Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 350
May 27, 2016
May 27, 2016: Odds ‘n ends, Dark Matter and otherwise!
This morning, I attended my last mix in Toronto. I can’t tell you how awesome this new season of Dark Matter looks and sounds. Everything from the visuals to the soundscape to the music is incredible and an enormous ramp-up from the show’s first season. We have a lot of very talented people working on this show, both in front of and behind the camera, and I cannot wait for you to see what we have in store. I await our July 1st premiere with a mix of pride, excitement, and apprehension.
You’d think that, with production on season 2 wrapped and post-production nearing the halfway mark, I could relax. But no. Today, I wrote up the one pager for the proposed Dark Matter spinoff (You heard it here first, folks!). Although it shares similarities with the original, this series will offer a far out premise that SF-fans will truly get behind. But more on that in the coming months…hopefully.
Meanwhile, I hit the 16 page mark on that super-secret scifi project I mentioned in an earlier blog entry. Roughly one third of the way through the pilot, I’m still aiming to have a completed first draft by mid to late June. At which point I can switch off and have my partner set up the new series while I spin and break Dark Matter’s third season.
Then, it’s off to L.A. for some long overdue meet ‘n greets. I have four more pilots (and a simply adorable horror feature script) in search of a good home and I’d love nothing more than to get the ball rolling or any or all before heading back to Van and starting script work on Dark Matter’s third season.
September, Akemi and I will be Tokyo(and possibly Osaka)-bound for two weeks and, upon our return – or, hopefully, well before – I should have word on Dark Matter’s fate. I AM feeling positive.
Should it all fall into place as expected, we’ll be returning to Toronto in October for prep and then, in November,the commencement of principal photography on our third season. Three episodes by December, the holiday break, then back for the final ten and then…
The spinoff?
The new scifi series?
One of the pilots?
The horror film?
I open up a gelato shop and spend the entire summer reading?
Any suggestions?
P.S. One more Dark Matter season 2 trailer out, this one an extended version chock full o’ interesting insights. You can track it down tonight or wait until tomorrow for the full shot by shot breakdown!
May 26, 2016
May 26, 2016: A first look at our new ship – the Ishida Cruiser!
Door to the bridge – under construction.
The bridge – under construction. Lights, monitors, texturing and details still to come.
From the outside looking in.
One of the command consoles.
Closer… I’m thinking a rotating command chair up front and center.
Shooting on the bridge of the Ishida cruiser.
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
May 25, 2016
May 25, 2016: NEW Dark Matter season 2 trailer! Let’s break it down!
On the heels of THIS awesome 15 second promo from the gang at Syfy Publicity and Marketing:
Comes THIS awesome 40 second trailer from the gang at SyfyInternational:
Let’s break it down!
Big heavy security doors slide open on a familiar sight (for those who saw the promo): THREE, TWO, and FOUR stripped down, carrying what look like piles of clothing. But where are they going?
Editing trickering or answer? Could this be the Hyperion-8 Intergalactic Maximum Security Prison alluded to in the off-season? If so, it looks like our crew don’t exactly receive a warm welcome from the prisoners.
“What is this place?”asks THREE. Maybe we have our answer?
We hear SIX inform someone: “Galactic Maximum Security Facility” over a gorgeous establisher of what we can only presume is the place itself. Which begs the question – IF our crew manage to get outside, what then? The atmosphere looks decidedly Inhospitable.
“It was you,”says FIVE in apparent disbelief. You who? I’m sure you can all make your educated guesses.
Oh damn! She slaps a uniformed SIX. Payback for what happened in the season 1 finale?!
Brown is the new black! A shot of TWO in what looks like prison attire.
FOUR clutching what appears to be a set of those standard prison issues stands in a cell as a force shield activates behind him. We hear someone say: “You and your friends…”
“…need to understand the way things work.” Who is this guy offering the “helpful” advice?
Welp, THREE seems to be learning the way things work in this prison compliments of a left cross delivered by a kick-ass fellow prisoner. Could this be the mysterious Nyx Harper (Melanie Liburd), the potential new crew member alluded to over the hiatus. If so, we’re off to a rough start!
Well, now. Who is this mystery woman flanked by the two swordsmen. Could this be Misaki, Han-Shireikan, the new Commander of the Imperial Royal Guard of Ishida? She looks like she means business.
ALL business!
Frank Potente, who we now know is playing the role of Inspector Shaddick of the G.A.’s Serious Crimes Division pulls a gun on FIVE. On FIVE!
Oh, damn. Things DO NOT look good for FIVE. But she seems defiant. What’s got Shaddick so mad? And why is she taking it out on the kid?
