Caity Lotz Talks habla sobre Sara Lance y la representación en los medios en la New Orleans Wizard World Comic Con
Por Eris Walsh 15 Enero 2015 at 5:30 pm
One of the more popular panel at last weekend’s Wizard World Comic Con New Orleans was a very laid back, casual chat with Caity Lotz (Arrow/The Machine/Mad Men), where she spent the better part of an hour answering fan questions about everything from her role on Arrow to women in films to LGBT representation in television and comic books. Did you miss it? That’s ok; I’m here for you. I’m magnanimous like that.
We all know that fan Q&A panels aren’t exactly cohesive, so I’ve combined a lot of the information into topics rather than leaving it all jumbled.
[Quick warning: If you’re not caught up on Season 3 of Arrow this might not be the best article to read, as it’s pretty spoilerific.]
On Arrow and Black Canary
Q: When Arrow first came out, nobody quite knew what to expect, and I would say that there was a lot of reluctance before it came out, because you don’t know what CW is going to deliver, where you aware of that/did you feel some of that?
Lotz: Well, I think if you’re not a comic book fan people don’t know who Green Arrow is, people don’t know who the Black Canary is, and I think that’s actually cool because everyone knows who Batman is, everyone knows Superman—you know those stories, and for [Arrow] to come to TV for the majority of people who aren’t into the comic book scene, it was a whole new world. So, it’s cool that that gets to get onto a more mainstream level; I think that was really fun. But, there’s also, I noticed, a lot of pressure that you’re playing this character and everybody [who] knows this character [is expecting] a lot from it, you know, and I get it. If you grew up reading the Black Canary comics, and it’s going to be put on TV, you don’t want somebody coming on and ruining that vision that’s been in your head for so long, so there’s a lot of, I feel, responsibility to do that justice.
Q: How did you feel when you got the role of The Canary? Did you expect anything like this when you got the role?
Lotz: No. When I originally auditioned for the show, they didn’t say “you’re playing The Canary” or “you’re playing Sara Lance.” I auditioned for a character named Lisa, and they wrote fake sides so you had no idea what you were really doing. So I was like, “Oh, yeah I’ll be playing some character names Lisa.” And I remember they were making a really big deal out of it, like it took weeks of like, “They want you! They don’t know! They’re flying in Stephen in from Vancouver to come meet you…” and I was like, “Why is this such a big deal? Just hire me already.”Then when I finally booked it, I went in to meet with the producers and they’re like, “Here’s the thing, you’re not playing Lisa, you’re playing Laurel’s dead sister, Sara Lance, who comes back from the dead. And you’re also playing The Canary.”
So it was really exciting, and I guess I did not realize the fandom that lives with this show, either. I wasn’t expecting it; it’s so cool to be a part of something that means so much to people, and they get so involved. That’s the best part. People really care about what happens to your character and what’s going on, and they follow it and interact with it, and they’re so supportive. So, I think that was a really good surprise to have so much support.
Q: When did you first note the impact of the show, not just in nerd circles? Was it via social media, or on the street?
Lotz: I think I got the first taste even before I started shooting when it leaked at Comic Con that I was going to be playing The Canary. I was like, “Why is that… This is something that leaks to the media?!” It’s a big deal, and everyone [at the studio] is calling me like, “Who did you tell?! How did they know?” and it’s like, “Oh, this is a big deal, cool!” So that was like the first taste of it, and it wasn’t until the episodes aired and people saw Sara for the first time, that was when I felt it the most. On social media for sure!
Q: Do you actually read the comic books?
Lotz: I didn’t before, but once I got the part they sent me a bunch of the Black Canary and Green Arrow comics, and the Birds of Prey, and I started reading those and it’s a lot of fun!
Q: The personality quirks of your TV character and the comic book character can be different. Are there any personality quirks from the show that you really liked, or is there anything from the comics that you really wished you could have seen in the show?
Lotz: Well I think the sonic scream, of course, would have been fun to have, but it also didn’t make sense on Arrow since it’s so realistic, which it’s kind of nice that they kept it that way. And I think [it didn’t make sense] because Sara Lance wasn’t in the comics, which was kind of cool because I got to take a lot of liberties to do whatever I wanted with [the character], which was fun.
Q: When you found out that they were going to kill you off in season 3 [of Arrow], how did you react?
Lotz: Well they told me, the producers, towards the end of season 2, which was nice cause you hear about some shows where the actors don’t know and then, you know, they get the script and they’re sitting there with everyone else, like, “ok, guys, let’s do this next episode!” and then they’re reading and they’re like, “what?!” They were really cool about it, and they called me and were like, “you know, Caity… we really wanna kill ya off.” [laughing] They’re like, “we love your character, but it would just be sooo good.”
