Huesario.

2.03 "The Last Laugh": ¡ABRACADABRA, REHENES! (05 Octubre 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) - Gordon y Bullock localizan a un enemigo del pasado, lo que lleva a un empate entre Jerome (la estrella invitada Cameron Monaghan) y Gordon. MMientras tanto, un espectáculo de magia en la gala del Hospital de Niños de Gotham se convierte en una situación de secuestro. eanwhile, a magic show at the Gotham Children's Hospital gala turns into a hostage situation. Estrellas invitadas: Cameron Monaghan como 'Jerome', Mark Margolis como 'Paul Cicero', Norm Lewis como el 'Teniente de Alcalde Harrison Kane'.


http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/09/gotham ... press.html?

Ben McKenzie adelanta el alzamiento de Jerome y la caída de Gordon en la S2 de "Gotham"
Por Samantha Highfill 18 Sept, 2015 — 9:00 AM EDT

Heading into season 2, Gotham, both as a city and as a show, is getting a new look. While the city has a new king in Oswald Cobblepot, the show has a new format. By dividing the season into two, 11-episode halves, the show hopes to gives viewers a more serialized drama this time around.

“It is a very, very different show,” star Ben McKenzie tells EW. “It is almost completely serialized. We’re aiming for a grander, saga-type construction in which we can actually sit with the characters and understand their motivations and how the turbulence of their lives affects the greater landscape.”

And with the line-up of villains that’s already been announced, there are going to be plenty of evil minds for the audience to sit with. “What we’ve done is up the ante a level,” adds executive producer Danny Cannon. “Now that we have the confidence of the world, we can start to add characters. So when we call this season the rise of the villains, it’s very much that. More villains move in to take their piece of the pie and Gordon has to go to very extreme measures to quell the chaos that ensues.”

And as much as Gordon might try, not all of those extreme measures can be described as “moral.” Instead, season 2 is going to see Gordon embrace a bit of darkness to get his job done. “We’re going to be playing with the notion of the rise and fall and possibly rise and fall again of both his standing in Gotham as a public figure and also his ability to keep it all together morally and otherwise — his relationship with Thompkins [Morena Baccarin] and everything,” McKenzie says. “So it’ll be pretty turbulent.”

Speaking of turbulence, it’s easy for things to get out of hand when your city houses a number of villains in one, not-so-secure facility. “At the beginning of the season, we visit Arkham, where so many people that Gordon has locked up and so many potential villains share the same air,” Cannon adds. “And if they were to get out, well who knows what kind of chaos is going to hit the streets.”

Specifically, there’s one villain who will be causing chaos when the season kicks off — Jerome, the show’s maybe-Joker. ”You’re going to want to watch the first episodes,” McKenzie said. “Jerome is very much in those, and Cameron Monaghan does an absolutely fantastic job in the role. I think it will give the show the shot of adrenaline that it needs coming back into season 2.”


http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/18/go ... de58fe75fb

Robin Lord Taylor sobre los viejos amigos, nuevos rivales y futuros enemigos
Por Bryan Cairns 18 Septiembre, 2015

It could be argued that Oswald Cobblepot is "Gotham's" equivalent of Bobby Fischer. Throughout Season 1, the Penguin schemed, manipulated and shifted people around like pawns on a chess board, starting off as Fish Mooney's lackey before moving on to being Falcone's right-hand man. All along, he bided his time, eliminated some powerful players and positioned himself to take over as the city's ruling crime boss. In the chaotic finale, Falcone retired and Cobblepot killed Mooney, leaving him as the reigning King of Gotham City.

However, that status may not be all it's cracked up to be. Ahead of "Gotham's" Season 2 premiere, Robin Lord Taylor spoke with CBR News about why his fan favorite character may have even choppier waters ahead of him. We also discussed how he went about finding the Penguin's voice, new sibling villains Theo and Tabitha Galvan, whether this is the season where Oswald and Bruce Wayne will meet, and which trick umbrella he most hopes to see make its debut on the show.

CBR News: Every show experiences some growing pains in the beginning, but fans took to your Penguin almost immediately. When did you feel you really found Cobblepot's voice?

Robin Lord Taylor: From the pilot. Even in the audition, it just all snapped together for me. I rarely feel that good about auditions. This was one of the few where I walked out and was like, "I can actually get this." But, 15 years of auditions -- and I've gotten close to big things -- you immediately learn to be like, "Nope. Put it away. It's not happening. Move on. Whatever." It's your survival instincts. But, it all came together. They didn't give us a script, so they wrote a fake scene. When I first read the script, I felt I knew exactly who this person was. Once we started the pilot, we would get rewrites. Bruno Heller heard my voice. We just had this kind of meld of the minds. I just felt it was there. I will say, it wasn't easy-peasy, no problems; there are definitely things I am still discovering about Oswald and still learning.

It's great, because this is where I really identify with Oswald. He's coming up in his life, and I'm coming up in mine. Becoming an adult, making big steps and achieving what you've always set out to get, what you've always wanted and that has been dangling right in front of you. We're very similar in that way.

In Season 1, Oswald maneuvered everyone around the game board in his head while gaining their trust. How prepared is he to be the King of Gotham?

He's done his homework. If there's anything about Oswald, it's his ability to read people. The way he learned so much from Fish Mooney and studied Falcone, even Maroni -- he takes things from all of them. He's ready to use all of those tools. He has them in his mind, ready to go.

You can't prepare for all contingencies, though. There are certain things he is not prepared for, and he's really going to be confronted with them going into the second season.

This season has been dubbed "The Rise of the Villains." How well does Oswald play with others?

He's getting better. This was established in the first season; his relationship with Gordon comes from a place of, he really does see [Jim] as a friend and also trustworthy. At the same time, Oswald sees Gordon as someone he needs to work with. He needs to have an ally on that side to achieve his goals. Oswald needs to work with people. At the same time, he's working with someone and keeping tabs on them, so that he use things against them. That is his m.o.

In what ways does Oswald butt heads with new villains Theo and Tabitha Galvan?

I can't really get into specifics, but what I can say is -- and it's not just Oswald -- Theo and Tabitha disrupt the entire power structure in Gotham. They make a big move in Season 2 that throws everyone off. They are very reminiscent of what Oswald did in the first season. It's almost like Oswald is getting a taste of his own medicine. Someone comes in with an agenda that no one was expecting to see, and it just throws everyone off balance.

You and Cory Michael Smith have talks about how much you both love the scene where Oswald and Nygma bump into each other in the police precinct. What can you tease about their next encounter?

What I can say is their relationship deepens. Because their relationship grows, I think you can infer it is something beyond the G.C.P.D.

It is not like the two characters clicked the first time.

No, not at all. They are still figuring each other out. Both characters are so brilliant, but in such different ways. They are totally different, yet they are both outsiders. There's camaraderie, yet opposition, which I think is very exciting.

Oswald has a bit of a temper. How will his upcoming trials and tribulations push him to the limit?

It's a learning experience for him. What he's learning is, there is no such thing as a sure thing. You can plot, you can plan and try and do everything to ensure that you maintain control of the situation, but there are certain things that are going to happen that you could never anticipate. It's those moments that are jarring. He's not used to that, especially after everything he went through the last season. He's not used to being surprised by anything. I can bring it back to the scene where he meets Nygma for the first time. When Cobblepot says to Nygma, "Who are you?" Nygma immediately replies, "I know who you are." It makes Oswald's blood boil immediately. He's been bested. That's someone winning. That's someone getting one on him. He's coming from this extreme place of survival. It's extremely threatening to him, to his well-being, his life and everything he's worked for.

Will we finally see Oswald interact with Bruce?

I honestly don't know. I hope so. It will be interesting because Bruce and Gordon are very intertwined, and Penguin and Gordon are very intertwined. It's only a matter of time before all these worlds come together. It's like two galaxies colliding. They get swept into each other's gravities. I just don't know when.

Viewers are still anticipating the day Oswald picks up his iconic weapon. Which trick umbrella would you like them to introduce first?

This is where I don't know if it was strictly a Tim Burton thing or if this was in the comics, but a helicopter umbrella, all the way. That's so fantastic and so amazing and something necessarily for him because of his impediment. He also created so many enemies, so it would be a really amazing way to get around and not be as noticeable. You see Cobblepot walking down the street and you know exactly who it is because of his injury. For him to be able to use his tools to be able to work around that would be somewhat inspired and make a lot of sense for the character. Helicopter umbrella, all the way.



http://www.comicbookresources.com/artic ... re-enemies

Las estrellas de "Gotham" sobre los villanos de la S2 y el estar más serializados
Por Matt Fowler 18 Sep 2015

Gotham's second season - under the moniker Gotham: Rise of the Villains - premieres on FOX this coming Monday, September 21st. And with the new season comes, naturally, new faces. Along with a new commitment to supervillains and serialization. Meaning less mob turf wars and GCPD "case of the week" style stories.

I visited the set of Gotham last month on a very busy, overlapping day where production was running for two separate episodes. I'll have more on those specific episodes, along with insight from the stars about those stories, closer to when those chapters air. But for now let's talk Monday's season premiere, "Damned if You Do..."

When we last saw Bruce and Alfred, they'd discovered a hidden passageway in Wayne Manor's den. One likely filled with secrets procured by Thomas Wayne. So where will we find Master Wayne and his trusty butler as Season 2 begins? "They’re aligned in the sense that they both don’t know what’s going on and they’re confused," star David Mazouz told me. "But they’re not totally aligned once they actually find out what’s going on and they need to choose how to proceed. That’s sort of where they disagree."

"And there was a tension building up between them all last year, with them butting heads, and that tension will get bigger in Season 2, at the beginning," Mazouz added. "But once they get past it you’ll really see them work as a team. And then Alfred will really take on the role of Bruce’s mentor."

Meanwhile, Ben McKenzie's Jim Gordon will continue to pay visits to Bruce, with their relationship growing stronger and friendlier. And we'll see "why Bruce chooses Gordon later on when he’s Batman to be his inside man at the GCPD." Likewise, Chris Chalk's Lucius Fox - introduced at the end of Season 1 - will continue to contribute to "Operation: Good Guys," as Mazouz labeled the plight. "Along with Bruce and Alfred, it’s really going to be the three of them," he said.

So where does this leave Camren Bicondova's Selina Kyle? In the Season 1 finale, it looked like she'd found a comfortable home among Fish's crew. But that wound up being rather short-lived. And it's not like she can exactly go back and crash at Barbara's pad, right? "No, she hasn’t seen Barbara in a while because Barbara's gone a little cuckoo," Bicondova laughed. "Barbara has to deal with her own issues for a while. So Selina has a new place. I can’t give away what it is, but she’s got a new hang out."

"Selina's found a new group of people to be a part of," she continued. "She’s obviously sad about Fish because that was the first time she had a female role model, but she’s figuring it out. She always finds a way. She’s a teenage girl so she wants to fit in some place, but not necessarily with a surrogate family. And that’s what we get to see within this season. Her trying to figure out whether or not she fits with the evil side or the good side. Because she knows the difference between right and wrong, she just has a strong survival instinct and that makes her have a different perspective than most other people."

As for Jim Gordon? Well, Selina may not be on the best terms with him after almost allowing him to die at the hands of Fish and Maroni. "She respects Gordon for wanting to change Gotham and wanting to do the right thing," Bicondova revealed, "but then she also realizes she can use him whenever she wants. She can manipulate him however she wants to. She also doesn’t trust him fully because he’s a cop, so it’s very interesting, that relationship."

