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What is happening with the Stargate SG-1 and/or Stargate Atlantis Movie? We here nothing new. But Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, the makers of the original Stargate Movie (1994) were talking in the last time. About Stargate Movie Sequels…

So, que vadis Stargate Movie?

Here are all the last Stargate Movie news in chronological order:

Published on August 22, 2006

Quint chats with producer Dean Devlin about FLYBOYS, ISOBAR, GHOSTING and the Stargate sequels!!!
[...]
Quint (Interviewer): “You mentioned on the panel that you finally have the rights back to make sequels to Stargate. What was holding the rights up?”

Dean Devlin: “It’s not that the rights have cleared up. The previous regimes at MGM have been very wary about doing the sequel movies. There’s a new group of people running MGM now and they’re all big science fiction fans. So I’ve been talking about doing the sequels with them. There is no deal in place yet to make these films and we’re only in the very early stages of discussion. But at least there seems to be genuine interest in continuing the franchise.”

Quint (Interviewer): “Will the second film pick up with the same characters from the original, continuing that story?”

Dean Devlin: “When Roland and I developed the original Stargate film, we had always envisioned it as the first of a trilogy of movies. There was a larger mythology to tell and we’ve always wanted to finish telling the story we started.
The sequel would take place about 12 years after the original and would pick up with Daniel making a discovery that leads him back to Earth and the discovery of a new and different Stargate!”

Quint (Interviewer): “Where are you currently with the development of the sequels?”

Dean Devlin: “At the moment, we’re only in discussions about the possibilities of doing it.”

[...]

Source: Dean Devlin Interview @ aintitcool.com

Published on August 21, 2008

SCI FI CHANNEL GREENLIGHTS 2-HOUR FILM FROM MGM BASED ON POPULAR ‘STARGATE ATLANTIS’ SERIES

New York, NY – August 21, 2008 – Building upon the successful Stargate franchise, SCI FI Channel today announced it has greenlit a two-hour movie based on the hit science fiction adventure series Stargate Atlantis. SCI FI will have the exclusive worldwide television premiere of the yet to be titled Stargate Atlantis film, which will then be released on DVD by MGM.

The movie will be written by Stargate Atlantis’ executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, who also serve as series showrunners. The movie is set to follow the fifth and final season of Stargate Atlantis, as it draws to its thrilling conclusion in January 2009.

“We’re excited to tell Atlantis stories on a bigger canvas. The successes of the two original Stargate DTV movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers.

We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise, ” said Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and who both currently serve as executive producers on Atlantis.

“We share in the producers’ enthusiasm to move forward in this direction and we look forward to a strong and continued relationship on Stargate Atlantis in this new format,” said Thomas Vitale, Senior Vice President Programming & Original Movies.

Stargate Atlantis follows the adventures of an intrepid team of military and civilian explorers who travel the distant Pegasus galaxy by means of a Stargate, a portal created long ago by a highly advanced alien civilization called the Ancients.

In their never-ending quest to seek out other technologies left behind by the Ancients, the Atlantis team encounters alien cultures – some friend, some foe.

The series will reach a milestone with the 100th episode airing in January 2009. Atlantis is executive produced by Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Carl Binder, and Martin Gero. Mallozzi and Mullie share the reins as showrunners.

Source: http://nbcumv.com/scifi/release_detail.nbc/scifi-20080821000000-scifichannelgreen.html (offline)

Also published on August 21, 2008 a blog entry from Joe Mallozzi:

By now, I assume you’ve all heard the news. This will be Stargate Atlantis’s fifth and final season. I’m disappointed but not surprised.

We came into this year knowing that renewal would be a longshot. With 100 episodes under our belts, rising production costs, and the US dollar’s steep decline, the odds were stacked against us. Still, we’d heard no definite word either way and if SG-1’s surprising 10-year run taught us one thing, it’s that anything is possible. The circumstances that contributed to SG-1’s longevity were very different but, back then, we hadn’t expected it to get a sixth season pick-up either. Furthermore, with our strong premiere numbers and the equally impressive showing of the ensuing episodes, some of us were, if not exactly upbeat, then cautiously optimistic. We watched. We waited. And, finally, received word the other day.

