ESCLUSIVA - Donal Logue intervistato da "Telefilm Cult" per la ripresa di "Gotham" su Premium Action stasera: "Io, da 'Sons of Anarchy' a Batman, duro per forza..."
In occasione della trasmissione degli episodi inediti di "Gotham", dal 11 maggio su Premium Action (ogni lunedì in prima serata), Telefilm Cult ha intervistato in esclusiva Donal Logue, interprete del detective Harvey Bullock. 

How does it feel to be part of the DC Universe?

For me, it’s massive. To get a thumbprint on a world that’s very important to a lot of people is huge. Prior to Gotham, my only experience of Harvey Bullock was in Batman: The Animated Series. My kids would watch that show as we drove up to our house in Oregon, so I was familiar with that version of the character – but I wanted to make it my own. It’s exciting to take your place on the shelf among all the other people who have had a play in this world. It’s really exciting.

What’s the atmosphere like on the set of Gotham?

It’s fantastic. Right now, we’re in the middle of production, so we’re finding the rhythms and strides of the show. Every episode has been a blast. So far, I feel like it’s a really, really strong series.

Has the show been strong since the very first episode?

It’s interesting because if you watch the pilot for a series – for example, The Sopranos – it takes a while to find a rhythm for a show. I think we found a rhythm pretty quickly. To be honest, we always thought the pilot was strong.

Most people know about Batman and Gotham City, but how difficult is it to describe the show without giving away any spoilers?

I’ve never been on a show before where you didn’t have to pitch the idea to the audience. When you work on something like [Donal’s previous television show] Terriers, where the title isn’t really implicit of what the show is about, you have to generate all of that information and you pitch it in interviews. You don’t have to pitch Gotham. It’s in the nomenclature.

What attracted you to the show?

For me, I was always drawn by it – but not because I’m necessarily into fantasy and the super hero aspect of the show; I’ve always liked it because it has a Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy quality to it. I always like the noir-ish part of American society, the American urban underbelly. It feels like Gotham can be used as a descriptive term for the seedier side of any big metropolitan centre. That’s what drew me to the show, and that’s what we’re playing up with the show. It feels a bit like the movie Chinatown. It feels like my character is Jake Gittes in that movie. Jim Gordon comes along and he’s really idealistic, but he’s partnered with Harvey Bullock, a guy who’s been through it all. Maybe he’s got one bit of goodness left in him, though. It takes a guy like Jim Gordon to bring that back out in Harvey Bullock.

You’ve played a lot of tough characters on a variety of shows including Vikings and Sons Of Anarchy. Are you looking forward to being the tough guy again in Gotham?

Yes, I am. Lee Toric in Sons Of Anarchy was probably a little tougher than Harvey Bullock in Gotham – but it’s great. It’s interesting because a television critic explained that our new show is really violent and not for young fans. I replied, “Violent? Compared to what? Vikings and Sons Of Anarchy? Come on!” To be honest, my kids watched The Lord Of The Rings when they were two years old and they loved it.

How would you describe Harvey Bullock?

Harvey is an old school detective who’s been around the block a lot. He’s a legend. I think he’s well liked among the police department because he’ll defend the blue line. I wouldn’t say that he’s unethical; I just say that he’s the willow and not the oak. He’s pragmatic. Just like with police work in general, sometimes you have to cut a scumbag a break to be a confidential informant to get bigger bad people. He’s actually crossed that line a bit. He actually has relationships with people in the criminal underworld, but he’s trying to survive – and maybe he’s trying to get to his pension. When a guy like Jim Gordon shows up and starts saying, “No, there’s a right and there’s a wrong.” Harvey thinks, ‘Good luck!’ However, Jim Gordon wakes something up inside of Harvey Bullock. I think it maybe makes Harvey want to be the cop that he once was.

Will the show delve into the back-story of Harvey Bullock?

Absolutely. In fact, I just found out some little tidbits about his back-story. We’re getting to that pretty soon in the show, which is exciting.

How much did you know about the back-story of Harvey when you signed up for the role?

