Category: News

URGENT CHARITY AUCTION ANNOUNCEMENT

In the middle of our current STARGATE auction, we are taking a moment to send our thoughts, prayers and help to a family in need at this time.

With the support of the cast of ANDROMEDA, we are conducting a special fund-raiser to help the family of 14 year-old Katrina Eschner, a student who was hit by a car in North Vancouver on October 28th. Katrina suffered severe head injuries in the accident and after slipping into a coma, was put on life support in B.C. Children’s Hospital with her parents at her bedside.

Katrina is known to Steve Bacic, who stars as Rhade on Andromeda [and as Camulus on Stargate: SG-1] and through her love of drama, was scheduled to visit the filming set. Sadly, this has now been postponed. With Steve as the driving force, the cast members of Andromeda have rallied round and donated a selection of set-used props, costumes and cast-signed items for this special charity auction for Katrina and her family.

We are donating ALL of the proceeds received through the sale of these special items to help Katrina’s parents cover the costs incurred by this tragic event. We hope you’ll find something of interest here and we also thank you for allowing us to interrupt your Stargate Auction. Here is the link to the sale:

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/stargateprops

With kind regards,

Paul Brown
President
Legends Memorabilia Inc.
www.stargateprops.com
www.legends-memorabilia.com

SCI FI RENEWS SG-1 AND ATLANTIS

SCI FI OPENS THE ‘GATES’TO MORE ADVENTURES

Channel Renews both ‘Stargate SG-1’ and ‘Stargate Atlantis’
‘SG-1’ Ties for Longest-Running Sci-Fi Drama

In response to overwhelming viewer demand, SCI FI Channel has ordered new seasons of its highest-rated and most successful original series, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1, from MGM Television Entertainment. Production on both 20-episode seasons is set to begin in March 2005 for summer premieres on SCI FI.

Stargate Atlantis exploded onto the scene in July 2004, delivering over 4.2 million viewers and shattering every previous ratings record for a SCI FI series. Reprising their roles for season two will be Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, David Hewlett, Rainbow Sun Francks, Rachel Luttrell and Paul McGillion.

As Stargate SG-1 returns for an astounding ninth original season, it ties The X-Files as the longest-running sci-fi drama series on American television. MGM is currently in negotiations with the original cast for their return.

Robert C. Cooper and SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright will continue to serve as executive producers on both series, which are distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.

New episodes of SG-1 and Atlantis return in January 2005 along with the series premiere of Battlestar Galactica, making SCI FI Fridays the most powerful night of sci-fi on television.

MICHAEL GREENBURG DISCUSSES FUTURE OF STARGATE

Shanks and Judge: the future of the franchise?Fans gained an insight into the future for Stargate at London Film and Comic Con this weekend. During the Stargate talk, executive producer Michael Greenburg remarked that “the ratings went up” when Michael Shanks returned to the show, “and have been high ever since”.

Asked in the official Stargate magazine whether Stargate could continue without Richard Dean Anderson, Greenburg comments:

“…It would be a big loss. But the Stargate brand and franchise is obviously strong enough to get big numbers on its own. Stargate: Atlantis is showing that”.

Stargate SG-1 is showing the same trend as audience figures have increased despite Richard Dean Anderson’s reduced role. Season 9 has not been officially announced, but Michael Greenburg said in London that SG-1 should go on to “Season 9,10,11…” and that there are still many storylines to explore.

According to Greenburg, if Season 9 is confirmed Richard Dean Anderson will do only four episodes and Amanda Tapping will be absent for some of the season due to her pregnancy. While fans will undoubtably miss them, it sounds as though Bridge have been asking themselves who could carry Season 9 and they have decided Michael Shanks is their man.

MICHAEL GREENBURG TALKS SEASON 9

With grateful thanks to roving reporter Sally Allan for the scoop on Michael Greenburg’s panel at London’s Film and Comic Con this morning:

Greenburg confirmed for fans that series lead Richard Dean Anderson, who plays General Jack O’Neill, will be appearing in just *4* episodes total in Season 9.

Season 9 has yet to be officially confirmed by Sci Fi Channel and MGM.

Amanda Tapping, who plays Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, is expecting her first child and will be returning to the show in March 2005. It is not known how this will affect her appearances in the episodes filmed during the first half of the season.

SWARMED LOCATION SHOOT REPORT

Town Swarmed by filming
By Craig Campbell
Dundas Star News Staff

Producers of Swarmed, the thriller filmed in Dundas over the past two weeks, made the rare decision to keep the community’s name intact. Jacqueline McNeilly of Hamilton’s film liaison office said it’s not common at all for a production to keep the name of a town it films in. But for Swarmed, it was the right thing to do.

Ed Hanna, production designer for Swarmed, dropped into the Dundas Star News office last week to pick up a mocked-up front page of the local paper to use in the film. The movie’s Dundas police chief will be shown reading the newspaper and eating lunch in a local restaurant when he is attacked by a swarm of killer wasps.

