The Gossip Girl actress was joined by Katharina Harf, Bernd Beetz and Vera Wang, a global fashion designer and a tremendous supporter of Coty’s and DKMS’s efforts, as she participated in the special morning lighting event.

“I am glad to join Katharina, Bernd, and Vera in their fight against leukemia and to celebrate the 5th Annual DKMS Gala,” said Leighton. “The Empire State Building will shine red and white tonight to honor the thousands of patients awaiting life-saving bone marrow transplants and inspire anyone eligible to get swabbed with DKMS and save a life!”

Every four minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer and every 10 minutes blood cancer takes a precious life. Many could be saved by a bone marrow transplant, but sadly there are not enough donors for everyone. Indeed, six out of ten patients never receive the lifesaving transplant they need.

Question: Your cryptic Gossip Girl tease in last week’s Ask Ausiello is Freaking. Me. Out. What do you mean Chuck would never intentionally do harm to Blair. What happens?! —Sam
Ausiello: There’s really only one more thing to say on this subject: There will be blood.

Granted it took a moment to collect myself after that epic Dan/Blair kiss, but was it really necessary for “Gossip Girl” to take a seven week break to let us cool off?!? Thankfully the horrible hiatus ended last night as we returned to the Upper East Side with “The Kid Stays in the Picture.” An episode that not only introduced Serena’s curious cousin Charlie and brought back the Parisian Prince, but featured Vanessa taking things to the next level in her undying quest to be the most annoying character on television.

But first things first, dodging the debris in the fallout from Blair & Dan’s earth shaking (just for me?) kiss. To make sense of it all, PopWrap rang up “GG” executive producer Joshua Safran for a little Q&A session.

PopWrap: When did you guys decide to bring back Prince Louis?
Joshua Safran: He’s always been in our minds when it came to planning out the season – hence Blair leaving the shoe in Paris. The return of Louis opens us up to look at all the different facets to Blair. That’s what this season has been – investigating all her dimensions and sides. What Chuck represents, what Dan represents, what Serena represents, what the Prince represents. It’s our schematic for Blair and been our umbrella since the beginning of the season.

PW: But fans (yours truly included) have really taken to the idea of Dan & Blair as a couple. Did that reaction surprised you?
Joshua: We were definitely nervous but we knew from episode four in season one that there was a connection there. We’ve been clear throughout all the seasons that they have similar interests. It’s been in the back of our minds forever — we had talked at the beginning of season three if that was the time for Dan and Blair to happen since they were both going to NYU, but it didn’t feel right. So by the time we got there in season four, it made logical sense. Like we had kind of earned it over the years.

PW: Last night’s episode seemingly closed the door on a future for Dair but the commercial have made it seem like Dan vs. Chuck vs. Louis will be a driving force up until Blair’s engagement in the season finale. Which is it?
Joshua: All I will say is the Dan/Blair story is not over. And who says the engagement is in the season finale? [laughs] Blair spends the next few episodes looking at all the different facets of her life that these men represent when it comes to making her big choice. I love that each option carries with it logical reasons — there’s no “right” choice, it’s all about her making the smartest decision for herself.

PW: This week also introduced Serena’s cousin Charlie — what was the genesis of that character?
Joshua: Carol was mentioned in the pilot and in the flashback episode from season two, so we always knew there was an aunt, and once you start talking about her life, it was very natural to think about her having a daughter. Charlie is like a new motor – someone who hasn’t seen this world before and has her face pressed up against the glass looking in the window. But the difference here is Charlie actually has a rightful place at the table. So it’s interesting to have someone who not only wants in, but is owed in.

PW: How does she factor into next week’s episode, “Petty in Pink?”
Joshua: As you know, Vanessa has called Serena, so next week Serena gets that message and enlists her cousin’s help in trying to decipher it. Charlie’s in every episode through the finale, including the finale, and has scenes with everybody — but her biggest stories include Serena, first and foremost, and Dan as well because she’s in that house, that’s her world.

