Monday, August 18, 2008

Stargate Atlantis - Cinema Spy: Exclusive Interview: Joe Flanigan

At Cinema Spy:

(Please follow the link for the complete four-page interview.)



Exclusive Interview: Joe Flanigan

The 'Stargate Atlantis' star on being an action hero

By Blaine Kyllo | Monday, August 18, 2008

Joe Flanigan, who plays John Sheppard on Stargate Atlantis, is a funny guy. But he has a dry sense of humour, so when he’s telling a joke it takes a moment to register because the only cue to the fact that he’s just said something funny is a slight shift in the cadence of his speech.

In talking with journalists at Vancouver’s Bridge Studios in May, he kept the group so relaxed and at ease that the 30 minutes seemed less like an interview session and more like a group of people hanging out at the pub. Flanigan talked about the sorry state of the action-adventure genre in the medium of television and why he prefers the Wraith to the Replicators.


A brief excerpt:

CinemaSpy: You talked about the action-adventure aspect of the show being one of its popular elements. What other things appeal to people?
Joe Flanigan: I have very specific beliefs. The show is successful because of the chemistry of characters and because I don’t think the show takes itself too seriously. I think that’s really important. I think you can take yourself seriously, and you can say all sorts of profound things and everything can be really dramatic, but you’d better be awfully good. And the odds are you’re better off doing a $150 million science fiction movie that’s serious, but when you’re doing a 44-minute television show for $3 million, then you have to know what your limitations are, and if you come off as very serious and pretentious, and it comes off instead as being, well, pretentious, then I think you lose people. Also, my favourite shows, movies, and TV shows were always - I loved Rockford Files as a kid, I loved all those guys where they were having fun. They’re good guys and they are having fun. For some reason over the last ten years it seems like Hollywood executives have fallen in love with bad people, edgy dark characters because that’s cool. So what they’ve done is they’ve created tonnes of these shows and they’ve all failed. Almost all of them have failed. Even if you go to the Sopranos, the dark character is a good guy. You can call him dark all you want, but the truth is he’s a good guy. And a lot of the shows I’ve seen some very well-known showrunners put up, the characters are just not likable. I think we’re lucky we have likable characters and we also have fun, you see us having fun, we’re making fun of the genre a little bit, we’re making fun of ourselves. Knowing when the adventure is urgent and when it’s kind of funny is important. Comedy and humour are probably the saving grace for us. It allows us to keep going, I think.


Stargate Atlantis - The Sun: Valerie Halverson Video Interview

At The Sun (UK):

(Video interview embedded at the site.)

Sci-fi designer opens wardrobe

By ONLINE REPORTER

Published: 18 Aug 2008

THE COSTUME designer working behind the scenes on Stargate: Atlantis has unveiled a wealth of wacky outfits used on the show.

In an exclusive video for The Sun, Valerie Halverson showed viewers a number of weird and wonderful costumes worn by characters in the SG-1 spin-off...

Stargate Atlantis - SciFi Talk: Alan Ruck Audio Interview

At SciFi Talk:

Mon, 18 August 2008

Alan Ruck


Alan Ruck is looking to branch out into Sci-Fi and is no stranger, appearing in Star Trek Generations, Star Trek Gods And Men as Captain Harriman. Look for Alan in the upcoming Ghost Town and on the small screen,a guest starring role in Eureka. Special thanks to Lisa Lieberman of Innovative Artists. music is by Zoe Blade.

[NOTE: Alan Ruck also guest starred in Stargate Atlantis' 'The Real World.']

Podcast link:

Stargate SG-1 - SciFi Guys: Dan Shea Audio Interview Wed Aug 20

From The SciFi Guys:



After a quick breath to gather their thoughts, the Sci Fi Guys return this week with a guest who is no stranger to the world of TV danger, Dan Shea (Stunt co-ordinator/Sgt Siler-Stargate SG1, on Wednesday, August 20th at 8pm BST. (This event is in association with htpp://www.wolfevents.com)

A stunt man for over two decades, Dan has worked as a stunt co-ordinator for Psych, Stargate SG1 as well as being a stunt person on Stargate Atlantis and movies such as X-Men: The Last Stand, Pirates Of The Caribbean; Dead Mans Chest, War and many more more. Dan has also acted in several shows/movies, including Supernatural, Andromeda, The Fog, The X Files and most notably in Stargate SG1/Atlantis as Sgt Siler. Dan talks to Stuart about not only his work but also how he found out about the cancellation of Stargate SG1 and his reaction to it.

EDIT (Aug 23 '08): Download link

Stargate Atlantis - MGM Stargate: Close Up: Michelle Morgan

At MGM Stargate:

(Please follow the link for the complete MGM Stargate article.)



Close Up: Michelle Morgan

August 18, 2008 (Actors)

A friendly Replicator? Surely not! But with the creation of F.R.A.N, it seems that Stargate Atlantis is ready to break the mold – and even bring one of our favorite characters back from the dead.


A brief excerpt:



Ghost in the Machine” sees the return of guest actress Michelle Morgan, who first appeared as F.R.A.N in season four’s “Be All My Sins Remember’d”. The story goes that as soon as the producers saw the dailies of Morgan’s performance, they wished they hadn’t had the character destroy herself at the end of that episode. But, as the old adage goes, no one ever really dies in sci fi – particularly if the victim is a high-functioning machine.

