Moviefone Editorial

Tag: arrow

  • ‘Arrow’ Star Katie Cassidy Is Engaged

    Katie CassidyArrow,” is engaged! The actress announced the news via an Instagram photo of her kissing fiancé Matthew Rodgers and flaunting her new ring.

    “I can’t wait to spend forever with you my darling!! I’m the luckiest girl in the whole world,” she gushed on Instagram.

    The engagement took place while the duo was vacationing in Mauritius. Cassidy later told E! Online, “He surprised me during a romantic dinner and dropped to a knee! It was so perfect!” The actress (whose dad is ’70s heartthrob David Cassidy), has been sharing photos of her tropical vacation with Rodgers.

    We don’t know much about Rodgers, but according to a comment on her Instagram, the two went to high school together. Cassidy did tell E! that she and Rodgers “were friends at first.”

    This will be the first marriage for the 30-year-old actress, who previously dated singer Jesse McCartney and “Entourage” star Jerry Ferrara.

  • Watch ‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell Slay the ‘American Ninja Warrior’ Course

    “Arrow” star American Ninja Warrior.” The actor, who does a lot of his own stunts on the CW superhero series, easily conquered the obstacle course. He ably leaped and swung his way through each challenge, including the tough triple fly-wheel set-up.

    The fans were screaming and the commentators gushing: “He’s 6’1″ and just solid muscle!… He’s only had a little training on these obstacles. This is just natural athletic ability! Fan boys all across America are losing the minds.” Not to mention the fan girls!

    After triumphantly completing the course, he announced he wanted to do one more, continuing on to an even tougher course to do the Salmon Ladder, a cinch for the star since that’s what TV alter ego Oliver Queen trains on. After going on to one more challenge, he thanked the crowd — and then dropped into the pool.

    Amell raised $30,000 for Red Nose Day.

    Also competing last evening for charity: Derek Hough, Mena Suvari and Natalie Morales.

  • The CW 2017-2018 Schedule: ‘Arrow,’ ‘Jane,’ ‘Riverdale’ Moving Days

    After a week of TV schedule announcements from other networks, The CW is here with its fall lineup, and you’ll notice a few changes.

    “Arrow” is moving from Wednesday to Thursday, and “Riverdale” is moving from Thursday to Wednesday, right before the new “Dynasty” “reimagining.” “Jane the Virgin” is moving to Fridays, where it will follow “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”

    Here’s a statement from The CW President Mark Pedowitz on the new shows coming:

    “Next season we have four new scripted series, continuing our mission of adding more original programming to schedule all year long. In the fall, we have the action-packed new military drama VALOR, and a new version of the iconic soap DYNASTY, giving us two new female-focused series that add more balance to our primetime lineup. For midseason, we have the heartwarming comedy LIFE SENTENCE, starring Lucy Hale, a terrific actress; and we have the exciting new series BLACK LIGHTNING, based on the DC character. Next season, we will have our strongest schedule ever, with a broad range of series to appeal to both women and men, across a wide range of demographics. And we will continue to provide our advertisers new opportunities to reach our audience, the youngest of any broadcaster, on every platform.”

    Here’s the fall schedule (via TVLine):

    MONDAY
    8 pm Supergirl
    9 pm VALOR

    TUESDAY
    8 pm The Flash
    9 pm DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

    WEDNESDAY
    8 pm Riverdale (new time slot)
    9 pm DYNASTY

    THURSDAY
    8 pm Supernatural
    9 pm Arrow (new time slot)

    FRIDAY
    8 pm Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (new time slot)
    9 pm Jane the Virgin (new time slot)

    Later in the day, The CW shared first trailers for the new series, including fall additions “Dynasty” and “Valor”:
    Don’t worry about the schedule not including “iZombie,” “The 100,” “The Originals,” and the new shows “Black Lightning” and “Life Sentence,” ’cause they coming midseason.

    Also, The CW boss told reporters that “Black Lightning” will not take place in the Arrowverse, so they’re not aiming to do a five-way crossover with that new series. “But there will be a big fourth quarter crossover with all four of the shows that are on in the fall.”

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • Is Juliana Harkavy ‘Arrow’s’ Newest Black Canary?

    'Dolphin Tale' World PremiereArrow” — just short of whether she’s actually going to become the new Black Canary.

    All signs point to Harkavy’s recently introduced character Dinah Drake being poised to assume the heroic mantle once assumed by sisters Sara and Laurel Lance: She’s got the badass bona fides as a former undercover cop; she’s a metahuman with a sonic scream, like her comic book counterpart; she’s learning the vigilante way as the newest member of Team Arrow; and she shares a name with the earliest, 1940s incarnation of the superheroine.

    Of course, in the Arrowverse, anything’s possible — there may be another identity in store for Dinah, or she could befall an abrupt end. But Harkavy’s most certainly prepared to suit up in Black Canary’s leathers should that call ever come, as she explained to Moviefone.

    Moviefone: I know you have secrets to protect, but tell me what you’re able to tell me; give me a little tease into the next couple of weeks, for Dinah in particular, on “Arrow.”

    Juliana Harkavy: I think Dinah’s theme for this season is that she’s finding her place, and she’s settling in, and she’s becoming stronger and better as she works with the team. So that’s just going to keep happening.

