Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 400

December 5, 2014: Introducing Locations Manager Zachary Beckwith! And our first official Dark Matter locations scout!

Remember that guy back in the day?  The one with all the connections?  The one who could get you and your friends in anywhere, no matter how popular or exclusive the place?  Well, that guy now works on Dark Matter.  His name is Zachary Beckwith and he is our Locations Manager.  If you’re looking for somewhere to shoot that alley gun battle or forest sword fight or palace betrayal, he can get you in!

We had our first official Dark Matter locations scout the other day, lead by Zach who scheduled a grand tour of not one, not two, but three locations (plus a fourth the following day) in addition to arranging transport and snacks!  Pictured above, Exec Producer’s Bodyguard Alison Hepburn and Assistant Production Manager Robbie David prepare for departure.

One of the most important attributes of a successful writer-producer is flexibility.  Sometimes, that wild west town you scripted for your original comic book is unfeasible – or simply way too expensive for single, even double episode use – so you have to start considering alternate settings.  If you were shooting, say, in Vancouver, you could go with a tent village or quonset huts – but if you’re shooting in the Toronto area, it’s far smarter to take advantage of what the area has to offer.  In this case, a stones throw from T.O. (assuming Superman threw the stone) is Hamilton, home to a plethora of industrial settings.

With the right builds and set dec, an area like this can be transformed into a part of a mining community or even a space station.

Animal prints suggest a local wildlife that will add character to any futuristic set.  Space raccoons?

These walk-thrus also offer much in the way of potential props.  I could see things thingamajig sitting in our cargo hold.

Love the look of this place with its catwalks and ladders, offering great multi-level scope for shootouts.

A bit of a fixer-upper.  Would take a while to clear.

I quite like this look for the final battleground.

Heading outside to check out the exteriors.

It would look quite different once we were done with it, but this alleyway offers a great look for our crew’s encounter with Captain Salehi and co.

A lot of these places offer tons of character in the way of unfathomable equipment.

Another great look.

Thinking ahead to the salvage op on the abandoned freighter in episode #105.  Looking for low ceilings, cramped corridors – and this place has it in spades.

Again, loving the multi-level gun stations.  A possible reactor room?

Decisions, decisions…

Tagged: Dark Matter

December 4, 2014: Natalie’s Birthday Blog!

The announcement was made over the office P.A. system at around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon: “Natalie Cooper, please proceed to the production office for your surprise birthday party.”

I hurried down and joined the others in waiting for the birthday gal who showed up fashionably five minutes later.  The candles on the cake were lit and we all joined in a rendition of Happy Birthday (with completely different lyrics and melody because, of course, the original Happy Birthday song is copyrighted).

Now whenever office birthday’s roll around, I can always be counted upon to do three things:

1. Sing one half beat slower than everyone else so that I am gloriously out of sync.

2. Hold that last “yoooooooooou” for an uncomfortably long time.

3. Clap my hands and yell “Speech!  Speech!” to add to the awkwardness.

After having some cake and cupcakes (I did both out of my deep respect for the Natalie), it was time for the card (I signed “J. Mallozzi – Showrunner”, just in case she confused me with another J. Mallozzi) and birthday present.

Apparently, Natalie is taking boxing lessons and now has her very own gloves.

She was eager to try them out and I volunteered -

Trevor, but he had already fled.  So she practiced with Caitlin’s whose hands were a poor substitute for Trevor’s face.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

I told Natalie I was going to make today’s entry a dedicated birthday blog post and she asked me to relay the following information:

- She was born in 1990 during one of the most brutal blizzards ever recorded.

- She was born in a hospital so rundown that it has since been demolished.

- Her great aunt is a rapper who performs at various senior facilities around the California area (Book now to avoid disappointment!).

Okay, everyone.  Back to work.

Tagged: Dark Matter

December 3, 2014: Introducing Dark Matter Visual Effects Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson!