We told the cast first, then headed down to set and broke the news to the crew. These are people who have given so much of themselves over the show’s five-year run and we felt it only right that they hear it from us rather than finding out about it elsewhere.

It’s been a bittersweet couple of days. On the one hand, I’m sorry to see the series end but, on the other hand, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. 100 episodes is pretty damn impressive feat and, as evidenced by the quality of recent stories and the uptick in the ratings, we’ll be going out on a high. Even though I see a lot of anger directed at both MGM and Sci Fi, the fact is we couldn’t have done it without their support. And we’re going to count on that support as Atlantis continues its adventures as a movie franchise.

Episode 20, Enemy at the Gate, will mark our 100th episode and, contrary to online speculation, we will not be ending things with a cliffhanger. Regardless of whether we got the pick-up or not, we had always planned a clean conclusion to our 100th episode, one that would hopefully leave fans satisfied yet eager for more. And that “more” will come in the form of the Stargate Atlantis movie…

About a month ago, with so much uncertainty about the future of the series, Rob Cooper pitched out the idea of shooting the SGA movie at the end of this season. His thinking was that if the series did end, we would have a movie in hand. If, however, the series was picked up, the “SGA movie” (codenamed Project Twilight) would simply become the opening two episodes of the show’s sixth season. Alas, this notion never got past the consideration stage and, as a result, we won’t be rolling right into it as planned. On the bright side, however, the network has greenlit the movie and we do have a terrific idea in mind. Obviously, I can’t say much about it at this point but suffice it to say that it should include the entire cast in addition to a certain gaunt and pallid flowing-locked guest star. And, if it proves anywhere as successful as the first two SG-1 direct-to-video features, you can be assured that this will be the first in a long, long line of Stargate Atlantis movies.

Like my grandmother used to say: Whenever a gate closes, a hyperspace window opens…

Source: Joe Mallozzi’s Blog

Published on August 27, 2008

It was announced a little over a week ago that The SCI FI Channel chose not to renew Stargate Atlantis for a sixth season. At least one TV movie based on the series will go into the early stages of development and another franchise series will be born: Stargate Universe. Fans aren’t happy, but that’s pretty much par for the course for any series.

After GateWorld interviewed series co-creator and all-around Stargate guru Brad Wright, and with some questions I think still unanswered, I thought it would be enlightening to bring in one half of the duo responsible for the day-to-day production of Atlantis, Joe Mallozzi.

[...]
Paul (Interviewer): “Brad Wright said in an interview that the Atlantis movie “will be more accessible to new viewers”. Are you on board with that, do you agree that the movie should be more accessible?”

Joe Mallozzi: “I wholeheartedly agree. I firmly believe that the feature should walk a fine line between welcoming new viewers aboard and rewarding long-time fans. Continuum did it. The first Atlantis feature will do it too.”

[...]

Paul (Interviewer): “There seems to be a consensus developing amongst people I know — and certainly a visible pattern — of The SCI FI Channel only letting shows run for 4 or 5 seasons before they are jettisoned. Farscape and Battlestar Galactica got four seasons, SG-1 and SGA got five. It sounds greedy when most shows don’t even get one full season, but that emotional investment isn’t something fans take lightly. People are asking each other, what’s the point in watching a series you know will only last four or five seasons and why should they get invested in that. Is that just TV, or could that be the way SCI FI does things?”

Joe Mallozzi: “I can’t speak for SCI FI but I’d say that any emotional investment, be it a movie, a television show, or a relationship, will end, some sooner than others. The reality is that five years on the air is an impressive accomplishment for a series. Many shows don’t make it past their first season. At least in the case of Atlantis, the door has not been shut on these characters or their stories. They will continue – maybe not as often or as regularly as fans have grown accustomed to, but they will continue.”

