One of the great things about this job is that it’s full of surprises – be it a summer rainstorm during an exterior location shoot, an unforeseen cost overage, or Nathan in the front office calling to inform me that he’s got Augustus Kolya on Line #1 . Kolya? I hit Line #1: “Hello?”
“Mallozzi!”came the gruff voice, pronouncing my name in a way only a true Italian could. “What’s going on?”
It was actor Robert Davi phoning me up to touch base and find out what the plans were for his character. True, his character, Augustus Kolya, was killed back in season three but as we all know, nobody really dies in Sci-Fi (and Stargate especially, much to io9‘s chagrin). And he was quick to remind me of the fact! What was funny about the call was not that it came out of the blue, or that it followed a similarly out of the blue call from actor Richard Kind (who had come across a terrific article on chocolate and required my address so that he could send it my way), but that, in fact, I had been giving the Augustus Kolya character some thought of late. A lot of thought in fact.
Fast forward several months later and Robert Davi was in my office, going over his script notes and filling me in on his directorial debut, The Dukes, a movie he co-wrote and stars in alongside his buddy Chazz Palminteri. Check out the trailer here: http://www.moviejungle.com/embeds/embeds.asp?Movie_ID=5683&Embed_ID=846 and an interesting article about the movie here: http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/2590-ROBERT-DAVI-REAPS-INTERNATIONAL-PRAISE-AWARDS-WITH-HIS-DIRECTORIAL-DEBUT-ON-THE-DUKES.html.
Anyway, we chatted and I was more than happy to accommodate his request for a few dialogue tweaks and some additional physicality. A quick trip down to costumes for his fitting and then he was off, back to the hotel to go over his lines and enjoy the Amedei Chuao bar I gave him as a welcome back present (Apparently, he’s a fan of dark chocolate).
The man is colorful, a blast to work with and, oh yeah, a damn fine actor to boot. He really should call more often.
Mailbag:
Squall78 writes: “I read in a recent Multichannel news article that the decision to cancel SGA was a “Creative” decision. This came from the mouth of SCI FI network’s president Dave Howe. The article confused me, because it said it was the prodcuers who felt it was time to move on and the stories being told have reached their limits and it was time to start the next chapter.”
Answer: I can’t speak for anyone else except me – and my fellow producers Paul, Carl, Martin, and Alan – when I say that we were not involved in the decision and only learned about the show‘s fate after the call had already been made.
Alicia writes: “Joe I m not buying the sga movie if the conference room isnt changed.”
Answer: Uh, changed to what exactly? A day spa maybe?
AussieSGFan writes: “I watched Doppelganger again a couple of nights ago, and I’ve been wondering. Did they get another Psychologist/ Psychiatrist after what happen to Dr. Heightmeyer(sp?)”
Answer: They certainly did.
Jeff Ford writes: “I’m sorry to say I’ve yet to read David Weber, but I can certainly vouch (for what that’s worth) for the VanderMeer and the Zombie anthology. I think the club is in for a great month of reading.”
Answer: Hey, Jeff. I have November 4th circled on my calendar – the day your new book, The Drowned Life, hits the shelves. I’ll be saving it for in-flight entertainment later this month when I head to Tokyo.
Delynn writes: “Joe, I know we’ve heard “if the first SGA movie is successful, there will be more.” But how will you measure the success of a made-for-TV movie? Ratings? Or DVD sales after the fact?”
Answer: That will be up to MGM to decide. If the DVD sales prove as robust as those of the SG-1 movies, then I’m certain we’ll be following up with another Atlantis adventure soon after. Similarly, if the movie premieres strongly on SciFi, I’m sure the network will push for another installment.
Anais33 a ecrit: “1) Dans le film de sga, avez vous l’intention de faire des scénes de “relationship”?
2)On vous à deja communiquer quelques noms d’ acteurs potentiel pour sgu?
3) Où allez vous mêttre vos chiens quand vous irez en vacance?”
Reponses: 1) A ce moment, je ne sais pas. 2) J’ai entendu que quelques noms mais, pour la plupart, ca ne me concerne pas. 3) Un ami prendra soin d‘eux.
