michael.ausiello

Any O.C. spoilers? I'm hoping ...

Question: Any O.C. spoilers? I'm hoping this will get me on your board next week! Answer: Not to be nitpicky, but my, um, board has a name, and it's Ask Ausiello. Please, show a little respect — especially since I'm about to share with you snippets of my conversation with O.C. chief Josh Schwartz at Fox's press tour soirée last week. "Sandy and Kirsten are going to come back together as a great loving couple and the great parents that they were in Year 1, although Kirsten's not going to be so ready to come home [from rehab] right away. All of our core couples are really going to try to stay together and make it work this year. Seth and Summer are going to be together; Ryan and Marissa are going to do their best to be together, but the forces of fate are

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Help me! There's all this ...

Question: Help me! There's all this buzz about someone big leaving Alias and everyone thinks it is Michael Vartan! Answer: (SPOILER ALERT!) The only buzz that I'm prepared to confirm at this point is that my good buddy (and Felicity costar) Greg Grunberg is indeed exiting the show — of his own accord. "It's just time for me to go," he tells me. "Doing [the J.J. Abrams-produced drama pilot] The Catch felt so right and, although it didn't get picked up, it really gave me the itch to do something where I have a larger role. I'm going to miss everyone on Alias

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

So, you've been on hiatus a ...

Question: So, you've been on hiatus a long time! That means you must have a lot of Gilmore Girls spoilers. So… c'mon… spill! Answer: Well, I've got a few. (SPOILER ALERT!) The season premiere will pick right up at the diner with Luke answering Lorelai's proposal (hint: His response rhymes with "less" or "ho"); Lorelai's estrangement from Rory will lead her to take in a "boarder" in search of companionship; and a judge will hand Rory a rather shocking (read: hilarious) sentence for her role in that boat theft.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Do you know if they will ever ...

Question: Do you know if they will ever air the other episodes of Eyes?Answer: McPherson also touched on that. Sadly, the answer is no. On the bright side, Eric Mabius is gonna be on on The O.C.!

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Why isn't Lost's Maggie Grace ...

Question: Why isn't Lost's Maggie Grace going to be in X3?Answer: Let's ask her boss, exec producer Damon Lindelof. "She's on our show," he told me at press tour. "That movie starts shooting [this month]. I would be an idiot to let her go do a movie in the middle [of our season]." Lindelof insists no one — including Grace herself — knows how the X3 rumors got started. "The only call she ever made to us was, 'You're going to read about this [in the Hollywood trades]; I don't know what it is, it's not true. I didn't read for the part, I wasn't offered the part, I didn't accept the part. I'm happy to be on

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

What did you say to Hugh ...

Question: What did you say to Hugh Laurie that made him crack up at the Television Critics Association Awards? I must know! Answer: We were trading Vicodin war stories.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Any truth to the rumors that ...

Question: Any truth to the rumors that 24 producers are going to kill off several series regulars in the season premiere? Answer: All executive producer Evan Katz would tell me at Fox's press tour party Friday night is that dead-man-walking Jack Bauer will be brought back into the fold "in a really explosive and traumatic two-hour way." (The key word being “traumatic.”) Katz added that the whole Chinese Embassy plot will be partially wrapped up in the season opener. "Pieces of it will be resolved, but pieces of it we will reserve." As far as who will be back, Katz wouldn't confirm any names other than previously announced series regulars Kiefer Sutherland, Carlos Bernard and Mary Lynn Rajskub. He did, however, promise that

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

I hope you are not coming ...

Question: I hope you are not coming back from your trip without any info on Nip/Tuck. If you are, I hope your toothache comes back.Answer: What a sweetheart you are, Pam! Luckily, I do have a little Nip nugget to share. (SPOILER ALERT!) Turns out, Bruno Campos' mysterious doc bats for both teams — a little fact Christian (Julian McMahon) discovers during a ménage à trois. Talk about awkward.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

I enjoyed your Press Tour ...

Question: I enjoyed your Press Tour Diaries. However, a tough TV writer would have made it through the day with the bad tooth rather than bolt early to get a root canal! Answer: You're gonna regret that remark next time your Vicodin stash runs dry.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Any scoop on Veronica Mars?

Question: Any scoop on Veronica Mars? Answer: "In Episode 1 there's going to be a death," teases series creator Rob Thomas. "In Episode 1 we will introduce the big mystery, and there won't be any doubt about it. If you're wondering, 'Is this is the big mystery?' then it hasn't happened yet." Much more on Veronica Mars — including scoop on Season 3 (yeah, you read that correctly) — in next week's AA.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

What happened to The O.C. ...

