Category: Features

In the final part of the Ark Angel – The Ark of Truth series at MGM’s official Stargate website, writer/director/producer Robert C. Cooper and director of photography Peter Woeste talk about the challenges that they faced in putting together the first direct-to-DVD movie for the Stargate franchise since the cancellation of the ten-year-old series Stargate SG-1.

Woeste reveals some of the behind-the-scenes details concerning his role as the director of photography in which he helps to make the movie come to life. “I’m loaded down with calculators and tables and celestial prediction devices and GPS’s so I can determine the right time of day to shoot something. I’ll do that for any shoot, whether it was that particular one or whether we’re planning a scene in a meadow somewhere or in a busy street. I’ll plan the time of day. It’s important that you’re aware of that. Everywhere in the world, the sun conditions are different. If I’m planning a shoot in May and that’s when the production would like to do it, well, I’ll check the script and make sure that the proper sun conditions will actually exist. If not, we’ll reschedule.”

One of the most challenging scenes for Woeste to light was the “fire scene” in which Adria and Vala have a conversation in the Hall of Fire. “I just loved how that came together, because I know the difficulties that we had shooting it and how unsure Robert was. He just wasn’t sure about doing it the way we did it, and we were all kind of antsy when we went home that night. We had worked until like three or four in the morning, and we went, ‘Ugh!’ All that effort, and we didn’t think we had a scene at all. So that was great, to see it come together the way it did.”

The biggest challenge of all was meeting the schedule that the new direct-to-video format demanded. The distritubor needed time to get their side of the production rolling, whereas there was a more direct relationship between production and the broadcaster when making a television series. “Fox, the distributor — their comfortable window for mastering, marketing and distributing a DVD is about six months. They want the finished movie in their hands six months prior to that. Back that up from March 11th… We said ‘Look, we need more time’, and they condensed it for us. But they wanted to release both movies this year and they needed time between Ark of Truth and Continuum. So they needed the movie by absolute latest end of October 2007.”

Along with the challenges of fitting in the availability of actors and getting all of the visual effects shots completed, Cooper explained that he had seen the movie over 400 times at various stages. Not only was he the writer and director, but he was also the producer. Even so, there were parts of the production process that he enjoyed.

Cooper concludes the interview, “I think the performances are great. I think the actors really stepped up, taking things to another level. I think Michael [Shanks] is brilliant in some of the scenes that he’s faced with. I actually think everyone, Chris [Judge], Amanda [Tapping], Ben [Browder] and Claudia [Black] gave great performances, and the guest stars like Tim [Guinee] and Currie [Graham] are really great. And the music. That was one of the most fun aspects of the process that I’ve ever experienced, going down and seeing the score performed by tremendously talented people in an orchestra.

“It’s the sort of thing that was a real pleasure to do. That’s the best part of it, for me anyway — the experience of getting to make it under the circumstances we did.”

To read the complete series, visit these links at the MGM website:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

The next event for the movie is the screening in Australia at the Supanova convention tomorrow, April 4, in Brisbane. The following are the known dates for future international DVD releases (thanks to our readers for helping put the list together):

• April 8, 2008: New Zealand
• April 9, 2008: Australia
• April 23, 2008: France
• April 23, 2008: The Netherlands
• April 28, 2008: UK (Note: moved from April 14)
• April 29, 2008: Italy
• May 2, 2008: Germany
• June 25, 2008: Spain
• July 28, 2008: Czech Republic

If you’ve heard of other release dates, please leave the information in our comment section below. Thanks!

In Part 4 of MGM’s interview with Robert C. Cooper that covers his new direct-to-DVD movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the writer, director, and producer discussed putting a new face on an old enemy. Cooper said, “When it’s just me sitting down with my computer and I have to fill a blank page, I’ll write something I want to see, and hope that there are enough people out there that are fans like me and want to see that stuff!

“I’ve always loved the Replicators. I thought it would be a nostalgic element to the movie that would kind of recall the ‘glory days’ of SG-1,” Cooper admitted.

This generation of the Replicators is brought forth by the International Oversight Advisory (IOA) as a weapon to end the Ori invasion. The blueprint for one of the first-generation bug-like Replicators was stored in the Asgard Core, the legacy given to Earth by the Asgard in the series finale “Unending”. Cooper continued, “A lot of people often criticize the show for not utilizing the technology that’s given to us, so I thought this was a great opportunity. We do kind of have ‘Pandora’s box’ here. The team is smart enough by now — hopefully — not to just go into those things and do whatever they want. But the IOA is not as cautious as that.”