Another character with supreme survival instincts on the show is Drew Powell's Butch, who went through a crisis of identity and loyalty last season as it pertained to Fish and Penguin. So is his head on straight now? "The thing about Butch is that he’s a survivor," Powell told me. "That was true last season and it's true this season. He’s lived in the swamp of Gotham his whole life. He was weened on it. He knows how to keep his head above water and mostly stay alive."

"The whole story is streamlined this season and they've gotten rid of the 'dead body of the week' stuff," the actor added. "Which has its place on TV but I don’t think worked as well on this series as it has on others. And now they’re focused on the more serialized elements. Like 'we’re going to follow this storyline from A to B.' From episode 1 to episode 22. And we’re just going to go on this journey."

New to the scene this season are sibling baddies Theo and Tabitha Galavan - a wealthy duo with nefarious plans for the city. "Theo is kind of like Penguin meets Tony Stark," Powell joked. "That’s kind of the idea. And James Frain plays him really well. And Jessica Lucas who lays his sister, the Tigress, is incredible too. And their story affects most everybody on the show."

Also on the set this day, fortunately, was Jessica Lucas, who couldn't wait to chat about her role as the blood-thirsty Tabitha Galavan. "She's a total badass," Lucas said. "She’s a really powerful woman. You won’t learn much about her as an individual right away though. At the beginning, she’s very much the enforcer in the Galavan sibling dynamic. Theo is very much the schemer and the planner and she’s carrying out his plan for him. Although they have the same goal, which is to seek revenge. She wouldn’t plot the way Theo does. She'd just go and destroy everything, so that’s the big difference. I think he keeps her at bay. Plus, there's a creepy twist."

So what is the Galavans' big plan for Gotham? Well, Lucas couldn't say too much about it other than that the two of them feel severely slighted. "Our family has deep roots and our history has deep ties to Gotham," she said, "and we feel as though we were wronged. And so we’re seeking revenge and redemption and all that. That's our path." A path that, as I discovered, involves Erin Richards' Barbara. "I do get to work a lot with Erin," Lucas smiled. "I think Tabitha really takes Barbara under her wing. She sees something in her that she wants to draw out. And then there’s a dynamic there as well that runs a little deeper."



http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/18/ ... serialized

Ben McKenzie & Danny Cannon hablan sobre el regreso de Jerome y una S2 más serializada
Por Minty - 18/09/2015

"It is a very very different show," revealed Gotham star Ben McKenzie, while speaking to EW about the show's impending return next week. "It is almost completely serialized. We’re aiming for a grander, saga-type construction in which we can actually sit with the characters and understand their motivations and how the turbulence of their lives affects the greater landscape."

Season 2 has been dubbed the 'Rise Of The Villains' - something that EP Danny Cannon explains has come about as a result of its more serialized structure. "What we've done is up the ante level. Now that we have the confidence of the world, we can start to add characters" he claimed. "So when we call this season the rise of the villains, it’s very much that. More villains move in to take their piece of the pie and Gordon has to go to very extreme measures to quell the chaos that ensues."

In addition to promising a darker tone, the actor and producer both had a few exciting things to tease about the season's early episodes. “At the beginning of the season, we visit Arkham, where so many people that Gordon has locked up and so many potential villains share the same air,” Cannon revealed. "You’re going to want to watch the first episodes," McKenzie chimed in, "Jerome is very much in those, and Cameron Monaghan does an absolutely fantastic job in the role. I think it will give the show the shot of adrenaline that it needs coming back into Season 2."

Despite only making one appearance last year, Monaghan's 'proto-Joker' Jerome has swiftly become a fan favorite character. Are you excited about his expanded role in Season 2?

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/ ... 3s.twitter

Las estrellas de la S2 de "Gotham" hablan sobre el heroísmo y la maldad
Por Kayti Burt 18/09/2015 5:06PM

We visited the Gotham set and chatted with the series' stars about what's in store for their characters in season 2.

This past month, we had the chance to visit the Gotham set and chat with the cast about what we can expect from their characters in season 2. Here's what we learned!

Barbara is a whole new character

At the end of season 1, Barbara (Erin Richards) underwent some pretty radical character development, killing her parents and attacking Leslie. She remains on the villainous path in season 2. “I'm sort of getting to show the birth of a new person,” Richards told us. “Coming into season 2, it's like everything is new. She's sort of been hatched out of a crazy, evil egg. And everything she's experiencing, it's like she's experiencing it for the first time."

As we know from one of the season premiere clips already released, Barbara and some of the other villains in Arkham Asylum will be broken out by new baddies Tabitha and Theo Galavan. Moving forward, Richards teased that she will be spending more time with the siblings as they “start shaping us” and become “a big factor in her development.”

Elsewhere, Barbara will continue to seek Jim out, though in a decidedly different manner than season 1. Richards said: “She's very focused on Jim and because she's kind of gone to her dark side now, she's exploring her shadow self, I think she's latched onto that side of Jim and she's quite obsessed with trying to get him to come to the dark side with her because she sees that it's there, but, in her eyes, he's living this lie.”

Finally, Richards teased that she would be getting to work more with Robin Lord Taylor (aka Penguin) in season 2. Something to look forward to.

Selina is caught between "hero" and "villain"

When we last saw Selina (Camren Bicondova), she had joined up with Fish's gang despite her allegiances to Bruce and Jim. Her struggle to define herself as “hero” or “villain” will continue in season 2. As Bicondova put it: "There are definitely going to be some ups and downs because, you know, Selina, within season 2, she's going to be struggling to figure out where she fits in — whether its [with] the good guys or bad guys. She'll be struggling because she knows the difference between right and wrong. It's just a different perspective — especially a different perspective from Bruce.

So, within season 2, we're going to be seeing the tug-of-war between not only her with good and evil, but between her and Bruce because he doesn't agree with everything she does or believes … Opposites attract, but there's some conflict that comes with that.”

Bicondova also teased that we would see a slightly less “guarded” version of Selina in season 2, elaborating: “Last season, she was more observant and she was more incognito ... Now, we're kind of breaking down that wall and I'm getting to feel some things I haven't felt before, which is amazing.

Butch struggles with Zsasz' conditioning

Drew Powell (aka Butch) has been made a series regular in season 2, which means we'll get to spend more time with this character as he struggles to find his place in a Gotham without Fish. When we last saw the mobster minion, he was following Penguin's orders after having been reconditioned by Zsasz. According to Powell, “Zsasz's conditioning is still holding up. So, when we open the season, he's still basically under the control of Penguin. And then things happen from there that will test that.”

But Butch's interactions won't be delegated to Penguin. Powell teased that he would be spending some time with the Galavan siblings, especially Tabitha, with whom Butch has “a tumultuous relationship.” Powell added that, to him, Tabitha is “the scariest person in season 2.”

New baddie Tabitha Galavan is a "woman of action"

Speaking of new baddie Tabitha, aka Tigress, we also got a chance to catch up with the actress behind the role, Jessica Lucas. According to Lucas, the Galvan siblings “have a long history with Gotham.” She added: “They come from a very wealthy family that has strong roots in Gotham. They feel like they were wrongly ousted from the city and so they've come back to get their revenge.”

While Theo is a “schemer,” Lucas described Tabitha as “a woman of action” and “a master of weaponry.” Elaborating on the “twisted” relationship between the brother and sister, she said: “It's a typical sibling relationship. There's a lot of loyalty there. They both have an agenda, but they have different ways of approaching it … I think maybe she feels like she is under his thumb a little bit and is frustrated by the way he chooses to carry things out. She would much rather just get it done. She's very bored by his antics.”

Jessica also teased that Tabitha and Barbara would be spending a lot of time together in the first few episodes.


http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/gotham/24919 ... d-villainy

Las estrellas de "Gotham" dicen que la Premiere de la S2 es "Un Segundo Piloto"
Por Lucas Siegel 19/09/2015

At a special screening on set at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, select press were invited to come watch the first two episodes of Gotham ahead of their release. While the premiere hits Monday, September 21, 2015, the episode will do something that episodes in season 1 didn't do very often: directly come from events in the episode before, focus solely on the core characters, and push forward at an incredible pace toward the next episode.

The new interconnectivity of Gotham didn't go unnoticed by press in attendance, but it's more importantly not going unnoticed by the stars of the show. When I asked Ben McKenzie, who plays Jim Gordon on the show, about the "new pilot" feel, he agreed instantly.

"Yeah, we’re re-originating the show pretty significantly. You could say this is a second pilot, and you’re right. The first pilot we made did show how it could be a grand, serialized saga, but it got diverted into the procedural act," McKenzie said of the way the first season often felt like very individual episodes instead of a full season-long story. "We basically needed to end the first season and right the ship, to move it back to where it should’ve been. There’s 75 years of this stuff, all these characters and all these movies. They’re really rich and have this really complicated moral landscape that they’re living in. So let’s, you know, let’s explore that!"

That moral landscape is something he has wanted to explore more, especially in how it relates to his character of Jim Gordon in particular.

"When I was pitched this by Bruno Heller, it was ‘Serpico meets L.A. Confidential’ in both its moral landscape and its visuals. It’s the good guy trying to bring justice to an injust world, and in doing that has to rise everyday and confront not only the world but himself and what he’s become," he said. The actor followed up with an intriguing tease for those who haven't seen the premiere yet, saying, "He becomes a pale version of the hero he sets out to be. I think you see that in the first episode of season 2."

Sean Pertwee, Gotham's Alfred Pennyworth, said the new episodes "rip along" and push together into longer story arcs. "I think it feels like there are less pages to the scripts but more going on," Pertwee said. The Brit said in his native slang that the first season was "banderjacked" by excessive breaks, causing the flow of the story to get a bit lost. "We won't have that extra break, that March Madness thing. We're just going 11, break, then the other 11," he revealed.

Erin Richards echoed all this, and said that with Barbara Kean, who broke toward the end of the season and starts season 2 in Arkham Asylum, she's now getting to "embody her own darkness," which the actress admitted is "so much fun to play." However, that's something they were only able to do by losing the "procedural element," focusing instead on the "strong characters."

Richards' initial audition for the role did include more than what was in the pilot, with a bit of a darker edge. She embraces the idea that Barbara embodies the whole nature of Gotham City and vice versa. "She's a reflection of Gotham and it's own darkness," she said. "It's like the fog in the story 'The Fog," that spreads out and consumes everything; the Gotham darkness just spreads into everything."

Lucius Fox only made a brief appearance in season 1, though it was a pivotal one, and he's back in season 2 to help Bruce along the way in discovering his father Thomas Wayne's hidden past. Chalk praised the directorial and writing staff, who are "almost the entire same" group for letting themselves "learn as they go." He said they "learned something" from season 1's procedural nature, and what worked better with characterization, and "they're making it happen for season 2."

For the show's eventual Batman, David Mazouz, the season brings probably the most change. His stable of confidants increases, but he also has to deal with some surprisingly dark - and some surprisingly normal - moments for a teenage boy. Mazouz said that he's ready for it, and really enjoying the new storytelling he's seeing in the scripts and on set.

"Everything feels different with season 2. We really got our groove. There’s a whole new sense of confidence, from the writers and for me," Mazouz said. "We know what we are doing [now]; we had that year under our belt to figure out what worked, what didn’t work, what we liked. We know what we're doing."

