We recently caught up with Luke Reichle, costume designer extraordinaire for Castle. Luke has spent nearly  three decades in fashion, designing for film, theater and television, as well as creating red-carpet looks for the stars. His new book, Style Secrets of the Red Carpet, will be out this spring. (We’ll keep you posted on the date!) Luke talked with us about the evolving styles of the Castle characters, the episode he’s most proud of, and the most important piece of fashion advice for all of us.

How do you prepare for a new season or episode of Castle?

“The season we prepare a little differently, because we have seven recurring characters. At the beginning of the year, I’ll have a couple of fittings with each character to start putting together their closets for the season. We look at what’s been designed in the past, what the direction of the characters has been. And with the guidance of the show’s creators, we see where we want to take the characters visually in the coming year.

“As we get into the episodes, each one is really driven by the script. We shoot scripts in eight days, so we will have eight days of prep for the script. We’ll have a concept meeting for that script, where the writers and director and producers and all of the department heads will meet to discuss the specifics of the story and what’s going to be needed. Then, I will have a meeting with the director separately to discuss the concepts of the costumes for the episode. And then we’ll get going.

“As casting comes in, we will start shopping and building costumes for the characters, doing fittings, and getting things ready for the shoot date.”

When you’re working on a show like Castle, where a lot of the action takes place at work, how do you stay true to their professions while also making it fashionable?

“It’s a matter of going with the personality of the character and then what the actor brings to it. All of the actors have their own personalities, as well. For instance, this year I made a big effort to take Esposito and Ryan’s clothes in a different direction, so that they could be more visually distinct from one another. We looked at Esposito and his backstory, and the fact that Jon [Huertas] himself is a former Special Ops soldier. We took that tougher kind of look and put a little bit more street into his costumes. With Seamus, we went in a direction that has a little bit more fashion sense to it, with some traditional elements. His cuts are very contemporary.

“The challenge is that you have all of these people working in the same place. You want to be able to distinguish them one from another character-wise. There’s the challenge of color, because there’s certain colors you don’t want to use in the environment because they’ll blend in. It’s like creating a painting in that you want each element to have its distinction, but you don’t want it to be not part of the whole.”

Not to play favorites, but is there a character you most enjoy designing for?

“Typically I probably would, but not really, because the great thing about this show is that everybody’s different, so you get to do a lot of different designs. I think that some people would say Martha must be your favorite character to design because she’s so outrageous, her clothes are so colorful and her accessories are so wild. But the truth is it’s having Susan Sullivan, who’s an amazing actress, to pull off all of that stuff.

“Among this ensemble, you have this ebb and flow of design, so that it’s great to really work for a while on developing Nathan’s look, because we make all of Nathan’s clothes. We make all of his shirts, all of his suits, all his coats, all of his shoes. And Stana is a completely different approach, because we make and shop for her. Her things come from a wide range of vendors. We’re not stuck in a ‘Prada or nothing’ mindset. I have fun doing all of it.”

We’re glad you mentioned Martha, because we’re a little bit obsessed with her look. What’s great about her is that she looks so sophisticated but also like someone you really want to hang out with.

“Oh yeah, totally. She’s a New York actress, and having been in New York for my entire fashion career, most of my friends during that time were theater people. So it’s someone I kind of felt like I knew. And again, Susan brings so much to the role, and she’s so brave. She is really brave and willing to go out on that visual limb. It takes someone really special to be able to pull off those kind of costumes, and have it not look like a costume.”

Because it just looks like her. That’s really what she would wear in the kitchen to have orange juice with Castle in the morning.

“Right. The gold lamé. [Laughs] And four pounds of turquoise jewelry.”

Beckett’s style definitely seems to have evolved over time. As her relationship with Castle changes, how is that affecting her look?

“Beckett is really the visual pivot in a lot of ways. Women change more than men. So Castle’s look is very established in a way. It’s versions of the same thing. Whereas Beckett’s look really can change more and more. The thing we like to keep in front of us in terms of her look, and designing her look, is this idea of strength balanced with fragility and a vulnerability that makes her very appealing. You can go all hardcore cop look on her, because it doesn’t really work with her character, and it makes her look too hard. And you can’t go all fluffy girl on her, because it looks silly within the context of the story. So it’s a great opportunity to practice the craft of balance while pushing the envelope. We definitely push the envelope with her, especially with her heels.”

What about Esposito and Lanie? Will we be seeing some fashion transformations now that their relationship has been exposed? Lanie had that one great dress a few episodes back…

“Nothing like an evening dress in the morgue. [Laughs] The thing I love about that dress, it was all silver and blue sequins that mirrored all the stainless steel she worked with—the stainless steel table, the stainless steel cabinets, and the stainless steel drawers. So I put her in that to kind of play off of the environment she works in every day. There’s definitely more coming up. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but you’ll definitely be seeing more of that kind of thing.”

