Well look at who I came across this morning at the Farmer's Market. None other than my favorite fellow foodie Natalie Cooper, aka Batman, aka The Sock Girl! She informed me that she had been trying to convince her mom to join her for the special tasting menu at a local high-end Mexican restaurant. I,…
February 27, 2015: Introducing our new Dark Matter consulting producer!
Between prep, production, and post, I hardly have time for anything else. Hell, I hardly have time for prep, production, and post. If I'm prepping an episode, I can't be on set. If I'm on set, I can't be in editing. And if I'm in editing, I can't be in prep. So what's an Executive…
February 26, 2015: Top 15 Strange But Familiar Fast Food Menu Items I’d Like To Try!
Whenever I visit a foreign country, I always like to check out the local fast food eateries for a taste of the strange yet familiar. For instance, last time I was in Japan, I went to McDonalds and had a hamburger - but not your run-of-the-mill hamburger. I had a Kuro Burger: a beef patty…
February 25, 2015: Dark Matter! Prep! Production! Pics!
Toronto has been very Hoth-like of late, so I suppose I shouldn't have been all that surprised to come across the above in the lunch room today. Could've used that nice warm lightsaber while we were shooting in Hamilton last month! Morning meetings today for episode #106 with director Ron Murphy (or "Murph" as he…
Cloverblob!
So there I was the other day, minding my own business when I received the following message on Twitter: Hunh? Who, I wondered, is zoiepalmer's cat? Well, I did a little research and, as it turns out, zoiepalmer's cat IS Zoie Palmer's cat, Cloverblob, who apparently has her own twitter account. Hoping to avoid any…
February 23, 2015: Production madness!
It feels like mere weeks ago I was planning our trip to Toronto to work start work on Dark Matter. I'd been developing the series for so long, impatiently awaiting its green light, that when we finally received word we had a go, I couldn't quite believe it. And back in the summer of 2014 when…
February 22, 2015: Second Christmas!
Last night, Akemi and I went out with our friends Jeff and Barb who are in town for a few days to enjoy all the snow, subzero temperatures, and blistering wind that Toronto has to offer. Last time Jeff was in town, we took him out to one of my favorite restaurants: Buca. For his…
February 21, 2015: Promises, promises!
I love Dark Matter Costume Designer Noreen Landry and the rest of her crew in wardrobe. They're talented, resourceful, and incredibly creative. Sometimes, I think, maybe a little too creative when it comes to some of the wilder ideas they've thrown my way. Still, I thought I'd done a pretty good job of managing the more inspired…
February 20, 2015: Director Amanda Tapping’s last day! Birthday bash on Shaofu 2! A visit to the space station clinic!
Today marked the final day of Amanda Tapping's directing gig on Dark Matter episode #104 (pictured above with 1st Assistant Director Brandon Tataryn). We're going to miss her. And not just because she treated the cast and crew to a mobile coffee, tea, and hot chocolate stand! Meanwhile, Assistant Production Coordinator Travis Lowry celebrated his…
February 19, 2015: A casting hint! Cat Shirt Thursday on Shaofu 2!
While we wait for the official press release on our recent casting coup (any day now!), how about a little hint in the from of a character breakdown for the latest addition to the Dark Matter family: "Slick, silver-tongued, and more than a little seedy, Tabor Calchek is the crew’s “handler” and the ultimate agent. For the standard…
February 18, 2015: And now a word from our interstellar sponsors!
Today's blog entry, brought to you by Solar Soda and Cosmic Tonic. For a taste truly out of this world! *A division of Station Shaofun 2 Holdings, Ltd. CEO of graphics, Roxanne Barris. President of digital motion, Kelly Diamond. We now return to our scheduled blog entry, already in progress... - haven't worked together in…
February 17, 2015: The many superhero shirts of Jay Firestone!
The first time I met Jay Firestone was about two years ago, while I was in town working on some nameless production. My agent called to inform me that he had scheduled me a meeting with a very busy, very successful local producer. I thought: "Sure, why not?". Ninety-nine percent of the time, these meet…
February 16, 2015: Introducing Production Coordinator Alice Foster! Mailbag!
Sweet, soft-spoken, yoga enthusiastic. You'd think I was describing myself but, in fact, I'm talking about the wonderful Alice Foster, Dark Matter's Production Coordinator. And coordinate she does, juggling everything from travel and accommodations to - oh, just about everything else - with dextrous aplomb and unflagging cheerfulness. Who got me this apartment conveniently close…
February 15, 2014: For the scifi fan who has everything! And yet another big casting announcement to come!
Well, how cool is this? I returned from my two days of location shooting in Hamilton to discover this sitting in my office. While in London, Jay picked me up this box of customized Dark Matter marshmallows: Pretty cool, no? They're so awesome, I can't bring myself to eat them. Of course I'm sure Akemi…
February 14, 2015: Akemi and I take Jodelle on a foodly excursion!
"I ate like garbage box." - Akemi today after lunch, her way of letting me know she ate too much. Pictured above: the chocolates I got Akemi for Valentine's Day. Jean-Paul Hevin, shipped from Paris. They arrived three days ago and sat in the fridge because Akemi wanted to wait. A dried fruit and nut…