A beautiful shot of The Raza dropping out of FTL. “There’s a war coming,”says someone. A war coming? Between who? And what does it have to do with us?
“THE PAST IS DANGEROUS”. Yes, that much was made very clear in season 1. And the past CAN come back to haunt.
“What did you do on that ship?”Shaddick asks someone, presumably interrogating one of our crew.
A shot of FIVE using the neural links. Is this part of the interrogation or something else?
FOUR in his prison issues clutching a blade, facing off against…someone? How’d he get a sword inside a maximum security facility? And who is he about to slice and dice?
“THE PRESENT IS DEADLY” – as we’re learning. And there’s apparently nowhere to hide.
Is that our Android, looking VERY relaxed, in what appears to be a bar? Long hair? New look? “You don’t think I can handle myself?”she asks.
Hmmm. Our mystery woman clutching a sword in what could be the B-side to the earlier shot of FOUR clutching a sword of his own. Is FOUR about to add one more to his growing body count – or has he met his match. And, hey, who’s that standing in the background, watching.
Our Android (if that is really her) proves that she CAN take care of herself – in brutally efficient fashion.
“THE FUTURE IS DARK”. Oh, it is, it is. As I’ve been telling anyone who will listen, this season will put the “dark” in “Dark Matter”.
A very determined FIVE says: “Kill them all.” Coincidentally, that’s the name of our second episode of the new season. Who is she talking to? Who is she talking about? Cold!
The prisoners throw someone – could be a guard – off one of the upper levels. THAT is quite possibly a reprimandable offense.
All hell breaks loose in Gen. Pop. THREE appears to be fighting side by side with the helpful advisor from earlier on.
A section of the Hyperion-8 facility, around the area of hangar bay, is wracked by an enormous explosion.
Rapid-fire quick cuts! This first – a battered and bleary THREE. This shot matches a shot from the previous promo but, in the that one, a strange green interactive light plays in one of his eyes.
ONE, looking business casual – a far cry from the prison issues being sported by TWO, THREE, and FOUR. Where’s he at if he’s not in Hyperion-8 with the rest of the hardened criminals?
TWO smiling. I don’t know about you, but there’s something unsettling about that smile.
FOUR looking like he’s about to lay down a serious beatdown.
FIVE looks…unhappy.
SIX looking downright angry. But with who? And why?
What do you think? Did you catch anything I may have missed? Let’s discuss!
And prepare for Dark Matter’s second season, coming your way soon! Check out our international premiere dates…
July 1st: U.S. (Syfy) and Canada (SpaceChannel)
July 2nd: Australia (Syfy Australia)
July 4th: U.K. (Syfy UK)
July 5th: Spain (Syfy Spain)
July 11th: Germany (Syfy Germany)
More premiere dates to come!
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter, Dark Matter Season 2
May 24, 2016
May 24, 2016: Franka Potenta boards Dark Matter!
Rex/Shutterstock
Franka Potente Joins ‘Dark Matter’ Season 2 As Recurring
And the Dark Matter season 2 casting rollout continues with the announcement that Franka Potente (The Bridge, Copper, Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity) will be joining the show in the role of Chief Inspector Shaddick of the Galactic Authority’s Serious Crimes Division. “She is cool, calculated and determined to prove the crew of the Raza were involved in the destruction of Iriden 3.”
Iriden 3… Iriden 3… Ring a bell? Mikkei Combine research facility? White hole technology? An “accident” that claimed some 15 000 lives? Yeah, you remember.
This announcement follows to other big casting announcements for the show’s second season…
Melanie Liburd’s casting as the mysterious Nyx Harper:
And Shaun Sipos’s casting as the former surgeon with a dark past Devon Taltherd:
http://www.syfy.com/darkmatter/blog/dark-matter-shaun-sipos
A few more big casting announcements to come!
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
May 23, 2016
May 23, 2016: Presenting the 2015 Rogue Star Award Winners!
Here’s the thing about awards, awards shows, and awards organizations. The best nominee doesn’t always win. Hell, the “best” nominee rarely ever wins because, in spite of what people tell you or what camp you happen to fall into, the vast majority of people base their votes on friendships, familiarity, popularity, ideas, or messages. Those who do vote for “the best” tend to select from a fairly narrow range of possibilities – based on friendships, familiarity, popularity, ideas, or messages. It’s somewhat bewildering, occasionally downright frustrating, to see awards go to certain works while other equally great (occasionally better) works go ignored, often not even making a preliminary list of nominees.
As a fairly voracious reader, I read a lot of books in 2015, many of them award nominees, just as many lesser-known works from lesser-known (to me) authors. And, as I began to check out the 2016 releases, I looked back at the titles I enjoyed in 2015 and thought: “That deserved some sort of recognition.”. And then: “Hell, I should just give out my own awards.”
