With Claire at the carnival on Heroes, have we seen the last of Gretchen? — Justin
ADAM: Nope. Madeline Zima tells me she will definitely be back. But Zima was very tight-lipped about how Claire Bear’s little field trip will turn out. The future doesn’t seem rosy. “I think [Gretchen] knows it’s a mistake,” Zima said of Claire’s decision to stay behind with Samuel and his band of carnies. “She’s only doing it because she knows Claire can’t physically get hurt. That’s the way she rationalizes it. The best and most pure act of love is just letting someone go and letting them do what they feel they must.”

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She even admits that she persuaded the writers to include the lesbian tongue wrestling action. “I kinda threw it out there. The writers put you in relationships and I was like, ‘Can I just be with a girl or something? Let’s do that.’ So they took it and ran with it.”

425.heroes.Panettiere.Zima.lc.100609 Madeline Zima, the talented young actress who gets to bestow the honors on Hayden’s cheerleader’s lips, talked to the Dish Rag about wanting to have the power to fly, learning the “Heroes” lore, and the truth about her sexually and morally ambiguous character that even Claire’s father is growing suspicious of.

“I watched everything. I feel like the fans are so hardcore for that show, that unless you watch, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” she admits.

Sounds like her character, Gretchen Berg, is gonna be around for a while. But Madeline’s bright red lips (was that on purpose?) are sealed on Gretchen’s secrets. If there are any.

Off-camera, she admitted she would not mind a repeat of that kiss. For now, watch the show tonight to see the girls’ first encounter of the experimental lesbian kind.

Hmmm. Do you think her character is a goodie or a baddie?

From the Los Angeles Times

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“I had an inkling,” Zima told us yesterday at Hollywood Life’s Hollywood Style Awards at the Armand Hammer Museum in L.A. “I did always play my character a little bit with some kind of secret—whether it was that or something else still remains to be seen.”

So what was it like locking lips with Claire-Bear on the episode airing tonight? Mostly business as usual…

“It’s always awkward, no matter if it’s a boy, a girl or whatever,” Zima said. “It’s just an awkward thing to kiss somebody in front of other people.”

While it took a few takes, Zima said they didn’t rehearse the scene beforehand.

“You don’t practice,” she said, laughing, “That’s like sexual harassment, I think.”

Zima said she doesn’t know if that’s the last girl-on-girl smooching we’ll be seeing between the starlets. But she’s definitely open for more. “That would be great.”

From E! Online

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Most people remember Madeline as 6-year-old Grace Sheffield in the popular sitcom “The Nanny,” and most recently in the Showtime’s dramedy “Californication” as Mia Cross. However, she is no stranger to other genres. “I love the Matrix and anything that has to do with the powers of the mind. Also anything about comic books, everyone loves superheroes,” Madeline told us about her taste in science fiction. She proudly owns all three season of the show, “Everyone I knew told me to watch the first season of the show so I bought the DVDs. Later, I also got the second season. The third was a gift for being on the show. I’ve watched every episode. I’m a fan girl now.”

Like other experienced actresses, Madeline has a very positive attitude about auditioning for roles, “I just go in there and have a good time.” However, getting the part of Gretchen wasn’t easy. She confessed to us she was unsure at first, “I didn’t think I was going to get the job because the other girl, who went in before me, was in there for a really long time. There was only two of us up for that part.” Ultimately, to her surprise she was asked to audition for a second time and she was given the role, “The next time, I had to read with Hayden. She had a very specific view of the kind of person her character wants to be friends with. It was all taken into account.”

In addition to her new role in “Heroes,” Madeline is a regular cast member of David Duchovny’s “Californcation” where she plays an ambitious and scheming teenager. However, playing multiple characters is no simple task. Madeline has to juggle two almost opposite identities: Californication’s vixen Mia Cross, and Heroes’ off-beat roommate, Gretchen Berg. “I had one week where I did one character and then the other. It was weird twitching gears.” We asked what the seductive Mia would think of Gretchen, and she replied, “I don’t think Mia would hang out with Gretchen. Mia likes to hang out with people that are superficial and she likes to use them. Gretchen isn’t like that at all.” About the differences and similarities of her current shows, she answered, “I think they are night and day different. One is a half hour comedy and the other is an hour drama, action sci-fi show. They are both heightened sense of realities, but one has people flying and having superpowers.