The Replicators nearly wiped out the Asgard, but with SG-1’s help, the nemesis was finally eradicated … or so it was thought (see Season Eight’s “Reckoning Part 2”). Unfortunately, in the movie, the IOA has programmed modifications into the mechanical critters that makes them even more difficult to exterminate.

In looking for the IOA’s representative who would be considered the “bad guy” in the movie, Cooper instructed casting director Paul Weber to find someone who could pull off being “the adversary and the opponent for Mitchell” and “someone that can almost look unbeatable. It’s that attitude, to instantly be that guy that you love to hate.” Their man was Currie Graham, and Cooper enjoys the the actor’s great sense of humor, but admits that the tone of the movie didn’t offer him the opportunity to do comedic scenes. Graham’s James Marrick is taken down by the very thing that he sets loose when the IOA ignores SG-1’s suggestions and experience and develops their own plan on how to stop the Ori army.

Marrick’s fate is sealed in a most horrific manner, and Cooper admitted that they would have not presented it at the same graphic level when the SG-1 stories were told in a TV show. “You always want to strike a balance between what people will think is cool and belongs in a movie as opposed to on television but not going so far that it freaks out little kids,” Cooper laughs. But in The Ark of Truth, there were opportunities to present a more graphic story. “There were definitely scenes that I know I would have not wanted to see when I was really young. But hopefully it’s cool that there are some darker, more edgier moments.”

To read the full interview, visit MGM: Ark Angel – The Ark of Truth, Part 4.

Previous parts of the Cooper interview:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Stargate: The Ark of Truth made its world premiere release on DVD in North America on March 11. The next known major movie event is Monday, March 24, when the UK’s Sky One broadcasts the movie at 9pm, with a repeat on Wednesday, March 26, at 8pm. The DVD will be released for this region on April 28.

MGM’s Official Stargate website is continuing to offer fans of the Stargate franchise new interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, contests, sweepstakes, and merchandise. Two of the latest offerings involve Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the first of two direct-to-DVD movies released after the cancellation of the record-breaking TV show, Stargate SG-1.

Cooper’s Ark Q&A

In Parts 3 and 4 of his Q&A session, writer/director/producer Robert C. Cooper concludes his answers to fans’ questions about his recently released DVD movie. Cooper discusses the difference between the Ascended Beings known as the Ori and their followers, and expands on the power that the Ori had over their Priors and human worshipers. With the knowledge accessible to ascended beings, the Ori instructed their believers to build powerful ships, but at the same time, kept them ignorant of the falsehood of their promise of ascension to their faithful.

Cooper also shared his best and worse moments while filming the movie. He especially enjoyed the helicopter ride that produced inspiring footage. In a combination of best and worst, he told how having to stay to complete the filming of scenes that involved actors who were available for only one day of shooting was exhausting, but allowed for a special kind of bonding with the cast and crew.

The biggest challenge that Cooper had in writing the script for the movie was determining how to balance the story with what had come before. There had to be an assumption made that those who were watching the movie were fairly familiar with the story elements that were presented in the ten-year-old TV show.

Cooper admits he’s not one to list his favorite memories, but he did say that having Dan Castellaneta as a guest star was a highlight (Castellaneta voices the popular Homer character in The Simpsons and guest starred in Season Eight’s “Citizen Joe”). Another highlight from his years on Stargate SG-1 was the rather unique opportunity to film a 200th episode, which he said he also had fun in creating.

To view the complete Q&A series, visit MGM’s Video Gallery.

New Special Edition Poster

This special edition poster (dimensions unknown) is available for shipping to U.S. and international destinations and has a list price of $20.95 USD. It will be available for shipping on April 2, 2008.

According to an article published by Gateworld, the poster was derived from elements of the cover art of composer Joel Goldsmith’s movie soundtrack CD that is coming soon. Writer and director Robert Cooper asked MGM to create the poster to reflect the CD artwork, saying, “That’s the image that I had in my mind when I thought about a one-sheet for the movie.”

Visit the MGM Store for this and other Stargate merchandise.