WHAT is going on in this photo?

Josh Schwartz just Tweeted this photo from the Chuck set with the words “Watch CHUCK Season 4 if you want this photo to make sense!!”

A larger-than-life statue of Captain Awesome? Why do I get the feeling the Premier of Costa Gravos is involved?

Design the Chuck Comic Con 2010 Poster! (UPDATED)

Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz announced via Twitter last night that they’re running a fan contest to design the Chuck 2010 Comic Con poster. The contest will be open from 11AM-11PM PST TODAY, with more details to come later this morning. Once you’ve designed your masterpiece, upload it to this Flickr group. The winner will go down in Chuck fan history!

Updated with Flickr group link.

Chuck Comic Con 2010 Panel Details

Warner Bros. just released their Comic Con 2010 details, including the scoop on Chuck at this year’s geek fest. The panel will be Saturday, July 24 @ 10AM in Ballroom 20. Confirmed to attend are cast members Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Vik Sahay, and Scott Krinsky, plus co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. Alan Sepinwall and Daniel Fienberg from HitFix will moderate the panel.

A “special video presentation” is being touted in addition to the Q&A. They won’t have begun filming season 4 yet, so what could that video be? We will be on hand for both the panel and the press room to bring you all the scoop! Plus, we’re planning another Chuck fan get-together after 2009′s fun evening. In the comments below, please let us know when you’d prefer to meet:

• Thursday evening (7? 8?)
• Friday evening (7? 8?)
• Saturday evening (7? 8?)

For those keeping score at home, yes, 3 (former?) Buy More employees will attend. Also, if you are planning to go to Yvonne’s charity tennis tournament Saturday evening, you have plenty of time to get up to Los Angeles and get in a few practice swings.

Chuck Wins Save One Show Poll

Good job, Chucksters! Chuck won E!’s annual Save One Show poll with a whopping 52% of the votes, compared to just 20% going for second-place show (and sometime timeslot competitor) One Tree Hill. Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz made the following statement to E! after the results were announced:

“We are so thankful that our fans voted for Chuck in such a huge way. Though we are also a little frightened of their ability to control the Internet. Our fear aside, we are honored to have the greatest fans in the history of television.”

Watch E! News tonight at 7/6c to see Chuck crowned the winner. Also, as promised, Kristin will be taking the results directly to Jeff Zucker at NBC to show how much fans want a fourth season. Last but not least, here’s Zachary Levi reacting to the results:

Chuck Takes WonderCon!

A Chuck convention experience pretty much defies description. The cast and creative team are always incredibly entertaining and mingling with other Chuck fans promotes a lovely sense of community. I wondered how they’d top last year’s JEFFSTER! appearance at Comic Con, but they did it. This year at WonderCon, the 2000 or so Chuck fans in attendance got to see what was originally the season 3 finale, “Chuck vs. the Other Guy”, a day before it aired on NBC, and it was amazing.

We’ve been asked not to spoil anything, simply to spread the word that tomorrow’s episode is a must see, and that I can say without equivocation. Action? Check. Humor? Check. Drama? Check. Romance? Check. It’s a Chuck episode that will not be watched passively. There will be cheering and awwwing and chortles and guffaws and YEAHS! and OMGs! aplenty. Even if you watch it by yourself. But you know what? Zachary Levi told us that the next episode, “Chuck vs. the Honeymooners”, is even better. The two week hiatus is going to be torture!

Now that the episode talk is out of the way, how about a report on the rest of the Chuck goodness today? Warner Bros. invited me to cover the press room and interview Chris Fedak, Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez and Adam Baldwin, which is always a treat. We’ll have the videos up in our next podcast, so let me just hit some of the highlights.

