February 25, 2009: Finally, That Cast Announcement! - Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

Well now you know as much as we do. No, no, that’s not exactly true. We still know more than you do. But at least we ALL know the names of our cast members. The news finally broke yesterday but, on the off-chance you were in your basement watching a Lord of the Rings marathon, here are the latest additions:

Alaina Huffman (Tamara Johansen): Alaina was one of the first auditions we saw way back in December (I was in Tokyo at the time and watched the stream from my room in The Peninsula). She was so good that, quite frankly, we would’ve been crazy not to cast her. I finally got the chance to chat with her today and discovered that, besides being quick-witted and absolutely lovely, she shares my affinity for Japan. Bonus points for that.

Elyse Levesque (Chloe Armstrong): Like Alaina, Elyse delivered a wonderfully nuanced audition, demonstrating impressive range in two very different ad demanding scenes. I only got the chance to speak to her briefly at the cast dinner but my first impression lines up with what everyone else has been saying about her: she is a sweetheart!

Ming-Na (Camille Wray):Back in my January 30^th entry, I wrote “Meanwhile, we inch ever closer to casting one of my other favorites roles – the character of Wray.”. She’s one of my favorites because she has so much potential. That said, as I was working on the first part of the mid-season two-parter, I actually grew nervous. Wray has some nice, meaty scenes in my script and, without a strong actress in the role, the character would crash and burn. So you can imagine my delight to hear we had closed the deal with Ming-Na, a tremendously talented actress (and, apparently, poker player) who is more than capable of delivering bigtime.

Lou Diamond Philips (Colonel Telford): Speaking of talented actors, Lou Diamond Philips is another huge addition to an already impressive roster. He is a kick-ass Colonel Telford and incredibly charming both on and offscreen. I told him I’d enjoyed his work and, especially, his role opposite Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit. He laughed and admitted it was one of his faves as well. Check it out!

Christopher McDonald (Senator Armstrong): Another experienced Hollywood veteran, Chris brings gravity and charisma to the role of Senator Armstrong. When I was on set the other day, he approached me, shook my hand, and told me how happy he was to be working on the show. A clas act.

Speaking of class acts – today, I was on set talking to some of the cast when the conversation turned to actors who are not only accomplished, but great to work with as well. And, not surprisingly, Bob Picardo’s name came up. As it turns out, Gateworld just posted an interview with him. Check it out here:  http://gateworld.net/interviews/man_in_a_suit.shtml

Had a nice, long chat with Brian J. Smith today. I continue to be impressed with his self-effacing, down-to-earth attitude. However, not so impressed with his NFL team of choice: the Dallas Cowboys. But fellow Romo-booster Rob Cooper certainly was. Hey, Sherry – unfortunately, the studio has put the kibosh on any behind-the-scene pics for the time being. I told Brian that I might convince you to provide some embarrassing baby pics of your son and, while he assured me that you have plenty, he strongly urged me NOT to ask. And so, in the interest of continuing to see that self-effacing, down-to-earth attitude – I’m not going to ask. For now. But I will welcome you to our little book of the month club.

If I had to give the award for Funniest Guy On Set (and I do believe I’ll be presenting the award at this year’s ceremonies), I would be hardpressed not hand it to David Blue. A very funny guy, but a professional through and through. Richard – I echo everyone’s best wishes for Buddy. Here’s hoping for a quick and full recovery that will see him bounding around that backyard in no time.

A pretty hilarious guy in his own right is actor Justin Louis who did a really nice job opposite Ona Grauer in some heartfelt scenes earlier this week. I told him: “You guys are eventually going to get tired of hearing it but – we are loving the dailies!”

Finally, late yesterday, Robert Carlyle delivered a performance in a key scene that was so outstanding it blew the doors off Stage 3 – and the entire crew away! “Masterful” would be one word to describe it. “Extraordinary” would be another. But I prefer to simply go with “Wow!”.

Hey, look at what arrived in the mail today! A super, special, advance copy of Joe Abercrombie’s latest: Best Served Cold. Regulars to this blog know that I’m a huge fan of Joe’s and consider his First Law trilogy among my favorite works in the fantasy genre. Will be jumping on it next and have a full report for you all next week. 

 

 

In the meantime, our continuing discussion of David Louis Edelman’s Infoquake:

AMZ writes: “Ironically, with my phone line and internet down I found I could really sympathise with the boys during Initiation…”

Answer: So could I.  Their technology-free wilderness survival training reminded me of my last trip to Montreal.  Minus the bears, wilderness, and training.  Still, my internet connection was kind of iffy.  I empathize.

AMZ also writes: “

I particularly liked the history he created, especially the Autonomous Revolt, which seems to have instilled in the people a fear of losing technology and creates a rich tension between moving forward with advancements and treading with a bit of caution…”

Answer: Which brings up an interesting point.  Given the repercussions of the Autonomous Revolution, is it difficult to accept that humanity would be willing to introduce nanite technology into their everyday lives?  Would they be more cautious given the past or could it be argued that enough time has passed to make them more accepting of the technology?

Sparrow_hawk writes: “ I’m not really a computer geek, but have a lot of friends and acquaintances who are. I was fully prepared to like Natch and his apprentices, but the more I saw of them, the less I cared about them. “

Answer: And how do these characters compare to your computer geek friends?  Is there a Natch in your midst?

Fsmn36 writes: “At the same time, it wasn’t a fully conscious act for Natch. I don’t think he can entirely be blamed for instinct. I don’t agree with it, certainly not, but was he fully himself in that moment? Or did fight-flight and self-preservation kick in?”

Answer: Except that he didn’t just happen to cross paths with Brone while the fight-flight instinct kicked in: “Until, as chance would have it, he spotted Brone.  Natch whipped around and headed in his direction.”  Sounds like he knew exactly what he was doing.