Report by Michelle Jung. Follow her on Twitter/@michellejung. And check out her Tumblr blog/YouWillGoFar.
Had it not been for the lights, cameras and film crew, the average Central Park user in Burnaby might have thought they had been launched into their favourite fairy tale. Dressed in their Fairy Tale Land attire, much of the main cast – Jennifer Morrison, Colin O’Donoghue, Josh Dallas, Ginnifer Goodwin and some hooved friends – as well as a hardworking crew were on hand last Wednesday to film Once Upon a Time’s season three finale.
With sightings of Meghan Ory (Little Red), Christie Laing (Maid Marian), and Snow White WANTED posters, onlookers were quick to speculate of a possible time travel or flashback to season one. More than a dozen fans – including myself – had shown up in the park with hopes of catching a glimpse of the finale being filmed. We were immediately corralled into the parking lot just outside of the park as the crew did not want the forest scenes to be spoiled. There we were sandwiched between craft services and the park, an ideal location to see the actors as they arrived on set and as they stopped by the catering tent for a snack. After several hours of filming, many fans had headed home; and it was around 6 p.m. that the cast and crew started to break for their lunch.
Once Upon a Time boss Eddy Kitsis was the first to come over and greet fans. He graciously chatted with fans, posed for photos, and signed autographs. When meeting a young fan, he asked, Is Once Upon a Time your favourite show? The young girl nodded. Do your friends watch too? he followed up. She shook her head, They HATE it! Everyone around laughed, including Eddy, at the innocent response. You’re not supposed to tell me that! You’re supposed to lie! Eddy joked.
The other Once Upon a Time boss Adam Horowitz met with fans a short while later. He was fun to speak with and very happy to see the small group of us. As they left for their break, Meghan Ory gave a small wave as she was guided away by security, and Josh Dallas greeted everyone with a smile and laughed, We’ll be here all night!, as he headed to grab lunch for himself and his pregnant fiance Ginnifer Goodwin.
By now our hopes of being able to meet with any of the cast was dwindling but as Colin O’Donoghue and Jennifer Morrison started to step into their awaiting car, we were all caught off guard when they changed direction and headed our way. Jennifer was her polite and reserved self as she posed for photos and signed autographs. Colin was pleasant and cheerful as he greeted awaiting fans. Once everyone had their photo or memorabilia signed, Jennifer and Colin headed off for their break. And as he drove off, Colin gave a wave and a salute – a sweet goodbye to the fans and to the end of a great season.
Once Upon a Time airs Sundays on ABC in the U.S. and CTV in Canada.