There are more film festivals and music festivals out there than we care to count, but here at Zap2it, our hearts are in the TV business — which is why we are so flippin’ excited to attend the first annual ATX Festival, a television-a-palooza in Austin, Texas.

Featuring tons of our small screen faves, ATX Festival doesn’t discriminate against underrated or canceled shows. “Life Unexpected” will have a major presence at the event, with creator Liz Tigelaar on hand to answer questions and stars Arielle Kebbel, Britt Roberston, and Shiri Appleby in the house to reminisce with us. “One Tree Hill” creator Mark Schwahn is attending, along with the ever-swoonworthy James Lafferty.

We’re particularly psyched for a “Friday Night Lights” party with a screening attended by executive producers Jason Katims and David Hudgins, along with cast members like Scott Porter, Michael B. Jordan, Matt Lauria, Gaius Charles, Alicia Witt, Jesse Plemons, Madison Burge, and Brad Leland. We’ll be donning our Panther blues (or Lion reds?) for the occasion, obviously.

Click here for a full list of confirmed attendees, with big names from “Parenthood,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “True Blood,” “Awake,” and much much more.

Kicking off the weekend on June 1 is a red carpet event from USA Network, with screenings of two of their summer shows, “Suits” and “Royal Pains.” ATX co-founder Emily Gipson says, “We love USA’s slogan ‘Characters Welcome.’ It fits perfectly, not only for Opening Night, but with our overall festival goals — from panelists to fans, all characters are welcome at ATX.”

Tickets to ATX Television Festival are available for purchase here. We can’t wait to see you there!

Source: Carina Adly MacKenzie @ Zap2it

Thanks to Amanda from One Tree Hill Blog!

Gallery links:
Public Appearances > 2012 > Nicholas Sparks Golf Tournament (Apr. 21, 2012)

At just 26, James Lafferty has achieved something only a handful of actors can say they have: he played a leading role on a television series for nine seasons. When “One Tree Hill” aired its series finale on April 4 on the CW, Lafferty closed the chapter on Nathan Scott: a pivotal character on the drama that evolved tremendously throughout the years. From playing a high school basketball player to an NBA athlete to an agent, all while being a husband, father, and son who has a complicated relationship with his father; it’s almost as if the young actor has played multiple roles on one show! Now Lafferty says he is taking everything he absorbed from “One Tree Hill” with him onto the next leg of his life. I had the pleasure of catching up with him recently at the opening of the Warner Brothers ‘Television Out Of The Box’ exhibit at The Paley Center in Beverly Hills, and we chatted about his thoughts on Nathan’s ending, what he’s most grateful for from the Tree Hill journey; as well as the two simple life lessons he always carries with him!

Congratulations on the series finale of “One Tree Hill”! You have been a part of it from day one and here it is nine years later-that’s an amazing achievement.
James- Thank you! Yes we’re really happy about that. Huge sense of accomplishment.

I remember you told me at the end of season eight that you learned everything from the show.
Yes, I mean I was shooting that show since I was 17. We shot the pilot when I was 17 and I’m turning 27 this year, so it’s been a long road and it’s been a great one. I’ve learned so much over the years. Now that it’s over I’m just trying to take all that knowledge with me.

What’s the thing you’re most grateful for from the whole “One Tree Hill” experience? Something that 30 years from now you’ll always look back on?
It’s gotta be the entire thing. I don’t think there’s any one moment that stands out. I think being able to say that I was on a television show for nine seasons is probably the thing that I will always take with me and never forget. That holds a lot of pride.

Were you satisfied with Nathan’s ending? Even though he’s not in the NBA?
Exactly, that would have been awesome. But it was great! I think the heart of Nathan as a person was really the relationship with his father. And that was what drove a lot of his decisions throughout his life, the life of the show. And so to have that closure with Dan Scott and Nathan Scott, was I think the most important thing. And we got it. I was really proud of that.

