Talking with 'Mars' ' Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring! Plus, 'Top Model,' 'Earl' and More 'Deal'

Star Kristen Bell talks with bloggers for the Veronica Mars Bloggers Press Day (2/27/06)

Meeting Kristen Bell is quite a thrill. The petite star of Veronica Mars is friendly, gracious and candid, especially when it comes to her recent Maxim magazine photoshoot (to see Kristen's cover and photo spread, click HERE). "I talked with the photographer and with the stylist and with everybody and I was like, 'nothing pink, nothing ruffled. I'm not doing the whole pedophile thing,'" she says with the same charm of her beloved character. The actress had previously turned down the offer to pose for the men's magazine, but she says it all came down to a business decision saying, "There's a good amount, more than you'd think, of Veronica Mars fans that read Maxim everyday and that's the [her upcoming big screen movie] Pulse audience pretty much, so it's kind of like strategically building your career." Bell says that she is happy with the result and that she went for the "most amount of coverage" because she believes "if you see it all, what's the point? There's nothing sexy about it. There's nothing mysterious about it, so I tried to have as much class as possible." There is one bit that she would like to clear the air about, and it has to do with the bubble next to one of her photos that makes it sound like she thinks a good first date ends with her taking her pants off. "They asked 'What do you think about dating?' and I said, 'I think you should always be yourself.' The worst thing I think is like 6 months down the line you're like, 'Oh, I have all these weird habits,'" she says matter-of-factly. According to Bell, the whole thing stems from her own experiences. "On one of my first dates, I was like, 'I'm really full and I'm going to unbutton my pants. If you think that's gross than I'll see you later, but I'm really full,'" she recalls. In the end, Bell says that she went for a more "50's pin-up" look with the shoot and she made the most of the experience.

Another experience that Bell had recently was her appearance on MTV's Punk'd. Host Ashton Kutcher and his band of jokesters set her up with the help of her boyfriend. While filling up with gas, Bell noticed a dog all alone. After asking everyone at the gas station if they knew who the dog belonged to, Bell decided to take the dog home and help it find its owner or a new home if the dog turned out to be a stray. She and her boyfriend drove to a nearby pet store to get some supplies. While he was inside the store, Bell noticed a young boy hanging up a flyer for a lost dog that looked exactly like the one she was holding. She, of course, asked him if she had his dog, and he said yes. Next thing she knew, the boy and his father were accusing her of stealing their dog. Bell and her boyfriend often take in strays to help them find a good home, so she happened to have a flyer with her, which she used to try to prove that she wouldn't steal a dog. She says that the show cut a lot of it out, but "I was really angry with this guy because he was talking down to his son. I'm totally the person to open my mouth and be like, 'You shouldn't talk to your son like that.' He got me all fired up because he was blaming me for stealing the dog." In the end, Bell says that she was happy with the outcome. Before she could share anymore thoughts, she was called away to shoot a scene, and you're suddenly reminded that being a part of a critically acclaimed television show is still just a job, and it's a job that Bell is happy to have.

Jason Dohring jokes with us outside the hair and make-up trailer during the Veronica Mars Bloggers Press Day (2/27/06)

Veronica Mars creator/executive producer Rob Thomas is happy to have Jason Dohring playing Logan Echolls. "He's a fantastic actor that you rarely see on teen shows. He just has an intensity that's amazingly watchable to me," Thomas says. Dohring is indeed impressive; just consider the snappy, quick dialog that he delivers each week. "A lot of it is sarcastic, so there's subtext, which is what's really going on. You say the lines, but it's what's underneath that, especially with this guy because what he says is facetious all the time, but it's what makes it fun," says Dohring with the same intensity that he brings to his character. That dialog carries through the more snarky scenes as well as Logan's more vulnerable scenes. Dohring says that he likes playing both sides of Logan and he believes "it's kind of an interesting dynamic when it's not all Veronica and Logan." He says that Kristen Bell brings a real honesty to her role, especially when her Veronica character is reacting to Dohring's Logan character. "That's what breaks my heart when I see her. She's just so damn honest, " he says genuinely. Dohring also enjoys his scenes with guest star Harry Hamlin (SPOILER ALERT: who more than likely will be making another appearance before this season ends) saying, "It's cool to work with him and talk to him about acting because he's been around [the business] so long."

