Huesario.

Algunos recuerdos auténticos de Smallville van a ser subastados a beneficio de una escuela de Los Ángeles. El mismo Al Septien nos avisó hace algún tiempo de que iba a celebrarse dicha audición y es también el que nos ha informado de que los artículos ya se han puesto a subasta. La fecha límite de las pujas será el 10 de Mayo.

Los dos lotes consisten en:

- Lote 1: Un guión autografiado por Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, John Glover, Lucas Grabeel, y los escritores/productores Turi Meyer y Al Septien, junto a dos fotografías firmadas de Erica Durance y Cassidy Freeman.

- Lote 2: un llavero oficial del Daily Planet y una camiseta oficial del equipo que tiene una frase de la final en la espalda.

Podéis optar a la puja en Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/180662708366
http://cgi.ebay.com/180662713771

"#1 El Daily Planet, Smallville: Fácilmente el más famoso periódico de ficción de todos los tiempos, el Daily Planet ha sido la casa para Lois Lane y Clark Kent desde hace mucho, y cuando tienes la primicia interna de cuándo algo grande pasa, hace el reportar la historia algo mucho más fácil".



"#8, La Antorcha del Instituto de Smallville: Antes de que la serie pudiera conseguir al Daily Planet, empezó en el periódico del instituto que lanzó la búsqueda de Chloe de exponer los secretos y misterios de su pueblo con su constantemente creciente Muro de lo Extraño".

http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/small ... 60966.aspx

Tom Welling de ‘Smallville’ sobre el decirle adiós a Supermán
Por Geoff Boucher 05 de Mayo, 2011 | 7:23 p.m.
Tom Welling has a new office on the Warner Bros. lot and there’s an empty parking spot right out front — it’s marked “C. SHEEN” — which reminds him how quickly things can change in television and how lucky he’s been to be one of television’s steadiest stars, with a decade logged on the now-ending “Smallville.”

“It can all go away and can go fast,” said the 34-year-old, whose new digs still had unpacked boxes and bare walls when he sat down last week to talk about the final flight of “Smallville,” which airs its two-part series finale beginning May 14 on the CW. “I feel so grateful. But I also know it’s time to move on.”

Welling leaves the show with mixed feelings, and that’s entirely appropriate for a man who spent 10 seasons as a Clark Kent who was perpetually denied the chance to be Superman — the show, for the uninitiated, follows the odyssey of Superman’s alter ego in his formative years and the title is the name of the little rural town where the future superhero grew up with his human adoptive family.

The New York native didn’t want the role — his headshot was plucked out of a stack by producer Alfred Gough, who asked why the handsome, towering actor wasn’t among the hundreds of hopefuls who sought an audition in “a massive manhunt” to find the star in 2000.

The simple reason was that red-and-blue costume, the same one that brought success to actors such as Christopher Reeve and George Reeves in previous decades but came with a smothering career cost — after they flew across the sky in the public imagination they were locked into the image. When Welling found out the new show had the motto of “no tights, no flights,” he was far more intrigued.

“He brought an openness and warmth to the role,” Gough said. “He’s also incredibly good-looking and somehow is more good-looking in person, if that’s possible.”

During the fourth season of the show, Welling had learned so much on the set that he got a new ambition — directing. He did just that in the fifth season and in fact is the director of Friday’s episode, “The Prophecy,” which may or may not put him in the single most iconic piece of clothing this side of Santa’s suit. Even before Welling was directing, he was “a leader” on the set, Gough said, and certainly he was qualified — no other cast member appears in every episode and only two crew members have stayed on for the entire run.

Welling isn’t certain about his next move. There was a fan movement to get him the lead role in the new Superman film that will begin shooting next year with Henry Cavill in the tights (and there was a similar campaign for the 2006 movie “Superman Returns” that took flight with Brandon Routh), but “Smallville” has created such a wide, deep thicket of its own mythology that it seemed unlikely that a reboot of the hero would take him on if it were seeking a true fresh start.

Welling seems OK with that. The conventional view that a film franchise is better than TV in every way misses the emotional factor of persistence, he said; he came into the homes of fans again and again for a decade, and that’s a potent relationship. “Besides,” he said, “I’m busy.”

