Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 280

April 15, 2018: Suji Sunday!

I’ll spare you the rant and leave you, instead, with some videos of Suji in action –

Her imitation of a french bulldog.

Has never met a camera she hasn’t liked.

A determined eater (P.S. Lulu already got her piece).

April 13, 2018: When one door closes…

…another opportunity for escape is thwarted and the chances of you ever leaving that locked room decreases in likelihood.

Or something like that.

Well, Friday the 13th is certainly living up to its moniker.  This morning, I was expecting news on a certain project.  I was enthusiastic about the possibility of good news, but I was prepared for the worst case scenario.  Unfortunately, as it turned out, the news was even worse than the worst case scenario I’d envisioned. Clearly, a failure of imagination on my part and, I suppose, somewhat telling…and ironic given the circumstances.

If I were to put this in marble race terminology (see this post for backstory, and this one) I’d say Glassy relinquished the lead and got caught up on that outside line, taking him out of contention.

I honestly had high hopes for Glassy.

Well, I’m bummed.  Also, my shoulder is killing me.  I remember a masseuse matter-of-factly informing me, thirteen years ago when I was visiting Hong Kong, that my left shoulder was screwed and that even though I wasn’t experiencing issues then, I certain would later in life.  Later, it turns out, is now.  A recurring twinge that runs from the back of my left shoulder to my left elbow has proven the 13 year old prophecy true!  Next week, I’m off to see a physio-therapist.  What’s next?  Acupuncture?  Reiki?  Cupping (I believe that’s the one where the therapist spoons you for comfort.).  At this point, I’m willing to try anything.

On the bright side there is no bright side so I don’t have to expend as much time and effort on completing this sentence.  That’s as good as it gets.

 

April 12, 2018: Scrap those long-term plans!

Well, I guess that’s it.  It was nice knowing everyone.  Cram as much fun as you can into your final eleven or so days on Earth because, apparently, April 23rd is A- Day.  A, of course, for Armageddon.  This according to (at least one) esteemed(?) numerologist:

“…the so-called Planet X, which is also known as Nibiru, will appear above the sky on the April date, causing volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes.”

There you have it.  Eruptions, earthquakes, and stealth planetary reveals.  Of course, in a transparent attempt to forestall worldwide panic, NASA is trying to debunk the theory:

“No, there’s no such thing as a planet called Nibiru. No, it’s not a brown dwarf surrounded by planets, as iterations of the claim suggest. No, it’s not on a collision course toward Earth. And yes, people should ‘get over it.”

Hmmm.  Methinks the NASA senior space scientist doth protest too much.

So who and what to believe?  On the one hand, you’ve got the numerologists lead by expert “Christian conspiracy theorist David Meade”.  On the other, you’ve got a bunch of scientists.  Both make some very compelling cases.  I mean, yes, various cranks and nut jobs have been predicting the end of the world as far back as the 1st century and as recently as last November, but the way I see it (and as any desperate gambler worth his salt will tell you), their streak of some one hundred incorrect prophecies just means they’re due.

Sure, you can simply dismiss the warnings and continue your life, business as usual, but how are you going to feel eleven days from now when death planet Nibiru appears and starts raining destruction down on our heads and you realize you’ve wasted the last week of your life working your ass off to complete a work-related deadline or strictly following one of those low-carb diets?  After the initial horror subsides, you’ll figure you’ll make your final day on Earth a cheat day and rush over to Safeway for a pint of Haagen-Dazs, but guess what?   Everyone has already come to the exact same conclusion and, by the time you get there, they’ll have nothing left but Breyers Carb-Smart Vanilla and Choco Tacos.

Well not me.  Starting today, I’ve cancelled meetings, scrubbed deadlines, and cast aside my work, work-outs, and healthy eating.   I’m stocking up on burgers, barbecue, and Magnum almond bars, and queuing up undignified horror movies (not the hoity toity elevated kind John Krasinski enjoys) on Netflix.

Come April 23rd, I’ll be the one having the last laugh.

Until, of course, we all expire shrieking in unison.

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April 11, 2018: Best Comic Book Covers of the Week!

My favorites…

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Captain America #700 (cover art by Chris Samnee)

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Crude #1 (cover art by Garry Brown)

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Despicable Deadpool #298 (cover art by Mike Hawthorne)

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Domino #1 (cover art by Greg Land)

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Falcon #7 (cover art by Jay Anacieto)

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Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (cover art by Tomeu Morey, Rafa Sandavol, Jordi Tarragona)

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James Bond: Casino Royale (cover art by Dennis Calero)

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The Archies #6 (cover art by Greg Smallwood)

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The Beauty #21 (cover art by Nick Filardi, Jeremy Haun, David McCaig)

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The Dead Hand #1 (cover art by Jordie Bellaire, Stephen Mooney)

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The October Faction: Supernatural Dreams #2 (cover art by Damien Worm)

What did you like?

