Tuesday, April 26, 2011

SMALLVILLE





Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comicscharacter Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB, premiering on October 16, 2001. After its fifth season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States. The longest-running comic book based series in television history, Smallville began its tenth and final season in September 2010. The series follows the adventures of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), who resides in the fictional town of SmallvilleKansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The first four seasons focused on Clark and his friends' high school years. Since season five, the show has ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the Daily Planet, as well as introducing other DC comic book superheroes and villains.
The concept for Smallville was derived after a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming Batman failed to generate interest. After meeting with the president of Warner Bros. Television, Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events that led Clark Kent to become Superman. After seven seasons with the show, series developers Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason. Smallville is predominantly filmed in and around VancouverBritish Columbia with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music for the first six seasons is primarily composed by Mark Snow, who incorporates elements of John Williams's musical score from the originalSuperman film series. In season seven, Louis Febre—who had worked with Snow from the beginning—took over as primary composer. The song played under the opening titles is "Save Me" by Remy Zero; several episodes also contain songs written and performed by other bands.
The series received generally positive reception when it began broadcasting. Former Superman star Christopher Reeve voiced his approval of the series, and the pilot episode broke the record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers. With nine seasons completed, Smallville has averaged approximately 4.47 million viewers per episode, with season two averaging the highest ratings at 6.3 million. Since its first season, the series has earned distinctions ranging from Emmy Awards to Teen Choice Awards. In other media, the show has spawned a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics bi-monthly comic book and soundtrack releases, as well as Smallville-related merchandise. 
On May 19, 2010, it was announced that Smallville would end its run after the tenth season, which premiered on September 24, 2010.



Monday, April 25, 2011

CAST OF SMALLVILLE


Tom Welling portrays Clark Kent, a young man with superhuman abilities, who tries to find his place in life after discovering he is an alien. He uses his abilities to help others in danger. Clark's problems in season one include not being able to share his secret with anyone else and his desire for a normal life. After months of scouting, Tom Welling was cast as Clark Kent. David Nutter had to convince Welling's manager that the role would not hurt Welling's film career in order to get Welling to read the pilot script. After reading the script, Welling was convinced to audition.


Kristin Kreuk portrays Lana Lang, the girl next door. She has a "hole in her heart," because of the loss of her parents, and feels empathy for everyone. She feels connected to Clark. Gough and Millar were initially trying to find someone for the role of Clark Kent, but Kristin Kreuk was the first to be cast after David Nutter saw an audition tape the actress had sent. Kristin Kreuk left the series after the seventh season, but returned for five episodes in season eight as a guest star.






Michael Rosenbaum portrays Lex Luthor, a billionaire's son sent to Smallville to run the local fertilizer plant. After Clark saves his life, the two quickly become friends. As the series progresses, his friendship with Clark crumbles until the pair consider themselves enemies. The role was hard to cast, as no one could agree on who they liked for the role. Michael Rosenbaum auditioned for Lex Luthor twice. Feeling he did not take his first audition seriously, Rosenbaum outlined a two-and-a-half-page scene, indicating all the places to be funny, charismatic, or menacing.  His audition went so well that everyone agreed he was "the guy". After seven seasons, Rosenbaum left the show. On February 11, 2011, it was announced that he would return for the finale episode of the series.







Allison Mack portrays Chloe Sullivan, one of Clark's best friends. She is in love with Clark, although the feeling is not reciprocated. Editor of the school newspaper, her journalistic curiosity—always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth" causes tension with her friends, especially when she investigates Clark's past. After learning aboutSmallville from the show's casting director, Dee Dee Bradley, Allison Mack thought about auditioning for the role of Lana Lang. Mack instead auditioned twice for the role of Chloe Sullivan. The character was created just for the series, and was intended to have an "ethnic background" before Mack was hired. She has since appeared in the comic book continuity.


Sam Jones III portrays Pete Ross, another of Clark's best friends. He is the first person Clark voluntarily informs of his secret. He is in love with Chloe, which he keeps to himself because of the Clark-Lana-Chloe love triangle already taking place. Pete Ross was written out of the series at the end of season three but made a guest appearance in season seven. Jones was the last of the series regulars to be cast. Gough and Millar saw Jones four days before they began filming for the pilot. In the comics, Pete Ross is Caucasian, but the producers chose to cast Jones, who is African-American, against the mythology.