And, you know, it was kinda necessary, story wise, for Laurel’s character to really be able to actualize into the Black Canary; [that] would be difficult to do with The Canary around! And it was such an impetus for a lot of things, plot things, that were happening in season 3, which is cool to kind of be a part of that. So, they called me and they told me and you know, I was bummed. It was like, “oh, this sucks,” but, at the same time, thus is life and one door closes and another one opens. […] And it’s like, it’s a comic book, so like somebody’s gotta die! [laughing] You know, Laurel would still just be Laurel if she hadn’t lost her sister!
Q: She’s really gone down a dark path! Did they know this whole time, like did they prepare you, that she was going to arise to the Black Canary status?
Lotz: Yeah, I think everybody knew that. I mean, it’s what’s in the comics. That would be a big one for [the writers] to diverge from. I feel like the fans would be kinda bummed. And they spent all of the first season building that up…
Q: So, we do know that you’re returning, uh, on the show. Do you know when that episode airs?
Lotz: It’s episode 13, I don’t know.
Q: Anything that you can reveal about your return? Is it a flashback, or do you come back from the dead?
Lotz: Well, I can say that the episode is called ‘Canaries’, so that’s all I can really say about that. And then the one thing everyone always asks me is “are you really dead?” and, I mean, I got shot three times in the heart, I fell off the roof, hit the ground, and buried. Like, Sara died. She did die.
Q: Well, you say that, but it’s also the comic book world…
Lotz: Yeah, well I feel like that’s why the writers made it such a like, “she’s dead!” kinda thing going on because they wanted people to know that she’s actually dead.
Q: Like, she’s really dead. She’s dead dead [laughing].
Lotz: She’s dead. I’m surprised they didn’t, like, after I fell off the roof, have a truck run over me [laughing].
Q: Did you have trouble, when you found out that you were going to be killed off, did you have trouble playing it straight at Comic Cons and to fans?
Lotz: It’s actually funny, because the scene where Sara dies and Laurel is picking her up, and there’s all the blood in her hair? That scene, we finished shooting it at like 6 in the morning in Vancouver and then Katie [Cassidy], Emily [Bett Rickards] and I had to go get on a plane, literally, we didn’t sleep. We went straight from set to the airport and flew to do Comic Con San Diego, the big one, and I literally still had blood in my hair. [laughing] I couldn’t shower, so I still had blood in my hair from my death scene and then going to Comic Con and pretending, like, “Yay, season 3, everyone!” So that was funny.
That was a funny one to me, because everyone keeps asking these questions, and I thought it was really clever of them to add me to the Comic Con because that really added to the surprise of, “Oh, Sara’s dead,” because no one was expecting that. But it was hard to be on stage and everyone’s all like, “How excited [are you] about season 3?” and I’m like, “So excited…” [laughing] “You’re gonna love it!”
Q: Filming that actual scene, how long did it take to get that shot? To take the arrows and fall off the roof?
Lotz: We actually ended up having to reshoot part of it. That was a very hard scene to get down and a very important one to get right. Originally they wanted to have Laurel pick Sara up and then carry her down the alleyway in one of those dramatic shots, like “NOOOOOO!!” But Katie [Cassidy]’s character had heels on, like these little stilettos, and I’m a strong girl, like I’m not like a little waif that you can just pick up, so we were trying to do it, with her picking me up in her heels she’s like tripping down the thing [laughing], and, yeah, so that didn’t work out, they just kept it on the ground.
Q: How did you feel about the relationship between Sara and Sin? Did you want it to be developed more?
Lotz: I think that it definitely was an interesting relationship, so I think they could have done more with it. Unfortunately we didn’t really have time. ‘Cause that was like a really interesting sisterhood they had going on, and both were like such misfits, you know. And I liked that about them. And when Sara had no one, she had Sin; that was the only person she really had and who really accepted her. So, yeah I wish they would do a little bit more of that. I heard that, and I hope this isn’t a spoiler because I think I read it on the internet, that Sin is going to be in episode 12, so that’ll be fun to get to see that character again.
Q: Do you have any favorite moments with Katie Cassidy, or any favorite moments in regards to their sisterhood?
Lotz: You know what’s a lot of fun? Katie [Cassidy] has two sisters, and I don’t have any sisters (I have a brother), but when we would work on scenes together and talk about it she would share with me what’s going on with her sisters and we would be able to use that and kind of put it into the scene. It was fun playing the ‘old school’ us too, like in the flashbacks, because we’re so ridiculous! [laughing] It’s like, “What boys are you talking to in college?” But then even later, I remember a scene in Verdant when Sara was bar tending and Laurel comes in to apologize and I remember when she was doing that and crying and you could so feel that—the love that was between them. [TV shows] do need more sister stuff! Yeah!
Q: The women on Arrow all have different characters; they have real fight scenes instead of just sexy ladies fighting sexy ladies. I was just wondering if you could talk a little about playing a woman in an action type role, and if you think that sort of a trend that’s spreading?
