West Coast Dispatch
From In Style's Mark Morrison in Los Angeles: What do the initials of the new
CW Television Network—the long-anticipated merger of UPN and the WB—stand for? Well, after attending the fledgling network’s launch party at Warner Bros. Studios on Monday night, I'd have to say the letters stand for
crazy and
wild.
Kristen Bell and Tom Welling
Michael Caulfield/WireImage
Waiting to get in, I bumped into hard-working CAA agent Tracy Brennan, there to catch up with her client Kristen Bell, the petite blonde better known to TV fans as savvy high-school sleuth
Veronica Mars. Tracy barely looked up from her BlackBerry as a Warner Bros. shuttle dropped us off on the green carpet—that’s right: green, not red.
http://partyhopper.instyle.com/2006/09/west_coast_disp_7.html#more“Where are you?” she said into the phone, trying to find Kristen, who was in town from San Diego (where she shoots the mystery series) along with co-stars Enrico Colantoni and Jason Gohring. But the faux historic New York street, with its faux storefronts, was already so packed with guests that it was virtually impossible to find anybody.
“We’re standing in front of the CW Grill,” Tracy shouted into her phone, “right near 7th Heavenly Sweets.” (Mini cupcakes anyone?)
And those weren’t the only cleverly titled CW-themed food stations that had been set up for the big bash. The scent of freshly rolled cigars poured from Supernatural Smoke and Spirits, while manicurists at the Girlfriends Beauty Boutique filed, buffed and polished with the latest colors from
OPI. One Tree Hill Grill was a popular place for Kobe-beef burgers, and the Veronica Mars Bar had plenty of free Mars energy bars to go.
Blue Man Group took the stage as the first-season stars of the CW stood nearby: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Tyra Banks, Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, Stephen Collins, Beverley Mitchell, Sharon Lawrence and, finally, Kristen Bell.
There was also Terry Crews and young Tyler James Williams of
Everybody Hates Chris; Donnie Wahlberg of the new
Runaway; Tracee Ellis Ross of
Girlfriends; and Tia Mowry of
The Game (a new
Girlfriends spinoff).
After a splashy countdown, as green foil confetti filled the air to officially announce the launch, the actors practically ran for cover. Padalecki, whose hair these days is floppier than Hugh Grant’s, posed for photos with an endless number of female admirers. The towering Banks was escorted through the crowd. Others all but disappeared (early call times perhaps?).
Heading for a tram ride out of there myself, I bumped into
Everybody Hates Chris co-creator Ali LeRoi, who told me the sitcom’s second season has started well. “But I don’t like to overstate the case,” he said. This is a fickle business, after all. The dreadlocked Ali is probably one of the tallest, coolest producers in town. And did I say funniest?
Let’s hope his clever series (inspired by his pal Chris Rock’s childhood years growing up in Brooklyn) finds an even bigger audience this season on the CW. And that some of the other series find a happy home at the new network. Predictions, anyone?
instyle.com