Question: What happened to The O.C. spin-off?Answer: Josh Schwartz's movie career happened, that's what. As if running the third season of The O.C. weren't enough, Schwartz is preparing to make his big-screen directorial debut with the Paramount flick Looking for Alaska, which begins shooting this summer. "I'll get through this season and then jump into the movie," he says.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Your Press Tour Diaries were ...

Question: Your Press Tour Diaries were hilarious! So how's the tooth?Answer: It's fantastic, actually. If anyone ever needs a root canal, I highly recommend Dr. Monempour of 436 North Bedford Dr., Suite 416, Beverly Hills, Calif. (If that doesn't get me a discount on my follow-up visit next month, then I give up.)

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

What is in that hatch!?

Question: What is in that hatch!? Answer: Here's what isn't, per Lindelof: "There aren't aliens there; there isn't a time-travel portal; they're not going to find a ship that'll blast them off into space… It very easily could have been: They go into the tunnel; they find some maps; there are some more tunnels down there; there are more doors they can't open, but I'd be like, 'That is the suckiest thing!' We wanted it to be something great, something cool and something that was risky. I guarantee you there will be some people who do not like what they find in the hatch. But we feel that it's very bold and very daring and we wanted it to be something big and important, because people have put so much trust in us. We found this door in the 10th episode of the show and 13 episodes later they finally open it up, so what's inside has got to be something big."

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Ausiello.... what the crap? I ...

Question: Ausiello.... what the crap? I need Matt Czuchry (Logan) scoop, like... yesterday. Answer: Great news! Rory's beau has been officially made a series regular and will even grace the opening credits this fall!

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

What is the deal, man? You ...

Question: What is the deal, man? You have been silent on Lost for a few weeks now. I depend on you! Gimme me something, please! Answer: Let me try to make up for, um, lost time, John. "I guarantee you by the end of the first episode you will see what is in the hatch — and not just a little bit of it," Damon Lindelof reveals. Adds fellow exec producer Carlton Cuse: "We're going all the way down. We're paying it off."

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Any news on Scott Patterson ...

Question: Any news on Scott Patterson (Luke) re-signing for a seventh season of Gilmore Girls? Answer: No, and there probably won't be for a few more months. BTW, prepare to see an even-skinnier Luke when GG debuts next month. I spotted Patterson at WB's press tour party, and I swear it looks like he dropped another 15 lbs. over the summer.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Dude, why didn't you cover ...

Question: Dude, why didn't you cover House in last Friday's Press Tour Diary? What happened on the panel? Answer: Sorry about that. I was running up against my East Coast deadline and something had to give. Of course, nothing much was said that AA readers didn't already know: Sela Ward's back for seven episodes….  LL Cool J is guest-starring in the season premiere.... Oh, there was something new: Exec producer David

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

I heard Peter Wingfield from ...

Question: I heard Peter Wingfield from Highlander is joining 24. Answer: That's news to me. At this point, Jean Smart, Connie Britton and Brady Corbett are the only new 24 hires — although Evan Katz did hint that there are more to come. Speaking of Smart, she'll be playing President Logan's wife and Katz says the duo make "a fantastic pair." He also denies that Logan is dumber than the best episode of Yes, Dear — as many people (including yours truly)

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

I miss you. I am having AA ...

Question: I miss you. I am having AA withdrawals. Hope you write a juicy column when you return. Answer: How am I doing so far? (Pretty good, IMHO.)

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

I love you. Will you have my ...

Question: I love you. Will you have my babies? Answer: Can I just send you something frozen?

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Please, I am desperate to ...

Question: Please, I am desperate to know who will be replacing Sasha Alexander's character on NCIS! Answer: The answer is in the next issue of TV Guide (on sale next week.) Here's a hint: Think Jim Carrey.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wow, it must be nice to take ...

Question: Wow, it must be nice to take two weeks off!  (Ha, just kidding.) Got any Alias scoop? Answer: That was a real knee-slapper, Dustin. ABC president Steve McPherson told me that it's 80 percent likely that this will be Alias' final season. He also said that despite her pregnancy, Jennifer Garner will appear in every episode this season — even if that means producing fewer episodes. Finally, McPherson expects her maternity leave will result in a longer-than-usual winter hiatus, with the show going off the air at the end of November and returning sometime in March or early April.

Wed, Aug 3, 2005

Wed, Aug 3, 2005