PW: Vanessa has been a character who has sort of faded in and out this season while polarizing fans in the process — like with the bold move of calling Serena — have you struggled to find things for her to do?
Joshua: I think Vanessa has always served a very specific purpose for us – she’s Brooklyn, she’s an outsider, she’s been tempted occasionally, but unlike Dan or Jenny, she’s stayed on the outside more often than not. But as you can see, this season she’s gone a little bit further outside because her ways of trying to get people to admit who they are don’t work. I think her actions come from a place of wanting to protect the people she loves. And if you think that phonecall was bold, just keep watching! She’s really going to try to be heard. That’s what you’ll see in the last few episodes.

PW: Let’s talk about these next five episodes — what are you looking forward to fans seeing in them?
Joshua: These last five are great. I’m excited about every one of them – from the introduction of Charlie to the return of the Prince to the Thorpe story coming to a head to Jack Bass & Georgina returning — it’s just a full meal and it just gets better and better. There are multiple cliffhangers that carry lots of weight, but the season finale will give you a big indication of where the show is headed in season five more so than in previous seasons.

Gossip Girl returns from its two month-long hiatus tonight with the first of five all-new episodes and an answer to this burning question: Dan and Blair kissed — now what?!

Well, based on the following exclusive clip from the eppy, the smooch leads to what I can only assume will be the first of several tense encounters between Dan and B’s ex Chuck. The following scene also confirms what I long suspected: Dan has genuine feelings for his onetime nemesis.

‘GOSSIP GIRL’ BOSSES ON FINALE

If you haven’t picked up this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, may I suggest you do it post-haste, Gossip fans? Seriously. EW has an exclusive First Look at the Gossip Girl finale, and once you see this photo, you’ll want the full story, which is…

We knew the final episode of this insane season would be momentous, but this two-parter (airing May 9 and 16) promises not only multiple cliffhangers, multiple parties, and a love square that has more than stirred up Gossip land in recent weeks, but there’s also a sweet moment, seemingly crafted especially for the Chair fan in my heart. Executive producer Stephanie Savage explains:

“We want to be a little mysterious. We love the idea, first and foremost, that it’s Chair, in chairs,” she says of the sneak peek.

Fellow exec producer Josh Safran adds: “It could be a wedding. It could be a bris, if you see yarmulkes in the photo. It could be someone’s bat mitzvah, maybe Eleanor’s, because she’s converting to Judaism.” Joking aside, “It’s on the Internet already that Blair is going to get engaged in the last several episodes. So this may or may not have something to do with that.”

But what about the seemingly happy place Blair and Chuck seem to be in? It’s been a long time coming, they say. “We’re setting up this story where Blair has always been in search of her fairy tale,” Savage says. “So the end of this season, Blair’s story is very much about, What is that fairy tale? Is that fairy tale being with her first great love, Chuck Bass? Is that fairy tale being with Prince Louis, who people know is coming back to the show? Or is that fairy tale being with the dark horse in the race, Brooklynite Dan Humphrey, who we’ve seen recently she has so much in common with?”

“We try to build everyone’s story so they can all collide into each other, and I just feel like what you can expect is the fun of watching how the stories intersect, and what happens when you do,” Safran adds.

I don’t know how much more of all this drama I can take. Wait, yes I do. A LOT MORE.

“GOSSIP GIRL” — (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET)
“The Princesses and the Frog” (TV-14, D sptv050769) (HDTV)

IT’S WAR BETWEEN SERENA AND BLAIR — Blair’s (Leighton Meester) dreams appear to be coming true, but Serena (Blake Lively) threatens to jeopardize it all by dredging up Blair’s past. Charlie (guest star Kaylee DeFer) befriends Vanessa (Jessica Szohr), who may or may not have a hidden agenda. Nate (Chace Crawford) is torn between his relationship with Raina (guest star Tika Sumpter) and a truth he must keep hidden out of loyalty to Chuck (Ed Westwick). Penn Badgley, Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle also star. Andrew McCarthy directed the episode written by Leila Gerstein (##420).

Gossip Girl finally returns next Monday and the final five episodes of this season are Blair-tastic! Our favorite Queen B (Leighton Meester) might actually be getting royal (her European prince is back in town), her days macking on Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and duelling to the death with soulmate Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).