    She’s going to be able to use her power more and more, because she’s training, she has Curtis and Felicity, all of these technical people there who are helping her in every way, and then you have her training physically, so she’s just going to keep getting stronger, and help the team — just keep helping out the team.

    It’s interesting, because there are certainly indicators that Dinah’s going to go a certain place and perhaps assume a certain superhero identity — Black Canary — but she’s not there yet.

    No. It’s taking her some time. I think she’s still learning. She’s still becoming a part of the team and finding her footing. I think that she also knows, Dinah knows that, again, she’s familiar with loss. The team just lost Laurel in a big way, and they’re dealing with that, and she doesn’t want to fill her shoes, and she’s empathetic towards what they’re going through.

    So if it happens, I think it’s going to take some time, and I think that it should take time. I don’t think it’s something that should just kind of fall into her lap. She’s developing her strength in all areas.

    We’ve heard that the show’s most recent Black Canary, Katie Cassidy, is going to be coming back to the show. That must be kind of an exciting prospect for you, to potentially share some scenes with Katie.

    I am so excited! I honestly, I can’t wait. We’ve spoken. She’s the sweetest ever, and I’m just excited to learn from her. She’s been part of this forever, and she’s just awesome, so I can’t wait to share some screen time with her and just be some badass girls together, it’d be great.

    Either a team up, or throwing down against each other. I think it’ll be something to see.

    Exactly, yeah. Either one would be great.

    Tell me how much you’re enjoying this gig. What are the things about it that you’re really loving being a part of the “Arrow” ensemble?

    The whole thing is just, honestly, it’s a dream come true. From the part itself being a dream role, really, to just the cast and crew of producers just being some of the kindest, warmest, most welcoming people I’ve ever worked with. Overall, it’s just been one of the most incredible and positive things to ever happen to me, really.

    Tell me a little bit about getting the part. What they told you when they first approached you, and what you kind of had to wrap your head around as far as playing Dinah. What was that process like getting on the show?

    For the audition, they didn’t tell me that the character would be Dinah, and they didn’t really give me any information other than, she’s a vigilante and she’s a badass. That was pretty much it. Then they gave me two really great scenes to audition with.

    I kind of appreciate that now, because I think if I had known at the time, it would have just been a lot of pressure that would have made it difficult to maybe perform. Yeah, I found out after I booked the role. They sort of had a “Okay, sit down — we have something to tell you” phone call, and they told me, and it was amazing. It was really exciting.

    How badass-ready were you when the part came your way? Were you already pretty well-trained, or did you really have to hit the gym and take some classes to be able to pull off the physicality?

    I felt ready enough that I knew I had some physical background. I had been going to the gym a lot, and I did feel prepared. I felt strong when I began. I was still only at about 60%. When I came in, they really gave me a trainer, and they really took it seriously, and helped me get on track with my fitness. I felt confident, but then I got here and they really helped me get to the point I needed to be at.

    Tell me about that side of it. You dive in, you start changing your body, you start being able to do a lot of things you couldn’t do after a few weeks time. The show’s on a TV schedule, but does movie-level stunt work, and you throw yourself into the part of the choreography that you’ve got to pull off. Tell me about that experience.

    That’s been one of the fun things about the whole experience, is the physical challenge, and feeling myself get stronger. It’s been transformative, I think spiritually, as much as it has been physically. I really learned how to meditate, and how to find my center, and just feel strong from the inside out.

    It’s something that I didn’t expect to come with all of this. I thought I’d get strong, and go to the gym, and I’d get in good shape. But it’s really helped me become a happier person, too. So that was a really nice outcome that surprised me.

    Was there a stunt where maybe normally they would have called in the stuntwoman, but you were able to say at some point, you know what, I think “I got this — can I try it?”

    The more that we do, the more I ask if I can do this! A lot of the times they will let me. Unless it’s something that’s really out there and I need to be like wired up, and I’m going to just hurt myself — like, there’s no question. They work with me, and they are excited that I want to do as many of my stunts as I can. I have a couple of women who do stunts for me. They’re absolutely incredible. My goal is really to be at that level where I can pretty much do anything on my own. I think it’s important.

    I’ve had some funny talks with your producers in the past about you poor actors, those of you who have powers, trying to figure out how to act out your powers moments. Tell me about figuring out how you were going to pull of on camera the sonic canary cry.

    Every time that I have to do a cry, I really tried to focus, and I really tried to have it come from a place of her pain, and her personal struggle, I think that’s what the fuel is behind that scream. That’s what she was experiencing at the moment that she got the power.

    So I tried to sort of like really just put my heart into it, and not just make it a physical thing, but put all of her pain, and like all of her power into that scream. So that’s usually what I’m thinking about when I’m doing it.

    What was your way into her, emotionally as a character? What did you key in on once you knew you had the part?

    This moment where she sort of became a meta, and was when she experienced a terrible tragedy and lost the love of her life, and lost her partner, and he was shot right in front of her. That’s something that just made me sort of open my heart to her right away.

    And I also had recently lost a very dear friend, so I was also dealing with my own mourning, and my own loss, and I was able to, especially that 511 episode where you actually see the flashback, and you see her dealing with that, I was able to really use it in my own life, and connect with her, and find this common ground.

    Tell me about working with your fellow actors, the members of Team Arrow. Is Stephen Amell the quarterback for the team among the actors, as well as on screen?