Before landing his role as Logan, Dohring made a guest appearance on CBS' Cold Case during its first season playing a troubled teen at a military school who may or may not have been involved in the death of one of the school's instructors. In a dark twist, the instructor was molesting some of the troubled teens at the school. The entire storyline culminates in an edge-of-your-seat moment that packed an extra punch to the already emotionally charged episode.

Dohring's character trades jabs with star Kathryn Morris' Lilly Rush on this episode of Cold Case.

Things go from bad to worse as Dohring's character gets a hold of a gun at police headquarters

Dohring looks back on his Cold Case experience fondly, saying "I had a great time on that show. It was so cool." He says he sees the Case gang around because of CBS and UPN being under the same corporate umbrella and they still discuss his episode. "They work such long hours. I got there at 6:30 in the morning and wrapped at midnight and they shot one more scene after I left," he says with the same impressed flair that his fans feel for him. One of those fans, Mars creator Rob Thomas, sums it all up when he says, "He's a really interesting, fun, unique actor."

The Model Moment
Attitudes were in full swing last night as many of the final 13 contestants believed that they rocked their first photoshoot on America's Next Top Model. The shocking news that they would need to be bald for the shoot threw off a lot of the girls, but they were all relieved to learn that it was only a bald cap and not the real deal. Early front runners for me: Sarah and Leslie. It came down to Furonda and Kathy (Pictured to the left. Photo courtesy UPN. Not for use on other sites/blogs). Tyra said that Furonda took the worst photo from the shoot, but the judges didn't see a lot of potential from Kathy. In the end, it was Kathy's lack of potential and her lifeless photo that sent her home. Tyra was quick to remind Furonda that although she was safe this week, she was at the bottom of the heap and would have to work harder to remain in the competition.


About Last Night... Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by an hour of CBS' Still Standing and ABC comedies George Lopez (r) and Freddie. At 9, CBS took over with Criminal Minds, followed by Fox's Bones and ABC's Lost (r). The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: NY, followed by NBC's Law & Order and ABC's Invasion. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.


~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Four more hopefuls go home (leaving us with the top 12) on the hour-long results show for Fox's American Idol. Over on CBS, the social dynamics of tribe Casaya continue to implode on Survivor.

@9 p.m. - The team becomes the subject of a reality show on CBS' CSI. Over on Fox, Ryan and Marissa's relationship is in jeopardy on the return of The O.C.

@10 p.m. - The team searches for a missing agoraphobic advice columnist who hasn't left her apartment in two years on CBS' Without a Trace.


QUICK CUTS

*NBC is adding another edition of its new hit Deal or No Deal to the schedule. The game show had a five-night run last week before moving to a once-a-week format on Monday. Now, the network has decided to air another edition on Friday nights because the ratings have been strong. The show performed well last Friday night, coming in second for the hour right behind CBS' Ghost Whisperer and winning the 18-49 year old demographic. Look for the Friday episodes to begin tomorrow night on NBC.

*And finally, look for a little something extra when NBC's My Name is Earl is released on DVD later this year. The show's creator, Greg Garcia, announced Tuesday to the audience at the Museum of Television & Radio's annual Paley Festival that the DVD set will include a 15-minute mini episode where Earl meets Family Guy's Stewie Griffin. Garcia is a former producer on that animated series, and both it and Earl are produced by 20th Century Fox TV. In the mini-episode, after Earl wins the lottery and gets run over by the car, he lands in the hospital. But instead of getting his life lesson from Carson Daly (as he did in the pilot), he comes upon Stewie Griffin. In addition to the mini episode, look for lots of commentary and footage from the gag reel that the cast and crew has collected this year. According to Garcia, the DVD set should be out before the second season premiere this fall.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on CSI (You've gotta love an episode that parodies the reality craze! And who better to do it than CSI?) and Without a Trace. Plus, all the latest television news and The Idol Moment!


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