The Storybrooke Daily Mirror: OUaT in the Media, Cons and Other Real Life Encounters

[superloislane]

7 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

I won't complain about Zelena's return, but... I'm pretty sure this show has three main showrunners - Adam, Eddy, and Lana. Sometimes, I wonder what Lana is like to work with since she has so many, ahem, suggestions.

I don't want to say anything negative about an actress I know nothing about, but it is strange how open she is about the many, many demands (oh sorry, suggestions!) she's had over the years. I don't remember any other actor saying they pushed for certain things for their character to the same extent and if they did, they kept it quiet. In fact, some actors could be slightly annoyed about some storylines they had in interviews they gave, like Ginny saying she didn't really understand aspects of what Snow was doing. Actually, didn't Robert Carlyle say he had an argument with Eddy Kitsis about the Regina/Rumple 'romance' in season 6 because he hated it? And I think I remember him saying he didn't want Neal to die and was upset about losing that character. If even Robert Carlyle (who I would argue is the most well-known of the actors on the show) couldn't change a storyline to what he wanted and got into an argument instead, then why does Lana seem to be able to get everything handed to her? It's strange.

Also, apparently (I checked!) Lana started liking a few tweets from fans who weren't too happy about Jen/Ginny/Josh/Emilie coming back and they'd only be okay with it if the finale was '98% about Regina'. Interesting.

[sharky]

6 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

 

On a different note, Michael Coleman is miffed he wasn’t invited back for the series finale and threw a fit on Twitter. 

You mean the guy who had to step down from his acting school due to alleged sexual harassment claims? And then he’s going on a Twitter rant about how everyone should be believed and it’s just a he said/she said when supposedly there are many people in Vancouver who know about him. Gee, I wonder why they didn’t invite him back on a Disney show about fairy tales.

[Rumsy4]

2 hours ago, superloislane said:

Also, apparently (I checked!) Lana started liking a few tweets from fans who weren't too happy about Jen/Ginny/Josh/Emilie coming back and they'd only be okay with it if the finale was '98% about Regina'. Interesting.

I saw that too. I don’t think she should worry. A&E will make the series finale all about Regina/the Evil Queen. And I’m not even joking.

[CCTC]

1 hour ago, superloislane said:

Also, apparently (I checked!) Lana started liking a few tweets from fans who weren't too happy about Jen/Ginny/Josh/Emilie coming back and they'd only be okay with it if the finale was '98% about Regina'. Interesting.

I just checked Lana's account and she did retweet their return announcement with a woohoo!, so her retweets might have just been thanking her fans rather than not being happy about their return.  

Regina was an interesting and dynamic character the first season and was easy to make as a marketing face of the show with her flashy OQ look.  As an actress, I can see why Lana would want to make sure her character was front and center and why A&E felt she was important to the show.  I think the problem was they did not remain objective of what was best for the character and a show and almost wrote her in a fanfic sort of way. 

They wanted to make her a heroine, so instead of creating some complex gray character she became either whiny or a two dimensional cheerleader depending on where they were with her redemption.  It also hurt the show because, while her character was a lead deserving air time, it hit the tipping point where the amount of effort on her hurt the show either by not giving the other characters enough show time or bending the other characters to make her lazy redemption feasible either by making them her support system or making them do things to make the villains not look as bad.

[Rumsy4]

2 hours ago, superloislane said:

If even Robert Carlyle (who I would argue is the most well-known of the actors on the show) couldn't change a storyline to what he wanted and got into an argument instead, then why does Lana seem to be able to get everything handed to her? It's strange.

I had the same thought! Carlye actually said that he and Eddy had had a falling out over Golden Queen. It seems so unlike Eddy in particular to listen to anyone. I’m starting to wonder if any of Lana’s claims are true, or if she’s just been so lucky that her ideas are so acceptable to A&E. Or she has blackmail material on them. :-p

[Mabinogia]

55 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I’m starting to wonder if any of Lana’s claims are true, or if she’s just been so lucky that her ideas are so acceptable to A&E

I think she is just so on the same page with them that they planned on doing a lot of what she "suggested" and just to appease her let her think she had more input than she does. Or she tongue bathes them so much, and feeds their egos so much that she's become a third show runner. But I think it's mostly just that her vision for Regina is in perfect alignment with their vision and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone around to reign them all in. They are like three teens who get together to write Evil Queen fanfic and there is no adult supervision.