April 10, 2018: #ILoveComics

I’ve always been an avid reader.  One of my most prized possessions during my elementary school years was a leather-bound copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.  I recall sitting down in my basement, writing up summaries of each act of every play, carefully recording them in a dedicated spiral-bound notebook.  As an early sci-fi fan, I never wanted for books growing up.  My mother fed my reading habit with the likes of Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and Ellison, encouraging my love for literature with the paperback treasures she would often pick up on her way home from work.  While clearly dubious about the merits of comic books, another literary childhood obsession of mine, mom would nevertheless,  occasionally, reward me with the odd issue as a special treat.

The Japanese have a word, “natsukashii”, that roughly translates to “Boy, that takes me back!”.  Like the madeleine that transported Proust back to his childhood, there are certain comic book covers that will engender in me a wondrous and familiar excitement, a surprisingly precise sense of nostalgia that places me back in an exact instant of my youth.

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I’m 8 and thoroughly ecstatic, having just bought this comic book from a second grade classmate for the staggering sum of 50 cents.  I can’t imagine any heroes cooler than Sandman, Hourman, and Dr. Midnite.

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I’m 11.  I’m sitting in my room, trying to process the wonders of this delightfully atypical, twist-laden issue written by Tony Isabella and Scott Edelman, its payoff so perfect that I think “These are the types of stories Ray Bradbury would write if he were working for Marvel.”

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I’m 11.  It’s Christmas night at my cousins’ house and I’m downright giddy, having discovered this beauty beneath the tree.  My mother had finally acquiesced and gifted me my first comic book.

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I’m 12 and have just been emotionally bulldozed by Jim Starlin’s stunningly bittersweet tale.  Oh, Pip.

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I’m 13, it’s after school, and I’m with my best friend Cas Anvar (The Expanse’s Alex Kamal).  We stand in awe before the Holy Grail of comic books, Giant-Size X-Men #1, hanging on the wall of my local book shop, available for purchase – at a premium.  Which I gladly paid.

My interest in comics has waxed and waned (but mostly waxed) over the years, but my love and respect for the genre has remained strong, shaping my creative and, in turn, my career.  I owe much of my success to all of the writers, artists, letterers, colorists, and editors who fueled – and continue to fuel – my imagination with their amazing work.

I’ve heard some describe this era, with its proliferate superhero-themed big budget features and television productions, as a Golden Age.  And, while I won’t disagree, I can’t help but point out that beyond all of the onscreen explosions and Easter eggs, the amazing action and dazzling visual effects, the origin of it all, the source material, the comic book, continues to reign supreme.

So do yourself a favor and hit your local comic shop or, if you’d prefer to go the digital route, check out Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW, Comixology, or countless other online shops.  Discover new titles.  Make some new memories.  Prepare to be Astonished and Amazed by tales as Incredible and Uncanny as they are Sensationally Spectacular.  Support the industry.  Read.

April 9, 2018: The Pitch!

There inevitably comes a moment, at the end of every phone pitch, when, after concluding my spiel, I am met with complete and utter silence.  It can last anywhere from approximately one to five seconds but, in those one to five seconds, my mind always drifts to the distinct and horrific possibility that the call dropped five minutes into the pitch and I have just been talking to myself for the past half an hour.  I mean, in a perfect world, pitches are, if not interactive, then at the very least provocative, spurring the person on the other end of the line to ooh, aaah, un-hunh and, hopefully, laugh at the right moments.  Devoid of these conversational prompts, it really feels like you’re talking to yourself which, in turn, causes you to entertain the notion that the people you are engaging may have simply muted the call, taken a stroll down to Starbucks, ordered a grande Americano and an apple fritter, and returned in time for the big finish.

Fortunately, in this case, the individual we were pitching asked all the right follow-up questions related to tone, theme, story and character arcs which seemed to bode well, indicating that he was interested enough to have at least followed the sum entirety of my verbal dish.

So what does this mean?

No idea.

But how do I think it went?

Haven’t a clue.

It’s a fantastic project looking to land at the perfect home where it should be shepherded by a very smart, seasoned exec with a respect for the genre.  So there’s that.

While I didn’t get the hoped for “How soon can you start?!”, I also didn’t get the dreaded “Please remove my number from your phone list.”.

Look, there’s no single right way to pitch.  On the other hand, there are seemingly endless wrong ways to proceed, too innumerable to get into.  From a purely creative and structural approach, I think the pitch went well.  Lots of great jumps scares.  Lots of great character moments.  Lots of instances of dark humor.  A fairly detailed game plan for the first episode and the season as a whole.  A solid blueprint for each of the main character arcs covering multiple narrative progressions.  Hints of twists, turns, shocks and surprises.  A suggestion of the emotional heart at the core of the series.

But did it resonate?

Well, it looks like we’ll find out later this week.

In the meantime, as you were…

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April 8, 2018: Is this the week it all comes together?

