Celebrity Mound

So how much does Lauren Conrad rewrite history in her first novel “L.A. Candy” (Harper, $17.99)?

Some, but not enough to disappoint the star doll’s fans as she retreats from “The Hills,” closing out her life before the lens this season.

With this young adult novel, (the Daily News obtained an early copy), she leaves them something to hold onto beyond memories. And reruns.

Conrad, who seems to have been ably assisted by a collaborator, tells the story of Jane Roberts, a young beauty most notable for her sweet nature and innocence.

She moves to Los Angeles with her best friend from kindergarten, the gorgeous, smart–mouthed Scarlett. It takes only a couple of nights on the town before they’re swept up by a producer making a new reality show.

The two are perfect for “L.A. Candy”!

Please note that while Conrad is a fashionista, Jane’s ambition is to be an events planner. In fiction, creativity is everything.
The first night they’re miked up and sent into a club trailed by a camera crew they run into a blond “wearing more makeup and hair products than clothing.”

Turns out she’s wearing a microphone too.

Madison, the wily one introduces her friend, Gaby, who’s so stupid she shouldn’t be crossing streets without adult supervision. It’s on.

Cameras follow the four everywhere (As Conrad once said: ‘I wake up in the middle of the night and I think I’m being filmed.’) Jane’s uber-beyotch boss is suddenly all encouraging.

She begins to question what’s real about her new reality. It seems the only person who hasn’t signed a release form to get close to her is Braden. He’s a struggling actor and a man she can’t resist. But he’s confusing her.

There’s this other girl, Willow, with whom he has a complicated relationship. So naturally Jane takes up with his best friend, Jesse, the baddest of boys. (Echoes of Jason/Brody here.)

Jane emerges as the star of the show while Madison seethes, constantly running to the vile editor of “Gossip” magazine trying to trade dirt on Jane so she can score a profile in return. (Echoes of Speidi here).

As the Braden/Jesse situation blows up, Madison strikes.

Dear, trusting Jane doesn’t see it coming. How dumb is she? As dumb as she needs to be to play the heroine in a story created (we use that word loosely) by Conrad, who has her own brand of savvy.

But what the heck. No reality stars were harmed in the making of this novel. And Conrad has a future to forge.

With two more books to come, she has at least one iron in the fire.

(source)

Lauren Conrad may have one more season left on “The Hills,” but she won’t actually be filming anything from this point on — an insider says all of LC’s antics are already in the can.

According to our source, Conrad’s contract with MTV expired in March; the star celebrated the end of her reality life with cast members at a party at L.A. eatery Beso last month. But that bash was her last “real” day of filming — and producers soon had the task of coming up with enough Conrad footage to keep fans happy through the entire season.

Their solution? Taping as much LC as they could before she left for good.

“The producers would make Lauren react to a lot of potential scenarios, because they’re not yet sure how the finale will play out with the other characters,” says our source. “They would literally give her directions like, ‘Now react to Stephanie Pratt being pregnant!’ Lauren would just giggle and go for it. She also had to pretend to react to a fake story line about Audrina and Brody hooking up.”

A rep for MTV said both the contract and filming allegations are untrue. “We couldn’t cut a show with Lauren’s fake reactions,” said the flack.

Either way, Conrad is reportedly relieved to be over “The Hills” and heading far away. “Now that she’s finished out her contract, Lauren is completely done with the show,” says the source. “She’s already capitalized on her success — she’s taken this ride as far as she can.”

If Lauren is glad to be done with “The Hills,” her co-star Heidi Montag is doubly glad to be done with Lauren.

“We don’t need her,” Conrad’s frenemy sniped recently. “We’ll miss her — I just don’t know if we need her.”

LC’s nemesis added, “I know she hasn’t been wanting to be doing this for a while, and [the life she really leads] is not on camera. So I think it’s a closing chapter for her. [Lauren’s] gotta leave the dramas to the pros!”

From the looks of things, LC won’t have any problems passing the torch.

(source)

“The Hills” will no longer be alive with the drama of Lauren Conrad – at least, after the fifth season.

The producer of the MTV reality series confirms Conrad is leaving “The Hills,” and that season five, premiering March 30, will be Conrad’s final appearance.

Liz Gately says Conrad wants to move forward and lead a more private life. Gately plans to give the 23-year-old fashion designer a big send-off, and is evaluating how to continue with the show following Conrad’s departure.

“The Hills,” which debuted in 2006, has followed Conrad as she struggles with man problems, career drama and friendship fall outs.

MTV’s cameras began rolling on Conrad when she was a high school student on “Laguna Beach” before graduating to “The Hills.”