Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 293

October 26, 2017: Dark Matter’s Anthony Lemke joins Blindspot!

This upcoming season of Blindspot is going global – and Dark Matter’s Anthony Lemke is joining the trek.  Check out the BTS video for a sneak peek at international destinations, Blindspot creator and showrunner (and former Stargate Executive Producer and Dark Matter Consulting Producer) Martin Gero give us the rundown on season 3, and a brief glimpse of The Raza’s lovable rogue –

So THAT’S what he was doing in Marrakesh!

What kind of character will he play?  Good guy?  Bad Guy?  Will he have any scenes with Dark Matter’s other resident bad boy and Blindspot recurring player Ennis Esmer (aka Rich Dotcom)?

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It’s a multiple episode appearance for Anthony kicking off with episode 9, but you’re going to watch from the beginning!

Blindspot’s season 3 premieres tomorrow night at 8/7 C on NBC.

Tagged: #Blindspot, #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

October 25, 2017: The Dark Matter collection – by Bannister!

I’ve been amazed by the obvious love Dark Matter fandom has demonstrated for the show, through the time and effort everyone spent online – tweeting, rallying, generating artwork that has positively wowed everyone from cast members to crew.  I’ve featured a lot of that artwork here on the blog over these past few weeks.  Today, I’d like to do so once again, this time featuring the complete Dark Matter collection created by artist @bannister01.  I absolutely love his work…

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Insanely talented.  The individual character designs are beautiful and should be part of the official Dark Matter merchandise line (if such a thing existed).

You can follow Bannister on twitter.

Check out his Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Exodus-BD-511396228898246/

The animated series he and his wife are working on: http://www.glenatbd.com/bd/tib-tatoum-tome-2-9782723494915.htm

And some of his other work here: http://banncars.tumblr.com

And, of course, a link to his Dark Matter fan art: https://bannraza.tumblr.com

Nicolas, merci mon ami!

October 24, 2017: Akemi’s Coffee Cap Series!

Monet had Water Lilies, Picasso had his Blue Period, and my girlfriend Akemi has Coffee Cap series, a collection of photos of our dog Suji sporting varied coffee caps as hats.

The series to date…

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The biggest challenge has been in sourcing coffee caps in assorted colors.  The other day, we stopped for coffee not because Akemi wanted a coffee but because she spotted a positively standout lime green cap.  Today, we flagged down a complete stranger and asked her where she picked up her coffee (with a distinct red cap) only to be informed she purchased it a good one hour walk from us.  She kindly recommended a nearby shop with excellent coffee but, alas, their caps are black and we’ve already done black.

Our search continues!

October 23, 2017: Van Gogh Latte Art! High Maintenance Pooches! And congrats to the world series eventual winners!

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If you’re ever in downtown Toronto and have a hankering for some Van Gogh-inspired latte art, I’d recommend paying Brian a visit at Calli-Love.  Pictured above, his cream and color rendition of Starry Night.  Apparently, he not only dabbles in the Impressionists, but also takes requests – skylines, customer portraits, perhaps a cantankerous pug or laid-back frenchie?

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Instagram here: BaristaBrian

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Welp, these two old timers really complicate the travel plans.  Now, it’s not a simple matter of having someone watch the dogs while we’re away as our lovable pooches are now equally lovable but high maintenance seniors.  In addition to mobility issues, they have continence issues and, in Suji’s case, a heaping helping of separation anxiety as well.  Akemi has been wanting to get away to New York for a couple of days (to say nothing of Japan), but it’s looking easier said than done. In a couple of weeks, we’re going to try a little test run and leave our dynamic duo with a dog sitter – just for the day – to see how they do.  Or, more to the point, how the sitter does.  Meanwhile…

My L.A. trip is only a week away.  I’ll be flying solo.  Akemi will stay home and be a good dog mom – and miss out on Trader Joe’s, her favorite place in the world next to…  Well, there is no next to.  That’s it.  Trader Joe’s.

Anyway, while I don’t look forward to being away from Akemi and the dogs, I DO look forward to catching up with some friends (Mr. Bendavid, Mr. Picardo, Ms. Higginson, Mr. Gero, and Mr. Binder to name but a few) and doing a hell of a lot of reading on my down time.  Also, I believe my trip will coincide with the Astros beating the Dodgers to win their first World Series championship.  Very exciting. Congratulations to them on their (presumably) hard-fought victory!

October 22, 2017: Here, have a two-parter!

One of my favorite episodes of Dark Matter’s first season was Episode 110.  Written by my longtime producing partner, Paul Mullie, it saw the introduction of a team even more mercenary and ruthless than our lovable anti-villains.  In Episode 111, a fan favorite, TWO takes back the ship (with a little help from FIVE) and Wexler and Tash are dispatched along with their allies.  But, of course, sci-fi allows for all sorts of crazy and wonderful developments and, the following season, Wexler and Tash returned (technically, alternate versions of themselves) hale and hearty and very much alive.  Then, in season 3, they showed up in our proper universe after hitching a ride on the AU-skipping Raza.  Hell, by season’s end, Wexler was actually on board, helping the crew, bearing witness to an alien invasion alongside FIVE and Ryo Ishida.  And, had we done a fourth season, there were plans to have Wexler stick around for a while.

