Showing posts with label John from Cincinnati. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John from Cincinnati. Show all posts

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Call Us Shallow, But Somehow It Still Comes Back to Jake and Austin



The whole "Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga Exploding Bonfire of Chemistry at the Oscars" performance caught Narnia Dispatch's attention, but maybe not for the same reason it did for many other viewers.  

And the red flags were caused in part by the immediate, OTT endorsing reactions from the media:



Love that "straight" insertion, Mr. Mack.    This gal is from Entertainment Weekly:


 

Just wow at this one.


 
When you see Dan "Fig" Wootton and the Sun involved...

 


 

Yep, looks like the media was doing their part to help sell.  And who can blame unaware viewers after that "move" by Lady Gaga.  Let's see that again, Gaga.  This takes the cake.

And then you know what they did?  They did this to everyone:




The eye roll at you, the viewers.  Didn't you know this is on you?


 

Translation:  What's the matter with you folks?


 
Nothing to see here!  We fooled you!  So stop shipping us because we can't be bothered with either of us going through another fauxmance.  Besides, Bradley's already got a contract going on at the moment.  ;-)

Interestingly enough, this little announcement was released after the much ballyhooed performance.  


Ohhhhhh.  Newfound footage to bring folks back to the theaters. Now that is some great fortune, how wonderful for the financial backers and actors.  The timing!

















Well played, Bradley.  Well played.

Now, the only issue for a few of us is, our memories go back a bit further than six months.  LOL!  And we here at Narnia were spotting something amiss with the "are they or aren't they" floaties that were bobbing like nobody's business in the internet and social media waters.

First of all, there's that matter of Bradley's "dating" history which includes:  

Jennifer Lopez - Fall 2011 (following her separation from Marc A.)
Zoe Saldana - end of 2011 (while filming together)
Olivia Wilde - 2011 (busy boy in 2011, wasn't he?)
Denise Richards - "rumors"
Cameron Diaz - "allegedly" 2007-2008
Renee Zellweger - (while filming 2009 thru supposedly 2011)
Jennifer Esposito (a four month marriage)

 That's quite the list of beards, I mean "conquests"!  Plus, the blinds, the chatter and some of those telling videos and pictures; but, you have to dig back, just like one does with Jake and Austin.  Waaaaay back. Because while folks aren't looking, PR teams go back and scrub with the Magic Erasers.  There's no denying that Bradley has some very pleasant photos out there with the likes of,

 Leo DiCaprio:




   















Ryan Reynolds:


when it was rumored they were going to star in an action flick together, Ry-Ry and Bradley were seen in Vancouver with professional beard Renee Zellweger along for the outing. Look what a pup-face Ryan was then:

Gerard Butler at the 2013 Wimbledon:











(The next year 2014 at Wimbledon was a bit more low-key)

Dax Shepard:
























Ben Affleck:


 
He just lights up, doesn't he?  ;-)  And then the Victor Garber blind vice and Nikki Finke's not-so-subtle shoutout in her column:


"Bradley Cooper and Kate Hudson presenting. Someone give Kate a cookie: I know the mags said she was fat 3 years ago but, jeez, she’s now wasting away to nothing. As for Bradley Cooper, he and Ryan Seacrest really need to redo their closets."   - wink


Victor Garber:



 From 2015 at Sardi's:



Then there is one past public relationship of Bradley Cooper's that really stands out, and that was the four-month "marriage" between him and Jennifer Esposito way back in 2006.  This look-back, in fact, comes about because of that Oscars "chemistry bonfire" last Sunday.  Jennifer Esposito made headlines because of her Instagram comment on David Spade's enabling post:



Let's take a little stroll down memory lane shall we? True to form,
Jennifer Esposito performed the all-too-common "denial" at first of a romance between her and Cooper in 2006, but soon an engagement was announced by October.  An alleged marriage ceremony took place in the south of France in December, and four months later, Pffft!  They were done-zo, citing irreconcilable differences. Let's apply the dreaded lightning bolt - the official symbol of a couple break up.

LOL!!! Oh my dog. ;D


While the couple enjoyed their time together, their marriage would soon take a turn just four months later when Esposito filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.

A rep for the actress said in a statement at the time, “Jennifer Esposito has filed for divorce. She asks that you respect her privacy at this time.”