We just talked to Gossip bosses Stephanie Savage and Josh Safran, and they revealed what’s driving Blair’s decisions, how family secrets are going to change celebutante blond Serena (Blake Lively) and which original character is getting a shocking reveal four seasons in the making:

Are Dan and Blair still a going concern or are they totally done? Will they ever have stories together again?
JS: There will absolutely continue to be stories of the two of them together, definitely. All the way up through the finale. And beyond.
SS: And beyond.

What can you tell us about a possible Chuck and Blair reunion?
JS: Chuck and Blair are very much connected in this pod. How that connection bears itself out, I just think we’ve got to wait and see. But the dynamics that have been brewing all season with them—Blair wanting to be powerful, Chuck waiting for her. All of that stuff is definitely very much prevalent in these last five.

Speaking of Blair’s desire to be powerful, has Blair settled on a specific ambition and goal at this point? For example, does she still want to be a fashion editor?
Something presents itself very soon that answers that question.

Are we on our way to seeing Princess Blair?
Just wait.

Do you think Dan really fell for Blair?
Dan will continue to be involved with Blair and in Blair’s story. And then he also gets a bit of a new relationship.

Is Dan’s new relationship with Serena’s cousin Charlie (Kaylee DeFer)?
JS: Wait and see, but I also think something happens regarding Dan’s character that has actually been secretly brewing for a long time. It’s something that I think will reshape his character.

What can we expect for Nate (Chace Crawford) and Vanessa’s (Jessica Szohr) characters in this last batch of episodes?
JS: Nate continues his relationship with Raina (Tika Sumpter), and he’s very much folded into that story. And Vanessa tries to get back in the good graces of everybody, and we’ll see she’ll end of trying larger and larger things until there is one very very big thing that will happen that changes things.

With the arrest and the return of William van der Woodsen, there has to be a lot going on with Rufus and Lily’s clan, right?
JS: Oh tons. [Laughs.] It’s always fun when you get all of them together, even when you get any three of those characters together it’s fun. We’re starting this—episode 18 starts the last five, but it also introduces Charlie, introduces a lot of stuff about the Rhodes family and van der Woodsens that we have never seen or known about before. That’s seen through every episode until the end. You constantly learn more and more about Carol (Sheila Kelly), about Charlie, about Lily and Carol’s relationship and about CeCe (Caroline Lagerfelt), their mother. It just keeps growing.
SS: Aunt Carol in Miami is a character who’s mentioned in passing in the pilot. So it was great to meet past aunt Carol two seasons ago and grownup Carol in this episode and to meet her daughter, who is Serena and Eric’s cousin.

And I assume this all comes back to Serena in the end?
JS: Definitely.
SS: Yeah.

Can you expand on how it effects her?
JS: The first half of the season was about Serena sort of being gaslit and wondering what it is that she could have done and then discovering that it wasn’t her, it was her mother and that fractured them. So we proceeded along looking back at the past at what happened and not, and now this last five are sort of showing how the family comes back together and what this new family dynamic is going to be. That will definitely spin Serena off into a new direction. I think it would be honestly too delicious to spoil.

One or another of the actors occasionally says they might be done with the show soon, is there any plan in place to end the show? Do you have an end date in mind?
SS: The reality of television life is that the actors have six-year contracts. So any things that the actors have said have been in the context of that lifespan. Which isn’t to say that there isn’t life of the show beyond that but we’re just excited about finishing up season four and hopefully getting a season five, and generally making that the best season of the show that we’ve ever done.