Sort of translation: 1) At this point, I don‘t know if the SGA movie will touch on any relationship issues. We‘re too busy trying to get the story down. 2) I‘ve heard a few names thrown around with regard to cast for the new series but, for the most part, I’m out of the loop and hope to be pleasantly surprised once the decisions have been made. 3) A friend will be watching the dogs while we’re away.
Demon Hunter writes: “I have a great idea/concept for a comedy/horror show but I’m not a writer. What would be the best thing to do with my idea?”
Answer: I don’t know. You can approach a writer, but I imagine most prefer to develop their own original ideas.
TBA writes: “Too bad we won’t get a follow-up on the Genii… At least for the series, that is. Perhaps something for a future movie?”
Answer: Perhaps.
Mellow Yellow writes: “I’m confused..is the SGA movie going to be on TV first? I thought it was a straight to DVD movie? Please clarify.”
Answer: I’m not sure. Right now, all I know is we’re writing and producing an SGA movie. Where it appears first is somebody else’s call.
Mellow Yellow also writes: “So my man Ronon and my girl Teyla won’t be in the episode Vegas?”
Answer: They will not.
Alex writes: “Thanks for posting your email address. I just sent you an email with a request for a favor that I hope you’ll consider.”
Answer: Hmm. Nothing in my inbox.
Hey! I was curious as to how the SGA movie will be named… since the SG-1 movies don’t have SG-1 in the title, will the SGA movies work the same? I hope so, just for a sense of continuity!
Was it not Acastus Kolya? You’re the authority, but I didn’t think it was Augustus.
You have one of the coolest jobs in the world, to have someone like Mr. Davi calling you up. Though I’m not a hard core Shep Whumper, I have to admit I’m feel an excited tingling down my spine to think of Kolya/Sheppard providing us some wrenching scenes. I’m adding Mr. Ford’s latest book to my list for my next book run; always a pleasure to see him drop in here now and then. Looking forward to updates on the movie and the Secret Project, and managing to work up a bit of enthusiasm about Universe now that it appears some familiar names will be participating in its development. Thanks for the pictures of Mr. Davi, and enjoy your extra hour of sleep.
Thanks for the link to the trailer for Robert Davi’s new film. It looks like it could be a fun movie to see. I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for it later this month.
Oh, and good luck with your far east trip coming up. Enjoy!
I rewatched Outsiders again and it still bugs me that Teyla did not sense the Wraith coming, what’s up with that? Did something alter her sense after The Queen?
Looking forward to seeing Kolya again, now that’s one badass dude.
Joe,
I’ve got great news! There is still time to get Ronon and Teyla in the epi for Vegas. 🙂
I’m bummed they won’t be in it..but from the pics I’ve seen on GW the epi looks very interesting and although it is one epi closer to the end of the season I can’t wait to see it.
Joe, I understand if you can’t answer this question but if you can shed some light on the matter I would appreciate it. How would airing the SGA movie on TV first be profitable? Hypothetically speaking, do TV networks make that much of a profit from ads? Or again..hypothetically speaking, is the thinking they would be able to make a profit from airing it 1st on TV (it should be a big turn out) and also make a profit from the sales since the fans who were going to buy the DVD in the 1st place will buy it anyway regardless if it aired on TV first?
testing…Can I post from my iPhone?
I’m pretty sure it’s Acastus Kolya.
Looks like I can…
Seen HBO’s “True Blood” or read the “Sookie Stackhouse” novels, Joe and all? I got into the TV series late, but it’s good (and sexy) fun!
Speaking of sexy, thanks for the update on Robert Davi !!
And then there’s Ronny Cox in “The Starter Wife”, playing Judy Davis’ husband…really good scenes!
Gilder
Thanks for the answer =)
A day spa? That would be AWESOME lol
Facials would also be mandatory I suppose? and free beverages XD
why not have a poll?? I want the original atlantis conference table in the sga movie yes or no
Hey Joe,
As you’re writing the SGA movie, do you need to put in act breaks as you would normally do for a TV episode (since it will also be airing on SciFi)? Or is that not a consideration? It would be better for the movie I think if you didn’t – better flow and all that. I guess they didn’t really worry about that for the SG-1 movies since they went straight to DVD.
Jean
Hey Joe!
i was wondering, will all the writers be able to do episode commentaries for season 5 dvd’s??? Because normally you guys are doing that while you’re just about starting up the next season.
