Social Media and Behind the Scenes: AKA Everything Else Not "News and Media"

[LeighAn]

2 hours ago, theOAfc said:

 He pretty much went out and replied to someone who basically put the blame of last season's failure on felicity/olicity,saying that he listens to them and talks to the EPs. Make of that what you will. 

Yeah I'm going to need receipts on that one because I feel if Stephen really did agree that Olicity was the worst thing to happen to the show and that he was going to tell the EPs as much that would have been talked about EVERYWHERE. For like months. I mean I'm still hearing about the stupid "protecting his character" quote even though there's no context for it.

[LeighAn]

2 hours ago, dtissagirl said:

The main reason I'm finding this season to be lacking is on Steve, and solely on him. And while it's not a writing influence, it has had a ginormous effect on the show: it's his acting choices in present time scenes that are making me dislike Oliver. And those are deliberate, because I'm actually digging flashback Bratva Oliver, and I can see glimpses of the Oliver I liked whenever he's in scenes with actors that are so giving that if feels like Amell can't help but engage. Paul Blackthorne did that to him in this last ep. Josh Segarra seems to have that effect on him too. But with everyone else outside of OTA, he's not giving me *anything* but constipated robot, and well, there's so little OTA that constipated robot is now the star of the show.

And I do not understand the acting choice to disengage. To be emotionally closed off, or to look like he'd rather be elsewhere in so many scenes. Is it related to dudebros telling him Oliver was emasculated last season? Is he bored? Is he annoyed corporate suits are dumping IPs on his show? I don't know why he's playing S1 detached Oliver in S5. All I know is that I hate to watch it.

Oh Stephens lack of enthusiasim in his acting is absolutely on him I'm in agreement their. All though I'd add that he's not the only cast member guilty of that this year. David Emily Willa have had their moments of going through the motions acting this season and I can only assume that's what happens when you get repetitive material which is uninspiring. 

I actually agree with most of your points in.

Stephen telling the writers he wants Olicity/Felicity to get the chop out of insecurity-while it's not out of the realm impossible he'd ask- I don't really see his asking having any power over decisions already made by the executives. 

[HighHopes]

39 minutes ago, LeighAn said:

Yeah I'm going to need receipts on that one because I feel if Stephen really did agree that Olicity was the worst thing to happen to the show and that he was going to tell the EPs as much that would have been talked about EVERYWHERE. For like months. I mean I'm still hearing about the stupid "protecting his character" quote even though there's no context for it.

Did some Googling and I found the screencap for the "protecting my character" quote. 

[Mellowyellow]

Haha well he/writers/EPs have done a stellar job at making his character look like an unlikeable paste eating moron. 

Has anyone expressed that Oliver is too stupid to live this season or are they all complimentary on his Facebook site?

[statsgirl]

I wonder if his "not protecting the character" refers to not fighting the horrible BMD storyline which even MG admits was done badly.  Other than that, there wasn't much that bad about Oliver s4 other than the limited fighting skills.

3 hours ago, tangerine95 said:

Yeah this is my issue as well and I think its to do with both SA trying to make Oliver seem badass so he limits showing too much emotion and with the fact that they're giving him so much screentime with new characters instead of those he's worked well with for seasons.

Maybe he got lazy and complacent.  It is boring doing the same storyline over and over again, especially since it written particularly badly this season with the n00bs and he only pulls it together when there is a scene he really likes.  Maybe they told him to play it depressed and distant from Felicity on purpose.  Maybe he's deliberately toning down any spark with Susan or Dinah for fear what the will it him with next.

On 2017-02-08 at 3:30 PM, bijoux said:

For the love of Baby Cheeses, Steve, it's couldn't care less.

Shame on St. Andrew's College. Or maybe he knows two negatives make a positive and it's a coded message that yes, it does bother him very much.

[HighHopes]

1 minute ago, statsgirl said:

I wonder if his "not protecting the character" refers to not fighting the horrible BMD storyline which even MG admits was done badly.  Other than that, there wasn't much that bad about Oliver s4 other than the limited fighting skills.

I think I remember SA (or MG?) saying that the 4x08 line about "It's over now" was originally something else, but SA wanted to change it because he didn't like Oliver straight up lying. Maybe he was upset he didn't do more to protect his character then? But then it felt like the show knew Oliver looked bad and had every character justify Oliver's need to lie in order to fix it. Which actually didn't help make Oliver look better but made every character look worse. 

[AyChihuahua]

If he's playing depressed, that's an S3 repeat. It's difficult to connect w depressed characters, so maybe don't do it for two seasons?