Annette O'Toole portrays Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother. She, along with her husband Jonathan, give Clark sage advice about how to cope with his growing abilities. In season five, she takes a state senate seat. This leads to a job as U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C. in season six, and the character's exit from the show. Cynthia Ettinger was originally cast as Martha Kent, but during filming everyone realized she was not right for the role, including Ettinger. Annette O'Toole was committed to the television series The Huntress when Ettinger was filming the original pilot. Around the time the creators were looking to recast the role of Martha Kent, The Huntress was canceled, allowing O'Toole to join the cast ofSmallville. O'Toole had previously portrayed Lana Lang in Superman III.


John Schneider portrays Jonathan Kent, Clark's adoptive father. He goes to great lengths to protect his son's secret. According to Schneider, Jonathan is "perfectly willing to go to jail, or worse, to protect his son." John Schneider was written out of the show on the series' 100th episode, with Jonathan dying of a heart attack the night of his election victory. Millar and Gough wanted a recognizable face for Smallville. Gough and Millar loved the idea of casting John Schneider as Jonathan Kent, because Schneider was already known as Bo Duke fromThe Dukes of Hazzard, which Gough saw as adding belief he could have grown up running a farm.

Eric Johnson portrays Whitney Fordman, Lana's boyfriend, who becomes jealous of Clark and Lana's budding friendship, going so far as to haze Clark. He eventually reconciles with Clark, before joining the Marines. Whitney was written out of the show in the first season's finale, but he made cameo appearances in the season two episode "Visage", where it is revealed he died in combat overseas, and the season four episode "Façade", during a flashback to Clark's freshman year. Eric Johnson has expressed his pleasure in the way the writers handled Whitney's departure, by giving the character the exit of a hero. Johnson auditioned for the roles of Lex and Clark, before finally being cast as Whitney Fordman.



John Glover portrays Lionel Luthor, Lex's father. Lionel is responsible for the Kents being able to adopt Clark without any legal ramifications or questions of his origins. Glover tried to make Lionel appear as though he was trying to "toughen [Lex] up". Glover saw the character as someone who was a rich and powerful business man, disappointed in his son. Glover's goal, for season one, was to show Lionel's attempts to make Lex tougher. Lionel was created specifically for the show, to provide a parallel to the Kents, as an "experiment in extreme parenting." In season two, John Glover, who had been a recurring guest on the show in season one, became a part of the regular cast. He remained a series regular through season seven, until he was murdered by Lex in the season seven episode "Descent".


Erica Durance portrays Lois Lane, Chloe's cousin. She comes to Smallville investigating the supposed death of Chloe. She stays with the Kents while in town. Durance was a recurring guest for season four, but has been a series regular since season five. The producers were always looking to bring Lois Lane to the series, and the supposed death of Chloe in the season three finale seemed like the right time to bring her to the show. Durance was cast just three days before filming began, and initially only able to appear in four episodes based on a stipulation from the film division of Warner Bros. After discussion, the character was cleared for more episodes.


Jensen Ackles portrays Jason Teague, a love interest for Lana in season four. He follows Lana to Smallville, from Paris, France, and takes a position as the school's assistant football coach. He was fired from the school when his relationship with Lana came to light. By the end of the season, it is revealed he has been working with his mother to track the three Kryptonian stones of knowledge. Ackles received top billing for season four and was contracted to remain through season five, but was written out of the show in season four's finale due to his commitments to Supernatural.



Aaron Ashmore portrays Jimmy Olsen, Chloe's photographer boyfriend; he also works at the Daily Planet. Ashmore was a recurring guest for season six but became a regular cast member in season seven. Ashmore indicates his casting was both a surprise and what he wanted. The actor states, "I auditioned for [the role] and I put myself on tape. I hadn't heard anything, and a couple of weeks later, all of the sudden (sic), I got the call saying, 'You're going to Vancouver to start shooting Smallville.' It's a dream come true, really." After three seasons on the show, two as a series regular, Ashmore's character was killed off. Although "Jimmy Olsen" was murdered, Ashmore stated that his Jimmy was not the "real" Jimmy Olsen and that the character's younger brother, who appears briefly in the season eight finale, is intended to be the Jimmy who works alongside Clark and Lois.

Laura Vandervoort portrays Kara, Clark's Kryptonian cousin. She was sent to look after Kal-El (Clark), but was stuck in suspended animation for eighteen years. When the dam confining her ship broke in the season six finale, "Phantom", she was set free. She has all of Clark's abilities, including the ability to fly. At the end of the seventh season, Kara is shown to be trapped in the Phantom Zone. Vandervoort was not brought back as a series regular for the eighth season, but she did do a guest appearance to wrap up her storyline in season eight's "Bloodline" and later in season ten's "Supergirl".


