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FlashTVNews Interview: Director Kayla Compton Previews Tonight’s Flash

Interview with director Kayla Compton about the Flash episode “A New World, Part Two”

Published

2 years ago

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Kayla Compton joins the roster of Arrowverse talent that has now directed episodes of the series as she helmed the May 10 episode of the series which is called “A New World, Part Two.” It’s the second part of the final Flash story leading to the series finale in two weeks.

Many will surely be impressed with Kayla’s television-directing debut, and to promote the episode, FlashTVNews’ Craig Byrne was able to speak with her about what it was like to direct one of the final episodes of the series, in addition to some questions about her character, Allegra Garcia. You can read the interview below.

FLASHTVNEWS: Before you directed for The Flash, I saw you directed an award nominated short film called In Training with two of your Flash co-stars (Brandon McKnight and Danielle Nicolet). Did that help to prepare you for directing them on The Flash?

KAYLA COMPTON: Yeah, absolutely. It definitely prepared me to direct the episode; I had to do that short in order to get into the Warner Brothers TV directing program, which was like a bootcamp for learning how to direct TV.

Brandon and Dani were both fantastic. I don’t have to do anything with them… I just give them space to work, and they create magic. So yeah, it prepared me to work with my friends, but also, they’re just going to do an amazing job regardless.

Is it true that Danielle Panabaker was the one who kept pushing and encouraging you to finally direct an episode?

Yes, it’s absolutely true. She was championing me from the very beginning. I almost didn’t do the short, because we made it right in the middle of COVID, and I was afraid to do that. But she convinced me I should go ahead and do it, and I’m really glad I did. I wouldn’t have the opportunity that I had to direct in Season 9 if it weren’t for her, that’s for sure.

Did you shadow any other directors before doing this episode?

Yeah. I did shadow Danielle. I also shadowed another director in Season 6, and then this last season I shadowed Chad Lowe, so I shadowed three times altogether before I actually did it.

What was the most surprising part of the experience?

I think it was surprising how much leading people the job really is. The job is almost more about dealing with people, and opinions, and expectations, and wanting to do a good episode for all of them, even more so than it is actually making the project, sometimes.I was partly expecting it, but a little surprised by how much of the job was actually doing just that.

I find it interesting that kind of like how Allegra deals with color, you seem to do a lot with the color palette in this episode. Was that intentional?

It was intentional to have a color palette for this episode, yeah, but I didn’t think about it in terms of the fact that Allegra also kind of has her relationship with color and with the electromagnetic spectrum.

We did play with a lot of blues in this episode, I’ll say that.

Was there an extra pressure knowing you were going to be directing one of the four finale episodes?

Yeah, certainly. I didn’t feel the pressure in the beginning… I think I was just really excited to have gotten an episode, and I didn’t know until we were partway through the season that I would actually be doing Episode 11. Originally, I was going to do 10, but Eric [Wallace] and I switched.

As it got closer, I definitely felt a lot more of that pressure. as there was an emphasis on the fact that this is a four-part finale. That’s when the pressure was really high.

Might we get to see Allegra getting an actually good costume before the end of the series?

I think you’ll have to wait and see. I’ve always wanted Allegra to have a really cool costume and a name, from the very beginning.

Working with Rick Cosnett, was it interesting meeting someone who was there at the very beginning of the show?

Yeah, absolutely. I was so excited to work with Rick. I had seen his episodes, and I was fan of him and his work, but actually meeting him and working with him was such a pleasure. He is an absolute delight, and I think he did such an amazing job. I felt really honored to have that opportunity to be telling a story about Rick’s character.

Are you interested in directing more TV or movies in the future?

Absolutely. I’m now able to go out into the world and pursue acting and directing. I also write, so you know, I’m very ambitious. I’m trying to do it all.

Moving a little forward, how did it feel to be there for the Flash finale?

My actual last day was very emotional. It’s a very special thing to be a part of something that ran for as long as it did. Not many shows get to have nine seasons and 184 episodes, so of course, it was such an honor to have been a part of it for as long as I was, and to be there at the very end was a really beautiful thing. It was sad, [but] I was just really happy to be surrounded by a bunch of people that had become like family.

If someone calls you in 5 or 10 years and says “would you like to play Allegra again?” would you want to do it?

Absolutely. 100%.

What do you think would be the perfect happy ending for Allegra?

I don’t think she needs to have a happy ending, per se. She’s still young, and she’s at the very beginning of her superhero-ing, so I think she has a really long journey ahead of her. I think she has a lot of room to grow. I never pictured an ending for her, necessarily; more just a new beginning.

