One of the great things about this job is that it’s full of surprises – be it a summer rainstorm during an exterior location shoot, an unforeseen cost overage, or Nathan in the front office calling to inform me that he’s got Augustus Kolya on Line #1 . Kolya? I hit Line #1: “Hello?”
“Mallozzi!”came the gruff voice, pronouncing my name in a way only a true Italian could. “What’s going on?”
It was actor Robert Davi phoning me up to touch base and find out what the plans were for his character. True, his character, Augustus Kolya, was killed back in season three but as we all know, nobody really dies in Sci-Fi (and Stargate especially, much to io9‘s chagrin). And he was quick to remind me of the fact! What was funny about the call was not that it came out of the blue, or that it followed a similarly out of the blue call from actor Richard Kind (who had come across a terrific article on chocolate and required my address so that he could send it my way), but that, in fact, I had been giving the Augustus Kolya character some thought of late. A lot of thought in fact.
Fast forward several months later and Robert Davi was in my office, going over his script notes and filling me in on his directorial debut, The Dukes, a movie he co-wrote and stars in alongside his buddy Chazz Palminteri. Check out the trailer here: http://www.moviejungle.com/embeds/embeds.asp?Movie_ID=5683&Embed_ID=846 and an interesting article about the movie here: http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/2590-ROBERT-DAVI-REAPS-INTERNATIONAL-PRAISE-AWARDS-WITH-HIS-DIRECTORIAL-DEBUT-ON-THE-DUKES.html.
Anyway, we chatted and I was more than happy to accommodate his request for a few dialogue tweaks and some additional physicality. A quick trip down to costumes for his fitting and then he was off, back to the hotel to go over his lines and enjoy the Amedei Chuao bar I gave him as a welcome back present (Apparently, he’s a fan of dark chocolate).
The man is colorful, a blast to work with and, oh yeah, a damn fine actor to boot. He really should call more often.
Mailbag:
Squall78 writes: “I read in a recent Multichannel news article that the decision to cancel SGA was a “Creative” decision. This came from the mouth of SCI FI network’s president Dave Howe. The article confused me, because it said it was the prodcuers who felt it was time to move on and the stories being told have reached their limits and it was time to start the next chapter.”
Answer: I can’t speak for anyone else except me – and my fellow producers Paul, Carl, Martin, and Alan – when I say that we were not involved in the decision and only learned about the show‘s fate after the call had already been made.
Alicia writes: “Joe I m not buying the sga movie if the conference room isnt changed.”
Answer: Uh, changed to what exactly? A day spa maybe?
AussieSGFan writes: “I watched Doppelganger again a couple of nights ago, and I’ve been wondering. Did they get another Psychologist/ Psychiatrist after what happen to Dr. Heightmeyer(sp?)”
Answer: They certainly did.
Jeff Ford writes: “I’m sorry to say I’ve yet to read David Weber, but I can certainly vouch (for what that’s worth) for the VanderMeer and the Zombie anthology. I think the club is in for a great month of reading.”
Answer: Hey, Jeff. I have November 4th circled on my calendar – the day your new book, The Drowned Life, hits the shelves. I’ll be saving it for in-flight entertainment later this month when I head to Tokyo.
Delynn writes: “Joe, I know we’ve heard “if the first SGA movie is successful, there will be more.” But how will you measure the success of a made-for-TV movie? Ratings? Or DVD sales after the fact?”
Answer: That will be up to MGM to decide. If the DVD sales prove as robust as those of the SG-1 movies, then I’m certain we’ll be following up with another Atlantis adventure soon after. Similarly, if the movie premieres strongly on SciFi, I’m sure the network will push for another installment.
Anais33 a ecrit: “1) Dans le film de sga, avez vous l’intention de faire des scénes de “relationship”?
2)On vous à deja communiquer quelques noms d’ acteurs potentiel pour sgu?
3) Où allez vous mêttre vos chiens quand vous irez en vacance?”
Reponses: 1) A ce moment, je ne sais pas. 2) J’ai entendu que quelques noms mais, pour la plupart, ca ne me concerne pas. 3) Un ami prendra soin d‘eux.
Sort of translation: 1) At this point, I don‘t know if the SGA movie will touch on any relationship issues. We‘re too busy trying to get the story down. 2) I‘ve heard a few names thrown around with regard to cast for the new series but, for the most part, I’m out of the loop and hope to be pleasantly surprised once the decisions have been made. 3) A friend will be watching the dogs while we’re away.
Demon Hunter writes: “I have a great idea/concept for a comedy/horror show but I’m not a writer. What would be the best thing to do with my idea?”
Answer: I don’t know. You can approach a writer, but I imagine most prefer to develop their own original ideas.
TBA writes: “Too bad we won’t get a follow-up on the Genii… At least for the series, that is. Perhaps something for a future movie?”
Answer: Perhaps.
Mellow Yellow writes: “I’m confused..is the SGA movie going to be on TV first? I thought it was a straight to DVD movie? Please clarify.”
Answer: I’m not sure. Right now, all I know is we’re writing and producing an SGA movie. Where it appears first is somebody else’s call.
Mellow Yellow also writes: “So my man Ronon and my girl Teyla won’t be in the episode Vegas?”
Answer: They will not.
Alex writes: “Thanks for posting your email address. I just sent you an email with a request for a favor that I hope you’ll consider.”
Answer: Hmm. Nothing in my inbox.
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