Last year, Welling pushed in a new direction as the executive producer of “Hellcats,” the CW series that is a comedy-drama adaptation of the book “Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders.” The show is slick and frothy at the same time, and Welling is pleased with the show and the ensemble cast — he says that after holding up a show, it’s engaging to be part of “a team with a great spirit.”

“Smallville” had plenty of bumps in its flight since its first episode in October 2001. The show went from the WB to the CW in 2006 and the tone of the show changed through the years, with some of the visiting superheroes bringing a campy aura at times. The show enjoyed a surge in credibility and ratings in recent years, but it was running out of room — how long could Kent go into manhood without donning the suit?

“Each time we got picked up we had to push that finish line further away, and I think we had some low moments when we got too far-fetched,” he said. “If you look at the series, the first five years were one show and the next five were a different show.

“We could have called it ‘Metropolis,’ in a way … there were a few times when heroes come in where we allowed ourselves to get lighter. But that’s breaking things up. I don’t think anyone goes out and tries to make mistakes.”

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/05/ ... vrit=63378

You are bride to be.

Well she starts to get - Lois starts to get pretty stressed out in it 'cause she's not really a, you know, it's not her idea to plan weddings and all that kind of stuff so you see these, you know, throughout the year in the last little bit you're starting to see episodes where she's losing it a little bit.

Is that more like you?

I'm not really big into the, into the whole drama. When I was married all I cared about was having a nice dress and that's really kind of what, what the main focus was and we had a really small wedding and we had family there and that was it.

What should her dress look like?

I have strongly asked them to avoid bows of all kinds, lots of sequence, anything really puffy. I think it'll just be hopefully very simple and sleek and hopefully that sort of thing.

Do you have a preference?

The only problem that I have as an actress with strapless and this s something that I only discovered after watching some of the editing process is that when they move into close-ups and you're in a strapless you look naked so that's very distracting. And anything you're trying to be acting was I think all of a sudden looks very comedic so I've kind of suggested maybe not the strapless but take away from the bows a bit.

Will we see a wedding?

They haven't told me exactly what's happening. I'm hoping that if there is a wedding that Lois and Clark get married in a church and not the bar or in the Kent farmhouse or wherever set we're using at the time. So they haven't specified but what I would like is if they have the wedding and that sort of thing and Lois gets to maybe see some new faces, some old faces. I've heard that they're bringing back some of the old favorites and so we'll be seeing some bad guys come back and then some of the family and that sort of thing.

A reunion?

I think so and it'll be nice for us to tie it up.

What makes them an iconic couple?

I've been asked that question a lot and that whole mythology in itself is, you know, timeless and you're having generation after generation love it. I think it's because maybe it touches a real string with people with this sense of these two individuals at least in the incarnation we've done is like very separate, very different people who figure out how to function together and support each other together and be as real as possible.

And the thing that I've noticed that they've at least written in the storyline for me in the last maybe season, season and a half is that it's showcasing that Lois has the same ideals that Clark has and the truth, justice and American way and all that she's able to accomplish some of the similar things he does except he's going about it with the super powers. And she's just this human girl with problems and she goes about it and does her things and accomplishes the same tasks so I think they have a lot of similar values.

What is Lois' role in Clark becoming Superman?

Well this, this year that's basically been kind of introducing how Lois becomes a part of that and they're basically showcasing that she's helping to develop his dual identities. She's been the one that's been kind of saying to him look if you want to come out, if you want to continue being this hero you have to find a way to have an alternate identity. And so there's an episode that's coming out very soon where she kind of messes a little bit with his outfit which is kind of like getting into his man stuff.

She's like hey, that's my thing but she's trying to create another, another identity for him and just kind of helps him along that way. And then is helping him to finesse what is the Clark Kent and kind of being this shy, very clumsy person and just that whole part of it, so. That's been actually really fun. We had a lot of fun with that.

What's it like to be coming to the end?

I'm a save every moment kind of a gal. I figure I'm gonna experience it 200 percent and then experience the loss when it's done and that's part of - for me that's the way I feel I'm gonna live. So, you know, it's had its ups and downs. It's been a little bit of a train wreck sometimes. I think there's so much that there's still to do that we're focusing on that hopefully we'll be able to put those emotions aside so that we can actually finish the show properly and I won't be bawling through some scene that's supposed to be comedic because it's the last scene or something.

