Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 292

November 5, 2017: Nice To Be Home blog!

“Hmmmm.  What should I write about today?”

“Nice To Be Home blog?”suggested Akemi.  “Only if you feel that way.”

Ooooh.  Pressure.

Yes, it’s great to be home.  But for how long?  And how long will Toronto be home?

Looks like I’ll be heading back down to L.A. in January to pitch Masked.  Before then, I’ve got an SF series bible and script (I’ve been hired) to write, and a veritable mountain of material (books, scripts, overviews, and one-pagers) to review and consider across a variety of genres (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, thrillers, comics).  The challenge is not so much in working my way through everything but in selecting what I want to focus on because so many of these properties are truly great.

And then, if I’m fortunate enough to attach myself to a pitch that does go to series, there’s the added uncertainty of not knowing where I’ll be shooting.  Toronto, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, New York – they’re all possibilities.  But it would be nice to get Japan in the running.

Tomorrow, I have a morning meeting regarding that horror property I’m VERY interested in pursuing.

Then, I get on the phone to discuss the schedule for that SF series bible and pilot.  David and I have made great progress.  Once we’ve nailed down the narrative and character arcs, we can start thinking about the pilot in advance of getting in the room with Writer X and beating out our story.

More details as they become available!

In the meantime, it’s nice to be home…

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November 4, 2017: The L.A. Wrap-up!

Last night, in addition to enjoying a spectacular meal at Osteria Mozza with Martin Gero, Carl Binder, and Paul and Michelle Mullie, I also got to practice my Japanese by breaking the news to two wayward young tourists that the Paul Smith store was a good 20-30 minute walk from our current location.  “Chotto toei desu,”I broke the news.

“Nihon o yoku hanashimasu,”said one.  “Jozu.”

“Jozu arimasen,”I replied.  And then followed up with: “Heta no yoko zuki desu.”  That always gets a laugh.

Anyway, great meal and great company.  Martin Gero remains the Golden Boy. How busy is he?  Would you believe he did an emergency scene rewrite between the panzanella and his ricotta and egg raviolo?

Some pics from my last days in L.A. –

[image error]Paul, Bob, and Michelle.

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Paul and Michelle.

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Me and Michelle!

All in all, a most productive trip.  Met some great people and have a few more intriguing possibilities to add to the mix.  Stay tuned!

November 3, 2017: L.A. Day #5!

I’ve been a fan of Robert Picardo since back in his days at Star Trek: Voyager’s The Doctor, but I’ve become an even bigger fan of Bob’s over the years as I’ve gotten to know him.  A terrific actor and equally terrific human being, he’s a good friend and someone I always make it a priority to catch up with whenever we happen to be in the same town.  And such was the case last night when we got together at was has become our L.A. go-to, Spago, for pasta, roast chicken, those delicious little tuna cones, and the booziest sticky toffee cake I’ve ever had (with an extra scoop of vanilla ice cream to maintain that 1:1 cake to ice cream ratio).

In contrast, today’s diet consisted of a double chocolate mocha, a matcha latte, and the red velvet mini cupcake I was offered at my last meeting.  Boy, am I looking forward to night’s dinner with Martin Gero and Carl Binder!

Another successful round of meetings today, marred only slightly by a late cancellation which afforded ultimately afforded me the opportunity to take a stroll through Beverly Hills.  Perhaps the most interesting thing about this upscale neighbourhood is the street fashion.  Today, I saw a guy walking around in what were, essentially, pyjamas.  Three nights ago, I honestly couldn’t tell whether the people I passed were dressed for Halloween or just in their every day clothes.

Anyway, great meetings today, a favorite being my sit-down with DC Entertainment’s Dan Evans.  Smart, pleasant and a veritable expert on everything from comic books to the SF, fantasy, horror, and crime thriller genres in general, he’s a guy I’d climb a mountain to work with.

Well, that’s a wrap on L.A.  Tomorrow, I fly back to Akemi and the dogs.  Here’s what I’ve been missing…

November 2, 2017: L.A. Day #4!

