Sure, I could give you a production update, tell you that Brad and Rob are in New Mexico for Day #2 of Malice, that Carl was on set for Day #1 of The Greater Good, that Remi delivered his revised writer's draft of Visitation, Linda delivered her first draft of Alliances, Paul delivered his outline…
May 16, 2010: Actress Alaina Huffman Answers Your Questions!
As I always do, I forwarded the fan/reader questions with the understanding that work and other commitments would probably prevent a quick turnaround. "Here are the questions,"went my standard accompanying message. "Feel free to pick and choose among them, then send them back my way whenever you're done. No rush and no deadline." The next…
May 14, 2010: Stargate: Universe episode #17 – Pain! Production Update! Atlantis Stuff!
Tonight on SyFy - Stargate: Universe, episode #17, Pain. The one where everyone freakin' loses it! (photos courtesy and copyright MGM Television) Spent about an hour in editing today, tweaking my cut before sending it out to the network. In the end, I wound up adding a few more visual effect shots: a) to help…
May 13, 2010: Ice Cream! A Big +7 Pop! And Atlantis Goodies!
Forget the show, the upcoming short story, or my general health. What everyone wants to know is "Did you remember to bring in the ice cream for Carl?" The answer is... Carl perks up at the prospect of ice cream. Ooooh! What do we have here?! Yes. And he enjoyed it immensely - although that…
May 12, 2010: Ice Cream Update! Production Update! The Mailbag!
Well, I forgot to bring the ice cream in to work again this morning and, while many of you did remind me, I can't help but recall an exchange from The Last King of Scotland that goes something like: Idi Amin: Yes, you are my advisor. You are the only one I can trust in…
May 11, 2010: Julie McNiven is awesome! My day with Maverick! The day in pictures!
Hey, you know who's really awesome? Actress Julie McNiven. And I'm saying this because she's incredibly talented and unbelievably sweet, and not just because she brought me some TimTams back from her recent con appearance in New Zealand. I was touched! "Why did you get me Tim Tams?"I asked her. "Because you told me not…
May 8, 2010: Goodies from the Art Department, both Universe and Atlantis!
I feel as though the past couple of weeks have finally caught up with me and I could sleep for a week. Or, at the very least, the weekend. Might as well make the most of it because next week, I'll be launching into my rewrite of episode #10, Resurgence, AND spending a couple of…
May 5, 2010: Cookie-gate! Early script feedback! And a little something from the Atlantis vault!
Ashleigh was at it again today. I'm sure that once you hear the details, many of you will be horrified and will seriously reconsider your misguided support for my arch-nemesis. So, yesterday, Ashleigh mentioned that those chocolate peanut butter chip cookies she brought in were actually her second batch. The first attempt was so soft…
May 4, 2010: Victory is sweet! And peanut buttery too! Artwork, schematics, and set pics from Stargate: Universe episode #11, Space!
Well, she may be sneaky and cruel, conniving and occasionally vengeful, but I'll say one thing for Ashleigh - she's also prompt. Only one day after losing to me in a food trivia showdown, she paid up on the bet by bringing in the batch of cookies I requested: chocolate with peanut butter chips. Before…
May 3, 2010: Battles with Ashleigh! Production Update! Miscellaneous Pics! And the Mailbag!
I walked into the office this morning and, as I do every day, popped my head into Ashleigh's office to say hi, inquire about her weekend, and ask her if she missed me (her mouth says no but her eyes say "Hell, yeah!"). Anyway, she was wearing her new jacket - When my writing partner,…
May 1, 2010: Spoiler Alert! Projects on the Go! Dog Day Afternoon!
Boy, I'm going to get in trouble for this - but against my better judgment, I am uploading a pic of one of the placeholder titles up on the white board in the writers' room. Like Teal'c Interrupted, Fool's Goa'uld, and The Red Shirt Diaries, this temporary title may end up as nothing more than…
April 21, 2010: Author Christopher Barzak Answers Your Questions! And maybe YOU can answer one of mine!
Production Day #3 on Awakening had me at work, bright and early, for the 7:00 a.m. crew call. There, I watched Director Andy Mikita work his magic on an extremely challenging set - with ten actors in play! Between the goings-on on Stage 6 and my office, I also found the time to join my…
April 20, 2010: Spoilers! Chocolates! And Cake!
I spent a couple of early hours on set this morning to watch Director Andy Mikita work his magic on Awakening (Day #3 of production). A lot of jumping around in this one which resulted in our block-shooting a number of successive scenes. Producer John G. Lenic swung by to inform me that we were…
April 16, 2010: Awakening Day 1
6:00 a.m.: Wake up early to get in for the 7:30 a.m. call. Check my phone and notice a message from the production office informing me that shooting ran late yesterday and the crew call has been pushed to 8:30 a.m. I go back to sleep. I dream that I offer a stranded Ashleigh a…
April 14, 2010: Okay, this is the plan…
So the plan was simple enough: dedicate the day to completing the first act of my script. I'd already hit the twelve page mark and really only envisioned another two or three pages to go before landing on that Dum-Dum-Daaaaah moment that takes us to commercial. Two or three pages. And I had an entire…