The latest from the world of FlashForward – new promos, Gabrielle Union interview and FlashForward news!

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I’ll be honest, it’s getting difficult to keep track of all these FlashForward promos! That said, the following are fresh out of the kitchen:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPIoVI0Yxbk

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGi38S7eCeQ

[AlloTV / babisnakis]

Gabrielle Union interview:

Q: Since you’re not in the pilot, who do you play on the show?

Gabrielle: I play Zoey. She’s Demetri’s (John Cho) fiancé, and a criminal defense attorney.

Q: Will viewers get to see your flash forward?

Gabrielle: Yes. I would say it’s life-affirming. Take that as you may. I’m not a great liar, so they just don’t tell me anything. I was getting information, literally seconds before I was filming.

Q: How is it to work on something so secretive? How can you even go about developing your character?

Gabrielle: I think they instinctually chose actors who embodied what they were looking for. Right before action, they’re like, “Oh, yeah . . .” And, you’re like, “That changes everything! Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Obviously, it can be a little daunting, not to have information to prepare with, but I think it’s all done purposely and, strangely enough, beautifully. I’ve seen it with other actors, with me having information that they don’t have, but they’re instinctually doing what is right, for the moment.

Q: Are you not allowed to talk to each other about the characters then?

Gabrielle: Sometimes my character is a little bit more informed than another character, maybe based on something I have seen or not seen.

Q: Would you want to know what goes on in your life, six months ahead?

Gabrielle: That’s why we have psychics, and I’m obsessed with watching Crossing Over with John Edwards. We want to know. We want to have some sort of insight into what’s going to happen. I’ve been tempted to go to psychics, over the years, when I’ve been up for a job. You’re like, “Can somebody just tell me? I don’t want to wait through the weekend.” But, it takes the fun out of it. When I have gone to see psychics, I’m waiting for signs and I’ll turn somebody crossing in front of my car into something else. So, I think we’re in charge of our own destiny, and we make it with our choices and decisions. I think you can effectively and pro-actively alter your own destiny.

Q: Do you think that’s what this show says?

Gabrielle: I hope so, but I don’t know. That would be daunting for humanity, if you already knew what was coming. We’d all be addicted to psychics, and there would be a line out the door because someone is just giving you all the information. What I think is interesting about life is that you have no clue. Every interaction could be the one to change your whole life. Uncertainly is the beauty of living.

Q: How has John Cho been to work with?

Gabrielle: I’m obsessed with Harold & Kumar, so I thought that’s who I was working with. He’s so funny, so smart, incredibly sexy and he brings really interesting perspectives to things I had never thought about. He’s got a really interesting take, on a lot of things. It’s nice to work with people who aren’t your carbon copy. That gets really, really boring, after awhile.

Q: Had you been looking to do another hour drama?

Gabrielle: I was looking to work, and I don’t get too choosy, when the mortgage is due.

Q: Without really knowing anything about the show or your character, what was it that hooked you?

Gabrielle: I had taken a meeting with ABC and we wanted our relationship to continue. I really enjoy them, as a company, and they’ve been freakishly supportive of me, so they were just looking for a right fit. And then, by chance, the next day, the Goyers called them and were like, “Do you think she’d ever be interested in returning to television?” They were like, “How crazy is that? We just met with her about that very thing.”

And so, the next day, I met with them. They were like, “We can’t tell you a lot, but we love you and we will write for you, and we want you to be a part of this,” and I was like, “Yeah!” It was kind of like Match.com. You just don’t really know what you’re gonna get, but you want to leap at the chance because the possibility is awesome and exciting. So, that’s all I had to go on, along with meeting them. I liked them, and that’s pretty much been what’s guided my decisions, the last few years, certainly with television. I wanted to work with Frank Spotnitz (for Night Stalker), Daniel Sackheim (for Life) and now the Goyers. I’m really happy.

Q: Were you looking for an ensemble show?

Gabrielle: Yes. After Nightstalker and Life, I didn’t have much of a life. When you don’t have a big cast, you work a lot. I love working, but when I work 16, 19 or 20 hours a day, my dogs stop recognizing me. I want to have a life, but I also want to work. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

Q: Do you know what will happen once you get to this date of April 29th?

Gabrielle: We don’t know what happens. Has this ever happened before? We’re going to explore what caused it. Could it happen again? Did it happen before and we missed it? We don’t know how this will all unfold.

[IESB]

The show that says “we’re in this together” really means it as more international broadcasters purchase the rights to air FlashForward:

LONDON — ABC high-concept thriller “FlashForward,” starring Joseph Fiennes and Jack Davenport, has notched up sales to 11 territories across Europe.

Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, Disney’s international distribution arm, said that free-to-air and pay broadcasters have bought the 13-part show, whose protagonists get a glimpse of the future when they lose consciousness in unexplained circumstances.

Among the free broadcasters to license “FlashForward” are Cuatro (Spain), Nelonen (Finland), RTE (Ireland), RUV (Iceland) and TV2 (Norway).

The pay stations include AXN (Spain & Portugal), Digiturk (Turkey), Fox International Channels (Greece and Cyprus) and SBS (Netherlands).

In July, it was announced that U.K. web Five had acquired “FlashForward.”

[Variety]

Lexus and FlashForward hook-up for a spot of product placement:

To launch the HS, the automaker is debuting an integrated marketing campaign
highlighting the vehicle’s future-forward innovations. Titled, “Hello
Someday,” the campaign reveals that the car of the future is now a reality.

In one of five television spots produced for the launch the voiceover reads:
“Someday cars will use infrared to monitor the driver’s face and alert them
when they’re not paying attention to the road. Hello Someday.” The ad, which
showcases the vehicle’s available Pre-Collision System with Driver Attention
Monitor, illustrates how Lexus delivers the possibilities of tomorrow, or
“Someday,” to the forefront of the automotive industry today.

ABC’s FlashForward Partnership–The HS 250h will be a featured
vehicle of a key character on ABC’s highly-anticipated premiere
season of FlashForward, and will also be featured in the show’s
print, television and online ad campaigns.

[Reuters]

In this interview with SciFi Wire, FlashForward’s Gabrielle Union talks about the promise of cultural diversity in the show with the pairing of her character and that of John Cho’s.

“The cultural differences with our families, not only blending families in the middle of a recession but blending families that come from different cultures and races and backgrounds, will definitely be explored,” Union said in an exclusive interview last week in Pasadena, Calif. “And, I love John.”

In the series, based on Robert J. Sawyer’s SF novel, everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes 17 seconds, during which time each person has a glimpse of the future and their lives on a specific date: April 29, 2010. The show’s characters, played by Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger and others, will spend the bulk of the first season figuring out what will come true and whether or not they can alter the predictions. Union said her scenes with Cho focus on their relationship.

“[I've shot] a lot of time with John,” She continued. “We have a really good relationship. I’m so glad that they’re showing two people of color with, like, a really … loving and nurturing relationship. I haven’t really seen that on TV, and certainly not in an interracial relationship, very loving and sweet in a genuine sort of way.” (Major spoilers ahead!)

In the pilot episode, one flash forward saves a character from suicide. Others characters worry that their own futures include a relapse into alcoholism or an end to their marriages. Union’s not telling what she sees.

“It’s life-affirming, that’s for sure,” she teased.

Cho’s character sees nothing in his flash forward, leading him to believe he doesn’t make it to April 29. So far, this has not affected his relationship in early episodes, Union said.

“Well, he has not shared with me his flash forward, so ignorance is bliss at this point,” Union said.

Union came to FlashForward because of her previous relationship with ABC: She starred on the short-lived Night Stalker and guested on Ugly Betty, so the network wanted to get back in the Gabrielle Union business.

“They’ve been incredibly supportive,” Union said. “A lot of people give lip service to, ‘We want to increase diversity,’ and then you just never see any people of color. They actually really mean it. If one thing doesn’t work out, they come up with more opportunities. So they’re like, ‘We want you back in the family,’ and by chance, the next day, the Goyers [executive producers Jessika Borsiczky Goyer and David Goyer] called them and they were like, ‘Do you think Gabrielle would ever be interested in returning to television?’ They’re like, ‘Funny you should ask. We just talked to her about this.’”

Since FlashForward has a long-term mythology that the creators are guarding closely, it’s one of those shows where even the actors don’t get information beyond the script they are shooting. That creates a challenging work environment for Union.

“It’s more hard that we are given very limited information, to the point where filming a scene, I think I have all the information I need,” she said. “We do a take, and they’re like, ‘Oh, nobody told her.’ Then they whisper it in your ear, and I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, that changes everything.’ So I’m literally getting information on a need-to-have basis. That’s more challenging. Literally, they tell me on a need-to-know basis.”

[Scifi Wire]

It is being reported that Gabrielle Union has joined FlashForward in recurring role as Zoey – a criminal defense attorney who will have a “romantic arc on the show”.

Here’s what producer David S. Goyer had to say about the new arrival:

“We’re thrilled that Gabrielle is joining our cast. When we met with her, we immediately knew she was our Zoey. She’s witty, soulful and beautiful. I’ve been wanting to work with her for a long time.”