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November 29, 2007

Is there anybody out there?

So now pretty much everybody is gone. Some guys are in Hawaii, some are in Ontario, one lucky guy is holding a sign outside some studio lot in Hollywood. But strangely, when I called the production office, I got the trusty writer's assistant Lawren on the phone. Is that guy dedicated or what? He's not getting paid, yet there he is, toiling away, making sure everyone has someone to call when they need something. (And of course he's playing Golden Tee Golf every chance he gets, so he can kick our asses when we're back in the office in the new year.) Actually, my guess is he's coordinating audio commentaries or working on that Supernatural spec script he keeps talking about. But soon he too, is off on a trip - to Thailand I think.

So immediately I barked at Lawren - "what do you know about Miller's Crossing?", but my query was met with stunned silence. "Hello? Anybody there?" Well, we started talking about what little we know about the show anyway, and then I heard the familiar voice of Atlantis writer Alan McCullough. Thank goodness - someone who actually knows something behind the scenes! So Alan and I chatted about the show.

Alan reminded me of a hilarious scene that sparked a great deal of debate. Martin Gero wrote the terrific script in which Sheppard and co. return to Earth to track down the McKays. In one scene, Ronon and Sheppard are watching tv in a hotel room, more specifically Battlestar Galactica, and Ronon turns to Sheppard and says something like "we should help these people!" Well, most everybody laughed about it at the script stage. Even Rob Cooper. But Cooper had misgivings. I recall him saying that it makes Ronon look stupid. Like the guy doesn't even understand what a television set is and that the stories on tv are fictional. But damn it was funny. It turns out the scene is still in the final cut (according to our trusty Post Supervisor Kerry McDowall) but that portion of it has been cut and you no longer know they're watching tv. So maybe you'll get to see that portion of the scene in one of Ivon's behind the scenes featurettes or something.

Other things to note about Miller's Crossing. The title is a riff on the great Coen brother's movie. Speaking of which, somebody out there go see No Country for Old Men and tell me what the hell happened at the end. Also, in Miller's Crossing, the character Henry Wallace is played by Stephen Culp of Desperate Housewives fame. According to David Hewlett, Culp and Kate Hewlett (David's real and on-screen sister) have great chemistry, great repartee. And I concur. It's a fast paced episode which you'll enjoy. I also love seeing David and Kate work together. You get the feeling their real life relationship is a lot like what we're seeing (whether it actually is or not!).

One more thing I wanted to add. The writers here are often asked how one gets into screenwriting. Well I have some info for you! Brad Wright describes his big break in a great article in Canadian Screenwriter Magazine. Now your first test will be to get a hold of this periodical. But Joe Mallozzi had the best advice. He said to buy yourself some screenwriting software and start writing speculative episodes of the shows you love. And he said it's easier to break in writing animation. So I offer that to all of you aspiring writers out there.

Posted by Alex Levine at 10:28 PM

November 16, 2007

Special Features and Story Arcs

I was in LA this week, assisting Ivon Bartok, the Stargate Special Features producer and director with some interviews. We got to meet with some members of the armed forces who help us with the shows – specifically Captain Mary Danner. Mary has been so helpful over the years, giving notes on scripts, making sure uniforms and protocols are correct, and generally being a really pleasant person to work with. Ivon was doing the interviews for a special feature about Continuum, I believe. So look for her in the ‘making of’ documentary on that DVD when it comes out.

Ivon, by the way, has a job any Stargate fan would kill for. He interviews all the actors, directors, producers and cuts that footage in with clips of the show and other footage to make behind-the-scenes featurettes. He also does a “Directors Series” in which he follows around a director for an episode so you really get to know that director and how he works. Lastly, he does some special features that are more specific, about a particular set or stunts or visual effects. Those special features are almost like a film school, in terms of how much information you get by watching them. So if you haven’t checked them out on the DVD’s, you should! Ivon also does the web featurettes as well on this Scifi site, so you can get a taste of his work here too.

This week on Atlantis you’ll see “The Seer”. I pulled Alan out of the writer’s room and spoke to him about the episode just now. The thing he remembered most about the episode is how much it changed from inception to final execution.

Alan told me the story started out as a test of Carter’s leadership. The intention was to put her in the cross hairs, sort of a “trial by fire” situation, to see how she handles her new role as the leader of Atlantis. And the intention was to do that in a stand-alone episode involving a specific and isolated incident. Sorry to be vague here but you know the powers that be could have my job at any conceivable moment! In any case, the episode became much more about what is happening in the Pegasus Galaxy on a bigger scale – in other words, they worked the story arc of the season into the plot, interweaving it with the bigger story. I think it’s a testament to the writers that they can see the bigger picture and adapt episodes in this way.

