Author: michelle

Joe Mallozzi Comic Book Now Available

A reminder that Dark Matter, the first of a four-part comic book series by former Stargate producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, is now available for purchase! Published by Dark Horse Comics, it’s available in your local comic book shop, or via these on-line ordering and digital sources:

Here is the intriguing premise of the series and a summary of the first issue:

A derelict ship floats in space, its troubled crew awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Their search for answers triggers the vessel’s deadly security system: a relentless android bent on their destruction. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, redemption, betrayals, and hidden secrets best left unknown.

For much more information and links to the many reviews and interviews that have appeared, head on over to Joe Mallozzi’s blog!

 

Joe Flanigan Cast in European SciFi Series

Joe Flanigan announced at a convention in the UK this weekend that he’s taken a role in a new scifi series called the Metal Hurlant Chronicles. He said (according to a @FlanInfo Twitter report) that he’ll be filming in November, after he goes to the Marseille Halfway Convention. He said, “It’s cool, like Blade Runner, but more bad guys.”

Variety has published two articles about the project so far, here and here. The first describes the show as being based on the 1980’s French graphic novel series that was called Heavy Metal in the US. The live-action series is a multi-national Euopean production that’s been sold as a TV series to more than 20 territories, although not yet to the US. Distribution in the US is still under negotiation. There is a plan to produce two seasons of 12 episodes each.

Each episode will be shot in English and French. Perhaps Joe’s ability to speak French (to some degree!) helped him get the role!

The second article announces early casting decisions, naming Joe as “starring” in the show. From the article:

CANNES — Scott Adkins (“The Expendables 2”) and Michael Jai White (“Black Dynamite”) have joined the international cast of sci-fi TV series “Metal Hurlant Chronicles.”

Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner”), Joe Flanigan (“Stargate Atlantis) and James Marsters (“Buffy”) will also star in the TV show’s first season.

It’s not clear if Joe will be a regular or a guest star in one or more episodes. At the convention he only mentioned filming during the month of November (in Belgium), and in the past he’s said he doesn’t want to work far from his home in Malibu for long periods.

By the way, Joe tweeted the attached picture late last week, showing the stenciled tattoos he wore for Six Bullets, which he just finished filming in Romania. By the way, IMDB shows the name of that movie has changed to The Butcher.

Thanks to @FlanInfo for gathering all the Metal Hurlant information from the convention and the ‘net!

Metal Hurlant has a FaceBook page, in French. So far no mention of Joe that we can see.

Extended “Apes” Trailer Features David Hewlett

A new, extended trailer for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” features David Hewlett in what is likely  his main scene in the film, and a pivotal scene for the plot as well. The trailer shows off the amazing advancements in special effects of the movie, in which motion capture and CGI are used to turn actor Andy Serkis into Caesar the ape, even out on location.

Beware, this might be the bulk of David’s scenes in the movie, so don’t watch if you don’t want to be spoiled about his involvement or the character he plays!

 

Hewlett Talks Hissy Fits and SGU Jitters

Noted SciFi reporter Steve Eramo recently interviewed David Hewlett at Eramo’s site, SciFiAndTVTalk. David spoke at length about his great experience filming a small role on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the much-anticipating film opening world-wide on August 5. He chats about the film he shot in Bulgaria last year, Morlocks, and the hissy fit he threw on set when they wanted to shoot a cannon-load of bloody sponges at his face. He insisted they do it to a stunt man first and felt vindicated when it didn’t work correctly. 🙂

Perhaps most interesting was what David had to say about guest-starring on Stargate Universe. David had given an interview prior to his guest spot in which he’d joked that he wasn’t watching SGU because they were eating his sandwiches, likely a reference to the craft services food that’s served on sets. Well the SGU actors had read the quote, and it affected David’s reception on set:

“What’s interesting is when I first got on the set I definitely felt a little weirdness from people. Like we first did when we started on Atlantis, this cast got a lot of flack at the time about the fact that they had replaced Atlantis, and they were in a much tougher situation because they did replace Atlantis. We didn’t replace SG-1. As I had to keep saying over and over again, we were a complement to SG-1 throughout the same time. They got a good two more years out of that show while were on at the same time, right?

“So I picked up a little bit of initial weirdness on the SGU set. They were all very sweet and very nice and very welcoming, but I definitely felt that they weren’t sure how I felt about things. One day I was doing a scene with Lou Diamond Phillips [Colonel David Telford], and in-between takes he said to me, ‘So, you don’t mind us eating your sandwiches anymore.’ I was like, ‘What?” and Lou jokingly said, ‘I read that in an interview. Everyone knows what you said.’ In an interview I’d said, being typically Hewlett, that I hadn’t as yet watched SGU because they were eating my sandwiches.  It was a joke. With me it’s all about the food – food and resentment – and Lou called me on it. I said to him, ‘Wait a sec. You guys have to understand that we talk like that with one another about each other and our own show. That’s just our thing.’