Naturally, Gretchen will spend a lot of time with Claire during Volume 5. Almost all of Madeline’s scenes are with Hayden Panettiere. She told us very enthusiastically how much she loves working with Hayden, “She is so cool, she is really funny and smart. She is a complete professional. We both have been in shows since we were little kids, like months old. I admire her so much. She handles herself with so much poise for someone so young.” Fans of Madeline should also look forward for scenes with Jack Coleman (H.R.G) and Ashley Crow (Sandra Bennet).

Transitioning from a child star to an adult actress is not always easy. Madeline attested, “It was difficult. At some point I was stuck in a limbo as far as my career goes because nobody really wants to hire somebody who is off from a sitcom. There is a terrible stereotype about child actors from sitcoms.” However, her talent and maturity have helped her throughout her career. Barely twenty four years old, Madeline has added NBC’s hit show “Heroes” to a long and admirable résumé. She already feels very comfortable working on the show. She shared some insight of the “Heroes” experience with us, “Its like a family. Everyone is really nice and they all know each other really well. They crack jokes. It’s a pretty wonderful place to work. I feel lucky.”

For the finals part of the interview, we asked her about the much anticipated on-screen kiss with Hayden Panettiere that has all the fans talking in the blogosphere. “My first one was with Selma Blair in a movie that hasn’t come out yet ["Happy Together"]. She is my second kiss with a female. I’m excited to see myself. I hope it turns out well.” This scene, which will be part of one of the first three episodes, will be the first gay kiss of “Heroes.” Whether it will be a dream sequence, illusion, or other device, remains a mystery.

Madeline’s most recent projects include horror film “The Collector,” whose script was originally intended to be a prequel of the famed franchise “Saw,” where she plays the character Jill. She also starts alongside with Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker in “My Own Love Song,” a film currently in post-production. And of course, don’t miss her first appearance on Heroes with the return of the show on September 21st at 8:00PM ET as Claire’s quirky roommate.

From Next on Heroes

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That lady would be Madeline Zima, who plays Panettiere’s character Clair’s new roommate and confidant during her freshman year at college – one of many additions to the cast of the NBC series highlighted today (July 25). “Heroes” newcomers Robert Knepper, who is best known for his role as T-Bag in “Prison Break,” Dawn Olivieri and Ray Park were also on hand to introduce the first glimpses into the “Redemption” chapter of the “Heroes” story.

The theme of redemption – and, as always, vengeance – runs deep into this season, as is the return to an “ordinary” life to unordinary people who were “bagged and tagged” by the government the last season. The show’s creator Tim Kring, however, spent time explaining how audiences now will see a loophole, and another world, of other heroes with superpowers, who have been existing in tandem undetected.

“We’re creating a new wrinkle in the mythology of the show — this idea that alongside of the show you’ve been watching, there’s been this other family of people who had powers who had figured out how to live with us and alongside of us, to hide in plain sight. So we created this idea of a carnival,” Kring said. “If you can breathe fire, than what better way to sort of fit in plain sight than join a carnival and become a fire eater.”

Characters like Clair, Milo Ventimiglia’s paramedic Peter Petrelli, Adrian Pasclar senatorial Nathan Petrelli and Greg Grunberg’s detective Matt Parkman all make attempts at a normal life in season four, though at least a few undoubtedly will come face to face with the circus. One episode’s action sequences features Peter fighting Park’s super-speedy hero character, with knives and a terrified Noah Bennet (Coleman).

After a number of trials – like dying, coming back to life and killing his own father — Peter has “seen it all, he’s gotten a lot more humor about everything, he smiles a little easier,” Ventimiglia said. “But yet he’s still the guy that if somebody comes at him swinging, he’s gonna swing back harder.”

Masi Oka’s character Hiro will be starting a small business with his old friend Ando and essentially correcting the mistakes of his past as he faces his terminal illness and imminent death.

As for Clair’s re-entry into society, she talks of her new friendship with Zima’s character Gretchen, which marks the first time since the first season that Clair has been able to grow close to another character.”We have a very interesting relationship, as you just saw,” Panettiere said, alluding to the trailer’s pucker, though not revealing the exact nature of the unusual pairing.

“Zach and I will be sharing a body. It’ll be a little bit of a Jeckyll and Hyde thing,” Pasclar says.

Quinto, who distractedly attempted to make a paper airplane out of his own nametag during the panel, mentioned his filming highlights so far include shooting with an ever-crying baby and climbing out of a grave.

