I've always had a bit of a thing for vampires. They're immortal. They're dangerous. They're night owls. Now, my vampire thing doesn't extend to putting on pointy teeth or biting the unsuspecting (well, not unless they ask). And I live in California, so I clearly love the sun. Still, I've watched way more than my fair share of sucky vampire movies. Which is why I was a little surprised I hadn't clued into Twilight sooner.

You can see why I might have missed the best-selling young-adult book series by Stephenie Meyer. Harry Potter notwithstanding, it's simply the wrong age bracket. While I'd heard chatter both on AfterEllen.com and elsewhere about the film, I hadn't paid close attention. I had my teenage vampire movie, thank you very much. It was called Lost Boys. But then, well, then I saw the teaser trailer.

Gulp. Now this might actually be something I could, pardon my puns, really sink my teeth into. The star-crossed lovers meets Buffy/Angel vibe is palpable. The film stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a newly transferred high school student drawn to her mysterious classmate Edward Cullen (Harry Potter alum Robert Pattinson). … continue reading

Some TV shows you love. Some TV shows you hate. It's pretty simple. But then there are those shows you love to hate, and others you hate to love! Well, dang it, I hate to love Gossip Girl. But I do. I have fallen for it.

Photo credit: The CW/Andrew Eccles

I'm sure it'll break my heart, though. I know that Gossip Girl could so easily slip and slide into the trite and predictable vortex of suck that has swallowed up many of its teen drama predecessors. But the show, in its first year, is still trying to find its way, and it's actually doing it with much more skill and poise than I would have ever imagined after watching the pilot.

But rather than be concerned about the future, I will live in the now and simply say Yay! to the return of the show tonight on the CW on a new night (Monday) and at a new time (8:00 p.m. ET). Yes, I have a show crush!

There are five new episodes in store, and I'm as joyful about this as a 14-year-old who's been given an iPhone with a free unlimited text plan! The show stars Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Taylor Momsen, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and the voice of Kristen Bell as Gossip Girl. Oh, and for Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, you may like to know that Michelle Trachtenberg is hitting the Upper East Side of Manhattan soon for a few episodes, and it should be fun to see what damage she may cause. … continue reading

Not surprisingly, Ellen Page's power as a box office draw has skyrocketed since we all fell in love with her as Juno. (Don't tell me if you didn't love Juno because I won't believe you anyway.)

The Tracey Fragments, which captured attention at 2007's Atlantic and Berlin film festivals and garnered Page the Best Actress in a Canadian Film award from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, finally will have its U.S. release on May 9.

Page plays Tracey Berkowitz, a 15-year-old who's riding out a blizzard in the back of a city bus, wearing nothing but a shower curtain. She's looking for her brother Sonny, whom she hypnotized into believing he's a dog. The movie uses complex Mondrian-style multi-frame editing throughout the entire movie to convey Tracey's fragmented thoughts as she tells her story.

I'll be honest. Michelle Trachtenberg is not high on my list of favorite actresses. Perhaps it's because I was always annoyed by her as Dawn in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

Recent casting news has done nothing to elevate Trachtenberg on my list of actresses to watch. In fact, the news has done the exact opposite. She's just signed on to join Zac Efron in the teen comedy 17. (Efron is another one of those celebs whose allure escapes me, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.) The fact that she's signed on to star opposite Efron is not what has her falling down my list. It's the plot of the film that has me all weirded out. … continue reading

The WE channel recently announced a new project set to air in March of next year, and it's all about high school. Specifically, it's a documentary called High School Confidential that follows the lives of a group of high school girls from freshman year through graduation. The show will air as an eight-episode series on WE, with web content launching in January. That web content is set to include blogs by the girls highlighted in the show, who are now college sophomores.

What's interesting about the concept to me is that it claims not to pull any punches — to show high school life as it really is for these teenage girls. Here's what WE had to say about the show via its recent press release.

"This series features dramatic and intimate storylines that reveal universal themes of today's adolescent culture: self-image, sexuality, risk and experimentation, complex family dynamics, religion and even death."

So we're talking more Degrassi or My So-Called Life ...

... less High School Musical or Grease. … continue reading

Having informed us that lesbian gangs are taking over America, Bill O'Reilly is back to warn us about a new phenomenon: Cute lesbian couples are taking over America's high schools! What's more, they're doing it just to "tweak" adults. Darn kids these days.

On the Nov. 7 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Heard spoke to Dr. Laura Berman, director of the Berman Center and assistant clinical professor at Northwestern University. The topic of the day was Waukegan High School in Illinois — specifically, the "Cutest Couple" poll for the senior yearbook. In those hallowed halls, Brandy Johnson and Lupe Silva were voted the cutest couple of them all, and it's not hard to see why:

Yes: because they're cute! But to O'Reilly, it's not that simple: No, the Waukegan Bulldogs are trying to make an issue of something — trying to start a revolution via yearbook poll. After all, that's tactic No. 43 in the Homosexual Agenda Handbook. Next on the list: stocking the soda machines with virgin mimosas and herbal teas!

Dr. Berman (who, of course, considers the poll a sign of progress) held her own and then some, chuckling and smirking and all but rolling her eyes at O'Reilly's ridiculous statements. I myself was shrieking with outrage when he started going on about "appropriateness" and the difference between "who you are and what you do," but I should take a page from Dr. Berman's book and master the art of the derisive grin. See for yourself, and remember: Polls are subversive weapons of mass resocialization. Sorta like Fox News. … continue reading

Do you know that old saying, "Good things come to those who wait?"

We know that you have been waiting very, very (im)patiently for our big South of Nowhere mid-season finale extravaganza, and today we finally deliver the goods.

Our video blog for episode 3.8, "Gay Pride," includes a hot tub and movie stars (in bikinis!), the artistry of a famous guest-director (who at this point would like to be credited simply as "Alan Smithee"), as well as the typical We're Getting Nowhere antics that you've come to know and tolerate love.

In addition to our standard Maeve Quinlan-worship, we also wax poetic about Spencer's trench coat and Ashley's booty shorts. Our video blog for Episode 3.8 also includes helpful information about:

• How to win an invitation to Jill's Dante's Cove premiere (hint: it involves a visit to her myspace page)
• What really happens at Gay Pride in Los Angeles
• The dangers of resting one's bare legs on a leather sofa

We hope you enjoy, and if you behave yourselves you might just get a saucy video blog chock full of outtakes from this train wreck one day next week! (Look for our next Top Model vlog next week, too.) … continue reading