Category: Atlantis

Jason Momoa Lands Role on HBO’s “Game of Thrones”

Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex

SGA’s Jason Momoa told fans today at the Austrialia convention Armageddon Expo that he’s won the role of Khal Drogo in the upcoming HBO production of the fantasy novel Game of Thrones. The news was first posted here, then confirmed by Chicago Times TV critic Mo Ryan, here.

Jason said this about the role, according to a fan who was there:

He’ll be filming in Morocco and doesn’t like horses, so isn’t looking forward to the horseback scenes. He also said that it’ll be his first nude scene and first sex scene.

Ryan also reported Jason said he has hired a trainer to see about bulking up for the role.

Game of Thrones is the first book in the popular “A Song of Ice and Fire” series of novels by George R. R. Martin. Four books have been published. HBO has committed to filming the first, but not yet the sequels, according to Ryan. Casting news for the movie has been a hot internet topic, with such noted actors as Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage chosen so far (IMDB entry).

Khal Drogo is an important character; according to this wikipedia article (!warning, major spoilers!), he is

a powerful khal, or warlord, of the Dothraki people, a tribal nation of expert riders and raiders in the steppes beyond the Free Cities. He is an accomplished warrior and has never been defeated in battle.

Filming is set to commence October 24, 2009, and will reportedly include locations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Morocco. We wish Jason the very best with the challenges of filming the role. Perhaps Joe Flanigan can give him some horsemanship lessons before he leaves.

For more news on the HBO production, visit Winter is Coming. HBO doesn’t yet have a site for the show.

Paul McGillion Filming Update

Paul McGillion

Stargate actor Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) has been very busy with acting work the past few months, so we thought it was time for an update for his fans. He filmed an episode of Supernatural (Fallen Idol, also starring Paris Hilton!) that aired last week in the US. He reprised his role on Sanctuary for its second season. He’ll appear in the final two episodes, with the potential for more if there is a Season 3.

He recently worked on an independent Canadian film called Hit ‘N Strum, where he plays the fiance of the female lead character. Some images from filming, including some of Paul, are available here.

And finally, Paul just finished filming Nobody, a psychological thriller also starring Val Kilmer, Dylan Neal, and John Cassini. Paul plays a cop, while Kilmer plays the bad guy. This film isn’t yet listed on IMDB, but a short blurb about it is here at moviehole.com.

Added to his several recent con appearances, including the Armageddon Expos in Australian and New Zealand over the next two weekends, Paul has had a very busy few months!

Producer Asserts No Go-Ahead for Movies

Earlier today we reported on a SciFiWire story asserting the SG-1 movie has a green-light for filming this year. We asked Stargate producer/writer Joseph Mallozzi to confirm this news, and he responded back to us:

Alas, it’s all conjecture at this point.  We’ve received no news on either movie front (SG-1or Atlantis).

So, unfortunately, it appears the movies are no closer to reality than they have been for the past year. We speculate that Amanda Tapping and Martin Wood were contacted about their availability as a planning measure rather than a commitment to production. Perhaps more clarification will be made public in the coming days.

SG-1 Movie Reportedly Green-lit for Filming

Two SG-1 Movies Blu-Ray

Amanda Tapping (Sam Carter) and director Martin Wood told SciFiWire they are expecting to film the third direct-to-DVD Stargate SG-1 movie before the end of 2009. From the article (here):

“As far as I know, we may start in late fall or early winter this year,” Tapping said in an exclusive interview. “And I will slip back into Sam Carter very nicely; I’m looking forward to it.”

Martin Wood would again direct. “They asked me to direct the Stargate SG-1 movie, and they are waiting until Universe is finished, and then, of course, they ask me when I’m available,” said Wood... “Then that may get done by the end of the year. That’s what everyone is hoping, at least.”