    He is, yeah. He really is. Stephen is an incredible leader in everything that he does. I think that’s sort of just in his nature. He’s efficient, he’s smart, he’s aware of sort of everything that’s going on at once, beyond just what he’s focusing on in that moment. It’s a gift that I think he has.

    I definitely look up to him as a leader while we’re shooting. I think the rest of the cast does, too. He sets the precedent for the rest of the show. Absolutely, yeah. Stephen is definitely our quarterback.

    On camera and off camera, after five seasons, it’s a well-oiled machine. Every member of the team knows their job pretty well. So for you to step in and be the newbie — give me a little sense of that experience.

    It was terrifying at first, to be honest. It was really quite intimidating coming in after five seasons and being so completely green. Nobody treated me like I was a newbie. Everybody on it really just welcomed me in right away and were so warm.

    It was incredible coming in for the first time and seeing this thing, which obviously already has so much momentum behind it, so much life behind it, and jumping on to this moving piece has sort of been one of the biggest adventures of my life.

    It’s been really cool coming in fresh at this point, because I think for them, too, it’s nice to sort of have that element of newness around where like, I’m not aware of how everything works. I had my moments, my learning curves, and I’ve hit my roadblocks and my stumbles. I think it keeps it exciting for everyone, because they can teach me, and they do all the time.

    “Arrow” airs Wednesdays on The CW.

  • ‘The OC’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

    ‘The OC’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

  • Marc Guggenheim Talks del Toro’s ‘Trollhunters,’ Confirms More DC/CW Crossovers

    Netflix & DreamWorks Animation's TROLLHUNTERSAs any fan of the The CW’s superheroic series “Arrow” and “Legends of Tomorrow” knows, writer/producer Marc Guggenheim‘s got a pretty solid track record for translating imaginative adventure projects from the page to the screen.

    For his latest effort, Guggenheim’s turning his attention from the comic book page to the world of young adult fantasy fiction by “Trollhunters,” the 2015 novel by acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro along with Daniel Kraus. Long before the book was published — five years, to be precise — Guggenheim was collaborating with del Toro on an animated adaptation of the tale that finds seemingly average teenager Jim inadvertently elevated to the role of Trollhunter, defender of a secret, centuries-old community of trolls hidden beneath his hometown, and finds himself balancing the demands of his title with making sure he makes it to gym class.

    When del Toro’s expansive universe proved too big to be contained in a single film, Guggenheim put on his executive producer hat and built out a “Trollhunters” saga for the small screen as a 26-episode animated series for DreamWorks Animation, debuting on Netflix Dec. 23, featuring an all-star voice cast (including Steven Yeun, Kelsey Grammer, frequent del Toro collaborator Ron Perlman and the late Anton Yelchin in his final performance as Jim)

    Guggenheim joined Moviefone to delve into his behind-the-scenes experiences bringing del Toro’s vision to animated, serialized life, and he also shares his thoughts on the wildly positive reception to the ambitious recent crossover of all four of the DC Universe TV series and what it promises for the future.

    Moviefone: You’re no stranger to adapting characters that are created by somebody else or in some other medium, but Guillermo del Toro has such a specific vision for everything he does; he’s such a very specific type of artist. How was the process different in trying to realize Guillermo’s very specific vision for “Trollhunters”?

    Marc Guggenheim: I think that’s a really smart and savvy question. I will say it helps enormously that Guillermo is able to, I think in many ways, sort of square the circle in the sense that, you’re right, he does have an incredibly specific vision, and that’s amazing, and that’s why he’s, quite frankly, Guillermo del Toro.

    At the same time, it threatens to be contradictory. I think, for anyone else, it is contradictory. But in Guillermo’s case, it really isn’t. He is incredibly collaborative, and he’ll take a good idea from anywhere. He goes into these things without any ego. He’s able to always keep his eye on the ball of what he wants, and he never looses sight of that, which is terrific. But at the same time, that vision still has room for other people’s contributions. It’s a remarkable thing, and it’s a very rare thing, as you might imagine.

    What did you learn from collaborating with Guillermo?

    Oh gosh. I honestly don’t know if we have the kind of time to list it all! The truth of the matter is that I always describe working with Guillermo as like going to film school. I don’t think there’s a single meeting, or phone call, even from the longest story breaking session to the shortest touch base, where he doesn’t end up saying something where I don’t learn something either about the business or the craft, or about storytelling in general.

    I would say probably the biggest thing I learned from Guillermo is trusting your audience. I think Guillermo, he really does trust the audience. Even when we’re working on something where we intend for the audience to include young kids. He’s very much about trusting the audience. They’ll get it. They will follow the narrative, no matter how rich, no matter even how complex, and I don’t think he’s wrong. He trusts that the audience can handle it, even young kids can handle it.

    I think he’s right. I think it’s something that we tend to lose sight of, particularly in television. It’s a very, very invaluable lesson.

    This is a great time for animated work on TV, with shows incorporating a little bit more complexity and serialization in the storytelling. For you, what was the fun and the challenge of a serialized story in the animation sphere?

    First of all, it was a huge amount of fun. It’s funny. I never really looked at it as like a challenge. It honestly really felt like a series of opportunities. I think the project ended up benefiting a little bit from the fact that I hadn’t really done animation, and I hadn’t done children’s television. The approach that we all took, consistent with Guillermo’s vision, was that we’re not writing it for kids. We’re just writing it basically for people, and for people of all ages. So it’s something that kids can watch, but there’s plenty of humor that adults can appreciate.

