On the eve of the fall 2009 season premieres of The Hills and The City, MTV's Dan Levy and Jessi Cruickshank give us the scoop on what it's like working on their Gemini-nominated talk series The After Show, hanging out with the cast of The Hills and what we can expect when both The Hills and The City return this week.
Congratulations on The After Show's Gemini nomination for Best Talk Series.
Dan: Thanks! It's nice to have a lot of hard work get noticed. We have such a small team that puts our show together on a daily basis – I think at this point there are only about six of us. While that may sound like a dauntingly small number of people, for the amount of work that everyone does in a day, it's a nice payoff.
Jessi: It's also cool because last year we were nominated for The Hills After Show and this year we're nominated for our Daily After Show which is kind of like a completely different show. So that was exciting for us since it was our own creation.
Have you already picked out your outfits for the awards ceremony?
[They both laugh]
Jessi: Oh, we're still working on what we'll wear for The Hills premiere! I don't think that far in advance because usually my sense of taste changes daily, so I'll figure it out closer to the day.
When it comes to fashion, you both have been on the forefront of the Canadian fashion scene. Not only do you guys attend fashion shows, but you've appeared on the runway at Toronto's Fashion Week. What are your favourite places to shop in Toronto?
Dan: To be honest with you, I find it really hard to shop for menswear in Toronto because the market here is so small. I do a lot of my shopping either online or when I'm traveling. But there are a few places. Sydney;s is probably the best place for menswear. Jonathan and Olivia is another great spot in Toronto – and Nomad.
The Daily After Show seems like a lot of fun…do you both have a big influence on some of the topics you guys cover?
Jessi: We are producers and writers of the show which is so fun because we're not like talking heads or reading off the teleprompter. We actually pick and choose every story that we cover and how we cover it. Every word we say is our own. We actually have a lot of control over it.
The show is only 30 minutes. Are there certain topics you wish you had more time to cover?
Dan: I think that we have trouble condensing everything we want to say about a Hills episode into a [half hour] episode [of The Hills After Show]. When it comes to the daily show, we try to find out what people are watching and what will pique peoples' interests – for example, I just saw the movie, The Cove. [We have] the ability to see a movie and then talk about it and have nothing be off limits. When it comes to content, it is a freedom that we will never really take for granted.
The After Show is MTV's second highest-rated series and it was picked up by MTV in the States. When you guys got picked up, did you feel you had to start censoring yourselves because the cast could be watching?
Jessi: Well, when we first went into the States, it didn't really make a difference – we were still doing the same TV show and we didn't really think that The Hills cast would be watching. We were just doing our regular show – and then our producers started getting calls, literally from Spencer on Tuesday morning, not happy with what had been said the night before. We eventually started to realize that the cast was watching and were starting to get upset with certain things what we were saying. Spencer and Heidi, for awhile, refused to come on our show because of what we said about them. We try not to censor ourselves because at the end of the day, we try to speak and say the things that everybody is thinking – and if we started censoring ourselves, it wouldn't be that fun to watch.
Dan: In terms of cast involvement, when we first started airing in the States, people didn't really know what to make of our show because it was the very first time that people had this outlet that was sort of talking about what people were thinking but you would never think about airing that on TV. At first, people think that it's a negative thing against the show. I mean, we're never talking about how stupid the content is – it's merely just funny observations. I think that it took a little while before the cast and the audience in the States really caught on to the fact that this is sort of a funny counterpart to The Hills and not something that was going against it.
Jessi, you recently interviewed Heidi and Spencer and judging by the preview, you actually ask Heidi some tough questions. How are Speidi in person? Are they as vain as they appear to be on TV?
Jessi: That was one of the most bizarre weekends that I have ever – ever – had! It was supposed to only be one interview with them but then they kept calling us and saying that they wanted to do more interviews. They wanted us to follow them with cameras to a nightclub. They wanted to spend every moment of their weekend on camera. And that was a pretty strange thing when you think about it. You can see from the special that they are absolutely shameless about promoting products, themselves and their desire to become the next Michael Jackson or Brad and Angelina. In a way, I got a new perspective on them. They put it out there…they are so blatant and honest about it. It doesn't seem as horrible as I had originally thought. I'm not saying they've become more likeable – they are more ridiculous but it is that ridiculousness that makes them fun to watch.
They obviously pale in comparison to the stuff you've witnessed by working with Free the Children. Jessi, can you give us an update on your work with the foundation?
Jessi: That's a funny transition! I'm working as an ambassador and had the opportunity to travel to Kenya and live in a mud hut this summer. I will be bringing back some footage and talking a lot about my experiences there on October 5th at "We Day" here in Toronto. Vancouver is going to obviously be unbelievable because the Dalai Lama is going to be there. If it wasn't for the big Hills premiere, I would have loved to be there. Another exciting project that I am doing within the next month is myself and the girls from The Hills/City, Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Lo Bosworth and Whitney Port have all donated dresses that we've worn to big premieres, finales and red carpet events. We will be auctioning them off to try to raise enough money to build a school in the area of Kenya that I worked in the summer. So that's a huge project coming up that ties in with The Hills and The City with Free the Children.
You've obviously spent time with the cast members over the past few years and have gotten to know them. What is it like hanging out with them outside the studio?
