Monday, December 10, 2007

'Gossip Girl' turns actress into star

Wide-eyed teens excitedly watch as "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively films a scene with co-star Penn Badgley.

Take after take in New York's Stuyvesant Park -- a perfect setting with its stately gates and statues -- the youthful onlookers linger on this cold autumn day, providing some evidence that the low-rated CW series holds interest for its target demo: BlackBerry-holding, DVR-using Gen-Yers.

Lively, who got her big break as a soccer-loving teen in 2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," plays Serena van der Woodsen on the glossy soap, based on the popular young-adult novels about rich Manhattan private school kids whose scandals and trysts are dishy fodder for an anonymous blogger.

Serena captures the most attention: the Queen Bee hooked up with her best friend's man -- OMG! -- and now has a budding romance with brainy black-sheep-on-campus Dan Humphrey (Badgley).

Lively, 20, sat down with The Associated Press in between scenes to talk about her "Gossip Girl" success, her determination to stay grounded as her star rises and her love for a certain guitar-themed video gam

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