Is there an episode or a moment from Castle that you feel most proud of fashion-wise?

“Well, certainly the fourth episode of the season, which was called ‘Punk’d,’ was a fabulous opportunity, design-wise. It was a storyline that led them to a Steam Punk club, and Steam Punks dress in these hopped-up version of Edwardian clothes and accessorize with all sorts of weird contraptions. So it was like being able to do a period movie inside a contemporary episode of television. The great thing about it is that even Castle himself ended up dressed in the Steam Punk clothing. And they had a fabulous scene with Castle and Alexis when she’s talking about being in love and he has this mechanical arm on and can’t quite get it under control. Very Castle. And Nathan’s such a spectacular guy. It’s such a pleasure to work with this cast.”

Tell us a little bit about your new book, Style Secrets of the Red Carpet.

“It’s basically a Hollywood insider’s guide to dressing with ease, power and maximum oomph. I started writing it several years ago when I was on Without a Trace, and when I first started writing it, it was going to be a ‘how to be your own celebrity stylist’ kind of guide. And the more I started writing it, something else started to emerge, which was this idea of dressing from the inside out. I’ve spent almost thirty years looking at people in the mirror and seeing what they see and listening to what they say about their bodies. What I find is that we as a species have an image problem, and when we look in the mirror we don’t see what’s there. We focus on what we don’t like. And so the first section of the book is called ‘It’s Not About the Clothes.’ It really addresses how you view yourself, what you say to yourself when you look in the mirror, and how to get to a place where you can look in the mirror and love what you see.

“And the second part of the book is ‘Everyday Dressing the Hollywood Way.’ That’s really an adaptation of what I do every day as a costume designer into a system that anyone can use.  I get a lot of people coming up to me saying, ‘What do I wear? I don’t know what to wear.’ So I developed this system of dressing where you look at your life like a movie. The same way I have to figure out what an actor is going to wear in a movie or a show, I break down their life into scenes – see what their action is, where they have to go to inform what I need to put in their closets. And it’s that process that I take to the readers.”

Do you have a fashion motto, mantra, or rule of thumb that anyone can follow?

“If I were to have to say the single biggest mistake people make is that they buy the wrong size. The idea of ‘I’ll buy it and then I’ll fit into it later’ is not going to do anything for your peace of mind. Really, the main concept of the book is dress the body you have instead of waiting until you’re ten pounds lighter, twenty pounds lighter, you’ve got your hair the right color, you’ve finished your Pilates program. Buy the size you are, dress the body you have.”

Source: here

The title for the final episode of season three will be “Knockout.” As previously speculated, this will more than likely follow up in the footsteps of our recent episode “Knockdown.”

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I’ve added episode stills to the gallery for upcoming episode 3×16: Setup, guest starring Adrian Pasdar. This will be part 1 of a brand new 2 parter, just like last year with Dana Delany.

Home > Episode Stills > Season Three > 03.16 Setup

Matt Webb Mitovitch of TV Line is reporting exclusive about an upcoming episode of ABC’s Castle that will pair certain cast members of ABC Daytime’s three sudsers with the Castle cast as they investigate the death of a soap opera writer. Nathan Fillion actually played One Life to Live’s Joey Buchannan back in 2007. Here is a glimpse of what TV Line is reporting:

In an episode titled — wait for it — “One Life to Lose,” Beckett and Castle will delve into the murder of a soap opera scribe, TVLine has learned exclusively. As they work the case, watch for multiple stars from ABC’s own sudsers to make appearances (though probably not as themselves but fictional thespians).

What’s more, I am told that longtime fans of Fillion’s former daytime digs, One Life To Live, can expect at least one nod to his run as good boy Joey Buchanan.

In the ABC crime drama, Nathan Fillion portrays Rick Castle who happens to be a famous crime novelist who finds inspiration for future blockbusters when he meets detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). She is his inspiration for a new character and because the guy is so famous, he gets to accompany the intelligent beauty as she investigates the varied perpetrators making up her caseload.

It’s great to see ABC showcasing their talent in the primetime arena. Of course, it would be really interesting if a bored to death fan murdered the soap opera writer out of frustration, but that scenario is highly unlikely–especially since One Life to Live, the show Fillion is associated with is on fire right now.

Source: here

CASTLE – “Setup” (Part 1) — Castle and Beckett investigate the apparent robbery-homicide of a New York cab driver, only to discover that the victim was involved in a mysterious conspiracy with unimaginable consequences. As the stakes continue to rise, hard-charging federal agent Mark Fallon (guest star Adrian Pasdar) takes over the investigation. Together, Fallon, Beckett and Castle must race to unmask the truth about the victim before it’s too late, on “Castle,” MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21 (10:01-11:00 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network.