    There’s a timeless quality to the setting that makes it appeal to people of all ages. I think the story is very universal. It’s essentially a “Chosen One” story, but sort of within that very generic description there was a huge amount of room for us to play with those tropes, and tweak them, and turn them on their head a little bit, which I think, again, is the kind of thing you come to associate with Guillermo’s writing.

    I think one of the things Guillermo doesn’t get enough credit for is, everyone understands and recognizes he’s a visionary director, and he has this incredible visual style, but he’s also a remarkable writer, and brings a lot of heart and humor to his work. It’s a lot of fun to put that all in the mix and see what we ended up with. I’m sorry, I realize I started to run very far field of your original question.

    Are you energized to develop some more stuff in the animation field? Is that now a territory that you feel really attracted to?

    Yeah. I have to say that this whole experience — and I’ve been working on “Trollhunters” now for about five years — has been just so joyful. I can’t express that enough. Part of it’s the animation side of it. Part of it is just the wonderful people at DreamWorks who we work with.

    Whenever I go over to DreamWorks and see the animators, and see the designers, and just even walk around the space, quite frankly, it’s so inspiring, and I come back to my offices at “Arrow” and “Legends” almost re-energized.

    So, yeah, I would like to think that it’s not my last foray, as always. I’m very much about not picking things based upon the genre, but rather “Is the story interesting to me? Is the world compelling? And are the people involved people that I want to be spending time with?”The CW DC crossover 2016I imagine you were pretty gratified to see the enthusiastic response to the big crossover among the DC/CW series, particularly to the 100th episode of “Arrow.” When you started seeing the fan reaction to what was happening on-screen, how did you feel?

    I’d probably have to say, first of all — just because it’s the nature of my personality — relieved. You know what was really nice? What was so great about the response — I was reading Twitter and checking social media and everything, was for one night at least, the “Arrow” 100th, we all sort of dropped the tribalism of which relationships we wanted, and what plotlines were upsetting us, and it was just the celebration of the show. And that was really, really wonderful.

    Both the 100th episode and the crossover, it really was written with fans in mind. The whole thing really was an exercise in “What do we think is cool? What do we think the audience will think is cool? Trust that what we think is cool and what the audience thinks is cool is the same thing, and just go for it.”

    I think the cherry on top of the sundae was, I think everyone watched with an eye towards what we were trying to accomplish. They recognized it was a TV show and it wasn’t a movie, so they were I think impressed by the scope of it. They recognized that each of these shows has their own identity, so they understood that the “Flash” episode is an episode of “Flash,” same with “Arrow,” same with “Legends.”

    I think what was most gratifying was just the fact that everyone was on board for this ride that we had constructed for them. It was super great. Definitely everyone, both here at the office and the studio and network, we’ve still been on a high.

    Do you see this as being an annual event?

    Yeah. I think, certainly, each year we’ve done a crossover, and each year it’s gotten bigger and more ambitious. Those sorts of decisions are actually made well above my head — though I don’t think it’s hard to look at the landscape and go “Well, surely there will be a proper four night crossover next year with all four shows — ‘Supergirl’ properly included.”

    But who knows? I think all of us are still recovering a little bit from this crossover. It is a lot of work. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a labor of love for sure, but it’s definitely — it’s kind of like childbirth. You don’t want to immediately start thinking about the next baby. You’re still holding the newborn in your arms.

    I felt with the “Arrow” 100th in particular, by the time we got to the end of that particular episode, for “Arrow,” the table’s really been reset; everything seems open to a whole new way of looking at things and the possibilities are wide open. Do you guys feel that way creatively on staff?

    Yes and no, in the sense that, look: I think on “Arrow,” we’ve always sort of felt like, once we introduced Barry Allen, and once the universe sort of expanded to include metahumans, and now time travel and parallel universes, and now aliens, I think we all recognize that the world is much bigger, and that “Arrow” can absolutely do episodes where he’s fighting a metahuman, or, like we did last year, introduce magic.

    I think, last year, we leaned pretty heavily into metahumans and magic. I wouldn’t say the results were mixed — I would say that the response was mixed. I think what’s a fun challenge for us on “Arrow”; how do we acknowledge this larger universe that has grown, while at the same time allowing “Arrow” to do what it does best? Which is: each of these shows has its own identity, and “Arrow” is the gritty, grounded crime drama. We do 23 episodes a year. So that’s a pretty big canvas, and I think that out of 23 episodes, the show can benefit from, and withstand, the occasional foray into genre.

  • The CW’s Four-Way Superhero Crossover Promises to Be ‘Best Team-up Ever’

    Supergirl Flash“Best. Team-up. Ever!” Felicity Smoak is super-stoked about the four-way superhero crossover on The CW.

    The network released a promo for the event, which ties together its four DC Comics superhero shows: “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” and “Supergirl.” The promo doesn’t show much beyond The Flash (Grant Gustin) introducing Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) — whom he teamed up with in a crossover last season — to his other super friends, Oliver/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), Firestorm (Victor Garber), Atom (Brandon Routh), and more.

