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

[apinknightmare]

Isn't there a huge issue with the AL All Star Lineup potentially being all Blue Jays?  Donaldson maybe deserving but i don't get this push to have another Blue Jay on the team, especially when he made the All Star team last year.

 

No, the problem is that Royals fans are padding the lineup with all Royals, including the worst hitter in the league. Josh Donaldson actually deserves to be there, but (last I knew) he was being pushed out because of the Royals fans trying to stack the lineup with their guys.

Edited June 18, 2015 by apinknightmare

[SmallScreenDiva]

Isn't there a huge issue with the AL All Star Lineup potentially being all Blue Jays?  Donaldson maybe deserving but i don't get this push to have another Blue Jay on the team, especially when he made the All Star team last year.

 

I get that he's a Blue Jays fan but I really don't like the idea of him getting Arrow fans (who don't watch baseball) voting for Donaldson simply because they have a thing for SA.  As a sports fan, that bugs me.

 

I think they're saying the starters might end up being all from the Kansas City Royals. Isn't there a hacking scandal or something? When did fan-voting for the entire lineup begin? Didn't it used to be just one player, while the others were picked by the manager of the league champions? I mean there's nothing wrong with SA promoting his faves, but yeah, this bugs me, too.

[Morrigan2575]

No, the problem is that Royals fans are padding the lineup with all Royals, including the worst hitter in the league. Josh Donaldson actually deserves to be there, but (last I knew) he was being pushed out because of the Royals fans trying to stack the lineup with their guys.

Ah thanks for the clarification. I thought I read somewhere that it was Blue Jays over riding the lineup.  OK, so Royals fans are screwing with the ballots...then he's OK, I guess. Still don't like the idea that he's using his celebrity to get non sports fans to vote for his team but if the Royals fans are screwing it up for the rest of Baseball well they deserve to get screwed in exchange.

 

I think they're saying the starters might end up being all from the Kansas City Royals. Isn't there a hacking scandal or something? When did fan-voting for the entire lineup begin? Didn't it used to be just one player, while the others were picked by the manager of the league champions? I mean there's nothing wrong with SA promoting his faves, but yeah, this bugs me, too.

 

Back in the 1990's-2000's I remember the All Star Starting Line Up being determined by Fan Votes.  The Managers of the AL/NL teams got to select a few players to fill out the roster. 

Edited June 18, 2015 by Morrigan2575

[SmallScreenDiva]

Ah, thanks. I thought the announcement came much later.

[apinknightmare]

I think they're saying the starters might end up being all from the Kansas City Royals. Isn't there a hacking scandal or something? When did fan-voting for the entire lineup begin? Didn't it used to be just one player, while the others were picked by the manager of the league champions? I mean there's nothing wrong with SA promoting his faves, but yeah, this bugs me, too.

 

I don't mind it, only because Donaldson's getting screwed out of it by the Royals fans, so SA's just using his celebrity to get a guy in who would be in anyway if the Royals fans weren't being jerks about the whole thing. 

 

I also want this to work because SA bet he could hit a homer at a major league park, and I'd really like to see him try.

[tv echo]

KL was interviewed by phone in advance of her upcoming appearance at Smallville Comicon (June 20-21) in Hutchinson, KS...

“Oh, wow. That’s amazing,” Law said after being brought up to speed on the history of the local Smallville movement.

 

Law plays the shadowy Nyssa al Ghul on the CW series “Arrow,” based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow. From her involvement on the show, she has seen firsthand a passion among fans similar to what’s been seen in Hutchinson.

 

“I feel like if you are a DC or Marvel fan, then you are just rabid,” Law said. And while the appeal of immersing oneself in a fictional world can sometimes be hard for others to understand, she’s not ashamed to show her support.

 

“I don’t think it’s weird. I think it’s awesome,” she said.

 

That wasn’t always the case, though. As a kid, Law admits she wasn’t much of a comic book fan. Still, “I had the Superman and Batman sheets growing up like everybody else.”