Alan told me he really likes writing for Colonel Carter, Amanda Tapping’s character. Alan came over to Atlantis this year from SG-1, where he was on staff for several years. While on SG-1, Alan wrote some terrific “Carter” episodes, such as “Line in the Sand”, and “The Road Not Taken”. He said the challenge in “The Seer” was to give Carter a real dilemma, one in which she questions herself, but not to make her look weak-willed. After all she is the leader of Atlantis! Alan said Any Mikita did a terrific job directing. And Robert Picardo comes back in this one, reprising his role as Woolsey from the IOA.

Enjoy!

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at 08:43 PM

November 08, 2007

Missing Times Two

This week’s episode is my favourite character story of the season, entitled “Missing”. Missing is almost a two-hander, as Teyla and the good doctor Jennifer Keller dominate the screen time. But really, it’s an action packed character study of two strong women in a terrible situation. Personally, it’s the character stuff that interests me the most, although I’m also a sucker for big special effects sequences. But when you get to watch a new character, like Keller, go through events that really bring out what she’s made of, that’s when it gets exciting for me. And I think, also, that the character stuff is why people tune in week in and week out.

This episode and Phantoms from Season 3 are my two favourite episodes written by Carl Binder, who told me about Missing from the writer’s standpoint.

Carl said the genesis of the story was that he wanted to take some of our characters and isolate them from their technology, so it’s basically a survivor scenario. They are without weaponry and tech, and must face off against a tribe of primitive warrior types. Yes, that’s right, a NEW VILLAIN, the Bola Kai, are introduced in this episode and they’re pretty cool (look for the lollipop shot, you’ll know what I mean when you see it).

Carl also wanted to do a Teyla episode, but not like the Teyla episodes we’ve seen in the past. You see, in the past, we’ve seen Teyla in stories dealing with her mental powers, battling it out with Wraith queens. We’ve seen her kick ass in fight sequences, but we never really focus on it. Well, this time, says Carl, he wanted to push Teyla into the dark side, where she is forced to use all of her skill and power as a warrior, and make harsh moral choices along the way. So you’ll see some really great fight sequences in this one.

And, further to the ongoing discussion about the WGA strike, our Carl will be “missing” from the story department until the WGA strike is resolved. He’s WGA and resides in California (although he is a Canadian citizen), so he’ll be manning the picket lines. So be sure to give Carl a honk if you’re driving by and you see the signs.

Ciao for now.

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at 09:40 PM

November 02, 2007

Misinformation...

So, further to last week, the writers are back in there, breaking Season 5. And, as Joe Mallozzi put it, it’s slow-going. But I have faith. They’ll pick up speed. After all, you don’t make 300 episodes of a tv show without having a literally endless supply of new stories. But right now they’re in there talking concepts. Often the story of an episode comes out of a simple idea, or a kernel of an idea that the writers build upon.

Take this week’s episode, Tabula Rasa. It started with an idea of McKay in a room, tied to a chair, with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. Talk about a riveting teaser! No, don’t worry – I’m not going to spoil it for you. But the tease was why they made that story.

Wait - this just in! That's actually not true. See, I wrote an earlier version of this blog and told Joe about that last paragraph, which was something Paul told me, and he said, "That's not true". So I'm fixing it! Joe told me that Alan pitched a story about the Atlantis team going offworld and getting infected by some spores or something that affects them. And Joe had always wanted to do an amnesia story. So that's how it went down. To be fair, it is hard to keep track of how these story ideas originate. Hell, many a copyright law suit has been brought from such disagreements. Anyways, THEN, and only then, did Alan come up with the cool tease. But to be fair to Paul, the tease is the most memorable part, and the story gained momentum based on that tease (some stories die in the room before they are developed unless they have a "cool" factor.

It’s also a cutting edge visual story. As you will see, the story isn’t told chronologically. It takes place in flashbacks and in the present, and it cuts back and forth quite regularly. So they decided to “treat” the cinematic look of the present day story line to differentiate it. You’ll find it’s quite “pushed”, meaning desaturated and high contrast. I love that look personally. I think you will too. Jim Menard, the DOP, did a terrific job (it was actually done in camera, not as a post-effect).

From the writer’s standpoint, Alan McCullough, who wrote the script, told me he did several drafts of the story as it is presented in the show – as in, not chronologically. But then, just before handing it in, he wondered if the story actually made sense. So he decided to take it apart and outline it chronologically, just to make sure he got the logic right. And sure enough, he found some logical wrinkles in there he had to iron out. Alan said it was a really tough write. But the result is a cool episode.

Enjoy!

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at 01:49 AM