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Maybe?

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Who’s feeling confident?!!

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Yeah!!! That’s what I thought!

Yes, this looks to be the week when it all falls into place, when those countless hours of painstaking research, writing, and rehearsals finally pay off in a big BIG way!

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No, really.  I realize that this business has a way of constantly frustrating expectations and putting off answers indefinitely, but I’ve got a really good feeling about this week.  Trust me.

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Alrighty then.  Remain cautiously optimistic if you will, but also prepare to be thrilled by the grand announcement which should be coming your way on the heels of this crucial, all important –

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Hey!  Come back!  You’re gonna miss it!!!

Okay.  As for the rest of us…

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April 7, 2018: A trip down blog memory lane!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been updating this blog daily for over eleven years. Over that period, I’ve covered a lot of ground in a lot of entries and I thought it might be fun to randomly select some photos, one for each year this blog has been in existence, to see how far we’ve come…

2006…

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My gal Jelly was a chunky monkey back in the day.  She was my longest relationship – 16 years and 4 months!

2007…

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The late Don S. Davis, Stargate’s General Hammond, was always a class act. Occasionally, he would swing by my office to chat or – in this case – sample from my stash of dark chocolate.

2008…

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Syfy cancelled Stargate: Atlantis – but we still had a whole sixth season of stories to tell!

2009…

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Ming-Na and Louis Ferreira being the scenes on Stargate: Universe.  So much fun!

2010…

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Executive Producer Carl Binder winding up to knock some sense into Script Coordinator Lawren Bancroft-Wilson.

2011…

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My handsome boy Maximus.  Near the end, I was taking every half-Wednesday off so that we could drive the 90 minutes to Guelph, then another 90 minutes, and wait around for an hour while he received his chemo treatment at Guelph Animal Hospital.

2012…

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Akemi would always send me off to work with a bento box snack – oatmeal, peanut butter and fruit arranged artful display.

2013…

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Back on the homefront in Van – from left to right: Jelly, Lulu, and Bubba (the love of Akemi’s life).

2014…

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Five years later – What have I gotten myself into?

2015…

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During Dark Matter’s first season, we lived in the same building as actors Roger Cross and Jodelle Ferland.  They, and VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson, would come over every Sunday night for The Walking Dead and bourbon milkshakes.

2016…

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On our last trip to Tokyo, Akemi signed us up for a chocolate-making class.  Here, I’ve selected the manliest apron.

2017…

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The ladies (Melissa O’Neil and Zoie Palmer) kicking back on The Raza bridge.

2018…

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Keeping touch with that old gang of mine – Dark Matter Co-Executive Producer Ivon Bartok and Dark Matter’s FOUR/Ryo Ishida, Alex Mallari Jr.

Good times, good times.

April 6, 2018: Hey, Stargate fans! Want to see something really cool?

Yes?  Okay then…

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Al’kesh fighter

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Puddle Jumper

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Destiny shuttle

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Atlantis on the Ocean

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Puddle Jumper and Space Gate

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Prometheus Nebula

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Odyssey Sunset

A huge thanks to the hugely talented (and longtime Stargate fan) Samuel for the visuals.

And Happy Birthday, Luis!

April 5, 2018: Home Shift!

Well, that was…unexpected.

We put in an offer on one of the condos we visited and received a counter.  As we were preparing to counter their counter (because, if six seasons of Million Dollar Listing New York has taught me anything, it’s that no one ever starts with their best and final offer at the risk of robbing negotiations of all the fun and drama), the seller’s agent contacted our agent to inform him his client wasn’t going to agree to anything below an overpriced drop dead number.  However, my agent suggested that, for formality’s sake, we counter with our best and final.  So we did.  And were told by the seller’s agent that it wasn’t going to happen, that the seller was perfectly willing to test the market for a while longer.  Cue…

Stressing?  Obsessing?  Reassessing?  Nah.  I immediately switched gears and started thinking about that second condo and where I would put my new treadmill.  Then, I receive a text from my agent who had received a text from the seller’s agent informing him that if I was willing to come up to just $5000 off the seller’s drop dead price, they would find a way to make it work.  Cue…

Elation?  Celebration?  Reconsideration?  Nah.  So immersed was I in imagining our new lives in that second condo that I neglected to even respond.

Then, thirty minutes later, I received word that our counter had been accepted and congratulations.  Cue…

Excitement?  Amazement?  Contentment?  Nah.  More…

Ambivalence.  It’s a beautiful place, nowhere near as pricey as the second condo, but now I have to move.  Again.  And next to driving around looking for parking or visiting Home Depot, I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do.

Fortunately, my good friend Ivon lives only three floors down and will, no doubt, be more than happy to shoulder the heavier carries on account of my delicate back.

Akemi, meanwhile, well, she’s already started opining, outlining, and interior designing.

I’m just going to try to stay out of her way.