Operation: Piggy Bank

OPB Mentioned in Watch With Kristin

2006-10-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

From Watch With Kristin - Kristin and Justin Hartley talk clois:

And word is, you’ll be hooking up with Lois?
Yeah, it’s heading that way. It’s good.

Uh-oh. Have you heard about the Clois Piggybank Campaign?
No.

The fans of Clark and Lois have put their faces on a coin, and they're sending it to the CW and media folks to try to get those two together.
Really? Listen, I myself am a die-hard Clark and Lois fan. Always have been. Even when it was Teri Hatcher and my man Dean Cain. I don’t know Dean Cain, mind you, but I just like saying that. My man. But when Clark and Lois get together, it's sort of like Smallville would be over, don't you think? So, I think they should put my face on paper money to thank me for saving Smallville for another year! [Laughs.] Because without me, Clark and Lois would get together, and everyone knows that that would be the end of Smallville , and then we wouldn’t have Smallville . It should say "In Oliver We Trust" on the coin. I mean, that's just me. That's just one man's opinion.

TV Guide "Arrow" Summary Hints at Clois

2006-10-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

From the October 16-22 TV Guide:

Ladies and Gentlemen, may we introduce you to Green Arrow! After a few weeks of flirting with Lois, Oliver Quieen makes his superhero debut in an hour that introduces the resdients of Smallville to the latest crimefighter to take a page out of Clark's playbook and little black book. Unless y'all didn't notice the heat that was starting to build between Miss Lane and her flannel-wearing pal before this newbie showed up.

Gough Talks Romantic Clois in Season 6

2006-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Al Gough discusses Clark burgeoning feelings in "Green Arrow Targets Smallville" by Damian J Holbrook @ TV Guide :

In addition to this vigilantism, Clark is also keeping a close eye on Oliver's budding romance with Lois Lane. "The issues Clark had with [hiding his identity from] Lana come up again because obviously, he doesn't want to see Lois get hurt," says Gough, adding that this will also spark Clark to acknowledge "feelings for Lois that he didn't realize he had."

Clark will probably have to wait until he's ready to break out the cape and tights for that to go anywhere, however. "We've established that [Lois] has a thing for young superheroes," Gough says. "First Arthur Curry, then Oliver Queen and ultimately Clark Kent. She definitely gets around the Justice League!."

Which should make for quite a season now that Gough is bringing back Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash for the launch of Green Arrow's junior Justice League in January. This won't just affect hero-groupie Lois, but also reluctant crusader Clark, who has more than a few issues with Oliver's methods

New CW Promo Features Triangle

2006-10-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

From the CW:

*This was featured in the October 2nd issue of People Magazine

ET on the Set of Smallville: Lois Lane = New Flame

2006-10-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

**Spoiler Warning**

Entertainment Tonight recently visited the set of Smallville. The segment featured interviews with Erica Durance and Tom Welling. Of particular note was the following segue:

That's okay because Clark's got a new flame: Lois Lane, aka Erica Durance.

Watch the segment on YouTube: HERE

Durance Says Embargo Lifts!!

2006-09-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Erica Durance reveals why girl reporter Lois Lane is enjoying new freedoms this year… "Lois Unchained" by Jenny Eden @ TV Zone :

Erica Durance might be the sexiest Lois Lane ever to hit the screen (or so her internet fans would insist), but until now Clark Kent has never been allowed to kiss her. With Superman Returns in the pipeline, TV bosses decreed that Smallville couldn’t do anything that might upset the movie franchise. So it’s only now the film is out that Clark and Lois are allowed to let their romance blossom on the small screen.

“They really were trying to be careful what they did with Lois,” Durance comments, “because they weren’t sure how they were going to take Lois and Clark and their relationship in the early stages of the movie. So for a long time Lois could never kiss Clark, they couldn’t have a relationship, there were some specific things that could not happen, even in dream sequences.”

“It surprised me because I thought, ‘Do you think they are not going to realize that I’m not Kate Bosworth?’ We are two totally different girls and two totally different Supermen. So I’m excited to see what my Lois is allowed to do now the movie has come out.”

While the movie’s release means that Durance can look forward to a more interesting times for Lois during Season Six, she comments she has nothing but admiration for Kate Bosworth for taking on the role on the big screen, as the actress provoked a furious reaction from fans when she first joined the series as Clark’s future love. So she knows how hard it can be stepping into Lois’s stilettos.

“I had a lot of fans that were very, very upset at me personally for coming along to steal Clark from Lana. People said I was too old for Clark or I had a few laughter lines. I don’t pay attention to any of it unless I’m having a bad day. But I’ve learned you have to get a tough skin.”

“I think I was lucky that it is a younger Lois, so people were more forgiving. I think Kate Bosworth has a lot of guys to jump right in and so did Teri Hatcher in the series. I kind of slid into an earlier Lois so I could stumble along as Lois tried to establish herself and find her path.”

Rather than study the earlier portrayals of Lois, Durance admits she has learned to avoid watching previous versions of Superman.

“I watched it growing up, but when I started Smallville I realized I started to get too nervous if I watched somebody else playing her too much. I try to go with my gut otherwise I get so nervous I kind of shut down.”

