On October 7, 2019, NBC hosted a fun and interactive press day for the One Chicago franchise. The Wolf Entertainment franchise, started by television legend Dick Wolf, includes Emmy-award winning TV shows Chicago PD, Chicago Med, and Chicago Fire. With over 389 episodes aired as of October 2, 2019, the One Chicago franchise has clearly gained quite a loyal following.
Questions for the talent and producers present at the roundtable discussions revolved around a hot topic: the looming premiere of the 3-hour Chicago Crossover Event. We had the chance to sit down with Chicago Fire showrunner, Derek Haas, to get the inside scoop on the process and inspiration for the epic event.*
.Journalist: So let’s start by talking about the crossover.. I watched the trailer. It looks incredible. What’s the inspiration for it?
Derek: We’re always trying to do something different than we’ve done before. This year we thought “why don’t we get all three shows active in the first hour, so it’s really more like a decide-an-adventure, where it’s this story, this story, this story, and it’s all intersecting and weaving. It was Dick’s idea. He was like “let’s do some weaponized biological agent”. I was like “hm.. let’s run with that!”
So then Dick and I conceived the story over the 3 hours. I was going to write all three but then that became.. unfeasible. So I wrote the first one and then Med and PD took over after. We’re still shooting it, it’s not done yet! We keep realizing “oh, we gotta get more over here..” It airs in a week and a half so we’re cutting it a bit close to the edge.
Journalist: Is it because of what’s happening in the crossover that made scheduling it so hard?
Derek: So what happened is we scheduled it over 3 production weeks. Fire is on episode 5, Med is on episode 6, and PD is on episode 7. And that’s because we have the cast all having to go to the other shows. And then when you cut together action sequences, a lot of the time they’re shorter [in run time] versus page-wise. So if you wrote a 50 page script, typically speaking you would have 46 minutes in an episode and you cut it down to 41. Well, this one had so much action in it that you did a 50 page script and you only have 38 minutes and you’re like “oh man we’ve got to put 3 minutes in”. But what it allows you to do is you find holes in what you were missing. There’s times where we’ll be like “oh wouldn’t it be great if Casey looked over to the right for a second?”
Journalist: Biological terrorism is such an intense thing. Will it have any lingering effects into the rest of the shows individually?
Derek: I wanted to leave it open to Med and PD to do what they wanted to do. There’s a storyline going in the first hour that continues on into the series. We’re not going to make it apocalyptic event that carries over into the rest of the show.
Journalist: How has that process been collaborating with so many different people and different talents and different wants?
Derek: It’s always fun. I have a blast whenever we get the characters from the other shows on Chicago Fire. The very first thing that Dick asked when he was pitching this idea was “what if the first time we see evidence of this biological weapon is at a Chicago Bears game?” I said I went to a tailgate last year and it’s really one of the best tailgates in the country. What if characters from all three shows are tailgating together when this happens? And that was such a fun day to shoot. We were all at Soldier Field, there were 500 extras, with the cast from all three shows.. It was just so fun! They don’t usually get to work in that kind of situation together.
Journalist: Is there a character you’re especially excited to write for this season?
Derek: I really like writing all of them.. The Otis story still affects people. Even when you think oh, they’ve already moved on, you’re going to find that people catch a moment and it stays. That’s been fun to write. I like writing the funny stuff too. I told Dick at the beginning of the year, I was asked by a reporter over the summer, “what’s it like writing chicago fire after 8 seasons? Does it get formulaic?” And I said oh no no, it’s easy. You’ve just got to write action, suspense, romance, comedy, drama, thriller.. all in one hour and make people care! That’s the formula.
Watch the epic, three-hour Chicago crossover event, Wednesday, October 16, starting with Chicago Fire at 8/7c on NBC.
*The following is an edited transcript of the conversation.
We are now in a new season for the team, and they have started off on the wrong
foot. The team is broken up and Ted has his work cut out for him. The team goes
through a slump, and Ted is now doubting his coaching ability. Ted’s personal life
has also gotten out of control, and he discovers his ex-wife Michelle has started a relationship with their therapist. The wonderkid, Nathan Shelley, the former manager of West Ham has had a change of heart and leaves his job to be with his one true love, the waitress from his favorite restaurant.
She convinces him to return to the Richmond team he started out in and it’s quite evident that
everyone wants him back and held no hard feelings. All of Lawrence’s series he has worked on with others have just that right balance of slice-of-life drama with a little bit of ridiculous comedy that reality dishes us, normal folks, every day.
This all comes to a head in the potential series finale where Ted announced to
Rebecca that he will be returning to the States to his family after his mother tells
him that his son misses him. This puts the Richmond owner into quite a state of denial; doing everything from offering Ted the position of being the highest-paid coach in the league to selling the team after he leaves. The team is also affected by this decision as they perform a number from the musical The Sound of Music that is a more than touching farewell to this family.
This bleeds into their playing as in the final title match the first half is met with
bumbling and possible injuries to their star player Jamie.
After an energizing pep talk and a circle back to the first motivator in the
beginning, a sign Ted made up that said “BELIEVE”, the team dominate the second
half and win with a rousing closing scene that is reminiscent of any 80’s party
movie. It’s a fitting end for this pandemic darling that emotionally carried us through. It is
a must-see series even if you don’t like soccer (football).
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
Finally, the Cinderella story of the Richmond Greyhounds has come to an end.
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
An Askewed View Episode 7 Jay And Silent Bob Reboot