Here’s my problem with Thai food = eatability.  If I got out for any other type of cuisine, I’ll eat until I’m full.  In the case of Thai cuisine, however, I’ll continue eating past full, beyond stuffed, and and a stop or two north of gorged.  Such was the case this afternoon when I got together with actress Torri Higginson (Stargate: Atlantis, This Is Life, Dark Matter) for yet another culinary excursion.  This time, we hit one of her favourites, Jitlada in Silver City, with its menu the size of a local phone book.  “What do you feel like?”Torri asked me as we perused.

“Oh, you go ahead and choose between the the frog, eel, ox-tail or any of the other weirder dishes.”

She did not.  Instead, we had eggplant with holy basil, soft shell crab and vegetables, and a curry crispy pork dish containing pork that may well have been crispy once but, by the time it was served swimming in curry, was anything but.  Oh, and rice.  We followed up lunch with dessert in the form of two Thai ice coffees.

It was near the end of my meal that I received an email from my agent’s office. My 3 pm meeting had been cancelled at the last minute.  Was I upset?  Hell, no!  It was the equivalent to a snow day!  I could just head back to the hotel and continue watching Stranger Things 2!  Which I did.  But first…

Torri took me to a nearby book shop specializing in graphic novels.  There, I agonized over picking up a copy of Spinning, Tillie Walden’s well-reviewed graphic coming-of-age memoir about competitive ice skating.  I’ve heard great things about it and was very tempted but, ultimately, decided against the purchase only because stuffing the book into my carry-on bag would have been the equivalent to forcing those last couple of servings of curry rice into my already jam-to-bursting belly.  Hopefully, I’ll find it when I get back to Toronto.

Another day chock a block with meetings tomorrow and then, Saturday, I big L.A. adieu until time…which is looking like January when Vanessa and I return to pitch Masked to some interested parties!

November 1, 2017: L.A. Day #3!

“So what do you guys do?”asked our uber driver.

“Joe here is a writer-producer,”said Marc.

“And my friend Mark here is an actor,”I added.  “Do you watch t.v.?

“Yeah,”said the driver.  “I love The Walking Dead.”

“Who’s your favorite character?”I asked.

“Rick.”  And then, after careful consideration: “And Daryl.”

“Yeah, Daryl,”I agreed.  “What about Game of Thrones?”

“Yeah,”he said, drawing it out, yeaaaaaaaaah, in a way that seemed to indicate it was an begrudging affirmative.  And then he added: “But there’s another show I watch.  It’s called Dark Matter…”

At which point Marc totally lost it, wondering aloud whether I’d set the whole thing up.  Our bewildered driver glanced back, wondering what the hell was up.

“Joe created Dark Matter,”Marc explained.

“And Marc here played the character of ONE.”

“Seriously?!”  He could hardly believe it.  “I’m about to start season 3.”

“Well I don’t know if you’d heard, but syfy  cancelled us,”I informed him.

“What?  Why?”

“Why else?  They’re evil.”

Upon pulling up to our destination, we hopped out, took some group selfies, and then headed off to dinner.

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Marc and Miguel

It was a surreal start to a wonderful evening (as evenings in the company of the princely Marc Bendavid tend to be).  I was treated to an incredible Italian meal – appetizers, pastas, and double dessert.

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Hansamu, as the Japanese say.

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A greatly appreciated cap to a very busy day that saw me do for meetings AND run into actor Ronny Cox (Stargate: SG-1, Robocop, Deliverance, and many many more) at a local diner.  Ronny is keeping as busy as ever – acting, performing his music, even writing.  He mentioned RoboDoc, a fan-funded documentary celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Verhoeven classic.  Watch for it!

Tomorrow – more meetings.  And dinner with the awesome Robert Picardo.

October 31, 2017: L.A. Day #2!

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Last night I had dinner with the lovely Torri Higginson, Dark Matter’s Commander Delaney Truffaut, aka Stargate: Atlantis’s Commander Elizabeth Weir.  Since I was on her turf, she got to choose the restaurant, selecting Redbird, Chef Neal Fraser’s flagship restaurant.  Apparently, it’s a big deal in foodie circles – and with good reason.  It was delicious.  Although…there were a few hiccups.