Gotham Season 2 debuts Monday, September 21 at 8pm on Fox.


http://comicbook.com/2015/09/18/gotham- ... ond-pilot/

Robin Lord Taylor sobre el nuevo arco de Oswald en la S2, sus ídolos de la actuación y más
Por Andy Behbakht 21 Sept, 2015

Tonight, FOX’s hit series Gotham begins its highly anticipated second season, and one of its main points of focus this year will be the rise of both new and old villains from the Batman mythology in the DC Universe. Last week, TVOvermind joined several other news outlets in a conference call with Robin Lord Taylor, who portrays Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin, as he previewed Oswald’s new role as the king of Gotham City, how it’s going to affect Oswald and those around him throughout the new season, and much more.

Be aware of potential spoilers from the conference call which has been edited for time and content.

As the new season begins, we will see more of Oswald’s new role as one of the powerhouses in Gotham City. However, not everyone will be happen with this change, including Oswald’s mother Gertrude (played by Carol Kane), who will find her son’s continued life of crime very painful.

“I think very much so,” Taylor said. “There was that moment in the first season where Maroni basically told her what Oswald was doing and the violence, the murder and all of the darkness that is inside of him. But I think that, like many parents, they are incapable of seeing the dark stuff. It’s almost like she covers her eyes, closes her ears and, out of sight out of mind, she only wants to see the what she believes that he is, which is a good person. But that will definitely be tested in this season. She will be confronted with really how dark he is, but also with the sympathy in that, I think, she believes the choices that he makes and has made are choices that he had to make in order to survive.”

When asked where exactly Oswald will be when we see him in the Gotham Season 2 premiere, now that he is on the rise in Gotham, Taylor explained what new issues he will have to deal with as a power player in the city.

“He set out to achieve something in the first season and he did it, he succeeded,” Taylor told us. “He became his own boss, his own man and basically proclaimed himself the king of Gotham. As [with] anything in Gotham City, though, it’s that nothing is easy. Now that he has achieved what he wants, he faces a whole new set of issues in terms of how to maintain that, how to stay on the top. I don’t know if he is exactly prepared for that, and this whole season is going to be about challenging his intellect, basically everything that he has, in order to stay the king of Gotham.”

With Oswald becoming more and more powerful and dangerous like the actual Penguin in the Batman comics, one reporter asked Taylor if there was any source material he read to add to his portrayal of the iconic villain.

“In terms of inspiration, we are all very blessed on the show to have 77 years’ worth of material and to draw upon,” Taylor said. “The comics have been incredibly helpful for all of us to just understand these characters and where they are coming from. That has been a huge influence on me, and in terms of performance, I just look to my acting idols, people that I grew up watching such as John Malkovich and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both of whom, in terms of acting styles and how they approach characters that have a dark side yet finding the sympathy within those characters. I think that’s something that have influenced me.”

However, Taylor credits the writing on Gotham as to what makes the character of Oswald so special.

In terms of really making the character my own, I give all credit to Bruno Heller [creator and executive producer of Gotham],” he said. “He has created such a clear vision for Oswald, where he is coming from and what drives him that I honestly feel like I’m just carrying his words onward. I just trust in him and I feel like if I really think too hard about it, then it won’t be as authentic. I give it to Bruno Heller.”

As the the new crime leader in Gotham, Oswald will need to have reliable allies to stay on top. However, in the show’s Season 1 finale, Oswald’s right-hand man Butch (Drew Powell), who used to work for Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), started to snap a bit out of the brainwashing that had been done to him. Should Oswald be concerned about Butch’s mind?

“I think and maybe that’s a mistake Oswald makes, but he really does trust in the brainwashing [laughs], you trust in Victor Zsasz [Anthony Carrigan] and his amazing handy work in terms of getting people to do his bidding,” Taylor explains. “We’ll see how that plays out. I think he relies on Butch. He needs someone like Butch to galvanize all of the players in Gotham City to be behind Oswald and to follow Oswald as we go forward now that Falcone and Maroni are out of the picture. But yeah, we will definitely see if that’s the smart choice or not. “


http://www.tvovermind.com/gotham/robin- ... n-2-264962

Ben McKenzie adelanta una season 2 más divertida
Por Samantha Highfill 21 Sept, 2015

When Gotham picks up for its second season, Jim Gordon will be working the streets as a traffic cop, and Oswald Cobblepot will be calling the shots. In other words, Gordon is at his “lowest point,” according to star Ben McKenzie. “He is discouraged,” McKenzie said. And that discouragement could cause him to dip his toe in some dark waters. And yet, how bad can it be if he’s doing it for the right reasons?

“He’s always a good guy,” McKenzie said. “He’s always a person who is aiming to restore law and order to a town on the verge of complete anarchy. It [has] to do with his absolute need, deep deep need to change things at whatever cost.”

And thankfully for Gordon, he won’t be alone in his mission for long. Thanks to the addition of Michael Chiklis’ Captain Nathaniel Barnes, Gordon could finally be getting some good-guy backup. “Michael Chiklis is coming in playing a character named Captain Barnes who is breathing fresh life into the near-wilting soul of Gordon, who’s becoming pretty beat up by not having anybody in his corner he can rely upon,” he said.

“Barnes is ideologically driven. He believes that broken-window theory — if a kid breaks a window, you have to punish that kid; there have to be consequences for every violation of the law no matter how small. Things can change, but that requires absolute accountability from not just the citizenry but also the police force itself, so he’s a kindred spirit with Gordon.”

However, McKenzie did add that “things will get more complicated later in the season” between Gordon and Barnes, but at least for the time being, we think it’s only fair that Gordon get another male friendship in his life. As McKenzie put it, the show “could use a little bit of Gordon smiling every once in a while, which we’re trying to work in.”

In other words, there’s more to expect than doom and gloom in season 2. ”There’s a lot of humor in this season — dark humor mainly — but some lighter stuff,” McKenzie said. “What’s great about breaking free of the procedural style is that when you get into the characterizations, we have great actors who are able to pull off these characters. We get to have fun with it and really embrace the larger than life aspects of Gotham and all of its bizarre citizens, and it’s fun.”


http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/21/go ... 509dfd2a9f

Qué vale la pena ver: Gotham en la Fox para el lunes 21 de Septiembre
Por Matt Roush 17 Septiembre, 2015 3:00 am

Gotham, "Damned If You Do" (Monday, Sept. 21, 8/7c, Fox.

If things got any darker in the violently Gothic gloom of Gotham City, you might need to attach a spotlight to your TV to keep watching Gotham. The show's second-season subtitle, Rise of the Villains, is great news for the bad guys—who, as always, are the best reason to watch.

"Surely sometimes the right way is also the ugly way," suggests young Bruce Wayne (David Mamouz) to a tormented Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), stating what could be another theme of this impressively nightmarish season. Penguin (the ghoulish Robin Lord Taylor) now considers himself the "King of Gotham," and if he had a mustache he'd twirl it when the overwhelmed Gordon enters his lair to seek a favor that will surely come to haunt him. But over the first few episodes, even Penguin is upstaged by the band of psycho lunatics (including Gordon's ex, Barbara) who escape Arkham Asylum to embark on a stomach-churning crime spree.

"Monsters are coming," promises the maniacs' deep-pocketed shadow leader Theo Galavan (James Frain), and none are creepier than Jerome Valeska (Shameless's spectacular Cameron Monaghan), the Freudian basket case of a neo-Joker with a rictus grin, fiendish cackle and delusions of infamy. When told, "You will be a curse upon Gotham. Children will wake from sleep screaming at the thought of you. Your legacy will be death and madness," he takes it as a compliment. Monaghan's searing performance is no joke, worthy of a guest-actor Emmy nod next year.

And yet Gotham's unending mayhem and graphic carnage can feel grinding and exhausting, not unlike McKenzie's mannered growling as the thuggish copper. I found myself siding with the seductive split personality of deranged future Riddler Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), who goads his other self: "I think that we need a little more fun." Fun would be a welcome relief. Let the Riddler out, dude, and we guarantee a good time. Maybe not for the beleaguered citizens of Gotham, but for the rest of us, the morgue the merrier.


http://www.tvinsider.com/article/38417/ ... tember-21/

Cory Michael Smith adelanta la transformación a lo Jekyll & Hyde del 'Enigma'
Por Bryan Cairns, 21 Sept 2015

Amid the teeming populace of Gotham City are numerous big, bold personalities. Many are vying for power, while others are simply trying to retain their sanity. And while a good portion of "Gotham's" biggest and baddest threats wear their intentions on their sleeves, it's the quiet ones you truly have to watch out for.

Take, for example, Edward Nygma, the Gotham City Police Department's resident forensic scientist. Meek, kind and meticulous with a flair for cryptic riddles, Nygma appears relatively harmless -- of course, Officer Tom Dougherty ( Zachary Spicer) discovered that this is far from the case. When he stabbed Dougherty to death in "Gotham" season 1, it was the first truly obvious sign the tightly wound Nygma was beginning to crack. And, as actorCory Michael Smith tells CBR News, there's plenty more of that to come as his character continues to change over the course of "Gotham's" Season 2, which premieres tonight on Fox.

CBR News: In Season 1, Nygma killed Kristen Kringle's abusive boyfriend, Tom Dougherty. Was that merely out of self-defense, or were those his intentions all along?

Cory Michael Smith: Totally self-defense.

I love how they wrote that; the thing I've been so happy about what the writers and producers have done with Edward, is that they make sure his intentions are pure at the beginning and not someone who is starting out as wanting to be a badass. He's someone who wants to be a good person, but is failing miserably. No one understands him or appreciates him.

When we were working on that scene, it was a genuine surprise for Edward, but also invigorating. It's the first time he's really stuck up for himself, and in this massive sort of a way. Getting rid of this terrible person and doing something that almost feels like justice, all of those things happening and colliding at the same time, his brain explodes. That was a very bold moment.

As the season closes, Nygma seems to be cracking. What's his state of mind at the beginning of this season?

When we pick up, we're picking up right at the end of Season 1 for the most part. Afterwards, we move along a couple of weeks. Jim Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie) is kind of displaced, and then we realize when we meet Ed that Ed has been spending a couple of weeks in a similar state that he was in for those final episodes, except way more distressed. He's been talking to himself. He's cracked open. He's literally cracked, and from his bruised head, what has emerged is what I like to think of as his ego and his id. These two fractions of him are battling. One is the Edward we know, and the other is the Edward who wants to be the Riddler. He certainly is not the Riddler you know.

Nygma talks to himself. He hears voices. Do you feel there is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dynamic there?

Absolutely, there is. What the writers have done, which is so exciting, is make these two parts of him so real, but it's clearly just all in his head. As much as we'd love embracing the comic book element of the show, what's so terrifying is how clear both of these identities are. It's just this conversation with him. This person comes and goes very quickly.

What's this voice encouraging Nygma to do?

It's an aggressive older brother encouraging Ed, or coaching Ed, on how to get the very things that he wants, which is power, love and sex. It's all the things that any normal male wants, but Ed doesn't know how to get them. This other person is both encouraging him and taunting him and reprimanding him.

Does he just embrace this new personality or is there some kind of inner or moral struggle?

There's certainly a struggle. Again, what I like about this character is, he's not a bad person. Some of the encouragements feel wrong, or abrasive, or ethically questionable. He wants to be left alone. He's also reconciling what he just did. It was both a good thing for Kristen and potentially for himself, but [it was] a horrible, despicable act. The other side of him is embracing the reality of the situation, which is, "You can't change it, but look at all the good it's going to do for you and Kristen. Take advantage of the situation." It's a beautiful place for Ed to live. I've had so much fun doing it.

Nygma's infatuation with Kristen was a catalyst of sorts for his downward spiral. Where does she factor into his life now?

