January 24, 2011: Hey, look who's in town! - Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

Hey!  Look who’s back in town!

Yep.  Executive Producer Carl Binder is in Vancouver for Two Days Only in order to organize and pack up a few things.  Correction.  In order for his wife, Karen, to organize and pack up a few things while he sits in his office trawling the internet for hairless monkey porn and whatnot.  Far be it for me to criticize, however, seeing as how he has gifted me with two lovely (half-empty) bottles of Kahlua and Frangelico.  In return, I gifted him an adorable kitten picture frame that I slipped into his suitcase while his back was turned.

Anyway, given that his time in Vancouver is limited, I made sure to book early to avoid disappointment and he was kind enough to pencil me in for a 6:30 dinner tonight.

Also dropping by the production offices for a surprise visit this morning was –

Special Effects Maestro Wray Douglas who was in the area helping a friend.  Now when anyone else says they’re “helping a friend”, I assume “move”.  In Wray’s case though, my mind automatically goes to “blow something up”.  And, as it turns out, I’m right.  No details on what exactly he’ll be blowing up and where, but I’m sure it’ll be splendiforous.

Talked to Stargate Creator/Exec. Producer/Director/Writer/Duck Smoker Robert Cooper this morning who is presently fielding PLENTY of interesting professional possibilities. Also, as a result of our conversation, a fast-track opportunity that had presented itself several weeks ago is looming large once again.  It’s a terrific, high-profile gig and I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun – but it WILL mean relocating to the other side of the country.  And that brings up two big issues.  One involves the people I’ll leave behind.  The second: How the hell am I going to get my dogs there?  Given their breed-specific respiratory issues (and the fact that I’ve heard one too many pet travel horror stories) flying them cargo is not an option. They could fly in-cabin as carry-on, but the airline limit is one pet per traveler with a limited number of pets per flight meaning that, even if I fly with a friend(s), it will still amount to multiple trips.  Also, porky Maximus is pushing the 25 pound weight limit.  Another option is driving cross-country, but the thought of spending a week’s worth of eight hour days in my car does not appeal.  Still another option is chartering a plane and, believe it or not, it’s something I have looked into.  Certainly faster than driving cross-country but a tad more expensive.

There’s also the fact that if things move as quickly as I think they will, it will make both Paul and I unavailable for any other projects-poised-for-production.  Was hoping to hear something definite on the Stargate front before week’s end (or certainly before January 31st).

On the bright side, I suppose that no matter where I go, I’ll be able to bring you all along as well – which means a lot to me, especially after receiving comments like the following that, for some reason, found its way into my spam folder:

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