    The superheroes will be teaming up to battle the Dominators, an alien race seeking to take out Earth’s meta-humans. The crossover begins Nov. 28 at the very end of a “Supergirl” episode. Then, as that show’s executive producer Marc Guggenheim explained, “The story that’s being told has a beginning, middle and end: It’s a beginning in ‘Flash,’ a middle in ‘Arrow,’ and an end in ‘Legends.’ But Supergirl is very much a part of the whole thing.”

    Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.

  • Matt Letscher Teases Reverse-Flash’s Epic Run Through The CW’s DC Universe

    "Devil's Knot" Portraits - 2013 Toronto International Film FestivalHis name is Eobard Thawne, and he’s the fastest man alive (after Barry Allen, that is).

    Actually, behind the scenes, his name is Eli Stone” and “The Carrie Diaries.”

    Now Letscher’s deep in the thick of his, ahem, flashiest role to date: Reprising his role as Barry Allen’s cunning, equally super-fast and still enigmatically motivated nemesis from the future, the Reverse-Flash from the first season of “The Flash,” the actor will be racing between several of The CW’s superhero series — especially “Legends of Tomorrow” — throughout the course of the 2016-2017 TV season as a member of the villainous Legion of Doom.

    The actor slowed his pace down long enough to join Moviefone for a revealing conversation about Eobard Thawne’s future in TV’s DC Universe, and how it may lead to revealing significantly more about his own past.

    Moviefone: Let’s start with what it’s been like for you to step into the superhero culture that’s dominating our pop entertainment these days. You’ve done a lot of good work for a lot of years, but it must be an interesting phenomenon to step into this very heightened moment in time.

    Matt Letscher: Yeah, it’s nice to be part of something that’s kind of part of the zeitgeist right now. But it’s not coming from nowhere. It’s coming from a long history, a rich canon of stories — and stories that mean a lot to a lot of people. So to be part of that, and be part of it in a way like the CW is doing it right now, with the DC Universe, to be part of it in a way where you have basically four shows that, not only are co-existing, but that are relating to each other at the same time, I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like that before.

    So it’s really unusual. I mean, I’m hired as a series regular for a season, but I could be on any single one of those shows based on how my contract is structured. So that’s really weird. I mean, for an actor, that’s really cool.

    Yeah, it’s very inventive, and in keeping with the comic book traditional approach. Being this sort of vital puzzle piece for all the shows this season, what’s that been like for you so far? How did they approach you with this notion, and what’s the execution been like thus far?

    Well, I’m mainly going to be on “Legends.” When I was approached, it was, “We’d like you to be a regular on ‘Legends of Tomorrow.’ You’ll be one of the main baddies along with a couple other guys we’re going to call The Legion of Doom.” And they told me what that whole storyline was going to look like — and then they said, “We also want you to pop in on ‘Flash’ a couple times and reserve you for a few other episodes.”

    I mean, it’s one of those things where it’s a little bit open-ended. They want to keep their options open. But mainly, I’m on “Legends,” and I’m there to help execute the story for its second season.

    Which has got to be fun, in that you get to shake it up with a whole new group of actors.

    Yeah, actually, Eli Stone.” And meeting Neal McDonough and John Barrowman has been a real pleasure. Those guys are terrifically talented and a lot of fun to work with. So it’s been cool.

    Your entry into the DC Universe was through your association with Greg and his team. Did you have any other particular connective tissue to comic book material? Or was this a whole new world for you?

    It’s pretty much a whole new world for me. I mean, I was a very casual comic book observer as a kid. I’m probably better suited for “Riverdale” than maybe “The Flash.” But yeah. This was primarily because of my relationship with Greg and Andrew. Having worked on “Eli Stone,” they thought I’d be a good fit for the Reverse-Flash reveal in Season 1. And it’s just been going well since it started, so I think they thought, “Well, this would be a good year to bring him in and really be able to use him a little bit more.” So yeah, primarily through them.

    They’re so well-versed in the world, Greg, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg. These guys really know what they’re talking about. They know it inside and out. So anytime I have a question, it’s very easy to go to the encyclopedia of Kreisberg or Guggenheim and find out what’s going on.

    What do you like about this evil, evil man?

    I like that there are, I feel, two sides to him, and there’s also a mystery. I feel like there’s a duality in him in that he started out loving Barry and wanting to be Barry, be the Flash, and then it grew into this intense dissociative hatred of Barry so that he wanted to basically annihilate him, remove him from existence. I do feel like those two sides are always in play.

    Basically, Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, cannot fully exist without the Flash, as much as he wants to destroy him. So that dichotomy really intrigues me. And then there’s also this mystery behind it, like what is it that triggered it all? Is it simply that this guy was born a sociopath, or a psychopath I should say, and he just became this way? Or was there some sort of inciting incident for him that sort of tripped this behavior? That’s still something of a mystery to me, and I think to many people. But maybe we’ll find out sometime.

    Given that very Flash-centric context that he comes from, we’ve just now started to see him show up in “Legends.” What can you say about how he is without the Flash in his gunsights right now? How does being in a storyline removed from the Flash affect him?

    It’s interesting: He’s maybe a bit less emotionally involved, a little more removed. I do feel like his storyline on “Legends” is very much related to what has happened to him thus far on “The Flash.” It’s an extension of that. So he’s not a different person in any way, but there is a little more room for humor, probably.