Their statements seem to indicate the production of the SG-1 movie has taken a step forward in decision-making and funding. As recently as last month, Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) had no news about filming and said the issue was MGM needing external investors to fund the film, due to the studio’s enormous debt. As Shanks said at the Chicago Creation Convention (transcript here, thanks to dedicated fan!):

What I was told talking to the guys was that MGM is reluctant to make the movies right now because the economy is not doing well. You know. And DVD sales have dropped significantly, apparently, in the last 6-8 months to a year. What we don’t want to do—and when I say ’we’ I mean myself, you guys, and the company—is what we don’t want to do…if we plan on doing these movies every couple years or whatever it’s going to be, MGM doesn’t have…you know, they have a huge amount of debt. They have to finance all this stuff. So they have to find investors to make these movies possible. The minute one of ours goes south—if we make a movie right away and it goes out to the DVD market and it doesn’t make the money back that it promised its investors, when we turn around and try to make another one 2 years from now, those investors and other investors will look at the balance sheet and go, ‘Why? This isn’t a profit-making venture.’

So, either funding has been secured, or Tapping and Wood are reacting to being asked to be available in case funding does come through. The news does not appear to be as positive or definitive for the Stargate Atlantis movie. Martin Wood also said:

What about a new Stargate Atlantis movie? “Atlantis is still being talked about for this year,” Wood said. “Right now, I’m so far removed from it, but they’ll let me know, and I’m happy to do it.”

The SG-1 movie is green-lighted, and the Atlantis film is in the works…

For all the information we have on both movies, including spoilers, visit our 3rd SG-1 movie and SGA movie articles. Watch this space for more news as it arrives.

Paul McGillion to Guest on “Supernatural”

Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) is filming a guest-starring role in the fifth episode of Supernatural’s fifth season, entitled “Fallen Idols”. Paul plays the role of Jim Grossman. We don’t know much about his role, but we do know his fellow co-star in the episode will be famous socialite Paris Hilton! Regarding Hilton’s role, from this article:

“We wrote the role just for her,” producer Sera Gamble said. “We’re very excited that she said yes. She plays the role of a demonic creature that takes the form of Paris Hilton. If you know our style, you know we go pretty funny and irreverent with this stuff, so expect that. The fact that she wanted to do the episode speaks volumes about her sense of humor. She’s flat-out awesome for playing along. You’ll see.”

The episode is expected to air on October. 8, 2009, on the US CW network.

SGA Earns 5 Gemini Award Nominations

Stargate Atlantis has earned five nominations for the 24th Annual Gemini Awards. The Geminis celebrate excellence in Canadian English-language television in 99 categories. Here are the categories for which SGA was nominated:

Best Writing in a Dramatic Series
Stargate Atlantis
“The Shrine”

Best Costume Design
Stargate Atlantis
“The Queen”

Best Achievement in Make-Up
Stargate Atlantis
“Vegas”

Best Visual Effects
Stargate Atlantis
“Enemy At The Gate”
Mark Savela, Brenda Campbell, Natalia Diaz, Carina Dielissen Hunt, Shannon Gurney, Paul Hegg, Vivian Jim, Chandra Juhasz, Kodie MacKenzie, Alex McClymont

Best Visual Effects
Stargate Atlantis
“First Contact”
Mark Savela, Jason Gross, Paul Hegg, Brandon Hines, Jamie Yukio Kawano, Alex McClymont, Krista McLean, James Rorick, Luke Vallee

The nominations will be voted on by members in the next couple of months, and the winners announced in November. Congratulations to all of the SGA nominees!

Update Your Calendars for Stargate Stars

Here’s the list of a week’s worth of upcoming events to add to your calendars concerning our Stargate stars! (This article might be updated if new information is made available after publishing.)

Features:

  • James Spader – Film Shorts opens today, August 21. For more information, visit SCI FI WIRE.

Conventions and Other Appearances:

Make sure to follow what’s happening right now in the world of Stargate by visiting Solutions’ Stargate Twitter Superfeed that shows the Twitter accounts of actors, producers, network and studio reps, and the press who are all about the franchise. You don’t have to have a Twitter account to read the feed.

For an informal summary of what’s happened this past week, please visit our LJ Companion’s Stargate Friday News Roundup.