“It’s supposed to be in Indiana,” Mr. Hanna said. “We decided to go with the name Dundas, rather than the fictional name in the script.”

He explained that the original script set the story in a small town called Woodlands. But after the production team settled on Dundas as the film’s sole location, they decided the effort and expense of covering up every sign and reference to Dundas just wasn’t worth it.

“Just to disguise a name? What’s wrong with (Dundas)?” Mr. Hanna said.

So when Swarmed is released – Mr. Hanna wasn’t sure whether it will be released theatrical or as a television movie – the story will take place in Dundas, Indiana.

Fourteen days of filming were scheduled, between Oct. 23 and Nov. 9, with all of it taking place in Dundas. The bulk of the filming was in the Dundas Driving Park. This is the setting for the fictional Dundas’ big annual barbecue cook-off, sponsored by a major barbecue sauce company. But the party is ruined by a swarm of mutant yellow jackets, accidentally unleashed by scientist Kent Horvath, played by 34-year-old Vancouver native Michael Shanks. Mr. Shanks has appeared in the Stargate SG-1 television series and several small films.

Scenes were also filmed in downtown Dundas, The Thirsty Cactus, and the former Dundas town hall – which relives its former glory by standing in as the Dundas, Indiana, town hall.

The production team used the 200-year-old building at 2 Hatt St., built by one of Dundas’ first residents, Richard Hatt, as their production office during the film shoot.

Mr. Hanna said that the Ontario government offers tax credits for productions filmed outside of the Greater Toronto Area.

“That makes Hamilton and Dundas very attractive,” he said, explaining that Swarmed producer Richard Schlesinger fell in love with the community while scouting locations outside the GTA. Mr. Hanna said the small town feel is exactly what Swarmed’s script called for.

Swarmed is directed by Paul Ziller and also stars model Carol Alt [presumably as entomologist Christina, who teams up with Kent to contain the swarm], who has appeared in Catch Me if You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Private Parts with Howard Stern, and Richard Chevolleau as Q, Kent Horvath’s good friend and pest control expert.

The shoot in Dundas had a personal interest to Mr. Hanna, who returned to see the former home of his grandparents on Dundas Street.

Dundas Star article

MICHAEL SHANKS TO STAR IN “SWARMED”

Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks [Dr. Daniel Jackson] has been cast as the lead in new sci-fi movie “Swarmed,” currently filming in Toronto, Canada for Premier Bobine Productions. Shanks plays a scientist called Kent who is developing a new super-pesticide. His closest friend (played by Earth Final Conflict’s Richard Chevolleau) works in pest control and accidentally sprays a swarm of wasps with Kent’s experimental serum.

Instead of eliminating the wasps, the super-pesticide genetically alters them into powerfully toxic killers. When the swarm is drawn into a small Indiana town by the scents of a community barbecue, the town’s inhabitants come under attack.

As the killing goes on, Kent teams up with entomologist Christina in a desperate attempt to stop the swarm.

In an interview for Variety.com, Sci Fi Channel General Manager Dave Howe discussed the role of Tom Vitale [Senior VP Programming and Original Movies] in purchasing new movies. “Vitale’s dealmaking skills have paid dividends in allowing the network to amass a library of movies that we can draw on for years to come.”

And the appeal of new, original genre movies like “Swarmed?”

Sci Fi pays a modest license fee of about $750,000 for the U.S. rights to each movie, whose production cost usually hovers at $2 million-$2.5 million. Although deal terms appear unfavourable to the suppliers, they’re eager to do them because the international marketplace has a fondness for monster movies, which travel well across foreign borders. More people continue to discover the Saturday Action Movie on Sci Fi Channel, whose Nielsen numbers are up about 20% vs. the same period a year ago.

“Swarmed” will be broadcast on Canadian television, and may also be shown in the US. Further details on the cast and availability of the movie to be confirmed.

SWARMED
Feature currently filming in Toronto, Canada
Premier Bobine Productions
Executive Producers: Tom Berry, Richard Schlesinger
Director: Paul Ziller
Cast: Michael Shanks, Richard Chevolleau
PM: Gordon Yang (Line)
PC: Gary Maher
Shoot: Oct. 23 Nov. 9/04

Thanks to Michael Shanks Online for the original tip
Grateful thanks to Sally Allan for her research into the “Swarmed” movie production

SCI FI CONVENTIONS LURING FEWER FANS

Sci-fi conventions are luring fewer fans
Thursday, November 04, 2004
By Ray Kelly for The Republican

The technological advances once dreamt of by fantasy lovers are now killing science-fiction fan conventions. In today’s wired world, sci-fi fans e-mail each other and discuss their favorite shows on message boards, chat on-line with actors and authors, and buy autographed mementos on eBay.

As a result, conventions, a sci-fi staple of the 1970s, have dwindled in number and attendance, said Paul Aldred, organizer of this weekend’s United Fan Con at the Springfield Marriott. “These used to be community events,” he said. “Now, you can do it all from your own home.”

