First Sighting of BSG Con Swag

TV Squad's Comic-Con correspondent was just handed a special Sci Fi Channel swag bag containing some familiar-looking temporary tattoos...



They also gave him a set of those cool pewter BSG ship models. You can buy those via the links here btw.

Sweet, eh? According to a Cinematical writer, this is not something most press will receive... so you con-going plebians who want a copy may need to sweet-talk some unsuspecting TV journalist just the right way...worth a try... Or try lurking at the SFC booth a lot.

ETA: If I am reading this Seat42F post right, these SFC "purple big Frakkin bags" are going to be available to the rest of the unwashed masses - gentlefolk, get down to that booth while they last!

Comic-Con Has Landed

Alrighty folks, Geek Prom starts tonight in San Diego.

Sitrep will cover the frak out of it, naturally, so stop by here often. I will be covering a ton of non-BSG film and TV stuff over at FanGrrl Magnet.

Our Comic-Con correspondent Greg Dewar will be on the ground at Prom getting the low-down on everything BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (and VIRTUALITY, CAPRICA, DOLLHOUSE, etc). Greg is the founder of the inspiring Adama For President project, so keep an eye out for cheerful men in ADAMA '08 tees roaming the floor -- that's probably his posse. Greg will be posting here all week, and uploading his photos to this Flickr stream.


BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-related events this year include:

Richard Hatch, composer Bear McCreary, science advisor Kevin Grazier, producer Tom DeSanto and "surprise guests" on the panel "BSG 30th Anniversary" (Thursday).

Richard Hatch will be signing autographs; more info here (Thursday - Sunday).

Lucy Lawless on the "Scream Like a Girl" panel moderated by Kevin Smith (Thursday).

Patrick Lee, editor of the Sci Fi Channel's marvelous Sci Fi Wire news service, on the "Science Fiction That Will Change Your Life" panel (Thursday).

Science advisor Kevin Grazier on the "Science Behind Science Fiction" panel with EUREKA's Jamie Paglia (Thursday).

BSG & CAPRICA production designer Richard Hudolin on the "Production Designers" panel (Friday).

The "Exceeding Expectations and Exploring New Worlds" panel with Zoic Studios plans to include BSG Special Effects department folks, though no names are listed yet (Friday).

At booth #2607 (Diamond Select Toys): Bodie Olmos promoting DST's "Hot Dog" action figure; purchase autograph package in advance (Friday and Saturday).

At booth #3945 (Genius Products/The Weinstein Company): Jamie Bamber promoting his feature film PULSE 2 on DVD (Saturday 11am-1pm).

BSG writer/producer Mark Verheiden on the Dark Horse 12pm panel discussing his feature film MY NAME IS BRUCE...possibly with some surprise guests? (Saturday)

Tahmoh Penikett on the panel for his new show DOLLHOUSE (Saturday).

THE MAIN EVENT: Saturday's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA panel with Ron Moore, David Eick, the human/cylon couples James Callis/Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff/Michael Trucco...and the wicked modding skillz of truefan Kevin Smith.

Ron Moore discussing his new project VIRTUALITY on the "TV Guide: Hot List" panel (Saturday).

Adam Levermore-Rich, aka Lexigeek, is the artist behind those wonderful BSG propaganda posters and the "How To Spot A Cylon" poster. He is involved in a contest taking place at SDCC this week; see details here.

And, to top it all off: the Bear McCreary/Singers of Battlestar Galactica gig on Sunday evening at Anthology near the convention center. Featuring "some surprise Galactica guests"...


...whew...I'm getting excited...

Eric Stoltz talks to io9

io9 interviewed Eric Stoltz this week about CAPRICA and BLANK SLATE, his two projects at the Sci Fi Channel this season. Looks like Mr. Graystone gives good interview...he'll fit in here quite nicely methinks.

io9: I know you guys run into a bit of a conflict when you recreate your past loved ones mechanically, how does your character's reaction differ from Esai's?

ES: I'm not sure I should talk about this, as it involves spoilers.

io9: How would you describe Caprica to our readers (since they are very anxious to see it)?

