Kate Winslet evening photoes
"Gossip Girl" spinoff to be launched
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- "Gossip Girl" creators and executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are proceeding with a spinoff to be aired as an episode on May 11.
The new CW project will serve as a prequel to the hot sophomore drama and chronicle the wild teen years of "Gossip Girl's" Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford) in Los Angeles in the 1980s, when she was known by her maiden name, Lily Rhodes.
The spinoff will center on young Lily Rhodes, who, after a falling out with her parents, is forced to move in with her sister, the black sheep of the Rhodes family. Overnight, Lily has to transition from a life of luxury and schooling at a wealthy Montecito boarding school to living deep in the San Fernando Valley she once made fun of and going to public school.
Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the 1980s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own. Eventually, she meets rocker Rufus Humphrey for a fling that will result in Lily's secret pregnancy.
Schwartz and Savage said they didn't want to diminish "Gossip Girl" or upset the show's chemistry by spinning off a character; they also said they didn't want to dilute the metropolitan feel of the New York-set original -- hence the decision to set the spinoff in 1980s L.A.
"We are inspired by the opportunity to tell overlapping stories and introduce characters that will appear in the past and the present-and hopefully enrich both shows," said Schwartz. "We love exploring fashion, pop culture, music and a heightened world that's just a little more fun than the one we actually live in. L.A. in the '80s totally fits the bill."
Ballet dancers pose for media in Berlin
Dancers of the ballet of Friedrichstadtpalast music hall pose for the media during a promotion event, in Berlin January 14, 2009. [Agencies]
Dancers of the ballet of Friedrichstadtpalast music hall pose for the media during a promotion event, in Berlin January 14, 2009. [Agencies]
Dancers of the ballet of Friedrichstadtpalast music hall pose for the media during a promotion event, in Berlin January 14, 2009. [Agencies]
Dancers of the ballet of Friedrichstadtpalast music hall pose for the media during a promotion event, in Berlin January 14, 2009. [Agencies]
Dancers of the ballet of Friedrichstadtpalast music hall pose for the media during a promotion event, in Berlin January 14, 2009. [Agencies]