We got the chance to chat with Castle star Stana Katic today, and Kate Beckett herself gave us the scoop about life on and off the set. Read on to find out what she thinks about Castle and Beckett’s relationship, what’s in store for the rest of the season, and the circumstances surrounding her very random connection to Jack Black. (Hint: It involves a furniture store.)

How much fun are you having as Detective Kate Beckett?

“I’ve been really enjoying how much more freedom there’s been in her storyline. We’ve gotten to explore some of her home life recently, and she’s obviously got a new love interest, Josh Davidson, played by Victor Webster, who’s a really incredible guy. The relationship between her and Castle has blossomed a lot, and they’ve gotten to the point where they really trust each other. I think they’ve enjoyed each other more so in this season than in past ones. It’s nice. It’s fun.”

What was it like to kiss Nathan Fillion?

“Titillating. [Laughs]”

Do you and Nathan agree on what direction Castle and Beckett’s relationship should take?

“I think Nathan believes in the not-rushing-into-anything concept. And I do as well. I believe that they really have a great working relationship, and there are still elements of the story that need to be revealed. I think for Kate it’s really important that she knows what happened to Castle’s other marriages. That’s still unclear. She’s always kind of been known to be the one with a ‘type,’ and I don’t think she’d jump into something with a person she feels couldn’t be committed to a relationship. There are a couple of obstacles standing in their way, but I think they should be together, man. I think that romance and life can be there even when people are a couple.”

Needless to say, the Castle-Beckett kiss was huge. Any other major events coming up for Castle and/or Beckett?

“We’re working on a two-part episode right now that has to do with possible terrorist activity. That one’s another high-stakes episode…It brings them as close to death as they’ve ever gotten in these episodes. That one, obviously, I think will be really appealing.

“And then the next episode that comes up sends Beckett and Castle to a club. It’s fun for me to see Beckett in that world. She’s seems very comfortable and very capable [laughs], and I think that catches Castle a little bit off-guard and probably also sends his imagination spinning.”

What’s your favorite Castle episode or moment?

“I like the ones that delve into Beckett’s past. Those are the most fun as an actor to play. So I loved ‘Sucker Punch’ and I loved ‘Knockdown.’ Those are really special ones. They reached into her mom’s murder. We got to see some of the people in her life, like her father.

“I felt like all the other characters in the story had really juicy parts, as well, especially in ‘Knockdown.’ Captain Montgomery…Ryan and Esposito had really wonderful roles to play. And even Martha, especially in ‘Knockdown,’ showed a different color, a different side — a really grounded motherhood and love for Castle.”

Castle plots are really intricate, with lots of detective-y, crime-y dialogue. How long did it take to pick up on all the jargon?

“I think it took the whole first season to get comfortable with the detective gab. I mean, it’s not always easy. We oftentimes have new names. Sometimes we’re filming the scene where we’re talking about these suspects, victims without having filmed the scene of meeting them, you know? So not having that visual makes it difficult to talk about them sometimes.

“I remember last season, or maybe it was the first season, we did an episode that circled around five high school students, and one of them was the killer. [Season One, 'Hedge Fund Homeboys']. Nathan had to deliver a monologue that named every single one and connected them to the events of the murder in an interrogation setting. [Laughs] Really difficult, man. He was having a tough time, you know? I was laughing at the flashback of that moment. We laugh about it often. But that’s become the most difficult thing now, just organizing the new names in the episode. As far as cop jargon, that’s become easier after season one.”

Who is your dream Castle guest star?

“Daniel Day-Lewis. [Laughs]”

Does the Castle crew hang out together off of the set?

“Sometimes. We work really long hours, so sometimes I have to go hang out with friends that I haven’t seen in months. For Nathan and myself, and some of the other crew and cast, we’re there, you know, 16 hours a day. Sometimes it’s nice to go home. I see family, and I’m just like, ‘Who are you?’ [Laughs] The crew and cast at Castle becomes more of a reality than the people I’ve known all my life, you know?

“But we also take time. The other day Jon [Huertas] invited us all out to his favorite hamburger joint. Seamus [Dever], myself, Jon and Seamus’s wife all went and enjoyed a juicy hamburger and watched him gush over it.”

What’s your fave TV guilty pleasure?

“I’m kind of a book nerd. I work long hours, so I like to come home and read a book or watch a movie.”

What about a fave book, then?

“I do have a couple of favorite books. The Master and Margarita is one of the favorites. And another one is Zorba the Greek.”

Your role in the upcoming drama For Lovers Only looks like a far departure from Kate Beckett. Do you go out of your way to play wildly different characters?

