New Show for Stargate Writers Revealed?

Transporter 3 movie posterProducer Joe Mallozzi has been blogging over the past few weeks about a potential new writing opportunity for him and fellow Stargate writer-producers Paul Mullie and Robert C. Cooper. Last week the three met up in Toronto to break episodes with the show-runner and producers of the new series, which Joe declined to name but has described as the first season of a TV show based on an established franchise. He’s also said it’s action-oriented, not science fiction and has a male main character.

On his last day in Toronto, Joe revealed the name of the show-runner: German-born producer Alexander M. Ruemelin. An alert blog reader of Joe’s, Randomness, used his google-foo to discover that Alexander Ruemelin is the show-runner of the new series The Transporter, based on the three-movie, French franchise of the same name (The Transporter 1, 2, and 3).

Today Joe made it clear he and Paul at least have made deals to work on the project, and that he’s planning to move to Toronto for the filming season. Robert C. Cooper appears to already be living there and attached to the project.

Below are some internet reports about the new Transporter series. The show will be financed by the French company that produced the movies. It will be filmed in English and has been picked up by a “major” U.S. network. It will tell the story of a man whose job is to transport anything, anywhere, no questions asked.

The timing and Joe’s description of the show seem to match. As well, Joe wouldn’t have approved those blog comments by Randomness if he had wanted it to remain a secret.

So if this is all correct, congrats to Joe, Paul, and Rob — on to Toronto! And may we ask you to consider Stargate actors as you’re casting your new show. 🙂

Stargate Universe Returns to Syfy March 7

SGU StargateMGM Studios has announced via Twitter, “THIS JUST IN: ‘Stargate Universe’ season 2 continues March 7 at 10/9c, only on Syfy! 10 more episodes, starting with ‘Deliverance’!”

March 7 is a Monday: a new night for Stargate!

Syfy’s schedule thus far for the show’s return (10 PM ET, repeating at Midnight ET):

March 7: 2.11 “Deliverance”
March 14: 2.12 “Twin Destinies”
March 21: 2.13 “Alliances”
March 28: 2.14 “Hope”

The schedule doesn’t go any further than that, but if the trend continues, Stargate Atlantis fans should tune in on April 4 to see Dr. Rodney McKay and Richard Woolsey involved in a scientific and diplomatic solution to the energy problem currently plaguing the marooned crew of Destiny in episode 2.15 “Seizure.”

Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has been updating fans with what’s going on behind the scenes as Brad Wright works with MGM to continue the Stargate franchise. His most recent report: “Still no definite word on the Stargate front. Following a flurry of promising developments, things have gone unbearably quiet. Not a bad sign just… no sign. There’s an anticipation that good news could break any day now – but the longer the wait, the greater the challenge when the time comes. To those holding out hope that this could mean a third season pick-up – alas, this isn’t one of the scenarios in play. Nevertheless, as I said in a previous entry, if and when we finally do get the green light, Brad has some wonderful surprises in store for fans of SGU (as well as fans of the Stargate franchise in general).

“I’ve got my fingers crossed for all involved, even though it’s looking more and more like I won’t be among them.” Mallozzi, writing partner Paul Mullie, and SGU co-creator Robert C. Cooper are apparently going from one established franchise to another as they move to Toronto, leaving Brad Wright and Carl Binder, the team who wrote the script for SG-1’s third movie Stargate: Revolution. Hopefully, the news about the future of the franchise includes updates on the status of Revolution and Stargate: Extinction, the movie that Mallozzi and Mullie penned to continue the Stargate Atlantis story.

For more about SGU’s second and final season, please visit the Season Two index in the Solutions Stargate Wiki.

Corin Nemec Stars in "Sand Sharks"

Stargate star Corin Nemec leads the cast in the new nature-gone-wrong-at-the-festival movie Sand Sharks, currently in production and being directed by Mark Atkins.

