media product. Spending her life tied to a constructed reality has meant in an attempt to construct her own she has become the embodiment of a media cliche that everyone feels they have to live up to but nobody really wants to be.


But all I can think as somebody who has just started doing yoga  that isn't a bit wierd that her instructor doesn't talk to her at all? And also point out that I'm quite glad I never had breast implants as it clearly doesn't help your downward dog (that's a yoga pose, you dirtbirds). In fact it probably throws off your balance. By the way I do my classes here, I would recommend it! Although I don't have photographers at my classes. Yet.

Also what would happen if Kelly Cutrone worked with Heidi Montag? Would Kelly have to go outside to cry? Or would she be able to given how immobile her face is? Did they just immobilise her tear ducts aswell?


So. Many. Questions.

Heidi Montag & Kelly Cutrone : Life on either side of "The Hills"

So at this stage we all know Miss Heidi Montag has had way too much plastic surgery. It was pretty hard to escape that rather scary People magazine cover and even creepier TV interviews last week. The Hills star seemed insistent that her work was done to make her happy and help her pop career and not because she was addicted. What was scary was as creepy as the overly airbrushed People cover was, the interviews on TV were even worse. Her face is still obviously slightly in shock from the procedures and she has managed to both age herself and remove the expression completely from her face. Frightening:





Getting less attention this week was Heidi's sometimes co-star on The Hills Kelly Cutrone. She may not have shared any screen time with Heidi but Kelly was as big a part of the show (when it wasn't AWFUL) when she happily tore lazy L.A. girls apart for their lack of work ethic. Having happily moved her antics to the far superior Hills spin off The City, Kelly has finally landed a show of her Kell On Earth. It'll air on US station Bravo next month. Already home of Kathy Griffin, various Real Housewives and the Rachel Zoe I think Miss Cutrone is in excellent company. Kelly was doing press for the show, and one of my favourite blogs Jezebel linked readers to the highlights of her press conference. It's interesting, funny and a great teaser for the show and a reminder of why Cutrone is such a breath of fresh air. A quick dig around Jezebel also pulls up this great profile which sketches in her background as publicist which is fascinating reading.


It's funny how someone like Heidi is convinced that being this plastic will benefit her career. But then you see someone like Kelly. Someone with a genuinely interesting backstory and a career on her own terms who didn't have to alter her face to an ridiculous extent to get there.


Admittedly these aren't totally accurate comparisons. Heidi was a famous girl's friend who aspired to be a popstar. And Kelly clearly stumbled into a career she was made for in a place where how blonde or big her boobs where didn't matter. But still, it's interesting how The Hills has thrown up such different women going on two different paths in the pop culture mainstream.


In a sense the level of outrage, shock and general sense that this does not look good on Heidi might spur people to move away from ever seeing this a look that suits somebody. Having said that, as Heidi points out, life in the permanently perfectly world of Hollywood is very different to anywhere else in the world.


And while we're here, Kell on Earth looks like an awful lot of fun:

Six Pack: Six Internet Things Worth A Gander

Here we are, sliding through snow, battling rain and still looking for a healthy dose of escapism. So fear not here are six internet treats to while away all the "what the hell is the weather doing, I feel like this is some kind of attempt by Al Gore to convince us he was right" madness.

(1) Rihanna interviewed by W Magazine : Fashion bible W get their paws on Rihanna for an great chat that gets across rather succintly everything that makes RiRi so great at the moment. Catch up on it here. You can check out the photospread too which has a great 60s movie star meets high fashion vibe. Great stuff. Thanks for MuuMuse for bringing this to my attention!

(2) Panti is CRAZY: Dublin drag superstar Panti has a rather great deal on for Sundays at her drinking hole (get your minds out of the gutter!). This video has been all over the place this week and with good reason. It is HILARIOUS:

(3) Katherine Lynch Returns: Speaking of hilarious things, Katherine Lynch is back. She may not be everyone's cup of tea but I love her bawdy, rough and tumble humour. Her new series started this Tuesday on RTE and RTE Player their catch up service has it available for a week here, new episodes added weekly

(4) Heidi Montag makes the next "Thriller": Apparently. Her album is no doubt a trash pop masterpiece but this interview with Entertainment Weekly is really interesting. I love the idea that someone can spend that much money on making an album and still not be able to sing. Well worth a read. That album cover is a work of garish art all by itself too:

(5) Ridiculous Cast, Ridiculous Movie: Kristen Bell, Christina Aguilera and Cher in the same film? How can "Burlesque" be anything less than amazing? Sound Off With DJ Taj has loads of photos here. Excitement.

(6) Joss Whedon on where US TV is headed: Fascinating interview with Joss Whedon. There is much chat of his now cancelled series Dollhouse which wraps up soon in the US and also on how Whedon has changed his approach to his work and making content when TV is losing more money than ever. An essential read for anyone the slightest bit interested in US TV and what the internet means for watching TV in general. Spotted via Pink is The New Blog