His obsession and love for Kristen, if anything, has intensified. She figured out his clue, which is terrifying and exciting and arousing, sexually and intellectually. His pursuit for her and love for her is not going to diminish at all. He's even willing to take a bullet for her. He would do anything. We're going to see the expression of his devotion turned up a little bit, but not just with these cute gifts and presents. There are very real demonstrations of his adoration, with high hopes it will capture her attention and interest.

There's a changing of the guard in terms of the captain at the G.C.P.D. How does that affect Nygma?

Not too much, other than the fact that he had an ally in that position. Now, he doesn't necessarily have a friend there. If he continues behaving the way he does and gets in trouble, there's nobody to really save him. His security at the G.C.P.D. may be potentially in question if he keeps acting up.

Other than that, he's living in such a different department than the detectives. The kind of militarization that we're going to be seeing in the police force doesn't really swing over into forensics too much.

How do these villains coming to Gotham City shake up the narrative?

Last year, there was always someone causing trouble. What we've done this year is, instead of this procedural format where we have someone come in, create a conflict and all of these characters are responding to it, the conflict is coming from these villains. We'll get to understand why they are doing it, and how this small act is connected to another act, which is connected to someone else. We're building this delicious web of conflict, which is the greatest difference between last season and this season. We're in a tighter world. All of these characters are truly vicious. They make the Penguin look like a chump, sometimes. I'm super stoked, and we have some amazing actors coming in.

Nygma already had a run-in with Cobblepot. In what ways does that relationship start to evolve?

We know that Edward knows who Cobblepot is. We know he has enough curiosity and intrigue to go up and talk to him. There will be another run-in, for sure. This curiosity and admiration will begin to unpeel itself and explain itself. What Penguin does with that is another question. As we know, when Ed becomes obsessed with someone, it's full throttle.

What else can you tease about Nygma in the first block of new episodes?

We'll certainly be exploring a very rich, emotional life of Edward that we haven't seen at all, which has been really thrilling for me as an actor. I'm excited for that. The writers have given me so much to dig into. We're going to see this person grow and change. In the very first chunk of this season, as things are changing and he's listening to this other version of himself, he might even be making some friends at the G.C.P.D. This person, who was absolutely irritating and annoying, is getting trained socially, and adapting. Perhaps he's losing a little bit of his intense awkwardness. He's growing up a little bit and learning to communicate, learning how to talk to people and lie to people, and use them as he needs. He's being socially trained.

As the Riddler, Nygma becomes one of Batman's main adversaries. What makes him so deadly?

That's a great question. I think what we're working towards, at least for me, is his scaling narcissism. What is it that can unlock a narcissist? What is it that encourages a narcissist? What is it that tempers down someone's narcissism? Certainly, love is an antibiotic to narcissism. What can make someone so deadly is when they are in love with themselves, with their abilities, gifts and intelligence. That's the thing that rules them until all these other things like pride are in play. That's the thing that keeps them going. I think that's a part of Edward that makes him extremely dangerous in the future.

And while it's there, and his narcissism is totally elementary, he's not even a big player at the G.C.P.D. and has no power or respect. Once he starts getting this, and once he starts to have a standing and is able to manipulate people and he can get away with some crazy shit, his narcissism is going to be taking some steroids and growing. It's an interesting thing for a character to get addicted to. It's going to be a fun ride.


http://www.comicbookresources.com/artic ... sformation

'Gotham' Q&A: Robin Lord Taylor adelanta la Season 2 del 'Pingüino'
Por Jolie Lash 21 Sept, 2015 12:23 PM EDT

"I'm the king of Gotham," Robin Lord Taylor's Penguin shouted after shoving his one-time mentor, Fish Mooney, off of a roof in the Season 1 finale.

"Gotham" returns to Fox with the Season 2 premiere on Monday night, and when things begin, Oswald Cobblepot remains very much on top. In addition to his improved status, he's got fancy digs, a new look, and Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) probably still owes him a favor or two (by actor Robin's calculations).

It was over the summer that the cast got the first script for Season 2, and it included some minor adjustments in how the show will play out, as it continues its run on Fox.

"You could already tell the tone of the show had changed a little bit -- the fact that we were focusing on just the characters' arcs as opposed to any... sort of the crime of the week stuff that we were doing last year. That was all gone," Robin told Access Hollywood of his initial thoughts at reading the Season 2 premiere script. "It was just really tight and really thrilling. I was just so excited to get back to it."

Monday night, "Gotham" is back at 8/7c on Fox, and ahead of the show's premiere, Robin dished to Access about Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot's improved status, new look, his "nexus" of power, and a request some fans have made when they've seen him in public.

AccessHollywood.com: You've got to tell me what the first table read – what the emotions were like when everybody was back together. You guys knew you had a Season 2; you were all there together [again], everyone had the script in front of them. What did that feel like?
Robin Lord Taylor: It was like coming back from summer break, you know what I mean? It's like, 'We're back, we're ready to work,' and also… we just all felt that momentum pushing behind us. We were just ready to throw ourselves right back into it, and we all like each other (laughs). Sometimes it's not totally the case on every show, but we all genuinely have affection for each other, so it was just a love fest.

Access: Your [Oswald/Penguin] look looks a little different this season. His hair is a little spikier. Is it the confidence that comes with being on top that's sort of giving him a little bit of a different feel this season in terms of how he looks?
Robin: Oh, definitely. In terms of the hair, that was definitely a conversation where… it started with [Executive Producer] Danny Cannon. … You just wanted to do something a little bit different, just take a step in a different direction, so that's where that came from, and then also, in terms of the costumes, we have new costume designers this year – John Glaser and Patrick Wiley -- and they, in terms of like stepping up Oswald's look -- the ties are more elaborate, the patterns are more… it's just all just stepped up another notch. He has fabulous shoes (laughs). I think that's a lot of it, yeah.

Access: How have the new costumes impacted your performance, because costumes are so important to actors?
Robin: Definitely, and it changes my posture. … When I put this stuff on, because they're very buttoned up and the colors are hard and the suits just fit within an inch of my life, my spine gets straighter. I just feel like, yeah, it reflects Oswald's standing in Gotham City. ... Yeah, it helps me adapt to his physicality, which is just amazing. It's amazing to have that tool.

Access: And they have an amazing chair for you to sit in as well -- your own little, not quite Iron Throne, but it seems like you've got some nice new digs as well this season. Tell us a little bit about that. What are we going to kind of get to see as the season unfolds? It looks like it's a bit more regal?
Robin: Yeah, definitely. … It's sort of the nexus of his power, is that chair, actually, and you'll see like, basically everything that happens to him sort of revolves around this new lair of his. Gone are the days of the club. The idea is basically that there are things to deal with so he's dispatched someone to take care of the club, so he's just sitting in his lair commanding everything and calling the shots, bringing the crime families that are left in Gotham City back together. I mean, there's just a lot of organizing that needs to be done and that's where it all takes place.

Access: Will we get to see a bit of his paternal side come out with Selina Kyle, who sort of comes into his orbit more this season?
Robin: Yes, definitely. I think he's just fascinated by her and I think he really admires her ability to – she has no allies or she doesn't align herself with anybody. She kind of drifts into different scenes with different people and I think he sees that as a major asset and something that he wants to foster in her and obviously use for his own advantage.

Access: He just can't see beyond using people for his own purposes, except for his mother. He loves her above all. Have you been working a lot with Carol [Kane] this season? Obviously, she's got '[Unbreakable] Kimmy Schmidt' to do as well. I'm kind of curious how much of her we're going to get this time around.
Robin: She's featured prominently this year which is – it's amazing. To be able to work with Carol again is just like a freaking dream come true and also, as he becomes more powerful, their relationship gets tested in a way. … He's become more powerful, he's growing up, therefore, because of that, there's distance that arises between a parent and their child as the child becomes an adult and becomes their own person, so you'll sort of see that's how their relationship changes. ... There are some pretty amazing moments between the two of us.

Access: Does Jim [Gordon] still owe Oswald any favors going into Season 2?
Robin: You know, I was trying to do the math and I think that, yeah, he definitely owes me some kind of favor there. I think he asked for like two or three last year and maybe one or two was repaid, and then, of course, as we come in, Jim just keeps coming knocking. I mean, Jim has some gall coming to Penguin now for anything after basically leaving Penguin at the season finale last year. And the fact that Jim still looks to Penguin as a connection to the crime underbelly of Gotham City -- their relationship is definitely strained at this point. He's not a friend to Oswald at all any more.

Access: Aww.
Robin: I know, it's sad.

Access: Tell me about James Frain coming in. He's been in so many television shows and he just brings this air with him and you know he means business. Whatever character he's going to play, he's going to be a threat.
Robin: Oh yeah, totally. No one does it better than him. I mean, he freaks me out -- in a good way. He's just an amazing, amazing addition and also, an amazing adversary to Oswald. It really gives Oswald something to push against.

Access: [Finally], let me just ask you very quickly about the walk and whether or not you've actually ended up doing it in real life by accident?
Robin: (Laughs) No, I actually still haven't. I've been asked to do it many times and I always oblige people and it's always a weird moment because, I don't know, it's not that big of a deal when it's just like regular me in my jeans doing it, you know what I mean? There's something about seeing it with the whole package [that] makes it a lot more affecting I think.


http://www.accesshollywood.com/gotham-q ... cle_112666

Cameron Monaghan sobre el ascenso de 'Jerome'
Por Craig Byrne 21 Sept, 2015

The second season of Gotham, which begins at 8PM tonight (September 21) on FOX, has been subtitled “Rise of the Villains,” and one of those villains in Season 2 might possibly be the most popular Batman villain of all – The Joker.

Right now, though, the laughing and grinning joker is known as “Jerome,” and he is played on the series by Cameron Monaghan. When we see Jerome at Gotham Season 2’s start, he is in Arkham Asylum, and we quickly learn his role in the scheme of things.

“It’s not clear whether he wants to be a leader, or if he just can’t help but destroy every single thing around him,” Monaghan reflected to us last week before a Los Angeles screening of the Gotham and Minority Report premieres. “His personality is just this constant ticking time bomb. He goes from a guy who’s completely entertaining to be in a room with, to a guy you realize you don’t want to be in a room with anymore, to a guy you realize has already locked the doors and you’re not getting out of that room. That’s Jerome.”

Jerome’s effects are quickly felt on other characters. “I think this new villain, Theo Galavan, is definitely someone who Jerome very obviously admires for his utter sadism and his cold, calculating, devoid of humanity persona. I’d be curious to see who else. I think as Penguin becomes more and more dark and unhinged that perhaps that is someone who he would find quite entertaining, as well,” he said. There’s one character who Jerome might not get along with so well, though.

“I don’t think that Jerome would appreciate Edward Nygma’s structure,” Cameron said. “He’s not chaotic enough for him. It would probably be the reason he would butt heads with him. To be honest, he doesn’t play very well with other people, in general. Jerome has an infectious personality and a very specific brand of insanity that kind of either destroys the psyche or destroys the person of anyone he’s around. I don’t think that any of the effects that he’s going to have on [others] are positive,” he teased.

The role of Jerome and the speculation of the character being The Joker have grown Monaghan’s fan base, and that inspired Warner Bros. Television to ask the actor to make a surprise appearance at the “Night of DC Television” panel at this year’s Comic-Con. “They had told me that I was going to crash the panel; they had given me the line to say of ‘tell me, Mr. Gordon: Do you bleed’?” Cameron recalled. “Beyond that, there was not really any game plan; they had only really told me that part, the day that I got there. Initially, they were going to have me say it and then have me run off, but I thought that was a little bit forced, because I don’t think that Jerome is a guy who ever runs out of the spotlight. He’s a man who craves the limelight with every fiber of his being, so I asked the security guards to drag me off. It was so fun!”

