Source: Scifi.com
 J.J. Abrams, director of the recently wrapped Star Trek reboot movie, told SCI FI Wire that it felt illogical to him to give input to co-star Leonard Nimoy on how best to play Spock.
Nimoy, of course, reprises his legendary role as the older version of the Vulcan character in a pivotal supporting performance in Abrams’ film, which revisits the original series’ characters and universe.
"The intimidating thing was going up to him and saying, ‘Here’s one thing you should do…,’" Abrams said on May 15 during an interview at the Fox upfront presentation for advertisers, where he was on hand to support his upcoming SF TV series Fringe. "It was sort of like, ‘Who the hell am I to tell you what to do? You’re Spock.’"
Nimoy, Abrams added, quickly allayed his fears. "The truth is he would literally grab me and say, ‘No, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me.’ When I say he was a sweetheart, … working with him was like working with the greatest person you’d ever work with. He was just open and curious and hungry to do better. That ended up being a pure joy. I mean, I love the man. Love the man." Fringe will premiere on Aug. 26. Star Trek is set to beam into theaters on May 9, 2009. |
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Source: Scifi.com
 SCI FI Wire got a peek at new sets for SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate Atlantis in Vancouver, Canada, and gleaned a few details of the ships that will appear in the show’s upcoming fifth season.
On May 15, a group of reporters toured the main Atlantis sets, an "alien village" set where filming was underway and two new ship sets at Bridge Studios. One ship, still under construction, was described as a "Traveller ship." It was a small set, very dark and claustrophobic. The interior bulkheads were flat black and studded with all varieties of mechanical junk. Bundles of cable hung everywhere.
The set suggested a cramped, deteriorating ship that would be uncomfortable to fly, if not downright dangerous. This ship is a "swing" set meant to be used once in an upcoming episode and then broken down.
The second, however, was a standing set, meaning viewers can expect to see it repeatedly. This set appears to be a new model of Wraith Hive Ship, including a distinctly insectile throne for the Wraith Queen. It’s considerably larger than the Traveller ship set and more elaborate than earlier Wraith ships.
Organic in design, like previous ships, the new vessel has walls that resemble pale membranes of flesh, hung on an ornate, bony framework and shot through with blood vessels. In a few places this membrane has been torn away, revealing interior structures that look like bundled muscle fibers. The entire set looks like it should be dripping with slime. In particular, the skeletal framework appears to be speckled with some kind of yellowish substance. The set hints at an even nastier vision of the Wraith for the new season.
Stargate Atlantis‘ 20-episode season fifth season will include the series’ benchmark 100th episode. |
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Source: Scifi.com
 Brad Wright, writer and executive producer of Stargate: Continuum, told SCI FI Wire that making a Stargate feature film is very different from making series episodes. "We’ve done so many two-parters, you’d think it would be easy to just make it longer," said Wright, who spoke to SCI FI Wire following a press screening of the direct-to-DVD film in Vancouver, B.C., on May 14.
But a feature, Wright explained, has a very different structure.
"It’s much more fun in some ways to do a movie, because the story can evolve the way it’s supposed to. It doesn’t have to owe anything to the episode before or the episode after. That was the fun part, to actually write a movie and not just a long episode."
Wright took that opportunity to have some fun and ran with it. Stargate: Continuum features the return of beloved series actors such as Richard Dean Anderson and Don S. Davis, as well as fan-favorite villain Ba’al, played by Cliff Simon. Fans of Claudia Black’s Vala will see a whole new side of her character as well.
But perhaps the biggest difference is the chance to take a deeper look into the personalities of the main characters, made possible by the more luxurious running time. Even amid all the action, one of the film’s highlights is a sequence in which Mitchell (Ben Browder), Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Jackson (Michael Shanks) return to an Earth where the entire Stargate project never happened.
In this timeline, Jackson’s still a lone crank writing about pyramids, Carter was an astronaut who died in a shuttle accident and Mitchell never existed at all. The current government doesn’t want to hear about restoring the timeline, as they’re quite happy with the one they’ve got. And so the remaining members of SG-1 are retired and must struggle to adjust to new lives in a world that isn’t their own.
The film includes a scene in which Carter goes shopping and Mitchell returns to a farm he visited as a boy. Wright said he couldn’t have gotten away with such character drama in an SG-1 episode.
"[There] are things that I could type in an episode of television, but would be the first things to go once I got in the concept meeting because I just wouldn’t have the schedule for it," he said. "That’s time-eating material. You have to move a whole unit to a location and shoot what is ultimately three seconds or five seconds of film."
With more time and more resources to work with, Wright and the producers and cast of Stargate: Continuum have taken their world and characters in new directions. They’ve also pushed the envelope for what the Stargate franchise can do as MGM considers whether to do more movies or create a third series. Stargate: Continuum launches on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 29. |
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