We enjoyed our appetizers, one of those middle plates (not quite appetizer and not quite main) and then chatted while we waited for our main course.  And chatted.  And waited some more.  Eventually, someone came over to apologize.  Our main course had been delivered to the wrong table.  I was amazed – not so much by the fact that it had gone to the wrong table (after all, accidents happen), but because some other diners had happily accepted, and presumably eaten, a rack of Red Wattle pork they never ordered.  The restaurant ended up comping us some prime rib, which was very nice, and while the incident didn’t mar the evening in any way, it did leave me wondering.  Seriously?  Did they those people simply assume that entire rack of pork was an amuse bouche from the kitchen, a little palate cleanser between the New Zealand John Dory and the Liberty Farms duck?

Anyway, dinner was great, and First and the company was fantastic.  The more I get to know Torri, the more I really, really like her.

After dinner, we had drinks with Chris Regina, longtime Dark Matter champion and former executive at that network that rhymes with sci-fi.  We had a terrific chat, then met up with former Dark Matter (and future Masked) EP Vanessa Piazza for more drinks and discussion.  By the time we wrapped things up, it was almost 1 am!

Then today, it was hotel breakfast with Vanessa and Dark Matter co-creator Paul Mullie.  I had the most expensive, but by no means anywhere near the best, avocado toast I’ve ever had in my life, then retired to my room for episode 2 of Stranger Things 2 and a little fantasy football prep.

Several great meetings today but the one that capped off my afternoon was, perhaps, the greatest meeting I’ve had in L.A.  I sat down with Nic Louie of Tomorrow Studios (whose upcoming development and production slate includes Snowpiercer, One Piece and, Cowboy Bebop), and spent the better part of an hour touching on everything from comic books to games, anime to science fiction.  Nic is quick, incredibly knowledgeable and – bonus! – actually watched Dark Matter.  Nic and Tomorrow Studios are, without a doubt, the two coolest things in Hollywood.  I mean, that’s it.  It can’t get any better.  I may as well cancel the rest of my trip and head back home because they’re going to be impossible to top.

Tomorrow…more meetings!

Meanwhile, on the home front, someone got a new sweater!

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October 30, 3017: L.A. Day #1!

“What do you do?”asked the custom’s agent.

“I’m a writer-producer,”I told him.

“Anything I’ve seen?”

“Well, I worked twelve years on a show called Stargate…”

“Didn’t really watch it.  Didn’t really like the way the stories went.”

“Was it the human form replicators?”I wanted to ask.  But instead I said: “Well then you can check out my last show, Dark Matter.  It’s on Netflix.”

“I don’t do Netflix.”

“Then maybe my next show.”

Which brings us here to L.A. where I will be spending the next six nights with a “privacy” button by my bedside that, when it switched on, bathes the room in an eerie red luminescence that makes me feel like the potential victim in a Mario Bava movie.

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The alternate would be NOT to turn it on and risk housekeeping kicking down my door at 7 in the a.m.

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This morning, I kicked things off by having breakfast with my new production partner, Vanessa Piazza, who is in town on her own meet-and-greet tour.

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I’m pleased to report the weather in L.A. is overcast and downright cool, perfectly mirroring my mood.

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Vanessa works on her tan.  Brrrrrr.

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Following my first meeting of this L.A. trip, I met up with Tauri Jay and Yael (they of the former Dark Matter AfterBuzz show and sundry others).

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I ordered sliders.  Hilarity ensued…

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I offer photographic evidence lest you doubt.

Retired to my room this afternoon where I screened the first episode of Stranger Things 2.  So far, so good.  Going to try to squeeze in another episode before bedtime.

Tonight, it’s dinner with the lovely Torri Higginson, then drinks with an old friend.

Tomorrow, it’s four more meetings, two of which will touch on material right up my alley…

October 29, 2017: Kicking off my L.A. doughnut tour!