Do you get nostalgic?

Well I have to say, you know, there are some things I get very nostalgic about. Uh, you know, I'll be walking around and there's a whole set that's completely gone that was Chloe's set or something like that and I'll kind of have that moment. But you just try to savor it and you enjoy it and it is. You know, it's time to move on to a new chapter and everybody's, everybody's ready for that but it's bittersweet.

What's the new chapter for you?

I don't know. It's a dot, dot, dot. I haven't figured it out yet. I think I'll be open to anything that's out there and continue looking for something that I find inspiring and fun.

Are you gonna take anything with you from the set to keep?

You know, I have a wish list but to cop to taking something I might get in trouble. But there's some little things like maybe my nameplate. Finding maybe one of my costumes? See if I can get away with one of those.

Is it your own wish list?

It's my own and if I really wanted something I think you'd actually have to talk to somebody in Warner Brothers and go can I have this especially if it's something really specific like a blue suit with an S on it.

How do you feel about the movie coming out?

It's just like it's another project that's out. You know, you're living in your incarnation of it with your little group of people and if something else comes out that's theirs. It's just like apples and oranges and I'm gonna go see it. I think it'll be interesting. I'm a big fan of any comics and mythology so I'll be out there watching it. So there's no competition as far as that's concerned.

What's your favorite movie?

Well I fell in love with Colin Firth from watching Pride and Prejudice and just kind of have been watching anything, you know, anything that he does. Absolutely, you know, Jeffrey Rush and, you know, everybody, everybody in it was so good. It was just nice to get back to - I love all the fantastical shows that are out there. I love the comics. I love all that but it's nice to get back to like just the basic story about human trial and that sort of thing and so I liked it.

Gracias a A.

SMALLVILLE: UNA REMINISCENCIA
Por Greg Beeman Lunes, 04 de Abril, 2011

The fact that SMALLVILLE is ending next week has me thinking. So, I thought I’d write about how it began for me. I know… I hope you'll forgive me if I reminisce about the past .

For SMALLVILLE, as with any project that achieves greatness – whether it be in the world of television, film, the arts, sports, and probably even politics and finance – A lot of people and elements have to come together just right. When this happens it can feel that there are outside forces drawing things together at just the right time and to just the right place. And this was definitely the case with this series.

With this show, there was already an amazing pilot and the series was already up and running by the time I got there in 2001. Peter Roth, the president of Warner Brothers Television, is an incredibly passionate man. He had been really wanting to do a “Young Superman” series. Peter Roth’s passion was really the fuel that drove SMALLVILLE to its heights – especially in the early years. Most of you know the history of this - how Peter had brought in Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins to develop a young Bruce Wayne show and when that fell apart the idea evolved to make it young Superman. So they brought in a number of writers to pitch concepts. Al Gough and Miles Millar had been one of several – but they were the ones with a brilliant and original take on the material. They’re concept has been documented as “No flights/No tights” – a version which insisted on developing Clark Kent before he had glasses and the suit.

But, for me, their most exceptional idea was that Kal-El’s spaceship came to Earth hidden in the kryptonite meteor shower, which was the destroyed remnants of Krypton. Besides the authentic teen emotion, the concept that the kryptonite rocks could mutate people into super-powered freaks based on their psychology, was what made the series work. I know a lot of fans complained about the “freak of the week” aspect to the early seasons – but any TV show needs a motor to run on – and this was SMALLVILLE’s

David Nutter, who directed the awesome pilot, also had a major hand in the series. Maybe most importantly, as Miles and Al explained to me – he pursued Tom Welling very aggressively. Tom, apparently, had concerns about playing Superman. And Mr. Nutter, as I’m told, really convinced him to do the part.

So – now to me – It was August of 2001. I had just gotten back from Australia, where I had directed a movie for The Disney Channel, entitled A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT. This movie starred a very young Mischa Barton and had been a very wonderful experience for me. I had loved Australia and had loved the movie, which was very spiritual and special to me. BUT, I was burned out on travelling and was really looking forward to being home with my young family the following year.