ES: It's a show that takes place in the not-so-distant future, on a not-so-distant planet, that deals with a family struggling to stay together, class warfare, religion, and our never ending search for meaning in a world that over-values stimulation, consumerism, and facts.

Another thing I can check off my Bucket List

We are prepping a much longer Comic-Con round up post for you fans who are going to San Diego this week, but I had to share this right frakkin' now. Cuz it makes me so darned happy.

I just noticed that Spike TV's Scream Awards Comic-Con panel "Scream Like a Girl" this weekend will feature Lucy Lawless onstage talking with Kevin Smith. Oh joy of joys.


Here are all the deets:

4:45-5:45 / Ballroom 20

"SCREAM" Like a Girl

Spike loves women. And the coolest women on the planet are the ones who destroy aliens, defeat serial killers and battle evil villains with their superpowers! In honor of Spike's ScreamAwards 2008—the first and most important televised event that celebrates the genius creative talent behind the powerhouse Hollywood genres of comic books, science fiction, fantasy and horror—Spike brings you a candid discussion of these genres from the women they love, who are poised to rule the fanboy's universe! Moderator Kevin Smith (Clerks), the brilliant writer, director, and comic book genius hosts an all-female panel of actresses, artists, writers, directors, and producers, including Gale Ann Hurd (Terminator, Terminator 2), Lucy Lawless (Xena, Battlestar Galactica), Jaime King (The Spirit, Sin City), and Pia Guerra (Y: The Last Man), in a discussion about working in these genres from their unique point of view. Twenty lucky panel attendees will win tickets to the 2008 Scream Awards.

Meanwhile, speaking of Kevin Smith: EW's Marc Bernardin is moderating the "Visionary Filmmakers" panel with Smith, Zack Snyder, Judd Apatow and Frank Miller -- and is seeking fandom questions for the panel over here.

Depth

via Sci Fi Wire:

Caprica As Deep As Battlestar

Ronald D. Moore, co-creator of SCI FI Channel's upcoming backdoor pilot film Caprica, told SCI FI Wire that the Battlestar Galactica prequel will foreshadow events in that series while dealing with some of the same weighty issues.

"It's something that Adama [Edward James Olmos] said in the [Battlestar] miniseries, you know: 'You don't play god and then get to walk away from what you created,'" Moore said in an interview at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 20. "And that's really the story of Caprica. We're going to watch them create this [Cylon race], and then wrestle with the ramifications of it. They're not even going to realize what they've created at first."

Though the show will be relatively planet-bound and take place in an urban reality not unlike our own, Moore said the SF-tinged story will nevertheless enable him to tackle serious issues in the same way as Battlestar.

"Well, we're still going to be dealing with things that are similar, in that there are still going to be issues of terrorism and security and how society should protect itself or not protect itself," Moore said. "You know, what is the line between civil liberties and protection of the homeland? We're still going to be dealing with a lot of those things, because they're going to be spiraling out of certain events that happen in the pilot. And, you know, but you're also dealing with ethical responsibilities. You're also dealing with things like, you know, what is a person? What does it mean to be a sentient being? Does that being have rights? What are you allowed to do to something that you've created out in a laboratory? ... Does it have a soul?"

A decision on when and how the TV movie will air is due later this year.

Some Caprica Cast Spoke to TV Guide

Polly Walker, Eric Stoltz, and Paula Malcomson talked to TV Guide about Caprica.

Jamie Bamber is wrapped.

Watch With Kristin has posted this video of Jamie Bamber at last night's NBCU TCA party, where he talks about the end of BSG and his next project, LAW & ORDER: LONDON.

Video: CAPRICA TCA clip

The LA Times has posted a first glance at footage from CAPRICA.



[Hat tip to Discovering Esai.]

Update: Sitrep's Michael Taylor interview

If you've been reading all the TCA coverage below, you have probably figured out this is crunch time for Ron Moore and the cast & crew of VIRTUALITY.

Many of you have been asking about the status of the Sitrep interview with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and VIRTUALITY writer/producer Michael Taylor. We also delivered a ton of great questions from you, our readers, as promised.

