http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/2007/08/august-16-2007.html
(Please follow the link for the complete blog update. There are some terrific photos of Jason and CJ sparring with sticks, a lovely photo with Paul McGillion and gang, Joe and his guitar (sans dog this time) and more...)
With my script work behind me for the show’s fourth season and my correspondence with various email scammers reasonably up-to-date, I headed over to Terminal City today to see how the latest episode on deck was coming along. Director Martin Wood, very excited about the past two days’ filming, tried to prepare me for the upcoming sequence. Did I want earplugs? I passed, perhaps a little too quickly. No time for me to reconsider though as Martin yelled “Action!”. The ensuing few seconds went something like this: “Gunfire! Gunfire!” then “Hits!” then “Ronon blasts!” then “Explosion!”. By the time Martin yelled “Cut!” and then “Incroyable!” the set was suffused in a drifting opaque cloud of dust and God-knows-what. I stepped outside to clear my lungs but, by the time I returned, they had already packed up and moved on.
Feeling very much like the soon-to-doomed victim in some industrial horror flick, I crept through the eerie, dimly lit corridors, following the sound of distant clatter and far-off whispers until I finally found Martin and co. running through the next shot with Jason, David, and Paul. As I tried to figure out why my camera had suddenly taken to snapping pics of its own accord, David and Paul came over to discuss a fabulous new series David was enjoying: Jekyll. It was while we were chatting that Paul spotted Carol Appleby giving two contest winners the guided tour. “I’m going to say hello,”he said, and excused himself to go over and introduce himself. David followed and happily fell into conversation with them. As I tried to figure out why my camera was suddenly not snapping pics no matter how many times I pressed down on the little silver button, Carol walked the contest winners over and introduced me. I’m more than happy to chat with on-set visitors but rarely go over and say hi because, let’s face it, I’m the writer/producer and not the guy who played Peg Leg Dancing Jaffa in the episode Serpent’s Hat. Surprisingly, however, they knew who I was and even admitted to being avid readers of my blog. Well, having tinkered with my camera to the point where it would finally snap pics - after a lengthy three full second delay - I took a snap of the happy contest winners for today’s entry.
It was dangerously close to lunch time and while I would have loved to stick around and watch the scene being shot (they were delayed by the clean-up of the window taken out by an overly-enthusiastic Jason during rehearsal), I needed to get back to the office or risk Alex Levine laying claim to my barbecue chicken salad. Of course by the time I got outside, I happened across a practice sparring session being serenaded by a clearly-down-on-his-luck street musician and had to snap some more pics.
Thankfully, I made it back in time to both save my barbecue chicken salad and get the lowdown on…Ah, I’ll save it for another entry.
Those lotsa pics: Pretty much what I talked about.
P.S. To be fair, I’m dedicating this blog entry to everyone.
Mailbag -
Promogirl writes: “What have you found most challenging about being the show runner of Atlantis?”
Answer: Learning how to juggle - episodes specifically.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Will the blooper reel be only from season 4 filming?”
Answer: Yup.
**snippage**
Anonymous #3 writes: “Teyla's only getting 'character development' because Rachel's pregnant.”
Answer: Respectfully, dipstick, we already had an arc planned for the Teyla character and simply folded the pregnancy into said arc. Thanks for playing.
**snippage**
Les Fez writes: “1. Will Carter be going off world at all in s4 this year? 2. If so, will it be with Sheppards team? 3. How many episodes are the Wraith in this year, as they didn't make many appearances in s3?”
Answers: 1. Yes. 2. Kind of. 3. I won’t give you a specific number, but let’s just say that the wraith will play key roles in a number of major story arcs in season four.
Jeremsg1 writes: “In second half of season 4 (13 to 17), there are epsiodes stand alones (like season 3), or episodes with continuity? (like season 1)”
Answer: Both.
Ploker writes: “When was the last time you visited "The How Come Room"?”
Answer: First, allow me to visit the “What Are You Talking About Room”.
PG15 writes: “Oh, and Jodelle? Are you talking about Jodelle Ferland?”
Answer: Maaaaybe…
Scifi Lemon writes: “How is Midway different than Pegasus Project? Or is it basically going to be a rehash of PP?”
Answer: Did you just happen to pick these two episodes are random? I don’t see the connection.
Copernicus writes: “Do you feel there is there a certain irony to the expedition's lead diplomat switching to a recurring role when the expedition reaches a crossroads where diplomatic skills are suddenly at a premium?”
Answer: Not at all. In fact, with all of the mounting dangers the expedition has faced in the Pegasus Galaxy, the question one should ask is not “Why is the military getting more involved?” but “What took it so long?”
Jeremsg1 writes: “1)There is a funny episode in the second half of season four? Like Duet for exemple. 2)Within sight of the spoiler, season four seems to be the best, and the darkest of all seasons. Do you think that?”
Answer: Yes and yes.
LesFez writes: “Is there ANY episodes this year that have been dissapointing to you guys so far?”
Answer: I can honestly say that, so far, all of the episodes have been very strong.
O1 writes: “Can you give us a hint about outcast and whether it is going to be an action episode, a character driven episode or an angsty episode?”
Answer: Hopefully, all of the above.