I read a lot across a wide variety of genres. I can make a well-informed decision. I know what I like. And, most importantly, I AM opinionated. So, why the hell not?
At first, I thought I’d call my awards The Jovians (Get it?) but discovered the Jovian Awards (for Fantasy & Science Fiction) already exists. My second choice would be the Saturn Awards but, alas, that too has been taken. A quick google search turned up –
Mercury Awards – for music
Venus Awards – for local working women in business
Mars Awards – for designers (named after the chocolate bar, not the planet)
Neptune Awards – for marketing
Pluto Awards – for SciFi, fantasy and alternate history books
Kepler Awards – for European young scientists
Uranus Awards – surprisingly available!
In the end, I settled on something a little more in keeping with the wayward, independent spirit of these awards: Rogue Star (“a star that has escaped the gravitational pull of its home galaxy and is moving independently in or towards the intergalactic void” [wikipedia]).
Presenting awards in three categories (only because I didn’t read enough potential entries in any of the alternate categories. Also, I need to get out there and watch more movies.). Great reads all. Check them out!
***
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL
NOMINEES
Bitch Planet, vol. 1 – Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro, Image
Divinity – Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine, Valiant
Jupiter’s Circle, vol. 1 – Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, Image
Saga, vol. 5 – Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Image
The Walking Dead,vol. 23 Robert Kirkman and Stefano Guadiano, Image
WINNER
Saga, vol. 5 – Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Image
***
BEST SHORT STORY
NOMINEES
“A Murmuration” – Alastair Reynolds, Interzone
“Calved” – Sam J. Miller, Asimov’s
“Re: re: Microwave in the break room doing weird things to fabric of spacetime” – Charles Yu, Terraform
“So Much Cooking” – Naomi Kritzer, Clarkesworld
“Today I Am Paul” – Martin L. Shoemaker, Clarkesworld
WINNER
“Today I Am Paul” – Martin L. Shoemaker, Clarkesworld
***
BEST NOVEL
NOMINEES
Beyond Redemption – Michael R. Fletcher, Harper Voyager
The Flicker Men – Ted Kosmatka, Henry Holt and Co.
Half A War – Joe Abercrombie, Harper Voyager
Touch – Claire North, Orbit Books
The Traitor Baru Cormorant – Seth Dickinson, Tor
WINNER
Beyond Redemption – Michael R. Fletcher, Harper Voyager
***
Congratulations to the winners. You can pick up your prize – in the form of a beer – should we ever cross paths!
Tagged: Rogue Star Awards
May 22, 2016
May 22, 2016: A lazyish summer weekend! And a brand new space station!
Sort of. While Bubba was working on his tan and Lulu was working the dog park crowd, I was seemingly overseeing the action but actually working on two fronts: Dark Matter and my new super-secret SciFi project. In the case of the former, I’ve already forwarded my team my game plan for the show’s third season so I’m now breaking down the story arcs into their individual progressive beats. In the case of the latter, I finished the tease yesterday and am working out the first few scenes in my head, from the rude awakening to the shuttle ride reveal. Even though production on season 2 has ended, it never REALLY ends. P.S. I ran Akemi through a couple of the big story arcs that build through Dark Matter’s second (and third) season and her response was utter shock once she recognized the pattern: “You planned that in season one!”. Why, yes. I have a plan…
In the lead-up to Dark Matter’s second season premiere, I’ve been all over in a bid to get the word out (twitter: @BaronDestructo, @DarkMatter_show, reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/JosephMallozzi/, imgur: http://barondestructo.imgur.com/all/, Facebook: Baron Destructo, youtube: Joseph Mallozzi). And I’m pleased to see many fans are helping out including Tom Gardiner and the gang at ThreeIfBySpace.net. Check out their weekly rundown of the happenings on this very blog:
And their breakdown of the Dark Matter season 2 promo:
And, in case you missed it (in the words of Akemi: “How possible?!!”):
Hey, speaking of Dark Matter check out our new space station (and home of one Tabor Calchek), by way of Dark Matter VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson, compliments of the award-winning team at FUSEFX lead by VFX Supervisor Shawn Hillier:
Gorgeous, no?
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
May 21, 2016
May 20, 2016
May 20, 2016: Dinner with #2Boss!
Our Toronto Farewell Tour continued last night at Ufficio Restaurant with Melissa O’Neil, Dark Matter’s kick-ass commander, TWO. On this occasion, decidedly less ass-kick and plenty more discussing and dining was on the agenda. A few of the dishes we killed –
Giant Portuguese squid ink arancini, pomodoro & fried basil.