In fact, “Ghost in the Machine” proves that saying twice over, as viewers also got to see what really happened to Dr. Elizabeth Weir following the events of “Lifeline”. Actress Torri Higginson declined to reprise her role as the Atlantis expedition’s first commander, but the hole left by her absence was perfectly filled by Morgan’s return.

Viewers may be surprised to learn, however, that even before “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, Morgan was due to be introduced to the Stargate universe, though in a very different role.
“I spent some time in Vancouver, where they shoot the show,” she explains, from the lunch tent of TV show Heartland, in which she stars as Samantha Louise Fleming. “I had been brought in [for auditions] a couple of times, and I was actually cast in an episode called “The Seer” last season, to play the Seer’s daughter. But I was involved in a film called Diary of the Dead, which had scheduled re-shoots, and the dates conflicted, so I couldn’t do it. I was quite upset because I really wanted to be on Stargate! But then they brought me in again and I managed to land the role of F.R.A.N, so that was good – it made up for losing that other part...”

Stargate Atlantis - NEW Photos from 'First Contact' - Michael Shanks

Publicity stills from the new Stargate Atlantis fifth season episode, 'First Contact,' scheduled for Friday, September 26 at 10pm on the SciFi Channel.

(Please click on a photo for a larger size.)



Col. Stephen Caldwell (Mitch Pileggi) and Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo)





Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Lt. Col. John Sheppard






Shep and Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell)



Teyla, Shep, Dr. Radek Zelenka (David Nykl)








Stargate Atlantis - NEW Photos from 'Tracker'

Stargate Atlantis' new episode, Tracker, airs Friday September 19 at 10pm on the SciFi Channel (US).

Please click on a photo for a larger size.



Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite)



Keller and Kyrik (Mike Dopud)










David Boreanaz - Angel - Video: 'Sanctuary'

Courtesy of HULU, Angel's 'Sanctuary,' starring David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, Elisabeth Röhm and Christian Kane. Guest stars include Thomas Burr, Stephanie Romanov, Alastair Duncan, Eliza Dushku and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Angel attempts to reform Faith as Kate Lockley, Watcher Council members, and even Buffy Summers pursue her.

Stargate - Cliff Simon Speaks On Stress And America The Good

From PR Web:

Cliff Simon Speaks On Stress And America The Good

Cliff Simon, best known for the character, Ba'al on Stargate SG-1, has released "American Affirmations" and "Stress, It's All In The Mind."




Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 18, 2008 -- Cliff Simon, best known for the character, Ba'al on Stargate SG-1, has released "American Affirmations" and "Stress, It's All In The Mind". Brought forth from Simon's personal experiences, "Stress, It's All In The Mind" addresses the effects of stress and offers several techniques to deal with it. "American Affirmations" is based on observations of America and the American people from an outsider's point of view. Each CD is written and produced by both Simon and his business partner, Patricia Stewart.

"The first CD I'm doing is called 'Stress: It's All In The Mind.' Through my growing up as an athlete I was always taught to be positive. It's kind of ingrained in me," said Simon, in an interview with Gateworld. Using stress management techniques has helped Simon deal with the demands that have been placed on him throughout his career. He added, "We can never be totally free of stress, but in this CD what I do is I explain a little bit and then I work on deep breathing exercises and relaxation exercises. Making people aware of their internal feelings and external feelings, muscle relaxation."

The second CD that is being released at the same time focuses on positive opinions that both Simon and Stewart have about America. Simon stated, "I feel, having become a citizen in 2005 and the way the world feels about America at the moment, there's a lot of negativity in the world about America being the big bully. From my point of view as an immigrant, I've put it onto CD how I see it through my eyes."



Patricia Stewart, who wrote most of the content of both CDs, argues that the American Affirmations CD is not propaganda. "We both had a discussion about how Americans are truly a great people and they don't deserve to be hated by all the other countries. So, we thought we would be the best people to share that not everyone in the world hates Americans. We wanted to speak on behalf of non-Americans who recognize the contributions Americans have made to the world. They have done so much for the world in advances in technology. And then there is the support America has provided for other countries after natural disasters. How quickly the world forgets. So this is our way of saying thank you to the American People."

Visit http://www.aurorisentertainment.com/ to listen to a clip of each CD.

The Colbert Report - Video: July 30 '08 Episode

Courtesy of the Comedy Channel and HULU, The Colbert Report's July 30 '08 episode.

Crosby, Stills & Nash perform their classic, "Teach Your Children."

Stargate Atlantis - MGM Stargate: 'The Shrine' - Behind the Scenes Photos - Aug 18 '08

At MGM Stargate Behind the Scenes Stargate Atlantis photo gallery:

(Please follow the link to view all the photos in their original format.)

11 new behind-the-scenes photos from 'The Shrine'



Director Andy Mikita and Writer Brad Wright




Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett




Jason Momoa, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell and Joe Flanigan



David and Rachel

Stargate Atlantis - MGM Stargate: NEW Stills - 'The Shrine' Aug 18 '08

At MGM Stargate:

(Please follow the link to view all the new photos in their original format.)

14 NEW episode stills for 'The Shrine'



Jeane Miller (Kate Hewlett)



Dr. Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite), Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and Jeane Miller



Lt. Col. John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), McKay and Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell)



Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa), McKay, Teyla and Shep