Year: 2008

SGU Casting, Ship Design Close to Final

Stargate Universe Banner from MGM

Stargate Universe creative consultant Joseph Mallozzi reported in his weblog yesterday (December 9), that casting has been “narrowed down” for the new series, so it is possible we’ll hear the announcments soon.

Mallozzi said that SGU co-creators and co-showrunners Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright met with “the gang at MGM” (the studio that controls the budget and contracts). “With the initial auditions and call-backs complete, they’ll be heading into test week on the hunt for a Young, Scott, Eli, Tamara, Chloe, and Stasiak. As for Rush – well, this one should be very interesting.”

All of these names except for Rush were in the initial character breakdowns released in September. The name “Scott” is new to the list, but is actually a rename of Lt. Jared Nash (as Mallozzi posted on November 28). Dr. David Rush is Mallozzi’s favorite new character. It could be that the production team already had an actor or actors in mind for the part of Rush, a “handful” of a character according to Mallozzi, and then had no need to call for an open audition as they did for the other parts.

According to the audition sides for Col. Everett Young, Rush and Young are at odds because Rush felt he should have been in command of the expedition once they ended up stranded on the Destiny far from home. Young, a military man, took command based on “circumstances”. The two men discuss the candidates for a small Ancient Shuttle crew to go on a mission to a planet. Young places each person’s name on a slip of paper for a drawing. Rush agrees that Scott is the best choice for piloting the shuttle, and Stasiak should take Rush’s own spot on the crew because the young marine is strong and protective. They also discuss someone named “TJ” who has the skills necessary for off-world survival. This “TJ” might be Tamara Jon [aka Johanson].

Other characters, who might be recurring characters or “red shirts”, include Wray and Brody.

Mallozzi also said that “it looks like they’ve finally decided on a ship design. More or less.” The Destiny is another major character and is the primary setting for the show. Of course, the Stargate located on the ship figures into the equation, as well.

Principal photography begins February 4, 2009, and the show will premiere with a three-parter entitled “Air” sometime in July 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel. For a one-stop location for SGU information, visit the Stargate Universe Guide in the Solutions Stargate Wiki.

Update on McGillion, Picardo Projects

Paul McGillion

Stargate star Paul McGillion has landed a spot in FOX’s hit action drama 24, according to his “Official Online Resume Site”. At the time of the December 1 report, McGillion was still filming a late-season episode of the new season (seven) that will be making its premiere Sunday, January 11, 2009, at 8 PM ET/PT. Visit the FOX website for more information about “Day 7”, which is taking place several years after last season’s “Day 6”. We’ll post an update as soon as more information is available for McGillion’s episode and part.

Robert Picardo (MGM)

Stargate star Robert Picardo filmed an episode of ABC’s Pushing Daisies, according to Picardo himself when he “checked in” with Stargate Atlantis executive producer Joseph Mallozzi way back on October 23. No information is currently available as to which episode of this now-not-renewed series Picardo filmed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the last episode of the show will be its thirteenth for the season. New episodes are currently being shown on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET, and there aren’t very many of them left.

Picardo conducted an interview with About.com concerning getting the chance to work on projects with his Star Trek friends. “I’m very proud of people like [Voyager writer/story editor/producer] Bryan Fuller, who created Pushing Daisies, he was one of our regular writers. [Writer/producer] Ron Moore, who did Battlestar Galactica. [Writer/producer] Brannon Braga is now working on 24. [Writer/producer/director] Kenneth Biller directed me in the Smallville [“Quest” (7×19)] — that’s why I popped up in that, because he wanted me to do that role. So a lot of those friendships you forge over those years with your colleagues on a particular show, hopefully you have an opportunity to work with them again.”

Mallozzi also reported, “In addition to shooting an episode of Pushing Daisies and completing work on the SF film The Awakened [aka Confined, according to IMDb] Bob has been working on a little side project:

http://www.acmebrandcomedy.com/Videos/?p=158

“Apparently, this is the first in a series so check back for more of Alphonso’s words of wisdom.” The Acme Brand Comedy website warns viewers that Ask Alphonso is rated for a mature audience because its “content is extremely dirty.”

SGU Opening Three-Parter Gets a Title

Stargate Universe Banner from MGM

Creative consultant and writer Joseph Mallozzi is back home from his Tokyo vacation and has updated his weblog readers on the developments underway for Stargate Universe. Each writer has his assignment for the first half of the 20-episode season and co-creators Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright have given the opening three-parter’s script a title: “Air”.

Usually these pilot titles have a lot to do with setting the stage for the show: With SG-1, “Children of the Gods” showed how the Goa’uld select their hosts and enslave humans and Jaffa across the galaxy. “Rising” for Atlantis showed how the once sunken city resurfaced on a planet in another galaxy. What does “Air” say to you about Universe‘s storylines?

Mallozzi commented that Cooper and Wright are “up to their eyeballs in scriptwriting and series prep.” He added, “Rob showed me the stack of ship designs they were mulling over last time I was in and I suspect that he and Brad have probably narrowed their choice down by now.” Additionally, he stated, “From what I understand, casting is still ongoing but I expect we’ll be hearing word on some decisions soon…soon…”

Keep up with the development of the new show, which is due to start principal photography February 4, 2009, and make its premiere in July 2009 on the Sci Fi Channel, in our Stargate Universe Guide in the Stargate Wiki.

Episode spoilers and details are subject to change during the production process.

Beau Bridges Nominated for Grammy Award

Beau Bridges

For the first time in his career, Stargate star Beau Bridges has been nominated for a Grammy Award. These awards are given out by The Recording Academy for audio recordings. This year marks the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, and CBS will broadcast the award ceremony live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 8, 2009, from 8 PM to 11:30 PM (ET/PT) in “high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound”, according to their official website.

