CITAZIONE
The well-heeled denizens of Gossip Girl occupied Wall Street — namely, Cipriani Club 55 — on Saturday night to fete the CW series’ 100th episode, airing Jan. 30. Seeing as the landmark hour centers around Blair’s wedding to Prince Louis, the cast was on strict orders to, ironically, not gossip about what happens, so “I can’t tell you” and “I’m not allowed to say” were frequent refrains. Even so, TVLine gleaned enough teasey tidbits to paint a provocative wedding picture….
WHAT’S IN A NAME? | It took some coaxing, but executive producer Josh Safran ultimately was too excited to share with us what he called ”the perfect title” for the 100th episode: “The title is ‘G.G.,’ as in the movie Gigi” — but spelled as in the show’s monogram. Nonetheless, I point you to Gigi‘s IMDb page should anyone wish to read into that name choice.
ARE WE IN FACT HEADING FOR A WEDDING? | “A wedding will take place in the episode,” exec producer Stephanie Savage promised. Upon noting my raised eyebrow, she added with an evil-ish chuckle, “But I didn’t say how much of the wedding.” Yeah, we’ll have more on that in a bit….
RUNAWAY RUMOR | The “tell-tale” photo (seen here) that made rounds last week and convinced (some) fans that Blair will bail on her big day? The producers were quick to note that the scene Leighton Meester shot could be but a dream.
DANCING WITH THE U.E.S.-ERS | Mark Piznarski, whose directing credits include Gossip Girl‘s pilot and Episode 100, teased that at the very start of the hour, “You’re going to see something that the cast has never done before.” Though he kept mum on details, Blake Lively later revealed to the press that on Friday, “We shot a big dance sequence.”
DAN & BLAIR | Turning to one of Blair’s non-royal romantic options, Penn Badgley told me that come wedding day, “Dan has a role to play that is not conventional” — and once viewers lay witness to what it is, “There will be a lot of gasping,” he reckons.
CHUCK & BLAIR | After waving me off somewhat, explaining, “I’ve got specific notes about what I’m allowed to say,” Ed Westwick did allow that “]of course” there will be Chuck/Blair scenes in No. 100. When I relayed some readers’ wish that Chuck “ride up on a horse and whisk the bride away,” he shared, “I’ve actually been taking riding lessons … but no, it’s not going to happen. The horse part, that is.”
FATHER SCOOPS BEST! | Remember how Savage hinted above at a perhaps-waylaid wedding? To hear John Shea (aka the father of the bride) tell it, Blair at the very least gets to the altar. In describing the emotions he felt walking his TV daughter down the aisle, he said, “When you see her [in the dress], it sort of stops your breath. And then as we approach the altar, there’s the whole cast, everybody who’s been there for all these five years.” Oops?
HAPPILY EVER AFTER? | Previewing the episode, Meester herself said, “[Blair]‘s engaged to a prince, so what could be better than that? But then you realize that the fairytale isn’t 100-percent perfect.” So which gent does she think could offer a better chance at giving the would-be princess a happy ending? “Her and Chuck have had ups and down, and as much as everyone loves them together I think that them having time apart has actually helped Blair grow — and weirdly helped me grow, too,” the actress offered. She then continued, “The one relationship I’d love to see play out is Blair and Dan — just selfishly, honestly, because I love working with Penn. So we’ll see!”
