Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

September 2, 2010: Behind-the-scenes pics of that super secret set! Production update!

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The SGU season 2 premiere is a little over three weeks away, so let’s kick off today’s entry with a few pics of a work-in-progress down on Stage 6…

Art Director Chris Beach

Production Designer James Robbins just barely manages to squeeze through.

The finished version is awesome, but those pics will have to wait.  For a couple of weeks at least.

Almost finished my rewrite of The Hunt.  Hopefully, I’ll put it out Tuesday after which it’ll be smooooooth sailing.  Until prep begins of course.  In truth, prep has already begun on this episode with Production Designer James Robbins working on the design for our off-world beasts and Art Director Chris Beach and SPFX Master Scott Stofer swinging by the other day to discuss a special little contraption.  Brad suggested shifting parts of the latter half of the script to night – which would certainly make those scenes all the more creepy.  Will have to bring this up with Director Andy Mikita and Director of Photography Mike Blundell who have already expressed an interest in some sort of treatment that would give the location a surreal alien feel.

Brad finished addressing the network notes on Seizure today.  Prep continues on the episode which will see the return of two familiar faces: Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) and Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett).

Carl, meanwhile, is multi-tasking – being on set for his episode, Hope, while simultaneously hammering out the story for his final script, Epilogue.

Linda is working on episode 19, Blockade.

Some discussion on the as-yet-untitled (or, more appropriately, once-titled-and-subsequently-untitled) episode 20.  Paul is slated to assume the writing duties on this one but that could change depending on how busy he finds himself in the next few weeks.

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36 responses

  1. Major D. Davis Avatar
    Major D. Davis

    I thought 20 was called gauntlet. I really liked that title! And I liked the fact that Paul was writing it ( He really can write for SGU extremely well). Hope he stays the writer for the finale. 🙂

    Thanks so much,
    Major D. Davis

    Reply
  2. Major D. Davis Avatar
    Major D. Davis

    And thanks for the updates on the other eps and the set pics! Love em! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    Hi Joe, I just know you’re going to forget my question, so if you’re around, can you tell me now where “Nightwalkers” was filmed (the town, that is)? Thanks, and have a good night!

    Reply
  4. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    Hope my memory is ok…or…I hope someone will correct me. I think Nightwalkers was filmed in Steveston.
    I do know there is a fish and chips restaurant that many fans have checked out there.

    grins, ducks, runs (in case I am wrong)

    COOOOL pix, Joe.

    Reply
  5. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    I really wish you had waited until October for the Masked discussion. I fear I won’t be finished now. 🙁 It’s just been hellish lately, and I’ve gotten very little reading done…reading without pictures, that is. 😛

    das

    Reply
  6. PBMom Avatar
    PBMom

    @Das: Hope you’ll be okay. Talked to my sister tonight (Toms River) who says they might be expecting tropical storm force winds. You be safe!

    Love the set pictures. I think I’ve changed my mind about the Syfy splitting the 10/10 episodes. With releasing the DVD full of extras to feed us between those hiatuses, it hasn’t been painstakingly awful. I think having to wait 6 months between the end of the 10 and beginning of the next 10 actually be worse.

    Reply
  7. JulieAloha Avatar
    JulieAloha

    Hi Joe!

    Are they going to incorporate the spiral staircase into the set? Ooh, backwards steady cam up the spiral! And a special contraption? *eyebrows raised* All kinds of fascinating potential there. I can actually SEE the wicked gleam in your eye as you compose your blog, “haHA! This will just KILL them!! Muahaahaaahaaaaaa!” Okay, I’m not sure about the maniacal chortle at the end, but the wringing of the hands in unholy glee is certainly implied.

    Smiles, Julie

    @Chev – “AussieCon4, the World Science Fiction Convention is on at the moment. Anything you want?” Yes, to BE there!

    @Das – you make ME laugh and laugh until tears flow, oh yes, and smile, too! It amazes me that you describe yourself so deprecatingly because I find your wit and humor scintillating, indeed! How are things going with Dad? Any relief in sight?

    @PBMom – still dancing little jigs, albeit wearily after the first few days of school, in celebration for your sweet boy!

    Reply
  8. PoorOldEdgarDerby Avatar
    PoorOldEdgarDerby

    I got it. They’re gonna have to play a game of human chess on the MC Escher planet.