I had a good long talk with [Gotham creator] Bruno Heller about the character when we first met. Bruno is brilliant. I can’t articulate the show the way that he can, but he made it so plain and clear to me. Sometimes you don’t have to try that hard to work out a character. When you have to work really hard to try and figure out a character, it’s not always necessarily the best thing. Harvey Bullock was a much easier cloak to put on than Donovan in Copper or King Horik in Vikings. It felt pretty easy and it felt like it made sense.

Vikings, Copper and Gotham are three very specific and different time periods. Are you suffering from whiplash from all these different characters and ideas?

No. As an actor, you get used to change. When you’re doing summer repertoire theatre and you have a Joe Orton comedy in rep but you’re also rehearsing a Sam Sheppard play during the day, you have to get used to it. It was much more intense when I was doing Copper and Sons Of Anarchy at the same time, which is where I was literally travelling between two cities for work. I’d spend one day on Copper, and the next day on Sons Of Anarchy. That was tough. During the shooting of the Gotham pilot, I was doing two massive episodes of Law & Order. That was a challenge, too. However, I think that if you need something done, give it to a busy man. You’re more on point when it’s challenging. I seem to thrive in that environment more than one where there isn’t much pressure at all.

What’s the strength of doing a prequel series as opposed to diving right into the middle of the mythology of Batman?

I’ll mention the work of Don DeLillo to answer this question. Don DeLillo’s fiction was always strongest when he took an event where we know what happened, but he invents possible scenarios that lead up to the event. Take the Kennedy assassination as an example. We all know what happened there. We know the events of that day, but Don DeLillo’s novel brings up new ideas. You already have tent pole moments to hang from, which is what we have on the show. We know that at some point Batman is Batman. The Penguin doesn’t fight the moniker of The Penguin. He learns to embrace it and become it. We know we’re going to get to that point in the show, but how do you build any suspense when you know the outcomes? You create moments where the audience thinks, ‘If only for that, we wouldn’t have had all of this. What if?’ If Hitler had been accepted to art school in Vienna, what if? That’s part of the fun of it.

What do you think of Oswald Cobblepot [aka The Penguin] in Gotham?

We have to start strong, and the critical piece of the puzzle was who was going to play Oswald Cobblepot. That’s the actor Robin Lord Taylor, who I’ve known for a long time, since he was very young. He’s perfect. If he wasn’t fantastic, I think maybe the whole show wouldn’t work, but we got the right man for the job. He’s amazing. It seems like we’re very Oswald Cobblepot heavy right now, which is a good thing.

There’s been a recent explosion of DC adaptations on television in 2014. Do you think that’s helpful to Gotham?

Absolutely. I think high tide floats all boats. I think comics in general have always been the most natural fit for television because they are constantly evolving storylines. They are literally storyboarded the way a Director Of Photography would storyboard them; they are all drawn out with bits of dialogue attached to them. It’s harder to adapt novels because there’s so much internal dialogue, but comics are really cinematic. I think there’s room for everybody.

L'EDICOLA DI LOU - Stralci, cover e commenti sui telefilm dai media italiani e stranieri

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
"Gotham" ammicca ai fans per non deludere
"Una metropoli dalle tinte scure, soffocante, piena di ombre e priva di luci che non siano artificiali. Un agglomerato caotico di vicoli e sopraelevate. Questa è Gotham, alter ego immaginario dell'iper-reale New York, come si è costruita nei fumetti della DC Comics, nei tre film di Christopher Nolan e ora in una serie tv, «Gotham» appunto, in onda negli Stati Uniti su Fox e in Italia a poca distanza su Premium Action (ogni lunedì, alle 21), dopo l'anteprima in chiaro su Italia 1. Il telefilm, scritto da Bruno Heller (già autore di «Roma» e «The Mentalist»), tiene Batman fuori dallo schermo e dagli eventi narrati, per concentrarsi su quanto è avvenuto prima, sulle origini del mito. L'uccisione dei facoltosi coniugi Wayne di fronte agli occhi del piccolo Bruce, il futuro Cavaliere Oscuro, e la ricerca del colpevole tra depistaggi e false piste, ma non solo: il giovane detective James Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie, già in «The OC» e «Southland»), in coppia con il ben più scafato e disilluso Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), si muove in un sottobosco criminale fatto di degrado e corruzione, in una città allo sbando e senza punti di riferimento, in mano al boss criminale don Falcone. L'idea del prequel però da sola non basta: se le scene e la fotografia sono molto curate, la scrittura e la recitazione non sono sempre all'altezza. E i richiami costanti alla mitologia di Batman si affacciano sullo schermo, ancora giovani o bambini, molti dei suoi futuri nemici: il Pinguino, l'Enigmista, Catwoman sono forse l'indice più evidente di una narrazione che non trova appieno una sua originalità, ma è costretta a lanciare continue strizzate d'occhio ai fan per risultare interessante". (Aldo Grasso, 23.10.2014)