So, is he the Joker? “There’s plenty of possibility,” Cameron hinted. “The only way to say it is that he either is or he isn’t, or maybe he represents the idea. Maybe in this universe, The Joker is not one specific man, but more of an idea, at least to this point. This is still very early in the mythology. Who knows where it’s going to go from here.”

“The great thing about this role is that it brings out the strengths in every single actor who plays it. I grew up obsessively watching the Batman animated series, and so there is a special place in my heart for what Mark Hamill did with the role,” he said, though he personally views the character as just “Jerome.” “I have to think of him as Jerome because, as it is, he is Jerome. In our scripts, he is Jerome. Whoever Jerome is, he’s a man who loves pain, and he loves to laugh at other people’s pain. That’s the driving component behind him. That’s what I go with,” he shared.

Ultimately, Monaghan is excited for fans to see Gotham Season 2. “I love the first episode, but I think it only gets better from there. I’m really excited for people to hopefully want to see how it all unfolds,” he said.



http://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/got ... ome/76515/

Cameron Monaghan habla sobre la S2 de ‘Gotham’, Joker, Arkham, y más
Por Christina Radish 21 Sept 2015

The Fox series Gotham is back for Season 2 and — as the season that’s being billed as the “Rise of the Villains” — all hell is about to break loose. Theo (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas) have arrived in Gotham, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is running the streets, Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) is becoming more and more unhinged, Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) is locked up in Arkham, itching to break free, and who knows who or what else is waiting just around the corner.

Collider was invited to participate in a small roundtable interview with one other outlet, to get some scoop on what viewers can expect when Jerome unleashes his madness. During the interview, actor Cameron Monaghan talked about what he’s most excited about with Jerome’s evolution, knowing the general arc for this character going in, how being locked up will change this already unstable guy, perfecting that maniacal laugh, whether we should be thinking of Jerome as The Joker, and playing someone who just doesn’t understand the concept of guilt. Be aware that there are some spoilers.

Question: What are you most excited for audiences to see, this season?

CAMERON MONAGHAN: I can’t wait for them to see how Jerome evolves. I love the first episode, but I think it only gets better from there. I’m really excited for people to hopefully want to see how it all unfolds.

When you did that initial episode, did you always know we’d see this character again?

MONAGHAN: Yeah, they had told me how much I was going to be doing and the general idea of what his arc was going to be. They didn’t tell me specific dialogue or the exact scenes, but I had a pretty decent idea that I could play it according to.

How might Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) change from hanging out with Jerome?

MONAGHAN: I think Jerome has an infectious personality and a very specific brand of insanity that either destroys the psyche or the person of anyone he’s around. So, I don’t think any of the affects that he’s going to have on her are going to be positive.

Will being locked up make Jerome more focused or more ready to burst?

MONAGHAN: I think he’s been ready to burst from far, far before we ever met him. I don’t know if it’s necessarily the imprisonment that ultimately drives him towards his radicalism and his shift in personality, so much as the people that he meets and the interactions that he has with them. There’s this character, Theo Galavan, who becomes the ringleader for the revolution of villainy in the city of Gotham. He becomes this mentor figure for Jerome that really inspires him to go off the deep end, and it’s really fun.

One of the things that your character is known for is his maniacal laugh. How was it to fine tune that and get it how you wanted it to be?

MONAGHAN: I practiced so obsessively that I lost my voice because I was doing it so much. I heard that I had gotten the role, and then I had a few weeks during winter break where I was thankfully able to sit at home in my apartment, lock myself in, and just stare at myself in the mirror and make weird faces and laugh, obsessively, to the point where I was concerned that my neighbors were going to call the cops on me because I was, at 3:30 or 4 in the morning, laughing maniacally at myself. Similarly, when I found out that I was going to be a part of the second season, I continued to do that. It was beneficial to get to the hotel in New York a little bit early, and be able to work within the space of the hotel and be cut off in a city that I’m not familiar with and where I don’t know a lot of people. I was able to focus on that.

What do you most enjoy about playing Jerome?

MONAGHAN: It was great to reach the heights of ridiculousness in performance, and to fully chew the scenery and be able to enjoy chewing it. I wouldn’t be able to do that, as any other character. That’s the great thing about playing this role. To the credit of the producers and everybody, they gave me so much freedom to improv and go off script. With each subsequent episode, as the character continues to become more unhinged and dangerous, they allowed me to improv and go off script, more and more. Thankfully, they allowed me to do that, and then the editors would slog through it all and cut it into something that actually makes sense.

Is this a character that you feel like you can never go too big with or rein him in too much?

MONAGHAN: It all depends on the situations. The situations remain grounded in such a place where the character can be completely ridiculous and unhinged. This takes place in a somewhat heightened world, so I felt like the only way for this character to feel more heightened in a heightened world was to completely go off the rails with him. That was the decision that I had to make, which was probably the most terrifying decision I’ve ever made, as an actor.

It works!

MONAGHAN: Thank you!

Is there a possibility that Jerome might not be The Joker?

MONAGHAN: There’s plenty of possibility. The only way to say it is that he either is or he isn’t, or maybe he represents the idea. Maybe in this universe, The Joker is not one specific man, but more of an idea, at least to this point. This is still very early in the mythology. Who knows where it’s going to go from here.

Do you ever think of this character as The Joker, or do you just think of him as Jerome?

MONAGHAN: I have to think of him as Jerome because, as it is, he is Jerome. In our scripts, he is Jerome. Whoever Jerome is, he’s a man who loves pain, and he loves to laugh at other people’s pain. That’s the driving component behind him. That’s what I go with.

Do you have a favorite Joker performance?

MONAGHAN: The great thing about this role is that it brings out the strengths in every single actor who plays it. I grew up obsessively watching the Batman animated series, and so there is a special place in my heart for what Mark Hamill did with the role.

Of the villains on Gotham, which one do you think would amuse Jerome the most?

MONAGHAN: I think this new villain, Theo Galavan, is definitely someone who Jerome very obviously admires for his utter sadism and his cold, calculating, devoid of humanity persona. I’d be curious to see who else. I think as Penguin becomes more and more dark and unhinged that perhaps that is someone who he would find quite entertaining, as well.

Even Nygma is becoming much darker and more unhinged.

MONAGHAN: Oh, yeah. But I don’t think that Jerome would appreciate Edward Nygma’s structure. He’s not chaotic enough for him. It would probably be the reason he would butt heads with him. To be honest, he doesn’t play very well with other people, in general.

Being forced in with these other criminals makes Jerome not want to follow other people’s rules. Was being a leader always in him, or does he just not want to be told what to do?

MONAGHAN: It’s not clear whether he wants to be a leader, or if he just can’t help but destroy every single thing around him. His personality is just this constant ticking time bomb. He goes from a guy who’s completely entertaining to be in a room with, to a guy you realize you don’t want to be in a room with anymore, to a guy you realize has already locked the doors and you’re not getting out of that room. That’s Jerome.

Can he have any guilt for what he’s doing, or does he really not care?

MONAGHAN: I don’t think he would be able to answer that question. I think the concept of guilt is lost on him, at this point. I don’t know if he’s ever had it, but if he did, I’m not sure he does anymore.

How did you end up in this role on this show, in the first place, especially already having a TV show (with Shameless)?

MONAGHAN: It wasn’t a conscious thing. It was getting a call about, “Hey, there’s people asking about this,” and I was like, “Oh, yeah, that’s amazing!” But then, I was like, “No, I can’t do that!” And then, I was like, “Okay, let me think about it for awhile.” And the more I thought about it, the more all I could think about was what I wanted to do with it. It wasn’t a choice of wanting to do more stuff. It was just wanting to do something that I really liked and wanted to be a part of.


http://collider.com/cameron-monaghan-ta ... -and-more/

Showrunner de "Gotham" dice que la Season 2 'está mucho más centrada y movida por los personajes'
Por Albert Ching, 21 Sept 2015

"Gotham" season two starts tonight, and showrunner Bruno Heller talked to The Hollywood Reporter about what makes the new season different from the first -- and it includes more "larger-than-life" elements bringing the show closer to the Batman mythos birthed by DC Comics.

"The first season was very much old-school Gotham, run by mobsters and the mafia," Heller told THR. "What we're seeing this year is the transformation of the underworld from that conventional underworld to a grotesque, larger-than-life underworld that eventually takes over Gotham and requires the creation of Batman."

Heller also weighed in on additions to the show, such as new antagonists Theo (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas). "The Galavans bring that heightened, larger-than-life feeling that personifies what is happening to Gotham," he said. "What happens to Gotham is that the villains keep mutating and growing more gothic and stranger. They have larger visions, and more apocalyptic visions." Of Michael Chiklis' Gotham City Police Department Capt. Nathaniel Barnes, Heller said, "Finally Gordon has someone who is as gung-ho, committed and reckless enough to challenge the powers that be in Gotham, and bring about genuine change."

Overall, Heller billed the sophomore season of the show as "much more focused and character-driven, partly because we now have characters that have been established, and the audience knows their history." "Gotham" season two debuts tonight on Fox.


http://www.comicbookresources.com/artic ... ter-driven

David Mazouz y Camren Bicondova adelantan la Season 2: ‘¡Va a ser una locura!’
Por Deanne MacRae, 21 Septiembre, 2015

Season 1 of “Gotham” ended with the exit of one of the city’s most notorious villains, Fish Mooney, and the reveal of Gotham’s most infamous underground layer, the Batcave. Now, with Season 2 premiering Monday at 8/7c on CTV, two of the show’s biggest (and youngest) stars, David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne) and Camren Bicondova (Selina Kyle) tell us what the big reveal will mean going forward.

Insane finale. What can we expect for Season 2?

David: A lot of it is going to be Bruce delving deeper into his father’s mystery and his family’s mystery. Figuring out who his father was, why he had some cave built under the house, and what Lucius Fox has to do with it.

Camren: I have no idea what’s going to happen in Season 2 and I like it that way because it keeps things exciting.

Where do your characters stand going into the premiere?

Camren: Selina is literally with Fish Mooney’s gang. She’s finding her way, she’s trying to find out where she stands in the criminal world of Gotham and who she is in this world of chaos. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do and that keeps it exciting because Selina never knows what she’s going to do, it’s all instinct.

David: With Bruce he is just discovering that his father had a secret life and that Wayne Enterprises is very corrupt. And he’s going to put on his detective hat and figure out mysteries and what the answers to those questions are.

How would you describe the relationship between Bruce and Selina – or Young Batman and Young Catwoman?

David: I like to think of my character not as Batman as a kid but rather a rich kid who loses his parents. So I think Bruce and Selina’s relationship is really just two kids being friends.

Camren: Selina doesn’t look at Bruce as a love interest, she looks at him more as a toy or a brother she can mess around with and tease. And I like that kind of relationship because it keeps it complex and it keeps it exciting because you don’t know what to expect.

How will their relationship change now that Selina has joined Fish Mooney’s crew?

Camren: I do know for sure that the relationship will be explored a little differently in Season 2. Especially after she killed Reggie, it’s definitely taken a very wide turn, just because they have different views on how to react to things.

David: I’m very curious to see how much Bruce can find out about Selina’s actions and what she’s done and how he’ll react. I don’t think he can be very accepting of her actions and it’s going to be very interesting to see how they learn to be friends again.