The really sad part is, her suggestions (happy endings, redemption have pretty much ruined her character. I was one of the HUGEST Regina/Evil Queen fans. I thought the character had so much potential, she was so interesting and multi-dimensional in the beginning. Then she started getting blander and blander, less and less dymanic, less and less interesting. Now she's a shell of her former self. Sadly, I think a lot of that could be Lana's input. It's one thing to love your character, every actor should love the person they are playing and understand them, but she seems to have taken it to a destructive level.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Mabinogia

[Lady Calypso]

3 hours ago, superloislane said:

Also, apparently (I checked!) Lana started liking a few tweets from fans who weren't too happy about Jen/Ginny/Josh/Emilie coming back and they'd only be okay with it if the finale was '98% about Regina'. Interesting.

So, I decided to check out the liked tweets for context. Disclaimer: I haven't followed Lana all that much so I don't know what she's done on social media previously, but just from the finale standpoint, I haven't seen any liked tweets about being anti-Jen/Ginny/Josh/Emilie. All her liked tweets are Regina-related, though. Whether it's her with Jared, or Sean or Bex, they all relate to Regina. 

3 hours ago, superloislane said:

Actually, didn't Robert Carlyle say he had an argument with Eddy Kitsis about the Regina/Rumple 'romance' in season 6 because he hated it? And I think I remember him saying he didn't want Neal to die and was upset about losing that character. If even Robert Carlyle (who I would argue is the most well-known of the actors on the show) couldn't change a storyline to what he wanted and got into an argument instead, then why does Lana seem to be able to get everything handed to her? It's strange.

Huh. I did not know this. Not that I watched season 6 in any way so I didn't even know that there was this pairing. I can't disagree with Robert Carlyle either. Also, very interesting about Neal's death in season 3. Not that the show ever cared for Rumple/Neal's relationship after Manhattan, so I can see why Robert would be upset. He didn't really get to develop that relationship to its fullest potential.

[Camera One]

3 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

I’m starting to wonder if any of Lana’s claims are true, or if she’s just been so lucky that her ideas are so acceptable to A&E. 

 

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I think she is just so on the same page with them that they planned on doing a lot of what she "suggested" and just to appease her let her think she had more input than she does. Or she tongue bathes them so much, and feeds their egos so much that she's become a third show runner. But I think it's mostly just that her vision for Regina is in perfect alignment with their vision and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone around to reign them all in. They are like three teens who get together to write Evil Queen fanfic and there is no adult supervision.

 

I think it's a combination of all of the above.  She tends to use "we" when talking about the development of Regina, and some actors do that since they feel their portrayal is just as important as the Writer for what a character becomes.  

A&E are also quite gifted in personal connections.  They seem to have a knack of convincing everyone they want to come back, even after disagreements and disputes.  I think they do know each actor and how to make them feel appreciated.

And finally, it's hugely important that A&E's view of Regina aligns with the actress's view.  They all believe Regina is deep down a victim, that's she's the underdog, that she's bold and audacious, that she deserves a happy ending, etc.  I was not personally surprised that Zelena came back so I don't think it was solely due to the actress championing her return.  Zelena has always been an A&E favorite (her redemption story was bigger than the storylines for other major characters and they did plot pretzels to bring her back after her character "died") so I don't doubt they would have brought her back regardless and for some reason or other, they couldn't do it right off the bat when Season 7 began.  

Edited March 22, 2018 by Camera One

[Mabinogia]

36 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Zelena has always been an A&E favorite (her redemption story was bigger than the storylines for other major characters and they did plot pretzels to bring her back after her character "died") so I don't doubt they would have brought her back regardless and for some reason or other, they couldn't do it right off the bat when Season 7 began.  

I would have been more surprised if Zelena didn't come back. A&E LOVE Bex Mader, I don't blame them, she's awesome! So I think as long as they could work out a schedule she was going to be back regardless of if Lana wanted it or not. Also, it would have been weird if Zelena didn't come back if they had already planned on Robin and Alice being an item. It would make sense to bring back Robin's mum at least for a bit.