Got anything to add? Leave us a note in our comment section. Thanks. 🙂

[Thanks to the folks at Stargate Actor Appearances for keeping up with most of the convention/public appearances information used above.]

Update Your Calendars for Stargate Stars

Here’s the list of a week’s worth of upcoming events to add to your calendars concerning our Stargate stars! (This article might be updated if new information is made available after publishing.)

Features:

  • James Spader – Film Shorts opens next Friday, August 21. For more information, visit SCI FI WIRE.

Conventions and Other Appearances:

Make sure to follow what’s happening right now in the world of Stargate by visiting Solutions’ Stargate Twitter Superfeed that shows the Twitter accounts of actors, producers, network and studio reps, and the press who are all about the franchise. You don’t have to have a Twitter account to read the feed.

For an informal summary of what’s happened this past week, please visit our LJ Companion’s Stargate Friday News Roundup.

Got anything to add? Leave us a note in our comment section. Thanks. 🙂

[Thanks to the folks at Stargate Actor Appearances for keeping up with most of the convention/public appearances information used above.]

Cooper Speaks Up On SG-1, SGA Movies

Stargate executive producer Robert C. Cooper gave an interview over the weekend about the prospects for new SG-1 and SGA direct-to-DVD movies. In this exclusive interview, he cites the current economics of DVD sales as the major stumbling block:

Robert C. Cooper

“We’re ready to go,” Cooper said in an exclusive interview over the weekend in Pasadena, Calif., where he was promoting SGU at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “We’re just waiting for the right opportunity,” he said. “We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don’t want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now.”

Two previous SG-1 straight-to-DVD movies, Continuum and The Ark of Truth, sold well, but the current economic downturn makes DVD premieres less lucrative than they were in the past.

“It’s tough, because we were very successful with the first two SG-1 movies,” Cooper said. “Since then, the economics have changed a little bit. DVDs aren’t selling the same way they were when we released those even just a year, and a year and a half ago.”

This line of reasoning matches what producer/writer Joe Mallozzi has said numerous times in his blog, for example, here, as we discussed here back in June.

Fans may wonder why the studio can’t look at alternative distribution methods to DVD, such as iTunes, Amazon UnBox, and other pay-for-download media. Consumers aren’t watching fewer movies; they’re just watching them differently. In any case, this confirms what we suspected back in June: the movies are by no means a sure thing. Filming for Stargate Universe wraps at the end of October, and the producers had hoped to keep the crew on board to move directly to filming the movies. With no green-light nor deals in place, this becomes ever more unlikely as the weeks pass. David Hewlett recently expressed doubts via twitter as well:

cast has heard nothing about Atlantis movie. I think the chances of it happening now are slim to none…such a waste!

Watch this space for more news as it arrives.

Watch Joe Flanigan on Warehouse 13

jfwh1303

Edited to add: The episode has now aired on Syfy. It is being replayed there at various times, and is up on Hulu.com for US viewers.

A reminder that Joe Flanigan guests on the new Syfy show Warehouse 13 tonight, 9 pm EDT/PDT. From this article comes a nice summary (spoilers!):

Fans of “Stargate Atlantis” will get a treat if they tune into Syfy’s “Warehouse 13” on Tuesday. Joe Flanigan guest stars in the episode, called “Elements.” He plays a rich guy named Jeff Weaver who charms Myka (Joanne Kelly) until he becomes a suspect in an art heist. James Naughton of “Gossip Girl” also appears in the episode, playing an entrepreneur and competitor of Weaver’s. He also becomes a suspect in the case.

Warehouse 13 has been doing very well in the ratings, particularly when delayed viewing by DVR is taken into account. According to this article in Mediaweek,

According to live-plus-seven-day ratings data, the July 14 installment of Warehouse 13 drew 4.15 million viewers, an increase of 22 percent from the 3.41 million viewers tallied in the initial live-plus-same-day estimate…

The added viewership made the July 14 episode of Warehouse 13 the most-watched non-premiere telecast in the 17-year history of Syfy (née Sci Fi Channel).

Let’s make the ratings for tonight even higher in honor of Joe!