Monday, February 9, 2009

Sanctuary - Amanda Tapping - Breakfast TV (Vancouver)

Amanda Tapping was the guest on Vancouver's CityTV's Breakfast TV show this morning.



Amanda Tapping and Breakfast TV host Dawn Chubai


Amanda Tapping

Actress, Sanctuary

What does it take to be a sci-fi queen? Today, we pose that question to Amanda Tapping, former star of “Stargate”, who can now be seen in the series “Sanctuary”. For more on Amanda, check out her website at http://www.amandatapping.com. For more on Women in Film, check out this site http://www.womeninfilm.ca.

Stargate - SciFi Wire: Michael Cassutt's SciFi Moments

[NOTE: Michael Cassutt wrote the Stargate SG-1 episode, 'Tangent.']

At SciFi Wire:

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

Columnist Michael Cassutt recalls the sci-fi moments that made him a writer

By Michael Cassutt

ON 02/09/09

No doubt you've noticed that it's awards season. We've had the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild trophies and, soon after you read this, the Oscars. And, of more immediate relevance, the Nebula Awards of the SF Writers of America in April.

This seasonal fever has affected me in the past, once where I gave out my own awards for supreme accomplishment in sci-fi TV ("The Mikeys"), and, during last year's strike-battered season, a more general look at "Favorite Things"—my all-time sci-fi movies and television.

This year I want to look back at important moments ... those images or scenes that made me a sci-fi writer.

The sci-fi moments ...



... There are many movie moments, but at the top of my list is where the Stargate team led by Kurt Russell goes through the portal—and what is discovered.

Battelstar Galactica - NBCUMV: Cylon Detector App for iPhone/iPod

At NBCUMV:



SCI FI's 'Battlestar Galactica' Cylon Detector Application Now Available On The Apple App Store

Published: February 9, 2009

SCIFIWire.com Also Available As Free Application For iPhone And iPod Touch

New York, NY – February 9, 2008 – SCI FI Channel today announced fans of SCI FI's Battlestar Galactica can be part of the action of the award-winning hit dramatic series with a fun Cylon Detector application now available on the Apple App Store. Also launching today is a free SCIFIWIRE.com application that will allow users to see all their favorite content, view gallery photos, watch videos, sort articles by topic and keep up with all the fast-breaking news on science fiction, fantasy and horror entertainment.

The Cylon Detector app lets iPhone or iPod touch users simply snap a picture of the suspected Cylon, or using a stored image from the "Photos" section, select either "Scan Male" or "Scan Female" and testing will commence. In just moments, the subject's face will appear in a classic Battlestar Galactica scene along with the verdict: CYLON or HUMAN. Once you know the truth, you can save the results, send them to a friend or download them to a computer.

The Cylon Detector is available for $1.99 from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Stargate Atlantis / SG1 - GateWorld: Andy Mikita Audio Interview Part 2

At GateWorld:



PICTURE MOVER

GateWorld talks with Andy Mikita

In the second half of GateWorld's interview with Andy Mikita, we focus on the director's episodes from the fifth season, including "The Daedalus Variations," "The Shrine" and "Enemy at the Gate." We talk about the challenges of shooting out-of-doors, the character of the Stargate team, and the ongoing quality of the franchise!

Part Two of GateWorld's interview with Andy runs over 20 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast. The interview is also transcribed [at the link above]!

View Part One here!


A brief excerpt:

GW: You directed the finale for the show. What can you tell us about how you directed that differently or how you approached that from while it was in production?
AM: First of all I was thrilled to be given the opportunity. It was pretty cool to be given the assignment of the final episode. I was very honored. When I read the script I didn't know what to expect, quite frankly. I didn't know if it was going to be the tongue-in-cheek like the SG-1 milestone episodes were. I didn't think it was going to be but I wasn't quite sure.

I was pleasantly surprised, I have to say, that it was a good, classic team episode that had a lot of large components to it. We had Amanda Tapping back on the show which was fantastic. Colin Cunningham was back. Great having those guys, obviously.

It was a big-scale show which was really cool. That was what I was hoping that it would be. Mind you, at the same time Rob [Cooper] was shooting another huge-scale show with "Vegas" and there was some overlapping going on. There was a little bit of sharing of the resources, as it were, on everybody's part.

Again that was part and parcel of the whole year where we were shooting multiple shows. That continued right through to the end. Not that attention was diverted from it but that was something that we had to be conscious of. We were still dealing with two very, very big episodes to finish the year and we had to pay attention to each of them equally. But it was a fantastic experience.

It was a wonderful, bittersweet episode for me to be a part of, obviously. We were saying our goodbyes in the middle of it all when David was wrapped for the season and when Rachel and Jason -- everyone was wrapped out at a different time. We were having these big goodbyes throughout the course of shooting.

Of course we all knew the show was cancelled. There was that feeling of not throwing in the towel, I won't say that, because we'd already come to terms that it's all over now anyway.

Stargate SG-1 - GateWorld: Video/Audio: Cliff Simon Interview

At GateWorld:



END OF A REIGN

GateWorld talks with Cliff Simon

Cliff Simon has had an incredible journey as the Goa'uld System Lord Baal. Introduced as one of many System Lords in the SG-1 Season Five two-parter, "Summit" and "Last Stand," he stood out above the rest and returned the following season to repeatedly torture Jack O'Neill to death.

After six seasons and one DVD movie, it appears the journey may be over. But who knows what the future holds! Cliff talks with GateWorld about Baal's journey, the quality of the Stargate: Continuum script, his future projects and charity work.

GateWorld's interview with Cliff runs almost 28 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version below requires QuickTime, but it is is also available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

A brief excerpt:

GW: For Continuum, was the shooting more straining? Was it tighter than the TV show? Was it a little bit looser? Were there more opportunities for you to perfect and tweak? How was it compared to the series?
CS: Because the show was bigger and sets were bigger, it took a long time to shoot. Because Brad [Wright] was on set every day, he wanted it a certain way. So when you've got the producer sitting on set, and the writer sitting on set, they want it a certain way. Whereas in the episodes it was more about, "Let’s get these scenes shot. Let’s get it done. We’ve got to get it out."

So they paid a lot more attention, so it took a lot longer to do. But as far as pressure, no. There wasn’t more pressure on me. I put pressure on myself to do as good as I can when I’m filming, so I kind of felt the same. But there was a lot more opportunities for me to do what I wanted to do. Because it took more time so we did more takes, so it gave me more opportunity to, "OK, I’m going to try it this way. I’m going to try it that way."




The Simpsons - Video: 'Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words'

Courtesy of FOX and HULU, The Simpsons' 'Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words.'

Homer exploits Lisa's crossword puzzle talent to make money.

Battlestar Galactica - Video: Battlestar Best Quote: So Say We All!

Courtesy of SciFi Channel and HULU:

Battlestar Galactica - Battlestar Best Quote: So Say We All!

Web Exclusive|00:50|

How do you inspire an exhausted crew? Repeat something over and over.

Stargate Atlantis - MGM Stargate: Video: Stargate Hits The Road: Las Vegas, Nevada

At MGM Stargate:

(Please follow the link to view the video in its original format.)



Stargate Hits The Road: Las Vegas, Nevada

4:32 18.5MB

Go behind the scenes of the"Vegas"shoot in Las Vegas, NV!