NEWS - Quando Batman portava i pantaloni corti...Al via da domenica l'atteso "Gotham", in volo cross-casting da Italia 1 a Premium Action con una Bat-fune!

Anche Batman è stato ragazzo. Ha vissuto un’adolescenza fortunata, racchiusa nelle pareti dorate della famiglia Wayne. Fino al giorno in cui i genitori sono stati uccisi e il suo destino è diventato quello di battersi per la giustizia nei panni del Cavaliere Oscuro. Arriva finalmente in Italia la serie più attesa dell’anno, capostipite di una “new wave” di serie tv ispirate ai fumetti che invaderanno il piccolo schermo nella nuova stagione. “Gotham”, il serial che racconta le origini dell’Uomo Pipistrello, parte su Italia 1 domenica 12 ottobre in prima serata con i primi due episodi in anteprima, per poi passare su Premium Action dal 20 ottobre, ogni lunedì sempre in prima serata. E’ la prima volta che una serie tv viene trasmessa in “cross-casting” da un canale free a uno pay. In coincidenza con i 75 anni di “Batman”, “Gotham” è la pù grande scommessa televisiva d’Oltreoceano degli ultimi anni. Per diversi motivi. 
Travalica il fumetto della DC Comics apparso per la prima volta nel 1939 squarciando le tenebre della metropoli del titolo - la più famosa dell’immaginario a strisce - che hanno avvolto le origini dei personaggi.
Manda in soffitta la storica serie tv del 1966 dove, come scrisse “Tv Guide”, “il super-eroe protagonista e i suoi antagonisti sfoggiano tutine talmente variopinte che le scorgeresti in una notte di nebbia fitta senza luna”. 
Prende il testimone dalla recente saga cinematografica di successo di Christopher Nolan, adottando effetti molto speciali e portando alla ribalta la figura secondaria, nei fumetti, del detective James Gordon, interpretato su grande schermo da Gary Oldman nella sua fase adulta. 
Non per niente è stata definita dalla prestigiosa Television Critics Association “the most promising new series of the upcoming season” e dal prestigioso “Hollywood Reporter” quale “the highly anticipated tv show of the season”. Tanto per dire, ancor prima di partire in America, il telefilm si è aggiudicato l’influente Critics Choice Television Award quale “most exciting new series”.  

A Gotham City il giovane detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) viene incaricato dell’omicidio più sconvolgente avvenuto nella metropoli, ovvero l’assassinio di Thomas e Martha Wayne sotto gli occhi del figlio Bruce (David Mazouz). E’ con quest’ultimo che Gordon intreccia un legame che condurrà alla scoperta del killer, non prima di venire in contatto con il sottobosco in fermento della città dalle lunghe ombre: la boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith); Oswald Cobblepot, futuro “Pinguino” (Robin Lord Taylor); Selina Kyle, destinata a diventare “Catwoman” (Camren Bicondova); il giovane Enigmista, alias dottor Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith); la futura Poison Ivy ancora sotto le spoglie di Ivy Pepper (Clare Foley). Non mancheranno le prime malefatte di Joker (il personaggio più avvolto nel mistero dalla produzione con l’intento di creare l’attesa) e la presenza del maggiordomo Alfred (Sean Pertwee), colui alla quale viene affidata la tutela del giovane orfano Bruce Wayne, prossimo Cavaliere Oscuro. Completano il quadro, il capitano della polizia Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) e il detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), partner d’indagini di Gordon. 
La serie verrà trasmessa su Premium Action in accoppiata, dal 20 ottobre, con un altro titolo cult dei fumetti quale “Arrow”, giunto alla 3° stagione inedita e ad oggi il telefilm più visto in Italia negli ultimi anni (al suo passaggio su Italia 1 ha superato quota 3 milioni e mezzo di spettatori). Sempre Premium Action farà tris nel marzo 2015 con l’arrivo di “The Flash” (anch’esso tratto da un fumetto della DC Comics), atteso spin-off di “Arrow” con al centro il super-eroe più veloce dell’universo. 

