Paper deemed worthy of ‘The OC’

Marisa O’Neil

They shop at South Coast Plaza. They go out to dinner at Aubergine.

They eat Balboa Bars. They even read the Daily Pilot.

On Wednesday night’s episode, a party at Kirsten and Sandy Cohen’s

manse netted two local mentions: It was catered by a chef from

Aubergine and attended by the “owner” of the Daily Pilot.

The main characters of “The OC” are just like the people of the

real O.C. Except prettier. Maybe a little richer. And with a lot more

problems.

“It’s fun making fun of the stereotypes I’ve lived and my friends

have lived,” Corona del Mar High School graduate Madeline Levy said.

“It’s like watching dramatic versions of ourselves and laughing at

the stereotypes. It’s so overblown. But they get the attitude right

80% of the time and they get the spirit of it.”

Corona del Mar students Amber Peck and Jessica Kelly, both 15,

watch the show every week. They think the show is pretty accurate,

but said it has more drunken teenage parties than they know of in the

real Newport Beach.

“It’s a lot like here, but they exaggerate a little,” Jessica

said. “Especially the drama with the parents.”

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, on the other hand, isn’t a big

fan of the show. The characters’ personal issues, like drug abuse and

soap opera romance, are more dysfunctional than those of the local

families and teenagers he encounters.

“Is it entertaining? Of course,” he said of the Fox drama. “Is it

reflective of our community? Definitely not.”

Producers film most of the show on the other side of the Orange

Curtain, with similarly attractive beach towns like Palos Verdes and

Hermosa Beach standing in for Newport Beach. But that doesn’t stop

them from throwing in the occasional local reference to try and up

that O.C. credibility a little bit.

A few cast members even made it down to Balboa Island in November

to film a scene with two characters eating Balboa Bars from local

landmark Sugar n Spice on Marine Avenue.

Now, a photograph from the shoot that day has turned into a

tourist attraction itself.

“It’s fun to watch people’s reaction, especially kids who are 11,

12, 13 years old,” owner Helen Connolly said. “They say: ‘Tell Seth

to come down.’ He’s the big one, I guess.”

Regular viewers of the show can also pick out the Lighthouse --

where John Wayne and Gary Cooper used to dine -- as a thinly veiled

reference to local restaurant The Arches.

Aubergine’s mention wasn’t a big surprise to owners Tim and Liza

Goodell of Newport Beach. Producers know the restaurateurs from the

show’s launch party at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, which the

Goodell’s restaurant Whist catered.

“One of the employees told me about it,” Tim Goodell said of the

prime-time mention. “Soon after that, we started getting phone calls.

It’s nice to be mentioned, but I take it with a grain of salt.

Hopefully, it will bring some business in.”

As for the Daily Pilot’s owner, Tribune Co. was a no-show at the

Cohens’ party.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.