The Hills

The Hills just doesn't feel like The Hills without Lauren Conrad.

The Hills is really not The Hills without LC and Audrina Patridge.

Just the same, the reality star says she's just about outta there.

"I'm almost done with The Hills. We are currently in the middle of finishing the episodes for this fall, and I'll be leaving then," the 24-year-old revealed at a press event for her new thriller Sorority Row Sunday in Los Angeles.

"It feels like I'm graduating," the girlfriend of Corey Bohan added. "I'm taking the next step and growing up and maturing and moving on in my life."

We can't wait to see what career endeavors await this hottie.

Audzo, who is developing her own reality show with Survivor producer Mark Burnett - said she would like to pursue acting as well as reality TV projects.

"I moved to L.A. to be an actress, and before The Hills, I was going to auditions and working at [film studios] Quixote and Smashbox," Patridge said.

She credits The Hills with helping her be "comfortable in front of the cameras." But most likely she got tired of being effed with by producers, like LC.

"It’s helped me a lot going to auditions and sitting in front of the camera," Audrina Patridge said. "Blocking the camera out, just getting into character."

Getting into character. On a "reality" show.

The new season of The Hills, now starring Kristin Cavallari and featuring more contrived romances and feuds than ever, premieres Septeber 29 on MTV.

Fans of staged nonsense reality TV can expect major changes when new episodes of The Hills start up next month - beginning with the MTV series' schedule.

The Hills' new season will begin September 29, moving from Monday nights to Tuesdays. It will air at 10 p.m. followed by spinoff The City at 10:30.

Liz Gateley, Senior V.P. of MTV and executive producer of both shows, says that the new day is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changes.

As we know, Kristin Cavallari has replaced Lauren Conrad.

“Kristin Cavallari has brought new life,” Gateley says of the Laguna Beach star, who was recruited to create fake drama among cast members she would never otherwise hang out with after having gone MIA for the past three years.

“She is the same Kristin we know and love - not afraid to mix things up. Her presence has really changed every dynamic within The Hills cast, especially since we're paying Kristin to drive a wedge between Audrina Patridge and Justin-Bobby.”

Kristin Cavallari is ready to stir up fake tensions like no other.

As for Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt?

“Heidi and Spencer will be entering some interesting new territory of acting like they are seriously considering parenthood,” she says (someone kill us now).

Three thousand miles away in NYC, former Hills co-star Whitney Port will be dealing with a new boss, Gateley adds: “A lot has changed in The City.”

“We shifted the focus of the show significantly from a relationship drama to a workplace drama. [Olivia Palermo] has a new job and an amazing new boss at Elle. Whitney Port is focused a lot more on her work now that she’s single."

"Kelly Cutrone - who I love - takes on a much bigger role in the show. The show feels much more like a reality Devil Wears Prada. Our whole shooting style changed. You’ll see much more action and less people sitting and talking."

"There are fireworks on the highly exaggerated jobs constantly. It’s very exciting and fun to watch what it’s like to work in the world of New York fashion.”

Because her "relationship drama" reality series was painfully boring, The City's Whitney Port is now starring in a "workplace drama." This stuff is totally not staged.

It looks like there may be a problematic pairing on The Hills this season, and we are not even talking about Speidi! Who would have imagined that.

The cameras don't catch every second of action, but they did see Stephanie Pratt and Kristin Cavallari acting all shady while filming future episodes.

Below, you will see Spencer's sister and LC's high school rival looking like they are getting all the dirt (or spilling it) during a mystery phone call.

Could they be making a prank call to a fellow cast member?

Hello? Audrina? Is your refrigerator running?

What could they have been talking about? The Heidi Pratt Playboy picture? Lauren Conrad's new book? Audrina's Carl's Jr. ad? We'll have to wait and see.

Later, Stephanie, cigarette in hand, got close with a male friend while Kristin took a swing at beach tennis and both enjoyed some cocktails in the sun.

Ah, getting paid to pretend to be normal twenty-somethings at the beach.

Click to enlarge more pics of Kristin Cavallari and Stephanie Pratt ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

In really random news, artist Karin Bubas has debuted a collection of pastel portraits of the major players in The Hills cast, featuring chalk pastel shows of Lauren Conrad, Spencer Pratt, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port and more!

The Bubas exhibition, entitled "With Friends Like These..." is on display at the Charles H. Scott Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia until September 13.

The exhibit was inspired by the trademark expressions of the characters.

"We all share Lauren's frustration as she fights with Audrina and bursts into tears, watery black mascara rolling down her cheeks," says curator Cate Rimmer.