[AyChihuahua]

4 minutes ago, HighHopes said:

I think I remember SA (or MG?) saying that the 4x08 line about "It's over now" was originally something else, but SA wanted to change it because he didn't like Oliver straight up lying. Maybe he was upset he didn't do more to protect his character then? But then it felt like the show knew Oliver looked bad and had every character justify Oliver's need to lie in order to fix it. Which actually didn't help make Oliver look better but made every character look worse. 

Yeah, he said he wanted to change it to a lie of omission, but the writers felt the lying was important (bc they are total morons). I think it may have been something even worse than "It's over" originally, and he got that softened.

(Bc "It doesn't matter," and "it's over" ARE NOT LIES OF OMISSION. A lie of omission would have been "I ran into an old fling I didn't treat well and that brought up a lot of memories of what a jerk I used to be. [End.]")

Edited February 11, 2017 by AyChihuahua

[statsgirl]

Did the writers think that an actual lie was going to make Oliver look good?  Because it clearly did matter and it wasn't over and running to Central City while Felicity was in a wheelchair just made it 1000x worse.

24 minutes ago, AyChihuahua said:

If he's playing depressed, that's an S3 repeat. It's difficult to connect w depressed characters, so maybe don't do it for two seasons?

Surely they couldn't be stupid enough to try to show that Oliver is depressed when he isn't with Felicity.

[kismet]

Well I'm glad SA is deciding to protect it's character. Because frankly the show sold it out last year to prop their melodrama & their new team fighters. Like I said last season, there were times I wish SA had just decided to stay in Ivy Town. He was happy there, and his life seemed to be on a better track than being constantly harassed on a weekly basis. That being said, I don't think he is doing a good job about it. Sure he is a better fighter, but everything else about him is a washed out version of previous seasons. Some it is poor writing choices, but I think a lot of it is acting choices. SA seems like a stubborn guy, if he doesn't like something, I don't think he shows up for it. I don't think he liked OQ/LL, which is why their scenes fell flat. I don't think he likes the newbies, so he doesn't bother. In the end, though he is a company man, so he'll defend whatever trash can fire the show is putting out.

I don't know how much influence SA has or does not have with TPTB. Nor do I really care. People will believe what they want to. I do know without him, there is no show. So that is a power he can wield whether it's legit or not. I don't think he'd throw that power in support of saving Olicity. Which in all fairness, is probably a good decision. I love O/F together, but them being separated is not what is ruining the show. That's not a card you play lightly. But I think he spent the offseason reminding them how important OQ was to Arrow. They answered with giving him a newbies and clean slate of relationships. Bad move, so maybe SA needs to change his approach. Sometimes power and influence doesn't always get you what you want or what you need. And in this case, perhaps it backfired.

Do I believe this season sucks. YES!! Do I put that all on SA's shoulders, absolutely not. Collectively nothing is good about the show this season IMO, that's not because of SA's constipated face getting significant airtime. It's about every storyline sucking. We have a boring mayoral office to bury TQ & LQ in. Dig gets some ridiculous govt conspiracy. FS got a dud BF to cry over and go to the darkside. Sexy reporter got laid while being a double agent. OQ is a badass with no emotions. It's not only cliched, but its been seen before and done better. No amount of influence SA has on his character or the show is going to fix the fundamental problems with the show. SA may have been the little boy and the dam on previous seasons saving it with his heroic deeds of margin suggestions & feedback on dayplayers. But the dam was going to break this season whether he held his finger in the hole or not. Sometimes the suck overflows and no one can stop it. Sometimes there are just too many holes. The pressure has been building up since s3, it was only a matter of time before no finger or bandaid was going to help.

Edited February 11, 2017 by kismet

[GirlvsTV]

I think part of the issue with the show / Oliver is a discrepancy between to the tone they want to strike with his character vs. the plot points they are putting him through. It seems like they want him to revisit his darkness (i.e. killing people again), but want him to do it in a more emotionally balanced way to contrast with the flashbacks. The problem is there shouldn't really be an emotionally balanced way to react to some of the stuff that's happened, like being manipulated into killing an innocent person. Oliver SHOULD brood about that, he SHOULD blame himself, he should feel guilty and viewers should see him struggle with continuing to make choices to kill people afterwards. That scenario should have caused drama in his relationship with Felicity, but instead the writers have mostly skipped over the emotional fallout for him all together, which is resulting in more of this weird robot version of Oliver.  

Can you imagine the direction for something like that? "Okay, Steven. Your character has accidentally murdered an innocent man, who also happens to be the significant other of your ex-fiancée and you both have to keep working together. Now, whatever you do, don't get DRAMATIC about it. Everything's fine, nbd and . . . ACTION!"

