Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Entertainment Weekly Article With Melissa Benoist



Entertainment Weekly has jumped on board the San Diego Comic Con publicity train this week, releasing their Comic-Con preview issue. The cover sports the Trinity as seen in Batman v Superman. While I am dreading this movie, fearing what it will be like, even I have to admit to scrolling through the website, looking at the pictures from the set, and being at least a little happier at the Wonder Woman costume and it's splash of color.

But within this issue is an interview with Melissa Benoist discussing Supergirl. Here is the link:
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/02/supergirl-melissa-benoist-cbs-interview

From the first still photos of Benoist in costume to the six-minute trailer, I have been thrilled with the casting of Benoist who seems to simply transcend reality and become Kara. The smile, the joy, the desire to help, everything I have seen of her as Kara has felt 100% right. Is there any wonder that my optimism is high?

All that optimism permeates this interview which I highly recommend fans read in their entirety. But I also felt I needed to showcase some of the highlights.

I love reading how excited she was to land the part.

I like hearing Benoist drop some geek cred by saying she is a DC fan, like their movies, and a friend who read 'graphic novels'.

But I wonder if the New 52 Supergirl is the best comic for Benoist to read as a foundation for her understanding of the character. Someone get her the Gates/Igle trades!!


She has said it elsewhere but I do like how she keeps saying that she feels inspired, hopeful, and empowered when she puts on the suit.

There is a comment about the dreaded Black Widow skit comparison which Benoist deftly handles.

And she continues to talk about how she wants Kara to be someone relatable and inspiring to women and all people. The thing that I really like here is the idea that Kara is human and complicated and flawed. One of the main reasons I love Supergirl as a character is that idea that she isn't infallible or immutable. She is growing, becoming a hero.

So this response echoes that nicely. She is still a hero. She is still inspiring. But she isn't an impossible goal. We can see ourselves in Kara.

Maybe one of the reasons why I think Benoist makes a great Kara is because she has a lot in common with the Maid of Steel. Awkward, weird, dorky, but inherently good and helpful!

This show can't come fast enough!

We are still three-plus months away!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

@anj have you heard that dc reprinting the Peter David run and jeph loeb stuff as well I was hoping for the 80s run put into trades

Anonymous said...

LOVED the interview... though based on her comments from the interview, and hypothetically if I had seen
the pilot, I think Melissa B already has a pretty good grasp of Supergirl / Kara without her reading
Gates / Igle.

The adorkable / awkward part is kind of an interesting twist, and like she says in the interview, it's
a way of making Supergirl / Kara relatable, and putting her in the "I'm still learning" side of things.

This comment from the interview kinda had me see-sawing a bit

> Coming from Glee, we know you have a voice. So have the producers talked about having an episode
> where Supergirl sings?
> They haven’t, but it’s kind of a running joke though because I’m not the only one on the show that does.

While it'd be amusing to have a Singing Supergirl episode, DEFINATELY don't want to see it in the
first season. Secondly, I'd like it to be handled with some gravitas and versimillitude, and not a
"just for laughs" kind of thing.

...and I DEFINATELY don't want it to be an excuse for the series to slide into camp.

Oh, and someone PLEASE tell me where I can get this -- http://supergirl.tv/tv-guide-comic . Why it isn't
in a DC monthly Supergirl title, someone want to explain?


Regards

Anonymous said...

Oy everything I see about "Superman v. Batman" tells me that Kal El is gonna get jobbed out to Bruce Wayne again....I mean Zack Snyder had to reassure the auds not two weeks ago the damn movie would really be in color this time....what does that tell you?
THANK JEHOVAH that Snyder can't get his paws on Supergirl is all I can say.
As for MB's interview that girl does nothing but make friends and fans every time she chats with the press she says the right things every time!
As for "Supergirl the Musical", it is not so far fetched "It's A Bird It's a Plane, It's Superman" was a real show on Broadway circa 1966 I say Supergirl ought to have her musical moment in the spotlight as well.
In due time of course...
:)
JF

Anonymous said...

"As for MB's interview that girl does nothing but make friends and fans every time she chats with the press she says the right things every time!"

You can't help but fall in love with Mel B. Her energy, her vibe, her infectious laugh, her crazy personality. And of course her beauty. Must be the Rocky Mountain air for that.

Back in the 1940's there was a singer/actress named Betty Hutton who starred in films like "Perils of Pauline" and "Annie Get Your Gun." Well, because of her boundless energy, one of my entertainment idols the late Bob Hope called her "A Vitamin pill with legs." Well Mel B is an energy drink with legs. And no side effects.

When she talked about how easy it is to be Kara/Linda as opposed to Supergirl, I would say Kara/Linda is an extension of her, maybe it's Melissa to the next level.

"As for 'Supergirl the Musical', it is not so far fetched 'It's A Bird It's a Plane, It's Superman' was a real show on Broadway circa 1966 I say Supergirl ought to have her musical moment in the spotlight as well."

You beat me to the punch on that one. But like someone else said, don't take it in the first season. Wait till maybe season two. And Mel did say she, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan and maybe David Harewood are singers. I would say David would handle the baritones while Mel B can go high, maybe even into a falsetto.

If they do go for it, it should be done with a pinch of of humor, but have a solid story behind it. Although some songs have rumbled in my mind about a set. Perhaps for Melissa there could be songs as Supergirl about flight like "Come Fly with Me" made famous by one Francis Albert Sinatra.

Also there should be some original music mixed in as well.

If they were to play for that pinch of laughs, maybe the theme song from the early 80's TV show "The Greatest American Hero" called "Believe It or Not" sung by Joey Scarbury could be used. The show lasted only 2 seasons, but the song went to #2 on the pop charts in 1981. Pardon my being a geek.

Let me say that at 41 Melissa is my innocent TV crush. I didn't see Glee and what I did I hated. But seeing Melissa as Supergirl (wow!) and getting to know her there is a connection. We're both geeks who love the comics. We can be a bit awkward at times. I love Supergirl, and it's about time to see her come to life on TV.

Anonymous said...

The TV Guide 2015 Comiccon Special Issue with the Supergirl cover is being offered by NPS Direct (National Periodical Services) at :
secure.nps1.net/tvguide/

Anj said...

Thanks for the great comments.

Love the effect Benoist is having on the fandom! She is spectacular!

Anonymous said...

No problem Anj.

Craig said...

It's nice to see Supergirl n the spotlight, and getting such good publicity; it's awesome that Laura Vandervoort may get a cameo. I just wish they weren't pronouncing her name "Carra," her parents were called "Fred and Edna/ Sylvia," and that she wasn't a dorky gender bent Clark Kent in her secret identity. Still, I have to hope this show will succeed and that we will get a new comic book, whether it's New52 or TV version.