Today I participated in a call with Battlestar Galactica’s iconic Six (Tricia Helfer) to talk about her role in the July 10 premiere of USA’s new hit show Burn Notice. Of course Galactica came up as well and we got some great tidbits from her. The transcript from the call will be coming later this week. To wet your appetite. Here are some little tidbits.

• Tricia will be in 7 Episodes of Burn Notice playing a mysterious spy. She’ll be in the first two episodes of the season, the season finale and a couple in 2009.
• Her character is the public face of the organization that burned Michael.
• She really liked the being on the set and said it was a real welcoming environment.
• She talks a bit about the difference between Vancouver and Miami, Fl. Said she had to get use to it being sunny in Fla.
• She has a list of DVD Sets that she wants to watch since she doesn’t watch much television. She likes quirky shows like Madmen and Weeds. Is currently watching Dexter, 24, and Arrested Development.
• When asked if she uses the word Frak in her every day life she no. Primarily because her character on Galactica rarely says it. But Frak has become part of other cast and crew’s vocabulary.
• She didn’t have to audition for the Burn Notice part. Matt called her up and said he had a part for her.
• She’s shooting a pilot for a new Fox Television show called Inseparable. She’s playing a Psychologist to the lead. It’s about a cop who was shot and paralyzed. He develops a split personality one that’s crippled and the other one who isn’t. She’s not in the Pilot episode that much because they are establishing the main character.
• She was great to talk to, wasn’t at all squeamish about talking about BSG and what her post BSG life will be like.
• She will be at Comic-Con as part of a Cylon/Human couple. Doesn’t know if the Burn Notice folks will be doing anything.
• She hasn’t been following the looming strike.

EM Interview Highlights

By Michelle Alexandria
Originally Posted 7.2.2008

So here’s the thing, a few weeks ago USA Network contacted me out of the blue and said hey, would you like to come down to Miami for a little Junket for Burn Notice. I was like hells yeah - even though I had no idea what Burn Notice was. But I’m always up for a free trip. Then after a few round of emails, I asked are they paying for it. Nope, had to pay for it out of my own pocket. But I was still going to go. After boning up a bit on the show (as much as I could - considering all the power outages in the last two weeks), I got even more excited. The show is just a really cool, fun riff on the "spy" genre. We had such a good time during the day and I got so much material that we’re launching a Burn Notice page later this week. And it’s been ages since there was a show set in Miami (that I watched.) So during the press day, we interviewed 10 different people and it was in the air. Jeffrey’s presence was felt throughout the day, he is the star of the show and everything is on his shoulders. The cast and crew spoke glowingly of him and when you meet him in person you can understand why. He’s drool worthy, funny, charming, and amazingly down to earth. Oh yeah, he even has a great dog.

Jeffrey Donovan: Alright, all of you should not be drinking any soda. No soda. No soda.

Panel: [laughs] Uh oh!

JD: How’s it going? Have you had a good day today, so far? You got to interview everybody exciting so far…

Panel: We’ve been waiting for you!

JD: It’s all downhill from me. All downhill.

Panel: Sharon Gless talked you up a lot.

JD: Oh, my mama. My mama. [laughter] Isn’t she amazing?

Panel: She said nothing but lovely things about you.

JD: She’s been like a mother to me down here. She is so great. Her and her husband, Barney – you know famous producer – they’re just so great. I wish they were my parents.

Panel: She seemed like she’s pretty much adopted you.

JD: Yeah, she has, she has. I’m filing papers next week.

Panel: Everyone said you don’t sweat, what’s the secret to that?

JD: [laughs] Who’s everyone?

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Our resident Studio Plant (who hates it when I call him that), has landed a plum interview for us at Eclipse. He sits down with the great Ridley Scott. I had a chance to watch him direct a scene for the Television show Numbers last year and it was pretty surreal watching him work. He’s the Executive Producer of the The Andromeda Strain. You can read Scott’s fabulous interview after the break. 

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When The Invaders premiered as a mid-season replacement on January 10, 1967, science fiction on television was a pretty grim genre. The heyday of Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits was past and – other than Star Trek – the best the genre had to offer was campy series that played fast and loose with the science because it was “science fiction and you could do what you wanted” [generic quote from producers of every bad television science fiction series ever made]. Like Star Trek’s Gene Roddenberry, the creator of The Invaders wanted to avoid that kind of silliness – as did the show’s producer, the legendary Quinn Martin [The Fugitive]. It was their straightforward, no-nonsense, dramatic approach that convinced Roy Thinnes to take on the role of David Vincent, the architect who saw an alien ship land way too early one morning. Mr. Vincent was kind enough to chat with me about the series and its effect on his life.

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“It’s always emotional to say goodbye to people.”