"We experience aggravation over how Spencer treats Heidi and her frustrating complacency... these drawings conjure visions of a collective social experience."

A tad melodramatic, but kind of totally true! Here's Heidi Pratt doing her classic pout. Say what you will about The Hills, this artist did an amazing job ...

A vintage Heidi Montag moment ... immortalized in pastel.

It's hard to say what inspired this series of emotional portraits, but we have to say, they are quite well done and bring back quite memories. And who knows, in 100 years, maybe even Justin-Bobby will be worth something this way.

Click to enlarge more pastel representations of The Hills stars ...

[Images: Karin Bubas / Charles H. Scott Gallery]

The Hills is back. The least-real reality show out there (and that's saying something) begins its new season Tuesday, September 29, at 10 p.m. EST, on MTV.

This will be the first episode of The Hills without its former leading lady, Lauren Conrad, the series' regulars will continue bringing ample drama to Hollywood.

For instance, there's newly-married Heidi and Spencer Pratt, Conrad's BFF Lo Bosworth and Audrina Patridge, and former Laguna Beach star Kristin Cavallari.

Here's the new face of the program ...

Despite not being connected to any of the other stars in the previous five seasons, Kristin Cavallari was brought in specifically to replace Lauren Conrad.

And to stir up drama.

"Basically...they want me to come in and start drama," she said of coming on board. "I'm good for it, it's fun. Drinking, fighting, hooking up - all that good stuff!"

At least one cast member welcomes the casting change.

"There wouldn't be a Hills if there wasn't a Kristin Cavallari, because the Laguna Beach brand wouldn't have had the power," Spencer Pratt said.

"We still love Lauren, we'd love to have you come back on the show. But hey, you were the calm, quiet girl trying to steal Kristin's boyfriend, the cool girl at school."

"So shout-out to the cool girl joining The Hills!"

The once-tight friendship between Audrina Patridge and Brody Jenner is estranged, as we know, after her hookup with him and ensuing feud with Jayde Nicole.

But believe it or not, the once inseparable Brody Jenner-Lauren Conrad duo is no longer attached at the hip, either. LC has distanced herself from that crew.

"I haven't seen much of her since she left the show," he admitted to E! recently. "I ran into her out and about a week ago just by chance, but that's it."

"She's off somewhere. Uh, Indonesia? I don't know, maybe on her honeymoon?"

Lauren is happily dating Kyle Howard, but there is no engagement we know of.

Guess that's his way of saying he has no clue what she's up to. We know Lauren has been busy with her book tour, but she apparently hasn't been texting.

As for Kristin Cavallari, who will be replacing Lauren Conrad on The Hills this upcoming season (and who Brody also used to date), she's shaking things up.

"Kristin's obviously a little bit more opinionated, and she comes in there and likes to stir up the pot," Brody Jenner says. "Lauren is much more docile and she likes to just let things cruise by, to roll with it. It's a different kind of energy."

With all the fighting that goes on among the Hills regulars, will there ever be peace and quiet for the bickering bunch? Maybe. But with who?

"There has definitely been some reconciliation," Brody said. "I can't tell you who it was with, but there is some drama that has been put to an end."

Making the rounds promoting her straight-to-DVD movie Van Wilder: Freshman Year and reminding everyone that she will be on this fall's season of The Hills, Kristin Cavallari wants everyone to know she doesn't really care about the latter.

Despite having begun her reality TV career in 2004 on Laguna Beach, Kristin hates watching herself on TV, and aspires to be a successful, versatile film actress.

"I want to do movies that are #1 at the box office and also indie ones that are dark and miserable," she said. "I see myself with a career like Cameron Diaz."

Don't hold your breath for that. Kristin Cavallari does admit that going back to being a reality star is not exactly a step in the right direction. Contrarily ...

"I haven't been able to audition for anything since, contractually, MTV won't let me. But I'll tell you this - I've gotten more phone calls about going on other shows since. ... But doing The Hills has made me want to act so badly."

"I need a challenge and kinda feel like The Hills is taking me a step backwards. But that just makes me want to act that much more and try that much harder."

Kristin Cavallari says joining the The Hills is really little more than a promotional vehicle for her mediocre films, and more importantly herself. [Photo: Fame Pictures]

"It was a really hard choice for me. MTV's been asking me to do it for years. I want to be an actress 100 percent, but with Van Wilder: Freshman Year coming out, I thought this would be an exciting way for my fans to reconnect with me."

"They haven't seen what I've been up to since Laguna Beach. I thought it would help and, after all, this is what made me famous in the first place."

