‘Arrow’ Stars, Writers Reunite on Picket Line — Sans Stephen Amell

Lesley Goldberg
·4 min read
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Writers and stars of The CW’s Arrow gathered Friday at Warner Bros. in Burbank to raise funds for industry crew members via the Union Solidarity Coalition as well as to support their respective guilds during Hollywood’s first two-union walkout since 1960.

Organized by Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim, the bustling reunion brought out show stars including Katie Cassidy, Willa Holland, Katrina Law, Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz as well as Juliana Harkavy and showrunners including Beth Schwartz and Wendy Mericle as well as fellow CW writer-producers Caroline Dries (Batwoman) and Nkechi Okoro Carroll (All American), among others.

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With a tent situated at the central gate at Warners, the studio that produced all eight seasons of Arrow and its spinoffs including The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman and Supergirl, the auction featured a cast-signed pilot script and custom bucket hats that showed support for both the Writers Guild of America and performers union SAG-AFTRA.

Missing from Friday’s event, however, was Arrow star Stephen Amell, who according to Guggenheim, was in New York to attend former co-star Colin Donnell’s Broadway production of The Shark Is Broken. Amell, Guggenheim said, picketed the Warner Bros. Discovery offices on the East Coast early Friday and reached out to his former showrunners to offer his support.

Amell has come under fire of late following his late July comments in which he said that he did “not support striking” and thought it was a “reductive negotiating tactic.” The actor, who starred as the DC Comics hero, has since walked back his comments, which he said were “misinterpreted.”

“I spoke with Stephen last night and we had a great talk. What he was saying did get misconstrued,” Guggenheim told THR. “He was in New York for Colin Donnell’s play yesterday and was picketing Warner Bros. Discovery this morning. It’s not my place to talk about another union and their strike but Stephen is as supportive of SAG as he is of the WGA. I’m glad he was picketing; I’m bummed he wasn’t here to join us today, but he did send me, Beth and Wendy a lovely text encouraging us. He has our back, and we have his.”

Arrow exec producer Greg Berlanti sponsored a Yeastie Boys bagel truck for picketers as part of the reunion, which also featured a soft-serve ice cream truck and special delivery by Hollywood pretzel king Adam Shapiro of Shappy Pretzels. Members of the Producers Guild of America were also on hand to show support for both SAG-AFTRA and the WGA on the humid and overcast morning at the Burbank lot.

Cassidy, who co-starred alongside Amell, was diplomatic when asked about Amell’s remarks: “To each their own; I’m glad he was at the picket line, though.”

Overall, much of the chatter Friday on the lines — where Jack Black and All American star Daniel Ezra were spotted among the crowded sidewalks — was about the forthcoming negotiating session between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood’s studios and streamers.

Schwartz, who has showrun programs for both The CW and Netflix, said she was feeling “hopeful” about the talks — “because that’s what Arrow was about.”

Summed up Routh, the Superman Returns hero who starred in Legends of Tomorrow while also appearing in fellow Arrow-verse shows including The Flash and Arrow: “We really created a great family here in the Arrow-verse. … The things we do help bring joy to people’s lives. That’s what art is about. We help present new and unique ideas about how we can live life in a different, more happy, joyful way. We want to continue doing that but we also want to be paid appropriately. All of us are artists and we want to be paid appropriately for our work because we’re humans and we like to do human things like live and eat and pay for school for our kids and food for our kids. That’s what this is about.”

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