Rest assured: you will get your answers...but Mr. Taylor is intensely busy this month, so our interview will be delayed.

It's a long hiatus friends. Have patience.

"It's not called Pillowfight Galactica"...

BSG visual effects artist Mojo posted this weekend about BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Emmy nominations. At the bottom of his post he shares some fan-frakkin-tastic insider stuff -- the FX "breakdown sheets" created by BSG's CGI Supervisor Doug Drexler.

These sheets are part of the materials that are submitted to the Academy for Emmy consideration. *cue nerdgasm*



[By the way, that Emmy nom BSG received for the oddly-worded "Special Class - Short-Form Live-Action Entertainment Program"? That's the newly established webisode category. Hat tip to Tech Radar.]

Jamie Bamber takes up Law

Jamie Bamber shared some exciting news last night with Watch With Kristin about his next TV role:

According to Jamie, "I'm doing a series in England called Law & Order: UK, and I'm being a cop. And, yes, the show is London judiciary and London cops. It's got the same premise as the original American Law & Order, same everything, just with a UK production company and UK actors. My partner's going to be to be a British guy named Bradley Walsh."

The series, which begins production this August in London, will air first on ITV in the United Kingdom.

[PS: one of the commenters on that post mentions that DOCTOR WHO's Freema Agyeman has been cast as a prosecutor.]

More from the TCAs...part deux

From a Sci Fi interview with Ron Moore:

Ronald D. Moore, who co-created Fox's two-hour SF backdoor pilot film VIRTUALITY, told SCI FI Wire that the film is gearing up to shoot at the end of this month..."Virtuality is in preproduction," Moore said in an interview at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 20. "We start shooting the end of the month. We've got a cast. Peter Berg's directing. It's for Fox. It's a completely different kind of show."

Virtuality will air as a movie of the week, Moore added.

That's an interesting tidbit at the end...combining this with Moore's other statements last night, and what Fox exec Peter Liguori was saying earlier in the week about VIRTUALITY, it sounds like the pilot/movie will be truly unusual television -- and everyone involved needs to see a finished product before there is any news about this going to series.

So cross yer fingers.



From The Live Feed:

Sci Fi had a panel for "Caprica" during the network's TCA session, where showrunner Ron Moore and cast members took the stage to answer questions from critics. The project has long been called a two-hour backdoor pilot, and is supposed to air sometime this fall. An upgrade to a series order would likely push its air date until sometime next year, a Sci Fi spokesperson says. Certainly the very act of paneling a mere pilot at the critics tour suggests network enthusiasm for the project.

Moore says that it won’t matter that people already know how the prequel story ends. In fact, he's counting on that to add suspense.

..." 'Caprica' is a different animal [from the current series]," he says. “It’s about a vibrant society that is at the height of its power and the height of its decadence. It’s going to come apart. It’s sort of like a roller coaster.”

The action will be firmly grounded on the planet of Caprica rather than lots of space-based jumping around between different locations. Executive producer David Eick said technological emphasis in the new show will be on artificial intelligence instead of space travel.

“That’s what’s new on this show, rather than space travel, which we take as an existing technology," Eick says.

From TV Week on CAPRICA:

"The tension comes from the fact that you know where it's going," said executive producer Ronald D. Moore.

"The idea is to say, 'All that you see here is doomed.' There's an ominous (tone)," he said.

Moore compared the situation to producers of war movies.

"You know how World War II is going to turn out. You know the Nazis are going to lose," he said. "That doesn't mean you can't tell compelling stories."

From a Sci Fi interview with CAPRICA cast member Eric Stolz:

Stoltz told SCI FI Wire that he will play Daniel Graystone, a wealthy computer whiz who bears a resemblance to a mogul in our universe.

"A lot like Bill Gates, only richer," Stoltz said in an interview.

..."I would say there are two poles that fuel the drama, but I'd be hard pressed one is a good guy and one is a bad guy," Stoltz said. "What it has similar with Battlestar is that there's a gray area. No character is all good or all bad. We all have our gray areas that we live within. But it's interesting that way: You're not quite sure who you should or shouldn't be rooting for."