“I’m not going out of my way to search for any characters that are different, I’m just looking for characters that are interesting and inspiring, and to work with actors and filmmakers that are inspiring. So if that ends up taking me in a different direction, that’s awesome. But it’s not about contrasting from Kate. It’s about enjoying the story and enjoying the character and the group of people that I’d be working with in a way that is creatively fulfilling.”

In the trailer for For Lovers Only, you take a spin on a motorcycle, and you’ve said before that you’re a bit of a daredevil. What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

“I’d get in trouble with my producers if I told you. [Laughs] I’m sure they’d be coming down knocking on my door and saying, ‘You’re not allowed to do that. Not on our clock.’ So why don’t we just leave it at that?”

Before acting, what did you do to pay the bills? What was your first or most bizarre job?

“I’ve had ones that I don’t think people would actually imagine happened. I sold furniture, and I sold it in Southern California. I ended up selling a mattress, I think, to Jack Black’s sister. I’m not sure if it was for him, or if it was for her. But anyway, the conversation was about that she was Jack Black’s sister. It was really cool. [Laughs]“

Source: here

Warning: This article can be considered spoiler friendly. Therefore, if you wish to remain spoiler free, it is best not to read below.

Castle creator Andrew Marlowe has claimed that the show will take its time in developing the relationship between Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic).

The pair finally kissed in last night’s episode of the ABC comedy-drama, but as part of a decoy operation.

“We know we have to try to keep that romantic tension there [but] we also know that we have to satisfy the audience from time to time,” Marlowe told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a hell of a lot of storytelling after [the kiss] so we will take our time, pace ourselves but also be true to these characters and honest about their emotions.”

He confirmed that the crime-solving duo will “wrestle with their emotions” following the kiss.

“We will be dealing with emotional aftermath and how they feel about each other as we roll towards the conclusion of the season,” he said. “[But] I don’t know if they’re going to address [the kiss] directly. They may.”

Marlowe also revealed that the show’s writers had not considered making the kiss a genuine romantic moment.

“We always like things with a twist,” he claimed. “The thing about Castle and Beckett’s relationship is that it’s always surprising and always seems to sneak up on them when they’re not looking.”

Source: here

The first thing fans think of when they think of Castle is Nathan Fillion’s charm. The show wouldn’t have made it past season 1 without it. But after last night’s episode — in which Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) dug deeper into her mother’s murder, and he not only watched a man die, but also pummeled the crap out of a guy before he could put a bullet in Beckett — you can’t deny Castle does good drama when it wants to. That two-parter last season with guest star Dana Delany and a serial killer obsessed with Nikki Heat was not a fluke. I would never suggest the series abandon its lighter side. It’s its trademark and fits Fillion as well as those button-down shirts do. But I can’t wait until the next time Beckett or he is a target. (SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t seen last night’s episode: Creator Andrew Marlowe confirms to EW the second kiss between Beckett and Castle was real. “And then the escalation of it, where you go right from that to Beckett being in danger and Castle having to do something extraordinary to save her. The depth of his emotion when he starts beating up on the bad guy — I think everybody in the audience will get what they’re silently communicating to each other,” he says. “It’s an extension of what they’ve been communicating to each other the whole time.” For more from the episode’s writers, read Sandra Gonzalez’s exclusive interview here.)

So, which TV dramedies do you think do the best drama? I’ll go ahead and vote for Bones, circa the “Aliens in a Spaceship” episode in which Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) were buried alive in Brennan’s car by the Gravedigger. As exec producer Stephan Nathan told me recently, “[The Gravedigger] was such an integral part of the show and such an integral part of allowing us to see aspects of our characters that we had never seen before. When they’re tested and put into a situation where their lives are in jeopardy, that’s when you really see the true character of these people. And we don’t have that all the time on Bones. We’re not 24. They’re not always in danger of being killed. We’re finding other killers.”

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Warning: Spoilers! Do not read below, if you wish to remain spoiler free!

Question: Please, do you have any Castle scoops? —Christi

Ausiello: In an upcoming episode, newbie couple Esposito and Lanie will go on a double date with Ryan and Jenny — and to say the fellas’ better halves do not hit it off is putting it mildly.
Question: Any new Castle scoop? —Daniel

Ausiello: SUPER-SIZED SCOOP: Piter Marek is joining the cast for a two-episode arc! [Crickets] OK, maybe that’s more of a medium-sized scoop. Anywhoo, the actor — best known as Willie’s Season 4 blackmailer on Ugly Betty — will appear in the upcoming two-parter starring Heroes‘ Adrian Pasdar. His character is described as a “resourceful entrepreneur who strives to look as American as possible”

Source: here

Hey everyone, I’ve finally added caps to the gallery from last night’s episode. I sure hope everyone liked it. I know it’s definitely my new favorite episode. A lot of great moments between Castle and Beckett. Great writing. And great acting from all of the members of the cast. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

Home > Screencaptures > Season Three > 03×13 Knockdown