I have a feeling that once it was clear the audience wasn't really investing in the new characters that A&E would have taken anyone willing to come back.

[Rumsy4]

I think they didn’t want to hire her as a regular. It was cheaper to get her on-board in a comparatively limited capacity.

[KingOfHearts]

33 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I think they didn’t want to hire her as a regular. It was cheaper to get her on-board in a comparatively limited capacity.

Instead we got Victoria, who got killed off halfway through the season. Tiana is also a regular, but outside her centrics she gets nothing but bit parts.

[Souris]

On 3/22/2018 at 1:43 AM, Rumsy4 said:

On a different note, Michael Coleman is miffed he wasn’t invited back for the series finale and threw a fit on Twitter. 

Did he delete the tweets? I couldn't find them.

[Rumsy4]

4 hours ago, Souris said:

Did he delete the tweets? I couldn't find them.

The internet is forever.

[Writing Wrongs]

Does he think he was an integral part of the OUAT universe? He was a dwarf with a few freaking lines. Lee Arenberg is the only dwarf who should have any complaints about stuff.

[Rumsy4]

He likely didn’t expect the extent of repercussions he’d be facing when the allegations about his sexual misconduct surfaced. I’m not sure whether Creation Ent has dropped him from their cons.

[sharky]

He also was probably advised by his lawyer or publicist to delete them and keep his damn mouth shut. Not really the sharpest tool in the shed on several levels. 

[Camera One]

On 3/22/2018 at 10:41 AM, KingOfHearts said:

Instead we got Victoria, who got killed off halfway through the season. Tiana is also a regular, but outside her centrics she gets nothing but bit parts.

Does a "regular" mean they are contractually required to stick around?  Are they paid by appearances.

I really felt badly for the actor who played Will after he described the difficulties of being stuck as a regular on this show but rarely used.

[KingOfHearts]

27 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Does a "regular" mean they are contractually required to stick around?  Are they paid by appearances.

I don't really get it. It seems the guest stars appear more consistently.

[Rumsy4]

Regular means they are paid regardless of appearances. But they also cannot work anywhere else. That's why poor Michael Socha was going stir-crazy, sitting around doing nothing. Wonderful for his portfolio. 

[KingOfHearts]

15 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

Regular means they are paid regardless of appearances. But they also cannot work anywhere else. That's why poor Michael Socha was going stir-crazy, sitting around doing nothing. Wonderful for his portfolio. 

So Victoria is dead, but Gabrielle Anwar couldn't work anywhere else as long as she was billed as a regular?

[Rumsy4]

38 minutes ago, KingOfHearts said:

So Victoria is dead, but Gabrielle Anwar couldn't work anywhere else as long as she was billed as a regular?

As far as I know. However, as her character has actually been killed off, as opposed to Will Scarlett, who was just...around, the network would probably be flexible. The main filming for the show is almost done in any case. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

We could all make a wish on a star that Victoria continues to make appearances in the flashbacks.  Surely, we will see the story of how Tremaine came to work with the heroes, how she cozied up to the King of the Disenchanted Forest/how she got Marcus killed, and of course, she would appear when we explore Drizella and Anastasia's childhood.  Hopefully, we will get a "Welcome to Hyperion Heights" episode where we see Day 1 of the new Curse, plus how she pushed residents out of Hyperion Heights and the whole gentrification process.  Not having that would leave a huge gaping hole in this wonderful season.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Camera One

[Camera One]

I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, but the ratings slipped this week to 0.4/2 and 2.30 million.  Which is unfortunate since it was one of the better episodes.  

[KingOfHearts]

34 minutes ago, Camera One said:

I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, but the ratings slipped this week to 0.4/2 and 2.30 million.  Which is unfortunate since it was one of the better episodes.  

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact the promo showcased the worst part of the episode.

Edited March 25, 2018 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

1 minute ago, KingOfHearts said:

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact the promo showcased the worst part of the episode.

Yeah, seriously, what was up with that promo?