Unlike Battlestar, Caprica takes place in a world not unlike our own, Stoltz added. "I think Caprica taking place 51 years before Battlestar happens, it's very similar to our society now," he said. "There are no flying cars. There are no spaceships. We're on an Earth-like planet. We wear the same clothes. We have similar problems. Ideally, people will be able to watch Caprica and think, 'This is similar to what we're [doing], to what's happening in the States right now.'"

From The TV Addict on CAPRICA:

The clip reel they showed during Sunday’s Television Press Tour Panel had a real detective / film noir look to it. Men wear suits, fedoras, and live in a world where people smoke and drink. Plus, they also apparently go to strip clubs, as there was a pretty clear shot of some side boobage. CAPRICA looks to be trying to up the “hot” factor with this spinoff. According to Remi Aubuchon, writer and executive producer, they weren’t specifically trying to emulate the look of MAD MEN, but he said that that show and CAPRICA do a “good job of making the viewer realize immediatelty that you’re looking at a different era.”

...Esai Morales, plays the father of Edward James Olmos’ William Adama character, and a young boy plays a version of Olmos’ character. Moore quipped, “Eddie wantd to do it. He came in doing one of those things where he’s on his knees with the shoes. He’s really upset that we didn’t use him.” When asked why we haven’t seen other Adama characters played by Hispanics, Moore said “Well, within the world of Battlestar Galactica, the Adama’s aren’t Hispanic. He’s an immigrant from a colony called Tauron, and he changes his name to Joseph Adama to try and assimilate himself.”

And, for fun, BSG writer/producer Mark Verheiden (who is currently working on an an additional CAPRICA script) adds his non-spoilery half a cent:

Nothing much I can add, except having read the pilot script, I'll just say Caprica is as fascinating, daring and intriguing as Battlestar, though in a completely different way. I know what you're thinking, what does THAT mean? Is it shot in Smell-o-vision? Do the characters speak backwards? Is it powerful, thought-provoking drama? If you picked "C", you win...

The Hollywood Reporter mentions that Sci Fi is expanding their brand:

Sci Fi has expanded and reorganized its wide-ranging businesses under a new umbrella, Sci Fi Ventures, it said Sunday at the TCA press tour...

In addition to the cable channel, Sci Fi Ventures is to include Sci Fi Media (SciFi.com, Dvice and Fidgit and a new theatrical film banner, Sci Fi Films); Sci Fi Games (a partnership with Trion Worldwide and an equity stake in BigPoint Games); Sci Fi Gear (licensed product lines); Sci Fi Publishing (Sci Fi/Virgin Comics); and Sci Fi Kids (fantasy and imaginative products for youngsters).

And...OT but fun: LA FEMME NIKITA fans out there take note, they mention working on an original movie featuring Peta Wilson.

The Watcher Watches

Chicago Tribune television critic, Maureen Ryan has a really comprehensive interview with Ron Moore she conducted Friday after the TCA panel on Caprica, in which he talks about the finale of Battlestar Galactica, the future of Caprica and Virtuality, and the next BSG DVD movie written by Jane Espenson and to be directed by Edward James Olmos. Ron also touched upon the possible production of webisodes that will bridge season 4.0 and 4.5. Ryan also briefly spoke to Sci-Fi exec David Howe as well.

The proposed “Battlestar Galactica” TV movie would take place during the time frame of previous seasons, but it would air after the series finale.

Howe said the final episodes of “Battlestar” will begin airing in January.

The final set of episodes will be at least 11 hours long, and the series finale will occupy three of those hours. However, there’s a chance that the series finale could expand even more.

The “Battlestar” series finale will definitely expand on DVD. Regardless of the length of the finale that airs on Sci Fi next year, an even longer cut will be released on DVD.

Howe said that if “Caprica” gets a full series order, it will air in 2009. If “Caprica,” which was written by Moore and Remi Aubuchon, does not get a series order and airs as a standalone 2-hour movie, it could air this fall.

Regarding when the network would decide whether to pick “Caprica” as a full series, Howe said the decision would come in September. He and his team are considering two other pilots as well, “Revolution” and “Warehouse 13.” Executives will get a cut of “Caprica” in early August, then decide in September whether it will become a series.