What was it like to be a part of The Flash in general?

This was such an amazing, huge, monumental show. The Arrowverse was such an important moment in TV history. I feel really lucky and really honored to have been a part of something that was so well received. We have fans all over the world that love and support this show, and I just feel so lucky and so happy to have been a part of it, especially for as long as I was.

If another actor might be reading this and needed encouragement, would you encourage them to also enter the directing program and try to direct?

Of course. I think if it’s something that someone really, really wants to do, they should do it. It’s the same advice I give people who are considering acting. It’s a really, really challenging and difficult industry and job to do, and field to be a part of, but if you love it, absolutely do it.

What else do you have to say to the fans about why they should be tuning in on Wednesday night?

I’m just so excited for the fans to see this episode. I thought about them the entire time we filmed, and during pre-production, and in the edit. I hope everyone is still pleased with it. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of Khione, there’s a lot of iris. There are some horror film elements. I’m just very proud of it, and really excited for the world to see it.

See a trailer for “A New World, Part Two” below and don’t miss it at 8PM ET/PT May 10 on The CW!

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Interviews

The Flash: Speaking With Tom Cavanagh Before Tonight’s Finale

Tom Cavanagh discusses his return as the Reverse Flash in the series finale of the Flash airing March 24

Published

2 years ago

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May 24, 2023

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Tom Cavanagh was a part of The Flash from the start, first playing Harrison Wells-but-actually-the Reverse Flash, and then giving us a myriad of Wells throughout the multiverse. He’s also proven himself to be a fantastic director, helming multiple episodes of The Flash as well as fellow CW superhero staple Superman & Lois. Tonight, he’s back in front of the camera, playing Barry’s arch enemy once again.

FlashTVNews spoke with Tom Cavanagh in the days leading to tonight’s finale, and here are some highlights of that conversation:

How did it feel to be back? “I think the emotions are probably very different for somebody like myself or Carlos Valdes who decided to leave after Season 6; myself with the knowledge that [I have] this parachute of the fact that I play the Reverse Flash and he’s gonna come in every four or five months and blow up Central City and try and kill the Flash. It was a tremendous situation for me, because that’s exactly how it played out. I got to come back, and see my friends, and put on the suit, and enjoy that. It was just a grand circumstance anytime out to see the crew and the cast and put on that suit.”

On the importance of bringing the Reverse Flash back for the series finale: “It was understood that when we got to the series finale, that we have to include the Joker to the Batman; or in this case, Reverse Flash to The Flash.”

Would he like to play Reverse Flash again? “Reverse Flash, for me, was just a joy to play, as an antagonist or arch-enemy. There’s charisma to that character, and I delighted in. I would suit up again in a heartbeat.”

Cavanagh has pitch for a return on a possible Reverse Flash spinoff project. “Here’s my pitch: What if Reverse Flash, with all his villainy, fell for a civilian and then suddenly that complicated his agenda? Where would he go with his paramour, and how would it affect him? Would he then be able to carry through on his designs of destroying Barry? The reason we didn’t do that on The Flash was because you’d need to call that show Reverse Flash. We’ve got The Flash, which I wholeheartedly support. That being said, I think there’s room in the multiverse now that The Flash is over for us to explore that. And so, that’s my pitch for a Reverse Flash spinoff.”

Is Eobard afraid of any of the other speedsters? “Heck no, and that will be readily apparent in the finale.”

Was it fun to play Eobard insulting Eddie and Hunter Zolomon in the finale? “Poor Teddy Sears. Poor Rick Cosnett. Grand humans, all. And then, they roll on camera and it’s just, like, me taking shots. Teddy would quote them back to me a month later and I’d ask ‘who said that?’ ‘You said it!’ It’s so fast and furious, that I can’t keep track sometimes. I have to say, there’s one descriptor for those guys: It’s ‘tolerant’.”

Any final words for the fans who have followed the series for nine years? “I think it’s great that you bring that up, because often times, when a show has run a long time, a lot of the concentration is on the people who are the face of the show on camera, but off camera is the audience. They are the reason we were even given these nine years. It’s never lost on me. I remember [Superman & Lois and former Flash showrunner] Todd Helbing saying this: ‘These people invite us into their homes for an hour a week, and it is such a privilege and a responsibility. We want to let them know that we don’t take it lightly.’ That would be the message that I would like to basically parrot. Certainly, we’re grateful for the audience showing up week after week, which gave us those nine years. And even though I’m sure we didn’t always succeed story wise, it’s important for us to let the audience know that it was not from lack of trying. We understood that they were the reason we were there, and we were always doing our best to try to tell stories that they would enjoy, and keep coming back.”