    There’s also the relationship with the other Legion of Doom guys, and anytime you get a bunch of super villains in a room together, things usually don’t go that great in the long run. So that’s kind of fun to explore, too.

    When you get a bunch of actors playing super villains in a room together, what happens?

    They, like a pack of dogs, try and sniff out who the alpha male is, over time. And usually one emerges briefly, and then the others try to overtake him. So there’s no real sense of trust, and yet they all know who their common enemy is, and they know they need to depend on each other for survival.

    So it’s always fraught with mistrust, but at the same time, they’re all on the same page. There’s a lot of room for humor too. I mean, Damien Darhk and Merlyn, they’re funny guys. So I feel like the whole “Legends of Tomorrow” season is opened up a lot more humor on the show. It just feels a little rowdier, a little more adventurous, a little funnier.

    Does he make any particular enemies amongst the Legends to kind of be a Flash surrogate for his hatred?

    It wasn’t a Legend, actually, that he took down, but it was [Hourman] Rex Tyler. I’m trying to think if there’s anybody in particular so far. No — not yet. Darhk and Merlin are much more tied to some of the Legends, like White Canary, based on what they’ve experienced together on “Arrow.” So there’s some much more personal vendettas.

    I think, with Eobard Thawne, while they figure out who he is, there’s a much greater sense of mystery around him and what he’s trying to do. Why he’s doing what he’s doing. Because they don’t have the same kind of experience with him that they do with the other villains. So it’s a good thing.

    In not nearly as many scenes as your actual character has shared with Barry Allen — given that Tom Cavanaugh was essentially playing a version of your character prior to your reveal – you’ve personally shared scenes with Grant Gustin that have had a really effective, combustable chemistry. Because that hero-villain relationship is always so crucial, what’s been the thrill of finding that with Grant?

    Well, I go back to this idea that Eobard, in some recess of his psyche, loves and admires Barry as much as he despises and loathes Barry. That he’s at war with himself a little bit about this relationship, even if it’s on a subconscious level. And that one can’t fully exist without the other. There’s sort of two sides to the same coin.

    And then, just outside of the world, Grant is just a really, really excellent actor, and an utter professional. I mean, it’s no surprise that he has good chemistry with a lot of people in the show. I mean, he’s just a great actor. He takes every scene very seriously, prepares as well as anybody I’ve ever worked with. When you see somebody who’s that committed to their job and to discovering the truth about what’s going on on any given day, it makes you want to work that much harder to find it. So I feel like working with an actor of his caliber inspires better work out of me.

    Did you and Tom Cavanaugh do anything to kind of create a little continuity in your performances as the Reverse-Flash?

    Not a lot. He was helpful, the first couple of episodes I did, because I had not been watching the show, and I got a call with the offer. So then I had to catch up. And I kind of watched what he had been doing, but then there’s also this backstory stuff that he knew that I didn’t know. Stuff with the suit, with Gideon, with how things had been working on set thus far. So I tried to take some very subtle things from his performance, just cadence and stuff like that.

    Tom’s very, very specific in terms of his delivery. I tried to incorporate a little bit of that, but not worry about it too much, because, ultimately, in the end, it’s two different people. I can’t pretend I’m going to be able to recreate what Tom Cavanaugh did with the character. So yeah. He was really helpful early on, and then we just kind of took it and ran with it from there.

    You’ve had such a long and diverse career, and you haven’t been overly burdened by celebrity to kind of limit your choices. What has this phase of your career meant in the bigger picture of things?

    Well, it’s nice to be part of something that is in the zeitgeist and is doing it in a way that’s kind of never been done before. It’s nice to be playing a character that means something very specific to a large number of people. You rarely get that opportunity as an actor. Usually that’s something you have to build over time, and in this case, we’re stepping right into something.

    I’ve got kids, and they watch these shows. It’s nice to be a part of something that they actually want to watch, that I’m in, or that they can watch, you know? That’s meaningful for me as a father. So I’d say that probably covers it right now. As an actor, you’re always going to be unemployed again. You’re always going to be looking for the next thing. It’s just nice not to have to worry about that for a little while.

    Have you found yourself more recognizable in the grocery store? Are more fans kind of picking up on you when they see you out and about?

    Not especially! That’s something that always comes and goes. I’ve been on shows where I’ve been highly recognizable, and that’s happened a lot, and others more so. I tend to be that kind of actor that everybody thinks is someone they went to school with, you know? They’ll stop me at the restaurant or coffee shop and go, “Have we met before? Where did you grow up?” It’s that kind of thing, which I’m perfectly happy with. That’s just the right amount of celebrity.

    But I think, as far as Eobard Thawne goes, there are fans, they do notice. They’re really respectful, and they’re passionate about their stories. So those are the kind of people I love having recognize me.

    Every actor has to deal with costume at some point or another. With this particular one, how much does the Reverse-Flash suit help your performance, and does it at all get in the way of your performance?

    That’s a great question, because I think — because it’s a tricky costume. It’s complicated. It takes some time to get into it, and it’s restricting a little bit physically, and I think most people think that it’s a problem.

    But it also, because of the way it’s built, it adds muscle to your body, it adds a kind of structure to your body, and I think it really helps. It helps with this metahuman presence that you’re trying to give off. This extra, super strong whatever it is — presence. It makes me feel more powerful, and I feel like that translates to the performance. It’s unusual that you get wardrobe that directly helps you that much.