[...]

Paul (Interviewer): “Darren Sumner of GateWorld explained to me that amongst the decision makers, it was felt that if they didn’t do an Atlantis movie now, that opportunity may dry up no matter what happened with the series. If you had a say, would you have chosen more seasons, or the movie?”

Joe Mallozzi: “Our first choice would have been for a sixth season. But we’ll certainly take the movie.”

[...]

Source: Q & A with Joe Mallozzi

Published on September 9, 2008

On the heels of SGA’s cancellation and the announcement of Stargate Universe, Atlantis showrunner and writer Joe Mallozzi kindly granted Solutions a Q&A to get at some questions he hasn’t answered so far on his blog. Here are the questions and Joe’s answers, which we think you’ll find enlightening!

[...]
Interviewer: “Do you think the success of the SG-1 DVD movies helped push the decision to move Atlantis to movies? In that sense, were they a mixed blessing for Atlantis?”

Joe Mallozzi: “I don’t know. At the end of the day, I can’t speak for the decision makers. Certainly, producing 40 episodes of television in addition to a couple of DVD movies would have been very difficult. But, again, it would have been a very classy problem. Could we have done it? I suppose we could have tacked on a couple of months to the shooting schedule and wrapped in November but there’s no point in speculating now.”

Interviewer: “Do you think fans who are angry have some valid concerns about what’s happened? Regardless of who is making it, Universe seems like a big departure for Stargate, both in premise and in “target demographic”.”

Joe Mallozzi: “Well, yes and no. I don’t blame the fans for being upset given how much they have invested in this show and its characters over the years. The prospect of doing DVD movies may seem a small consolation, but in comparison to many shows that disappear, never to be heard from again, it’s a pretty nice going away present. As for SGU being a huge departure from its predecessors – it’s a ship-based show, true, but a the end of the day I think it makes little difference whether home base is a ship, Stargate Command, or the lost city of the Ancients, so long as the series is about a group of adventurers traveling to alien worlds through a stargate.”

[...]

Interviewer: “Can you shed some light on what’s holding up a second round of SG-1 movies? It’s been over 18 months since the first two were filmed!”

Joe Mallozzi: “Hey, you’re guess is as good as mine. I’m surprised we didn’t shoot any this year.”

Interviewer: “When do you think you’ll have more firm information you can share about the first Atlantis movie?”

Joe Mallozzi: “Possibly in the coming weeks.”

Interviewer: “How likely are crossovers from SG-1 in the first SGA movie?”

Joe Mallozzi: “It’s very possible that we’ll have, at the very least, limited crossover. Given the story we’ve been spinning, it would make sense to see Carter, Daniel, and Teal’c pay Atlantis a visit.”
Interviewer: “With Brad Wright and Rob Cooper busy with Universe, might they turn over the reins of the next SG-1 movie(s) to you and Paul as well? Would you say “yes” to that?”

Joe Mallozzi: “Of course we’d say yes. Paul and I had a great time writing for SG-1. That said, it’s very unlikely we’ll be involved in the SG-1 movie as we’ll be too busy working on the SGA feature.”

[...]

Source: Q & A with Joe Mallozzi @ Solutions Blog

Published on December 4, 2008

Producer/Director Dean Devlin Talks about Leverage and the Future of the Stargate and Independance Day Franchises

[...]
GVK: “I know you get asked them a lot, but I would love to know what the future of more “Stargate” or “Independence Day” movies are.”

Dean Devlin: “Roland (Emmerich) and I had always planned to do three films and want to do more. MGM has said they want to play out the television series first so we are on the back burner.”
[...]

Source: Dean Devlin Interview @ sknr.net

Published on May 14, 2009

Joe Mallozzi writes in his blog:

Oh, we finally have a working title for the Atlantis movie. Top secret for now. Maybe not so much later this weekend…

Source: Joe Mallozzi’s Blog

Published on May 16, 2009

Joe Mallozzi writes in his blog:

I wasn’t even aware of it until someone on my blog commented on the working title of the upcoming Stargate Atlantis movie! The news was broken on my dogs’ twitter page!

