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The article, entitled “Hollywood North wraps in Vancouver,” seems to indicate that much harder times now await now that both Stargate and Smallville have ended their productions. That’s not to say that the whole industry is shutting down, but their absence definitely will be felt.
There are several quotes from various interviewees concerning the Stargate franchise in addition to Wright’s. They’re highlighted below, but make sure to visit The Globe and Mail for the complete article:
On Stargate’s Importance to the Industry
“In one sense, they’re just another series, and we typically do 15 to 20 a year,” says Pete Mitchell, president and COO of Vancouver Film Studios, a 13-sound stage facility which has been home to Battlestar Galactica and more recently Caprica and Hellcats. “At the same time, Stargate spawned so many spinoffs and other shows that came along with it, that it was, I would say, particularly important. And Smallville, if you were to add up the number of man hours it employed people, it was tremendous.”
On Brad Wright’s Frustration after Cancellation
For some, the loss is more personal. Brad Wright, Stargate’s co-creator and executive producer, is still smarting months after the announcement of SGU’s cancellation – after two seasons – with a renewed sense of outrage this week, as the final episode aired.
“It was a good show, and that’s the kicker,” he says. “When you do something that you’re really proud of and you think everybody should be watching and you get cancelled, it’s kind of frustrating.”
On Stargate’s Impact on the Acting Community
“Every single actor I know did a gig on Stargate,” says Bill Marchant, who about a decade ago landed his first recurring role: a billionaire with an incurable disease on SG-1.
Marchant, now head of acting at Vancouver Film School, notes that such a thing didn’t exist for actors back when he was learning the craft. “Those cheesy sci-fi shows were my education. It was a brilliant place to learn the lessons that the Americans knew by rote. If you look at the early Jump Street and X-Files, you can see how Canadian acting styles have shifted toward a more naturalistic and filmic approach. It’s quite a leap.”
On Stargate’s Economic Impact
All that science fiction work has played a leading role in Vancouver’s development as a production centre. Wright says Stargate alone (in its various forms) spent close to a billion dollars, employing thousands of people over the years.
On the Future of Both Vancouver’s Film Industry and Stargate
As for the importance of Stargate, [Marianne O’Reilly, a visual-effects producer whose credits include SG-1, Night at the Museum and Vantage Point,] says, “so many people’s careers, lifestyles, livelihoods really point to that show. … Any time a show ends, you just hope that there’s another show everyone can move onto.”
B.C. is losing both shows at a precarious time: The Canadian dollar is high (making it harder to attract productions north of the border) and the future of the HST (a tax the industry likes) is uncertain.
The state of the local industry will be clearer next week, when the rest of the networks announce their fall line-ups. […]
Wright has hopes of his own; that (spoiler alert) stasis doesn’t mean finished.
“My feeling is that … the concept of Stargate is too big to just let go. Somebody at MGM is going to say ‘hey we’ve got this show; let’s do something with it,’” he says. “I don’t think it’ll happen really quickly, but I think somebody is going to bring the show back.”
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