Our Visual Effects Supervisor arrived today – all the way from Vancouver, B.C.!  Some of you may recognize him as the manager of The Fighting Hyphens, a team my Snow Monkeys crushed back in Week 4 of fantasy football league play:

 

Some of you may identify him as the guy who was offered $1000 to polish off four decadent chocolate desserts after eating a weeks worth of chocolates at my 2009 Chocolate Party, the guy who gave up with only one dessert to go because he was feeling ill – only to feel hungry an hour later and eat again:

Still others will remember him as the voice of the original Quisp, the mascot of Quisp Cereal:

And, of course, still others recognize him as our former Stargate script coordinator:

Now, he’s in charge of making sure that all those spectacular visual effect shots we’ve envisioned in the scripts end up on screen.  FTL jumps, shuttle flights, blast waves – it’s all in his hands now.

Tagged: Dark Matter

December 2, 2014: Cookies, Snow Monkeys, and Exercise Accessories!

We interrupt the previously scheduled blog post for this important announcement. Monday, December 15th will be the very first Dark Matter cookie exchange. Participants are required to make a half dozen cookies for every other baker in the exchange “plus a half dozen or so extra for the rest of the (lazy) office to sample!”

I’m in!  Or, rather, Akemi will be in!  But I’ll on hand to assist and come up with the concept.  Maybe 70% Madagascar chocolate chunk cookies?  Or 80% dark chocolate with SOMA caramelized white chocolate chunk cookies?  Or bourbon-laced pecan cookies?  I think we can only make one kind.  I’ll have to consult the official rules and regulations tomorrow.

That’s it.  The post-season match ups are set!  My Snow Monkeys snagged the #2 spot and will take on desean’s dedouche in first round action next weekend.  Meanwhile, Tio’ s Petunia Power meets first-place powerhouse Clueless while Rob’s Landsharks battle it out with Lawren’s The Fighting Hyphens and Ivon’s Running Dead take on Thobias’s The Mighty Merkins.  It’s going to be an exciting weekend of action on the field.   And an equally exciting week of preparation which will necessitate I cancel all non-fantasy football-related business until the championship.  Wonder who I’ll be meeting in the semis?

And finally – Come on!  I have enough trouble completing a workout as it is!

December 1, 2014: Introducing Line Producer Norman Denver!

Sometimes, there are more producer credits on a show than acting credits and viewers can be excused for wondering: “Do they really need THAT many producers?”.  Which begs the next question – one I’m often asked: “What does a producer do?”.  Well, the answer is: “It depends.”  Producers can be divided into two groups: Group #1 = “those that do something”, and Group #2 = “those that do next to nothing”.  Falling firmly into the former category is a show’s Line Producer who’s charged with the unenviable tasks of constantly running the numbers to ensure the production comes in on time and on budget.  In short, it’s the line producer’s job to lay down the hammer.  And, occasionally, that means saying no.  No to overages.  No to that gorgeous but way out of the zone location. No to the Executive Producer toilet I ordered for my office.

He’ll be the guy to reel in the writers when they’re writing too big; the directors when they’re shooting to long.  He’ll be the guy in the meeting keeping things realistic so that we don’t blow the budget on the first two episodes and have to end our first season with three consecutive clip shows.  He makes sure the money ends up onscreen – for your viewing pleasure.

In short, Norman runs a tight ship.  A tight, prompt, cost-efficient FTL-capable ship with retrofitted weaponry, a shuttle, and a couple of surprises in that sealed lower level mystery room.

And, to top it off, he has a British accent, which will come in handy if we need to cast a late-season villain.

November 30, 2014: Videos of note!

Robot Dance Japan:

Wanderers – a short film by Erik Wernquist:

http://vimeo.com/108650530″>Wanderers – a short film by Erik Wernquist from http://vimeo.com/user13714879″>Erik Wernquist on https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo;.