In fact - I was very happy with the year I had booked. I had, kind of reached a nice zenith from the point of view of being an episodic television director. I was scheduled to direct episodes in every genre and on every network. I was going to direct JAG for CBS, NYPD BLUE for ABC and MALCOM IN THE MIDDLE for FOX. I was going to direct PROVIDENCE for NBC and my agent was suggesting that I direct this new series SMALLVILLE for the WB. I had no idea what SMALLVILLE was, but I knew it shot in Vancouver, Canada. Every other show I was doing was in Los Angeles, where I live. But my agent compelled me it was a great series and I should at least look at the pilot.

When I popped the VHS tape in my deck at home, (this was back in the VHS days) I had no idea at all of what the show was. I didn’t even know the topic. I’m kind of like that -- pretty out of it. I’m sure all of Hollywood knew exactly what SMALLVILLE was – it was being really hyped up within the industry. But I had been in Australia for months and had no idea.

So I’m watching – and the show begins with some guy named Lionel and a kid named Lex riding around in a helicopter. It means nothing to me – but I recognize John Glover. I love his work. He lived in my neighborhood and I’d seen him from time to time in the supermarket and I’d been trying to work up the guts to approach him and tell him how amazing he was in 52-PICKUP, but I hadn’t done so yet. (If any of you have never seen 52-PICKUP, do so – Glover is the most evil bad guy ever – he outbeats Darth Vader – and he has one of the most intense, horrifying scenes ever in it)

Then there are some scenes of a couple riding around in a pickup truck. A little girl named Lana, and so on. But still I’m not getting the bigger context. (And, remember, I’m a big comic book fan.)

Then - this meteor shower starts, and the town starts blowing up - which is big and cool, and I like it. Then this goofy red-haired kid ends up in the cornfield, there’s this rush of wind and he’s knocked back and John Glover runs over and there’s this big crane up and John Glover’s yelling “Lex, Lex!!!” and the red-haired kid is now bald. And THEN it FINALLY hits me! “Holy sh*t,” I say out loud to myself, “this is Superman!”

So now I want to do it.

A week or so later I meet with Miles and Al and a big friendly guy named Joe Davola, who is a producer who works with Tollin/Robbins, and I interview to direct an episode. I knew Miles and Al and had worked with them a couple of times before. Joe is super enthusiastic. The interview goes well and they want me to commit to direct two episodes. (They were booking all the directors for two.) I let my agent know, I love the show, I definitely want to do it - but I’m not going to Vancouver twice. If they want me – tell them I’ll only do one episode. So that play works out for me - and they book me for one. It’s still more than a month away, and I’ve got a couple of other things to do first - so I kind of forget all about it.

A few weeks later it’s time to go – I get a script delivered on my doorstep the night before I leave and I read it on the plane. (This may sound weird to people – but in TV it’s common that you really don’t even know what the topic of the episode your doing will be until your already started) So, I’m on the plane reading the script and the script is crazy. It’s about this football coach – who, whenever he gets angry, lights things on fire. And there is A LOT of fire. He gets mad at the team and fire shoots out of water sprinklers, numerous people burn up, a car explodes almost killing the principle and the part I really remember is when Chloe is investigating the coach her office lights on fire and then she runs out into the hall and the script says something like “A living breathing column of fire chases her down the hall, roiling up the walls and up over the ceiling.” OK - I know from experience that fire is not easy. And I’m thinking – “This is the biggest freaking TV script I’ve ever read in my life.”

The funny thing is when I get to the production offices and meet the line producer he says, “Finally, we have a script we can actually produce.”

Anyway – to make a long story short - the series was kind of in chaos back in those early days. It's pretty common for first year shows to take some time to get on their feet - but SMALLVILLE's aspirations were just SO big - there were so many stunts - so much action - so many sets and so many complex sequences - that, at first, no one had a firm handle on how to actually get the show shot in the time and budget alotted.

As they say, though, in crisis is opportunity - and this was certainly the case for me. Now Miles and Al, Peter Roth, Joe Davola, Tollin Robbins, etc. all had a very clear idea of what they wanted the show to be, and the pilot provided the tonal template - but, let's face it, the pilot was friggin' gigantic. The trick was how do do it EVERY week. For some reason, as soon as I arrived, I felt oddly calm. I really felt I understood the tone of the show. I felt like I knew how it should look and how to shoot it efficiently. I felt comfortable with Miles and Al. I was thrilled by how actively the studio and network were supporting the show. And I felt like I knew how to make the show week-to-week and that I could teach others how to do so. I saw there was a need and I began to desire to fill it.