    Reply
  9. Sean D. Avatar
    Sean D.

    Joe,

    Is SGU season 2 episode 18 entitled “Radio” or “Epilogue”?

    Thanks!

    Sean

    Reply
  10. link022 Avatar
    link022

    Is the project arcturus had been totally abandoned by the ancients ?
    Have they taken their ressearch during their exile of pégase to resume this one of the beginning and finish it ?

    Reply
  11. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    @sylvia: There’s an actual Steveston somewhere? Who knew? I thought it was just a fictional name 🙂

    Reply
  12. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    @sylvia: Just found it! The restaurant is Dave’s Fish and Chips. Thanks for your help!

    Reply
  13. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    Look what I found:

    http://www.rdanderson.com/stargate/location/location3.htm

    Very cool!

    Reply
  14. Thornyrose Avatar
    Thornyrose

    Tantalizing pictures. And if the costs permit night shoots, tht would definitely add to the episode. Humans just don’t operate well at night(without our unatural lights to compensate anyways) and that should help draw in the viewers to the characters’ situation. And not to be too crass, but since it’s almost time to write episode 20, when will you get the renewal notice? It would be nice to see a quick decision made on the renewal.
    Thanks for the daily post, and hope you enjoy a carefree weekend, unlike the folks along our northeast coast.

    Reply
  15. feanor Avatar
    feanor

    Future seems to be bright for the series.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGbhESzJNAY&fs=1&hl=en_US]

    Destiny. Destiny? Destiny!

    Reply
  16. DP Avatar
    DP

    I know what that secret set is. They’re the low-ceiling-ed corridors of the ship where those termite cats the art department’s been working on live. Red Dwarf tribute, magnanimous of you.

    Reply
  17. Shirt'n'Tie Avatar
    Shirt’n’Tie

    Hi Mr M!

    Was recently at a Department Store and saw this Mannequin…..I can only assume that Ivon Bartok has his legal team on the case….

    http://twitpic.com/2kta4n

    S’n’T

    Reply
  18. Lisa R Avatar
    Lisa R

    Thanks for the cool set pictures. I can just imagine what it will look like on screen. Hope your rewrite continues to go well. Have a good day!

    Reply
  19. o6untouchable Avatar
    o6untouchable

    Super-secret set, you say?

    it’s not the Destiny bridge, is it? *hopeful*

    As if the phenominal acting and writing wasn’t enough, the quality of the art and design across the franchise is staggering. Every set so perfectly sums up the characters it represents – you could paint a stone effect across the Atlantis gateroom, and it’d look like the interior of some ancient temple; the interiors of Goa’uld and Wraith ships just ooze the personalities of their respective races; and all the offworld camps and villages and such strike the perfect balance between what we the audience would expect, and those little touches that help it to seem alien.

    I’m so glad you keep drawing our attention to all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, Joe: these people do an incredible job, and it would be so easy for us to not realise or appreciate all the effort that goes in.

    Having seen alien worlds go from the concept stage in the writers room, through the design process, and ultimately end up on screen, are there any sets, or ships, or gadgets, or gizmos that stand out? Are there any where they perfectly captured what the writers room wanted? Any where it was completely different? Any where they cooked up something better than you could have possibly imagined?

    Reply
  20. anais33 Avatar
    anais33

    Coucou =)

    Merci pour ces photos =)!! ça va bien?

    Moi oui, je passe 2 jours avec ma best avant de partir à Paris..nostaligie…

    Tiens j’y pense, vous avez un meilleur ami? si oui de qui s’agit t’il?

    Gros bisou=)

    Reply
  21. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    @ PBMom – We should be just peachy! We might get a bit of wind, but that’s nothing unusual for us here (Toms River area might not be as accustomed to wind as we are; wind, esp. in the winter, is a fact of life around these parts). I want RAIN, and none is in sight – as usual, the rain bands are fizzling out just before they hit land, then reforming west of us. It’s SOOOO dry and depressing here, we really need the rain. We’re actually supposed to have more wind (stronger winds) tomorrow with a cold front that’s passing through.

