May 29, 2001
Scifi Guide reports:
I (the interviewer) used the time to talk to Amanda Tapping who was very happy to see TVH 68 with her photo on the cover which I had brought for her.
Suddenly I noticed a strange whistling noise above me. I looked up and thought something like "today the carrots are really flying low". The sight that presented itself to me can best be described like this: apparently someone had got the glorious idea of using the blue-screen as some sort of dividing line. There were two teams happily tossing something (that looking like a very big carrot and made those whistling noises when in flight) over it and trying to catch the "carrot". I watched RDA himself struggle with a member of the crew for possession of the carrot or fall flat on his face trying to catch it.
Somehow I suddenly got the impression I was no longer on the set of an SF-show, but rather on a playground full of ten-year-olds.
Amanda noticed my disbelieving glance and simply told me: "It's spring time. Little boys need to get out into the fresh air and play a bit." And Kim (Cowan) added" Robert, you asked me once if I had a family. Look at that. Richard, Christopher and Michael are my kids. That's absolutely enough."
And now on with the interview:
TVH: How many of the stories for season five are already certain now (April 2001)?
PdL: A bit more than half of them. You probably know about the writers' and actors' strike this summer. It might even be good for us because then we'd have more time to develop new ideas. But the strike is a totally unpredictable thing and might even fail to take place at all. A lot can happen till then.
TVH: What about an SG - 1 movie? Are you going to film it after the 5th or after the 6th season? I have heard so many different information about it lately.
PdL: That depends on a lot of things. Most of the actors have contracts for only 5 years. After that time, some of them will certainly want to continue with the show, while others may not. The most important factor will be Richard Dean Anderson, because, if he doesn't want to go on with a sixth season, there won't be a sixth season. He is the main character.
Then we have to consider the views of the production company and of MGM. At the moment it's just too early for a decision. There will definitely be a movie, maybe this year , maybe the next. The only thing I can tell you is that we are developing story lines at the moment which would look great in a movie with a higher budget. Of course, the story of a movie has to be interesting and understandable for those people who haven't seen the show.
But you also have to add certain elements for the fans of the show. It's similar to Star Trek or X-Files. When I saw Star Trek: Generations and heard Data cry "Oh, sh*t!" because his emotion chip was on, the audience was delighted. For one thing, he would have never been allowed to say that on TV, and for another, the fans had been waiting for him to show real emotions all the time. For me that was one of the coolest moments of the whole movie.
To stay with the comparison. Most of the actors on Star Trek had contracts for 5 years only in the beginning. Because that's usually the most time they are willing to be bound. In the end, they stayed longer, because they wanted to and, of course, because they got more money.
TVH: Would making a movie mean a big change for you?
PdL: I think we would do very well. To be honest, we make 22 mini movies a year and some countries show our double features as movies in a cinema. Making a movie means having more money and also having more time, which is very important.
TVH: Many movies tend to ignore the things fans know from the show....
PdL: I can assure you that wouldn't happen with us. We'd cut into our own flesh and anger the fans. A Stargate movie will be like the show, only much bigger, more elaborate and faster. For the X-Files movie everything was built new, but we already have a huge set available which we can use. Besides, Peter (Woeste) and I have already decided to go without lunch. The money we'd
save by that alone could be used for other things.
TVH: Well, I don't know if I could make the sacrifice. You must really have a lot of will power! But what's the main difference between making an episode of a show and making a movie?
PdL: It's the difference of day and night. In a movie, every single detail will be magnified on screen. That's why you have to be extra careful. For a TV show, we film 7 or 8 pages of script a day; for a movie it's one or two pages.
TVH: And which movies have you been stealing from lately?Tangent was Apollo 13 a la Stargate....
PdL: Wow, you really know your movies! Threshold is a bit like The Exorcist. Window of Opportunity was Groundhog Day. Beast of Burden is going to be a mixture of Roots and Planet of the Apes. Peter (Woeste), can you remember anything else?
PW: Sure, this morning we borrowed from Wolfen.
PdL: Right, I almost forgot that one.
TVH: Lots of fans think that in the course of the show, O'Neill got dumbed down more and more, besides acting pretty weird at times. What do you think about that?
PdL: I heard about that. But if you ever doubted his abilities as a soldier and a leader, wait till you see "The Fifth Man". I agree, it sometimes looks like his reactions were a bit crazy. But imagine your reaction when you and your friends would be taken over by computers, you'd have to carry around small snakes in your belly or you'd have to fight the system lords of the galaxy who wanted to conquer the universe once a week. Wouldn't you react the
same way? I think it's quite natural and totally in accordance with the wishes of the viewers if O'Neill doesn't take things too seriously. If I were him, I'd often ask myself whether what happens in an episode wasn't totally crazy. And that's exactly what O'Neill says. He is the voice of the viewers.