So, I think it's both the writing and SA. I agree that when SA isn't into a storyline he doesn't seem to try very hard, but being able the counteract the tonal whiplash for his character this season may just be beyond his abilities as an actor. 

I do think it's odd that for a network talking up the importance of social media engagement for its shows that basically all the show regulars, except SA, have stopped doing the small bit of show promo they've done in the past. You'd think the network would mandate some promo, or schedule some Q&A s on Facbook or something. 

Edited February 11, 2017 by GirlvsTV
Hit submit too quickly

[MaisyDaisy]

3 minutes ago, dtissagirl said:

They'll never go for social conscience when Guggenheim is on Twitter posting about how "PC culture" is to blame for what's going on in the world. He totally lacks the tools to write better representation.

I just don't get it from a business sense. They are selling us a product 'Arrow', basic supply and demand rules inform us that to be successful they need to ensure their product meets the wants of the market (audience), they are selling 'B' when the market wants 'A'.

The whole 'Make Arrow Great Again' is confusing. They reacted to a vocal minority, one that had a history of hate towards both the writers and other fans. That comic faction won, the writing/direction changed, however they have all the talk but not the numbers- they wouldn't win a popular vote, thus the ratings.

[LeighAn]

8 hours ago, HighHopes said:

Did some Googling and I found the screencap for the "protecting my character" quote. 

I'm aware that quote is real what I meant was that there's absolutely no context to what he means by "protecting his character" and yet it's constantly discussed and debated. If there was a quote where Stephen supposedly agreed that Olicity and Felicity were the worst thing to happen the show and that he would be passing on as much to the EPs like the OP was saying I feel I would have heard about that constantly ergo needing receipts.

[Sasha]

Does anyone know about the actor's contracts? If I were EBR I would flee the sinking ship. Five years is a long time to play one character. The writing and the ratings will continue to slide. After year eight you'll be auditioning for Lifetime movies and trying to make money at conventions. 

[kismet]

Protecting his character is one of those broad statements that can used for any purpose. It's classic PR, vague and yet specific. Easily applicable and yet non-adherent. It has action words and everything. He can walk into any segment of the fandom and cater the response to them all under the umbrella of his  deemed protection.

I don't think any of us will ever know what he meant by that. Perhaps if you're his friend or if the BTS book ever comes out. Until then, I imagine it can & will be discussed and debated. One can only hope he is using his protection for good.

[AyChihuahua]

17 minutes ago, Sasha said:

Does anyone know about the actor's contracts? If I were EBR I would flee the sinking ship. Five years is a long time to play one character. The writing and the ratings will continue to slide. After year eight you'll be auditioning for Lifetime movies and trying to make money at conventions. 

No, other than SA and Colin back in the day, because they both publicly stated their contract terms, nobody knows. People keep claiming knowledge, but there's never any backup. 

[TwistedandBored]

3 hours ago, insomniadreams88 said:

I think the show's future rests on remembering the relationships they spent 4 years developing and Olicity is a big part of that. 

Word. Like they keep talking about season 2 and going back to basic but I feel like even they didn't watch their show. If  they did watch their show then they would know season 2 was full of personal relationships instead of masks. I mean they might have had increase masks in season 2 but not to the extent they have had this season. In season 2, they focused more on his family relationship, Company, OTA, and they always manage to give us some Olicity moments. 

This season has no Diggle/Felicity scenes, tends to ignore Oliver/Thea/Olicity relationships, less OTA scenes, and focuses way to much on newbies/masks. Like who wants to watch a season without any emotional moments between characters they care about. Just saying.

Edited February 12, 2017 by TwistedandBored

[EmilyBettFan]

Well Oliver still looks stupid so if the "protecting the character" applies to the action it still sucks because the action is just like every other season. The same.

I'm not bashing the show because I know it's hard work but we all do hard work and put our all into it. They could write better stories and stop telling us it's "the best season" and show us instead.

Plus not letting your female leads have ANY interviews for this season so far is ridiculous and frankly insulting. Because to me and I'm not just saying this because I love Emily Bett but she is seriously doing everything and more in this season. 

Edited February 12, 2017 by EmilyBettFan

[Featherhat]

8 hours ago, GirlvsTV said:

 

I do think it's odd that for a network talking up the importance of social media engagement for its shows that basically all the show regulars, except SA, have stopped doing the small bit of show promo they've done in the past. You'd think the network would mandate some promo, or schedule some Q&A s on Facbook or something. 

I think it's always more important for a network that shows do that at the beginning when enthusiasm for the show is novel and often at its highest. Actors often start out live tweeting and engaging with fans and it inevitably drops off as seasons wear on, actors get bored and fans start complaining etc.