Cooper’s rep said in a separate statement, “The divorce was mutual and they’ve been separated for quite a while.” - People.com
 
LOL! "Separated for quite a while." They were only supposed to have been married four months!  So, a "low-key" wedding ceremony, over in the south of France, together for less than four months and that's all she wrote. Who are we to doubt the veracity of this love story? *snark*


Esposito has since long-moved on, but there's another fascinating gold nuggito to this story.  Esposito has a link to one of our OTP halves, and ultimately the OTP as a whole.  

 Speaking of links, we're going to provide links for two pictures showing this.  Because these pictures now seem to only be found here at this "Ability Films Inc" and they have their huge watermark splattered right across the center of the pics. We don't want to infringe on their clearly warning copyright finger-shaking at the bottom of the page.  But it's a safe site and we don't mind referencing everyone:

 Jennifer Esposito and Austin Nichols outside of Madeos Jul 19 2007

 Jennifer Esposito and Austin Nichols outside of Madeos Pic 2

 For one thing, the photos are rather mislabeled. They're not "eating" at Madeos.  Unless they have sidewalk seating!  lol

 So this was July 2007 which would have been the summer right after the Bradley Cooper "marriage" that, in hindsight, now has us wondering if those nuptials even took place.  Thanks to our timeline loving M&M, let's look at some dates.  It was during this summer of 2007 that Austin was busy working on the HBO series, John From Cincinnati.

 • The pilot for JFC was filmed in September 2006 around areas of Imperial Beach, California, a community which was quite excited about being used for the location shooting. If the series were to be picked up, it was slated to be aired in late 2007.  By November 2006, twelve (12) episodes had been ordered. 

 • JFC aired on HBO from June 10, 2007 - August 12, 2007

• July 19, 2007 - Austin is photo'd on a dinner "date" with Jennifer Esposito at pap-friendly Madeo's Restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA.

 • July 20, 2007 - Austin appears on Jimmy Kimmel to promote the show John From Cincinnati.
                                                                           source:  Austinnicholsfan

 • But on August 16, John From Cincinnati was unexpectedly cancelled by HBO.

• Eight days later, on August 24, Austin was arrested for DUI in Jackson, Michigan

• Except for those two obviously planned photos to announce their new relationship, Austin and Esposito were never seen together again.

 Now what was Jake doing during this time?  The famous Lakers Photos took place in February 2006 and for the remainder of that year, Jake was bouncing between New York City and Los Angeles, eating out, shopping, etc. One photo op with Natalie Portman was squeezed into the midst.  In 2007, there were more photos with friends, multiple bike rides with "BFF" Austin Nichols.  And the medical visits began.  

 In April of 2007, Jake visited Austin in the famous John From Cincinnati set visit featured in our Masterpost "Don't Come a Rockin...Yet".  On April 8, Easter Sunday, Jake was seen holding a child age-appropriate chocolate bunny as he stepped out with the G-family.
  


 More photos eating out, jogging, walking dogs, the Borders sighting, out with "family and friends".  In November 2006, Jake was photo'd with future beard, Reese Witherspoon on the set of Rendition in LA to lay the groundwork for their spring "are they or aren't they?" rumored fling. The picture had to be floated out early because Jake and Reese did not film one scene together:

Reese_1

Nov 15, 2006 11:06:54 PM | Celebrity Moms


Seed planting.  By July 2007, they were being "spotted" together,  dodging cameras and playing Greta Garbo.  Austin's television series, which was in trouble already, was cancelled.  And the rest is as they say is history.  Jake and Witherspoon went on to beard/merkin for one another until late 2009. Officially, "breaking up" on December 14, 2009.

 Looking at Jake's on-his-own-out-and-abouts (or was he just biding his time for something to happen) throughout 2006 and part of 2007 while Austin was working on JFC and lining up a beard, makes us at Narnia think that the original plan was for Austin to be the franchise series operator with John From Cincinnati, and Jennifer Esposito was being lined up to be his official beard.  The fact that their "relationship" was done-zo after the show cancellation reflects that Esposito was most definitely an experienced beard after her short stint with Bradley Cooper in 2006.  One can see why Jake's people thought that she would be a perfect match for Austin's closet. Talk about speed dating. LOL!

