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With breakout star Adam "Seth Cohen" Brody making sure he's spotted in public every time he steps out of the house, and with on-screen love-interest Mischa Barton sneering at people who can't force an army of flunkies to make sure her pretty foot will never touch a gas pedal, The O.C. afterthought Ben McKenzie's publicists certainly has their work cut out for them. But they earn their fee today, landing this item in Page Six:

"THE O.C" star Benjamin McKenzie is trying to break into movies. McKenzie just landed a starring role on commercial director Phil Morrison's feature film directing debut, "Junebug." That's not all that's new for McKenzie. Over the weekend, the blond actor was seen cuddling up to "Everwood" starlet Emily van Camp over dinner at Ago in Los Angeles.

Remember: McKenzie is also on The O.C., he's trying to start a film career, and he's "cuddling" with peers of the opposite sex (even if he's been seen with a guy-pal spotter a couple of times*). If you're not getting the message yet, we'll distill the PR message: TV Star, Movie Star, Straight Guy. Got it? Good. We don't want any publicists losing their jobs and being forced to panhandle outside of Campanile.

[*We had a little prepositional trouble; the linked item says "in" Santa Monica, not "on" Santa Monica, so saying he was working out in West Hollywood was probably wrong. Um, yeah.]