Quote

Plus not letting your female leads have ANY interviews for this season so far is ridiculous and frankly insulting. Because to me and I'm not just saying this because I love Emily Bett but she is seriously doing everything and more in this season. 

I am surprised JH hasn't done anything but I think that might be that they are trying to be more subtle and under the radar about her character until they know for show how she is being received and if she's a regular for S6. Last thing they want is to publicize another BC and have to back track again.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Featherhat
spelling and adding paragraph

[kismet]

3 hours ago, Featherhat said:

I think it's always more important for a network that shows do that at the beginning when enthusiasm for the show is novel and often at its highest. Actors often start out live tweeting and engaging with fans and it inevitably drops off as seasons wear on, actors get bored and fans start complaining etc.

Scandal actors still do it many seasons in. HTGAWM does it. One BATB actor did it every week and in the offseason, even went as far to meet a group of fans to discuss the show on his free time. Other shows like Empire do it, but seem to have a rotated responsibility. Yes, in general there can be drop off. I just don't think besides SA, the Arrow actors were ever that consistently engaged in Arrow social media. So there was no drop off, there was never really a drop in.

And as much as the CW mandates that that they get accounts, they don't really enforce participation.

[tv echo]

On 2/9/2017 at 2:19 PM, thenj said:

Would that be a good or bad thing?

It depends on who replaced MG as showrunner.  I once had hopes for Brian Ford Sullivan, but he lost me with his tweet about 511: "If you're a lifelong comics reader like me, you'll walk away with the biggest smile on your face."

However, I think that I'd rather have MG as a showrunner than JBamford - someone who I kinda feared at the time was headed for promotion based on SA's comments last summer...

-- SA: "I've talked with Greg Berlanti a lot and he said that some of his favorite shows, you know, had a - not a renaissance necessarily, but really hit their stride in season 4, season 5, season 6. And it's typically because someone has breathed new life into the show. And I really believe that that person is James [Bamford]. He's directing our first two episodes and he gets it. He gets the show. The action is mean. We are shooting some awesome sh*t right now - like just some real oners that have to be mean, and they are real mean, like bare knuckle action, and I think that's what we do well." (SDCC, Jul. 23, 2016: ComicsOnline video of press roundtable interviews with SA, DR and PB, page 40 of Spoilers thread, and RealistikkVideos video of press roundtable interview with SA, page 41 of Spoilers thread)

-- SA: “Bam – we call him Bam Bam – gets it and gets the theme of the show, and it feels like it’s a street-level crime-fighting show and it’s about saving Star City and cleaning it up, um, which is what the show is ... I think the best version of the show is when we focus on that. And that feels like what we're doing this year.” (SDCC, Jul. 23, 2016: Video of Entertainment Weekly interview with Arrow cast in EW article linked in EW tweet, page 453 of Social Media thread)

Also, it's clear from SA's comments that he - and presumably the EPs - really believed that the way to "fix" the show was to focus on action/stunts and Oliver saving the city. In doing so, they lost the heart and soul of the show by underestimating the importance of key supporting characters in making Oliver an appealing superhero. Sorry, Stephen, but you are not enough to carry the show.

Edited February 12, 2017 by tv echo

[MaisyDaisy]

I remember Bamford replied to a hate tweet about Felicity ruining the show, saying that they would love the new season as it's in a new direction. He totally validated that hate and kissed the anti Felicity fans arse.

Wonder how he is feeling the new direction in relation to the ratings now?

They misjudged what was working, as well as the agenda that was behind some of the anti Felicity/Olicity complaints, and lost a huge chunk of their audience.

If they do course correct back to Felicity and Olicity more then it's going to get ugly, because they showed that toxic part of the fandom that threw tantrums in between seasons that's the sort of behavior that gets results. 

[tv echo]

[tv echo]

John Barrowman's new social media accounts...

https://twitter.com/JohnBarrowman
https://www.facebook.com/JohnBarrowmanMBE/
https://www.instagram.com/johnscotbarrowman/
http://www.johnbarrowman.com/ 

Edited February 12, 2017 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Additional cons...

Salt Lake Comic Con, March 17-18, 2017 (UT)
Amy Gumenick
http://saltlakecomiccon.com/

Planet Comicon, April 28-30, 2017 (Kansas City, MO)
John Barrowman, Michael Rowe and Summer Glau (also Teddy Sears and Carole Barrowman)
http://planetcomicon.com/

Edited February 12, 2017 by tv echo

[dtissagirl]

2 hours ago, tv echo said:

However, I think that I'd rather have MG as a showrunner than JBamford

But BamBam has zero writing credits to his name? How would someone who never wrote a script in his life be *the head write*r? 