Camren: I think it’ll have more of an effect on the relationship if they both find out about her backstory. So I’m really excited to dig into that.

What makes “Gotham” different than “Batman?”

Camren: It’s unique in the fact that it is an origin story. I like the fact that it’s based around the city itself rather than Bruce Wayne or Jim Gordon because that way you get to tell all these stories in one 45-minute show and it’s fascinating.

David: Yeah, it’s about a city. It’s not about them it’s about a city.

What has surprised you most working on “Gotham?”

David: I think my biggest surprise was reading the script and finding out I was going to find the Batcave. That was pretty cool.

Camren: I was really excited to work with Jada Pinkett Smith in the finale, and hold guns and stuff and get to change my hair and outfit.

What are you looking forward to in Season 2?

David: Getting out of the Manor more and doing more scenes with other characters.

Camren: Getting to do a fight scene, whether it’s with one person or with a group of people I just want to do a fight scene.

Camren: You’ve just got to tune into Season 2 because it’s going to be insane!

David: It’s going to be crazy!!


http://www.etalk.ca/News/2015/September ... ondova-tea

Robin Lord Taylor sobre el confiar en Butch, el aliarse con Selina y los Galavans
Por Chris Hayner 11:09 AM 21 Sept, 2015

With the return of “Gotham” comes viewers’ first chance to see how Oswald Cobblepot rules over the city as king, following the retirement of Don Falcone (John Doman) and the death of Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). It won’t be an easy reign as a criminal boss, though.

The second season of the show is dubbed the “Rise of the Villains,” and some of those baddies may be looking to usurp Cobblepot’s throne. Who can he trust and — more importantly — who does he see as a threat?

Taylor sat down with Zap2it in a New York City coffee shop to discuss all things Cobblepot and “Gotham.” The two-part series begins here and continues next Monday, Sept. 28.

Zap2it: Obviously, Cobblepot has his allies. That’s a good thing heading into the rise of the villains, but how exciting is it to have Butch as his side again, since Drew Powell has been promoted to series regular?

Robin Lord Taylor: It’s amazing. He brings such a lightness to the show so that we can break out of the darkness and find the fun, which is important.

I think that translates on screen too. he’s tragic and funny at the same time. He’s a tragic character, but he brings this weird lightness to the show that I love.

The relationship between the two of them is so bizarre. When you look back at Butch with Fish (Jada Pinkett-Smith), there was a loving connection. He gets the opposite from Oswald though, who clearly had his brain altered in some terrible way.

To explain it I think would take away the magic or even the freakiness of it. Just to imagine what he went through, chances are we couldn’t put the actual explanation on FOX.

Even in his altered state, is there a way for Oswald to look at him as something more than just a brainless thing under his employ, though? Can there be a trust?

There is trust, but Cobblepot is only trusting him because he’s relying on whatever Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan) did. In away, it is a crutch. If Zsasz wasn’t as effective in brainwashing him, it would be a much different story I think.

Butch shot Oswald in the finale and Fish too. But the fact that he brings him back into the fold shows that he trusts whatever Zsasz did, or he would have gotten rid of Butch.

There are a million other big dudes in Gotham he could use.

Thank God he picked Butch.

Yes, absolutely! The two of us, even visually, it’s really fascinating. And again, it’s disturbing. What happened to Butch that would make him align with a cockroach like Oswald who basically killed his favorite meal ticket and someone he loved dearly?

You’ll see their relationship on the show and there will be some things that test that. Mostly though, it’s a test for Oswald. He’s navigating this new world and these new villains.

Speaking of new villains, Theo (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas) are entering the series. Does he see them as trouble and a possible threat to his own evil empire?

Oh, trouble all the way! As we know, Oswald is many steps ahead and looking at motivations.

He’s such a good chess player.

He is and it’s all acting! I can’t even play Connect Four.

He knows right away that these people are not who they purport themselves to be and as we go on it becomes even more obvious to Oswald.

It’s an extreme worrisome aspect for him. They’re in conflict with what he wants to achieve. This is for anyone who wants to be the savior of Gotham City. Who better to want to get rid of than Oswald?

If you want to clean up Gotham City go right to him, he’s the problem. He’s running the bad s***.

What about Penguin’s club? In walking around the sets, it didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

The club is not safe. At this point in his life, he’s moved on from the club. It was just one aspect of Falcone’s empire. As you achieve more success in your chosen field, you hire on an intern here and there to help steer the ship and that’s what’s happened.

He’s not particularly concerned about the club, he’s more focused on every aspect. As things change, it may be something he has to go back to. As of now though, he’s concerned with much bigger things.

When are those bigger things going to put you in contact with Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz)? It seems like he’s really the only one Cobblepot hasn’t crossed paths with on the show.

There was one little moment last year where Bruce about to walk in a door somewhere and I pass by and, randomly I have a Spidey-Sense — Sorry, DC.

I’m sure it’s going to happen. Cobblepot is definitely aware of Bruce and definitely aware of all that’s going on there. He’s just had to deal with so many other things.

I have a feeling that’s definitely coming, but there’s one moment in the second season where they talk about me with Gordon and Alfred mentions that he knows who I am and that I’m not a good person. Bruce hears this and also reiterates that I’m bad.

I was like, “OK, they know who I am. So it’s only a matter of time, right? Right?!” I really want a scene with David, I want a scene with Sean [Pertwee] — he’s my dude, he’s my guy. He’s amazing.

I just want to work with everybody, I want more scenes with everyone in the cast because I love them so much.

What about Selina (Camren Bicondova)? Will there be scenes with her?

Oh yes! She has to go somewhere after I take over Falcone’s gang. I get Fish’s people to come on board and Selina comes with that, so she’s working with Cobblepot. We have some fun interaction.

When Camren and I found out that was happening, we were like, “Yes!”


http://zap2it.com/2015/09/gotham-season ... n-galavan/

Robin Lord Taylor sobre el ser el 'Rey de GOTHAM' y qué actor de BATMAN RETURNS espera que se una a la serie pronto
Por Lan Pitts, 21 Septiembre 2015 03:30 PM ET

Robin Lord Taylor's Oswald Cobblepot cut his way to the top of the criminal underworld in the first season of Gotham, but with the new seasing being billed as "Rise of the Villains," he has some new company -- and he's making some surprising allies.

Newsarama spoke with Taylor as part of a roundtable press conference ahead of the new season's debut Monday on Fox, and the first question was about Cobblepot's teased alliance with James Gordon (played by Ben McKenzie).

“I think part of Gordon’s growth and transformation as a character is basically reconciling with himself that he has to align himself with certain unsavory players in Gotham in order to get what he wants done,” Taylor replied. “I think this could go on indefinitely because he is slowly coming to realize that he needs Penguin. Aand Penguin is realizing that, even in the first season, he needed Gordon as well.”

Taylor mentioned that there’s a transitional shift in their relationship from the first season.

“Penguin was looking to Gordon as somebody he could trust and could be an actual friend, but now after what happened in the finale of the first season with Gordon basically left him to die in the hospital, the relationship is much more strained.”

Speaking more to the big picture, Taylor said his character's plans acceleterated quite a bit from the show's debut to where they are now.

“[Penguin] set out to achieve something in the first season and he did it,” Taylor continued. “He became his own boss and own man and proclaimed himself the new King of Gotham. As anything else in Gotham City though, nothing is easy.”

Taylor mentioned that Cobblepot has a whole new set of issues in trying to maintain that status and to stay at the top.

“This whole new season will be about challenging him, his intellect, basically everything he has in order to stay the King of Gotham.”

The next question expanded on Cobblepot’s alliances and if him being alone makes him stronger or weaker.

“I think, essentially, he’s used to being on his own.”

The actor said that with Cobblepot, it’s always been him against the world, but is going to learn that he does need people.

“He’s somewhat isolated and I do actually believe that has weakened him. He is going to have to learn how to invite people in and to rely on them to a certain extent. That’s part of his transformation this year, I think.”

Taylor then expanded some about Cobblepot’s relationship with Selina this season.

“Selina kinda does her own thing. She switched in and out and what I love about her character is that she has no real allies, except for maybe Bruce Wayne. I think Oswald is very intrigued to have her around. She brings a new energy and she also enjoys the fact that she has that ability to infiltrate all sorts of groups. I think he wants to use that to his own advantage. Selina might not be down with that, but that’s where Oswald is coming from.”

A question was then asked about any influences from Penguin’s appearances in the comic books, video games, and the like that might have helped Taylor expand his character to become more of the Penguin we currently know.

“In terms of inspiration, I think we’re all blessed on the show to have over 70 years of material to draw upon. The comics have been extremely helpful in helping us understanding these characters and where they’re coming from. Also, for my performance I look to my acting idols; the people who I grew up watching like John Malkovich and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both of whom whose acting style and their approach to characters who have a dark side, I think that is definitely something that has influenced me.”

He continued with his own process of making the decades-old character his own for the show, he credited Gotham showrunner Bruno Heller with a lot of how he’s presented.

“He has created such a clear vision for Oswald and where he’s coming from that drives him. I honestly just feel like I’m a vessel. I just trusted him and I feel like if I think too hard about it, it’s going to start being not as authentic.”

In terms of which comics that might have inspired his performance, Taylor had a few that came instantly to mind. The big one being Gregg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski’s Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, which was actually sent to him by Geoff Johns.

“That really delves into Oswald’s past and also it’s him as an adult looking back on his life. You also see how evil and truly manipulative he becomes in the future. That helped influence my approach to the character and where he eventually ends up years down the line.”

The next question concerned Oswald’s mother, played by Carol Kane, and what her reaction will be to her son’s new role in the Gotham City crime hierarchy.

“There was the moment in the first season where Marone basically told her about the murders and all the darkness inside of him, but I think like many parents they are incapable of seeing the dark stuff. It’s almost like she closes her eyes and ears and it’s just out of sight, out of mind. She only wants to see what she believes he is, which is a good person. She will be confronted with really how dark he is, but she believes the choices he’s made he had to in order to survive.”

Since this arc has been subtitled “Rise of the Villains”, Taylor was asked who he has enjoyed watching as a viewer.

“Well, my main man Corey Michael Smith as Edward Nygma. I just love what they did the character in the first season in that it was very, very slow. You got to see the seeds of madness that were planted there. That just really comes to the forefront in season two. I find Corey to be a very inspiring person to work with and I’m just thrilled to see him embrace the character. Yeah, that’s who I am most excited to see.”

When asked if there was anybody who viewers will be thrilled by, Taylor praised Cameron Monaghan as Jerome, who he called the Joker.

“I think everybody is going to be thrilled, including myself to see how that progresses.”

With this being the second season, Taylor was asked if he’s gotten used to playing Oswald yet using the small techniques he used last season like having a bottle cap in his shoe to help with the limp and waddle or if things are coming more naturally to him.

“It’s definitely coming more natural now. The really fascinating thing is that I’ve never been a regular on the show before and also having all this time to play this character and create a relationship with the writers of the show. The most amazing thing is that now it’s almost a symbiotic relationship between us. They have my interpretation in their minds so when they write the scenes, I can tell they are writing it for me. So it becomes a lot more easy and the words just fly and it’s almost effortless in a way.”

As far as the bottle cap for assistance?

“There was a bottle cap in my shoe, but now it’s been downgraded to two quarters stacked on each other. [Laughs] The bottle cap was becoming a lot to deal with.”