Dread Central has the synopsis:

An underwater earthquake cracks open a crater deep beneath the ocean surface unleashing a prehistoric predator. On the sleepy island of White Sands local teens drink and party beside a beach bonfire. One of them, wandering off after a pretty girl, disappears leaving only a severed hand behind. It appears it’s been bitten and ripped off by a vicious animal attack. This looks like a shark bite, but it’s found well above the high tide line, it can’t be a shark… Or can it?

Jimmy Green (Corin Nemec), prodigal party boy and son of the mayor, returns home to White Sands, with a scheme to breathe some life into the dying economy (and clear his debt to a mobster) by throwing a huge spring break party, the Sandman Festival. Jimmy runs into his ex, and now Deputy Sheriff, Brenda Young (Vanessa Lee Evigan). She and her brother the Sheriff want to close the islands beaches in fear of further shark attacks which would ruin Jimmy’s plans. Brenda calls in an expert, shark scientist Dr. Sandy Powers (Brooke Hogan), meanwhile the attacks continue to ensue.

Dr. Powers says it appears to be a sand shark, a beast which moves through the sand as if it was water. By accident, the shark is electrocuted, but it’s soon discovered that that shark, though gigantic, was only a baby. The festival continues, thousands of college kids arrive, just as dozens of sand sharks make their presence known having been attracted by the vibrations of crowd and the PA system. The most menacing beasts to ever rule the waters, now rule the sand; mercilessly feeding on anything that crosses their path. It’s a giant feeding frenzy and it’s up to Brenda, Sandy, the Sherriff, and Jimmy to stop the carnage.

Nemec mentioned this new project last month while attending Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Supernatural convention in San Francisco, but right now, there’s no more information about when or where the new film will be released.

Paul McGillion Gets Part in J.J. Abrams Pilot "Alcatraz"

Stargate star Paul McGillion has landed a role in J.J. Abrams’s pilot Alcatraz, according to Examiner.com. Abrams has a tendency to cast those who have appeared in his previous projects, and McGillion is no exception, having obtained a role in the Star Trek reboot in 2007.

The project began filming today in San Francisco (additional filming locations include Vancouver and Alcatraz itself) and will premiere in the fall on FOX. Like several previous Abrams projects, the show is a drama, possibly with a sci-fi twist, as it “chronicles the efforts of a cop and team of FBI agents tracking down a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day,” 30 years after their disappearances, according to Deadline.

The list of cast members is impressive, headed by veteran actor Sam Neill (Merlin, The Triangle, to name but a few sci-fi projects) and Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy). The first actor to be cast in a regular role was Jorge Garcia (Lost), and the last, Santiago Cabrera (Heroes). The casting of Greyston Holt as a younger version of Sam Neill’s character suggests we’ll be seeing some flashbacks and/or time travel right off the bat in the pilot.

The script was co-written by Lost executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien, and Bryan Wynbrandt. Sarnoff will be the showrunner and will co-executive produce with Bryan Burk, Abrams, Lilien, and Wynbrandt. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions is producing the pilot with Warner Brothers TV. The pilot is being directed by Danny Cannon, who has not previously worked with Bad Robot before, but recently directed and executive produced The CW/WBTV pilot Nikita.

Stargate Planner: Week of February 7-13

We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday,   February 7 All About A BoyClaudia Black returns as Guru Sona in the 90210 episode “All About a Boy” tonight at 8 PM ET on The CW. TV Guide’s summary: “Teddy discovers who’s blackmailing him; Navid learns the truth about Adrianna and her baby; Emily plans to ruin Annie’s audition for a play; Naomi hosts a party in honor of her spiritual guru; Ivy is anxious about returning to the water.”

Today is David Nykl‘s birthday!
Tuesday, February 8 Starting at 8 AM ET, Syfy will be having an 8-episode marathon of SGU’s Season Two, beginning with “Intervention” and ending with “Malice.” To complete the Stargate experience, SG-1’s “Forever In A Day” will show at 5 PM ET, and SGA’s “Be All My Sins Remember’d,” at 2 AM ET.