    @ JulieAloha – Glad I can give you a smile, or three. 🙂

    Work is still hell. Here’s a sample of what we face today: Last Friday we had large condensing unit delivered to a new hibachi restaurant that is supposed to open this coming Monday. The company delivered the wrong curb (100% their mistake) to set the unit on. Unit could not be installed. The new [correct] curb had to be fabricated. It was supposed to be shipped, and in New Jersey (outside Philly, a little less than 2 hours away) this morning. You know where it is? It’s about 1/2 hour west of Harriburg, PA…about 4 hours away, barring any traffic problems. We need to have this unit up and running by Monday, so we had to hire a truck (since the curb is too large to put in a pick-up), and send TWO of our men to Pennsylvania to pick it up (one to drive, one to keep the driver awake 🙄 ). The company that made the mistake is apologizing all over ithemselves, offering to pay for the rental and gas, etc., but that doesn’t help with the aggravation and pressure we face, especially right before a holiday weekend.

    The entire summer has been like this – one BIG mess after another, with most of it caused by either issues with our employees, or our suppliers totally screwing up our shipments. During the heat wave we had a rush order for a specialty AC unit for an elderly couple. The unit was coming up from Texas (I think – or Arkansas). The unit sat on the factory’s loading dock for DAYS, all while the salesman for our supplier kept calling them daily, telling them it was a rush-order. Their excuse? ‘We forgot to load it’…for at least 5 days! Five days and the thing just sat there while trucks came, and went. When they finally got around to shipping it, they set it up for ground freight, then realized it was supposed to be overnight air, and so that delayed it yet another day! We insisted that the factory pay the freight, which they wouldn’t, but our supplier did half the expense with us, knowing it was a mistake totally on their end.

    All summer long, crap like that…coupled with whiny employees with more baggage than the whole of the crew of the Destiny!

    Dad and me? I’ve dealt with him all my life, so I’m pretty used to it, and bounce right back after a good venting. 🙂 Lots of people have had it much worse with their parents, so I count my blessings.

    As far as my wit vs. my self-esteem…well…I could either sulk, or laugh. Sure, I’ve done my fair share of moping about, but I have a wicked sense of humor, so in the end laughter usually wins out. It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel like shit inside, it just means that humor is my drug of choice in coping with how I feel. Some people medicate, some people drink…I watch funny youtube videos and think up with silly names to call Joe. 🙂 Ever since I was a little girl I have always handled stress/distress with laughter…like a loon! Mwahahahaha! *makes crazy eyes!*

    Besides, the whole sulky-broody thing only looks good on pale, long-locked men. 🙂

    das

    Reply
  22. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    Ugh. Forgive my typos above – I composed that over an hour and a half, in between deliveries, phone calls, laundry, breakfast, and a few other things…and I didn’t proofread. :p

    @ feanor – No…it’s more like this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrGXzpTjBVQ

    😀

    das

    Reply
  23. T'sGoatee Avatar
    T’sGoatee

    Destiny’s bridge? Engine room? Waste-recycling system? (God forbid it isn’t that!) That would be taking the SGU “dark place” approach to a whole new level. Can’t wait for Masked discussion.

    Reply
  24. pg15 Avatar
    pg15

    Hmmm…a platform held up in the air? Does it rock?

    And by that I don’t mean does it become Awesome musically, but instead, does it sway back and forth, thus prompting it to be raised above floor level? Though, both would be nice. 😉

    Big thanks on the production update, Joe! No Gauntlet for the season finale? Wonder why that is. It’s a pretty sweet name.

    Also…Epilogue? Flashback episode perhaps. Hmmm…

    @ PBMom: I gotta say, I had a big smile on my face the whole time I was reading that comment of yours about Patrick! So glad to hear his progress now that he’s surrounded by positive reinforcement instead of a mindless atmosphere of conformity. Here’s to continual improvements! 😀

    Reply
  25. Major D. Davis Avatar
    Major D. Davis

    Couple questions…

    1. When are you shooting for a release of the trailer? Will it be released onto MGM.com or this blog?

    2. With Spyglass/MGM deal being finalized, which would allow some productions to move ahead, have there been any rumblings on the movies front?

    Thanks so much,
    Major D. Davis

    Reply
  26. ganymede Avatar
    ganymede

    Hey, ANYONE here from *CHRISTCHURCH*?? If so, hope you’re OK!

    Reply
  27. Tammy Dixon Avatar
    Tammy Dixon

    Das: so sorry about business problems. Sounds frustrating for everyone. Glad things are leveling out with your dad, though.
    We enjoy your wit and humor, so you can vent anytime!

