Debashine Thangevelo
OF HER handful of TV roles – Hawthorne being the freshest in viewers’ minds – this is one of Jada Pinkett Smith’s finest.
Honestly, she is fantastic as Fish Mooney. She exudes the right amount of intimidation to lend veracity as a Mob boss, yet she also uses her feminine wiles to her benefit.
But, amid all the influence she has managed to wield, she still falls short of having any real power with Carmine Falcone (John Doman), the Don who has the city in the palm of his hand.
On this role being unlike any she has inhabited before, Pinkett Smith offers: “Well, I have to tell you, it was after a lot of conversations with Bruno (Heller) and Danny (Cannon) and a lot of guidance from their vision and doing a bit of research – kind of a ‘collabo’ of Griselda Blanco and Norma Desmond for this particular character.
“But one of the reasons why I wanted to do it was because I thought it was going to be such an incredible challenge. And because it is unlike anything I have done before.”
Throwing light on his collaboration with Geoff Johns at DC Entertainment, Heller says: “I have been talking to Geoff for some time about doing something with a DC property. And Geoff and the rest of the guys have been part of this process from the beginning. What I talk about is the canonical myth and what is inside it and what’s outside it and how to sort of weave our way into that world, they have been absolutely crucial in allowing us to do that. They have also given us a lot of leeway and freedom to create and be imaginative in that world.”
Commenting on whether women make better villains, the actress notes: “I think women make very interesting villains.
“In all our stories, it is different from what we are used to seeing and how stories are created for men and what drives a man to do what he does. I think it’s always very interesting that you can find someone who can really penetrate the internal life of a woman and get the truth of what makes a woman tick. And I think that is someone who knows how to write (points to Heller). They can be very interesting and, in that way, scary because there are corners of a woman’s darkness that are not seen very often.”
Talking more about the premise, Heller offers: “That’s the situation the show is all about: how do you deal with crime of this level when there are no superheroes, when there’s just ordinary, mortal men and women trying to solve these issues? It’s as much about the hope and the struggle that they are engaged in waiting for a saviour. To me, that’s the more interesting story.”
With James as the protagonist, there is a bit of a debate going on about whether this is more his than Bruce Wayne’s tale.
Heller clarifies: “Gordon is the moral lynchpin of the show. Because, in a way, if you look at the mythology, he’s the guy who creates Batman or gives Batman permission to exist in that world. And it’s the journey of a man who is very much about law and order to some-one who accepts this dark vigilante. But as we go into the world and as the stories develop, the stories will proliferate and characters will proliferate and Gordon will still remain at the centre of it.
“But it is as much about Bruce Wayne, as much about Oswald Cobblepot, as much about Selina Kyle and Fish Mooney. Gordon is the moral centre you can identify with.”