Veronica Mars may be gone, but auteur Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell are getting back into business together!

Not only is that long-rumored V.M. movie indeed in the works, but we’ve just learned the two will reunite in May on one of Rob’s new series.

At the Miss Sixty show during Fashion Week, Kristen told us, “I’m about to guest star on Rob Thomas’ new show, called Party Down. It’s on Starz…a lot of old Veronica Mars people are on it and some really cool comedians like Adam Scott.” The network confirms that yes, “Kristen Bell will be appearing in our new original comedy series, Party Down, premiering on Friday, March 20.”

Kristen is scheduled to film her scenes next week, and you can see her episode (the season finale) on May 22. Sources haven’t confirmed, but $20 says she’s playing “Veronica Moon,” the leader of the “über-efficient and wildly good-looking Valhalla Catering Team.”

In case you haven’t heard about Party Down yet, it’s the story of “a Los Angeles catering team—wannabes stuck working for tips while hoping for their big break. Each episode of the 10-part original series finds the hapless catering team working a new event—from sweet-16 affairs to gay weddings to mobster acquittal parties to porn awards—where they inevitably get tangled up with colorful guests and the absurd drama of their own personal lives.” Whoo and, also, hoo.

Party Down regulars include, among others, Ken Marino (Veronica’s Vinnie Van Lowe!), Ryan Hansen (Veronica’s Dick Casablancas!), Jane Lynch (star of everything ever and pictured above center) and Lizzy Caplan (The Class, True Blood and, of course, Cloverfield).

And that’s not all: Veronica Mars faves Jason Dohring (Veronica’s Logan Echolls) and Alona Tal (Veronica’s Meg Manning) both pop up as guest stars in episode two! Did we mention whoo?

(Source)

Veronica Mars fans, if you pray, pray hard. And if you don’t, start, because the cult fave’s long-rumored movie version is about to enter the anxiety-producing phase known as do-or-die-time.

“I’m preparing the pitch now — literally now,” Mars‘ main man, Rob Thomas, told me this morning. “I hope to go in and talk to [executive producer] Joel Silver and [Warner Bros.] in the next week or two to see if they’re interested.”

But first, Thomas has to iron out the endgame of the plot, which, as I first reported last fall, focuses on Veronica solving a crime in college rather than as an FBI agent. “I haven’t figured it out yet,” he says of the final act. “That’s what I’m working on now. It’s close. A few key details left to solve.”

Thomas is quick to caution, however, that completing an outline and pitching the studio are just two steps of a much larger, more daunting process. “I have some fear that Veronica Mars fans believe that the chief hurdle in getting the movie made is my writing it,” Thomas confesses. “Unfortunately, that’s only one of several hurdles. I’m going to give it my best shot and let the chips fall where they may.

“It’s entirely possible I won’t have an answer at the end of the pitch,” he continues. “They will want to consider [the pitch], look at some numbers — whatever it is people on the business side do — and then they’ll give me some sort of response. Then, if they want to move forward, there’s the deal-making that’ll need to go on.”

Surprisingly, one of the project’s primary selling points won’t be tagging along to the meeting. “Kristen [Bell] will not be joining me,” he says. “I’m sure she has no desire to see how the sausage is made.” (Source)

Kristen Bell fanboys—and girls—of the world unite!

OK, so that was not entirely meant to plug Bell’s new movie, Fanboys, but based on the endless number of emails I have been receiving about all things Kristen, I thought it was time for a little update on the artist formerly known around our neck of the woods as TV’s greatest teen super sleuth.

Will Elle be back on Heroes? Better yet, why was she killed off in the first place? Keep reading for more on what Kristen is up to now and why she may just be a closet fanboy herself…

Even though we lost our beloved Elle almost two months ago, the wound is still fresh, and the pain is still very real. However, sources close to the show tell me that it was in fact Kristen’s choice to leave Heroes. And while I know that doesn’t make you—or me!—forgive Sylar for murdering her, it may help to know that K. Bell just needed more time to work on her many new movies. She is currently filming Couples Retreat with Vince Vaughn and When in Rome, with newlywed Josh Duhamel, which will come out later this year.

But don’t think our girl has forgotten her roots just yet. At the Fanboys premiere last night, Kristen told us that, based on her résumé, she definitely has a colorful array of fans. “Going to ComiCon and experiencing people who actually pour their own costumes, like they have plastic molds in their garage…I collected hockey cards as a kid, and that was, like, my be-all and end-all. If you want to pour plastic costumes in your garage, do it! I’m all for it.” (Source)