'Gossip Girl': Taylor Momsen, Jessica Szohr out; Kaylee DeFer in

"Gossip Girl" actresses Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr -- the two bad girls from the wrong side of Manhattan -- are leaving the CW show.

Despite the show's renewal for a fifth season, Momsen, 17, who plays social climber Jenny Humphrey, and Szohr, 26, who plays film chick Vanessa Abrams, have not been signed back on as series regulars, according to Show Tracker. 

We're not really sad to see them go, thanks to  story lines that had Momsen and Szohr leaving town after being on the outs with the main characters for doing some truly loathsome scheming. We are also glad to bid adieu to their zany outfits.

Show Tracker: 'Gossip Girl' recaps

Momsen had already been demoted from series regular in 2010, and Szohr's Vanessa recently revealed that she'd be leaving the Upper East Side to study abroad. However, they could make a few guest appearances in the upcoming season.

But don't fret, "Gossip Girl" fans: Kaylee DeFer, who plays Serena Van der Woodsen's cousin Charlie, is being added as a series regular, the Wall Street Journal said. We can only imagine, having already weaseled Dan away from Serena and essentially vanquished Vanessa, that she'll be taking on the resident-villain role.

Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford will all be returning for the next season. Maybe they'll finally figure out the identity of Kristen Bell's omniscient narrator? Here's hoping.

As for Momsen, who's made it clear that her music career is her focus, she will still be jamming with her girl rock band the Pretty Reckless.

Szohr seems to be shifting her focus to movies and will be working the romantic-comedy circuit this summer. She'll hit the big screen in June with Kellan Lutz and Mandy Moore in "Love, Wedding, Marriage," and in September she'll appear in "I Don't Know How She Does It" with Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Munn, Christina Hendricks and Seth Meyers.

Not a bad upgrade, yes?

Is it too soon or about time that Momsen and Szohr take off? And what about DeFer -- is she already giving you the creeps too? Tell us in comments.

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-- Nardine Saad
Twitter.com/NardineSaad

Top left photo: Taylor Momsen. Credit: Amanda Schwab / Starpix / Associated Press

Top right photo: Jessica Szohr. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

Bottom photo: Kaylee DeFer. Credit: Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

Rachel Bilson found her wedding song (yes, it will surprise you)

Rachel Bilson may be dunzo with longtime flame Hayden Christensen, but that doesn't mean a girl can't plan her dream wedding -- like nailing down the perfect song.

Fine, the Ministry may have given you a banana peel to slip on, but we're technically correct. Bilson recently participated in a video tribute to Super Mario Bros., the feisty little Italian heroes celebrating their 25th anniversary. 

"It may be the song I walk down the aisle to one day," Bilson said of the video game's theme song, of which she sings a few bars.

Other celeb well-wishers in the video include an adorable Penn Badgley, and Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer of "Glee." 

"It's been 25 years, and the princess still keeps managing to get herself caught," Colfer says. "It might be time for you and her to start seeing other people."

Do you think Bilson should do her bridal march with Mario? Tell us in comments, and get more on your favorite game and geek characters at Hero Complex.

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-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly 

Report: Blake Lively and Penn Badgley split

"Gossip Girl" costars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley have called it quits, a new report says. A disturbing notion, as perhaps the younger set is taking cues from more established showbiz couples of late.

"They’re professionals," a source told Us magazine. "They're still good friends and hang out on the set."

Although both are only 23, the showmance has lasted three years -- almost the entire run of the high school soap set in the privileged world of Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Calls to reps for both stars were not immediately returned.

The Ministry saw Lively just weeks ago at Spike TV's Scream Awards, sans Badgley, where she was promoting her flick "The Green Hornet" with Ryan Reynolds. 

Badgley and Lively were last seen together at the Toronto Film Festival, where Badgley's "Easy A" and Lively's Ben Affleck-directed "The Town" premiered.

-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Penn Badgley and Blake Lively in the early days of "Gossip Girl." Credit: The CW Network

Get more on recent Celebrity Breakups from The Ministry  

 

 

'Easy A' premiere: Emma Stone's nerves, Penn Badgley's girlfriend

"Easy A," the new comedy starring Emma Stone, may take place in a high school -- but director Will Gluck wants to make one thing very clear: It's not a "high school movie."

"I kept saying to everyone, 'I don't want to make a high school movie,'" said Gluck, who directed the cheerleading movie "Fired Up!" "... I see it as a movie that takes place in high school, but it's not about if you kissed a guy and if you like him."

[Click the picture of Stone with Taylor Swift to launch a gallery of red-carpet arrivals from the "Easy A" premiere.]

So then what is it about? The story centers around a brassy teenager who mistakenly gains a reputation for sexual promiscuity, and then fuels those rumors to toy with her own identity, à la "The Scarlet Letter." It was a role that 21-year-old Stone went after aggressively -- but when she landed the part, the "House Bunny" veteran became nervous about carrying her first major film.

"I had to do my job, but between each take I was still kind of freaked out," the actress told us on the red carpet at the movie's premiere in Hollywood Monday night.

"She’s very self critical," director Gluck said of his leading lady. "She’s very hard on herself. She was worried that she wasn’t going to be able to pull it off, so I had to keep convincing her ...