 Interestingly and fortunately as well, note that John From Cincinnati was filmed in Imperial Beach, CA, in the southern most part of California, but convenient to Santa Monica/Los Angeles/Venice, the frequent home turf of both Austin and Jake.  It would have been the perfect situation for a young family, geographically, and job-wise.


Baby Tile was born in October 2007.  The John From Cincinnati trailer visit and the chocolate bunny picture in early April would have occurred at the end of the first trimester, a time that all young couples love to celebrate and come out with the stork announcement of "We're expecting!" to friends and family.  
But life doesn't always work out according to the best laid plans, does it?  Jake and Austin's life together has had several roadblocks thrown in their path, including Reese Witherspoon bailing on her contract with Jake and picking up with Jim Toth only three months later, leaving Jake suddenly without a beard and then taking up with Taylor Swift  in October 2010 to compensate.  We all know how fast that fakery came and went. I believe their fauxmance lasted a total of 48 days. Looks like Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito beat them. But, Austin and Jennifer's "one night stand" on the sidewalk wins the grand prize in the end. Got to love it!
collaboration:  PG and M&M
pic sources:  Getty Images, abilityfilminc, incaustinnicholsfan, Celebitchy, IHJ, mrclarkartesys, Parade, popsugar, hellomagazine,
                     zimbio, thedressdown, People.com, vulture, 
                     gossiponthis
our playlist:  Everything Changes - Kathy Tricolli
                     Remember Me - Diana Ross
                     If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher
                     You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol
   
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Thursday, March 22, 2018

Austin Nichols Makes a Return Visit to An Old Dearheart - One Tree Hill's Wilmington NC (Pt 1)


As Austin Nichols stated during his and Lee Pace's panel on Sunday, March 18, Wilmington NC continues to hold a very special place in his heart. He returned to the "small town" city last weekend for EyeCon's One Tree Convention No. 8 on Saturday the 17th.  Of course, he was delayed arriving, but that's a whole other side story which shall be saved for Part 2.  ;-)


Oh My Godot/Narnia's Florida Tom and PG had scheduled this event back when Austin's appearance was announced.  We made it safely to Wilmington NC on Thursday the 15th, despite missing our initial early morning flight.  The start of our con weekend had taken an ominous turn to be sure. Here was a look at me trying to catch Tom and the car for the lift to the airport:


LOL!  *wink*  Nonetheless, we arrived at lovely Wilmington International and after a near hotel rooming miscue, by Friday we were registering at the convention center and walking the riverfront.



Pardon the bedspread background on the badge!



The first two official days of the One Tree Hill convention were comprised of many lines, delays and veering away from a vague schedule.  Tom and I assume that OTH Bingo was played on Friday afternoon (supposed to start at 12:30 I believe), but we couldn't stick around long enough to participate, due to long overdue hunger pangs.  Crunchy fish 'n chips at the Front Street Brewery took care of that.


We returned in time for a Q & A panel which appeared to be comprised of four past guest stars, but I have to say that they did not seem too inventive with many of their answers and one in particular repeatedly just said "What he said" or "I have to agree with so-and-so" and would point to one of the other panelists, not expanding at all on his answers.  Needless to say, our first official day was rather disappointing but it was early yet!

Thursday night had a BBQ for those who wanted to pay to attend and Friday night held a cocktail party at Dan's Beach House.  Saturday morning was to be occupied with photo ops from 08:30 until 12:30 with a Q & A to begin following the photo ops.  With Chad Michael Murray not being able to arrive until Sunday and Austin delayed until Saturday afternoon, the schedule* was greatly impacted.  Organizers tried to accomplish more on Saturday in order to ease the imbalance thrown onto Sunday.  Once Austin had arrived, the call was made for fans to line up and they sure did line up:


The photo/autograph rooms were at the very end of this line and Austin's photo op line wrapped around the corner about where the girl in the bright blue shirt was, and continued down another hallway.  This was Austin's first One Tree Hill convention in the states and many fans were excited to see him as is evident above.

 There were two Q & A's on Saturday and the guests for the first one were Barry Corbin and Antwon Tanner.  Folks will recognize Barry Corbin from other shows and both of these men were funny and I greatly enjoyed their panel.


