Aldred will continue to press on, even though attendance is not what it once was. Sci-fi conventions have been staged annually in downtown Springfield for 14 years, sometimes drawing almost 2,000 guests. Last year’s three-day gathering attracted 750.

United Fan Con’s main celebrity guest is Gates McFadden, who co-starred as Dr. Beverly Crusher in the long-running television series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and three subsequent movies. She will be joined by three cast members of “Stargate SG-1″ – Tony Amendola (Master Bra’Tac”), Gary Jones (“Sgt. Walter Harriman”) and John Novak (“Col. William Ronson”).

“‘Stargate’ is the new ‘Star Trek’ essentially,” Aldred said. “People came from all over the country to see our ‘Stargate’ guests.”

In addition to the popularity of “Stargate SG-1” over “Star Trek,” Aldred said he has seen a new breed of fan emerging – one interested solely in meeting celebrity guests and obtaining autographs. “The ‘new fan’ doesn’t want to get involved in the whole convention scene,” he added.

http://www.masslive.com/living/republican/index.ssf?/base/living-2/1099490605324210.xml

TAPPING POSITIVE ABOUT PROOF

Amanda Tapping told SCI Fi Wire that it was a challenge to play both Lt. Col. Samantha Carter on the SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1 and host the network’s new alternative reality series Proof Positive: Evidence of the Paranormal. “I went to L.A. during the week hiatus we had in September and shot pretty much all of the episodes,” Tapping said in an interview. “I’d done one episode in August, when I had a day off from Stargate on a Monday. So I flew to Chicago that weekend and flew to L.A. on Monday to do an episode of Proof Positive, then flew back to Vancouver on Monday night. So it was pretty crazy squeezing it in while shooting Stargate, but it’s a very cool show.”

Proof Positive uses case histories, scientific developments and experts to examine the blurry line between science fiction and science fact. “Conceptually, I love it,” Tapping said. “I love the idea that we actually put things to the test, that there are actually forensic tests that you can do to determine the veracity of paranormal phenomena. I’m a huge believer in the paranormal, so some of the stories really freaked me out. Some of the stories, even though they [may be] proven inconclusive or proven proof negative, you can still go, ‘Wait a second. I don’t know about that. Just because that test didn’t work doesn’t mean … .’ So I think it makes for some great debate. I watched the first episode with my twin brother when I was in Chicago, and we had a big debate over it.” Proof Positive airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-11/03/11.00.sfc

SG-1s TAPPING EXPECTING

Amanda Tapping, who stars in the SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, is pregnant with her first child, but told SCI FI Wire that she does not want to see her pregnancy written into Lt. Col. Samantha Carter’s character arc for a possible season nine. “I don’t think that would work for Carter at all,” Tapping said in an interview. “It would so change her if she were a mom. I just don’t think that she would be back with the Stargate program.” Tapping has been married to Alan Kovacs for 10 years.

Tapping, who is due in March, added, “When I got pregnant I kept it very quiet for a long time from the producers and everybody. I wanted to make sure that everything was going to be OK with this pregnancy. I thought, ‘Oh God, what if we do come back? I guess it would be Pete’s [David DeLuise] baby. But, oh, gee, no.’ It just doesn’t work on any level for me to have it be part of the story. The perfect thing was that we ended [production on season eight] just as I was starting to really show, and because for most of the last couple of weeks I was playing a different version of Carter it worked out that we could cover it up very well. So now I get to go through the bulk of my pregnancy during the off-season. It’s very good timing.” Stargate SG-1 will kick off the second half of its eighth season in January 2005.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-11/01/12.00.sfc

TAPPING TURNS UP IN EARTHSEA

Stargate SG-1 star Amanda Tapping told SCI FI Wire that Lady Elfarran, whom she plays in the upcoming SCI FI Channel original miniseries Earthsea, is a God-like character. “[Lady Elfarran] was the keeper of the keys to this secret dungeon where all the bad spirits were kept,” Tapping said in an interview. “She was like the mother superior for this island, but she’s also very much like God, and everybody worships her.”

Based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s award-winning series of fantasy novels, Earthsea stars Shawn Ashmore, Kristin Kreuk, Danny Glover and Isabella Rossellini in a story about a reckless youth, Ged (Ashmore), who discovers that he has magical powers, but who accidentally unleashes a dark power that threatens the world. Tapping makes her cameo as Lady Elfarran early on in the miniseries.

“When she passes away, the keys pass [into other hands], and all hell breaks loose,” Tapping said. “You only see me when I’m conjured up, as a vision, by Ged. I think Earthsea is going to be great. It’s so epic. It’s huge. The footage I saw was stunning. The sets were huge. The costumes were gorgeous. I was just glad to be asked to be involved, but it’s a tiny, tiny little part. If you blink, you might miss me.” The four-hour Earthsea miniseries premieres Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-11/01/11.30.sfc