A few weeks ago we had the privilege of visiting the writers room for Arrow. Not only is Arrow one of the best shows on TV, it is one of our favorite shows too.
Having done several set visits, this was a real treat. While fans of the show know Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, John Barrowman and the other talented actors, the writers of Arrow can often be overlooked and are the unsung heroes in this Starling City.
We were very happy to meet these extremely talented individuals and spend some brief time in their world.
As you will notice we didn’t take many photos of these offices. It wasn’t for lack of anything to shoot but to help avoid future spoilers or not getting hit by green or red arrows. Visiting the office felt like getting admission into a very secret exclusive club. Everyone there was so nice and friendly and was very generous with their time. It was one of our highlights from LA.
Upon going in, we met with Marc Guggenheim. Marc Guggenheim is an award-winning multi-media writer, having scribed film, television, prose, video games and comic books. His television credits include Arrow (co-creator), Law & Order, Jack & Bobby, CSI: Miami and Brothers & Sisters. His best known comic book work includes Aquaman, Superman/Batman, The Flash, JSA, Amazing Spider-Man, Young X-Men and Supreme Power. Most recently Suicide Squadron and Daredevil. As you can imagine Marc is extremely busy but still made time for us. For the record, his office is the epitome of cool, from the toys to the posters down to the custom Eli Stone action figure it was this geek’s paradise.
When Marc was pulled away we got the official tour and met everyone. We started off our tour in a very special screening room where we saw the opening of the episode, Suicidal Tendencies that will premiere tomorrow. We saw it before the background sound effects were added and we could have happily watched the entire episode this way. We saw how the process of editing was done and it was amazing watching these editors in their environment. All we can say is you don’t want to miss tomorrow’s NEW Arrow on the CW.
We saw the reference material the staff has available and it is a comic lovers paradise. From graphic novels to comic books, it’s all here. I asked how much input they get from WB and DC to avoid continuity errors or to jeopardize potential future storylines and they admitted to having a very open dialogue to be sure everyone is on the same page.
The writers room where all the magic happens and the walls covered in colored flash cards with future episode beats lined out, covered by dry erase boards to keep their secrets that way. Short of being on the set itself, this is where everything comes to life.
Needless to say, we could have stayed all day and then some. However, our time was winding down. Good news is we didn’t leave without making Marc Guggenheim our newest Honorary FoF member. We can’t thank that crew enough for allowing us to visit and look forward to what they have in store for us for many seasons to come.