Welp, I’m L.A.-bound tonight, heading west for one glorious week of general meetings, pitches, and general meetings that will evolve into pitches.  To help prep me for all the best Los Angeles has to offer, Dirk Gently Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper was kind enough to forward me the following links:

http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/10-best-doughnuts-in-los-angeles-2381416

https://la.eater.com/maps/best-los-angeles-doughnuts-donuts

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Looks like I might have to blow off a few meetings.

Like I said, most of the meetings will be general meet-and-greets.  Sort of along the lines of “Hi, I’m a showrunner with over 350 hours of television to my credit in addition to 100+ hours as a credited writer, all on shows you’ve probably never heard of.”  I’ll never forget Rob Cooper’s tale of meeting with a television executive who asked: “Stargate?  Did that air in the U.S.?”

Seriously though, I am looking forward to this trip for the doughnuts, the dinners, and the some 10+ hours of flight time and solo nights that will allow me to keep up my torrid reading pace (181 books on the year and counting!) and binge Stranger Things 2.

See you in L.A.!

October 28,, 2017: Our little celebrity!

Tagged: Suji

October 27, 2017: Just in time for Halloween – My Top 25 Horror Movie Recommendations!

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25. SUSPIRA

A German ballet school is the setting for this lurid Italian thriller by giallo master Dario Argento.

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24. GREEN ROOM

A young punk band, playing a gig at a remote bar in the Pacific Northwest, run afoul of neo-nazi skinheads.

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23. THE ORPHANAGE

A family takes up residence in a former orphanage where their young son makes a most unusual friend.

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22. I SAW THE DEVIL

A secret service agent exacts a brutal revenge on the serial killer who murdered his wife.

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21. JAWS

“Don’t go into the water” was this movie’s tag line, and after seeing this movie about a man-eating shark terrorizing the beaches of a quaint New England community, I heeded that advice.

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20. REC

One of the best entries in the found footage horror sub-genre is this Spanish film about a news crew who end up trapped in quarantine while investigating a viral outbreak in a residential building.

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19. SPOORLOOS

A young man embarks on a journey to find out what fate befell his missing girlfriend.  In the end, he wishes he hadn’t.

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18. SCREAM

A tribute to the classic horror movies of the 70’s has become a classic in its own right.

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17. DON’T LOOK NOW

Following the death of their young daughter, a couple visit Venice where a serial killer stalks the canals of the old city.

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16. SESSION 9

An asbestos removal crew stumble upon some dark secrets when they are hired to clean up an abandoned mental hospital.

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15. THE SIXTH SENSE

A child psychologist makes a connection with a young boy who presumably communicates with the dead.

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14. AUDITION

A lonely widower falls for a mysterious young woman.

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13. 28 DAYS LATER

Fast-moving zombies stalk the streets of London in this post-apocalyptic thriller.

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12. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

A shy young boy makes the acquaintance of his new neighbor, a mysterious young girl possessed of a harrowing secret.

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11. HALLOWEEN

The grandaddy of slasher pics sees an escaped mental patient return to his hometown on Halloween Eve.

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10. TRAIN TO BUSAN

Zombies on a train.  High octane horror!

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9. CARRIE

A young teen, bullied by her classmates, manifests a supernatural revenge on prom night.

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8. IT FOLLOWS

A supernatural entity stalks the victims of a sexual curse.

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7. ALIEN

A crew on a deep space mission answer a distress call – and invite an unwelcome guest aboard their ship.

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6. THE BABADOOK

A widow and her young son are stalked by a monster in a children’s book.

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5. THE DESCENT

A group of female spelunkers encounter flesh-eating predators deep underground.

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4. RINGU

A cursed videotape delivers a death sentence to all who watch.

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3. THE THING

On a remote base in Antarctica, a group of research scientists uncover the frozen remains of an alien entity.

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2. THE SHINING

A struggling author experiences writer’s block, in addition to other assorted psychological breaks, while the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel.

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MISERY

Following a car accident, famed author Paul Sheldon is nursed back to health by a woman who professes to be his #1 fan.

Tagged: Halloween Horror, Horror, horror films, horror movies