Did you want Dan to pass away or would you have preferred a different ending for him?
I kind of feel like it’s the only it could have been. I didn’t necessarily want that, but it was almost like after everything that he had put everybody through, everything the character had been through- you knew that he had to be a martyr. You knew he was going to become a martyr in a way. And it was definitely the most poetic way to make it happen. I’m proud of that.

Throughout all the interviews we have done, you have always come across as very grounded to me, and you started in this industry at such a young age. What is a piece of advice you always take with you that you would like to share with your loyal “One Tree Hill” fans?
I guess my way of life would be to work hard and just respect everybody around you. And if you fail to do that, you may find things are much harder for you in the future. But if you can do those two simple things, I think people are going to enjoy working with you and hopefully it will go much further. But who knows that could be terrible advice! We’ll see how the next ten years of my life go! (Laughs)

What’s next for you?
I’ve got a film that we’re waiting to see how it does in the festival circuit. It’s called ‘Lost On Purpose’. It’s in the post-production part of it. And then I filmed a small part in a film called ‘The Legends of Hell’s Gate’, with Rob [Buckley]. That’s going to be on-demand pretty soon here I think. So I’ve got a couple things in the can and looking forward to the next one!

Source: Meriam Bouarrouj @ examiner.com

Gallery links:
Public Appearances > 2012 > Cinema Society Screening of “Intruders” (Mar. 19, 2012)
Public Appearances > 2012 > Cinema Society Screening of “The Hunger Games” (Mar. 20, 2012)

It’s been a little over a week since we said a sad so long to Nathan Scott & Co., and — since we’re still in the early stages of mourning (aka denial) — we decided a trip back to One Tree Hill was in order.

Here, creator Mark Schwahn and star James Lafferty relive the series finale and answer your lingering questions, which likely include “What about Peyton?” “Why Bevin?” And, of course, “How come no one in Tree Hill ages?!”

Were any scenes cut from the series finale? | Schwahn tells us that, thankfully, the network agreed to air the uncut OTH finale, so we’ve seen it all. Ready to be shocked? Had the edited version been broadcast, the “I Don’t Want to Be” singalong would have been scrapped! “[That edit] was really odd,” he muses. “We went right into the U2 song ‘One Tree Hill’… and then the jump ahead.” Also edited out originally was “all of the twintern stuff with Chase and Chris Kellar.”

What was it like shooting the entire cast singing along to “I Don’t Want to Be”? | “It was cool,” Lafferty recalls. “We were all just shouting out the lyrics at the top of our lungs.” But for all you eagle-eyed viewers, go back and take a closer look — you might notice a little continuity error. “There’s one shot where you can see us in our old spots in the background, and then it cuts to us actually in the crowd,” the actor shares. All that said, Lafferty just hopes “it looks like we were having fun, because we were absolutely having every bit as much fun as it appeared.”

Why was Bevin chosen to return to the series in such a major way? | Explains Schwahn, “I didn’t want to use a day player…. [This character at the courthouse] works in Tree Hill, so I thought, ‘Is there someone [from the past] that would fit that?’” The showrunner adds that he and his trusty team “were also trying to maximize our opportunities to see old faces, so I thought that [Bevin] would be perfect there.” Plus, “Then there was the Skills payoff at the very end, so it just flowed.”

In retrospect, is there anyone else the show wanted to bring back, but wasn’t able to? | As if there was any question, Schwahn says he would have loved to see Peyton back in Tree Hill. “That character was so significant,” he shares. “I loved [her] so much, and I think a lot of fans loved that character. So, it was a little odd not to see Peyton.” But, says Schwahn, showbiz is exactly that, and had circumstances been different, he “would have [brought her back], creatively.”