Potato crema tortellini with smoked ramp butter & cured egg yolk.
Grilled octopus, fingerling potatoes, romesco, salsa verde.
Kawaii yo, as the Japanese would say.
Our meal complete, leftovers in tow, Melissa jumped on her magical bike and rode off into the night.
May 19, 2016
May 19, 2016: Dogs! Food! Fans! And fun!
“Captain America is weakest. He has only frisbee. And the ugliest mask, and he knows it’s ugly – that’s why sometimes he doesn’t wear.”
– Akemi on Captain America
We’re two weeks away from boarding a plan back to Vancouver. As you can see, Lulu and Bubba are ready to go…BUT will have to shave a little more weight before they’re deemed flight-worthy. Despite the fact that we’re cutting down on their meal portions and treats, they remain decidedly chunk-monkeyesque. I suggested we adopt an alternate weight loss plan: weigh them every morning and whoever’s heaviest doesn’t get to eat that day. In response to my idea, Bubba game me THIS look:
NOT impressed.
Speaking of eating, my Goodbye Toronto Tour continues. On Tuesday night, Akemi and I met up with fellow foodie and Dark Matter Social Media Czar Natalie Cooper for dinner at Piano Piano, home of our favorite pizza in town –
The Sweet Hornet: mozzarella, fior di latte, soppressata, black olive, honey n’ chilli.
Also two delicious pastas…
Caccio e Pepe Agnolotti: ricotta, black pepper, parmigiano
Pillowy potato gnocci with peas and asparagus.
And, for dessert, one of the chocolatiest chocolate desserts I’ve enjoyed in recent memory:
Triple Coco Barry 70% Chocolate Cake Chocolate Ice Cream: almond, Maldon salt, caramel.
Today, Akemi and I were walking down the street when I heard someone say: “Hey, you’re Joseph Mallozzi.” My initial reaction was: “Oh, shit. They re-ran that episode of America’s Most Wanted.” But no. It turns out the spotter, Mike, is a longtime Stargate fan and reader/lurker of this blog. Delighted, I invited him and his co-worker, Lovella, to Soma for a quick chocolate-tasting. Their after-lunch office meeting could wait…
Yep, that is one shocking selection!
Full of chocolate and goodwill, Akemi and I headed up to Queen Street West where we picked up some pork butt for tomorrow’s slow-roast…but not before stopping by Nugateau, Toronto’s premiere eclair-only patisserie for some desert…round 2!
Left = The Mont Tremblant: 70% single origin dark chocolate mousse, whipped praline ganache, hazelnut praline grains (for me!).
Right = Raspberry Rose: whipped raspberry rose ganache and vanilla mascarpone, raspberry rose & lychee compote (for her!).
Our Goodbye Tour continues tonight as we head out with Dark Matter’s TWO, Melissa O’Neil! Here are a couple of pictures of her cozying up to the enemy in some BTS shots from our season 1 finale:
Head on over to @DarkMatter_show for all the behind the scenes visuals!
http://www.pianopianotherestaurant.com
May 18, 2016
May 18, 2016: My new show!
I’d like to say that it came to me in a dream but, in truth, it came to me as I was lying wide awake at 5:30 a.m. My french bulldog had stirred me out of a deep slumber, pacing around until I got up to let her out and, once her business was done, returned to bed where she immediately drifted off. No insta-sleep for me though. While Lulu lay beside me, snoring up a storm, I stared up at the ceiling and, over the course of the next two hours, came up with the premise of my new SciFi series.
I eventually drifted off, slept for a couple of more hours and then awoke creatively rarin’ to go. Throughout the day, while I was walking the dogs and running errands, I broke the story: a tease, five acts, a tag, colorful characters, big stakes, humor, and my trademark twists, turns, shocks and surprises.
The plan is to write the pilot between now and when the Dark Matter writers’ room kicks off on June 12th, hopefully set it up for a fall of 2017 premiere, and convene a second writers’ room in August.
It’s all coming together nicely – except, of course, for the title. I hate coming up with titles (which is why I had YOU, the fans, choose all the Dark Matter season 2 episode titles. Thanks.). So how about it? Despite the fact that you know absolutely nothing about the prospective new show, what cool SF titles would you suggest?
Hey, check it out. I’ve bee twitter verified! Do you know what that means?!!!
Yeah, me neither.
Meanwhile, over on my dedicated Dark Matter – @DarkMatter_show – twitter account, I’ve been uploading behind-the-scenes pics from the first season finale:
THREE drops off the laundry.
Jodelle clowning.
The troops get their marching orders.
Searching the vents – an homage to Alien.
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
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