[tv echo]

Nothing about Arrow makes any sense to me any more...

Excerpt: What exactly do TV showrunners do?
Whitney Matheson  Aug. 21, 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/popcandy/2014/08/21/showrunners-excerpt/14390059/

Edited February 12, 2017 by tv echo

[dtissagirl]

The one thing all of those folks have in common? They're writers.

[tv echo]

Updated 2017 events/comic con list...

Wizard World's Portland Comic Con, February 17-19, 2017 (Portland, OR)
John Barrowman - 2:45pm on Feb. 18 (local time)
http://wizardworld.com/comiccon/portland

PaleyFest L.A., March 17-26, 2017 (Los Angeles, CA)
Arrow, Flash, Supergirl and LoT - Sat., March 18, at 2pm local time
Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Mericle (also Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Melissa Benoist, Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Andrew Kreisberg, Todd Helbing, Aaron Helbing and Phil Klemmer)
https://media.paleycenter.org/paleyfest-la-2017-2/

Salt Lake Comic Con, March 17-18, 2017 (UT)
Amy Gumenick
http://saltlakecomiccon.com/

A Heroes & Villains and Walker Stalker Joint Event: 
Heroes & Villains FanFest-Chicago, March 25-26, 2017 (Chicago, IL)
Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, Echo Kellum, John Barrowman, Neal McDonough, Chad Coleman and Katrina Law (also Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Carlos Valdes and Robbie Amell)
http://heroesfanfest.com/chicago/
http://walkerstalkercon.com/chicago/guests/

Fan Expo Dallas, March 31-April 2, 2017 (Dallas, TX)
John Barrowman and Alex Kingston
http://fanexpodallas.com/guests/

Deepcon 18, April 6-9, 2017 (Fiuggi, Italy)
David Nykl
http://deepcon.it/

Steel City Con, April 7-9, 2017 (Monroeville, PA)
Katrina Law
https://www.steelcitycon.com/

The Great Philadelphia Comic-Con, April 7-9, 2017 (Philadelphia, PA)
Wil Traval (also John Wesley Shipp)
http://www.philadelphiacomiccon.com/

Planet Comicon, April 28-30, 2017 (Kansas City, MO)
John Barrowman, Michael Rowe and Summer Glau (also Teddy Sears and Carole Barrowman)
http://planetcomicon.com/

Calgary Expo, April 27-30, 2017
(Danielle Panabaker)
https://calgaryexpo.com/guests/media-guests/

2017 Network Upfronts, March 2-May 18, 2017 (NY)
The CW - May 18 (morning)
https://www.mediavillage.com/article/2017-network-upfront-and-digital-newfronts-calendar/

Motor City Comic Con, May 19-21, 2017 (MI)
John Barrowman (also Carole E. Barrowman)
https://www.motorcitycomiccon.com/

Rogue Events' The City of Heroes 3, May 19-21, 2017 (Telford, England, UK)
(Mehcad Brooks, Jeremy Jordan, Rick Cosnett, David Harewood, John Wesley Shipp and Wentworth Miller)
https://cityofheroes.rogueevents.co.uk/guests/

Puerto Rico Comic Con, May 26-28, 2017
David Ramsey
http://prcomiccon.com/
https://twitter.com/PRCOMICCON/status/827314373295222785

Alamo City Comic Con, May 26-28, 2017 (San Antonio, TX)
Dolph Lundgren
http://alamocitycomiccon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/alamocitycomiccon/photos/a.377100672389187.80125.377098445722743/1143956189036961/?type=3&theater

Heroes & Villains FanFest-London, May 27-28, 2017 (London, UK)
Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, John Barrowman, Charlotte Ross, Colin Donnell and Michael Rowe (also Melissa Benoist, Carlos Valdes and Shantel VanSanten)
http://heroesfanfest.com/london/

Starfury: The Ultimates, June 2-4, 2017 (Blackpool, UK)
Willa Holland and Paul Blackthorne (also Danielle Panabaker and Violett Beane)
http://starfury.co.uk/events/ultimates/index.html

Super Heroes Con III, June 3-4, 2017 (Paris, France)
David Ramsey and Michael Rowe (also Wentworth Miller)
http://www.people-convention.com/en/pages/next-events/super-heroes-con.html

Awesome Con, June 16-18, 2017 (Washington, D.C.)
John Barrowman (also Carole E. Barrowman)
http://www.awesome-con.com/

Heroes & Villains FanFest-Portland, June 24-25, 2017 (Portland, OR)
Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Chad Coleman and Katrina Law (also Brandon Routh)
http://heroesfanfest.com/portland/