  • What’s Next for ‘Arrow,’ ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ and That Superhero Crossover

    arrow, legends of tomorrow crossoverEver since the DC Universe exploded onto The CW with the introduction of “Arrow” in 2012, writer/producer Marc Guggenheim has been one of the prime architects translating both long-standing and fresh comic book mythology into TV stories.

    Now, whenever Guggenheim, a frequent comic book writer himself, offers up a preview of what’s ahead for the two series he’s currently guiding, “Arrow” and “Legends of Tomorrow” — plus a tidbit or two on that upcoming crossover that includes “The Flash” and “Supergirl” — one thing becomes clear: every time one of the series turns over a big new reveal, there’s even more big things to come with each revelation.

    “Arrow”

    On Ragman Rory Reagan’s reaction to knowledge Felicity was responsible for the destruction in Havenrock:

    I feel like he’s got a very human reaction. He reacts to it the way I think you might expect him to, but not in an overblown way. I think it’s very grounded and very human.

    We talked a lot about that storyline, and Rory’s point of view and Felicity’s point of view. I will say that a lot of times, you write something and you do a storyline and it has a very different reaction than the one you expected. I think we were all taken aback, not in a bad way but just surprised, that there was so much outrage over Felicity’s actions in Episode 421. People were upset at Felicity, somehow, for saving Monument Point, at the expense of Havenrock.

    It was fun to actually get a chance to articulate the anti-Felicity point of view, and the pro-Felicity point of view. It made for a very interesting moral dilemma, and we had a chance to play with that.

    On whether Diggle and Lyla will become aware of the changes to their family as a result of “Flashpoint”:

    I always say that, on “Arrow,” there is no secret that doesn’t eventually get discovered.

    On how the story of newly introduced D.A. Adrian Chase, who becomes the superhero Vigilante in the comic books, will move forward:

    Episode 507 is where we show our cards the most, in terms of Adrian. What’s fun about the way we’re writing and portraying Adrian is that we’re writing with a certain amount of comic book knowledge. And if you’re not a comic book fan, it will just fly over your head and that’s totally fine. It’s like an adult joke in a Pixar movie.

    But if you are familiar with the comic, you’ll probably interpret certain scenes in a very specific way, and that’s fun for us. I don’t think we’ve ever really used their comic book trajectory and destiny, in this fashion, before, as part of the storytelling.

    On Quentin Lance’s path as he attempts to recover from alcoholism while serving as Oliver’s Deputy Mayor:

    It’s definitely not an easy one. Thea’s decision to make him Deputy Mayor is very noble on Thea’s part, but it’s also very naive, given the amount of demons that Quentin is wrestling with. It’s not going to be as simple as just having a new job title. It’s going to get a lot harder before it gets easier. It’s Arrow, so that probably stands to reason.

    On when the briefly glimpsed Prometheus will return as a more direct threat to Team Arrow:

    Episode 506 is when things really start to kick into a higher gear. It’s a 23 episode season. This is true for all the shows, especially when you have a big bad that’s introduced in the first episode, but you have to strike a balance between it becoming the Prometheus show and becoming very repetitive, and teasing it out. Episode 506 felt right to us because 505 felt like the end of a chapter, and then 506 kicks things into another gear.

    On when Felicity’s still-secret romance will come to light:

    It’s the classic thing of “no secrets stay a secret forever” on Arrow. Oliver is going to find out about Felicity’s boyfriend in Episode 505. Because, I’m spoiling that, I’m not going to spoil when Felicity’s boyfriend finds out that Felicity is working with Arrow.

    On how Curtis Holt still has some training to do before claiming the title of Mr. Terrific:

    I think he’s still got a ways to go on his journey. For one thing, that’s not the final costume. We decided to give some of the recruits what we call “proto costumes.” They have to earn the final one.

    In terms of all of these characters becoming or being vigilantes, Curtis has the furthest to go. The evolution of Curtis, from comic relief and sidekick to butt-kicking superhero, is a big throw, in my opinion. The only way to do it properly is to watch him try, and then watch him fail, and watch him fail, and watch him fail. So, it’s going to be a real struggle for him, as we go through the fifth season.

    One the challenge of having “Arrow’s” landmark 100th episode fall within the four-series fall crossover while still retaining its own distinction:

    The challenge was that we’ve only got 42 minutes, and it’s the middle part of a three-part story. At the same time, it’s the 100th episode. When the news broke that the 100th episode was also going to be the cross-over episode, people were up and down my Twitter and Greg [Berlanti]’s Twitter. In a very positive way, people didn’t want to feel like the cross-over was hijacking what should be a really seminal episode and moment for Arrow, which is wonderful.

    I don’t want to spoil it, but Greg came up with an idea that really does allow us to have our cake and eat it too. I haven’t seen the episode all cut together yet, but it has some incredibly iconic moments. It is a love letter to the show. It draws on all previous 99 episodes. Everyone who we could have in the episode, from a scheduling point of view, is in the episode. Even the people who we couldn’t have because of having conflicting schedules are represented. At the same time, you’ve got The Flash and Supergirl, and that’s an enormous amount of fun. The recruits also play a very large and important role in the episode.