 

Now, she feels honored to be part of the phenomenon.

 

“There are times I sit around and think about how I’m a legit DC character and I geek out silently,” she said. “It’s been really surreal, really cool.”

Convention guests excited about Smallville
By Ryan Christner For The Bee ryanc@hutchnews.com  3 hrs ago
http://www.hutchnews.com/the_bee/convention-guests-excited-about-smallville/article_2d0941b0-b25c-5f93-98e3-19aa246e7812.html

Edited June 18, 2015 by tv echo

[lemotomato]

I think they're saying the starters might end up being all from the Kansas City Royals. Isn't there a hacking scandal or something? When did fan-voting for the entire lineup begin? Didn't it used to be just one player, while the others were picked by the manager of the league champions? I mean there's nothing wrong with SA promoting his faves, but yeah, this bugs me, too.

Fan voting determines the the 8 position players that start the game, and yes, the manager of the league champion chooses the rest. But keep in mind the manager is also from the Royals, which makes the voting shenanigans even more ridiculous because he would totally add more of his players even if they didn't get voted in.

I don't mind that SA is throwing his support to Donaldson; the guy deserves it.

[tv echo]

Here's the promised Q&A from SA (you have to go to his facebook page to watch the video because I can't post it here and it hasn't been uploaded to youtube yet)...

Stephen Amell

55 mins · Edited ·
Facebook! Here's an absolutely gigantic 20 plus Question Q&A just for you. So do me a favor: Before you watch it, go vote for Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays to start in the MLB All Star Game. Vote like 3,000 times.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2015/ballot.jsp…
By the way... we cover baseball, Arrow, TMNT, Toronto and like 11 or 50 other things.

https://www.facebook.com/stephenamell

 

Nothing real spoilery revealed (surprise, surprise).  When asked to disclose something small about the S4 premiere, SA said that time has passed, the usual amount of time - about 5 or 6 months have passed since the S3 finale.

 

In reading the S4 premiere, his jaw dropped twice.  He texted MG with 3 or 4 pointed questions right after reading, which MG answered.

 

The first member of the Arrow cast that he met was Willa Holland - and it was at an audition about a year before Arrow actually happened, maybe six months.  He knew her from The OC.  He was really hungry in the audition room and his stomach was rumbling.  He said "Hi, my name is Stephen.  I'm really sorry about this.  I can leave, I can go outside and wait."  And she was like, "no, no, no - it's okay."  But apparently, it wasn't okay, it messed both of them up.  But they ended up with Arrow.  "So you're welcome, Willa."

 

When asked if he was going to host a panel again at SDCC, SA said that he doesn't know if he's even going to make SDCC this year because he's in NY filming TMNT2, SDCC is in San Diego and Arrow films in Vancouver, and the amount of time between wrapping TMNT2 and starting Arrow is shrinking by the moment.  But he's going to do his best to go to SDCC.

Edited June 18, 2015 by tv echo

[Velocity23]

I am just chuckling here when he suggested he might not make it to SDCC.

[catahoulamama]

The problem with the All Star Game roster voting this year is a combination of factors. Yes, KC Royals fans are abusing the system to get their entire team (and only Mike Trout is the lone non-Royal in the lineup) on the field. It's ridiculous. The voting system is the same as it's been for a number of years now, so it's clear that they're just abusing it. I say good for SA for turning the tables back on them. Donaldson is a well-deserving player and certainly should be starting, so it's not like it would be "unfair" if SA's campaign is successful. Aside from the abuse of the voting system, a fairly large number of teams this year have had really...let's call them... "lackluster" starts with a lower number of wins, so I think alot of fans are a bit apathetic about voting for their favored players for the ASG. However it all turns out, I hope MLB makes some kind of changes to the voting system to prevent future abuse and make it a bit more legit.  Really, the players with the best numbers/production should be the starters regardless of what teams they play for, but nothing anywhere is merit based anymore, so popularity contest it is. 

[Velocity23]

Stephen is doing a Q&A on Twitter right now.