The Flash series finale airs tonight on The CW.

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Interviews

Flashback: Revisiting Our Earliest Flash Cast Interviews

FlashTVNews revisits our earliest interviews with the cast of The Flash.

Published

2 years ago

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May 24, 2023

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The final episode of The Flash airs tonight (May 24) at 8PM ET/PT on The CW… and we’re feeling pretty retrospective right now. Sure, we have a new interview with Tom Cavanagh that will be posted this afternoon, but beyond that, we’re thinking about the long run that got us here.

FlashTVNews had the opportunity over the years to interview almost every series regular in the show’s 9-season run, at one time or another. Whether it was at a Comic-Con, a carpet for a crossover, or the very first Flash appearance at the Television Critics Association press tour… we were there. Below you can find some of those interviews, starting from the TCA Press Tour and moving down the list. Sadly, we never did get to do video with such folks as Brandon McKnight, Jon Cor, or Kayla Compton… but if you want to see how the cast was talking about the show in the early days, this may be a treat for you. And again, the series finale “A New World, Part Four” airs tonight at 8PM ET/PT.

Candice Patton (Iris West):

 

Jesse L. Martin (Joe West):

 

Tom Cavanagh (Eobard Thawne/Various Wells):

 

Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon):

 

Rick Cosnett (Eddie Thawne):

 

Grant Gustin (Barry Allen… the fastest man alive!):

 

Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow):

 

John Wesley Shipp (Daddy Flash):

 

Teddy Sears (Zoom/Jay Garrick/Hunter Zolomon):

 

Jessica Parker Kennedy (Nora West-Allen):

 

Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally West):

 

Danielle Nicolet (The Seal Cecile Horton/Virtue):

 

Michelle Harrison (Nora WHY DID I SAY THAT NAME):

 

Patrick Sabongui (Captain Singh):

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Interviews

The Flash: Eric Wallace Would Be Open To Continuing The Story

Flash Showrunner Eric Wallace discusses the possibility of Flash audio adventures after the series is done.

Published

2 years ago

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May 20, 2023

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Could there be a continuation of The Flash after Wednesday’s final episode? It’s possible.

Before he landed on The Flash, Showrunner Eric Wallace had been involved with Big Finish Productions’ audio continuations of the classic gothic TV soap Dark Shadows, having written or co-written three stories for the studio. Stories like the ones told by Big Finish can keep a franchise alive – they were the leading source of new Doctor Who stories during the “wilderness years” between the 1996 Paul McGann TV movie and Christopher Eccleston’s debut in 2005’s “Rose.”

When we spoke with Eric Wallace prior to the launch of The Flash Season 9 earlier this year (well before the current writers’ strike), we asked him if he’d have any interest in writing Flash audio adventures one day, and in addition, which character from Dark Shadows lore he would “borrow” to meet Team Flash if he ever could, a very nerdy question that might only be understood by a fraction of the audience reading this website.

“Yes, I would love to,” he confirmed. “Not immediately.. give me a year off, I need a break… but I would love to write a Flash audio adventure at some point in the future, to tell the stories that I wasn’t able to tell during this particular moment.”

As for the second part of the question, asked only for fun? “I already know what the answer is, but I’m gonna qualify it: I would want to bring over Barnabas Collins, but I think the more appropriate character to come on to this show is Quentin, because Quentin is a man out of time, much moreso than Barnabas is. Barnabas was locked in a coffin and then woke up after 200 years and is dealing with past baggage, so obviously, he would have a lot to talk about with Barry Allen. But Quentin is a man of the past who was thrust into modern times, and actually starts to adjust, but a curse follows him, so he can’t ever have a future, so seems to me that there’s a definite story between Quentin and Iris, right there.”

And that’s not all: “Having said that, Julia [Dr. Julia Hoffman] and Reverend Trask are my next two favorites. I have to sneak them in too somehow,” he said, making us wonder why we never managed to get the actors David Selby or Jerry Lacy on The Flash TV show as Max Mercury or a character in that vein.

In the months since this interview was conducted, Grant Gustin has also addressed his Flash future beyond May 24:

“I think regardless of if I put the suit on again or not – and I love this – I’ll be associated with this character for the rest of my life, so if anybody wants to call me about The Flash, I will take the phone call and hear them out,” Grant said in a recent interview with EW.

Maybe this means May 24 won’t be the end after all…

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