    I’m really excited about it. There’s one moment in it that I think is probably Stephen Amell‘s finest performance to date. This one scene, that really has two moments within the one scene, will just break your heart. It will take your heart, pull it out, and stomp it on the floor. It’s very, very affecting, and it’s all on Stephen’s back. It’s incredible. Willa [Holland] is amazing in the episode.

    Everyone obviously brought their A-game to it. I’m really, really excited about it. It’s the 100th episode!

    “Legends of Tomorrow”

    On how the JSA stays involved, without the Legends having to return again and again to 1942:

    I don’t want to spoil too much. I will say that we do go back to 1987 and we’ll meet a much older version of Obsidian, who is going to be played by Lance Henriksen. That’s one way.

    And then we have another device up our sleeves that I don’t want to spoil because it deals with stuff that is mythology-based in the back half of the year.

    On how Vixen will stay very much in the picture going forward:

    We’ll deal with it very directly in Episode 203. We pick up 203, facing that issue head-on. You have a clue to it in Rex’s final words to her. If you’re Vixen and you’ve got Rex Tyler dying in your arms and you hear the words “time traveler,” who would you think is responsible?

    On the search for the time-lost Rip Hunter:

    That’s going to be something that’s always going on in the background — and in some cases the foreground — of various episodes, to a certain extent. We don’t want to change the mission statement from fixing aberrations to going and saving Rip, but the bat has been taken out of their hands, in the sense that there’s no way to find Rip, so what can they do?

    Even if they said that priority number one was finding Rip, I don’t know how they would go about it, given the nature of Rip’s disappearance.

    [The audience] will find out before the Legends do.

    On the nature of Nate Heywood’s forthcoming superpowers:

    One of the reasons why we wanted to bring the character of Nate into the show was that we wanted to play with something that “The Flash” got the chance to really play with in Season 1, which is the fun of telling an origin story for a hero.

    In the evolution of a hero, there are all these fun seminal moments that we wanted to put our own Legends spin on. Part of that is discovering you have powers, part of it is learning how to control those powers, and part of it is the first time you go out in costume, part of it is the first time you fail, and part of it is the first time you realize you have a weakness.

    We want to be able to tell all those different kinds of stories. You can safely assume the reason we brought in Nate was so that we could tell those kinds of stories, including the unpredictable nature of his powers. The next episode, 203, really shows how difficult it is for Nate to get his powers under control.

    On when the members of the Legion of Doom start reappearing:

    You’ll see John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn in “Legends” Episode 208. You’ll also see John in “Arrow” Episode 508, which is the 100th episode. You’ll see Neal McDonough back as Damien Darhk in the 100th episode. You’ll see Wentworth Miller back as Captain Cold in the “Legends” mid-season finale, which is Episode 208.

    On the White Canary’s new leadership role:

    It’s funny: you come up with character journeys for the season and sometimes they work out better than you ever expected, like with Sara — and there are other times that are worse than you ever expected, like with Kendra and Ray.

    I will say that I’ve gotta give a lot of props to Caity Lotz. As you start to see her become more and more comfortable with being the leader of this rag-tag group, it’s so much fun to watch her. The character is embodying the role of leader, and Caity’s performance really embraces it. It turns out to be one of the most successful things that we’ve done in Season 2. I’m super excited about it.

    The Crossover

    On telling the crossover story in a prelude and three parts across all four DC Universe series:

    There’s going to be an episode of “Supergirl” that ends with Supergirl going over to the crossover. Some people call it a four-way crossover because it involves four shows. My ulcer requires me to call it a three-part crossover. The story that’s being told has a beginning, middle, and end. It’s a beginning in “The Flash,” a middle in “Arrow,” and an end in “Legends,” but “Supergirl” is very much a part of the whole thing.

    “Arrow” airs Wednesdays and “Legends of Tomorrow” airs Thursdays on The CW.

  • Here Are the Villains of The CW’s DC Superhero Crossover

    The CW has revealed the main villains who will face off with DC’s superheroes on the network’s upcoming four-show crossover event, and the event is focusing heavily on characters that have been part of the DC-verse since the 1960s.

    Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” and “Legends of Tomorrow” will throw down with the Dominators, who were first introduced to comics fans back in 1967. Here’s a breakdown of the quirky characters, per a report from Deadline:

    “Dominators are members of the alien empire known as the Dominion, a rigid caste society in which social status is denoted by the size of a red circle on one’s forehead. Emotionless and calculating, Dominators are masters of genetic manipulation who seek to enhance their abilities to aid in their conquests. … Notable for tall, lanky frames, yellow skin and sharp teeth and nails, the aliens provide the strangest looking villains yet for [the] shared universe.”

    Marc Guggenheim, the executive producer of “Arrow” and “Legends,” explained to TVLine that he’s “taking inspiration from a DC crossover from the late 1980s known as ‘Invasion!,’” and plans to address the villains’ odd appearance through the use of some unique tricks.

    “We’re using cutting-edge prosthetics and computer effects to achieve a feature film-quality look, which is faithful to ‘Invasion!’ artist Todd McFarlane’s interpretation of the characters,” Guggenheim told the site.

    Fans will get to see the Dominators in action later this season on The CW. “The Flash” premieres on October 4, “Arrow” premieres on October 5, “Supergirl” premieres on October 10, and “Legends of Tomorrow” premieres on October 13.

    [via: TVLine, Deadline]