[jhlipton]

On 3/21/2018 at 10:43 PM, Rumsy4 said:

On a different note, Michael Coleman is miffed he wasn’t invited back for the series finale and threw a fit on Twitter. 

So he wasn't Happy about it????

[Rumsy4]

5 hours ago, jhlipton said:

On 3/22/2018 at 1:43 AM, Rumsy4 said:

On a different note, Michael Coleman is miffed he wasn’t invited back for the series finale and threw a fit on Twitter. 

So he wasn't Happy about it????

No. He turned Grumpy. 

[Souris]

3 hours ago, Rumsy4 said:

No. He turned Grumpy. 

He shouldn't have been Harassy.

Cute pics from Jen's IG story from the set (I don't think they're spoilery at all.) ACK CAN'T GET RID OF THE SPOILER BOX, THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE THERE.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Souris

[PixiePaws1]

https://screenrant.com/once-upon-a-time-behind-the-scenes-secrets-trivia/

Not sure if this had been posted and no idea of the veracity....

[Souris]

Just now, PixiePaws1 said:

https://screenrant.com/once-upon-a-time-behind-the-scenes-secrets-trivia/

Not sure if this had been posted and no idea of the veracity....

Most of that stuff I've heard before. Some of them are definitely true as they're from interviews (Charming was meant to stay dead, Lana pushed for the Henry/Regina relationship to change). Never heard that about Lady Gaga before, LOL!

[Rumsy4]

I’ve never heard of the Lady Gaga rumor either. lol And I don’t know who Katee Sackhoff is. But every thing else is old news/gossip. 

Edited March 29, 2018 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

18 minutes ago, Souris said:

Never heard that about Lady Gaga before, LOL!

 

9 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I’ve never heard of the Lady Gaga rumor either. lol 

 

This was one interview where they mentioned it.

Quote

Kitsis said his team tried to get Lady Gaga to make an appearance in Once Upon A Time, but he said he wasn't sure if the request really reached her. "We'd be so happy to have her," he said. He didn't detail what role she could play.

It sort of shows how they didn't think through the entire universe except how cool it might be if so-or-so played them.

That article doesn't say which role they had in in mind though.  Here was an interview with Keegan (actress who ended up playing Blue Fairy).

Quote

Diane: For this role, did they have you in mind, or did you have to audition?

Keegan: Oh, I auditioned—I can’t even remember how many times—three or five times. The rumor was that they had asked Lady Gaga to do it.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Camera One

[Souris]

13 minutes ago, Rumsy4 said:

I’ve never heard of the Lady Gaga rumor either. lol And I don’t know who Katee Sackhoff is. But every thing else is old news/gossip. 

She was on Battlestar Galactica. She was hot/sought-after for a minute.

[Camera One]

Maybe she would have been good, though in the photo, she reminded me of what's her name... the original leather jacket, oh right, Cleo.

Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin had awesome chemistry and resemblance, though, so I'm glad it turned out the way it did.   Emma was key to the show working... she needed to have the perfect mix of strength and vulnerability.  The Jennifer Morrison/Jared Gilmore chemistry was also immediate.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

35 minutes ago, Souris said:

She was on Battlestar Galactica. She was hot/sought-after for a minute.

Ah. I see she played Starbuck (I liked her in the episodes I watched). I didn't know her name.

32 minutes ago, Camera One said:

Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin had awesome chemistry and resemblance, though, so I'm glad it turned out the way it did.   Emma was key to the show working... she needed to have the perfect mix of strength and vulnerability.  The Jennifer Morrison/Jared Gilmore chemistry was also immediate.

The casting choices have overall been pretty amazing from S 1-6, with a few exceptions. Season 7 is the opposite. lol

[KingOfHearts]

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

The casting choices have overall been pretty amazing from S 1-6, with a few exceptions. Season 7 is the opposite. lol

I thought the casting for Alice and Drizella was fantastic. Gothel's pretty okay. Everyone else ranges from passable to please-get-off-my-screen.

Edited March 30, 2018 by KingOfHearts

[Camera One]

Is Adam still in Vancouver?  Is he in his hotel room watching baseball or something?

