Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/760821
WHEN MARVEL'S LUKE CAGE creator Cheo Hodari Coker in- vited Paul McGuigan to launch his series about a wrongly con- victed, extremely strong Har- lem ex-con, the Scottish direc- tor decided to open the show with a crane shot panning across Lenox Avenue. From the outset, McGuigan says, "I always tried to keep the frame wide and have the background of Harlem in there as much as possible. I wanted to open up this world because Harlem is so important to the series and to the comic books as well." After poring through Mar- vel's online archive of Luke Cage stories, launched in 1972 during the heyday of the po- litically charged Black Power movement, McGuigan im- mersed himself in Harlem street photography by film- maker/photographer Gor- don Parks as a tonal starting point. "I wanted to make this show about the streets," says Mc G u i g a n , w h o a l s o p a i d homage to a sequence from 1971 blaxploitation classic Shaft by following star Mike Colter with hidden cameras as he interacts with civilians on the sidewalk. "I wanted to find the world of Luke Cage within streets that actually exist in Harlem the way it is now, with gentrification as well as these iconic places, the churches, the basketball courts, the clubs." McGuigan and cinematog- rapher Manuel Billeter ener- gized dialogue-heavy sequenc- es early in the show by using Panavision Primo lenses cus- tom-treated with a reflective coating that produces flares. "It adds a bit of life to the frame when you have scenes that are long and talky because flares create another layer of visual- ization," explains McGuigan. " When you see everybody talking in the barbershop and these red fl ares appear, it feels like a mistake, as if the cam- era's pointing at something it shouldn't be pointed at. That creates a sense of tension be- tween characters, so you're not just recording the chat." "I wanted Jessica to be more in the shadows, more subversive." —S.J. CLARKSON ON JESSICA JONES Harlem's Street Smart Superhero Keeping Supergirl Grou nded IN CONTRAST TO THE MOODY Gotham, CBS' Supergirl pi- lot, directed by Glen Winter in Los Angeles, establishes a contemporary, bright tone for the perky DC Comics heroine. "Shooting in L.A. gave the show a specifi c palette," says Winter. "A lot of superhero movies take place in Manhattan or Chica- go-type environments, but we wanted to play L.A. as L.A.— warm and sun-kissed." Prepping the pilot for Super- girl, now in its second season, Winter took his cues from se- ries creator Greg Berlanti more than from the comic books themselves. "DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns loaded me up with a lot of Su- pergirl lore," says Winter, "but quite honestly, I didn't want to spend too much brainpower and time delving deeply into stu that didn't really a ect the storyline of our pilot." Winter instead focused on presenting Kara "Supergirl" Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) as a modern young woman with whom viewers could easily re- to the comic books as well." Shaft by following star Mike Shaft by following star Mike Shaft Paul McGuigan "wanted to fi nd the world of Luke Cage within the streets that actually exist in Harlem." Glen Winter, right, emphasized Supergirl's more "human-like qualities and emotions." PHOTOS: (TOP L&R) MYLES ARONOWITZ/NETFLIX; (MIDDLE, ABOVE/BELOW) DARREN MICHAELS/ROBERT FALCONER/WARNER BROS.