There's a fat paycheck in it for her too, of course. Who can complain getting $60,000-plus per episode to read cue cards and booze it up at clubs?

At least she's got her priorities in line. We already miss Lauren Conrad, but look forward to seeing all the staged drama Kristin brings to the table.

As fans of The Hills know, Kristin Cavallari is joining the cast this fall to stir up trouble. But Brody Jenner tells TV Guide Magazine not to expect any drama between himself and Cavallari, despite the fact that they used to date.

“Kristin and I have been friends for years and years and years,” he said at the launch for the new OP ad campaign in Los Angeles on July 7. “We used to date back in the day, and we have kept very close as far as friends go, so she’s great. ”

That doesn’t mean everyone gets along as amicably.

“You ever watch Laguna Beach?” asks Brody Jenner with a chuckle, referring to the show that starred Kristin and Lauren Conrad. “You know what she’ll bring.”

Missing, of course, from the next installment of the MTV reality soap is its original narrator, Lauren Conrad. Brody Jenner admits he misses LC big time.

“It sucks without Lauren,” he says. “It’s a bummer. The Hills isn’t The Hills without Lauren, in my opinion. But we do what we do and just continue on."

"She’s really enjoying her time off right now, and spending time with her boyfriend, and hanging out at the beach and relaxing. She certainly deserves it!”

The hotness that is Brody Jenner and Jayde Nicole. [Photo: Fame Pictures]

With LC out of the picture, it seems Kristin Cavallari's big nemesis will not be Jayde Nicole, Brody's current girlfriend, but co-star Audrina Patridge.

Jayde Nicole is quick to praise Kristin, actually, and says the new season is The Hills times a thousand: "What we filmed so far is absolutely insane.”

“Kristin doesn’t get along with Audrina. I don’t really think anyone on the show gets along with Audrina,” Jayde, who also hates on Audrina, said.

“I think it has something to do with Kristin coming into LA all of a sudden, and everyone just welcomed her. So maybe Audrina’s jealous of that.”

Whatever the reason, the two are clearly not big fans, as evidenced by The Hills preview featuring Kristin screaming "You f*%ked with the WRONG girl!"

Team Audrina or Team Kristin?

Lauren Conrad has left the building, leaving Speidi to rule the roost.

But it looks like yet another Hills feud may be here to take its place.

Brody Jenner has been attempting to end the Twitter-initiated drama between his girlfriend, Jayde Nicole, and fellow Hills costar Audrina Patridge.

Unfortunately, his efforts failed.

"I've tried, trust me," the reality hunk told E! News last night at the launch of the new OP campaign at Mel's Diner in West Hollywood. "I've put a crowbar to it, and that doesn't work. So, not too sure if there's any hope, but we'll see."

It doesn't sound like Jayde Nicole has any intentions of patching things up with Audrina. "Our drama is real," Jayde said, clearing up any confusion on how she feels.

"I really don't want to film with her, to be perfectly honest."

Brody has made it clear his feelings lie with Jayde, and Audrina Patridge is back with Corey Bohan. But still, there is no love lost between the ladies.

One person Jayde can't get enough of, however? Brody's ex-girlfriend Kristin Cavallari, who was brought on the show to replace the retiring Conrad.

"I love her," the Playboy model said. "She's a supersweet girl, she's really cool, she's down to earth, and she just doesn't care what people say."

"She doesn't take crap from anybody, and I definitely think she will be good for the show. Just from the couple of things we've filmed so far, it's been insane!"

"I've been like, 'Can you please put this episode together so I can watch it?'"

In fact, Brody Jenner hasn't come between the gals: "So far, so good," Jayde said. "But it's only been a couple of weeks, so I guess we have yet to see!"

Whose side are you on, Team Audrina or Team Jayde?

Fans of The Hills wondering why Lauren Conrad didn't say a word when Spencer Pratt called her to apologize on The Hills now have their answer:

She wasn't even on the other line.

Interviewed on The View this morning, LC was asked about the call from Spencer Pratt, in which he said he was sorry for spreading the sex tape rumors about Conrad and asked her to please attend his upcoming wedding to Heidi Montag.

Fake, fake, fake, Lauren Conrad says.

Put on the spot, Conrad hesitated briefly before throwing the show under the bus, but ultimately did so, admitting her contempt for the program that made her a star for the past five seasons, and expressing no regrets about leaving it.

That the show is about as "real" as Heidi Montag's rack is hardly news, but this is the most blatant admission by a cast member yet. Here's the interview, in which Lauren discusses her new novel, L.A. Candy, and Stephanie Pratt's bulimia ...

Lauren Conrad on The View