[Mitch]

14 hours ago, KingOfHearts said:

I thought the casting for Alice and Drizella was fantastic. Gothel's pretty okay. Everyone else ranges from passable to please-get-off-my-screen.

I think Gothel is good, she fits in with the "urban" thing they are going for as she looks like a homeless person who could either be harmless, or knife you. But I think the whole urban thing has been wasted this year, not only in terms of "how do these people appear in an apparently existing hood" but that it has been confined to three not every convincing sets and an obviously fake hood to film.

[Camera One]

Friday's episode was back up to 0.5/2 with 2.08 million viewers (with half-hour drop from 2.34 to 1.82 and 0.5/3 to 0.4/2).   I guess these are the diehards who will stick around even if Mickey and Minnie prance onto the show to push Mother Gothel off a cliff.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Camera One

[Mabinogia]

I'm down with the final scene being Mickey Mouse walking in, saying "you have disgraced the House of Mouse, for this you shall be banished" and shoving Eddie and Adam through a portal into the world of You Will Never Work in This Town Againsville. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by Mabinogia
because Mickey would never kill someone, not even A&E who have basically murdered all Disney's best characters

[Camera One]

6 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I'm down with the final scene being Mickey Mouse walking in, saying "you have disgraced the House of Mouse, for this you shall be banished" and shoving Eddie and Adam through a portal into the world of You Will Never Work in This Town Againsville. 

Oh LOL, the mental visuals are just too much.

[PixiePaws1]

47 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Edited 44 minutes ago by Mabinogia. Reason: because Mickey would never kill someone, not even A&E who have basically murdered all Disney's best characters

..of course not..but he might outsource the job..

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

because Mickey would never kill someone, not even A&E who have basically murdered all Disney's best characters

You clearly haven't seen Mickey Mouse on South Park:)

[Rumsy4]

Just now, Rumsy4 said:

Jennifer Morrison Sun Dogs interview. 

Adam tweeted at one point (and then deleted his tweet) that they had offered JMo the chance to direct an episode as part of the deal to renew her contract for OUAT. From the interview, it looks like she specifically did not want to do that. 

Quote

It was interesting because it felt very important to me to do my first feature first. I know that different people have different opinions on this, or different takes on what’s more advantageous, but I really want to be a filmmaker, I want to continue growing as a filmmaker, I want to continue developing my voice as a filmmaker, and my skill as a filmmaker, and I feel very strongly that I have a lot of stories to tell as a filmmaker. I was concerned that if my first move was to do an episode of television, especially a show that I was on, it would just look like an internal gesture to be like, “Sure, we’ll give her an episode of the show.” And that was not the message that I wanted to put into the creative community. 

[Souris]

Colin has withdrawn from the Chicago Creation convention because of "professional obligations."

Edited April 4, 2018 by Souris

[Kktjones]

Jennifer Morrison in talks for a new CIA drama.  This looks interesting!

 

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

Jennifer Morrison Sun Dogs interview. 

She's got to be one of the hardest working actresses in Hollywood. I get exhausted just reading about everything she's doing. This also explains her lack of screentime during S6 and why she generally looked tired and washed out for most of the season...

 

18 minutes ago, Souris said:

Colin has withdrawn from the Chicago Creation convention because of "professional obligations."

I feel bad for those attending (and thankful that I decided not to go when they didn't invite JMo), but I hope this means he's got a new project in the works! 

[PixiePaws1]

20 minutes ago, XrystalPond said:

My experience with television is limited to the media side of things and to writing, but I can see what she is saying there. Many times those director spots are handed out as vanity projects for actors to avoid paying them more or justify paying them a certain salary. Episodic television in general is not a director's medium. You have no control over the story that came before or the one that follows so your control and range is limited. To direct a feature film on her own is evidence that she actually has ability and chops for it. It wasn't just given to her. 

Remind me again how the Lana-stans were waxing lyrical about how she is the best director ever...

[daxx]

If you want a good eye roll check out the Ouat Facebook page comments. There is a video of sad storylines. The number of Regina stans crying over reginas pain is truly staggering.

[Rumsy4]

They've drunk the kool-aid. 

[Souris]

Dang, JMo was on CNN talking about "Sun Dogs." That's pretty impressive!