Justin Hartley portrays Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, the CEO of Queen Industries and leader of a small group of superheroes. Hartley was a recurring guest in the sixth and seventh seasons but becomes a series regular in season eight. Hartley was the producers' first choice to play Oliver Queen; he was designed to shake up the lives of both Clark and Lois in season six, as well as provide Clark with an alternate view of how to fight crime.



Samuel Witwer portrays Davis Bloome in season eight. He is a "charismatic" paramedic struggling with a darkness inside of him. Davis Bloome is Smallville's interpretation ofDoomsday, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. Witwer explained over the course of the season, his character would come to resemble the comic book counterpart he is based on. Brian Peterson explained that the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.

Cassidy Freeman portrays Tess Mercer, Lex's handpicked successor to being CEO of LuthorCorp in season eight. The name "Tess Mercer" is a homage to two characters from Superman lore, Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves. As Freeman describes her character, Tess Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun", and "intelligent". Tess Mercer's primary goal for season eight was finding Lex. This draws her inquisitively to Clark, whom she believes will be able to help her find Lex. In the season ten episode "Abandoned", her birth name is revealed to be Lutessa Lena Luthor; she is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel.



Callum Blue portrays Zod, an early version of the criminal from Krypton who was expelled to the Phantom Zone prison. His character is first mentioned in season five, when Brainiac uses Lex's body as a physical vessel for Zod's spirit to inhabit. Later, he appears from within a Kryptonian orb in the season eight finale. The executive producers classify this incarnation as "Major Zod", as opposed to his typical "General Zod" identifier, and reveal throughout season nine "the venomous side of Zod rises because he experiences a few key betrayals with our beloved characters".

Sunday, April 24, 2011

FILMING


The show is produced at BB Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia. Initially, production was going to be in Australia, but Vancouver had more of a "Middle America landscape". The city provided a site for the Kent farm, as well as doubling for Metropolis. It also provided a cheaper shooting location, and was in the same time zone as Los Angeles. "Main street" Smallville is at a combination of two locations. Portions were shot in the town of Merritt, and the rest was shot in Cloverdale. Cloverdale is particularly proud of being a filming site for the show; at its entrance is a sign which reads "Home of Smallville."
Vancouver Technical School doubled as the exterior for Smallville High, as the film makers believed Van Tech had the "mid-American largess" they wanted. This kept in-line with Millar's idea Smallville should be the epitome of "Smalltown, USA". The interiors of Templeton Secondary School were used for Smallville High's interior. Over the course of season one, the production team repainted most of Templeton in Smallville High’s red and yellow colors, and stuck large Smallville High Crows logos everywhere. The team painted over so much of the school that the school eventually adopted them as their official school colors. The students became so accustomed to the filming crew, which had to shoot during the school semester, that when class was released the filmmakers would stand aside and the students would casually move the filming equipment aside to get to their lockers, and then venture to their next class without paying the crew much attention.
The Kent farm is a real farm located in Aldergrove. Owned by The Anderlinis, the production crew had to paint their home yellow for the show. Exterior shots of Luthor Mansion were filmed at Hatley Castle in Victoria. The interior shots were done at Shannon Mews, in Vancouver, which was also the set for the Dark Angel pilot and Along Came a Spider. Movie house Clova Cinema, in Cloverdale, is used for exterior shots of The Talon, the show's coffee house.
The show is told from Clark's point of view, so the color scheme and camera selection of the show is an illustration of Clark's interpretation of his environment. When he is safe at home the colors used to illustrate the environment are "warm and gentle", with an earth tone; the camera movement is also "very gentle". When Clark is keeping his secret, but there is no danger around, the lighting is more neutral and the camera moves around more. When there is danger the lighting becomes colder, and the camera shifts to a handheld to allow for more "extreme angles". With Metropolis, the crew attempts to instill the image of a "clean, hard-lined architecture", with blues, purples, and reflective metallics used as the dominating color of the scenery. The same concept is used for the characters. Lex is usually given a "glass, steel background", while Lionel receives a white or "clinical blue" background. Lex typically wears a lot of black, grey, and "cool tones" like purples and blues. Clark is represented by red, yellow and blue, like the traditional Superman costume. He is also represented by the colors of the "All American", red, white, and blue.