All ended well, but it’s very interesting to have this insight from David on how actors from the two shows interpreted what was going on.

Visit SciFiAndTVTalk to read the entire, fun interview!

 

Ben Browder Cast In Graphic Novel Film

Ben BrowderCinema Blend and Bigfanboy.com first reported that Stargate and Farscape alum Ben Browder has been cast in the film Bad Kids Go To Hell, currently filming in Texas. The film is an adaptation of the comic book series and graphic novel of the same name, written by Matthew Spradlin and Barry Wernick. The movie centers on some grizzly goings on at a prep school, and Ben plays Max the mysterious janitor.

The franchise has a Facebook page, which describes the movie:

Six private school high school kids find themselves stuck in detention on a frightfully dark and stormy Saturday afternoon. During their 8 hour incarceration, each of the six kids falls victim to a horrible “accident” until only one of them remains. And as each of these spoiled rich kids bites the dust, the story takes on a series of humorous and frantic twists and turns. Is one of the kids secretly evening the school’s social playing field? Or have the ghosts of prestigious Crestview Academy finally come to punish the school’s worst (and seemingly untouchable) brats? One thing is for sure…Daddy’s money can’t save them now.

The FB page has already published a picture of Ben on the set, so be sure to check it out. Show your support for Ben’s casting by “liking” Bad Kids Go To Hell.

Stargate Alums Produce Comedy Pilot

Captain Starship poster with Paul McGillionStargate alumni from both sides of the camera recently shot a comedy pilot with a science fiction backdrop. If you want to see the pilot become a TV series, please read this article and heed our suggestions!

Called Captain Starship, the show follows the life of Pauly Sullivan, an actor who stars in a low-budget sci fi show of the same name. With the sci-fi setting, the show’s focus is on Pauly’s personal life with friends and family, who sport names like Dropkick, The Doogle, and The Commodore.

The pilot has many Stargate connections! It stars Paul McGillion as Pauly Sullivan. One of the executive producers is Ivon Bartok, whom Stargate fans will know as the producer of the DVD special features for all three Stargate series. Michael Shanks appears in a guest-starring role in the pilot, in what are reportedly some hilarious scenes with Paul. Brad Wright gave permission for the team to shoot  scenes in the Stargate production offices at The Bridge Studios. Lawren Bancroft Wilson, former Stargate script supervisor, was on hand to do still photography during the shoot. And those are just the connections we know about!

Michael Shanks, Paul McGillion in Captain StarshipThe pilot was shot in four days on a shoestring budget of only $12,000, with all the actors and crew agreeing to work for free. That’s a testament to the strength of the script and the the friendships among the cast and crew. Paul’s real-life good friend Michael Northey wrote the pilot with Paul in mind, and plays the role of Pauly’s friend on screen as well. Jesse Miller, another friend, directed the pilot.

You can read much more about the project in this great interview of Ivon Bartok by long-time sci fi reporter Steve Eramo.

Ivon and his colleagues are currently marketing the pilot so they can build enough interest and support for someone to buy it as a full-fledged TV series. If you’d like to help, here are a few things you can do now:

Brad Wright: Stargate Movies Won’t Happen

Reports are coming out of the Creation Stargate Convention happening this weekend in Vancouver. The major news, just an hour old, is that Brad Wright said there will be no movies for any of the three Stargate series. Fan and con attendee @TimZen tweeted this news as Brad Wright was speaking to the fans this morning. Besides saying there won’t be any movies, Wright announced he will be moving on from Stargate regardless of what MGM decides to do with the franchise in the future. From @TimZen’s tweets:

  • #SGU movie is a no go #BradWright #Stargate
  • Confident franchise will continue in the future #BradWright #Stargate
  • Took too long to pull $$ together #SGU #BradWright #Stargate
  • “i did not cancel Atlantis” #BradWright #Stargate
  • For now the franchise is in MGMs hands #BradWright #Stargate
  • The other movies (as written now) aren’t gonna happen #BradWright #Stargate
  • “i appreciate the ‘we want you’… I’m gonna try something new for now” #BradWright #Stargate
  • SyFy did not approach us and as us to make it like #BSG #BradWright #Stargate
  • Finale of #SGU should leave us happy like “Unending” #BradWright #Stargate
  • “i am more proud of atlantis than you could ever know” #BradWright #Stargate
  • Thinks netflix and itunes kind of stuff is the future of TV #BradWright #Stargate
  • “thanks for supporting our show” #BradWright #Stargate
  • One more thing, Brad was very optimistic about Stargate going forward with MGM. Guy from GM likened it to their troubles; they reajusted..
  • … And now Chevy is selling again, Stargate is a tried and true franchise and MGM is sure to notice and leverage that. #Stargate