Anyway, in my ongoing effort to make Dark Matter fandom the most informed fandom in existence, I’m gifting you not one but two scripts today…

DM EP110 15_04_17 Script GOLDENROD COLLATED

DM EP111 15_04_17 Script YELLOW COLLATED

If you’re collecting and counting, I believe that’s 6 down, 33 to go!

October 21, 2017: Saturday with Fiver!

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Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the angelic Jodelle Ferland, in town shooting a guest spot on a local production.

We met up, went out for a Thai lunch, hit SOMA chocolates for – what else? – chocolates, swung by the apartment so she could say hi to the dogs (both Lulu and Suji are huge fans), visiting the Art Gallery of Ontario to take in the Guillermo del Toro exhibit, went shopping (so she could pick up a Princess Mononoke t-shirt), and had dinner.  It was a Ferland Fest, start to finish, and a great time was had by all.

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Both Akemi and Jodelle tend to nibble their food like squirrels, and sip their Thai iced teas like chipmunks.

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The gals get reacquainted.

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My picture of Jodelle taking a picture.  I wanted Akemi to take a picture of me taking a picture of Jodelle taking a picture, but she was too busy lighting Jodelle’s waffles.

Awww, we missed FIVER.

I like to think that somewhere, in some non syfy-produced alt reality, we’re already prepping Dark Matter’s fourth season.

October 20, 2017: Timbit, Letters, and Answers!

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Our little Timbit!

I’ve spent the past couple of days working on my pitch for the Masked series, reading, and going through the scores of letters Dark Matter fans have sent in.  Another 15 were added to the dropbox yesterday, bringing the grand total to close to 300!

Tomorrow, it’s a mini Dark Matter reunion as Akemi and I get together with Jodelle Ferland (FIVE) who is in town shooting.  It’ll be nice to see my favorite little geek again.

Hey, here are the answers to yesterday’s lyrical Akemi-isms:

I know it’s up for me

He’s still my essential!

Making sure I’m not in too deep

He’s still my essential!

Steal My Sunshine – Len

*

Sweet home Obama

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet home Obama

Lord, I’m coming home to you

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

*

Oh, are you ready girls?

Oh, are you ready now?

Ooh, yeah

Teach mahaha Give it a start

Ooh, yeah, baby Ooh, yeah

Teach mahaha Hope it never stops

Ooh, yeah, baby

Kickstart My Heart – Motley Crue

*

All my colors I’ve lost

In your eyes, Johnny’s bike

Save your light of this moment

Sunrise, bike, Johnny’s bike

Chinese Black – The Neon Judgement

*

Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’

Stay on the line, stay on the line

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stay on the line, stay on the line

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stay on the line

Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees

*

You’re so thin (two minutes later)

You’re so thin

You’re so thin (got your picture)

You’re so thin
Wider, baby, smile and you’ve just made a million

Fuses pumping…

Girls on Film – Duran Duran

*

How’d you do?

October 19, 2017: Lyrical Akemi-isms!

Misheard lyrics are great fun. Misheard lyrics involving my Japanese girlfriend, Akemi, are downright hilarious.  Every often, I will catch her belting out a tune and ask: “What are you singing?”.  She’ll repeat the lyrics and, when I correct her, she’ll frown and say: “But that doesn’t make any sense.”  Then we invariably debate the logic of a song’s actual lyrics and her alternate interpretation.  Never a dull moment.

Anyway, here are six lyrical Akemi-isms for you to decipher.  Some are fairly obvious.  Others, not so much…

I know it’s up for me

He’s still my essential!

Making sure I’m not in too deep

He’s still my essential!

Sweet home Obama

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet home Obama

Lord, I’m coming home to you

Oh, are you ready girls?

Oh, are you ready now?

Ooh, yeah

Teach mahaha Give it a start

Ooh, yeah, baby Ooh, yeah

Teach mahaha Hope it never stops

Ooh, yeah, baby

All my colors I’ve lost

In your eyes, Johnny’s bike

Save your light of this moment

Sunrise, bike, Johnny’s bike

Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’

Stay on the line, stay on the line

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stay on the line, stay on the line

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stay on the line

You’re so thin (two minutes later)

You’re so thin

You’re so thin (got your picture)

You’re so thin
Wider, baby, smile and you’ve just made a million

Fuses pumping…

October 18, 2017: Masked! More Dark Matter swag!