[tv echo]

Stephen is doing a Q&A on Twitter right now.

 

-- When asked for three words to describe 4x01, SA replied: "What's wrong Speedy?"

-- SA again said that he doesn't know if he'll be at SDCC.

-- When asked how a movie set is different from a TV show set, SA replied: "Bigger. Currently on a single set that would equal about four Arrow sets."

 

https://twitter.com/amellywood/with_replies

Edited June 18, 2015 by tv echo

[lemotomato]

Geez... I'm looking at the replies to his Q&A post and I completely understand his disdain for twitter. They make the facebook posters sound like James Lipton.

[apinknightmare]

Twitter's terrible, but to be fair, it's hard to ask someone a good question when you've got a 140 character limit.

[wonderwall]

Geez... I'm looking at the replies to his Q&A post and I completely understand his disdain for twitter. They make the facebook posters sound like James Lipton.

Oh could you give us examples?

 

ALSO THE WHAT'S WRONG SPEEDY!!!! YAY So the reason they come back is for Thea? I hope? I also hope she'll be in a lot of the episode. I'm curious to see where they'll take her character

[apinknightmare]

Oh could you give us examples?

 

ALSO THE WHAT'S WRONG SPEEDY!!!! YAY So the reason they come back is for Thea? I hope? I also hope she'll be in a lot of the episode. I'm curious to see where they'll take her character

 

I hope Thea gets a meaty story, but hopefully Oliver doesn't come back for something related to Malcolm wrt Thea, but since the theme of this season is supposed to be family, I'm worried that's exactly what's going to happen. Fingers crossed I'm wrong! 

[wonderwall]

I hope Thea gets a meaty story, but hopefully Oliver doesn't come back for something related to Malcolm wrt Thea, but since the theme of this season is supposed to be family, I'm worried that's exactly what's going to happen. Fingers crossed I'm wrong! 

 

Ugh I just figured that Malcolm would be jerking himself off in Nanda Parbat like he always wanted to... I didn't even think of him. I really hope Malcolm isn't involved. Thea needs a story that isn't about Malcolm.

[lemotomato]

Just a lot of "What do you think of [insert country here]" and "you should do a follow spree"/"please follow me and say hi" posts.

 

Aaand the twitter Q&A is over. Heh.

 

Is anyone else worried that whatever SA read in the season premiere script concerned him enough to text MG with questions?

Edited June 18, 2015 by lemotomato

[Chaser]

Delayed affects of the LP? Hurt on the street? Little Theroy in the oven?

[apinknightmare]

Delayed affects of the LP? Hurt on the street? Little Theroy in the oven?

 

Yes, could be, please god no.

[wingster55]

"What's wrong Speedy?"

Oh I like the sound of that. Everyone banding together to help, then when they can't...they call Oliver.

[wonderwall]

"What's wrong Speedy?"

Oh I like the sound of that. Everyone banding together to help, then when they can't...they call Oliver.

 

I'm excited for Thea now! I really hope they're going for a delayed response to the LP angle for her this season. I think WH can knock it out of the park. Maybe the LP screws up with her brain and she has moments where she is all murderous? OHHHHHH that could be so interesting because they could also tackle how it would affect Thea mentally when she's more lucid. 

[wingster55]

Okay so putting all of this in order (if none of you have noticed, I love making lists lmao), the commentaries I want are:

1. SA/DR/EBR -- for either episode 1, 8, 19, 20, 23
2. SA/DR -- episode 1, 3, 15, 21 (because I want DR to tell SA "I trusted you man")
3. EBR/JB -- episode 10, 20
4. EBR -- episode 5, 18
5. CH/SA -- episode 17 (because I want to hear SA apologize to CH for leaving him there)

 

Basically anyone but KC, sorry, but neh. 

You forgot one.

 

 

I think they just learned from their mistake with SA/KC.  They've apparently done chem tests for almost every other couple/potential couple.  I know they Chem Tested, SA/CL, CL/KL, EBR/GG, EBR/BR, SA/CJ (I think) and I've heard that GG/CP had a chem test as well.