I hope all is well
BN
Wait, did I read that right? Is Kolya coming back? If so, I’d be glad to see that. I was oddly disappointed when he died–oddly, that is, because I’d never been particularly fond of his character before that, but for some reason that ep was the first where he seemed really frightening and dangerous (can’t say why, though). And anyway, he should have gone out better than that.
(Although I must say that it irritates the heck out of me to watch Shep fire on a guy standing right in front of his teammates and friends. Like, what, it’s not possible a bullet might miss, or might go right through Kolya and hit someone else? So ridiculously… heh… irresponsible. Hey, that’s what the title was really referring to, wasn’t it?)
How do stargate writers come up with names for characters? For example, was the russian Kolia for Nicolai (much like the american Joe for Joseph) the base of the characters name, or do you guys try to avoid using existing names from life and mythology and try to come up with something really original, and this kinda overlap is just a coincidence?
THANK YOU….Awesome, photos of Robert Davi in uniform and civilian attire!! And, links to his movie info.
Hey Joe, i had a BotM question for you that hads been on my mind since this past April. It wasn’t until today when I remember your site link, Uhm, do you know of a place that has martial arts (Wuxia) novels in english? I’ve been trying to find a two book novel by Liang Yusheng, but I can only find the movie that was made from it, not the book. Any ideas?
Oh, and Kolya? Love the hat in the first pic!
Wait a minute…Teyla’s not going to be in the 100th episode?! The same Teyla that has been there since the beginning? Why not?
Joe,
Remnants is one of the two episodes left in the season that I’m really impatient to see. I’m wondering about the other two story lines that will be explored during Remnants. Are they related to the Sheppard story line or are they each separate?
Best,
Rose
Hi Joe:
Were you aware that November is National Novel Writing Month? You could write that Great Canadian Novel that all writers are supposed to have within. Details can be found at: http://www.nanowrimo.org.
Can you tell us what Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Jason Momoa, etc. are up to these days?
Amanda Tapping was a special guest on Sci-Fi channel’s Ghost Hunter special on Halloween night. Did you watch any of it? Amanda looked genuinely frightened during some points of the program. She is a real trooper to brave a haunted fort in the Delaware River on a cold October night.
If you were invited to the next Gatecon in 2009, would you go?
Patricia (AG)
A Kolya return? Hmm, now that is definately a good though. 🙂 Okay, great.
On the Kolya question, is it not Nathan who’s mistaken the name, rather than Joe? Although I think Augustus is a rather – er – august alternative name for the character. Maybe it was one of them there Freudian (or Canadian, which is what I was going to type) slips?
The book of the month selections look most interesting. I’m a bit of a slow reader these days, in that I don’t put enough time aside for it, so I rarely get to the end of the book in time to post questions.
So I wanted to say, thanks for the extra time, Joe!
Oh, and one little word about the clips show. I thought the clips worked fine, and Woolsey was lovely; but being in front of a jury certainly brought out the worst in John Sheppard, and he did seem to catch really-bad-plan-itis from Rodney. Oh well, season 5 has some tremendous episodes in it and I have a feeling this one will grow on me when we get the DVD. Only a few more episodes to go. But the film to look forward to. Interesting times.
Coucou Joseph =)
Merci d’avoir répondu à mes questions!! c’est trés gentil!
Moi j’espere vraiment qu”il y aura du “relation ship” ^^ notament entre Teyla et John!!
Concernant le cast de sgu, j’esper qu’il sera à la hauteur! Notament le personnage du Colonel Everett Young qui me semble être un personnage important, il nous donnera quelque part la premiére impression sur la serie=)
Et bien vos petits chiens aussi vont aller en vacance^^ Il n’ya pas de raison que vous aussi vous en profitiez^^!
Question:
Savez vous quand exactement les fans auront plus de new sur SGU et le film de SGA?
Bon gros gros bisou!!! Je vous adore♥
Hi Joe! Love the show and the blog. I really can’t thank you enough for helping make both Stargate series as fantastic as they are. Really: thank you.
And now for a completely random question:
I was just wondering what would happen if two people in two different transporters on Atlantis hit the button for the same destination simultaneously. Would they both end up in same receiving point, or would both be negated until one was pressed again?