Heroes & Villains FanFest-Nashville, July 8-9, 2017 (Nashville, TN)
Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, John Barrowman and Katrina Law (also Caity Lotz and Robbie Amell)
http://heroesfanfest.com/nashville/

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL, July 20-23, 2017
No guests posted yet, but assume Arrow cast/producers will attend.
http://www.comic-con.org/cci

Florida Supercon, July 27-30, 2017 (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
John Barrowman
http://floridasupercon.com/

Heroes & Villains FanFest-New York, September 16-17 2017 (Secaucus, NJ)
Stephen Amell, Willa Holland and Katrina Law (also Caity Lotz and Robbie Amell)
http://heroesfanfest.com/newyork/

NEW YORK COMIC CON, October 5-8, 2017
No shows/guests posted yet.
http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/

Dallas Fan Days, October 20-22, 2017 (TX)
(Danielle Panabaker)
http://dallascomiccon.com/guests/

Heroes & Villains FanFest-Atlanta, November 18-19, 2017 (Atlanta, GA)
Stephen Amell, David Ramsey and Katrina Law (also Caity Lotz and Robbie Amell)
http://heroesfanfest.com/atlanta/guests/

Heroes & Villains FanFest-San Jose, December 2-3, 2017 (San Jose, CA)
Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland and Katrina Law (also Caity Lotz, Danielle Panabaker and Robbie Amell)
http://heroesfanfest.com/sanjose/guests/

Edited February 13, 2017 by tv echo

[bijoux]

[theOAfc]

19 hours ago, HighHopes said:

I think I remember SA (or MG?) saying that the 4x08 line about "It's over now" was originally something else, but SA wanted to change it because he didn't like Oliver straight up lying. Maybe he was upset he didn't do more to protect his character then? But then it felt like the show knew Oliver looked bad and had every character justify Oliver's need to lie in order to fix it. Which actually didn't help make Oliver look better but made every character look worse. 

Didnt he say more than once that the baby mama story  was his favorite last season? 

 

4 hours ago, MaisyDaisy said:

They misjudged what was working, as well as the agenda that was behind some of the anti Felicity/Olicity complaints, and lost a huge chunk of their audience.

 

This! The loud Laurel fans became even more loud after her death and used the already unhappy general fans to push a certain agenda. Then you had everyone follow the felicity hate trend putting all the blame onto her just because a bunch of stans kept spamming non stop literally everything with how much she ruined the show. 

4 hours ago, MaisyDaisy said:

I remember Bamford replied to a hate tweet about Felicity ruining the show, saying that they would love the new season as it's in a new direction. He totally validated that hate and kissed the anti Felicity fans arse.

 

He replied saying something like "its a completely different show this year" by pretty much validating the anti felicity opinions or assuring those who  blame everything on Felicity,that the show is no longer gonna be what they think it is(btw they kept calling it the felicity and friends in case anyone wonders what they thought the show was becoming about).

[theOAfc]

11 hours ago, Sasha said:

Does anyone know about the actor's contracts? If I were EBR I would flee the sinking ship. Five years is a long time to play one character. The writing and the ratings will continue to slide. After year eight you'll be auditioning for Lifetime movies and trying to make money at conventions. 

And EBR doesnt even do cons lol. I think EBR is staying because of 1)contracts or 2) steady paycheck.

I cant buy the idea that she really wants to work on this show untill it ends. I saw a shift in her attitude and the way she talks about the show and her character after the paralysis storyline. She,like Willa,is over it, imo.

[EmilyBettFan]

I'd rather watch Felicity and Friends. At least that might get better ratings.

Notice who gets the best reviews no matter the storyline and that's Felicity/Emily most of the time. 

These show runners don't know a good thing and how to capitalize on it. They suck at marketing and anyone with half a brain can see  Emily is their ticket and OTA. 

[apinknightmare]

27 minutes ago, theOAfc said:

And EBR doesnt even do cons lol. I think EBR is staying because of 1)contracts or 2) steady paycheck.

I cant buy the idea that she really wants to work on this show untill it ends. I saw a shift in her attitude and the way she talks about the show and her character after the paralysis storyline. She,like Willa,is over it, imo.

I don't know how she feels about her job, but I hope she's not as eager for her unemployment as some of her fans seem to be. I get that she might be disappointed that some things didn't pan out the way she'd hoped or that some plans changed, but that isn't going to be any different on another show. 

[wonderwall]

2 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

I don't know how she feels about her job, but I hope she's not as eager for her unemployment as some of her fans seem to be. I get that she might be disappointed that some things didn't pan out the way she'd hoped or that some plans changed, but that isn't going to be any different on another show. 