Most of the time, Eve Myles, Torchwood’s no-nonsense Gwen Cooper, bounds around like an over-excited puppy. On stage at the Rift Convention, she overcomes her apprehension at facing her first convention appearance by regaling fans with tales from the set of Torchwood that quickly have the audience in the palm of her hand. But, as she tells Carole Gordon in a quiet moment later in the day, filming Torchwood was not all fun and games. Losing two of the characters from the show at the end of the second series, people who had over the course of filming become and remain her good friends, was a deeply emotional experience - and one that will continue to affect both her and Gwen.

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I love stories like Shane Felux’s. He’s a regular guy who got together with some friends to shoot a little fan film called “Star Wars: Revelations.” The film became a cult hit on the web and attracted more than 3 million downloads in less than 2 months. It was featured in major media outlets like CNN, Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC and others. His follow-up “Pitching Lucas” won the George Lucas Selects and Audience Choice award in 2006. The first film to win both top awards. Now he has teamed up with the new ABC-Disney Stage 9 Project to bring his latest film, a sci-fi thriller – Trenches to a YouTube video near you.

Trenches is a 10 episode original series produced for Stage 9. Each 2-4 minute episode will be available in both SD and HD formats.

An interplanetary war between the Rossdale Alliance and the Kuzaa Federation has been raging for generations. Lieutenant Nathan Andrews is a soldier with a relatively simple mission: retrieve his fellow soldiers from a losing battle before being overrun by enemy forces. After a ravenous crash landing, he is stranded with a misfit squad of surviving soldiers while something evil and alien lurks in the shadow of the planet’s trenches. The squad of soldiers find themselves in a race against time where they will put aside an age-old conflict and band together in a last attempt at survival.

Trenches stars Mercy Malick as Captain Racine; Aaron Mathias as Lt. Andrews; Micci Sampery as Lt. Greig; Lev Gorn as Captain Traina; Hong Chau as Specialty Wing; Daz Crawford as Sergeant Verro; Kelley Slagle as Specialty Boyens; Scott Nankivel as Pfc. Janeski; Tom Reuel as Specialty Resnikoff; Orlando Williams as Msg. Drayce; Chaney Tullos as Private Del Amico; Paul Stober as Captain Samson. I caught up with Shane at the recent New York Comic-Con and had a quick Q and A with him. He’s a really cool and interesting guy.  Read the interview after the break.

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For better or worse, Eric Kripke, the creator, Executive Producer and writer of CW’s popular series Supernatural has made the fans an important part of his show, and not just as ratings numbers.  He has often stated that he has a roadmap for the series, a core story that he wants to tell, which he has never wavered from.  “It’s the saga of the Winchester clan — who the brothers really are, who their parents really are, why Demons are so closely intertwined with them, and what their destiny really is. It’s an epic, emotional, family story at its heart.”  Outside of that core story there are elements that come and go and his writing team is flexible enough to make those adjustments.  He states that a decision to keep or discard a storyline combines elements of writers’ opinion, the realities of actors’ schedules, and even opinions of the fans on occasion.  Fan response is valued such that when they overwhelmingly reject something across multiple online forums, it is given proper attention.  “There’s always room to make the show better, and that means trying new things, keeping the things that work, losing the things that don’t.”

This humble admission truly elevates Eric Kripke to a unique position among showrunners.  If the excellent writing, acting and directing were not enough to entice the viewer, then feeling like an integral part of the creative process certainly is.  That and the fact that Eric appears to be a fan’s best friend — someone to sit down with, share a cup of coffee, and have an open exchange of ideas for story elements that are past, present and future.

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Eric Kripke, the creator, Executive Producer, writer, and even one-time director of CW’s popular series Supernatural made an appearance at the Salute to Supernatural Convention sponsored by Creation Entertainment and held in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.

In Part 1 we heard about the classic rock music used on the show, his inspiration, difficulties created by budget problems, a possible future visit to the big screen, what we can expect in the DVDs, and what he thinks about the manner in which this show resonates with so many people.  (more…)

“The most challenging aspect for me in filming Ghostfacers was trying to keep a straight face!”

This coming Thursday, April 24^th at 9PM EST the hit Warner Bros/CW Network series Supernatural kicks their third season back into post writer’s strike first run action with an episode titled Ghostfacers, written by series creator Eric Kripke.

Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester: two sexy hot brothers who drive a kick-ass ‘67 Chevy Impala loaded with weapons for hunting down all manner of supernatural related creatures, ghosties and demons. (more…)

This coming Thursday, April 24th at 9PM EST the hit Warner Bros/CW Network series Supernatural kicks their third season back into post writer’s strike first run action with an episode titled Ghostfacers, written by series creator Eric Kripke. Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester: two sexy hot brothers who drive a kick-ass ‘67 Chevy Impala loaded with weapons for hunting down all manner of supernatural related creatures, ghosties and demons. Continuing on with my quest to help get Supernatural fans and viewers into the swing of things again, I caught up with Brittany Ishibashi one of the guest stars of Ghostfacers to chat about her role as Maggie Zeddmore, the Ghostfacers ‘go to girl’.  (more…)