Apparently one of them, I’m not sure which, uploaded a pic of the title page earlier today. When I learned about it, I quickly went over to twitter and deleted the offending pic. I headed downstairs, completed my work-out, then came back upstairs to discover fans were still discussing the picture. I went back to the twitter account and saw the pic was still up. Apparently, the guilty party had uploaded more than one copy as a way of throwing me off. Well, I deleted that pic, then had breakfast, took a shower, and came downstairs to discover – yep, there was a third pic. By this point, there was no sense in deleting the picture as it had already been copied and uploaded to various sites including Gateworld.

Clearly, in a bid to entice fans to sign up and follow them on twitter, the dog (or dogs) in question decided they could do so by scooping me on the reveal of my own script title. I cannot condone such action so I’m asking you all NOT to sign up (here: http://twitter.com/JellMaxBubLu) and follow my dogs on twitter as doing so will only encourage such future behavior. I repeat: Signing up to follow my dogs on twitter (here: http://twitter.com/JellMaxBubLu) will only lead to more unsanctioned spoilers. Seriously. More followers will only embolden them and then rather than patiently wait until next year for the official release, fans will find out details about the movie beforehand. And that’s the last thing any of us want, right? So, remember, do not go here – http://twitter.com/JellMaxBubLu – and sign up to follow the dogs.

Anyway – yeah. Stargate Extinction. It’s the working title but I kind of like it because a) it’s story appropriate, b) a dynamic title, and most importantly c) not “Dark Gambit”.

Let the wild speculation begin!

Source: Joe Mallozzi’s Blog

Published on May 22, 2009

Dog Twitpic reveals new Stargate Movie name (“Stargate Extinction”)

Scriptwriter of the new Stargate movie, Joseph Malozzi, has been gazzumped by his pet pugs, who apparently have their own Twitter account.

The naughty dogs have posted a picture of Joe’s computer screen (good to see he uses the trusty MovieMagic Screenwriter!) where we can clearly see the title of the hotly anticipated new full length Stargate feature – this is the one that ’rounds off’ the Stargate Atlantis adventure.

As they say upon the interwebs – ‘woot!’.

The mind roils.

Extinction, eh? Fingers crossed its humans under the threat of extinction. That’s always fun.

Info on the film at this stage is pretty sketchy. The film will start in Earth, where the series finale left off, with the Atlantis team split up.The script has been written by both Mallozzi and executive producer, Paul Mullie, and directorial duties will be looked after by Andy Mikita, who shot the finale.

If you’d like to follow the pugulence (and the occasional sneaky tidbit of info) you can find Joe-Dog Central right here and see what JellyMaxBubbaLulu are up to:
PUGS WILL NEVER BE SILENCED!

Source: Report on ScifiTV.com.au

Published on May 24, 2009

Joe Mallozzi writes in his blog:

Extinction Update, Ever-Closer to That Comic Book Series, and The Mailbag

Heard word back on the Stargate Atlantis movie script from two fronts – creative and business – and both responses were overwhelmingly positive. Some confusion (not surprised given the complexity of the story), so we’ll make a point to streamline and clarify in the next draft. Some great preliminary notes from Carl who missed two reunion scenes (looking over the script, I tend to agree) and likes the idea of including a quiet scene for “these two characters”, even going so far as to pitch out a version I liked a lot. Also received a casting suggestion that would turf the unknown Koenig in favor of someone a little more familiar. Discussions on the brass tacks of the production upcoming in June and with it, I’m hoping, finally, production dates.

Today, I took about an hour to jot down my ideas for that SF show we’ll (hopefully) be dong as a comic book series: our theme, moral conflict, major arcs, character breakdowns, and even how I envision the series, and our characters, ending. We’ll be pitching our vision later this week and I’m feeling very good about the project itself and its chances for success.