Let's see, there are PG's "HQHD" pictures as seen above, and then there are these, lol


 


 

Paul Johansson and Craig Sheffer were in the next Q & A. They played brothers on the show and unfortunately I don't have too good of a photo to share.  As you can see, there are usually other people's heads, arms and cell phones blocking your camera angles.  ;-)


The view from the back of the main hall:


Saturday night's schedule was busy with a banquet and then a party.  The banquet was sold out and fans could have one of the OTH actor guests seated at their table.  Here's our guy Mr. Austy:

To give you an idea of prices, here were a few of the postings on the wall:




So, these prices are on top of your admission price if that gives you an idea of how much of a tab one can ring up at one of these types of conventions.  There are also private meet and greets, where you can meet in a small gathering with your favorite actor guest.  I know that Austin's was sold out, as were many (if not all) of the others. And just think - the Supernatural conventions are significantly higher than this one.  With our platinum package, Tom and I were allowed one free autograph and we both chose Austin for our autograph.

Austin was the sole, prime reason we both attended and Sunday the 18th made the entire financial expense, the missed flight, the hotel reservation near-miscue, the freezing convention hall temperature, missed OTH Bingo game, crying tykes on the plane, barking emotional support dogs, near-throttling of the convention emcee over the repeated delays ALL worth it.  When you see this up ahead of you in line...




it was all so worth it.

 LOOK AT HIM!!!!  That was Mr. Tall Texan himself, Mr. Austin Nichols within feet of us, famous 1000-watt smile and all.  All 6 ft and whatever of him (I'll never know because he wasn't standing!).    Also, Mr. Lee Norris just beyond at the next table and he seemed like a very nice gentleman himself. Autographs were secured.

My copy of John From Cincinnati (freed momentarily from its imprisoning bubble wrap): 


and Mr. Tom's "brick" that he lugged around with him all day Saturday for naught:

Kind of funny, when it was my turn, of course one of the hawks took my DVD from me and set it in front of her.  She handed it to Austin (why there has to be an intermediary I'm not sure) and he said "Nobody ever brings this!" and I told him "Yes, they have. Someone tweeted their picture of it last weekend".  And he looked up as I reminded him of this.  LOL!  See Austin, somebody is paying attention to your twitter feed, buddy. And that somebody is me.  ;-D  He then said "Oh that's right" but I'm not sure if he really remembered or not.  LOL.  And so then Lee Norris made a comment and Austin told him that John From Cincinnati was his best work.

 Tom was able to shake his hand twice, was addressed as "sir" and I think I shook his hand, but I can't even remember!!!  Jared Padalecki Syndrome had hit me and I lost all self-awareness.

 Soon, Austin joined Lee Norris for the first Q & A panel, which was followed by a second panel with Roberto Buckley, Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty.  Both panels were so enjoyable and let's just look at a few pictures.  











Aww, look at them!












The "Julian Baker High Five" again:

I'm so pleased with this one!  "Roberto" and Stephen:

Awwww!!!

Roberto!


Chad Michael Murray crashed the Robert, Stephen and James panel:








And our guy, Mr. Austy:

Yeeeeeahhhh, you betcha!!

 While we didn't get any selfies, no Karen Cafe, no on-the-street sightings, no beach walks, no up close & personal views of the battleship North Carolina (not too bad of a shot!), 




Florida Tom and I accomplished what we had set out to do.  I don't know about him, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again.  

 It is no wonder that Jake is said to have fallen hook, line and sinker for Austin because he is a wonder to behold.  Very sweet, polite and personable.  And I will leave you with this.

 During the Q & A, Austin and Lee Norris were both asked by a fan what did they take away with them from the character and role that they played during their time on One Tree Hill.  And Austin answered that the lesson he learned from his stint as Julian Baker was that when you find that special someone, you hang on to them.

 And I have no doubt that he indeed does have his special someone and is hanging on for all he's worth.

Please click here for Part 2

 pic sources:  PG and Florida Tom, giphy, files mombius
our playlist:   Inner Smile - Texas
                      O - Coldplay  (Dedicated to Austin Nichols)
                      Waiting - Seal
                      I Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations
                      Extraordinary - Mandy Moore

              
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