La serie firmata da Bruno Heller, ideatore di “The Mentalist”, è stata lanciata con il claim ad effetto “The Good. The Evil. The Beginning”. Il protagonista di “Gotham”, è rimasto ferito sul set. Benjamin McKenzie, già front-man del cult generazionale “The OC”, si è ferito sulla fronte nel corso delle riprese durante le quali, lo stesso McKenzie, ha rifiutato la controfigura. Le immagini della ferita e del ricovero le ha postate lo stesso attore su Instagram. McKenzie ha commentato con la seguente didascalia le foto: “Una sequenza di combattimento andata male! Un cavolo di muro troppo vero, Batman!”. Il caso vuole che l’incidente sia avvenuto il giorno del compleanno dell’interprete messosi in evidenza anche nella serie poliziesca “Southland”.

NEWS - Netflix Bat-te le mani! Acquistati i diritti di "Gotham" 1 e 2 (la seconda in preview?). Confermato il nuovo corso "strips" del marchio che ha lanciato "House of Cards" e "OITNB"

Articolo tratto da Deadline.com

"In what is believed to be the first SVOD deal for a broadcast series made before its premiere, Netflix has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution for the upcoming Fox drama series Gotham. Under the pact, Netflix will become the exclusive subscription video on demand home of the Warner Bros. TV-produced Batman prequel in the U.S. as well as in each of the territories in which the streaming network operates and select other territories in which it plans to launch services. Each season of the series will be available to Netflix members following their broadcast run. In the U.S. that is expected to be in September 2015, coinciding with the potential Season 2 premiere. Noone is discussing figures, but I hear the deal is worth about $1.75 million an episode. The unprecedented deal was put in motion shortly after the Gotham pilot had a great reception at the L.A. international screenings in May. I hear Netflix approached WBWTD about a pact that would cover multiple territories. That was a very tricky proposition as WBWTD has different agreements in each country, with the terms of the output deals, including holdback rights against SVOD releases, varying from territory to territory. After laying the groundwork country by country, the two sides have been able to clear the show in all Netflix markets around the world.  The pact builds on Warner Bros.’ existing relationship with Netflix, which includes another precedent-setting pact that covers all CW series. The Gotham deals comes on the heels of Netflix nabbing Sony TV-produced hit NBC drama The Blacklist for $2 million an episode. Sony also made a deal similar to the Gotham one for its upcoming Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, which airs on cable on AMC. In it, Netflix gets first window in territories outside of the U.S.

Premiering on September 22 on Fox in the US, Gotham draws on the origin story of Batman, taking place in Gotham City as young Detective (and future Commissioner) James Gordon and the recently orphaned Bruce Wayne meet in the troubled days before the arrival of the Dark Knight. The series follows Gordon’s rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner as he navigates the layers of corruption that secretly rule Gotham City. The cast includes Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sean Pertwee. “Gotham is the most anticipated new series of the fall season and we are thrilled to offer it to our members around the world,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix. “The Batman origin story is sure to have massive global appeal so it is fitting that, along with Warner Television, we have created a new model for distributing a show that international and domestic audiences will love.

Per leggere le altre serie tv tratte dai fumetti in arrivo su Netflix leggi QUI.

NEWS - "Gotham" face to face!

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