While Season Six promises to see big changes in Lois and Clark’s relationship, things didn’t exactly stand still during the fifth year. “What I really liked about Season Five was that at the end of Season Four they were allowed to graduate, which meant the writers had more freedom to experiment with where these characters went and what they were allowed to do. Any time that you can kind of shake things up with new energy and new relationships it’s fun. Like Lex is actually really starting to make some pretty bad choices and evil choices. You are seeing a little bit more of the split between Clark and Lex, and Lana and Clark are starting to break apart. And then Lois comes in and kicks people around and says things that are awkward, and irritate Clark.”

“They keep telling me that Lois is still not really attracted to him,” Durance adds of Lois’s feelings for Clark. “She still sees him as that irritating, irritating younger brother type. That’s how I try to put it across in conversations with him so she’s thinking ‘You’re so simple, there’s nothing going on up there, because you’re pretty. You’re one of those guys that’s so naïve, so let me enlighten you.’ But I think that there probably are moments to play where she is surprise by some of his kindness towards her, because she’s not used to people being like that with her, and she’s not very vulnerable with most people. I think that’s the fun of the dance of it.

While Lois is starting to show her vulnerable side to Clark, she’s also having to get increasingly physical with people she doesn’t like. That’s meant that the actress has had to train hard to choreograph action scenes and get fit for the role. “In real life I’ve never been in a fight, so I’ve had to learn to get in there and be tough and learn to kick.”

Even tougher than the fight scene was having to get her clothes off when Lois took to the stage as a stripper in Exposed. “As Erica, I’m not comfortable with that sort of thing at all so I had to get into character as Lois and try and forget it was me,” she laughs.

Smallville was the actress’s big break, though she’d appeared in a variety of shows shot near her Vancouver home, ranging from Andromeda and Tru Calling to Stargate, which also featured her new husband, Blade guest star David Palffy, as Anubis. Palffy was her acting coach when she fell in love with him, while it was his brother Jeff who first discovered her as a model. But she thought sticking close to her roots could rule her out of a role in Smallville.

“I thought it would go to a girl from LA,” she says. “When my manager heard they might be looking for Lois he said ‘I’m going to push this for you.’ I was really cranky about the business after a bad pilot season and I was ready to go back and work at Roger’s Videos selling movies. But I got it on a Friday so I had no time to get neurotic until halfway through the first episode and suddenly I realized I was supposed to be The Lois Lane.”

The actress grew up on a turkey farm in Alberta and trained as a classical singer before she got bitten by the acting bug, and says that what she learned growing up as a tomboy on her parents’ farm was hugely important in her acting career.

“My first job on the farm was when my parents got this huge orange garbage bag, cut a hole and put it over my head, gave me some flags and sent me into the barn to move turkeys. You just have to run after them and wave, and they are scared of colour. But the turkeys were literally chest high on me then and I got attacked a lot. But I wouldn't trade my past for anything, it keeps me grounded and I learned the good old-fashioned values of getting up there and working hard."

And if she wasn’t scared of the turkeys she wasn’t about to chicken out when she walked on the show of Smallville for the first time. The new girl on set she quickly bonded with the rest of the cast and is on teasing terms with Tom Welling.

“When I first came to the show, I met him and he had no ego whatsoever. Now I just like to poke fun at him. Somebody that pretty you’ve got to make him laugh at himself. He comes to the set and he is prettier than all the girls.”

Durance thought she knew enough about Superman, after reading the comics a as kid, to get by in her new role, but as it turned out the show’s fans that have taught her some of the most valuable lessons about the characters and the story.

“Believe it or not, I’ve learnt a lot from fans. Those conventions are scary at first but they are very honest, and they know a lot, a lot more than I do. But I think the secret of Superman is that it’s a timeless story. I think everybody is attracted to the story of a hero, and that good does win, and that having good values and being a good person matters. And I think women love this idea of this guy that could get anybody but he is just in love with Lois. It’s neat the nerdy guy secretly has these powers. I have a stepson who is seven, who loves the idea of superpowers.”

Come to that, the actress wouldn’t mind some superpowers herself, though what she’d do with them might not please Clark.

“I would like the combination of the superspeed and the flying. I would love to do a huge movie that was all action, crazy stunts and falling and flying and fighting, because I’m just learning to do that now. And then I want Batman’s car. I know it is kind of like cheating on Superman, but that car is so cool.”

(Big thanks to Nadia!!!!)

OPB on MySpace

2006-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Check out Operation Piggy Bank on Myspace.

OPERATION PIGGY BANK

Be sure to add us to your friends list!

New Season 6 Press Release Hints at Clois

2006-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

**Spoiler Warning**

From the CW's season six Smallville write-up:

Additionally, there is a new billionaire in town with the arrival of DC Comics character Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow (Justin Hartley, “Passions”). Although he has no superpowers, Oliver is a gifted archer who qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, but chose to put his skills to work as the “emerald archer.” He steals ill-gotten gains from the rich and gives to the poor. Oliver comes from Star City to Metropolis to aid in the recovery from Brainiac’s deadly virus. While in town, he meets and is charmed by Lois Lane, igniting suspicion and a little jealousy in Clark. Oliver discovers Clark’s abilities and asks Clark to join him in his new project – forming a league of superheroes.

