Hero, villain? Recognize the busy masked starlet?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Allison Mack has been surrounded by so many costumed costars on Smallville, who could blame her for wanting to slip into a cool disguise? She’s joined the second season of Riese, a sci-fi/fantasy web series so impressive it may soon find a home on television. The story involves a kingdom overthrown by a shadowy, terrifying group called The Sect, which drives the people to near-feral behavior. Their only beacon is a mysterious wanderer, Riese, and her wolf. Allison plays Marlise, an ambitious member of The Sect feigning innocence to mask a manipulative mind and thirst for power. The series is on brief hiatus while new distribution paths are hammered out, but you can click here to preview the upcoming episodes. Allison’s longtime boyfriend, Chad Krowchuk, is in charge of the production design; go behind-the-scenes with him here. The two also star in a unique short film, Frog, which is currently traveling the festival circuit. It unfolds across five blocks in one single camera shot, examining “the fragile nature of human dependence and the difficulty of saying goodbye to a person we still have so much of ourselves stored inside,” the synopsis notes. You can enjoy the trailer below. These are just two of the side projects Allison is involved in. Once a supporting star, she is now one of The CW’s most beloved leading ladies, and we look forward to Chloe’s evolution in the Justice League watchtower.







Almost seven years before Paul Wesley found his niche as brooding Stefan on The Vampire Diaries, the actor yanked some chains as sociopathic Lucas Luthor on one episode of Smallville. To recap, billionaire Lionel had an affair with his sickly wife’s nurse, Rachel Dunleavy (played by Blair Brown), who gave birth to Lucas. Since Rachel was unstable herself, Lionel had her institutionalized and placed the child in foster care. Eighteen years later, Lex rescued his newfound half-brother in Edge City, intending to use Lucas in a covert takeover of LuthorCorp. From there, the double-crosses came fast and furious, ending with a not-really-blind Lionel forced to shoot Lex or be killed himself. Clark’s heat-vision saved the day, and Lex was restored to his place in the company…safely hiding Lucas away under his protection. It seems odd that the (supposedly) sole surviving heir to a $42-billion fortune would remain overlooked much longer. Lex, of course, shoved his father out the window to his death two seasons ago, and Oliver allegedly destroyed Lex with one of his own bombs last year. All of which leaves the door perfectly ajar for a surprise visit by Lucas. And why stop there? His mother, Rachel, is still roaming the infamous Belle Reve psycho ward—so there’s a wealth of Luthor backstory material to explore while we await Michael Rosenbaum’s eventual expected return. Think of the great cross-promotional opportunities, as well, with The Vampire Diaries fans following their favorite Salvatore for a stint in Metropolis. It’s time to make this story happen.
Growing up with Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows, and later Angel and Spike on Buffy, we knew these undead dudes had otherworldly abilities, but nothing like their kindred on The Vampire Diaries. There are actually some eerie similarities between the Salvatore brothers—especially Damon (Ian Somerhalder)—and the young Man of Steel, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) on Smallville.
Here’s an awesome casting update that hits close to home…as in Cleveland. Parma Padua grad Sean Faris is in Atlanta today to begin filming (at least) a multiple-episode arc on The Vampire Diaries. He’ll play a former high school football buddy of Matt (Zack Roerig), with both guys employed at the Mystic Grill hangout. And, of course, we fully expect Sean’s entanglement with the freaky town’s supernatural entities and eligible bachelorettes. Often compared looks-wise to Tom Cruise and Travis Van Winkle (Jamie on 90210), Sean’s kept busy in film work since the conclusion of his two TV series, Life As We Know It and Reunion. The Bruins’ four-sport HS star (soccer, basketball, baseball, diving) put his natural athleticism to work in Forever Strong—where he played rugby opposite Penn Badgley (Dan on Gossip Girl)—and in Never Back Down, a mixed martial arts fight club drama. Smallville fans might also remember Sean’s appearance as one of LuthorCorp’s “experiments gone wrong” in season two. With two vampires and a rising death toll in Mystic Falls, nobody’s neck is safe for very long. But we can’t wait to see how our charismatic hometown star shakes up the dynamics on The CW’s biggest hit series ever.
Over the course of nine action-packed seasons, Smallville has offered dozens of memorable climactic scenes. But an upcoming installment is so colossal, it’s been expanded into the first two-part episode in series history. As writer Geoff Johns tweets, the tale “is actually an insane, D.C. Universe-infused epic.” The story will lure members of the Justice Society of America from retirement to give the shaky new Justice League a pointed wake-up call. Stargate favorite Michael Shanks (pictured) will appear as Hawkman, along with Dr. Fate (Brent Stait) and Stargirl (Britt Irvin). New generation heroes include Clark Kent (The Blur), Green Arrow and the return of Martian Manhunter. Johns said the producers “wanted it to be HUGE and wanted the guest characters done right.” As such, Shanks maintains Smallville is “breaking new ground with Hawkman and the logistics of it. The character will fly,” he tells the Huffington Post. And while the winged icon is strangely antagonistic toward Green Arrow, Hawkman and Dr. Fate have a “really neat relationship that makes the first hour quite heart-wrenching.” Tom Welling will direct part two, with the episodes tentatively slated to air Jan. 22 and 29. Exec Brian Peterson suggests that guidance from the costumed JSA members could edge Clark away from his black outfit and closer to Superman’s classic red-and-blue suit as the season progresses.