THE SERIES SMALLVILLE IS SHOT IN THE VANCOUVER,BC, CANADA AREA.
METROPOLIS IS THE DORNTOWN VANCOUVER,BC.

The exterior shots of Lex Luthor Mansion is Hatley Castle in Victoria,BC. The building is currently owned by the Canadian government, and serves as the famous Military University called Royal Roads University. Hatley Castle is not only substituted as Lex Mansion, but it also serve as the set to X2 (X-Men II) movie.

The Main  Streed (downtown Smallville) scenes are filmed in downtown Cloverdale, between 57th and 176th St. for more information about the city go to Colverdalebia.com

The exterior of THE TALON is located at 57th and 176th Street in Cloverdale, BC. The interior (behing the coffee shop, the old theater) is filmed at the White Rock Playhouse, which is located at 1532.

Smallville High
The exterior shot (the school featured behind Chloe in the credits) and the first couple of episodes were filmed at Vancouver Technical Secondary School. It is located on 2600 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC.

Part of season one and seasons occurring after were filmed at Templeton Secondary School and in the studio. The school is located on 727 Templeton Drive, Vancouver, BC. Smallville usually film about 3-5 days a month at the school.

The exterior of Luthor Corp Building is filmed at SFU Surrey´s Central City building, located on 250-13450 102 Avenue, Surrey, BC and a government building on 401 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC.
The exterior of the Luthor Corp Plant is Annacis Island waste water treatment plant located on 1299 Derwent Way, Delta.

Smallville Medical Center is actually the Langley memorial Hospital, which is located on 22051 Frases Hightway, Langley, BC (ir it just off of Fraser Hightway and 122a St.)

The Daily Planet is the Marine Building located on 335 Burrard St. vancouver, BC. The marine Building completed in 1930, was once the tallest building in the British Empire. The marine Building is now one of the last art deco buildings still standing in the city.


THE KENT FAMILY FARM while the interior shot is filmed in the studio. The exterior shot is a real home located in BC.



Premiere. Downtown Smallville 1989 was filmed in Merrit, BC. Situated 271 (168 miles) kilometers NE of Vancouver in the heart of the Nicola Valley. With a population of approximately 8,000, Merritt is located at the hub of the Couihalla highway system. The Coquihalla provides Merritt with direct links to the Lower Mainland in under three hours, to Kamloops in 45 minutes, and to Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley in 75 minutes.

The bridge which Lex hits Clark is menxies Crossing, also known as the old Silver Bridge, on Harris Road in Pitt Meadows, BC.

The Downtown Smallville- Main Street is located on 57th and 176th st. in Cloverdale, BC. This is where you will find the ¨Fordman´s¨, Nils flower shop and the rest of the Smallville town. 

The track field of Vancouver Technical Secondary, was used in the scene where Chloe and Pere are seen walking toward Smallville High.

Swangard Stadium is the site of Smallville High´s football field. The stadium is located in Central Park at 3883 imperial St. Burnaby, BC.

Toward the end of the episode, where Clark and Greg were fighting, this scene was film at the British Columbia Museum of Mining in Britannia Beach at the Creekside Foundry. The BC Museum of Mining can be found on Highway 99 towards Whistler, 45 minutes from Vancouver, 32 miles.


The Antique Shop used in this episode is located in Cloverdale, BC.

The lake Sean falls into is Lake Sassamat and the beach is White Pine Beach, located on White Pine Beach Rd, BC, Canada.

The pool which Sean attacks Choe was film at Richmong Minoru Aquatic Centre. The pool is located on 7660 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC.

The apartment, which Phelan wants Clark to rob, was filmed at the Waterfall Building, located on 1540 W 2nd Av. Vancouver, BC. This is the same building used as Clark´s Metropolis Apartment in season three.

The front steps of the building used as Lex Luthor´s Castle, which you are able to see it at the end of the episodes was filmed at the Vancouver School of Theology, which is on the University of British Columbia campus. 

The Bridge where Clark catches Eric is actually Cleveland Dam. This dam was build in 1954 spans the man-made Capilano Lake, which provides 1/3rd of Vancouver´s water supply. The dam is located in North Vancouver about 5km north of the Capilano suspension bridge. 

TEMPEST.  In the scene where, Whitney takes the ride out of Smallville on the Grey Hound Bus was filmed at a corner store called Glenwood store on 24th and 208th Street in Langley, BC.

In the final scene, where you see the tornado, was filmed on Zero Avenue and 264th Street, Langley, BC.