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Who is the hottest new resident of “Melrose Place,” the “Seinfeld”-referenced show that was a guilty pleasure sensation in the ’90s? Judging from the attention she got from journalists at last month’s press tour, it’s Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.
Reporters rushed right past returning stars Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro (who played Sydney and Michael) and surrounded younger stars like Simpson-Wentz and co-star Katie Cassidy.
Not yet 25, Simpson-Wentz is tabloid gold, and has been splashed across the pages of star-driven scandal sheets for almost a decade.
She has achieved notoriety as much for being the kid sister of Jessica Simpson and getting caught lip-synching on a 2004 “Saturday Night Live” episode as she has through her acting stints or her gold-record recording career.
Nothing sells like a pretty young Hollywood screw up, and no one knows that better than The CW. The network, which primarily aims its shows at young female viewers, has no problem with its stars appearing in supermarket tabloids.
The reaction at the time from CW programming president Dawn Ostroff?
“I’m glad people are talking about the show,” she said at a “90210″ promotional event.
“Even if they’re writing something bad, it means people care about the show. Hopefully it’s not at the cost of anybody.”
Echoed then “90210″ executive producer Jeff Juda: “Any publicity is good publicity, as long as people are talking about (the series).”
The CW’s latest tabloid target comes with a built-in advantage: thick skin.
Simpson-Wentz has been through a few public humiliations before, including being booed at a 2005 Orange Bowl performance.
So at press tour, she sat smiling, handling the questions that were shouted from all directions.
A follow up phone interview for The Canadian Press was quickly arranged this week, with Simpson-Wentz squeezing the call between camera set ups on the Los Angeles-based set.
She’s having fun with her character, small-town girl Violet Foster, who turns out to be the daughter of one of the “Melrose Place” apartment’s most notorious alumni, Sydney Andrews (Leighton). Foster seems sweet and innocent at first, but by next week’s second episode (airing Tuesdays on The CW and Wednesdays on Global), her dark side starts to emerge.
As Simpson-Wentz explained at press tour, “the really innocent girl is probably not so innocent.”
Although a publicist cautioned against personal questions during the phone interview, Simpson-Wentz is happy to talk about motherhood.
She has a 10-month-old son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, with her rocker husband Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy, and having a baby has made her “the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” she says.
“I don’t think you know until you have a child what an amazing experience it is.”
Bronx is one of the reasons she chose to put her recording career on hold and join a series. “Melrose Place” is shot near her home, and the large, ensemble cast means she’s not continuously in front of the cameras. In fact, Simpson-Wentz says she has weekends off – unusual given the demands of cranking out an hour drama.
“Although there are those 17-hour days,” she adds.
Simpson-Wentz has worked the scripted television beat before. The Texas native appeared for two seasons on “7th Heaven” and also guested on shows like “Malcolm in the Middle” and “CSI: NY.” Then there were her many reality show appearances, first on her sister’s “Newlyweds” series and later on her own reality show.
It remains to be seen whether Simpson-Wentz can give “Melrose Place” a ratings boost. The show opened poorly this week in the U.S., drawing under 2.3 million viewers. Prime-time soaps tend to be slow starters, and those numbers may improve once delayed video viewings and streaming views are counted, but it’s not an impressive launch.
She’s probably wise to take the advice of her been-there-before co-star, Leighton.
“She told me to take pictures of all the billboards,” says Simpson-Wentz, “to keep as souvenirs.”
- By Bill Brioux, The Canadian Press
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Melrose Place