And when given the imaginary battle between Quinto’s Spock character from the newest “Star Trek” versus his “Heroes” creep Sylar, Quinto thinks Spock would ultimately win. “I think that honestly, in the end, Spock would take it. Only because he’s fighting ultimately for good and I like to believe that’ll always win.” Leonard Nemoy versus Zach Quinto. “Leonard would drop me in about 30 seconds.”

From Hit Flix

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3.07pm: I sit in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton hotel next to the San Diego Convention Center, where the Heroes panel is about to take place. I misplaced my ticket for reserved seating at this panel but have been kindly allowed in regardless.

3.15pm: I have however been moved from the front row towards the back of the room on account of my mistake. It’s okay, I deserve it.

3.17pm: Do feel free to add any comments below as we’re going along, by the way. No heckling please.

3.18pm: The moderator of this panel, a presenter from the TV channel G4, introduces the panelists: Tim Kring, Jack Coleman (HRG), Masi Oka (Hiro), Hayden Panettiere (Claire), Adrian Pasdar (Nathan), Zachary Quinto (Sylar), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter), as well as new cast members Robert Knepper, Dawn Olivieri, Ray Park and Madeline Zima. Huge cheers from the audience, as well as screams of “I love you.”

3.20pm: Tim Kring kicks things off by thanking the audience at Comic-Con for supporting the show. Lest we forget, it first launched here a few years ago to great response.

3.22pm: Kring sets up volume five, saying that the government are now hunting the heroes, leaving them free to go back to their normal lives. “We’re creating a new wrinkle in the mythology of the show. There is a family of people with these powers who had figured out to live alongside us and hide in plain sight. We created this idea of a carnival… They have been hiding all this time, coming in and out of our view. The carnival will now show itself.”

3.24pm: Preview clips: Claire meets a girl at college, where she is recognised for her past actions; Robert Knepper’s new baddie Samuel talking about two possible paths. Matt Parkman throwing a chair in anger at what appears to be a vision of Sylar. Samuel meeting Hiro with the line: “I think we’re going to be great friends.” Sylar leaning over and giving Angela a kiss.

3.26pm: Claire saying: “I don’t want to be pretend to be anyone but me.” Tracy recalling how she felt herself shatter in a chat with HRG. Ando finding a collapsed HRG on some steps. Nathan being kidnapped. Swoosie Kurtz back for a dinner date with Angela – but hints that she has a more sinister agenda. A lesbian kiss between Claire and a brunette. HRG in a car being filled with water.

3.28pm: And finally… Sylar emerging from the dirt.

3.30pm: Kring says that the footage we just saw all came from the first three and a half episodes. The moderator asks each of the panelists to sum up where their characters are at when the new season begins.

3.31pm: Jack Coleman: “I am in a place where we’re setting up this new company, my marriage is falling apart, so there’s sort of a newfound empathy for what it is that people with abilities have been going through. I’m a bit of an island and trying to find some solid ground.”

3.32pm: Masi Oka: “Hiro’s going through an illness, possibly a terminal illness. He gets that bad news and realises what his true destiny is. He goes back and starts a new business with Ando. It kind of goes.”

3.33pm: Hayden Panettiere: “Claire’s in college, freshman year and becomes friends with a very, very interesting girl. C’mon, we’re gonna have fun, right? Girls just wanna have fun. She catches something and accidentally finds out about me. She becomes a good friend and confidante.”

3.34pm: Adrian Pasdar: “I think midseason we start explaining the difference between Nathan and Sylar’s journeys. It gets pretty interesting.”

3.35pm: Zachary Quinto: “My character really exists in two places. One is with Adrian, then the other is inside Matt Parkman’s head. That’s a lot of fun for me.”

3.36pm: Milo Ventimiglia: “Peter’s back to being a paramedic. He;’s got a lot more humour about everything now. He smiles a lot now, but he’s still a guy where if someone comes at him swinging, he’s gonna swing back harder.”

3.37pm: Robert Knepper: “That was a great family to be a part of four years but this family is four years strong as well. They’ve all been so welcoming. Samuel seems to be the reluctant leader of this carnival. His brother has just passed away. He’s made the decision that he’s going to change [their] lives and one by one, lure these heroes in to help him execute this plan.”