....who's CJ?

Also there was no mistake.

Edited June 18, 2015 by wingster55

[wonderwall]

You forgot one

 

WH/CH? -- episodes 19, 22 (for the sexytimes)

[wingster55]

Or her and Stephen in ep 14.

[EmeraldArcher]

I'm excited for Thea now! I really hope they're going for a delayed response to the LP angle for her this season. I think WH can knock it out of the park. Maybe the LP screws up with her brain and she has moments where she is all murderous? OHHHHHH that could be so interesting because they could also tackle how it would affect Thea mentally when she's more lucid. 

 

Right!  And, with Oliver and Roy gone (and Malcolm out of her daily life), it would make sense that it could take awhile for her strange behavior to be noticed.  I'm sure she doesn't spend every waking moment with Diggle and Laurel, so there isn't anybody else left in her life who would notice sporadic moments of craziness.  I wonder if she forgets what happens and finds herself in weird situations that are becomingly increasingly worrisome.  I also wonder what precedent this would have on White Canary.

 

It's interesting that SA didn't drop this tidbit in his almost 20-minute Facebook Q&A video.  He only mentioned that time had passed--I'm glad about that, too, because it means that he and Felicity have had 5 months to love it up!

[Starfish35]

Not doing a chem test with SA/KC was not a mistake?

[wonderwall]

Or her and Stephen in ep 14.

 

I completely forgot about that episode... yikes!

[wingster55]

Not doing a chem test with SA/KC was not a mistake?

Nope..cause I don't think they have any worse chemistry than SA/EBR...which admittedly not much.

 

I completely forgot about that episode... yikes!

 

For shame. ;)

Edited June 18, 2015 by wingster55

[wingster55]

Right!  And, with Oliver and Roy gone (and Malcolm out of her daily life), it would make sense that it could take awhile for her strange behavior to be noticed.  I'm sure she doesn't spend every waking moment with Diggle and Laurel, so there isn't anybody else left in her life who would notice sporadic moments of craziness.

Suddenly, I just felt really sad for her.

[dtissagirl]

I know this is bait, but I'm gonna take it 'cause I'm bored at work.

 

Individual fans responses to chemistry mean nothing. Chemistry might be subjective to the viewer; however, Hollywood believes in it and takes it very very seriously. Casting directors rely on their talent for seeing onscreen chemistry in tests and advising producers on it to further their careers.

 

The producers and showrunners of Arrow clearly realized that Oliver/Laurel wasn't working for the show AT ALL early on, and went to great lengths to change the entire dynamic in romantic relationships for Oliver over the course of the next 68 episodes post Pilot screening at SDCC 2012.

 

And then they had David Rapparport perform screen tests pretty much every time they hired someone for a love interest arc. So they obviously deemed chem tests important after they didn't do the most crucial one. They cost money, and they clearly set aside budget for those since then.

Edited June 18, 2015 by dancingnancy

[wingster55]

It's not bait.

I legit think it's not so bad. It's not great either mind you. The main problem was the sister swapping.

 

The producers and showrunners of Arrow clearly realized that Oliver/Laurel wasn't working for the show AT ALL early on, and went to great lengths to change the entire dynamic in romantic relationships for Oliver over the course of the next 68 episodes post Pilot screening at SDCC 2012.

 

Yet, they were still the main couple in s1.

[dtissagirl]

It was a long and complicated process to untangle Laurel/Oliver and find someone else to be Oliver's main love interest. We've discussed it ad nauseum at the relationship thread, I'm gonna gonna repeat everything here. They did keep Laurel as far from Oliver as they could in S1 in terms of narrative importance. Vigilante-ing/sharing the secret life with Helena, trying a "normal life" with McKenna, sleuthing/partnering up with Felicity. That was a whole lot of them trying to find a suitable replacement, before they decided on Felicity.