• Adam was engaging in technology along with the rest of us, filming and taking photos with his phone.
• Zac revealed that they get a NO SPOILERS warning on every script, and for the finale they didn’t even get the last four pages until right before filming.
• Addressing the fans who were upset with some of what happened earlier this season, Zac once again promised that it would all make sense. He can relate, as a fan of Lost. By the way, Zac is a Jack/Kate ‘shipper.
• We informed Zac that “Charah” is totally passe and now it’s “Walkertowski.” ‘Shipper duty done.
• Adam joked that Casey and Sarah might share an air-kiss, then confessed that he actually hugs “others”. Josh then admitted that there is an “indavertent embrace”, which Zac had to top by reminding everyone that he’s kissed Adam. Good times.
• There was some sweet discussion about Chuck‘s place in pop culture and the show’s legacy. Josh said that when he gets recognized, it’s always with “joy”, not just “oh, that guy’s on TV”, which clearly touched him.
• Zac made Adam blush by telling him he looked good in a “Big Mike” suit.
• Adam’s niche is the “funny thug.”
• Chris said that the first 13 episodes this season were really about the Chuck/Sarah relationship. The back 6 episodes will focus more on the spy stuff and the Bartowski family.
• Asked if the finale was written as a season finale or a series finale, Chris said he likes to write a finale “as a prologue, not an epilogue.” In other words, he wants the story to continue off screen, even if we don’t get to see it.
• Because they already had one season finale (3.13) written before learning that they had another six episodes, they essentially got to have two season finales in one season. Chris reiterated that no one is safe.

After talking to us, the guys headed to another part of the room where the camera crews were set up for some of the bigger shows, like E! News. Thanks to Zac’s publicist, I was able to stick around and get some cool soundbytes for Chuck: Declassified, and see Zac strap on a pregnancy pad. Yeah, the gag he started about having Josh Gomez’s baby to get a fourth season? They’re working that and it is hilarious! Video should be forthcoming from E!, but I also snagged a photo and some video of them goofing off (and Adam Baldwin filming it himself).

Following the screening of episode 3.13 (again, WATCH IT!), the guys all came out on stage to talk about the show and answer some questions. Because we’d just seen the episode, there are some spoilers in the discussion so the video will have to be embargoed until Tuesday. Here are some non-spoilery highlights:

• The inevitable “tell us about pranks on set” question came up, which Josh answered with, “I play the prank where I pretend I don’t know my lines.” Adam said that Yvonne’s prank “is flatulence,” which brought a lot of laughs. Somehow that led to a discussion of the book Everyone Poops. Seriously, these things are indescribable!
• An old friend of Zac’s was in the audience, so they had a nice catch up moment.
• Chris clarified that they had already written the first 13 episodes before they got the order for the back six.
• Josh Gomez got huge cheers from the beginning, and many hurrahs for the progression of his character this season. This led to some funny stuff between him and Adam, including a little cuddling, resulting in a new ‘ship – Morgasey. Or Corgan.
• Josh Schwartz said they warned Brandon Routh before he even signed on for the role of Shaw to beware the wrath of the fans.
• Josh Schwartz and Chris both acknowledged the fan upset about “Chuck vs. the Mask.”
• Zac reminded us to watch Chuck LIVE. He then suggested that perhaps we need to figure out how to hack Nielsen.
• Nathan Fillion is not guest starring. Yet.
• Speaking of guest stars, Zac and Josh totally flipped out about Christopher Lloyd coming on the show (episode 3.16). Zac “may or may not call him ‘Doc’ in the episode.”
• The return of Julia Ling brought many cheers. Josh feigned hurt, “She broke my heart!”
• Asked if Casey will return to his fiancee and daughter, Adam tried to sidestep it by saying that often characters brought in so significantly do have some sort of resolution. “Plus we already shot that.” Sneaky!

Good times, as usual. Keep an eye out for more from WonderCon this week, including videos from the press room and the panel.

Chuck Season Finale Spoilers (aka Be Careful What You Wish For)

The Chuck season finale is still a couple of months away, but Ausiello has some scoop for us on a very important part of the finale that defies description. They say a picture is worth a thousand words…

It’s the first ever JEFFSTER! music video, and it also happens to be an important part of the finale. Per Ausiello:

“It’s the worst music video of all time,” declares executive producer Josh Schwartz, who declines to reveal the title of the song. He does, however, offer these two clues: The track was once featured in a horror movie, and it ties into the episode’s big climax. “The way the original song was used in the movie is the way we’re using it here,” hints Schwartz. Adds fellow exec producer Chris Fedak: “The song narrates the action.”

(Sam C H, is this what you had in mind when you called for wardrobe cuts? I’m thinking no.) So, guesses on the horror movie, song, and/or context?