Hi Joe,
I’m really looking forward to Prodigal 😀 It’s one of the episodes that as soon as I heard the premise I had high hopes for! (along with Remnants ;))
Got to say I’m dissapointed that Teyla and Ronon aren’t in Vegas, as a Sheppard fan I was incredibly excited about that episode. Why is it that Teyla and Ronon occasionally aren’t in episodes?
Cazz x
I just came back from the Armageddon expo in Melbourne. David Hewlett is one of the nicest, most entertaining people that I’ve met. There were so many Stargate fans there, just in Melbourne, that the panels were overcrowded. Photo ops sold out in an hour. It really just hit me how many people LOVE Stargate Atlantis just in or near Melbourne Australia. I’m left wondering, why on earth would they cancel a show with such a following?? Only an idiot would do that. I assume, since you left Brad’s name off the list of producers that did not know, that he had a part in it in some way, shape, or form. Sci Fi has adamantly claimed that they would love to see another season of Atlantis. This leads me to believe that the idiot in question is no one other than Brad, himself. There were so many fans buying up everything Stargate related in this small corner of the world. So many! The reaction among the Aussie fans over the cancellation echoed loudly in the auditorium.
Brad has made a terrible idiotic mistake in his decision. SGU could have proven to be a wonderful show, but I think he’s put a nail in its coffin before it’s even hit the airwaves. I firmly believe this now given the audience reaction to the very idea of it at the expo. If he wanted to retire, then he could have just quit.
I was looking forward to his answers to our questions, but now I simply do not care what he has to say. He’s playing with fire, burning the proverbial candle at both ends. It was a wrong move to upset such a huge fanbase when his new show will be dependent on viewers to actually watch it.
Ooooo! Koyla! 😀
Sorry for not being the usual nagging, pestering me of late.. but i’m up to my eyeballs in painting and keep lapsing into that vegatative-state-thingy I do when i’m working on something.
I have been keeping up with your daily blogs though, Joe and was gonna comment yesterday once I got back from surfing. But by the time i’d got a coffee down me, fed the dog, wrung out my wetsuit, washed all the salt off the both of us and remembered ’twas time for SG1 on SkyTwo.. well, I kinda forgot. Soo, uh.. sorry.
But Koyla!! 😀
My all time favourite Mr Bad Guy! Can’t wait to see ‘Remnants’. Thanks for the piccies. 😀
”Hmm. Nothing in my inbox.”
I just sent it again; I mailed it to your yahoo account. Hopefully you’ll receive it this time.
Thanks again,
Alex
Hi Joe just checking up on Her Britannic Majesty’s Royal Mail service.
Did you receive the small cylinder of chocolate I sent you?
Or was it snaffled on route by some postal worker with a penchant for good chocolate?
Hope you enjoy it.
Pauline
I’m with you Alexandria. I no longer have any interest in what Brad W has to say about anything. His condescending attitude has totally turned me off. I wouldn’t be surprised if he cancels his Q&A on this blog.
Sooooo. In an attempt to promote safe sex in Indonesia, they are making condoms scented like durian fruit.
I really, really don’t get that.
Can you answer this once and for all please? Did Hermiod commit mass suicide with the other Asgard in “Unending?”
Thanks and have a wonderful trip!
@crazymom1 What an interesting article. Thanks for the link! The expresso ones sounded like fun. But durian fruit…not for me, thanks. A friend of mine who had been traveling in Asia brought back durian candy. Smelled nasty, tasted worse. But maybe it is an acquired taste.
Um… before we go burn Brad in effigy, maybe folks should consider that Joe MIGHT have forgotten to list Brad’s name. Joe is our lovable, humorous, adorable and BUSY Blog God. He’s made mistakes before (I know, sacrilege to even say it) and came back to say “oops, I forgot to mention ….”
I also read Joe’s comment as a cute quip, as in he will only speak for himself …. and a bunch of other people to boot … 🙂
Just a thought.
Trish in Texas
I’m also with Alexandria and sl227.
I am so disappointed and sadden with the whole situation.
I did not start watching Stargate Atlanis because it had the name Stargate in the title, I watched it because I saw the episodes with McKay and found him to be a captivating character and then when SG-1 introduced us to the Atlantis expidition I was further captivated with the whole idea and decided to give the new show a try. It seemed as though SG-1 was handing off a new series of the franchise to the fans and I grew to love the show. None of this has happen with SGU and in fact it seems the opposite.
