Amid the constant drama of MTV's glossy reality show 'The Hills,' Whitney Port has long lurked in the background as Lauren Conrad's trusted co-worker and confidante, preferring to seek not the spotlight, but (gasp) an actual career in the fashion industry.
Now it's finally Port's time to shine on 'The City,' a spin-off that follows the fashionista to New York City after she lands a job with Diane von Furstenberg and falls in with a whole new crew. But leaving L.A. -- and LC -- behind hasn't been her only recent adventure; she's also launched her own clothing line and shown up on HBO's 'Entourage.'
With her new series premiering on Dec. 29, Port took time out of her hectic schedule to chat with us about guilty pleasures, whether or not 'The Hills' is scripted and the challenges of navigating 'The City.'
1. How does 'The City' compare with 'The Hills' on the drama meter?
I don't know if you can really top 'The Hills.' It has such an insane amount of drama. But, for me, it's maybe higher stakes, a different level of sophisticated drama. I'm a little bit older now, and the cast is older, so it's about more mature problems that we're dealing with as young adults.
2. Can you give us any juicy scoop on what to expect?
Oh, gosh. To be perfectly honest, I haven't seen any of the episodes yet. Obviously I filmed it so I'm a part of it, but I don't know exactly what everyone is going to get to see. I see it when everybody else does. But it's basically about navigating through drama and seeing things through this young generation's eyes in this crazy city of New York. You never know what you're going to get here, and everyone's kind of out for themselves.
3. Do you think you'll ever meet the East Coast equivalent of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt?
I don't think that there is any equivalent to them. I think that they're a duo of their own, you know? [laughs]
4. What's your take on all the talk about 'The Hills' and 'The City' being scripted?
Obviously things have to be produced in terms of locations and cinematography, and there's a whole crew, so there has to be some level of production. But there are no scripts, and every conversation is real and everything that comes out of our mouths is what we're truly thinking and feeling. People can say what they want. Things have to be planned, but it's pretty real.
5. A lot of people consider 'The Hills' a guilty pleasure. What's your favorite guilty pleasure on TV right now?
'Gossip Girl' is a guilty pleasure for me. Other than that, I don't really watch much TV. On my TiVo I have 'Top Chef' and 'Gossip Girl.' And when 'Project Runway' is on, I watch that.
Subject: 5 Questions With: Whitney Port 
Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:53 pm