Lotz: I really hope so! People have tried on a few different shows with female superheroes and the same with movies, and if it doesn’t do well they’re like, “Oh, it’s doomed! Nobody likes female superheroes!” but a lot of times it’s like, “No, it’s the script. It’s the writing. It’s not necessarily because it’s a girl!” But it is harder, and you see it’s a little bit of a boy’s club, and I think we have to keep, you know, fighting to make it not [a boy’s club], and to bring in the [female] presence and not just as like, “Oh I’m so cute and sexy” but like, “No, I’m badass and I can do this just like a guy can!” And I really do hope it’s a trend and that we have more of it. I think as consumers, and the fans, and the viewers, you guys have a lot of say in that. So, I think we definitely, we have to support that and keep bringing it, and then it will be more of a trend.
Q: Was that something that you discussed when you were cast [in Arrow], that you did not want your character to be just a prop or accessory?
Lotz: I think that when Sara was dreamt up, nobody was like, “Oh, this is going to be some like weak chick or arm candy.” They wrote this knowing that they wanted Sara to be strong, and I was always happy that I got to play it like that. There’s a few times when something was written in and it was like, Sara was so girly and kind of weak, and I’m like “I don’t know if I would really say that.” And I remember one time there was [a scene], and Sara was with Oliver and they were in a fight, and they had it written where she was like, “Talk to me about your feelings. What are you feeling?” and I was like, “I don’t know if Sara would do that,” and they were like, “You know what? You’re right, she wouldn’t do that.” They never had to play the damsel in distress; like, Sara can hold her own, and I think that’s one of my favorite things about her is that she does have that power.
Q: Have you noticed with these [kinds of] roles that there’s a ripple effect? Have you noted that there are more action roles for women that are emerging, or that there are stronger roles for women, and do you think it’s as a result of shows like Arrow and superhero movies and things of that nature?
Lotz: Yeah. I think, [the movie] Lucy is a good example. That’s kind of like a super heroine movie that did well; people liked it. I think we still have a far ways to go, there’s definitely a lot more stuff for men than there is for women. I think that you can also look at pay and stuff. You know, we’ve been reading articles about how actresses don’t get paid as much as their male counterparts even if they’re like in equal places, and it is a problem. And it’s weird because I never really noticed it before, and now it’s like I’m paying attention to it more and, you know, we do need to pay attention to it more. It’s weird to me because I’ve always had strong female characters. I always get to play these cool roles; I’ve never played the pretty girl that’s just there (which would be incredibly boring) but I hear from a lot of people that that’s still what it is, so I think we have a ways to go. I’d like to say, “Yeah, everything is equal and there’s all these great roles for women” but there’s really not. We need more.
Q: Did you feel a lot of pressure or anxiety over playing a more bisexual Canary? Was it kind of hard for you to think about putting that on TV, because we don’t see a lot of lady love on TV, especially ones where there’s an actual relationship happening?
Lotz: That’s a really good point! I didn’t feel at all awkward or intimidated by it. For me, it wasn’t a big deal. Sara loves this person; Sara loves that person. It doesn’t really matter that that person’s a girl or that person’s a boy. Someone told me an interesting term I hadn’t heard of before was pan, like pansexual…
Q: …or maybe demisexual, where there’s no sexual attraction until there’s a connection?
Lotz: Yeah!
Q: …but anything that isn’t like, go throw yourself at Green Arrow like he’s the only game in town kind of thing…
Lotz: I liked that about Sara. I think it was easy because it wasn’t about “is she a lesbian, is she straight, is she this?” It’s like, it doesn’t matter, she just loves who she loves, and that was it. So that, to me, was just very normal.
Q: Well, thank you for bringing that kind of representation because it’s hard to find that on TV shows and comic books, really.
Lotz: Yeah, we need more of that. I think you see a lot more gay men than you do women, and I think they really need to be represented more on TV.
Q: In the show, it wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t a conversation point; it just was. Was it that way from the beginning? Was there ever dialogue [that didn’t make it to airing] that made it more of a big deal?
Lotz: No, the writers were on the same boat with that. It was never a thing, and I really respect them for doing it like that. They never tried to capitalize on it and make it so taboo or anything. It was very natural and simple.
[Finally, Lotz was asked where she would like to see her career going from here]
Lotz: To the stratosphere! [laughing] I don’t know. I want it to go up, I want it to go in a good direction, and it’s fun working on TV. I like that because you get this on-going relationship with the fans, so I think it would be great to get on another show full time (that would be cool); and, I love movies so I’d love to do like a good indie drama. I’ve done a lot of action stuff lately so it would be good to do a drama.
http://www.themarysue.com/caity-lotz-wi ... rld-panel/