Tonight, MTV will air a finale double-feature, as “The Hills” and “The City” wrap up their story lines. In the case of “The Hills,” tonight’s episode marks the end of the series, after more than 100 episodes, incalculable tears and some very public breakdowns. Executive producer Adam Divello was in the middle of editing his last “Hills” episode when he took our call late last week. He wouldn’t give out any details, but said the producers “shot a lot of surprises.”
The Wall Street Journal: How do you feel about “The Hills” ending after six seasons?
Adam Divello: It’s a bittersweet moment for us to see the series end. It was something we all felt that it was the right time.
Will there be any spin offs?
Never say never. There’s definitely been some interest but nothing is in the works right now.
Is there any truth to rumors that Stephanie Pratt will join the cast of “The City?” We’ve never talked to Stephanie Pratt about coming to “The City,” so I don’t know. We are just wrapping up the second season of that show and we haven’t started on the third season. We haven’t gotten an official pick up yet. You don’t always get the word when you expect [it]. The cast and crew is standing by. We’re pretty confident.
Is that why rumors swirled that “The City” was cancelled?
I don’t know how that got out there. I don’t know how any of this stuff gets planted. ["The City"] hasn’t been canceled at all. We go through a stage of pre-production where we figure out what we would present next season, and we’re presenting that to the network. But it’s looking very positive that “The City” will return.
I’m very fond of “The City” because it focuses on Whitney’s career.
When we started out in season one, we were coming off of Whitney leaving the Hills. We went very relationship heavy the first season and I think it was fun to see Whitney dating and running around the city trying to her act together. The second season we went more work related because I think that’s the fun thing to watch. Like a lot of New Yorkers, they take their careers and their work very seriously. When we come back next season, I think a lot of the players are going to be in different places.
Olivia told us that she’s edited in a certain way because the show needs drama. Do you agree that the truth is relative to editing? When we go into these shows, I explain to the cast, ‘We are going to follow you around. We are going to make a drama out of your everyday existence.’ There is editing involved. There is music involved. We’re using a fraction of what they do in their day-to-day lives to tell a story.
It’s not a documentary. We’re not following Olivia around 24 hours a day. It’s her under a microscope. It’s probably a slight exaggeration of who she is but it’s all based on [her]. We don’t write the lines for [the cast] and we don’t tell them what to say. What comes out of their mouths is what comes out of their mouths.
If Olivia left Elle magazine, would we get to follow Joe Zee and Erin Kaplan? If Olivia was let go from Elle, we would regroup and think, what do we do next? Do we follow her outside of Elle? Do we follow Elle without her? We would certainly approach Elle and say, ‘Who is going is going to take Olivia’s place, we want to follow that new person.’ We would certainly follow Olivia as she looks for another gig and lands another job. We go where the wind blows us as far as that’s concerned.
Does Heidi return in the finale?
You have to wait and see.
Earlier this season, there was a week of crazy on reality shows. First Spencer seemed to go to a very dark place, and later, Kelly Bensimon imploded on Bravo. As you shoot, what are the lines that you won’t cross?
It’s a reality show. We shoot for hours and hours and hours with them and we use a fraction of what you see on television. So if there are actions and things that they’re doing which is helping to tell the story, or it affects the relationship with other cast members, then yes I’m in favor of using it. If it crosses some dark line, then I’m not going to use it. We ultimately protect the viewers. We’ve got a crew that goes out each day… and we like to keep it a happy environment.
Stephanie Pratt tweeted a photo of Converse shoes covered in photos of “The Hills” cast. Are these going to show up in stores now? Who thinks that’s a good idea? Abby, one of our camera operators, [received them as a gift from a friend] for the 100th episode. She wore them to set. Pictures were taken and circulated. It’s very strange to see our cast’s faces all over a pair of sneakers but they are a one of a kind, custom-made Converse. I’m not even sure how you make custom Converse but somebody made them. Maybe those Converse will catch on. They’re neat looking.
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