Following up with that, he was asked if we are going to see any more pieces of Oswald’s patented appearances like a top hat or a monocle added. Taylor wasn’t sure it would be anytime soon, but “anticipates there will be” some things like that down the line.

“I’m really excited about that, too because in terms of the monocle if you look at the comics, it’s an actual physical injury he receives. I don’t know if we’re approaching that this season, because I only know a couple of episodes in advance before we start shooting, but it’s something I would love to keep exploring.”

Touching on Oswald calling himself the King of Gotham, a reporter wanted to know if we will see his character rise to the level of social status that he’s known for in the comic books.

“Oh, definitely,” Taylor replied. “One of the things I’m most excited about this season is his continuing relationship with Jim Gordon. Jim has to save the monster he had a hand in creating. Jim is coming to realize that he needs Oswald as much as Oswald needs Jim. Tension between the two of them is really exciting and for Oswald it’s very satisfying to see Jim have to need him.”

Expanding on that, Taylor was asked about Oswald’s relationship with Edward Nygma and if those characters will become closer this season.

“Oh, absolutely,” Taylor responded enthusiastically. “It’s really, really exciting, and it’s one of my favorite moments of the season and how the two play off of each other.”

The next question came from an individual who has screened the first two episodes and mentions that the villains this season so far makes the last season’s “seem like a bunch of schoolyard bullies”. The two-part question that followed was about Taylor’s rise to fame and that he’s now associated with the character of Oswald Cobblepot and if he were to describe himself, who would he see himself as. After that, if Taylor could bring in any actor on the show, who would he bring in. The question seemed to have stumped Taylor.

“Oh, man. Geez...okay, so nothing’s really changed in how I see myself because I’m a working actor in New York City, which is ultimately all I ever wanted. It’s intimidating and a little terrifying to me and I can’t really think about it because it goes against us as actors are trying to achieve, which is you’re given a role and you want to disappear into the role. You don’t want people to see the person behind it.”

Taylor mentioned that he lives his life pretty much the same way he always has except for one big detail.

“I have health insurance!”

On bringing somebody into the Gotham fold, Taylor has at least one idea for the show for a person that already has Penguin ties.

“I had the immense pleasure of meeting Paul Rubens the other day and I’ve been a lifelong Pee Wee Herman fan and I’m sure as you know he played Oswald’s father in Batman Returns. I would just love it if we could establish Oswald’s parents and have him be Paul Rubens, that would be incredible.”

Next question dealt with Taylor’s interactions with his fans and if they influence his performance.

“I think we’re all really good about separating the two. Interaction with fans is an amazing thing and I never thought I would any fans [laughs], so it’s, you know, hard to wrap my brain around that, but it’s incredible. In terms of their feedback, it’s always welcome. Whether it’s good or bad, the fact that you have people talking is an amazing gift. That’s what we all set out to do: create art.”

He brought up the topic of live-tweeting and what he thinks of that.

“I go back and forth on that because part of me really loves that interaction, but the other part of me I feel like it’s really hard to really watch the show and the amazing work that goes into every episode...your attention is split, ya know? I would like to find a healthy balance because you want people to be absorbed in the show and not to my Twitter feed about any particular moment.”

The question came up about who got Taylor into comic books, if it was a friend or his own personal curiosity.

“I think it was third grade and there was this new family next door, and his name was Brian Cobb. We immediately bonded over our shared love of G.I. Joe and through that he introduced me to the comics. I wasn’t quite the young aficionado as he was, but he definitely opened up this whole world to me. So, big shout out to Brian Cobb!”

Lastly, Taylor talked about being now part of the comic convention circuit and what his first experience was like.

“When I got the job, it wasn’t until months and months later that one of my representatives told me oh by the way, there’s this whole other world out there. I couldn’t even think about it. I was just happy I got a job! With this job, though, this whole other world opened up and it’s just been fantastic. The interactions with fans, getting to talk to people, it’s been an amazing experience. I wish all actors had this ability and were on a show with such an articulate and devoted fanbase.”


http://www.newsarama.com/25978-penguin- ... otham.html

Boss Bruno Heller adelanta una Season 2 ‘Más espectacular, gótica y aterradora
Por Sydney Bucksbaum 21 Septiembre, 2015

It’s time for the “Rise of the Villains” on Gotham.

Season two’s tagline is more than just a phrase slapped on promotional posters. It’s Gotham‘s modus operandi in the DC Comics’ sophomore outing, and that will become abundantly clear in as early as the first 10 minutes of the season two premiere, airing tonight.

Gone is the dragging, frustrating pacing of season one that caused many fans to lose hope in the show altogether. Instead, Gotham opted to bet on what worked in season one — namely, the villains that captured the fans’ attention in their all-too-brief scenes. You want more Jerome (Shameless star Cameron Monaghan)? You get him in spades. You want to see the sheltered “it girl” Barbara (Erin Richards) completely lose her marbles and become a sociopath? Done and done. You want to see the golden boy hero Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) drift to the dark side? You even get that too!

After screening the first two episodes of this season early, Nerdist talked with Gotham executive producer Bruno Heller in advance of tonight’s incredible season premiere to dish all about why the Fox series decided to shift its focus to the villains, what fans can expect from this season and more. Check out our Q&A with Heller below!

Nerdist: Before we get started, I have to give you major props for how Gotham really hits the ground running and completely reinvents the show in the first two episodes of season two.

Bruno Heller: Thank you! Reinvention is a good word. In the first season, you discover things about your show and what it really wants to be. I think we’ve discovered that now, and it’s great fun making it when you know what you’re doing, frankly. And I think that is reflected in our show this season. We’re really bitten into where the meat of the story is.

Nerdist: What would you say is the biggest change from season one to season two?

BH: The biggest change is last season was really about the origins of the Gotham world that everyone is familiar with. This season, our subtitle is “Rise of the Villains.” We’re moving into the anarchic, chaotic spectacular world that Batman is going to come to live in. Gotham is descending into anarchy, but it’s also descending into a more epic scale, which I really like. Old school Gotham was run by people like Falcone (John Doman), mobsters that we have in our world. Now we’re moving into that larger-than-life world that leads to Batman down the line in that world. We’ve upped the stakes this season.

Nerdist: What inspired the shift in focus to the villains this season?

BH: One of the challenges with a story like this is that we’re telling a story that people know what the outcome is, they know where we’re going down the line. The trick with the storytelling here is – rationing might be the wrong word – laying out the story in the right rhythms. We can’t jump ahead to the future too early; We’re telling the history of this city, so we have to tell it in order. This was always planned, this gradual ramping up. Season two will be more spectacular and gothic and scary than season one. And then season three will be bigger and stranger and more spectacular than season two. We’re building all the time.

Nerdist: You have been very cagey about answering whether or not Jerome is actually Joker or just somehow a part of the Joker’s origin story. This season, it looks more and more like Jerome really is the Joker. Are you going to give a concrete answer on his identity this season?

BH: We’re going to be giving you concrete answers to his identity in the first few episodes. That story is going to come to a huge and shocking resolution which will explain the whole Joker myth and how it began and how the Joker came to be. It’s one of those storylines I can’t tell you too much about because people are going to love it. And Cameron Monaghan gives a genius performance that will freak people out in the best kind of way. We’re grabbing that story with both hands by the throat and the answers are going to be surprising but satisfying and true to the great mythology we’re following here.


http://nerdist.com/gotham-boss-bruno-he ... -season-2/

Entrevista con Robin Lord Taylor
Por starrymag | 21 Septiembre, 2015

Q) Can you talk about how Oswald’s working with Gordon or helping each other at the moment? How long do you think that can last? I assume at some point, Gordon, I don’t know, is he going to take the moral high ground or are they going to keep giving each other help?

A) Well, I think part of Gordon’s growth and his transformation as a character is basically him reconciling himself with the fact that he has to align himself with certain not savory players in Gotham City in order to get what he wants done. So yes, I think this could essentially go on indefinitely because he is coming to realize that he needs Penguin, and Penguin has also realized back in the first season that he needed Gordon as well in order to get what he wants done. The interesting change that’s happening, though, is that in the first season they were coming at each other with—Penguin was looking at Gordon as someone that he could actually trust and could be an actual friend for him. But now, after what happened in the finale of the first season when Gordon basically left him to die in the hospital, the relationship is much more strained. And again, they do need each other. They need to come to each other to get things done, but it’s now from a very wary—they’re both very wary of each other at this point. It’s a really interesting development between the two characters.

Q) Right now he’s on top. Can you talk about the path he’s on this year?

A) Yes. Well, yes, he set out to achieve something in the first season and he did it, he succeeded. He became his own boss, his own man, and basically he proclaimed himself the king of Gotham. As anything in Gotham City, though, nothing is easy, and now that he has achieved what he wants he’s faced with a whole new set of issues in terms of how to maintain that, and how to stay on the top. I don’t know if he’s exactly prepared for that, and this whole season it’s going to be about challenging his intellect, basically everything he has in order to stay the king of Gotham.

Q) So this year, Oswald doesn’t really have any true allies. He has Butch, who’s kind of brainwashed, and Selina, who really does her own thing. Do you think that being on his own makes Oswald stronger or weaker?

A) I think, essentially, he’s very used to being on his own. He’s never trusted anyone implicitly. It’s always been him against the world. Again, the only person he trusts is his dear mother. But I do think that part of his lesson that he learns, being the king of Gotham now, is he’s going to learn that he does need people. He’s somewhat isolated, like you said, and I do actually believe that that does weaken him. He is going to have to learn how to invite people in and rely on them to a certain extent. That’s part of his transformation this year, I think.

Q) And speaking about Selina, can you talk about what their partnership is going to be like going forward?

A) Like you said, Selena does her own thing, and she slips in and out and she is essentially—what I love about her character is that she, again, very similar to Penguin, she has no real allies except for maybe Bruce Wayne. And I think Oswald is very intrigued to have her around. She brings a new energy. He also enjoys the fact that she has that ability to infiltrate all sorts of groups, and I think he really wants to use that to his own advantage. Obviously we’ll see how much Selena agrees with that or is down with that, but I think that’s where Oswald is coming from.

Q) In Season 2, your character is slowly descending into this iconic role of the Penguin even more. I’m wondering, what are you looking at for inspiration? There’s plenty of source material from the comics, the video games, the movies. So what are you looking at to inform how you just take on this character even more, and also how do you continue to just make this character your own?

A) Oh, man. Well, in terms of inspiration, we’re all very blessed on the show to have 77 years’ worth of material to draw upon. The comics have been incredibly helpful for all of us, just to understand these characters and where they’re coming from. And so yes, that’s been a huge influence on me. And then also, in terms of performance, I look to my acting idols, the people I grew up watching, such as John Malkovich and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both of whom really, in terms of their acting style and how they approach characters that have a dark aide and yet finding the sympathy within those characters. That’s definitely something that has influenced me. But yes, in terms of really making the character my own, I don’t know. I give all credit to Bruno Heller. He has created such a clear vision for Oswald and where he’s coming from and what drives him that, honestly, I just feel like the vessel. I feel like I’m just carrying his words onward, and yes. I just trust in him. I feel if I really think too hard about it, then it won’t be as authentic. Yes. I don’t know, I give it to Bruno Heller.

Q) Are there any comics in particular that are your favorite that stand out for Oswald?

A) Well, definitely, the one that first comes to mind that was actually sent to me by Geoff Jones, head of DC, was Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, which really delves into Oswald’s past, and also, it’s him as an adult looking back on his life, but also, you just really see how low, how evil, how truly manipulative and twisted that he becomes in the future. So that definitely informs my approach to the character and where he eventually ends up years down the line.

