Author: DeeKayP

Stargate Universe Sneak Peek March 27

Stargate Universe Banner from MGM

Last night, during the airing of Sea Beast (featuring Stargate star Corin Nemec), the Sci Fi Channel flashed a brief notice to announce the Sneak Peek of Stargate Universe, which is to make its debut in the fall.

The announcement said that we can look forward to a Sneak Peek of the newest installment in the Stargate franchise during the airing of the movies for the oldest installment, Stargate SG-1. The Sci Fi Channel will be airing Stargate: The Ark of Truth on March 27 at 9 pm and Stargate: Continuum on April 3 at 9 pm.

The Sneak Peek, according to consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi, will give eager fans a look “at the ship, its crew, and the show.”

[Thanks to prion for the tip.]

Mallozzi Gives Update on Stargate Atlantis Movie

Stargate Atlantis executive producer and writer Joseph Mallozzi has been answering questions about the first Stargate Atlantis movie that is to pick up where events left off in the series finale “Enemy at the Gate”. His most recent update indicates that they will most likely not film the movie until the fall.

“There was initial talk of a summer shoot but, given the tight scheduling, fall looks more likely,” Mallozzi stated in his March 11 weblog entry.

Back in February, following up on the controversial rumor that the first Atlantis movie had been shelved indefinitely, Mallozzi wrote plainly when accused of playing coy, “No. My way of telling you whether or not there will or won’t be a Stargate movie would be to tell you whether or not there will or won’t be a Stargate movie. Sneaky, no?”

For a while, the rumor died down, but was just recently fueled by an interview with Rachel Luttrell that was posted by Gateworld (the actual interview date isn’t known). She said, “None of us really know what’s going on and if it happens, great! Last I heard was that they were just going to kind of see how things played out in terms of viewership with Universe and potentially viewership with the SG-1 films that they have already shot. There are a lot of ‘ifs’ in place. And if it was going to happen I would be surprised if it happened this year. So there you go!”

Showing how things can change from one day to the next, Mallozzi updated fans on March 11, “SGU’s performance has no connection to the Atlantis movie. If it did, then that would mean we wouldn’t be shooting the movie until 2010 since there is talk of SGU premiering in the fall.”

Right now, Mallozzi and writing and production partner Paul Mullie have a detailed outline for the movie’s script. They are aiming to have the first draft of the script completed by next month.

So, it looks like all is on track for the production of the first Atlantis movie. Mallozzi appears to want to ease every fan’s mind that there will be a movie. MGM has green-lit it and the script is being written. They haven’t drawn up contracts yet, but obviously, they do plan to approach the actors. He told About.com, “We picked a window where the cast should be available. It’s just a matter at that point of trying to work out a deal with them, with the individual actors.”

Stargate Universe to Film in New Mexico

The New Mexico Business Weekly has announced that Stargate Universe will be filming some scenes in their state.

Here’s the announcement:

Efforts to join tourism more closely with the state’s film industry might find an interesting intersection in a new television show that will shoot part of an episode here.

“Stargate: Universe” is the latest member of the Stargate franchise. The new MGM/Sci Fi Channel show will shoot in Alamogordo in late April and early May. It plans to hire about 75 local crew members.

(The New Mexico Tourism Department has been using its own version of space aliens to tout the state as the Best Place in the Universe to visitors.)

The series stars Robert Carlyle from “The Full Monty” and Lou Diamond Phillips of “La Bamba” and “Stand and Deliver.”

Producers are David Greathouse, Brad Wright, John G. Lenic and Robert C. Cooper. Andy Mikiti will direct.

“Stargate: Universe” is about a group of explorers stranded in space aboard a crewless ship with a preprogrammed mission to travel to the farthest reaches of the universe.

The show is scheduled to premier in October with a two-part opening episode, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The production has been shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Eric Witt, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bill Richardson, said there have been no discussions about additional production in New Mexico.