So, yes, in addition to the scheduled general meet and greets, I’ll be teaming up with my friend (and former fellow Dark Matter Executive Producer) Vanessa Piazza to pitch Masked while in L.A.  Editor Lou Anders assembled a diverse selection of tales that focus as much on the individuals behind the masks as they do on the superheroics.  The stories are grounded in character, something I’ve always been a firm believer in, from Stargate straight through to Dark Matter.  I envision the series as an anthology in the vein of Black Mirror except that, instead of studying the influence of technology, the focus will be on the social, political and personal effects of possessing extra-normal abilities – the advantages, the drawbacks, the costs.  Two great examples from established comic lore are DC’s Batman and Marvel’s Spiderman.  Batman – the world’s greatest detective, the dark knight, a masked vigilante who protects the streets of Gotham.  And, yet he is, at heart, an orphan, so scarred by the murder of his parents that tragedy fuels his relentless quest for justice.  Spiderman – the web-slinging, wise-cracking defender of New York is, in contrast, a meek, mild-mannered high school student similarly driven by tragedy to bear the weight of responsibility power and fate have thrust upon him.  Batman and Spiderman, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker, have always been, for me, the pinnacle of engaging, richly textured characters – at once relatable yet delightfully complex.  And that’s what we’re looking to bring through a collection of original superhero-themed episodes scripted by some of comics and genredom’s heaviest hitters.  Tonally, thematically, I want Masked to offer viewers a show that engages and entertains, but provokes as well.

So who is your favorite superhero/alter ego?  And why?

A couple of years ago, Vanessa was featured in a Hottest Canadian Film and TV Talent You’ve Never Heard Of – But Will list.  There’s a great write up on Vanessa (click the link), and an equally great artist’s rendition accompanying the piece –

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Hey, you have less than a month left to get your letters in for a chance to win a piece of Dark Matter…well, a piece of Dark Matter.

Details here: https://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2017/09/29/september-29-2017-fandom-start-your-blickensderfers/

Some of the items up for grabs:

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Android chip and Victor upgrades.

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FIVE’s sketches.

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FOUR’s imperial ring.

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FIVE’s goggles.

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter, Masked, superheroes

October 17, 2017: Masked – the series!

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Back in 2009, I was contacted by editor Lou Anders about contributing a story to his forthcoming anthology of superhero fiction.  The collection, he explained, would feature original works from established comic book and SF writers, focusing on grounded, character-driven narratives in the vein of The Dark Knight.  My first reaction was “I don’t know…” for the simple reason that I honestly didn’t think I could pull it off.  I have nothing but respect for authors of prose fiction.  What they do is really, really, REALLY hard.  Scriptwriting, with apologies to screenwriters everywhere, though admittedly challenging, is not even on the same level.  The time and effort required to compose a short story, much less a novel…  Lou, sensing my reticence (I believe I actually wrote “I don’t know…” in my return email to him) suggested he’d leave me time to think about it.  If I ended up writing the short story, he’d include it in the anthology.  If, I didn’t, well then that would be fine too.

So I thought about it.  And came up with a story.  And wrote it.  And rewrote.  And rewrote it countless times until the deadline loomed and I delivered it to Lou.  In the end, it was more of a novelette than a short story.  It took me nine months to write.  In comparison, it takes me about two weeks to write a script.

The critics were kind and, in the end, I was happy with the way my story, “Downfall”, turned out.  On the other hand, I was amazed by the quality of the stories that made up the rest of the collection.  Gail Simone, Bill Willingham, Daryl Gregory, Paul Cornell, and many others delivered some truly memorable tales.

Shortly after the book came out, io9’s Charlie Jane Anders wrote the following article:

This book could teach Hollywood to do superheroes right

Well, seven years later, it looks like it’s going to happen.

Dark Matter EP Producer Vanessa Piazza Sets Multi-Year Producing Partnership With eOne

“Piazza is also developing “Masked,” based on the original super-hero fiction anthology edited by Lou Anders, who will also be involved in the series adaptation. Notable comic and graphic novel writers, including Lilah Sturges, Paul Cornell, and Gail Simone whose short stories appear in the book, will contribute to the anthology series, working with Piazza and executive producer and showrunner Joseph Mallozzi.”

I’m excited to be a part of this for a number of reasons.  First and foremost is the source material, a standout selection of stories that will form the basis of a spectacular superhero-themed anthology series.  Second, is the calibre of the authors I’ll be collaborating with on this one.  Third, is the opportunity I’ll have to re-team with the dynamic and talented Vanessa Piazza.  Fourth is the opportunity I’ll have to work with my old friend, editor and author extraordinaire Lou Anders who will also be involved in the show’s development and production.  To paraphrase Dark Matter’s Wexler: “That’s a win-win-win…win.”

If you’re not familiar Masked, you can just click the icon in the right sidebar.  Or pick yourself up a digital version online or hard copy at your local bookstore.

 

Tagged: Lou Anders, Masked, Vanessa Piazza