For whatever reason my mental attitude shifted from not wanting to go to Vancouver to REALLY wanting to get on this show. A key moment for me was one night in my hotel room there was a knock on my door and a p.a. handed me a VHS of episode 2, METAMORPHOSIS. I have no idea why he gave that to me. I had nothing to do with episode 2. But, I also had nothing else to do that night so I popped it in and watched it. There were scenes still missing, temp music no visual effects - it wasn’t complete – but I knew it was GREAT. Of course the pilot was great, but they had spent a lot of time and money on that. When I saw that the series was going to be great this weird feeling came over me – I started to think that maybe I could and should could get on the show full time. (And this is what I mean by forces coming together that seem beyond the norm.)

I called my wife in Los Angeles, and I said “Honey I have this crazy idea. The good news is I think I can get on this show full time as a producer/director. I think if I do, it will change my career forever. The bad news it means that we’ll all have to move to Canada.” There was a long pause and she said, “Well… How much do you like the show?" Then I gushed - “I F*ing love it. It’s great! I REALLY want to do this.” And then my wife – and I really love her for this said… “Sh*t. Then it’s going to be a hit. Whenever you really love something it’s always a hit.”

Now I don’t mean any of this to be self-serving and I’m not sure if my beautiful wife is right about my instincts… But she DID say it and she was right.

Anyway – I started to develop a fiendish plan to lobby to stay to get on the show full time – I started dropping hints with Al and Miles about how much I loved it on the show – and I did the same with Joe Davola and Lisa Lewis the Warner Brother’s production executive.

(Sidebar – Lisa Lewis is an unsung, un-credited behind-the-scenes secret weapon of the show. She was there from day one of the pilot through the last episode. Her job, ostensibly, is to keep the show on track financially for Warner Brothers, but she does SO much more than that. She loves SMALLVILLE as much as anyone and fought for it over and over again. MANY times, when all hope was lost - she'd come up with a plan to pull out the scene, the episode, and sometimes the whole series... I’m sure she never gets nearly the credit she deserves for the show’s lasting success.)

Eventually the fiendish plan worked... And sometimes I'd regret it.... That first year on SMALLVILLE was soooo hard that it almost killed me. (I distinctly remember driving home one Saturday morning at about 8AM after having worked 24 straight hours – and calculating how long it was until my next teleconference meeting and I realized – “Oh my god – I’m going to get SIX WHOLE HOURS OF SLEEP!!!!” I was pumping my fist with joy because I’d been going on 2 or 3 hours of sleep for weeks at that time.

Those were crazy days – we were all killing ourselves. And no one more so than Tom Welling – He was young but he was working fourteen to sixteen hours a day. Remember, back then he was in almost every scene – And to get the workload done we added a second unit (A BIG second unit) that would shoot two or three days a week. A lot of times Tom would shoot a full twelve hour day with the main unit and then drive to the second unit to work for another four or five hours.

It was nuts. But it was good. I think we all knew we were working on something very special.

Thankfully Warner Brothers let us ride through those crazy days - they increased the budget a little and we started writing scripts that were a bit more manageable. Also, bit by bit, we began to put together the right crew. The goal was to staff SMALLVILLE with people who were not only talented, but were upbeat positive and desirous of doing great work. Most of the people on the show today have been there since the end of season one/beginning of season two - although many have moved up through the ranks of their department as the years went by. About halfway through the first season (around episode 13 or 14) we were running much more smoothly. In Season two the production aspects of SMALLVILLE became a well-oiled machine and, while the show never became exactly "easy" to produce - a strong system of how we made it and what it looked and felt like came into being.

This was all helped by the fact that SMALLVILLE was an immediate hit. There was a glowing New York Times article that gave us credibility and we had a fan base for Superman that came and never left. Even in our Season-One punch drunk and exhausted state this was heady and exciting stuff. And season 2 was even bigger - the ratings were never higher than in Season 2 - when, on several occasions, we had more than nine million viewers.