Howe said if “Caprica” does get a series order, it will not be something that is designed to end after 13 episodes. It’ll be a regular series that could potentially go on for years, not a limited-run series.

Ryan's interview is must read, so read it here.

The Los Angeles Times has a Sunday Conversation with Grace Park. At the end of the conversation she had to kill a spider:

There's one [BSG] episode [late in season 4.5, before the finale] where everything is explained and I had to read it three times. . . . Then we had to sit down -- like, how does this guy know anything? And where was this thing orbiting? And who died? We don't want to lay it out in the script so much, because if you laid it out that way, it'd be dead boring. There's a spider on my wall I'm going to nab right now! He's a fast one -- I don't want to kill it, I'm just going to grab it. Eek! He's on the ground. I had to kill it. I'm sorry.

More from the TCAs...

BuddyTV on both shows:

...the final season of Battlestar Galactica will air in January 2009. Sanctuary will premiere in October, and there is currently no set date for Caprica. The executives at Sci Fi are waiting to see the two-hour TV movie to decide whether to air it in the Fall or to save it to air along with the eventual series.

...[Caprica] will be pre-apocalyptic, but it will not rely on making constant references to Battlestar Galactica. Moore stated that we most likely won't be meeting Gaeta's grandfather, primarily because in this old world, the 12 colonies are not unified under one government.

...Moore added that when he and Eick first discussed a companion piece to Battlestar Galactica, the prequel was the only viable idea. He revealed a continuation wasn't likely since BSG will have a definitive ending. “We're going to end Battlestar with a period at the end of the sentence.”

Caprica will most likely not include references to the families of characters in BSG beyond the Adamas. Moore said in Caprica the 12 colonies are not united, so there is no president.

Robert Philpot's blog indicates that Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson and David Eick were also present with Ron Moore and the Sci Fi execs.


iF Magazine on CAPRICA:

The biggest news on CAPRICA, [Sci Fi Channel's Mark] Stern reveals that even though it's a backdoor pilot, it may not air as a movie first.

"We’ll take liberty of [looking at the series] over the next two weeks and then decide it whether to hold it and make it part of a full blown series or air it first as a two-hour movie," says Stern.

What that means -- if the show is good, they see a viable option, expect an announcement of ordering it as a series, before it gets a chance to air as a TV movie.

The iF piece also mentions more on the backdoor pilot WAREHOUSE 13 (Rockne O'Bannon is involved), and that Sci Fi is developing a new mini-series based on an idea by Bryan Singer -- to be scripted by Richard C. Matheson. No word yet on the previously-mentioned David Eick CHILDREN OF MEN adaptation...

Season 4.5 Airs January 2009

The LA Times has this from the TCA event:

At Sunday afternoon's press tour session, Dave Howe, the president of Sci Fi Channel, announced that the final -- or as he put it "final, final" -- season of "Battlestar Galactica" will premiere in January.

And then we will come to the end.

Caprican twitters

From press twittering live at today's TCA event...


Zap2It:

Ronald D. Moore says that the tension of "Caprica" will come from knowing where the story is going...

TV Squad:

2-hr backdoor pilot for Caprica, then will decide on series based on response to that.

There are no plans to flash-forward or include any current BSG into Caprica, as the 2 shows are so different.

Montage

Music vid edited by freelancerxo02.

Some Video

USA Network interviewed Tricia Helfler in Vancouver about her work on USA's Burn Notice.

Shifting off the topic of BSG for a second, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes." (Who watches the watchmen?)

Emmy nominations

The nominations for the 2008 Emmy Awards were announced this morning (full list here), and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has six nominations as listed below.

Congrats everyone!


Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
Battlestar Galactica • Six Of One
Written By Michael Angeli

Outstanding Cinematography For A One-Hour Series
Battlestar Galactica • Razor
Stephen McNutt, Director of Photography

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing
For A Drama Series
Battlestar Galactica • He That Believeth In Me
Julius Ramsay, Editor

Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series
Battlestar Galactica • He That Believeth In Me
Gary Hutzel, Visual Effects Supervisor
Michael Gibson, Visual Effects Producer
David Takemura, Visual Effects Coordinator
Doug Drexler, CGI Supervisor
Kyle Toucher, CG Artist
Sean Jackson, CG Artist
Pierre Drolet, CG Modeler
Aurore de Blois, Senior Compositor
Derek Ledbetter, Compositor

Outstanding Sound Mixing
For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One-Hour)
Battlestar Galactica • Razor
Rick Bal, Production Mixer
Michael Olman, C.A.S., Supervising Re-Recording Mixer
Kenneth Kobett, C.A.S., Supervising Re-Recording Mixer

Outstanding Special Class
Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs
Battlestar Galactica - Razor Featurette #4
Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer
David Eick, Executive Producer
Harvey Frand, Supervising Producer

* By the way, that last oddly-named award is for webisodes...

A Four-Quadrant Show

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan spoke the Fox’s chairman, Peter Liguori, about "Virtuality," the pilot "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Ron Moore and co-executive producer Michael Taylor are making for Fox, and also about Joss Whedon’s mid-season show for the network, "Dollhouse."

MR: What’s going on with “Virtuality”? It seems like there’s so much positive buzz about it, but that doesn’t always translate into a pickup [to series].

PL: Yeah, look, this is why do you pilots. Especially, the more ambitious the show, the more important the pilot is – just being able to do that exercise and figure out, do we have the characters right, can we [execute] this. Ron Moore, honestly, he’s the real deal. When you sit there and talk to someone and say, “Does he have a strategy? Does he have a 100-episode plan, does he have a grip on his characters?” He’s got it. It’s a very ambitious pilot, it’s a very ambitious premise. I think we cast it really well....

MR: So there’s a gay relationship on the show. Can you talk about that, about things you find interesting about the show?

PL: What I think is interesting about it is, it’s the first 21st or 22nd Century office show, office drama. It’s a bunch of people working in a claustrophobic environment, working for a business with a specific mission. Where do you have to go to with that? You have to go to character, you’re not going to go to “Star Trek”-ian moments. You’re really going to go back to the characters to get to the core. And that is the genius of Ron. Plus there’s a social commentary, he does that in “Battlestar” and he has that here. The gay relationship is one part of that.

About Joss Whedon Liguori said:

You can launch a show and it’s a 4-share show. It’s not going to become a 24-share show. The thing with Joss, you launch his show and instantly it becomes somebody’s favorite show. To me, in this current television environment, if you can be somebody’s favorite show, you’d better be patient with that show.

[It used to be] and 18-share show, that was the bar you had to jump over. If you’re looking at a 7-share show in an 18-share-hit environment, wrap it up, move on. Done. Today, I sit there and say, you know, I sat there from a distance and saw “House” premiere at a 7-share. I know I have certain tools at my disposal for promotional platforms. And you know what, I’d rather know I have a very strong, loyal core that I can build on. That being said, getting out of the gate is important in this environment.

Other news & notes:

Tim Goodman of The San Francisco Chronicle reviews "The Cleaner" the new Benjamin Bratt series that co-stars Grace Park:

This is quite a departure for Park, who plays it sassy, sexy and spunky here, not her measured "Battlestar Galactica" persona.

Trek Movie Report also rounds out all the details about the collapse of JumpCon.

Newsrama has information about a new Battlestar Galactica comic book series from Dynamite called "Battlestar Galactica: Ghosts" by Brandon Jerwa. The four issue miniseries is an original story about a black ops Viper squadron out on their own since the time of the attack on the colonies.

io9 recently reported that manga publisher Tokyopop will be publishing an anthology of Battlestar Galactica manga called, "Echoes of New Caprica" in March of 2009. Tokyopop has previously produced Star Trek manga.

io9 also wrote about the theory oriented website Battlestar Revealed.

The recent Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 15th, was the Lagoon Nebula which you may recall from the Battlestar Galactica episode "Home Part 2" in the Tomb of Athena Planetarium show.

That last link to Nebulae in fiction reminds me of this xkcd comic.