Since 2003, when Richardson, a strong supporter of the state’s film tax incentives, took office, more than 115 feature films and television series have shot in the state, adding more than $2.4 billion to the New Mexico economy, according to the governor’s office.

mkamerick@bizjournals.com | (505) 348-8323

Consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi mentioned that Robert C. Cooper and director Andy Mikita had taken a trip to New Mexico to look for a location to serve as an alien world (this location is most likely for the series opener “Air” which Mikita is directing). Mallozzi also stated that in the first ten stories, there will be no Vancouver forests seen, indicating that they’re doing their best to give the new show a different look and feel for out-of-this-galaxy worlds. Although the location wasn’t mentioned in the article above, it’s possible that alien terrain could be portrayed by the beautiful dunes of the White Sands National Monument Park (images at link). We’ll have to wait and see if that turns out to be the case.

Beau Bridges to Star in New “Free Willy” Movie

Beau Bridges

Production has started on the fourth installment of the Free Willy movie franchise, and Stargate star Beau Bridges has a leading part in it. The movie will be released directly to video next year.

Here’s the announcement from Clint Morris at the Moviehole.com website:

Warner Premiere has announced the start of production on “Free Willy : South Africa”, with filming that commenced on February 23 for five weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. The announcement was made by Diane Nelson, President, Warner Premiere.

The new film is set for a release exclusively on DVD in 2010 and tells the charming tale of Kirra, a young Australian girl who is sent reluctantly to stay with her grandfather, Gus, in Cape Town. When a young orca whale, Willy, is trapped by a storm in Gus’s run down water theme park, Kirra slowly but surely finds herself adapting to the new surroundings and an ever-growing friend. But, when Gus’s latest attraction starts eating too much, he is tempted to sell Willy to an unscrupulous competitor. The race is on for Kirra and her friends to find Willy’s family and return him to the ocean…

“The FREE WILLLY films are known worldwide for being inspirational, family-oriented, quality entertainment and we’re very excited to be continuing this tradition with ‘Free Willy: South Africa,’” said Nelson. “With a heart-warming, compelling story line and a terrific cast, we’re sure this film will be a hit with new audiences of all ages as well as fans of the earlier releases.”

The pic stars 10-year-old actress, singer, wildlife crusader and dancer Bindi Irwin as Kirra. Already a household name and Emmy Award winner through her wildlife documentary series, fitness DVDs and music albums, Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, the world-renowned Australian wildlife expert and conservationist, whose work she is carrying forward. Beau Bridges plays Gus, Kirra’s curmudgeonly grandfather. A Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor with a career spanning five decades, Bridges has most recently appeared in the hit television shows ‘Stargate SG-1’ and ‘The Agency.’

Tapping’s “Sanctuary” Grows Internationally

Sanctuary

FXWorld.com has posted an article titled “Sanctuary Goes International, Preps Season Two” that states, “Toronto-based producer and distributor Tricon Films & Television has signed a series of major international deals for the series SANCTUARY, whilst at the same time preparing for production on season two.”

Not only is the show going to premier its second season in the United States and Canada, but “Tricon has pre-sold SANCTUARY to ITV4 in the U.K., which also had success with season one, and has inked a major deal for seasons one and two with E1 Ent. for distribution of worldwide home video. Season one has been sold to TV3 Russia and NRJ 12 in France. AXN has also snapped up the series for Central Europe, while Sci Fi will air the series internationally in Asia, Australia and Europe.”

According to Amanda Tapping in a previous interview, Sanctuary is to premier its second season on the Sci Fi Channel on October 9, presumably in its original timeslot of 10 PM. Tapping said that Stargate Universe will have premiered the week prior and that the two shows will be shown together on Friday nights.

Peter DeLuise Returns to Stargate

Peter DeLuise

Stargate Universe consulting producer Joseph Mallozzi confirmed in his weblog tonight that long-time fan favorite Peter DeLuise will be returning to Stargate to direct the fourth episode, “Fire”, written by Brad Wright.

DeLuise started with Stargate during Season Two of Stargate SG-1. His last episode to direct was Season Ten’s “Family Ties”. He was directing “Bad Guys” when the cancellation occurred, and he lamented in a video interview that he was out of a job.

He also wrote and directed episodes of Stargate Atlantis. Season One’s “The Defiant One” was one of his episodes that he both wrote and directed.