3.39pm: Dawn Oliveri: “On the show Samuel and I maybe have some other kind of interesting relationship. I am naked most of the time on the show. I have tattoos and together with Samuel, we can use them to find other people and make our family better. What happens with Lydia, my character, we don’t know yet.”

3.40pm: Ray Park: “I play Edgar, one of the carnival. I play with knives. I’m sent out into the world by Samuel. A lot of the stuff I don’t want to know. I have some cool interaction with Milo coming up. We get to dance around a little bit. I also have the power of superspeed.”

3.42pm: Madeline Zima: “I play Gretchen. I am a freshman at the college Claire goes to. Right off the bat I try to be friends with her.”

3.43pm: Tim Kring on romances: “We’re easing towards a few, but none we’re going to talk about right now.”

3.44pm: Tim Kring on the meaning of redemption: “It’s a chance for us to go back and strip away some of the story elements that make the show harder to go back to. So Claire’s in college, Peter’s a paramedic, Nathan’s a senator and Matt’s a detective again.”

3.45pm: “We find out that Hiro has this terminal illness,” says Masi. “He finds out that his powers are going out of control a bit. His redemption is going back in time and fixing the mistakes he made in the past. He kind of has a bucket list. He wants to leave a legacy before he goes away.”

3.46pm: Jack Coleman says there is a plotline involving him, a car and water that is “quite dramatic”.

3.47pm: Hayden says she has got to throw herself out of a window in one scene.

3.48pm: Adrian: “My arc has taken me away from my regular peeps. I’ve worked with Swoosie Kurtz, which has been a highlight. I’ve also had some new powers to play with, which you’ll see.”

3.49pm: Zach Quinto: “I get to work with Greg Grunberg a lot, which is really fun. Also I got to work with a baby. The baby was really good at crying and it was fun to have to relate to that in a scene. Also I got to climb up out of a grave.”

3.52pm: Milo: “I got to work with Jack Coleman, and it’s been a while. We get reunited for some chicanary. Robert Knepper and I have got to do some work, and also Ray Park – I geeked out the first time I met him, because he’s legendary.”

3.53pm: Knepper: “It looks like Samuel’s going to have scenes with all the heroes, and scenes which are bringing out all the vulnerable sides of them.”

3.55pm: Ray Park, a wonderfully-spoken British gentleman, enthuses about how much he enjoys working on the show. “I’ve always wanted to run away and join the circus, so I get to do it!”

3.56pm: Madeline says she got to do a scene with HRG. “He’s scary, because he kills a fly with one hand.”

3.57pm: Hayden is asked what she thinks Claire’s worst injury was. “I think the worst was the burn. It took five hours in makeup. Burnt to a crisp. Toasty Claire!”

3.59pm: Zach is asked who would win – Spock vs Sylar. “In the end, I think Spock would have to take it. Only because he is fighting for good, and I think ultimately that will always win.” Ahhhh, what a nice boy.

4.00pm: Jack Coleman jokes about HRG’s lack of abilities: “I have the power of impaired vision.”

4.02pm: Questions from the audience. A girl lays compliments on ZQ then goes on a very long convoluted rant about what has happened to Nathan’s soul. “If all of your sense of self and being is removed from the equation, where does that leave you?” he answers. Hmm.

4.03pm: Another question, about characters that haven’t had a fair share of attention – such as Mohinder. “We’re going to be telling less stories per episode,” says Tim. “The idea is to tell deeper stories but not as wide stories. It’s always been a juggling act with a show like this because it’s always been a large cast. We don’t have quite as much bouncing around this season as we did in the past.”

4.05pm: Zach is asked if his new production company will affect his time on Heroes. He says no. “I’ll be available.”

4.06pm: A very sweet-sounding boy propositions Hayden. “When this is adjourned, you can meet me over there,” she replies. Jack Coleman warns the boy not to try any funny business.

4.07pm: Tim Kring is asked about diversity: “We always try to be as diverse as possible. Characters obviously come and go, but it’s a continuing thing that we try to fulfil for the audience. Stay tuned and you’ll see some really cool casting in that area.”

4.09pm: Tim is asked if we’ll ever hear about the fates of Caitlin or West. He replies: “In this volume we have no plans to hear about Caitlin or West.”