I'm glad I was there from (near) the beginning - and very proud that I was asked to come back for the end.

Until next week....

I thought I’d post a few pictures - these were from KENT which was being directed by Jeannot Szwarc during the time I was prepping to shoot the finale’. Jeannot is an old friend of mine. I worked side by side with him on many episodes of JAG before SMALLVILLE. I tried to convince him to come up to Vancouver in season one – “It’s a great show – it’s a great crew and you’ll love it in Vancouver” I said. But Jeannot is a very busy man and it took me until season three and PERRY to get him up. As I predicted Jeannot fell in love with the show and the crew and he ended up directing episodes in every season since then. The crew loved him (The crew on HEROES loved him too – he’s a favorite wherever he goes because he’s so damn sweet and charming and French!)

He’s also a very emotional man (he’s French after all) – and he was making a big deal about the fact that KENT would be his last time on SMALLVILLE. So the crew decided to bake him a cake and send him off with a mariachi band. It was very sweet. The Vancouver mariachi band was a little dubious though. Two members were definitely white Canadian guys – One of them may have been Latino but I think, more likely, was Greek. They sang a credible version of “La Cucaracha” and “Guantanamera,” though, and then Jeannot cried and hugged everybody.

I was glad I was there for it.

Well, as my Grandmother in New Orleans used to say "If the creek don't rise and the bunny's don't get into the garden" I plan to bring you one-last SMALLVILLE-based blog next week, chock full of many photos...

Anyway – goodbye for now loyal fans – and after next week goodbye forever to SMALLVILLE.

Until then ---




THE CREW MADE THIS CAKE FOR JEANNOT
(note: When I directed the finale' episde - I did NOT get a cake -- and was not credited even as being the "2ND" most wonderful director they know)



JEANNOT SZWARC - HIS NAME IS HARD TO SPELL BUT HE'S A LOVELY MAN AND A GREAT DIRECTOR



TWO STUDLY MEN - (tip: ONE PLAYS A KENT)



THE BOYS - TOM, MYSELF, JEANNOT, MR. JOHN SCHNEIDER AND Director of Photography GLEN WINTER (Note: For purposes of scale - We are all taller than Jeannot)



http://gregbeeman.blogspot.com/2011/04/ ... sance.html

No Vuelos, No Mallas
Por Will Harris




Tras disfrutar una andadura increíble de 10 años, Smallville está inclinándose con el episodio de esta semana. En una exclusiva con TV Week, Tom Welling y otros miembros principales del elenco comparten sus memorias de la serie realizada en Vancouver sobre los años tempranos de Supermán.

Cuando Smallville termine su 10ª temporada el Viernes, 13 de Mayo, sólo un actor será capaz de disfrutar del cumplido de haber estado en cada uno de los 217 episodios: Tom Welling, también conocido como Clark Kent, Kal-El, el Borrón Rojo-Azul y... ¿finalmente, Supermán? Si Welling se pone finalmente o no el famoso traje rojo y azul es un secreto muy guardado que no será revelado hasta que se emita el episodio.

A pesar de su larga asociación con la serie, Welling revela que casi no fue parte de la serie en absoluto. Antes de la producción, los productores de Smallville Al Gough y Miles Millar se pasaron meses buscando al actor adecuado para interpretar a su Clark Kent, audicionando a cientos de actores mientras forzaban el mantener la naturaleza final de la serie como top-secret. Cuando él audicionó, dice Weññing, no tenía ni idea de para qué estaba audicionando.

"No había mucha información sobre la serie", dice. "Lo mantenían muy en secreto, y no había un guión. Se necesitó una llamada de teléfono de David Nutter, quien dirigió el piloto para...", Welling duda, buscando la palabra adecuada, "'Convencer' es una palabra fuerte, pero dio un poco de luz en lo que iba a ser la serie, que por supuesto era interesante. Ellos prometieron que si les gustaba mi audición, me dejarían leer el guión. Afortunadamente, fui capaz de leer el guión tras mi audición, y todo pasó muy rápido tras eso. Unos cuantos meses después, estábamos grabando el piloto".