Bridges has been nominated along with Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood for their work in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (about Global Warming) in the Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling) category.

To see the list of this year’s nominees, visit The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List.

Congratulations to Beau Bridges and may he add this to his already impressive list of accomplishments in his art.

SGA Returns Tonight (Dec 5) with "Infection"

Infection

Stargate Atlantis returns to the Sci Fi Channel tonight at 9 PM ET/PT with Alan McCullough’s “Infection”. Script coordinator Alex Levine interviewed McCullough about where he gets his ideas for stories, and McCullough revealed that he looks “for loose ends in existing story lines and finds areas on which to expand. So in this way, new episodes are seeded in past story lines or character arcs.”

Levine continued, “The episode you’ll see this week, ‘Infection’, is yet another episode that continues an existing story line. We needed to tell a story that wraps up the Queen/gene therapy story line and also revisits our favorite Wraith, Todd. Alan came up with an interesting tease, so the other writers told him to run with it.”

“The team receives a distress call from a Wraith hive ship that approaches Atlantis, and they’re like, ‘What the hell is [a] Wraith hive ship doing out here?'” executive producer Joseph Mallozzi told SCI FI WIRE. “So they go to investigate, and they find the entire crew in stasis and a message from Todd requesting their help.

“In that episode, actually, we finally get to see the big bruiser Wraith, the guards, with the masks. You actually get to see what they look like behind the mask. It ain’t pretty,” Mallozzi warned and then laughed.

Preview Video – Beware of Spoilers! –

Solutions Coverage –

[Image from MGM.]

Stargate Worlds Game In Trouble?

Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the start-up company developing the Stargate Worlds massively multi-player on-line role-playing game (MMORPG), is apparently experiencing financial difficulties ahead of a previously promised early 2009 production release of the game. Someone has anonymously started a website counting up the days since the CME employees have been paid:

http://days-since-cheyenne-mountain-employees-have-been-paid.com/

A manager at Cheyenne Mountain responded with this statement, posted here:

“At Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, we have always been upfront with the media and our fans that we are a start up. Like many start ups, we face the same cash-flow issues that all pre-revenue companies face. We have maintained a core of dedicated investors, but the new economic realities are forcing us to seek out additional sources of funding and that’s what we’re doing.”

“We continue to move forward on the Stargate Worlds project. We recently completed a successful phase of closed beta testing and we will start a second phase early in 2009. We invite all of your readers to come to our site, check out our fantastic community and sign up for our beta.”

Let’s hope CME overcomes their cash-flow issues. While still very rough, the beta version of the game shows great promise. After all that work, we hope Stargate Worlds does not go the way of the previous Stargate video game, Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, which failed early in 2006.

Jewel Staite on Gemini Nom, McKay/Keller Romance

TV Guide on-line today has a short interview with Jewel Staite. You can read it here. Of particular interest given the recent episode “Brain Storm” might be this exchange:

TVGuide.com: How has the fan response been to your character and your relationship with Rodney McKay (David Hewlett)? What direction do you want to see your character’s love life turn?

Staite: I’m not sure what the entire fan response has been. The fans I’ve had the chance to meet have been really enthusiastic about the Keller/McKay pairing. I really enjoy working with David, and we have a tendency to gravitate towards each other on set because we have the same work ethic, and most definitely the same sense of humor! I think the writers started to pick up on our natural chemistry and decided to go that route later on in season four. Off screen, we have a more brother-sister chemistry, so all the kissing scenes were kind of painful for us, but he was kind enough to lay off the onions on those days.

Read the whole interview for Jewel’s thoughts on her Gemini nomination and filming the episode for which she was nominated, “Trio”. As a side note, the Gemini went to another actress this past weekend.

Nemec Visits "CSI: Miami" Dec 8

Stargate star Corin Nemec will be making an appearance on the popular show CSI: Miami this coming Monday, December 8, at 10 PM ET/PT, on CBS. The episode is entitled “The Deluca Motel” and Nemec will be portraying the character named Carl Reston.

In addition to this appearance, TV Guide has that Nemec’s 2005 movie Raging Sharks will be making its premiere on the Sci Fi Channel on Sunday, December 14, at 7 PM ET (with a repeat listed at Sci Fi’s schedulebot for January 8, 2009, at 7 PM ET).

Higginson Guests on "Eleventh Hour" Dec 4

Stargate star Torri Higginson can be seen in a guest role on CBS’s new series Eleventh Hour this week, according to her fansite. She is a guest in the episode entitled “Titans” that will be broadcast this Thursday, December 4, at 10 PM Eastern. If you miss the airing, CBS.com offers full episodes to be viewed online (restricted to US viewers only).

Eleventh Hour is new this season. Its official website has the following description:

ELEVENTH HOUR from acclaimed producer Jerry Bruckheimer follows Dr. Jacob Hood, a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities. His jurisdiction is absolute and Hood is dogged in his pursuit of those who would abuse and misuse scientific discoveries and breakthroughs for their own gain. His passion and crusade is to protect the substance of science from those with nefarious motives. He is called in at the eleventh hour and he represents the last line of defense. Special Agent Rachel Young is the decorated FBI protection officer assigned to watch Hood’s back. Based on the British miniseries by acclaimed writer Stephen Gallagher, the series is executive produced by Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Danny Cannon, Cyrus Voris, Ethan Reiff and Mick Davis for Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television.

This first, current season of the show has 12 episodes. “Titans” is episode #8. It is still not certain if the show will return for a second season. (ETA: CBS has just given the show a five-episode extension, according to SCI FI WIRE.)