Brian J. Smith has just confirmed the news with tweets of his own:

  • Well now that the cat is out of the bag, it pains me to tell you guys that unfortunately we will not be shooting an #SGU movie.
  • Brad Wright fought long and hard, but financing has fallen through and we’ve hit a dead end. Looks like the end of the road for stargate.
  • Very saddened by the news, but we’re insanely proud of our show and grateful for the fans who have been so kind to us. What a ride!
  • That’s not to say that stargate could reemerge later on down the road in some form, but for the foreseeable future this is it. Pretty crazy.
  • @__SubZero__ gotta say, MGM was fighting for the movie too, but it just didn’t work out. Please don’t blame them.

We’re sorry to hear that for now, the franchise is over. Given the depth and breadth of fan support and interest, we hope MGM will resurrect it before too much time has passed.

In other news, apparently Chris Judge is not appearing today as planned. There is no word yet as to why.

Thanks very much to @TimZen for the very timely tweets and news.

Reminder: Joe Flanigan in Ferocious Planet Tonight (Apr 9)

If you’re in the US, don’t forget to catch Joe Flanigan starring in Ferocious Planet on Syfy network, tonight! It airs at 9 pm/8 pm Central — check your local listings.

Joe has done some great interviews lately, including these:

Pazsaz.com — Joe doesn’t expect his recent Fox movie, Change of Plans, to become a series, so he’s looking for new recurring or regular roles

HollywoodOutBreak.com — Joe recently fell while mountain biking and separated his shoulder. He’s due for surgery in two weeks!

We’ll add more links to this post; wanted to get it up before the show starts!

 

David Hewlett On Returning To Stargate

McKay on Stargate UniverseDr. Rodney McKay returns to Stargate this week with a guest appearance on Stargate Universe, and TVSquad took the opportunity to interview actor David Hewlett about that experience, his views of why SGU didn’t succeed in the ratings, and what he’s up to now. He lets his geek flag fly when speaking of why Rodney McKay is a fan favorite:

I always feel like there’s a little bit of McKay in everybody. Everybody wants to be the guy who has the answers and who isn’t afraid to admit that he’s a genius, social niceties be damned! I mean I love science fiction because it takes me out of this world. And with McKay, he’s the scientist who has spent his entire life reading about this stuff and now he’s getting to live it. In a way that’s what all of us want. We’ve done the reading, we’ve done the research, we’ve done the dreaming, and we want to be McKay — we want to be the guy who saves the day because we know all this stuff. We want all this nerd-dom to pay off. And McKay is the resulting image, he’s the iconic figure of the nerd who’s done his homework and now he gets to go off and save the universe.

David was his usual perky self throughout the interview, so it’s well worth a read over at TVSquad!

Jason Momoa On How Stargate Helped

Jason Momoa as ConanJason Momoa continues to get lots of press thanks to his leading role in the upcoming Conan the Barbarian film remake, and for playing Khal Drogo in HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones. He has two new interviews, at Huffington Post and DenOfGeek, with the latter being especially long and illuminating. There he speaks in detail about the filming experience both for Conan and Game of Thrones, noting he hates horses, loves playing the “bad good guy”, and won’t mind if Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t like his portrayal of Conan. He credits his four years on Stargate Atlantis with preparing him to play Conan and Drogo, even though the roles are very different:

How did working on Game Of Thrones compare to Stargate?

Well, there were no horses and I got to wear clothes, for one thing. [laughs] I loved Stargate. I had such a great time and it was such a great training ground. It set me up to play the lead of a movie, you know, so it’s really a phenomenon for four years to be with a family and experiment.

You do a movie, you meet everyone, you go from place to place. It’s like joining a circus. Being on a show for four years, you know everyone. You know the grips. You feel safe and comfortable. You can play with your character a lot. It evolves over a long period of time. It was a great training ground that set me up for Drogo and Conan.

And also, being in that sci-fi fantasy genre, there’s no limitations to what you can do. If I’m sick or drugged out, I can play it like heroin times ten, or crack times 20. You can go to places that aren’t realistic, and that’s fun.

It’s worked out that I’m in these genres and I don’t mind it. It’s fun.

Visit DenOfGeek to read the entire interview!