Best Snow News Bloopers Ever:

Black Friday shoppers, take note!  This is how to line up in an orderly fashion:

This reminds me that I’ve got to start work on my costume for next summer’s Comic Con:

Quick and easy 3-second ebi fry:

November 29, 2014: Things I miss about Vancouver!

1. My Home Gym

I’m not the most motivated guy when it comes to working out and yet, when I was living in Vancouver, I would schedule two-a-days: a 45 minute run in the morning and a 45 minute weight workout at night.  How did I manage to pull off such an ambitious routine?  Well, having a home gym (treadmill, elliptical, and weights) in my basement helped.  A lot.  It was as easy as going downstairs.  No driving.  No looking for parking.  No waiting for equipment to free up.  And, best of all, I could multi-task: exercising and catching up on my shows.

Here in Toronto, the gym is always packed mornings and closes t 10:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on weekends!  I can watch whatever happens to be on the wall-mounted t.v.’s but, unfortunately, can’t hear anything so have to follow along by reading the subtitles.

Since moving east, my workouts are down roughly 75%.

2. Fresh Fish

Please, don’t try to recommend me “the best sushi in Toronto!” because, without a doubt, Toronto’s best sushi is Vancouver’s middling sushi (which, to be fair, is worse than Japan’s worst sushi).  The sad fact is the fish here is just not that good.  Oh, sure, we hit our local markets and pick up fish whenever we can, but it’s just not the same.  The other day, we picked up some “fresh” scallops that ended up releasing a crazy amount of liquid in the cooking process, the telltale sign of being previously frozen.  I truly miss Brian and the gang at Seafood City on Granville Island.

3. My Kitchen

With its big island, wide counters, and varied kitchen utensils.  And extra work kitchen.  Here in Toronto, our kitchen is so tiny only one of us can cook at a time. It’s tight, there’s not enough shelf space, and the knives are dull (we ended up having to purchase a new knife set).  As much as it annoys me, my irritation pales in comparison to the Akemi’s monsoon of frustration every time she attempts to prepare dinner.   She really, really hates this kitchen.

4. The Weather

It rains all the time in Vancouver!  Yes.  And the temperature usually stays above freezing.  When I go out improperly dressed for Vancouver weather, the worst I can expect is to get wet.   Here in Toronto, it’s frostbite and the loss of feeling in my extremities.

5. A Backyard

In Vancouver, “taking the dogs out” required little more than opening the back door or, Jelly’s case, carrying across my back porch and setting her down in the grass. Now, it’s a whole song and dance – morning, afternoon, evening, and night – bundling the dogs up, taking them to the park, and back.

6. Sweet Potatos

For some reason, people here don’t know what sweet potatoes are – or have been living under the delusion that yams are sweet potatoes – because wherever I go, I see yams being sold as “sweet potatoes”.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they just called sweet potatoes something else, but they simply don’t exist here.

7. A Good Bookstore

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I miss the gang at The Book Warehouse.  They were my second family, their book shop my home away from home I would visit on a weekly basis to chat about recent reads and purchase a pile of new reads.  Here in Toronto, it’s slim literary pickin’s.  There’s a pretty good genre book shop (Bakka Phoenix) but nothing in the way of a book store offering general fiction.  I’ve checked out a few but they’re maddeningly cluttered and simply not  conducive to a pleasure perusing experience.

8. My Books!

My towering to-read pile (last I checked, three rows wide and thirty books deep) will sit untouched until my return in June.

9. The NFL Package

I’m now back to the old days of having to watch the crappy Giants and even crappier Jets while far more superior teams (read: almost every other team in the league) play far more interesting games on channels I can’t watch.

10. My Friends!

Of course.

November 28, 2014: Operation Wine & Cheese!

Welcome to cheese town!

“This five dollar bill has blood on it,”said Caitlin from the back seat, examining the keepsake from a recent road trip to Buffalo.

“Maybe it’s Buffalo wing sauce,”suggested Alison seated beside her.

“Except we didn’t have any wings while we were there.”

