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When the producers and director of One Tree Hill were filming the cheerleading routines for the Sparkle Classic episode “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” they thought only a couple hours of rehearsal would suffice. After all, Hilarie Burton Morgan had been a cheerleader in high school who made nationals, while Bethany Joy Lenz had starred in the sequel to Bring It On. But they failed to realize, Sophia Bush says after their rewatch of the episode on their podcast Drama Queens, that “you get to nationals or do Bring It On by rehearsing all day every day for literal weeks!” They laugh a lot recalling the shoot for the dance routine, which was a mess: “It looks like the moves were staggered on purpose, and I promise you at home, they were not,” Hilarie laughs. “Every shot’s a close-up!” Sophia exclaims. “There’s no wide shot where we’re all in sync!”
Plus, they were shooting in front of hundreds of extras from serious cheer squads, who “were heckling us, you guys! They were laughing in our faces!” Hilarie says. “I’ve been cheerleading since I was nine years old – we could have done amazing….but even I was struggling with those moves!” Plus, the sponsorship from Secret Sparkle, the glitter deodorant, was an added pressure; Sophia wanted to tell them, “I will sparkle my forehead in deodorant if you want me to, just stop making me dance!” They’re still bummed they didn’t even get a stick of the deodorant as a gift. “If we had danced better we would have gotten sparkle pits,” Hilarie says – though as Joy points out, why would they want that? “The idea of drawing attention to your armpit, like, ‘Check it out, guys!’” she laughs.
But their rewatch podcast isn’t just about the behind-the-scenes memories, though those are fun; they also spend time breaking down the characters, writing, and editing to pinpoint exactly what makes the show such a lasting love for so many fans. For example, for many television series, the drama comes from romantic tension, a couple who seems perfect for one another but don’t get together for a season or two. On One Tree Hill, “our friendships are the will-they-won’t-they,” Hilarie points out. “I can see why a lot of our fanbase has questioned that the romanticism in the show is the friendships.” Sophia agrees: “The friendships are what matter to us because they’re slow and they’re honest.” Hear your favorite cast members of One Tree Hill break down their iconic show an episode at a time on Drama Queens.
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