Edited June 18, 2015 by dancingnancy

[statsgirl]

Well, to be fair, Thea didn't spend that much time with Oliver over the past three years.  Until he moved in with her into her Malcolm-funded loft partly because he didn't have anywhere else to stay, a lot of the time they were ships passing in the night.  But before she had Moira and Roy.

 

It is oh so convenient that the effects of the Lazarus Pit get worse five months after the season 3 finale but I'm good with that:

 

• It means that Oliver returns to Starling City for a family-related reason, not because the city is in trouble and he can't be spared;
• It's Oliver's decision to return (i.e. not because Felicity needs to get back to run PT);
• Oliver and Felicity get to have five months on the road, which is good for finding yourself and not so long you start fighting with each other.

[statsgirl]

I know that the sister-swapping is squicky but it wouldn't have been a deal-breaker for me.  KC unable to be anything but one-note to Oliver (flipping between bitchy and adoring), from the moment she picked up the remote to turn off the TV her co-workers were watching was what I couldn't get beyond.

 

Laurel was Oliver's love interest in s1 but even the EPs were publicly saying during the season that they had to wrap that up before they could explore Oliver/Felicity.

 

I've wondered about this, too. Maybe the contingency plan was to have Barry stay on a little longer as a love interest for Felicity if The Flash didn't get the greenlight? Because you're right, it would be odd if the hiring of the lead actor for a spinoff depends on his chemistry with an actress from a different show. I'm guessing it's more about story lines. If there was no romantic chemistry between GG and EBR, maybe they would have gone with a "just friends" route with them? They tested SA and CL and they also did EBR and BR because the show meant to pursue romantic story lines for them.

I think because they did want a spin-off with Barry Allen and wanted the audience to like the character, he was introduced as the love interest of an existing popular character, hoping that the audience would like him through her.  It worked but when they tried it again with Brandon Routh, it failed for a number of reasons (e.g. 18 episodes too many; Oliver/Felicity an established couple; maybe intimidated by getting Superman to be on their show).

 

Grant Gustin is really good in the role of Barry Allen, engaging and different enough from Oliver that it makes a different type of show work but I suspect you're right in that if there had been no chemistry between him and EBR, they would have gone the dueling nerds route.  It would still have allowed Oliver to be jealous and a bit hostile but because Barry could do something with Felicity that he could not.

[wingster55]

It is oh so convenient that the effects of the Lazarus Pit get worse five months after the season 3 finale but I'm good with that:

 

I'm willing to bet that this has been something that's been growing more and more over time actually. It could've started as a little thing that Dig and/or Laurel quickly shut downor dealt with...but has been snowballing.

[AyChihuahua]

I don't know that "What's wrong, Speedy?" necessarily means they come back for her.  Unless there's more information?  It could easily mean she's the one reporting whatever it is to him, not that it's necessarily about her.  I don't know that Laurel would be willing to ask him for help and Digg is probably not speaking to him, so Thea would be the most likely to reach out for help for anything, even just a slightly bigger than hiatus criminal threat.

[JenMD]

Leverage has forever spoiled me for DVD commentaries (every ep, every season, funny, insightful, tons of behind the scenes tidbits).  I just can't get excited about two (not that I would be interested in listening to the dingbat EPs talk about Arrow for 23 episodes. Or at all, really). It's certainly not nearly enough to entice me to think about buying the DVDs (need much better season for that).   And like others have mentioned, the things I'm most interested in (deleted scenes, gag reel) will show up on youtube eventually.

[joanne3482]

Two things:

1. Please, please, please if you want to discuss what you think will happen next season take yourself over to the Hopes and Fears thread. I will move posts to their correct location.  

 

2. Remember the basic rule of this site "don't be a dick."  This means respecting each others' opinions even if you don't share them. The other Arrow mods and I will hide posts we think are rude to other posters.

 

Thank you and I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.

[calliope1975]

If it's actor commentaries, I might be enticed, depending on the episodes. If it's EP commentary, hahahhahahahhahaha. No. 