It’s all so sad and disappointing and it all could have been avoided.
Anyway, that’s the way I feel. 🙁
Robert Davi – LOVE your portrayal of Acastus Kolya.
Can’t wait to see what Kolya has in store for Sheppard in Remnants…
Will keep an eye out for you in any future projects. You are a delightfully wicked ‘bad guy’.
At the risk of sounding somewhat risque, I intend to ‘google’ you with great frequency… 😀
Basically, I would love to follow your acting career. You are brilliant, to say the least.
Keep up the good work, sweets!
Best!
Shai
So Teyla and Ronon won’t be in the ep Vegas then huh….Well that’s another episode to scratch off the list for watching….I really don’t know what eps i’ll watch after Prodigal airs….None of them sound interesting or good to me so I guess i’ll not be watvhing most the the rest of the season 🙁
Why is it that Teyla and Ronon are completely missing in some eps but John and Rodney are never completely missing? Even when there’s no need for Rodney or John to be in the episode they’ve at least got a walk on part, why does Teyla and Ronon not at least have that?
Hey Joe,
Thanks for the heads up on the next BOTM&a1/2&theodd2ndmonth’s selections.
Looks like On Basalisk Station is a free ebook.
I’ll post the link when I get a chance.
Freaking WordPress has stolen my monster.
Looks like I’ll have to go and delete/change my WordPress photo.
I’m glad to see Kolya back, myself. He’s a great villian. 🙂 (Now if only there would be a Goonies 2 …)
Hey, are there any Whirled players here? (Whirled is a VR chat system where you buld yourself a home and play games to earn coins to put stuff in your rooms. You can upload your own images to make stuff, too, in any style, so it’s much more versitle than some chat systems. I’m addicted …) I set up a Stargate chatroom, if anyone’s interested. 🙂 I put a lot of work into rendering the Atlantis ‘Gatefroom for it …
http://www.whirled.com/#world-s101919
Joe, I put a link in the room to your blog — currently the link is a potted plant, but if you have another idea, let me know. Something that wouldn’t be too out of place in the Atlantis ‘Gateroom. Although … I suppose technically *anything* could be just lying on the floor, dropped by someone. If Flanigan would get himself a website already, I’d put a pair of sunglasses on the floor, for example, or comic book …. *Starts ploting other objects for links to the other actors sites …*
i’m posting to see what shows up as my avatar…
Hey Joe.
I thought you might like to see a Remembrance Day tribute video I made. It’s only 2mins long. I you’re interested, here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddOoab5qv2U
Let me know what you think.
Thanks Joe.
Hey Joe.
Sorry if this is a double post, but I don’t think my first one worked.
Here is a link to a video I made, it is a tribute to Remembrance Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddOoab5qv2U
If you watch it (it’s only 2mins), let me what you think.
Thanks Joe.
Having Robert Davi on line 1 would definitely give me a chill! 😛 Amazing actor – and totally looking forward to see Remnants and some Koyla action. Espcially when he’s going after Sheppard.
Question for the mailbag if the chance comes up (partially due to the other questions from Vegas)… well, it’s more of a true/false actually to see if I understand correctly.
If Teyla and Ronon are from Pegasus, then in an alternate reality, they’d still be from Pegasus, wouldn’t they? They wouldn’t suddenly appear on earth living a different lifestyle. It makes sense that Shep might have taken a different career path, and Woolsey too – both are timelines that could exist on an alternate Earth. But Ronon being from Earth, growing up on Earth, doesn’t seem probable since certain elements would need to be the same to make him, well, Ronon! Like… Sateda.
Just curious!
Nika
“Mellow Yellow writes: “I’m confused..is the SGA movie going to be on TV first? I thought it was a straight to DVD movie? Please clarify.”
Answer: I’m not sure. Right now, all I know is we’re writing and producing an SGA movie. Where it appears first is somebody else’s call.”
Actually, I can see a kind of worrying possible distinction… if it was intended to be broadcast on TV first, would that mean that the movie would be deliberately structured for intermittent commercials? Or at least, more geared that way? I must say, I truly fell in love with Aot and Continuum, in full movie format. Not that I’ve loved Atlantis any less so far, commercials and all… but still.