I’m impressed with all that you’ve done and your stamina in keeping the show so vibrant this far in.
SS: Honestly I think I can speak for all the writers, the show is an incredible passion for us and that writing it is a pleasure and we love the characters and the world so much that its really hard to imagine a life without them. And that is pretty sustaining on a daily basis.

filigree_apogee: Any good news for Chuck/Blair fans?
Yes and no. First the good news: Dair haters can breathe a sigh of relief—that Dan (Penn Badgley) and Blair (Leighton Meester) nomance nonsense appears to be over. That doesn’t mean they’ve stopped kissing…but their last liplock is just for show (but to a much bigger audience than they intended, oops). And now for the really bad news:

BonnieClyde19: Anything else happening with Chair on Gossip Girl? How about Chuck, will we see him mature?
Mature Chuck (Ed Westwick) does make a brief appearance in the coming episodes—but so does Party Chuck and Player Chuck, whom Blair wants nothing to do with.

wrightst3: Is there anything coming up on Gossip Girl for Chair fans to get excited about?
If by “excited” you mean “distressed and overwrought,” then yes, you are about to get very excited. And speaking of excitement, Queen B herself has caught royal wedding fever, but not even the opportunity to wear Princess Di’s dress is enough to lure Blair back to Chuck’s side. Especially when another Prince Charming sweeps her off her feet. Want more Chair stuff? Of course you do, so check back later this week for more on the Upper East Side gang from Gossip bosses Stephanie Savage and Josh Safran, including promises about Chair and a really tantalizing tease about…Dan. Yes, you heard us: Dan goodies. You know you want ‘em…right?

Thanks for the #gossipgirl #chuckandblair scoop. Any more hints? Will Chuck fight for Blair? Will Chuck and Dan fight it out? — @carlybb
When you say “fight” do you mean literally? If so, then no. Actually, if you’re a Chuck and Blair fan who is hating on the Hump, prepare for your hate to diminish a bit after the first episode back (airing April 18).

Can you please tell us anything about the Gossip Girl triangle that will most likely be Chuck/Blair/Prince? We Chair fans would appreciate it. #savechuckandblair – Melissa
Sorry, my dear Chair fan, trust me when I say you won’t be excited to see the Prince. Something happens just before his arrival that will make you want to shove him back in the limo and send him home.

Hello! I’m from Slovakia and we watch Gossip Girl there, too! Thank you so much for last CB spoiler! It was amazing of you! I have one question that I would love you to answer! Are writers done with torturing Chuck? Will he be redeemed this season? — Magdalena
Of course they’re not done torturing Chuck! Let’s be honest, it’s fun to see him squirm a little. “I would say that Chuck will continue to grapple in these last five episodes with Bass Industries and all the secrets that he is learning,” exec producer Josh Safran tells EW. “Blair has always been the one place that he can go to talk about those issues — as witnessed by the end of the last episode that aired, where he is like, ‘I need to talk to Blair.’” Translation: Blair will be there to break the fall. We hope literally. Sorry, that was my bad attempt at a nasty joke. I won’t try that again.

Leighton Meester landed the cover of next month’s Cosmopolitan – Australian edition, for those of you lucky Aussies — and talked about how great her Gossip Girl alter-ego is. We couldn’t agree more, obvs. She told the mag, “I love Blair and I love playing her, so to call her just a flat-out bitch is generalizing a bit.”

Click to see what Leighton has to say about being on Gossip Girl and the “B” word (uh, not Blair).

On her Blair Waldorf: “We’re a lot alike. She’s very realistic. The way she talks, the things she does and says are a reflection of pretty much what every girl has been through.”

On her signature Blair-isms: “The way I play her, I think it is fun to bring out that little bit of campness to the bitchy lines and little remarks she has.”

On her Queen B behavior: “But I think it is her insecurity that makes her act the way she does… and the way she was brought up. So there is always a motive behind it.”

Källa:teen.com

Leighton Meester has no desire to be a fashion icon, the actress has revealed.

The 24-year-old admits working on hit show Gossip Girl has influenced her own choice of clothing, but says she doesn’t understand why other people are so interested in what she’s wearing.

“Gossip Girl has absolutely changed my style,” says Leighton, “and living in New York I’ve become more brave and aware of fashion.

“I completely close my eyes to it when people call me a fashion icon because it’s an opinion from people that I don’t know. I wear what I like.”

The Roommate starlet also revealed to OK! magazine that she rarely watches what she eats, as she doesn’t care about body shape and size.