2 New CW Commercials Feature TW/ED

2006-08-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

The CW has release two more commercials featuring Erica Durance and Tom Welling.

View them HERE

Durance Speculates on C/L/O

2006-08-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

**Spoiler Warning**

In the July 27th interview with TV Guide, Erica Durance discusses the effect of her relationship with Oliver Queen on Clark: Erica Durance's Lois Lane is getting a superhero boyfriend this fall on CW's Smallville (premiering Sept. 28 at 8 pm/ET). And while he's tall and handsome, you'll never see him wearing a red cape.The future "Daily Planet" reporter will be paired with Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow), to be played by Justin Hartley, who starred as Aquaman in the Smallville spin-off pilot that CW opted not to pick up for the 2006-07 season.

"I haven't met him yet," Durance says, "but it's lovely that [they found a Smallville role for him]."

Will Oliver's arrows puncture Lois and Clark's forever-budding relationship?

"I'm the actress, not the writer, talking, but I think Lois being with Green Arrow will make Clark search through some of his feelings and make him ask himself why he feels that way," previews Durance.

Durance and Welling Featured in CW Promo

2006-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Tom Welling and Erica Durance are featured together in the new CW promo. Coincidentally, the CW's new tag is "Free To Be Together."

You can find the video at www.devotedtosmallville.com. Download it now!

Operation Piggy Bank: Mission Statement

2006-06-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

It began as a loft scene...

Lois: Look, sometimes you gotta tuck your feelings away until it's the right time - like stuffing dollars into a piggy bank for a bike you can't quite afford.
Clark: Only, I can't imagine there is anyone else.
Lois: You never know, Clark. Maybe when you finally crack open that piggy bank you'll find that all this time you haven't been saving for a bike...you've really been
saving for a Harley.

...and became a movement.

Divine Intervention, in conjunction with HappyEnding.org, brings you the first organized campaign for romantic Clark/Lois on Smallville: Operation Piggy Bank.

Pocket Change for a Plot Change

Now for the cost of a cup of coffee...you can pimp your 'ship

The main focus of OPB will be an extensive letter campaign. In the vein of the 'Roswell Tabasco Sauce blitz', we will be attempting to send the Powers That Be from our big three (DC Comics, Smallville, and The CW) envelopes and envelopes full of pocket change.

When the campaign begins on Saturday July 1st, the OPB headquarters will be sending a piggy bank to each of the Big 3. After that, members of the clois community will be encouraged to mail in coins to fill them.

Sending as many letters as you can every week will be critical. Our goal is to have the pggy banks overflowing by the end of the summer.

Rewards System

If you need even more incentive to keep a-mailin', OPB will offer access to exclusive fan fiction for those sending at least 5 letters a week. Once you have sent your 5 (or more) email OPB or PM us at our DI account to recieve the password for the Fan Fic Cache. The password changes each week, so you will need to keep sending letters in order to continue to view the section.

OPB Version: Internet

In order to really spread the word, you will be able to email "virtual coins" to the Big 3 - as well as high profile internet spots such as Kristin from E!'s column and Steve Deknight's MySpace. Pictures of spare change will be up at both DI and OPB HQ.

Contributions

Along with the letters, fans are encouraged to donate fan fiction, essays, and fan art for the movement. Pro-Clois essays will be featured on the main site.

The clois fandom is passionate about its 'ship - now it's time to get organized. Let's show the PTB that 2006 really is the year of the clois!

CRACK THE BANK!

DeKnight on DC Lois Restrictions

2006-06-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

From Steve DeKnight's TWOP Q&A:

Ah yes, the restrictions on Lois. When she was first introduced, our main restriction was that she could under no circumstances have any romantic relationship with Clark. Even if he were on Red K, no huggy no kissy no anything. This I believe still holds. Another restriction was that she couldn’t even have a scene with Lex. That has since been lifted, but I believe she can’t have any romance with him either. I'm not sure about the DP stuff, although I think there may be something about her not working there yet.As for backstory about why she’s so aimless, I’m not sure if that’s part of the master plan. To me she’s just a young hellraiser trying to find her way. Which hopefully she’ll do soon.

Durance Says Clois Embargo Holds

2006-06-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

An excerpt concerning the DC-imposed limitations on romantic Clois from "Wizard World Philadelphia" by Rob Allsetter @ Comics Continuum :

"They may bring me back for more," Durance said at a panel at Wizard World Philadelphia. "They're never quite sure what they're going to do with Lois."

Accompanied by her husband, actor David Palffy, Durance said character development with Lois is very tricky, considering her eventual relationship with Clark Kent.

"DC Comics has really clamped down on Lois," she said. "You can't do a dream sequence (with her and Clark) or any of that sneaky stuff."

She said there's a danger of Lois and Clark getting too close on the series.

"You could wind up frustrating the audience," she said. "Or if it ends up they get together and once there's love, it's like, sayoonara, Smallville's over."

Durance said she feels the show could go through a sixth season and even a seventh.