Rainbow Sun Francks is part of the regular cast in Season Two of The Listener (as well as SG-1 guest star Peter Stebbings), which premieres tonight at 10 PM ET on Canada’s CTV. The show will be released internationally in March. Visit Francks’s homepage at CTV, which profiles the actor and his character Corporal Dev Clark, a communications expert for IIB. In the Season Two premiere, “Toby Logan is still haunted by guilt over the murder of his friend Detective Charlie Marks and the disappearance of his mother – has resolved to stop fighting against his mysterious gift and use his telepathic abilities to help others. When he revives a woman (Rekha Sharma, V) who nearly drowned, her amnesia gives him the perfect opportunity. But unbeknownst to him, she’s tangled in a case of corporate espionage and murder, and she might not be the victim he presumes. As he sets out to help her remember her past, she’s also being investigated by Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith) of the IIB, who has taken a special interest in Toby’s connection to the woman and uncovered his more than coincidental history with a number of major criminal cases in the past.”
Wednesday, February 9 Arctic Blast PosterTonight at 8 PM is the Syfy UK premiere of Arctic Blast starring Michael Shanks. There will be repeats on February 10 at 10 PM and on February 13 at 9 PM (Source: MSOL). For more information about this movie, visit IMDb or Imagination LLC.
Thursday,   February 10
Friday,   February 11
Saturday, February 12 Paul McGillion, Kavan Smith, Chris Gauthier, and Nicole de Boer lead the cast in Syfy’s original movie Iron Invader at 9 PM ET. The storyline: “Alien bacteria brings a giant metal monster alive.” This movie was previously titled Metal Monster and Iron Golem.
Sunday, February 13

News Notes

Stargate Universe Press

  • SGU’s VFX team didn’t take home the VES Award on February 1 in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series category. Instead, the award went to the team at Caprica.

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Reminder: Claudia Black on "90210" Tonight

Stargate star Claudia Black makes the first of three episode appearances as yoga guru Sona in the 90210 episode “It’s Getting Hot in Here” tonight at 8 PM ET on The CW.

TV Guide’s summary: “Emily sabotages Annie’s relationship with her friends when the girls go on a weekend getaway; Dixon interrupts Debbie and Ryan’s romantic dinner; Silver and Navid continue their affair; and Adrianna goes to the tabloids with an exclusive story.”

Black is also scheduled to be in next week’s episode, “All About a Boy.”

Amanda Tapping Joins William Shatner for Animated Webseries

Stargate star Amanda Tapping will be joining sci-fi legend William Shatner in a new animated webseries, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Here’s their press release:

William Shatner and Amanda Tapping to Co-Star in Web Drama
2:47 PM 1/31/2011 by Etan Vlessing

Acting duo will voice online animated series for MyOuterspace.com, Shatner’s social website.

TORONTO – What happens at Comic-Con apparently goes online: William Shatner and Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1) are teaming up in The Zenoids, an animated series to launch on Shatner’s social website MyOuterspace.com.

The actors met last summer at the San Diego comic book geekfest for the launch of MyOuterspace.com, with Tapping recalling that she joked at the time they should do a show together.

“Who knew it would come true?” Tapping asked after Shatner recently rang her out of the blue with a co-starring role on four webisodes to start production in late February.

The Zenoids portrays a family of space-faring Amphibinoid musicians who travel the galaxy performing their musical act, with Shatner and Tapping as a husband-and-wife team trying to keep their superstar dreams alive.

The online drama will cloud-source for story-lines by asking Shatner fans to submit scripts through an online submission process, with one winning script to be produced as an animated short webisode of The Zenoids.

Make sure to visit MyOuterspace.com for more information about this new project.

Here’s a YouTube video in which Shatner interviewed Tapping for MyOuterspace.com, emphasizing the web-to-television transition that Sanctuary paved the way for other projects, including this particular new endeavor. He admiringly told her, “You’ve done what we want to do.”