An awkward silence finally broken by Natalie, our navigator, who advised me to hang a left.

The four of us were on a mission, on our to The Cheese Boutique to pick up a few items for this afternoon’s Friday Wine & Cheese.  Before leaving, I’d given everyone their assignments – Natalie was the knives expert; Caitlin the explosive expert; Alison the muscle; and I was the driver.

“I need to be navigator,”Natalie pointed out, taking a not-too-subtle swipe at my poor sense of direction.

“Okay,”I said.  “You’re the navigator – AND the knife expert.”

“Can I be something less violent?”

“No.”  I mean, seriously.  Who goes on a mission without a knives expert?

A fifteen minute drive later, and we’d arrived at cheese heaven.  In addition to the wide assortment of cheese, the enormous shop offered charcuterie, jams, jellies, olive oils, balsamics -

And, oh yeah, chocolate!

After purchasing an insane variety of cheese, crackers, jellies, and breads – we were ready to go!

Back at the office, we decided to lay the cheese spread out on Trevor’s desk since he doesn’t make much of use of it anyway.

Let the games begin!  While we were picking up cheeses, Elliot was getting the wine.

Everyone had a terrific time – except for the AD’s whose offices we loitered around, laughing, drinking and snacking while they tried to work.  Or, rather, pretended to be working while re-watching the new Star Wars trailer for the hundredth time.

A big thanks to Caitlin, Natalie, Elliot and Alison for making Operation Wine & Cheese a resounding success.  And special thanks to Trevor for handing out the baguette slices and allowing us the use of his napping station.

Next week: Operation Beer & Oysters!

Cheese Boutique (45 Ripley Avenue 416 762-6292)

Tagged: wine & cheese

November 27, 2014: The Uninvited Dinner Guest!

Today, Akemi made a roasted pistachio-crusted lamb shoulder.  She spent over a half an hour toiling away, de-shelling the pistachios and de-skinning them.  Her arduous work finally complete, she stepped away to use the bathroom and, when she returned not a moment later, discovered Lulu up on the table, enjoying the fruits of her labor.  She was NOT happy.  I refer to Akemi of course.  Lulu was apparently VERY happy.

Meanwhile, we met these two comparatively much better behaved dogs while we were out shopping last night.  Bruce Lee on the left and Coco on the right.

And by “shopping”, I mean picking up this bottle of Washington Wheat Whiskey.  I’m a big bourbon fan and generally prefer “wheated” bourbon (meaning wheat is used as a secondary grain after corn – instead of rye) which tends to be softer, nuttier, and less sour.  This 100% locally-sourced wheat whiskey is an exceptionally smooth pour – creamy, caramely, with a nice spicy finish.

Hey, check it out.  Just in time for our first Special Effects meeting.  The first production draft of episode #101! And, yep, that’s me.  Oseph!

November 27, 2014:

Today, Akemi made a roasted pistachio-crusted lamb shoulder.  She spent over a half an hour toiling away, de-shelling the pistachios and de-skinning them.  Her arduous work finally complete, she stepped away to use the bathroom and, when she returned not a moment later, discovered Lulu up on the table, enjoying the fruits of her labor.  She was NOT happy.  I refer to Akemi of course.  Lulu was apparently VERY happy.

Meanwhile, we met these two comparatively much better behaved dogs while we were out shopping last night.  Bruce Lee on the left and Coco on the right.

And by “shopping”, I mean picking up this bottle of Washington Wheat Whiskey.  I’m a big bourbon fan and generally prefer “wheated” bourbon (meaning wheat is used as a secondary grain after corn – instead of rye) which tends to be softer, nuttier, and less sour.  This 100% locally-sourced wheat whiskey is an exceptionally smooth pour – creamy, caramely, with a nice spicy finish.

Hey, check it out.  Just in time for our first Special Effects meeting.  The first production draft of episode #101! And, yep, that’s me.  Oseph!