SPOILERS: Anna Wu Plus Season Finale News

Ausiello has some Chuck spoilers for us in this week’s column:

Question: I’m freaking out! Is there a chance Chuck won’t see a fourth season? In the meantime, can you prescribe some spoilers to keep sane? —Marie-Helene
Ausiello: It’s true that Monday’s ratings were terrifying, but Daylight Savings Time wrought havoc on all shows, not just Chuck. Having said that, exec producer Josh Schwartz was alarmed enough to alert fans via Twitter that “it’s time to get organized.” For now, I’m leaving the show’s prognosis at “a safe bet” on my Renewal Scorecard. On the spoiler front, Schwartz confirms that Anna Wu’s back! Julia Ling will reprise her role in the May 10 episode. Teases Schwartz: “She’s coming back for Morgan.”

Question: This week’s Chuck was awesome! It’s so depressing that it hasn’t been renewed yet! Do you have any spoilers to cheer me up? —Julia
Ausiello: I have it on good authority that the season finale will feature at least one significant death. Feeling better, Julia?

Question: I desperately need some scoop on Chuck’s season finale! —Kim
Ausiello: Then make sure you pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on sale Friday. I also may tweet a hint or two tomorrow via @ewausiellofiles.

Chuck Heads to Wondercon!

This just in: Chuck will be at WonderCon! The Chuck Special Presentation and Q&A will be Sunday, April 4, 2:30 – 3:30PM. The event will include a special screening of exclusive footage, plus a Q&A with co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz and co-creator/executive producer Chris Fedak and stars Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez and Adam Baldwin.

Friday Five: Most Memorable Interviews

In the almost three years ChuckTV.net has been around, we’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview all of the regular cast members, most of the supporting cast, several guest stars, writers, directors, the composer, and producers. Today’s topic is a trip down memory lane highlighting my most memorable interviews over the last couple of years.

1. Sarah Lancaster (December 2007) – This was our first interview for the site and Sarah was a delight to talk with. She and I are native Kansans, which allowed for instant bonding, and she was so excited to talk about the show. When we spoke with her, Chuck had been granted a full season, but the writers’ strike was underway, so no one knew how that was going to play out. Looking back at the questions and answers more than two years later reminds me what hooked me on the show in the first place. (This was pre-podcast, and Liz & I didn’t know how to record things for posting on the Interwebz yet, so this interview is text only.)
2. Tim Jones (February 2008) – Gray’s interview with Chuck composer Tim was the first time I’d heard someone talk about what goes into making music for a television show. Since then I’ve learned to recognize certain pieces of the score as themes for characters and situations which adds to the richness of the experience. On top of that, Tim’s just an all around nice guy and we’ve enjoyed keeping up with him over the years. (Listen to the interview here.)
3. Rally Time – 16 Cast & Creative Team Members (April 2009) – I know, this is more than one interview, but what list is complete without it? With less than a week until the season and possibly series finale aired, we pulled together 16 interviews with the cast and creative team of Chuck to thank fans for their renewal efforts and tell them why they should watch the finale. It was a crazy few days, especially watching Gray conduct several of the interviews and put together the final product.
4. Comic Con (July 2009) – Another compilation of interviews, this time celebrating the upcoming third season. We were in the press room at Comic Con in San Diego, face to face with the cast and producers. It’s one thing to talk to these folks on the phone, wearing sweatpants and holding a list of questions to refer to as needed. In person, in a very noisy room, on three hours of sleep? It was pure adrenaline!
5. Vik Sahay (November 2009) – This may be my favorite Chuck interview of all time. At least that I participated in. I was battling a cold and really tired the day we were supposed to talk, and I was worried that the interview would suffer as a result. If anything, it might have been better than if I’d been more prepared. Vik keeps you on your toes, so buzzed on Dayquil and with just a loose outline could be the secret to having a successful interview with this guy.

We’ve had some really terrific interviews with the Chuck gang. This was a lot harder to pare down to five than I expected! If the topic hadn’t occurred to me at 10PM on Thursday, I might have been organized enough to get Liz and Gray’s most memorable five. Perhaps we’ll save that for another Friday.

Kristin Kreuk to Headline New Schwartz Project

Kristin Kreuk, whose four-episode guest arc on Chuck concludes March 1, has landed a lead role in Hitched, a new sitcom from Chuck co-creator Josh Schwartz. Hitched is a pilot being considered by CBS that follows a newly married couple after the glow of the wedding and honeymoon.

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