[wingster55]

I agree...I'd much rather hear the actors.

[tv echo]

How Lexi Alexander got the gig directing an episode of Arrow next season - entire interview is interesting...

I wanted to start off by congratulating you on the "Arrow" gig.

 

Thank you.

 

I feel that is a great entry point into what I want to talk about. People look at numbers of how many women are directing, but I don't think we have a sense of how directors get these sorts of gigs. Could you talk about how you ended up getting an opportunity to do an episode of "Arrow"?

 

It's very funny because it is actually exactly how all of the TV business works: There is no rhyme or reason to it. It was one showrunner, one executive producer, who was a fan of my work, reached out and made it happen. That was Andrew Kreisberg, who is an executive producer on "Arrow." 

 

Basically, I am unclear if it was specifically said "we need to get more women in" or if it was we need to get some other filmmakers in, but this was him tracking me down, knowing my films, and finding me because nobody had pitched me to him, not even my own people. People in his office had to track my representatives down and specifically invite me. The simple version of that is when people don't go through the work to find a specific type of filmmaker, a woman or minority filmmaker, they just call their friends or they take whoever the agent is pitching them. Mainly though, in TV, it is people who know each other. It is not necessarily directors who fit the show at all.

 

You didn't know anyone involved in "Arrow" when you got tracked down?

 

No, and it is a very rare occasion that a producer actually does the work, who says "let's get some new people in." It's the medium where people who get in at a certain point work until they're 80 years old. They basically work because a showrunner they're friends with will get a show and call them. It is very country club-ish, to be honest.

Lexi Alexander on The Brutal Truth Behind Why Women Don't Direct More Television
By Liz Shannon Miller  June 18, 2015 at 10:00AM
http://www.indiewire.com/article/lexi-alexander-on-the-brutal-truth-behind-why-women-dont-direct-more-television-20150618

Edited June 19, 2015 by tv echo

[AES13]

How Lexi Alexander got the gig directing an episode of Arrow next season - entire interview is interesting...

Lexi Alexander on The Brutal Truth Behind Why Women Don't Direct More Television

By Liz Shannon Miller  June 18, 2015 at 10:00AM

http://www.indiewire.com/article/lexi-alexander-on-the-brutal-truth-behind-why-women-dont-direct-more-television-20150618

It was very illuminating and depressing at the same time.  Women have come a long way in the last 100 years, but we seem to have stalled out about 30 years ago.  The fact that some women consider the word "feminist" a pejorative speaks for itself.  :(

[wonderwall]

I think if you have a twitter account you should follow Lexi Alexander! Her twitter is amazing

[Velocity23]

 

Edited June 19, 2015 by Velocity23

[apinknightmare]

Haha:

bravefsmoak asked:
Marc, Can we have a little #Olicity dialogue tease from S04E01? #prettyplease Just to keep us fans alive til the premiere.
 

marcguggenheim answered:
I’ll give you a line that DIDN’T make it in.  How’s that?

Felicity (getting ready to type): I think you only wanted Oliver back because he comes with my fingers.

Edited June 19, 2015 by apinknightmare

[lemotomato]

I had to read that twice before getting the innuendo. ::sigh:: Darn, why'd they have to cut it?

[AyChihuahua]

The guy who has consistently talked about how much he wanted to marry angst and have lots of angsty little babies is suddenly singing the praises of lightening up.  I am having a hard time believing that's not coming from someone above him.  

[lemotomato]

I asked him earlier this season, via tumblr, if/when they could lighten up the mood a little. His answer was "Have you ever even watched the show?"

[dtissagirl]

Ha, yeah, even if it was just Berlanti, but I agree, someone totally told Guggenheim to lighten the tone.

But it was probably the network, after realizing Flash doesn't need Arrow to stand ~opposite tone anymore.

I asked him earlier this season, via tumblr, if/when they could lighten up the mood a little. His answer was "Have you ever even watched the show?"

HAHAHA, omg, this guy. *mocks* Edited June 19, 2015 by dancingnancy