I'm sure she was disappointed last year... And as disappointed she was last year, I'm sure she's thrilled this year with her storyline. She's getting to play a different aspect of Felicity, she even got a friend in Rory for a few episodes. Emily has finally been given a chance to really show her acting abilities and I'm sure she appreciates that. 

But #FreeEBR amirite? Because why would any woman want a steady job that has a great salary and benefits? I'm sure Emily would much rather want to struggle to book gigs (which is an incredibly difficult thing to do). 

[theOAfc]

55 minutes ago, wonderwall said:

I'm sure she's thrilled this year with her storyline

She never talks about the show or Felicity anymore,how do you know she is thrilled with her storyline or the direction her character is taking? 

[way2interested]

So because Chico doesn't give EBR interviews anymore and she hasn't regularly mentioned Arrow on twitter since like s2 it automatically means she's not?

[JJ928]

EBR said at the Paris con last year (or maybe the U.K. con), that she was excited and nervous signing as a regular...because 6 years was a long time. So if you go by that, she's contracted through season 7.

Edited February 12, 2017 by JJ928

[Chaser]

Her being quiet about the show on her social media isn't unusual though. She typically only talks Felicity when she is interviewed and there have been no interviews this year cause of whatever *cough Chico cough*. 

She has always put Felicity before Olicity, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that she is pleased with Felicity's arc this year.

I wish the fans would ask SA to do an AskEmily Facebook Live. I think there is a better chance with him then with Chico.

[theOAfc]

10 minutes ago, way2interested said:

So because Chico doesn't give EBR interviews anymore and she hasn't regularly mentioned Arrow on twitter since like s2 it automatically means she's not?

Maybe she is. But you cant know for sure and theres certainly nothing to indicate she is,which is why i questioned the fact that the poster is so sure Emily is thrilled about it.

The obvious contrast to how she used to talk about the show last year vs how she doesnt bother at all this year(with the exception of the crossover maybe) would raise some questions,whatever that means. You also cant know if the reason she is not giving an interview is because Chico doesnt give her or because Emily decided to not give anymore. 

Edited February 12, 2017 by theOAfc

[apinknightmare]

1 minute ago, theOAfc said:

You also cant know if the reason she is not giving an interveiw is because Chico doesnt give her or because Emily decided to not give anymore. 

You realize she can't do that, right? 

[Soulfire]

Going by that logic, there is also nothing to indicate EBR is unhappy about her character or storyline this year. She's never been big at talking about the show outside interviews, so I don't think that raises any questions at all.

[ladylaw99]

Personally I think EBR is smart. She stays out of trouble this way. When asked about the character or the show, she answers, other than that, she lives her life and has fun. She is young and I say live your life the way you want. Fans are great until you say something they do not agree with and then you are harassed and hated on.  Look at how people talk about her now and she doesn't even do that many interviews and cons. I say promote  when you have to and live your life in private.

[dtissagirl]

Interviews are work. The amount of press an actor does is *negotiated*, and a lot of times, put in contract. Usually, the longer the contract runs, the less press work the actor does. Because less interviews = less work = awesome perk. 

She still has to do press days on set if she's available, and go to network/studio mandated stuff, but this is super normal, regulars on a 5 year show not doing press anymore. That's the newbies' job now.

[theOAfc]

26 minutes ago, Soulfire said:

Going by that logic, there is also nothing to indicate EBR is unhappy about her character or storyline this year. She's never been big at talking about the show outside interviews, so I don't think that raises any questions at all.

True,but i never said she is unhappy with her character or the storyline this year. I said i think she is over the show in general aka she is not that invested anymore. Which is a personal assumption based on the fact that she doesnt bother to talk or promote her character or the show at all,after how she talked about Felicitys storyline last year by expressing a clear disappointment and compared to how she would hype all the felicity centric episodes in previous years even though she got some felicity heavy episodes this year too.

32 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

You realize she can't do that, right? 

I dont know how strict this network is and while i understand that actors are obliged to follow stuff on their contracts such as attending SDCC etc,maybe this network allows them to decide when they will give an interview about their character, whenever an episode focuses on them and their storylines. Stephen for example gives very few interviews the last years compared to previous years,even though he is the lead of the show and clearly has a contract to promote it. Or maybe Chico has also decided to not give him many interviews anymore,which i highly doubt. Its also that there are new actors now who can give interviews about their characters and maybe the network requires that someone,anyone,gives interviews each week so the long time regular actors have the privilege to stay back while newbies do the promo.

Edited February 12, 2017 by theOAfc

[AyChihuahua]

39 minutes ago, JJ928 said:

EBR said at the Paris con last year (or maybe the U.K. con), that she was excited and nervous signing as a regular...because 6 years was a long time. So if you go by that, she's contracted through season 7.