Mientras tanto, el hecho de que la serie fuera sobre la vida temprana de uno de los más icónicos personajes de ficción del siglo 20 llevó a algunas dudas para los actores que interpretaban a los padres de Welling. "Estaba realmente reacio a ir a encontrarme con Al y Miles", dice John Schneider, que interpretó al patriarca Johnathan Kent. "Era un fan de Supermán cuando era niño, y realmente no pensaba que el mundo necesitara otro ángulo de la leyenda. Pero entonces cuando leí el guión, habría hecho cualquier cosa para haber sido Johnathan. Desde la primera página del piloto, sabía que esta era una serie especial".

La madre de Clark, Martha, fue interpretada en el piloto original de Smallville por Cynthia Ettinger, pero cuando los productores decidieron volver a hacer un cásting del papel, su primera elleción fue Annette O´Toole, quien ya tenía una conexión con la leyenda de Supermán (interpretó al antiguo amor adolescente de Clark Kent Lana Lang en Supermán II). Desafortunadamente, la actriz no estaba con el ánimo de meterse de nuevo en otra serie de TV, habiendo pasado un gran esfuerzo en The Huntress, una serie corta en vivo que fue cancelada tras su debut.

"Pensé, 'No quiero hacer otra serie'", dice O´Toole. "Es en Vancouver, mis chicos son adolescentes, y parece que no es el momento apropiado. Pero dije, 'OK, lo veré'. Y por supuesto, quedé condenada, porque me encantó".

El vínculo entre Welling y sus padres de pantalla fue forjado rápidamente. "La primera vez que me encontré con Annette, ella se volvió me miró y dijo 'Mi hijo', e intantáneamente vino y me dio un gran abrazo", dice Welling. "Y John - ¡es decir, Dukes of Hazzard, vamos! Era un gran fan cuando creía. Pero creó un entorno para empezar de que estaba ahí para enseñarme y mostrarme y ayudarme y apoyarme, tal y como un padre haría con un hijo".

Tras la marcha de Schneider al final de la quinta temporada de la serie, Welling hizo un concienzudo esfuerzo de mostrar que tanto él como su personaje habían aprendido una gran lección de sus respectivas figuras paternas. "Y vas atrás y ves algunas de las relaciones que Clark ha tenido con otras personas que son más jóvenes que él, siempre les estaba poniendo la mano en el hombro para confortarles o darles algunos consejos paternales", dice. "Cuando John estaba en Vancouver para la final, apunté en decir, 'No sé si sabes esto, pero es una elección que hice para Clark el simbolizar y mostrar que Johnathan es una gran parte de la vida de Clark'".

"Me encantó el oir eso", admite Schneider. "Siempre he sido el tipo de padre que abraza y toca, y hay mucho de eso en Smallville que viene con cómo he tratado siempre a mis propios hijos, independientemente de lo mucho que han crecido. Esa es la manera en la que John Schneider le gusta conectarse con sus hijos, y esa es la manera en la que John Schneider se conectó con Clark".

Gracias a Dios, la relación entre John Glover y Michael Rosenbaum no fue la misma fuera de pantalla como la que compartieron como padre e hijo como Lionel y Lex Luthor. Hay aún una desconcertante cantidad de regocijo en la voz de Glover, sin embargo, cuando el actor recuerda uno de sus momentos favoritos de Smallville: Lionel suministrándole un tratamiento de shock a su hijo.

"Fue tan ridículamente maravilloso", se ríe Glover. "¡Y decidí que sólo lo estaba haciendo por su propio bien! Oh fue el paraíso para interpretarlo. Al principio, Lionel estaba escrito tan sólo como un villano, pero intenté con todas mis fuerzas el poner tanto amor en él como fuera posible, y una de las cosas que pensé que fueron tan maravillosas sobre los escritores fue que vieron eso y empezaron a escribir cosas incluso más interesantes para mí. La gente empezó a venir a mí y a decirme, 'No podemos entender esto: ¿se supone que eres alguien bueno o malo?' Y yo pensé, 'Ahora estamos haciendo nuestro trabajo'".

"Siempre pensé que la forma en que Michael llevó a Lex era realmente interesante", dice Weling. "Él dijo, '¿Quién dice que Lex es el chico malo? Quizá Clark es el chico malo. ¡Quizá es Clark el que está estropeando las cosas, pero nadie se ha dado cuenta aún!' Michael tuvo mucha integridad con este personaje, un montón de principios morales a los que él estaba unido".