Back in the jungles of Stage 1 tomorrow…[...]

Source: Joe Mallozzi’s Blog

Published on June 21, 2009

A report from the Vancouver Stargate Convention 2009:

[...]

The first question involved the timetable for the first Atlantis movie.

N. John Smith: “I’m quite sure it’s not green-lit yet, but we talk about it on a regular basis. I’m quite sure we’d all like to do it, but right you might get more clarification from Brad and Robert when they’re on a little later today. But right now I think it’s a matter of economy and the economics time we’re having, so that’s a large capital outlay, and I’m sure MGM would love to do it, but until they know that they can get a good return on their money in a fairly prompt fashion . . . I’m sure they’d like to do it, but to my knowledge it’s not green-lit. We talked about doing it this Spring, and the economy is what’s holding it back right now, but we of course want to do it (laughing) while the actors still look like they did on the series! But they’re all young guys and I’m sure they’re all interested in doing it. Did you talk to Joe [Flanigan] when he was here? Yes, so I hope to be able to do it, but again Brad and Robert might be able to answer that question better than I can, I don’t know.”

Next, John was asked about the next SG-1 movie, which if I remember correctly, had been announced by GateWorld as being green-lit by MGM just a couple of days before the convention.

John said, “To my knowledge that movie has been green-lit. Again, ask Brad and Robert, but that movie was green-lit. I think the decision now is, because when we do two things at the same time like we did Atlantis and SG-1, it’s a big drain on your time, for starters. We’re all working about 20 hour days. So I think that to get a better product, and production always wants to give you guys the best product, it would probably make a lot of sense to shoot it right after we wrap the new series at the end of the season, and that way we have the full attention of James [Robins, set designer], Robert, and all our keys. We’d just roll our keys into the new project. But there was talk about doing it again this Spring and overlapping it like before, and we could do that too, so those are questions that I – I talked to Brad about it on Monday and like I say, it’s green-lit to do it, but when, I’m not sure when, but it will happen.”

[...]

Question: “What can you tell us about the loss of the SGC gateroom set? Will we ever see the SGC again?”

N. John Smith: “Well, it’s not gone. As you know, no one ever dies on Stargate [we laugh] and that goes down to the sets too. That wonderful set that Richard Hudolin designed 13 years ago is still there. It’s just underneath something else. We can superficially pull that off, and we do have a lot of plates in there, so depending on how much we use the gateroom in any future movies, we may do the gateroom virtually. Some of the people who were on the tour today, I showed them the breaking system and everything. That’s all in storage and we could put all that back together very quickly, but if there are only a couple shots of the gateroom in the movie we’ll probably not put that set back together. We’ll probably make the set virtual and that’s possible nowadays. Quite easily, as you can see if you watch Sanctuary. We did the first two hours of Sanctuary, %90 of that was done virtually. When you do that kind of stuff, anything that you touch, like the props and stuff, we have those, but all the walls and everything is all green screen and we just make the plates and put them in the scenes. It’s an interesting way to do things. It’s very expensive and time consuming but we may do that for the gateroom. I’m not sure. I actually have seen a draft of the script, and the SG-1 movie is a fabulous script, co-written by Carl Binder and Brad Wright. It’s a great script and you guys are going to love it. And hopefully we can shoot it really quickly.

Question: “So the gateroom just ascended and it will be back?”

N. John Smith: “It’s ascended. And if we have to build a Wraith set again for Atlantis we can build that again [there was none to be seen on the tour]. As you can see the Atlantis set is still there’s a process in place, because they’re planning on shooting a movie, because we’re spending a lot of money holding that space. We can’t shoot it for anything else because it’s so specific to Atlantis.“

Source: Stargate Vancouver Convention 2009: N. John Smith

Published on June 27, 2009

[...]
Question: “What about the Stargate Atlantis movie?”