In Hitchcock fashion, the director often made brief cameos in the episodes that he helmed. It also wasn’t unusual to see him in a distinct role, such as the younger version of Urgo, played by his father Dom DeLuise, or as the cursing replacement actor in “200”. DeLuise also scripted several episodes, earning him the title of “Living God” because he was not only a writer and director, but also a fan.

Currently, not much is known about the plot for “Fire” other than what Mallozzi has stated in his weblog. Since it is one of the first ten stories broken, we know that it doesn’t include a Vancouver forest. In giving a progress report, Mallozzi said, “Brad is working on Fire and, from what I hear, is very happy with the way it’s coming along. It’s a great story and, as I’ve already said, right up Brad’s alley. Looking forward to reading the first draft. This episode will see a certain fan favorite retake the director’s chair.” Since that time, Wright has probably completed his first draft of the script.

Production is currently focused on the three-part opener “Air”, written by Wright and Robert C. Cooper and directed by Andy Mikita. Since DeLuise was in the offices recently, prep work has probably already started on his episode.

Claudia Black Answers Fan Questions

A little while back, the Claudia Black Online Forum opened the floor to fan questions that the Stargate star would answer personally whenever she was able to stop by. So far, Black has answered well over half of the questions that range in subject from Aeryn to Vala, sushi to hobbies, and other works besides Farscape and Stargate.

Black’s life has changed since her days on these two television shows, including becoming a mother of two sons. Her family life is important to her, as was evident when she honestly answered a question about her plans to continue acting, “If the right jobs come up! I love acting, I love being creative, we’ll just have to see what this economy dishes up. I don’t want to spend the next ten years not seeing my children so fingers crossed the right opportunities will present themselves because the hours in TV can be appalling. …

“And in the event that I am asked to conventions my husband and I discuss how it will affect the family, if the timing is ok, etc., and if the money is right, I am there! I tend not to do too many each year as I only go when I have something new to talk about… I get bored of myself easily. 🙂 ”

Chloe Frazer

Black talked about working on two projects: the new Uncharted 2 video game…

Let me first say that the team from Naughty Dog who are making this game are the nicest bunch of people ever. Gordon Hunt the director is also amazing to work with and the cast keep me laughing all day. Nolan [North] and I get on like twins separated at birth. When the guys at Naughty Dog told me how Chloe was going to look I asked if i was going to have nice boobs. That didn’t appear to be a problem 🙂 They say that they get inspired a little by what the actor looks like but she is way prettier than me and I love the way she looks. I love the way Nate looks! What a handsome dude! Pity he’s not real or I would introduce him to some of my friends 🙂

The character was very well conceived before I came along. The audition asked for Australian or English or South African accent and I asked , “Which one? I can do them all?” So Gordon just asked me to do my neutral accent.

And we do get to improvise. They are very willing to try things out if we have ideas. The body stuff is locked in but the lips and faces are done manually by them so it doesn’t matter what we say we can also ADR after as well. I can’t tell you enough how great it is to work with that whole group of people. I am a lucky girl.

…and an independent film:

As a matter of fact, I am just working on a project which may or may not see the light of day which involves music. I am working with a very talented young music producer on what could be a soundtrack for an indie movie I have involvement with. We are starting to raise funding for the film and in the meantime we want to get working on the soundtrack. I promise to keep you all posted if anything comes of it.

Vala (Sci Fi)

Concerning the third SG-1 movie in which writer Brad Wright said that Vala Mal Doran won’t be appearing, Black stated, “They certainly didn’t ask me to be involved but I am in no way upset about it. I never expect to be asked back to anything. 🙂 ”

To read all of the questions and answers, including Black’s take on the Daniel and Vala relationship, visit the Claudia Black Online Forum: Q&A with Claudia Black (February/March 2009).

[Read our follow-up article in our LJ Companion.]

MGM: “For the Fans” of Stargate Atlantis

Rachel Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan (MGM)

MGM has posted a new video featuring Rachel Luttrell as she says thank you to the fans of Stargate Atlantis for all of their support over the years.

The video closes on set as Luttrell wraps her final scene for the show. It was quite an emotional moment that was caught on film.

Stargate Atlantis will return to Sci Fi in a made-for-television movie that is being written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie and will be directed by Andy Mikita. Luttrell and her costars are expected to be returning to the sets this summer for filming.