“I do a lot of working so that’s a lot of working out for me in my life. I don’t feel any pressure to be a particular shape,” she explained. “During the filming of Country Strong I felt totally free to eat some ribs!”

Source: OmG Music

Leighton Meester has revealed her dream storyline on Gossip Girl.

Speaking to Digital Spy while promoting her movie The Roommate, Meester explained that the show is currently focusing on the dynamic between Blair and Dan (Penn Badgley).

“I think, stuff that’s happening right now, we’re dealing with the friendship and relationship of Dan and Blair and seeing where that goes,” she said. “Seeing what happens with Chuck and Blair.”

When asked what her ultimate storyline would be, Meester replied: “Probably that she ends up with Chuck. And that she discovers he’s a prince! That would be pretty cool.”

Badgley recently revealed that he has enjoyed working with Meester in the scenes between Dan and Blair.

Blair Waldorf needs a devil redeemed, not a donut. Is there any good Chuck/Blair stuff coming up on Gossip Girl? — Janey
And your reward is such: Of course there are great Chair moments coming up! Producers have certainly heard your cries, and all I’ll say is that you should not count anyone out of the running for Blair’s heart. On that note, can everyone please give Josh Schwartz his Twitter back? [Also, CONGRATULATIONS. You are the winner of this week's Best Question award for one of the best characterizations of Dan Humphrey I've ever read.]

Can you tell us anything about Blair on Gossip Girl and the many men in her life? She’s got her pauper, her prince and her king — how will she ever choose?! I’m really rooting for Chuck and Blair to get back together eventually. Can you tell us if the last five episodes have some drama for them? — Leslie
I don’t know how she’ll choose, but I do know that easier choices have been made by entire branches of the U.S. government. Kidding. But in all seriousness, there is definitely drama to be had, and I hear there’s more than you can handle in the two-part finale, which takes place over one event-filled night in the Gossip-verse (but airs over two weeks for us).

Tips: som sagt det blir alltid lättare och kolla om man har högsta

kvalité på klippet så ändra de om ni vill få bättre kvalité ;)

“Gossip Girl” star Leighton Meester has joined Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in comedy “I Hate You Dad”, according to Variety. The film revolves around a dad who moves in with his son on the eve of the son’s wedding, and proceeds to immediately begin a feud with his future daughter-in-law. Meester will play the fiancee/future daughter-in-law. James Caan also recently joined the cast to play Meester’s father.

Sean Anders and John Morris will director the film, was written by David Caspe with a rewrite by David Wain and Ken Marino. Sandler’s Happy Madison banner, which churned out many a signature Sandler comedy, such as “Billy Madison” and “Happy Gilmore”, the films from which it takes its name, will oversee the production.

A regular on “Gossip Girl” since 2007, Meester was last seen in “Country Strong”, utilizing a surprisingly pleasant country singing voice, and last month’s horror #1 opener “The Roommate”. She has completed filming on tween-friendly comedy caper “Monte Carlo” and indie dramedy “The Oranges” opposite Catherine Keener and Hugh Laurie.

Ed Westwick

As revealed two weeks ago, Ed is taking a long break from doing anything. He is as of this date in Australia. We asked him if he’s going to bring anyone to accompany him for his adventure and his simple answer is “he doesn’t need anyone!”

EdenWaldorf : Ed, so you’re attached to Leo’s movie? Are you thrilled to be on the west coast or still want to be on the east coast?

Ed Westwick : Gossip Girl should move to West Coast! It’s great, change of scenery and change of girls to look and admire. It’s just lovely.

EdenWaldorf : Other than being in the movie, what else do you have in store for us? A duet with Leighton Meester?

Ed Westwick : She’s amazing but my genre of music is not the same as hers so we can’t! We sing all the time, Penn, Chace and I, we sing all the time together. We’re the ratpack! We don’t need girls. We need us! But I think I’ll be meeting Leighton for the summer before Gossip Girl starts to film again. I need to, she’s my girl! Chace need to wait. *laugh*

“GOSSIP GIRL” — (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET)
“The Kids Stay in the Picture” (TV-14) (HDTV)