Stargate Planner: Week of January 31-February 6

We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday,   January 31 Claudia Black makes the first of three episode appearances as Guru Sona in the 90120 episode “It’s Getting Hot in Here” tonight at 8 PM ET on The CW. TV Guide’s summary: “Emily sabotages Annie’s relationship with her friends when the girls go on a weekend getaway; Dixon interrupts Debbie and Ryan’s romantic dinner; Silver and Navid continue their affair; and Adrianna goes to the tabloids with an exclusive story.”

HULU has scheduled today to be the last day to offer all episodes of Stargate SG-1.
Tuesday, February 1 VES Awards are being given out tonight. Good luck to our VFX team!
Wednesday, February 2 Michael Shanks‘s Arctic Blast is being released on DVD for rental in Australia today. The movie is currently airing on Canada’s Movie Central as well.
Thursday,   February 3 Jamil Walker Smith‘s 80-minute war drama Make a Movie Like Spike premieres at the Santa Barbara Film Festival at 8 PM. Smith wrote the original screenplay and directed the film. From Little Plow Films: “Armed with dreams that extend beyond their block, Luis and Ronald, two best friends from Los Ange­les, video­tape their last 36 hours before ship­ping off to Afghanistan. One hun­dred days before Obama’s inau­gu­ra­tion, these young men have joined the Marines together to face the obsta­cles and cir­cum­stances that seem to over­whelm their pas­sage into man­hood. Luis wants to be a film­maker and Ronald wants to travel the world and raise a fam­ily. Through the lens of Luis’s video cam­era, they cap­ture their friends, fam­ily mem­bers and places they call home — to remember who they are and where they come from. In their dark­est hour, they turn on the video cam­era for the last time and doc­u­ment the final moments of their jour­ney home. They soon real­ize that their dreams and promises of a new life mean noth­ing in a place called War.” For more information about this project, visit its Facebook page or the Little Plow Films‘ projects page.
Friday,   February 4 Alaina Huffman in SMALLVILLEAlaina Huffman returns to Smallville in the episode “Collateral” at 8 PM ET on The CW. The storyline: “The VRA releases Clark, Oliver, Lois and Dinah, who all have flashbacks of Chloe’s involvement in their capture. Trust becomes an issue when Chloe returns to town and Dinah fears she is now a traitor.” Pictures of Huffman in her role as Dinah may be seen at 411 Mania.
Saturday, February 5
Sunday, February 6

News Notes

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Mallozzi: Third Season "Less Likely" for Stargate Universe

SGU StargateExecutive producer Joseph Mallozzi has been keeping his readers informed about what’s going on behind the scenes in the effort to save the Stargate franchise. His most recent bit of news: “Still no definite word on the Stargate front although I am being cc’d on the various emails concerning meetings, etc. Alas, a third season looking less likely, but there are other scenarios that would allow us complete this incredible journey.”

In the meantime, Robert C. Cooper, Mallozzi, and Paul Mullie are entertaining the possibility of joining an established franchise in Toronto. A third season of SGU would most likely have kept Mallozzi and Mullie with Stargate in Vancouver, but if it is not likely, these long-time writers/producers may be moving on, leaving executive producers Brad Wright and Carl Binder, who penned the SG-1 movie script Stargate: Revolution together, to continue Stargate in whatever form it is likely to take.

The final ten episodes of Stargate Universe are still slated to air on Syfy in the spring (most likely April).

Reminder: Alaina Huffman Returns to "Smallville" Tonight

ETA: Oops! We just got word that The CW has postponed the return of Smallville until next Friday! So, watch for Alaina Huffman’s return on Friday, February 4, at 8 PM ET on The CW!

Stargate star Alaina Huffman returns as Dinah/Black Canary in tonight’s episode of Smallville, “Collateral.”

The show returns after its winter hiatus at 8 PM ET on The CW. The last time we saw the superheroes, they had suffered a blackout while laying to rest their fallen comrade Carter Hall/Hawkman (Stargate‘s Michael Shanks). In tonight’s episode, “The VRA releases Clark, Oliver, Lois and Dinah, who all have flashbacks of Chloe’s involvement in their capture. Trust becomes an issue when Chloe returns to town and Dinah fears she is now a traitor.”