Maggie Bridger Talks About the Chloe Sullivan Fan Commercial Legendary

Yesterday, we posted about a commercial airing on the Los Angeles CW affiliate showing how much Chloe and Allison’s work have meant to Smallville fans. Smallville follows the exploits of young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in his days before becoming Superman. Today we have an exclusive interview with Maggie Bridger, one of the producers of the ad, about “Legendary.”

Of all the characters that have come and gone from the series, what drew you to Chloe Sullivan?

We feel drawn to Chloe because she’s a strong, independent, career woman. Watching her achieve her lifelong goal in season five of getting hired at the Daily Planet was a highlight for so many of us. We all feel that we can identify with a motivated character like that and as mostly young, professional women, ourselves, Chloe Sullivan spoke to us on a personal level. We also adore that she’s a hero who protects her family and friends with her life.

How did you come up with the idea of a television commercial? Why not just do a postcard, email or food campaign?

We had seen a blog entry about rumors of Chloe fans doing a billboard, which was news to us at the time. It was something we hadn’t considered but we thought we could do it. In effect, that rumor got the ball rolling and led us into research mode. Liz De Razzo, the commercial’s executive producer, looked into it and we realized we couldn’t afford a billboard anywhere else but in East L.A. She did, however, look into commercial pricing and realized we could make it to the CW affiliate, KTLA, with our budget.

What was the biggest challenge to bringing this concept to life?

I learned that Murphy’s Law, “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,” applies to everything in life! Without saying too much, we faced quite a few unexpected hurdles during production.

The biggest issue we had, I feel was getting the correct tone for the commercial. We had two main ideas we wanted to convey. First, we wanted to thank Smallville Productions, Allison Mack, The CW, and DC Comics for giving us Chloe and supporting the project. At the same time we, as long term Smallville and Chloe fans, also felt the need to express that Chloe’s presence in the current season has definitely been missed. It was a challenge to convey our gratitude while honestly admitting we missed her.

We hope we’ve accomplished that.

What is the goal of “Legendary?” http://legendarychloe.com/

We want to show that Chloe Sullivan is an enduring part of Smallville‘s legacy. The “legendary” actually came from a short promo from the CW with Allison Mack as Chloe in front of the word “legendary (.” We felt that fit perfectly for a character that had become so integral to Smallville Clark’s journey. We hope that this shows the love fans have for both Chloe and for Allison Mack.

We’re extremely proud of the site. It truly came out of the highest caliber and we think it’s a great compliment to the commercial. While the commercial is in post-production, we have many exciting updates planned which include teaser videos, interview clips with the cast and producers, and behind-the-scenes tidbits to share until the commercial airs. We have links to all our media coverage there and, of course, status updates on production until we air. We want the website to be a way for other Chloe fans to share in the project and support our efforts, or even help us air on another station, so we included helpful links for that as well.

Have you had any reactions from the cast and crew of Smallville on the “Legendary” campaign?

Not as of yet, but the campaign is young and we are very hopeful! We have had some support from the CW station local to Boston, and we were very grateful for it.

Has the Smallville fan community embraced or supported this initiative?

I think it’s honestly hard to answer that because Smallville has quite a divisive fandom. I was in House Fandom for a long time,so I know how fan wars and shipper wars can go. Many fans have really embraced this project and been great with financial and emotional support. I hope that the prevailing sentiment of support stays strong as we go to air, and that other Chloe fans are pleased with our efforts.

The donation of $3000 to the Christopher Reeve Spinal Cord and Paralysis Foundation, via your sister project, “Operation: Truth and Justice,” was incredibly generous and heartfelt. How did you raise the funds?

The main goal of “Operation Truth and Justice” was to do something nice for Allison Mack as thanks for her work on the show. The runners of that project decided that in addition to some small handmade gifts, her fans would honor Ms. Mack’s passion for philanthropy by donating to a charity in her name. They chose the CDRF because of its longtime partnership with the show, beginning in Season 2 when Dr. Swann became a recurring character. They spread information about what the CDRF supports with YouTube videos and links to the Foundation’s website, and Chloe fans were motivated to donate to the project.

I’d also like to recognize that fans of the Clark and Lana relationship also chose to donate to the Christopher Reeve foundation just before we did, raising almost a thousand dollars, for the same reason, because of its longtime affiliation with the show. So, it was cool to see two sets of fan groups donate to a good cause.

Were you disappointed that Chloe and Clark (aka Chlark) has been written out of the series in favor of Lois and Clark?

Going back to the tone we wanted to convey with the commercial, we feel that part of this project is born from missing Chloe Sullivan. In the last few years of the series, as other early-season characters have exited, Chloe has become a pretty significant character, with Allison Mack even getting second-billing last year. This season, we haven’t seen a lot of her, sometimes less than five minutes or one scene. We miss Chloe and we want to see her and Allison Mack back in season ten. It’s not just about Chloe and Clark or Chloe and Oliver or Chloe and Stephen Swift (whomever you ship Chloe with). It’s about loving Chloe the character and wanting to see her as much as we have the past few years.

I am, personally, a fan of Chloe/Clark- not just as a couple, but as best friends, and I’ve been saddened by season nine. I feel they lost a wonderful dynamic with Chloe and Clark’s previously strong friendship suddenly missing. It’s been very hard and yet motivating to work on LegendaryChloe to show the producers that she has a significant fanbase. In the early seasons, Clark had his relationship with Lana but they were still friends. I don’t understand why they felt they had to significantly reduce Chloe’s role to start the Clark and Lois relationship.

Let’s say Clark and Chloe meet at a high school reunion twenty years later. Where do you see them and what would they talk about?

I don’t see them as meeting up. I see Chloe and Clark as evolving in their relationship. I think they have the potential, as they always have, to grow into something romantic and to become trusted confidantes again. I hope to see that going into season ten. I think the show has established the significance of their relationship in such a way that I can never see them falling out of touch for twenty years and I think a lot of Clark and Chloe fans feel the same way!

Where do you see the future of Smallville going?

I think getting back to the old school formula that made it work so well. I know Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk are gone. I think, however, that if they get back to more character driven stories and less comic book feel, that it can be amazing! Sort of going full circle to finish. I’d also love to see it become more relatable again. I liked the stories about real life issues as well like school or work as well as feeling like one didn’t fit in. Once, Clark was very easy to feel for. I’m unable to feel much for this colder, darker version.

Would you and your group support a big screen film based on Smallville?

I’d need the Core Four of Clark, Chloe, Lex, and Lana back in it as played by the original actors. That’s what sold Smallville to me in season one and that’s what draws me to it now—its original legacy. The story started with these four and how they affected each others’ destiny, and I’d like to see that central theme.

If you could say one thing to new or old fans of Allison “Chloe Sullivan” Mack what would it be?

I’d like to paraphrase Galaxy Quest and say “Never give up, never surrender.” Chloe Sullivan deserves a rewarding end to her journey where her dreams are honored and her goals are accomplished. Chloe has gone through a lot and her fans have gone through it with her. But we are all Smallville fans. Things are great if we respect everyone’s opinion and celebrate the things we like about the show, because we are all Smallville fans.

If you’d like to find out more about the Chloe Sullivan fan commercial “Legendary” go to http://legendarychloe.com/