Jessi: It's not like they play a character on TV and then are different in real life. The most bizarre thing is thing is that they are all similar and that what you see on TV is essentially what you get. Lauren has given us some of those signature "Lauren looks" that you've seen her give other people on The Hills. We've had some fun nights out with the girls. They're always up for a good time when they come to Toronto.
Dan: Totally. There's one particular memory that I have from a couple of years ago when Lauren and Auudrina came to town. Everyone had decided to go out and someone, I don't really know how, but I ended up in a car with them and we wanted to get something to eat. It was in the early hours of the morning and I, of course, took them to Fran's. I should have probably thought of a more discreet place to take two of reality television's biggest stars! We went to Fran's and it was closed! So at this point, I have Lauren Conrad banging on the window of the Fran's at Yonge and College, yelling at them to open it for us! That was always a strange mental picture that I have kept with me ever since.
Dan, looks like you had an awesome Super Sweet Twenty Six. Are there any other MTV series that you'd like to do? Your very own episode of Cribs? How about something similar to It's On with Alexa Chung?
Dan: [Laughs] Well, I actually got to meet and chat with Alexa which was great; it happened a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun doing the Super Sweet Twenty Six. I think that doing an episode of Cribs would be a very big disappointment for the people at home.
Jessi: [Laughs]
Dan: My fridge is stocked with some wilted lettuce and a tomato! I think that what's great about the Daily After Show is how closely linked it is to pop culture and the ability to sort of manipulate our show into other shows and take reference from one thing to another. We really hope to throw another party sometime soon. It was such a success. The whole city at one point was talking about this thing I just wanted to throw a really good birthday party. On top of that, the amount of press that it generated for the show – it was a very funny and successful little venture. We're really hoping to throw another party like that sometime soon and hopefully open it up to people so that they can come.
You guys have watched the first few new episodes of The Hills and The City, what can you tell us? Can you give us a sneak peak?
Dan: Very exciting!
Jessi: The first episode of The Hills with Kristin Cavallari -- not only is the bitch back, the bitch is crazy, but in the best possible way. She is the most entertaining part of the first episode. I think that people are actually going to love watching her. I was worried she'd make the show kind of trashy but she's actually kind of likeable and very entertaining.
Dan: I was sort of on the fence when I heard that she was coming back and with Lauren being away from the show now, I really didn't know what to expect. I can honestly say that Kristin breathes such a life back into the show and takes it to a new place, which is fun for us because there's a lot to talk about and I also think its fun for the viewers at home because they will see The Hills in a way that they didn't with Lauren. So, I'm excited. I think that people are really going to like it and it was a much needed change – in terms of taking the show somewhere new and different. I'm excited and I know it'll be great.
We've seen some new promo pictures of Whitney and Oliva Palermo with their new City cast members. It seems much more fashion and work oriented than the first season. Is this the new focus of the series? Are they leaving the relationship drama for The Hills and focusing on workplace drama instead?
Jessi: Based on the first episode, it looks like it. You have Olivia working at Elle and Whitney is going to start to work on her new fashion line so we are going to see a lot more fashion stuff, which I'm really excited about. But at the same time, I know there's going to be a big focus on Whitney's relationship life – she's single. It might take a bit of a backseat, but it'll still be there.
Dan: And it's a whole new cast.
Are they going to be addressing the whole Roxy Olin situation? She's been on The Hills before where she was a good friend of Stephanie's. Her parents are well known in Hollywood where her father, Ken Olin, produces and guest stars on Brothers & Sisters. Her mother, Patricia Wettig also has a starring role on that series and, in fact, Roxy guest starred on an episode of the first season. I remember reading that Wettig even cautioned her daughter not to make any more guest appearances on The Hills if she wanted an acting career.
Dan: Well, I can't say anything yet – but what I will say is that what doesn't get covered on the show, will absolutely be covered by our show. So all basis are covered when it comes to the Roxy situation.
What have been your favourite moments from The After Show?
Jessi: There's been a lot!
Dan: I think that it's the times that we go and interact with the cast. I think that all the finales that we do are fun. The Hills [season four] finale in New York was such a funny time. I'm just speaking on my own personal experience at these shows, but the first time that we got to speak with Heidi and Spencer in New York was hilarious. It's sort of nice to reconnect with the cast from time to time and sort of have that crossover. I think that's important.
Jessi: We made Heidi and Spencer do tequila shots before we spoke to them at the finale, so that made for a good time! The weekend that I went with Heidi and Spencer [to the Bahamas for the Miss Universe Pageant, where Heidi performed] was one of the craziest and most fun weekends I've had. There were no rules. No Hills producers telling me what I could or couldn't ask. I got to ask them anything that I wanted and I had a lot of questions for them. That was a highlight for me, for sure.
You looked scared at one point during the interview at the nightclub. It was as if they were holding you hostage.
Jessi: There was a little bit of tension.
Were you scared at all?
Jessi: Yes and no. They're a little bit of a team and Spencer has an answer for anything. If Spencer had blatantly done something horrible in front of me, he would still find a way to deny it. They're hard to crack, but once we had spent three days together, I was finally able to ask them the harder questions. That's when they didn't hold back – neither did I. There's some arguments, there's a little bit of yelling between the three of us, but it all makes for good TV, right?
The new season of The Hills premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on MTV and is followed by The Hills After Show with Dan and Jessi at 10:30. The second season of The City has its Canadian premiere Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m. and is also followed by The City After Show.
© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.