Brad looked around and said, “Are there any pitchforks in the room?” We laughed and our wonderful Creation MC, Alan told Brad and Robert, “[The name sounded like ‘Bill’ but that doesn’t make sense, does it?] gave us authorization to hold you hostage if need be. Answer carefully.” Brad turned to us in all seriousness and said, “Look, we still want to make a Stargate Atlantis movie, and the sets are still up for that purpose. MGM does not leave multi-million dollar sets up and pay the rent at multi-million dollar stages if that is not their on-going intention. [We cheer until Brad gives us a ‘wait-a-second’ gesture, his index finger up] After I’ve said that, when we were originally talking about doing this, the world economy was a little bit different. And so the guys who say, ‘go ahead and do that’ are saying, ‘Uh, (repeats gesture) hang on a sec’. So, that’s where we are right now. Joe {Mallozzi] and Paul [Mullie] have worked hard on the script, and boy they want to make it as much as you guys want to see it.”

What about the Stargate SG-1 movie, and what do I have to do to be in it?

Brad and Robert laughed. Robert said, “Brad, I’ll let you have this one.” so Brad said, “That almost never happens to me. I’ll answer your first question first. Again, when we start shooting the Stargate SG-1 movie depends on whether or not we do the two movies back to back. The Stargate SG-1 movie will probably start shooting in the Fall. I say ‘probably’ because there’s a lot of deals that have to be finished being put in place before that can actually happen. That would leave the summer as the release time, roughly around the same as Continuum. And you can be in it if you audition and get the part. There’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through.”
[...]

Question: “Tell us more about the SG-1 movie.”

Brad took this one, no doubt because according to sources, he penned the script himself. “We want it to revolve around Richard Dean Anderson’s character because he’s cool. One, and two because I had a story idea that really worked with O’Neill. And it’s not just his character, by any means. It’s a Stargate story that brings O’Neill back. He wasn’t in Continuum that much but I love the movie when he’s in it, so (shrugs) that’s how I feel about that.”
[...]

Source: Stargate Vancouver Convention 2009: Brad Wright and Robert Cooper

Published on August 12, 2009

New SG-1, Atlantis films due, just not yet

Stargate Universe executive producer Robert C. Cooper has written scripts for a new potential Stargate SG-1 movie and a Stargate Atlantis film, but said it might be a while before they get a green light.

“We’re ready to go,” Cooper said in an exclusive interview over the weekend in Pasadena, Calif., where he was promoting SGU at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “We’re just waiting for the right opportunity,” he said. “We want to be successful with it. The studio wants to be successful, and we really don’t want to proceed with something in the wrong climate, which I think financially it is right now.”

Two previous SG-1 straight-to-DVD movies, Continuum and The Ark of Truth, sold well, but the current economic downturn makes DVD premieres less lucrative than they were in the past.

“It’s tough, because we were very successful with the first two SG-1 movies,” Cooper said. “Since then, the economics have changed a little bit. DVDs aren’t selling the same way they were when we released those even just a year, and a year and a half ago.”

A new compilation of Stargate Atlantis episodes, Fans’ Choice, just dropped on Blu-ray on Aug. 4, featuring the pilot “Rising” and an extended cut of “Enemy at the Gate.” That won’t help Cooper mount a new production.

“That, obviously, is already produced,” Cooper said. “Putting it on DVD or Blu-ray is not the same as the investment it would take to start from scratch.”

Should the two DVD films be made, they would follow previous entries in having independent storylines that would not affect the upcoming Syfy original series SGU. “They would stand alone,” Cooper said. “The Atlantis one takes place shortly after the end of season five. The SG-1, I think, takes place sometime in an intermediary period between when the SG-1 movies left off and when Universe began.”

SGU debuts Oct. 2 with a two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT; it will air Fridays at 9 on Syfy.

Source: Report on Scifiwire.com

Published on August 20, 2009

Joe Mallozzi writes in his blog:

Seriously, folks.