Do you have a citation for that? (I am not challenging you; but it's the first I've heard of anything that definitive, and that would be very interesting information.)

[way2interested]

27 minutes ago, theOAfc said:

Maybe she is. But you cant know for sure and theres certainly nothing to indicate she is,which is why i questioned the fact that the poster is so sure Emily is thrilled about it.

The obvious contrast to how she used to talk about the show last year vs how she doesnt bother at all this year(with the exception of the crossover maybe) would raise some questions,whatever that means. You also cant know if the reason she is not giving an interview is because Chico doesnt give her or because Emily decided to not give anymore. 

It's all speculation on both sides, I'll give it that (although, tbh, I'm not sure what you mean by "how she used to talk about the show last year," since the most I remember about anything like that were from either interviews-the network's job- or just the idea that other cast members posted more bts photos of her). The most that raises questions for is that the network wants less interviews for older cast members or less interviews for an older show in general.

The way I see it, actors usually like two things in their roles besides the steady job and paycheck: 1) looking good and 2) getting material. From that logic, I'd honestly say that there's a bigger argument for DR (being sidelined again this time as "Sad Diggle" and this time not even having a partially good reason like his bad back in s3) to not like his role in the show than EBR (who got to be funny Felicity like she wanted in 5a and is now getting material unrelated to any romantic relationship in 5b). Even being disappointed in a storyline can still allow someone to like other aspects of the show, just like any other job in real life.

[Soulfire]

17 minutes ago, theOAfc said:

True,but i never said she is unhappy with her character or the storyline this year. I said i think she is over the show in general aka she is not that invested anymore. Which is a personal assumption based on the fact that she doesnt bother to talk or promote her character or the show at all,after how she talked about Felicitys storyline last year by expressing a clear disappointment.

An assumption here is that EBR doesn't bother to talk about or promote her character or the show, and a) EBR has never talked about the show or her character much outside of interviews and/or public appearances, b) it's also an unfair assumption considering EBR hasn't been given a forum to talk about Felicity and her storyline this year. Thus saying she's over the show and not that invested anymore is personal opinion, not necessarily congruent with what EBR may or may not think about her character and the show this year.

As I recall, I remember EBR expressing some disappointment that the show didn't explore Felicity being in a wheelchair more last year, but other than that she was positive, talking about how much she loved Felicity and the show and the challenges she'd been given -- I know this because I sat in a room with about twelve other people when she talked about it.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Soulfire

[Mrs. de Winter]

I think there is probably a case to be made either way for EBR - and really kudos to her for it since it is probably the best thing for her that no one knows for sure. 

Based on some of her most recent (but not too recent) comments I can see her being ready to move on given that she seems more interested in Comedy and also in writing - neither of which are really going to get supported or nurtured by this show.  There was also a comment where she commented on not talking to the writers anymore since what they would tell her rarely happened which seemed harsher than she usually is.  I am also not sure you can say the dark Felicity story line is a winner for her - so far so good - but these writers tend to fail big when it comes to closing the deal. 

I agree she has never be big in the promotion of the show - but she does seem to be doing less (in fairness so does DR).  I remember one Wed when she was tweeting about other things at the same time the show was airing - and found it odd she did not at least do the "watch Arrow" thing that she had done in the past.  Of course it could also be that she has disengaged from the show on twitter because then the dumb asses who send her death threats see it as an opening.   

I don't think if she decided to leave before - or as soon as - her contract is up it would be the worse thing.  She has done some additional work that has let her make contacts and she is not getting any younger based on HW math so why not strike out now?  For all we know she has been saving money knowing she wants to take that risk.  And if she doesn't immediately get something she could also do a few cons - I would assume she could command a good price given the demand for her. 

[way2interested]

12 minutes ago, theOAfc said:

Its true that Emily never talked much on her media about the show,its also a true observation that she talks even less this year on her media accounts compared to previous seasons. 

This isn't me being snarky or anything, because I think we all can now agree that we can't know for sure, but what do you mean exactly by "its also a true observation that she talks even less this year on her media accounts compared to previous seasons"? The only time I can recall for last year off the top of my head is the time when she tweeted about being excited about 406 and that it was her favorite episode of 4a, and even further I can't remember much for s3 in general even for 305 (although it probably is just me forgetting). Any other time was mostly replies to other people who were tweeting friends related to the show (like EK's snapchats and photos, CR's photos, replying to her friend who asked her about the pic of the fake wedding in 416), so I kind of just see it as just a decrease in people talking about Arrow in general rather than a person-specific thing.

This might actually be better in the social media thread, my bad.

Edited February 12, 2017 by way2interested