Q) How is Oswald’s mother going to be reacting to Oswald’s new role now in Gotham this year? I know she’s very supportive of him and all that, but is it going to overwhelm her to see the things that her son is doing?

A) I think very much so. There was the moment in the first season where Maroni basically told her what Oswald was doing and how he—the violence and the murder and all of the darkness inside of him. But I think, like many parents, they’re incapable of seeing the dark stuff. It’s almost like she covers her eyes and closes her ears and out of sight, out of mind. She only wants to see what she believes that he is, which is a good person. But that will definitely be tested in this season. She will be confronted with, really, how dark he is, but also with the sympathy in that I think she believes that the choices he makes and has made are choices that he had to in order to survive.

Q) We saw in the season finale that Butch, he’s starting to snap out of the mind control that [indiscernible] has caused him, and so on, and yet Oswald is still having him by his side. Does Oswald completely trust in Butch being by his side, or does he have that suspicion of that he could still snap again because he was first loyal to Fish Mooney?

A) I think it may be a mistake that Oswald makes, but he really does trust in the brainwashing. He trusts in Victor Zsasz and his amazing handiwork in terms of getting people to do his bidding, and we’ll see how that plays out. I think he relies on Butch. He needs someone like Butch to galvanize all of the players in Gotham City to be behind Oswald and to follow Oswald as we go forward, now that Falcone and Maroni are out of the picture. But yes, we’ll definitely see if that’s the smart choice or not.

Q) I’m just wondering, as a viewer, given this is the rise of the villains, who are you enjoying watching rise as far as your villainous cohorts?

A) Oh, my main man, Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma. I just love what they did with the character in the first season in that it was very, very slow, a very slow burn, and we got to see the seeds of madness that are being planted there, and that just really comes to the forefront in Season 2, and I’m just thrilled. I find Cory to be a very inspiring person to work with, and I’m just thrilled just to see him embrace the character and watch the character flourish. Yes, that’s definitely the one that I’m most excited for.

Q) Is there anyone else that is going to thrill us beyond belief?

A) Well, I think, definitely what you’re going to see with Jerome, who is played by Cameron Monaghan, be the Joker. I think everyone is going to be thrilled, including myself, to see how that progresses.

Q) So when they transform you into Oswald they change your nose, your hair and everything. So do people recognize you as Oswald when you’re out in the real world or does that allow you a certain amount of anonymity?

A) People pretty much recognize me out in the world. With this blue-black hair, I guess it’s very recognizable. But it’s always so funny because people will come up and they’ll be like, “Are you?” and then I’ll be like, “Yes, I am,” and then they’ll be like, “Wow, I wasn’t sure, but then once you opened your mouth and you talked I was like ‘yes, it is him.’” Apparently there’s something very distinguishing about my voice as well.

Q) So this is the second season, and have you gotten used to playing Oswald yet? Do you still keep the bottle cap in your shoe to help you with your limp, or is it just more natural now? Are things coming more natural for you?

A) It’s definitely coming more naturally. The really fascinating thing, I’ve never been a series regular on a show before, and then also, having all of this time to play this character and then to create a relationship with the writers of the show, the most amazing thing is that now, it’s almost a symbiotic relationship between us. They have my interpretation of Oswald in their minds, so when they write the scenes I can tell that they’re writing it for me and for, like I said, my characterization of Oswald. And so it becomes a lot more easy. The words just fly, and it’s almost effortless, in a way. But I should say, there was a bottle cap in my shoe, but now it’s been downgraded to two quarters stacked on top of each other, because the bottle cap was becoming a lot to deal with.

Q) Are we going to see any more physical transformations on your side, top hat, monocle, this season?

A) I have no idea. I anticipate there will be development in that way, but yes, I’m really excited about that, too, because in terms of the monocle, if you look at the comics, it’s an actual physical injury that he receives. I don’t know if we’re approaching that this season. I really only know a couple episodes in advance before we start shooting, but it’s something that I would love just to keep exploring, and it really helps to flesh out the character.

Q) With Penguin now declared himself the king of Gotham, are we going to start seeing him rise to that social status that he had in the comics where he’s interacting both out of the underworld and in the underworld, where both sides are recognizing him as a big player?

A) Oh, definitely. And one of the things I’m most excited about in this season is his continuing relationship with Jim Gordon. Now Jim really has to face the monster that he had a hand in creating, and Jim is coming to realize that he needs Oswald as much as Oswald needs Jim, and to see the tension between the two of them, I think, is really exciting.

Q) We’ve had a brief interaction between Cobblepot and Nygma in Season 1. The Riddler and Penguin have always had a really interesting relationship in the comics. I was wondering, in Season 2, are we going to see more of that develop with the relationship between him and Nygma?

A) Oh, absolutely, and it’s really, really exciting. It’s one of my most favorite things about this season is their relationship and how the two play-off of each other.

Q) You are a very personal person, but now that your rise to fame has made you a front-name star, everyone associates you now with your character. If you Google you, that’s what comes up. Everything is about Gotham, and my question is, to you, now with your rise of fame, who is it that you see yourself as, if you were to describe yourself? And secondly, the casting on this show is brilliant. If you were to cast someone on this show, who would you like to see enter the world of Gotham?

A) Oh, man. Oh, jeez. Well, nothing has changed in terms of, really, how I see myself. I just see myself as a working actor in New York City, which ultimately is all I ever wanted. The same stuff, all of that, it’s intimidating and a little terrifying to me, and also, the way I look at it is I can’t really think about it because ultimately it goes against what us as actors are trying to achieve, which is you’re given a role and you want to disappear into the role. You don’t want people to see the person behind it, and I think fame works against that, in a way. So in terms of addressing that, I really try and put it out of my mind, and yes, I just approach my life like I always do, and now I have health insurance. And then in terms of someone coming into the world, I had the immense pleasure of meeting Paul Reubens the other day, and I’ve been a lifelong Peewee Herman fan and Paul Reubens fan, and I’m sure, as you know, he played Oswald’s father in Batman Returns. I would just love it if we could get him on, if we could establish Oswald’s parents and have it be Paul Reubens. That would be incredible.

Q) With the cast watching live and tweeting, how does the immediate feedback and interaction with fans affect the show or your performance?

A) I think we’re all really good about separating the two. The interaction with fans is an amazing thing. I never thought I would have any fans, and so wrapping my brain around that, it’s been a lot to deal with, but it’s been incredible. But yes, in terms of their feedback, it’s always welcome, and I think we all view it as, whether it’s good or bad, the fact that we have people talking is an amazing gift. That’s what we all set out to do is create art so that people can digest it and talk about it and hash it out between each other and with us. I think that’s an amazing gift. But yes, in terms of their feedback, it’s always welcome, and I think we all view it as, whether it’s good or bad, the fact that we have people talking is an amazing gift. That’s what we all set out to do is create art so that people can digest it and talk about it and hash it out between each other and with us. I think that’s an amazing gift. And so I think all of us also are reconciling that and try to figure out how to find a healthy balance, between we really, ultimately, want people just to watch the show and be absorbed in the show, not necessarily be absorbed in my Twitter feed or what I think of any particular moment. I would argue I think we would all just like people to embrace the show and watch it in the most immersive way possible. So it’s an interesting dynamic. We’re all trying to figure out that balance, and I think not just our cast but every cast, every actor, it’s the new paradigm. How do we embrace it, and yet how do we still encourage people to just enjoy the show and watch the show as intently as they can?

Q) I was just wondering who got you started in comic books and what was your first interaction with a comic book, maybe as a young boy or maybe reading as the Penguin or something like that?

A) I think it was third grade. A family moved in next door, and it was Brian Cobb, who had a whole collection, and we immediately bonded over our shared love of G.I. Joe, and then through that he really introduced me into the comics. I wasn’t as much of an aficionado as he was, but he was definitely the one who opened up this whole world for me, so big shout-out to Brian Cobb.

Q) You’re doing a Comic-Con circuit now. Did you ever see yourself doing Comic-Cons, and what is that like for you?

A) I’ve never thought, and that’s the funny thing was when I got the job, it wasn’t until months, months later when someone, I think it was probably one of my representatives, was like, oh, by the way, there’s this whole other world out there. I was like, I didn’t even think about it. I was like, cool, I got a job, amazing. And then with this job, like I said this whole world opened up and it’s been fantastic, I have to say. The immediate interaction with the fans, getting to meet people face to face, getting to talk to people, it’s just been just an amazing experience, and in a way I wish—and it’s becoming more of this, but I wish all actors had that opportunity. I wish all actors had that ability to be in a show that is embraced by such an amazingly articulate, devoted fan base as the sci-fi world has. And yes, it’s been wonderful.





*CONFERENCE CALL*



http://starrymag.com/?p=6957

Durante una conversación telefónica de ComicBook.com con el productor ejecutivo y showrunner Bruno Heller, éste habló sobre las teorías de los fans diciendo que “la opinión de todos ha sido válida y tienes que ser escuchada,” exponiendo el hecho de que los personajes y los conceptos con lo que están jugando son “sobre el interactuar entre lo que estamos haciendo y lo que a la audiencia le gustaría ver y cómo ellos reaccionan.”

En esa dirección, le preguntaron sobre la teoría de que la larga historia de los hermanos Galavan en Gotham significa que la 'Court of Owls' está llegando, o si al menos es algo que él está interesado en explorar, a lo que contestó:

“Sí, por supuesto, [estoy interesado]. No diré que eso sea parte de – ni siquiera quiero decir eso, porque no quiero spoilear parte de la historia,” dice Heller tras una carcajada y continúa, “The Court of Owls está metida profunda, profunda, profundamente en la mitología de Gotham. Los fans de los cómics lo saben, pero sospecho que la audiencia general no está muy familiarizada con ella. Algunas veces tenemos que hacer una distinción entre ‘los fans de Batman de la era de las películas de Nolan’ y los fans de los cómics. No es que sean dos audiencias separadas, sólo que están en dos niveles distintos de compromiso. La 'Court of Owls' está metida muy profundamente en la mitología de DC”.

“Por supuesto que vamos a explorar ese mundo durante el camino. Mirando hacia la longevidad de la serie, tenemos que guardarnos algunas cartas, no podemos lanzar todos los elementos, toda la historia a la vez,” explica, incluso apuntando durante la conversación que siente que cometieron un error al intentar poner demasiado en la S1. “El arco largo de la serie es mostrrar el viaje de Bruce Wayne hacia el descubrir las profundidades del mundo físico y meta-físico de Gotham. 'The Court of Owls' es un brillante concepto que sin lugar a dudas será parte de nuestra narración. Tan sólo no os diré cuándo.”


'The Court of Owls' fue introducida en los "New 52" en "Batman" #1 del 2011, creada por el escritor Scott Snyder y el artista Greg Capullo. El grupo es una sociedad secreta que ha controlado Gotham City entre bambalinas durante siglos, y por lo tanto están profundamente interconectados con la familia Wayne. Integrada por algunas de las familias más antiguas de Gotham, usan a sus asesinos conocidos como 'Talons' (que son una especie de versión menos entrenada y más psicótica de Batman) para alterar el curso de la historia de la ciudad. En el 2012, el crossover de "Night of the Owls" puso de relieve al grupo en los cómics de Batman.

Esta no será la primera vez que la 'Court of Owls' ha sido representada más allá de los cómics, ya que apareció en la película animada de "Batman vs. Robin" que fue estrenada a principios de año.


http://comicbook.com/2015/09/22/bruno-h ... or-gotham/