Scifi Guide reports:
I (the interviewer) used the time to talk to Amanda Tapping who was very happy to see TVH 68 with her photo on the cover which I had brought for her.
Suddenly I noticed a strange whistling noise above me. I looked up and thought something like "today the carrots are really flying low". The sight that presented itself to me can best be described like this: apparently someone had got the glorious idea of using the blue-screen as some sort of dividing line. There were two teams happily tossing something (that looking like a very big carrot and made those whistling noises when in flight) over it and trying to catch the "carrot". I watched RDA himself struggle with a member of the crew for possession of the carrot or fall flat on his face trying to catch it.
Somehow I suddenly got the impression I was no longer on the set of an SF-show, but rather on a playground full of ten-year-olds.
Amanda noticed my disbelieving glance and simply told me: "It's spring time. Little boys need to get out into the fresh air and play a bit." And Kim (Cowan) added" Robert, you asked me once if I had a family. Look at that. Richard, Christopher and Michael are my kids. That's absolutely enough."
And now on with the interview:
TVH: How many of the stories for season five are already certain now (April 2001)?
PdL: A bit more than half of them. You probably know about the writers' and actors' strike this summer. It might even be good for us because then we'd have more time to develop new ideas. But the strike is a totally unpredictable thing and might even fail to take place at all. A lot can happen till then.
TVH: What about an SG - 1 movie? Are you going to film it after the 5th or after the 6th season? I have heard so many different information about it lately.
PdL: That depends on a lot of things. Most of the actors have contracts for only 5 years. After that time, some of them will certainly want to continue with the show, while others may not. The most important factor will be Richard Dean Anderson, because, if he doesn't want to go on with a sixth season, there won't be a sixth season. He is the main character.
Then we have to consider the views of the production company and of MGM. At the moment it's just too early for a decision. There will definitely be a movie, maybe this year , maybe the next. The only thing I can tell you is that we are developing story lines at the moment which would look great in a movie with a higher budget. Of course, the story of a movie has to be interesting and understandable for those people who haven't seen the show.
But you also have to add certain elements for the fans of the show. It's similar to Star Trek or X-Files. When I saw Star Trek: Generations and heard Data cry "Oh, sh*t!" because his emotion chip was on, the audience was delighted. For one thing, he would have never been allowed to say that on TV, and for another, the fans had been waiting for him to show real emotions all the time. For me that was one of the coolest moments of the whole movie.
To stay with the comparison. Most of the actors on Star Trek had contracts for 5 years only in the beginning. Because that's usually the most time they are willing to be bound. In the end, they stayed longer, because they wanted to and, of course, because they got more money.
TVH: Would making a movie mean a big change for you?
PdL: I think we would do very well. To be honest, we make 22 mini movies a year and some countries show our double features as movies in a cinema. Making a movie means having more money and also having more time, which is very important.
TVH: Many movies tend to ignore the things fans know from the show....
PdL: I can assure you that wouldn't happen with us. We'd cut into our own flesh and anger the fans. A Stargate movie will be like the show, only much bigger, more elaborate and faster. For the X-Files movie everything was built new, but we already have a huge set available which we can use. Besides, Peter (Woeste) and I have already decided to go without lunch. The money we'd
save by that alone could be used for other things.
TVH: Well, I don't know if I could make the sacrifice. You must really have a lot of will power! But what's the main difference between making an episode of a show and making a movie?
PdL: It's the difference of day and night. In a movie, every single detail will be magnified on screen. That's why you have to be extra careful. For a TV show, we film 7 or 8 pages of script a day; for a movie it's one or two pages.
TVH: And which movies have you been stealing from lately?Tangent was Apollo 13 a la Stargate....
PdL: Wow, you really know your movies! Threshold is a bit like The Exorcist. Window of Opportunity was Groundhog Day. Beast of Burden is going to be a mixture of Roots and Planet of the Apes. Peter (Woeste), can you remember anything else?
PW: Sure, this morning we borrowed from Wolfen.
PdL: Right, I almost forgot that one.
TVH: Lots of fans think that in the course of the show, O'Neill got dumbed down more and more, besides acting pretty weird at times. What do you think about that?
PdL: I heard about that. But if you ever doubted his abilities as a soldier and a leader, wait till you see "The Fifth Man". I agree, it sometimes looks like his reactions were a bit crazy. But imagine your reaction when you and your friends would be taken over by computers, you'd have to carry around small snakes in your belly or you'd have to fight the system lords of the galaxy who wanted to conquer the universe once a week. Wouldn't you react the
same way? I think it's quite natural and totally in accordance with the wishes of the viewers if O'Neill doesn't take things too seriously. If I were him, I'd often ask myself whether what happens in an episode wasn't totally crazy. And that's exactly what O'Neill says. He is the voice of the viewers.