Why did no one age in the series-ending flash forward? | “We all had been taking really good care of ourselves at the exact moment and using the same anti-aging face cream,” Lafferty explains, with a laugh. “Contrary to popular opinion, our kids growing up actually made us look younger. It’s kind of an anomaly.” (With reporting by Vlada Gelman)

Source: Megan Masters @ TV Line

So sad this was the last episode ever from One Tree Hill… It was a long run these nine years. Enjoy the last screen captures of the beloved TV series.

Gallery link:
Projects > One Tree Hill > Season 9 > Screen Captures > 13. One Tree Hill

As Nathan Scott put it Wednesday night on One Tree Hill’s final farewell episode, “Don’t tell me I never gave you anything.” With nine seasons of first romances, heartbreak, deaths, stalkers, births, basketball games and more stalkers, the CW series gave us absolutely everything we could ask for. Something that could never be re-crafted ever again. The storylines, the characters we wanted to be friends with, the soundtracks and the heartfelt messages rushed back as Gavin DeGraw sang his last “I Don’t Want To Be” melody with the cast singing along.

Without hesitation, of course we’ll admit to singing with them while glued to our television sets last night.

Lead stars James Lafferty, Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz gave us nine years of fantastic performances and left us happily admitting that there will always and forever be just one Tree Hill.

As the episode concluded, fans continued to flock to Twitter to reflect on their younger years with the series. Meanwhile, Lafferty had been answering questions from the viewers beginning on March 29 all along in anticipation for when the final credits aired. “Last ep of OTH is coming and I feel nostalgic,” he began. “Tweet me some questions between now and the finale and I’ll answer as many as I can…..” During his interaction he revealed about his experiences, whether it was about his favorite moment playing Nathan or what the funniest moment on set was.

Did you ever go & play on the River Court outside of work?- @LonChair
They took the hoops down when we weren’t filming.

What was your favorite thing to do between shooting your scenes?- @Hughez11
Craft service table. Allllll day.

On ever seeing an OTH video with his voice dubbed.- @OthRivercourt
It’s always hilarious.

How did directing compare to acting on OTH?- @adecino
No comparison. Completely different experiences.

Do you like high school Nathan Scott better, or adult?- @alpits23
Gotta admit, high school Nathan was a lot of fun…

On His favorite character- @I_Heart_Adrian
Dan Scott. Or Chris Keller. Maybe even Max the record store guy.

Least favorite thing you’ve ever done as Nathan? – @rhiannondon
Having to beat up Rick Fox.

What was the funniest moment on set?- @teamoth1223
When Jackson told me I had bad breath in front of the entire crew.

Favorite Nathan moment?- @daniellelynn23
Rivercourt scene with Dan in “Danny Boy”

Who was your favorite musician that appeared on the show?- @shandyJean23
Jimmy Eat World was pretty epic.

Did you film OTH in Charlotte?- @ad_asaro
Shot in Charlotte once or twice, but primarily in Wilmington, NC.

Who made you laugh the most on the set of OTH?- @Nora1027
Toss-up between @RobEBuckley and Jackson.

Is there a prop you took with you from set once you left Wilmington? – @dant321
Nathan Scott’s shoes.

Favorite Nathan storyline?- @ScannerJan
The road to the State Championship. Fun stuff.

How long did it take you to get the “It’s Tricky” dance down?- @NoelElaineOTH
3 days. And I never really got it down.

What was your favorite scene with Barry Corbin?- @dabneyann
Probably any scene we shot in a huddle.

How amazing were those reveals! During all that time his favorite Nathan moment came at the very end with “Danny Boy”! Jackson caught him off guard with a hilarious comment and Jimmy Eat World was his favorite band on the show. Not to mention—Max that record story guy was probably his favorite character. Mark Schwahn shout out right there!

Hours before the big show James added, “One final thank you to every One Tree Hill viewer that made it possible for us to get so far. Hope you enjoyed the ride.”

We absolutely did. So much so that Mark Schwahn would probably be the only person who could express our thoughts perfectly on what the past nine seasons have meant to us.

Source: Stephanie Webber @ Ology