    PBmom: you sounds so relaxed and happy now. Are you the same person from a few months ago that was dealing with a corrupt school board? Wow! I’m glad Peter is with good people now.
    We thought my son might be autistic because he is very literal and OCD. His favorite toy when he was 3 years old: tape and doorstops! 😀

    Reply
  28. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    Hummm… super secret set… say that ten times fast! Ha!

    Why does DOP, Jim Menard look like he has a major migraine coming on??? Is that SSS causing him to have some potential lighting nightmares?

    Thanks for the pic’s Mr.M… you rock, as always… have a great weekend! Cheers!

    Reply
  29. Shirt'n'Tie Avatar
    Shirt’n’Tie

    Hi (again) Mr M!

    Was sent this link today. Presume you’ve seen it, but if you haven’t…..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRerwXWTRjM

    Too funny!

    Best to you from the Emerald Isle.

    S’n’T

    Reply
  30. chevron7 Avatar
    chevron7

    JulieAloha said:

    @Chev – “AussieCon4, the World Science Fiction Convention is on at the moment. Anything you want?” Yes, to BE there!

    LOL…wouldn’t be awesome to have the whole joeblog community meet there?

    I’m thinking of going tomorrow to check things out

    Cheers, Chev

    Reply
  31. chevron7 Avatar
    chevron7

    Shirt’n’Tie – That Department Store could become as famous as Madame Tussauds….everyone will want to go there and get a photo taken w/ the Ivon mannequin….LOL

    Thanks for sharing it with us

    Cheers, Chev

    Reply
  32. chevron7 Avatar
    chevron7

    I found this Sci-Fi Eye test the other day….how many can you answer? No cheating…

    SciFi Eye Test

    I suck at it….could only recognise 9.

    Cheers, Chev

    Reply
  33. Zoomeister Avatar
    Zoomeister

    Hey, Joe.

    How’s it going? Got a couple of questions.

    I.) I’m sorry you guys didn’t win the Emmy for Visual Effects, losing it to CSI even. In fact, not only was I annoyed that it beat out SGU, I was pretty ticked off that something such as CSI somehow managed to beat out 4 freaking sci-fi shows. That is, until I saw the scene that CSI won it for.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLEBsFKfCFI

    I don’t know. What do you think? Did that deserve to win?

    2.) Furthermore, how does that stack up against what we’ll see in season 2 of SGU?

    Thanks for your responses.

    Reply
  34. BrianC Avatar
    BrianC

    Hey Joe some questions for you if thats cool.

    1. The main gun on destiny seemed kinda… lame. Can we assume that is suffering from disrepair will we see it repaired int the future for some space combat actions

    2. The ancients surely packed more than two shuttles right?

    3. The dome room that nearly swallowed Scott and co in the first episode, that looked pretty cool, any chance of seeing that again. It occurs to me that with some lighting that it would make an awesome arboretum.

    4. SPOILERS SEASON 2 Warning Start
    Several not so spoiler friendly sites/shows have already shown rush in the bridge. Will we get an answer to what happened to Dr Franklin now that we have core access.
    4. SPOILERS SEASON 2 Warning Over

    Reply
  35. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    @ Tammy Dixon – Dad treated all of us (employees) to dinner at a Mexican restaurant (owned/operated by Mexicans). We have one Mexican employee…and he doesn’t like Mexican food…lol.

    @ ganymede – I am pathetic – the first thing I googled was the Crusaders Rugby team, since they’re based in Christchurch (and they’re one of my favorite club teams). 😛 I haven’t heard of any deaths, but – boy – a lot of stuff came tumbling down. I hope everyone is okay!

    das

    Reply
  36. Vince Avatar
    Vince

    To have brought SG-U to such an abrupt end is horrendous!

    There will be an open end, and nothing will be resolved.

    Please have the courtesy to at least create an end-all-be-all series ending, such as FARSCAPE had…all most everyone died…good ending…give the CREW of the DESTINY a good ending, please?

    The Actors and the Characters all DESERVE that respect, at LEAST!

    I am so very upset with SyFy (this would NOT have happened when they were still Sci-Fi) that I am all for a complete BOYCOTT of the channel entirely.

    Sincerely,

    A VERY UPSET SG-1/SG-A/SG-U consumer and fan

    Reply

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