4.10pm: Milo is asked if he’s going to “kick any ass” this season. “There is something interesting that he gets to experience this year. A little dance number, we’re calling it, with Ray Park.” Promptly we are treated to a clip. Edgar approaches HRG with a knife but then Peter arrives and intervenes. Edgar keeps throwing knives but Peter catches them. They then enjoy a high-speed knife fight, before Edgar takes off.

4.12pm: … and the panel is through! Stay tuned to Tube Talk for more Comic-Con coverage shortly!

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G4′s Blaire Butler as moderator introduced the panelists: creator Tim Kring, Jack Coleman, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto, Milo Ventimiglia, and guest stars Robert Knepper, Dawn Olivieri, Ray Park and Madeline Zima.

With an inconsistent (to say the least) third season and a polarizing season finale, “Heroes” will appropriately enter into Volume Five, “Redemption” for the upcoming season, which debuts Sept. 21.

Kring offered a few words about a “new wrinkle in the mythology of the show.” Apparently, another group of people with special powers have led a different life from our heroes. This group has learned to live among us regular folk without arousing suspicion or fear because they wield their powers under the guise of a carnival show.

“What better way to fit in, but in plain sight,” explained Kring, who added, “And now they’re ready. The carnival will come out and present themselves.”

Also, part of the arc involves everyone going back to normal lives, stripping away those odder story elements that made the show harder to relate to. Kring promises that there will be less storylines per episode, which will allow the show to delve deeper into the characters’ lives. He also says that some upcoming casting will satisfy one audience member’s request for more female diversity.

Fans were treated to a sneak peek trailer for the new season, consisting of scenes from only the first three-and-a-half episodes. From these clips alone, already Season Four looks to be better than the last one. Thank God.

A quick rundown of some of what was in the trailer: Claire goes to college, gets a friend, displays her power to her and kisses her. Yup. You read that correctly. Claire finally gets a degree of normalcy in her life! Peter is back to being a paramedic, and somehow a mysterious compass tattoo appears on his arm. Knepper’s character is the creepy head honcho of the gifted carnival gang and encounters Hiro and also Peter: “The name is Samuel and I think we’re going to be great friends.”

Meanwhile, Nathan is hanging out with Swoozie Kurtz for some reason, while Sylar is yelling at Matt Parkman a lot and hanging out with a worried-looking baby. We see Samuel using power to bury Nathan, and in the last scene of the trailer, a hand bursts from the grave and out pops Sylar.

Wow.

Below is a breakdown of what’s going on with each of the actors and their on-screen alter egos:

Madeline Zima as Gretchen Berg – This college freshman seems to already know about Claire’s reputation, but the become very close friends and confidants. There’s that kiss thing too. “I love working with Hayden. I also once worked with Jack, which was fun because he’s scary. He killed a fly with one hand. It was very ninja of him.”

From Zap 2 It

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From Oh No They Didn’t

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The details of the Heroes panel at Comic-Con have been revealed. There had been some questions at first as to whether there even would be a Heroes panel this year, but the answer is yes – and it will include both series creator Tim Kring and several core cast members, including Jack Coleman (“Noah Bennet”), Masi Oka (“Hiro Nakamura”, Adrian Pasdar (“Nathan Petrelli”) and Zachary Quinto (“Sylar”). They will be joined by four actors with notable new recurring roles, including Robert Knepper (Prison Break), Dawn Olivieri (How I Met Your Mother), Ray Park (The Phantom Menace) and Madeline Zima (Californication).

The Heroes panel will be held Saturday, July 25th at 3:15-4:15pm. It will be in the Indigo Room at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. This year marks the first time Comic-Con is holding panels outside the San Diego Convention Center, presumably because the increasingly large convention has simply run out of room for panels within the center itself. The Hilton is located right near the Convention Center, but it’s still going to take some extra planning time if you want to attend the Heroes panel and then need to quickly return to a panel back in the Convention Center, so plan accordingly…

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Season four of Heroes begins filming next Monday, and the cast of guest stars is beginning to fill out. Along with returning regulars, like Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto, Volume Five: Redemption will include a new villain and a new friend for Hayden Panettiere’s wayward Claire.

Who are these new characters, and what is the setting for season four? Here’s what we know:

Also on deck for Heroes season four is Madeline Zima, whose life this summer will be intercutting between Californication, where she plays cerebral tease Mia, and the environs of fictional Costa Verde, Calif., where she will be in college with Claire. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Zima’s Heroes character, Gretchen, is “an edgy outsider.”

From E! Online

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