Además del primer elenco, un montón de estrellas invitadas pasaron por Smallville durante el transcurso de sus 10 temporadas, pero una resuena más que ninguna otra: Christoher Reeve. "Había actuado en muchas obras con Chris antes de su accidente", dice Glover. "Fue increíble el ver cómo había reestructurado su vida, cómo estaba sobrellevando lo que le había pasado, pero su generosidad fue abrumadora, especialmente en cómo trató con Tom, que estaba entusiasmado hasta la muerte de trabajar con él".

"Ni siquiera sé si puedes llamar a Christopher Reeve tan sólo una estrella invitada, porque él fue mucho más grande que eso", dice Welling. "Fue una experiencia tan maravillosa, inspiradora y fantástica el ser capaz de ir a New York y poder grabar con él. Ni siquiera podía creerlo. Estuve en shock todo el tiempo".

Smallville está finalmente cerrando la tienda tras 10 temporadas, Welling está más que cómodo con la andadura de la serie. "Saber que es el final y saber que todo el mundo estaba a bordo para que fuera el final, pienso que eso le está dando y añadiendo a la temporada final más energía para terminar fuertes", dice.

Con su trabajo diario durante la última década llegando a su fin, Welling no tiene planes para dormirse en los laureles. Durante la novena temporada, el actor también tomó el papel de co-productor ejecutivo de Smallville, y esta temporada se convirtió en productor ejecutivo, yn título que también mantiene en otra serie rodada en Vancouver, Hellcats.

"me encanta todo el proceso de producir, dirigir, escribir y actuar", dice. "A través de los 10 años de Smallville, he aprendido un poco de cada una, y espero tomar eso, ir hacia adelante y con suerte seguir mi carrera en todas esas áreas. Pienso que siempre seré actor primero, pero adoro el contar historias. Pienso que puedes contar historias y expresar emociones en las cuatro disciplinas, Eso es lo que busco".

Y en cuanto a la leyenda de Smallville, ay una pequeña pregunta que vivirá tras el 13 de Mayo.

"La gente me ve en la calle, y me hablan sobre lo que Smallville significa para ellos", dice O´Toole. "Algunos me han contado que sus dotes como padres son mejores por ella. Y les digo, 'Dios, ¿de veras? ¿Conseguísteis dotes como padres de una serie de TV?' Pero significa algo para la gente, y, sabes, eso no es nada. Es un gran cumplido, y dice mucho sobre todos los que estaban involucrados en ella".


HÉROES LOCALES

Tras pasar una década filmando en B.C., Vancouver se ha convertido comprensiblemente en un segundo hogar para muchos de los miembros del elenco de Smallville. "He conseguido conocer lugares que, dada la poca cantidad de tiempo, quizá no habría podido conocer", dice Tom Welling. "Disfruto estando en exteriores tanto como si fuera un sitio perfecto para mí para pasar el tiempo, y hay aún un montón de cosas para las que voy a regresar y hacerlas y para las que no tuve tiempo debido a nuestro horario de trabajo".

"No tengo sentimientos encontrados sobre Vancouver", dice Justin Hartley (Green Arrow) que vive en L.A. "Me encanta la ciudad, me encanta la gente. Si mi mujer no estuviera trabajando y mi hija no estuviera en el colegio, absolutamente habríamos empacado todos y todos viviríamos juntos en Vancouver".

Los americanos del elenco también recuerdan lo estraño de estar fuera de los EEUU durante el 11-S, que sucedió a principios de la producción de la primera temporada de la serie.

"La gente dice, '¿Dónde estabas en el 11-S? ¿Con quién estabas?' Bueno, yo estaba con mi familia de Smallville, y estábamos en Burnaby", dice John Schneider.

"Era la primera vez que realmente me di cuenta de que estaba trabajando en un país extranjero", dice Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan). "Hay tantas similitudes entre los EEUU y Canadá que con frecuencia es difícil diferenciarlos, pero cuando ocurrió el 11-S, no podíamos regresar a casa, y eso fue realmente intenso"