Over the course of my many years with the Stargate franchise, I’ve seen fandom at its very best and at its very worst. Instances of the former far outweigh the latter as fans have come together in shared interest to discuss, critique, and, more importantly, support one another. Speaking from personal experience, it’s been wonderful to see this little blog community develop over time, watch the various friendships develop, and, yes, even make some friends along the way. It’s been nothing short of amazing. But, sadly, I’ve also borne witness to the flip side of fandom, a shallow and surprisingly mean-spirited side that occasionally rears its ugly head. For an example of what I’m talking about, look not further than some of the recent online reaction to the rumored scrapping of the Stargate Atlantis movie purportedly owing to a “lack of fan interest”. When I first saw this rumor, my initial reaction was to laugh. What a perfectly incendiary remark, tailor made to enrage fans gullible enough to take the bait. According to this source, the movie wasn’t moving forward, NOT because of the oft-cited economic downturn or due to the much-reported drop-off in DVD salest (Yes, Atlantis’s fifth season did very well in its first week. Anyone have any idea how it did in the ensuing weeks? I honestly don’t know.), or even as a result of an all too foreboding prophecy from the official studio soothsayer. Nope. According to this source, it was all the fault of the fans. Yep, you heard right. We’re to believe that, rather than offer up a perfectly plausible reason, the powers that be elected to go with the far more sensational and assuredly antagonistic “lack of fan interest”, then marched onto the set and announced it to everyone.

Yes, I laughed when I first heard this because it seemed such a transparently deliberate provocation that I was certain any fan who actually stopped to think about it would recognize it for what it really was – a big steaming bowl of bullshit. While cooler heads did prevail and most of fandom took the news with a huge grain of salt, certain fans divested themselves of all logic, falling all over themselves to proclaim us liars for saying there would be a movie in the first place. Well, liars and much, much worse, but first thing’s first.

According to them, there was never any intention to make a movie and we’ve just been stringing fans along. Well, if there was never any intention to make a movie, I can assure you that MGM wouldn’t have commissioned a script. Furthermore, Paul and I would not have spent months spinning, structuring, and scripting a movie that had no hope of ever being made – time we could have spent writing scripts for Universe (which, from a purely mercenary standpoint, would have garnered us production bonuses once the episodes went to camera). I’ve tried to keep fans informed of the progress (or lack thereof) on the movie front, updating you all on the distant rumblings, good and bad. That said and despite what anybody tells you who heard it from someone who heard it from someone else, the plug has NOT been pulled. No one has said we are not making this movie and I continue to believe that we eventually will. Paul and I have a script we’re looking forward to producing, a script involving Earth-based intrigue, intergalactic travel, a looming threat to the city of Atlantis, and a sometime friend and foe who may hold the key to averting disaster.

More shocking for me than the fact that fans had actually bought into this hearsay was the infantile behavior of some – supposedly mature adults taking advantage of internet anonymity to curse and name call like a bunch of children. Really, folks, it’s embarrassing. I am embarrassed for you. This is the sort of behavior that gives fandom a bad name, giving those outside the community the fodder to marginalize, belittle, and lampoon. Sure, go ahead and criticize the creative all you like, but when you start leveling personal attacks against the show creator – a guy who has worked tirelessly to produce 15 years of a franchise you all feel so passionate about – on the basis of an unsubstantiated rumor, you cross the line from spirited fan to raving loon. Were members of your immediately family severely injured? No? Was your livelihood threatened? No? Oh, a movie isn’t being made as quickly as you’d like. Gotcha.

Seriously. Take a deep breath and consider this. As my writing partner Paul pointed out this morning, the television production isn’t driven by non-profit organizations seeking to produce shows out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s a business. Still, for what it’s worth, I’m confident that this movie WILL move forward, but only when certain economic factors have stabilized.

Yes, it’s unfortunate. The economy is in the toilet. DVD sales have plummeted. But this isn’t the fault of the studio. And it certainly isn’t the fault of Brad Wright.

Source: Joe Mallozzi’s Blog

Published on September 10, 2009

New Stargate movies finally ready to begin shooting?

Amanda Tapping says that a new Stargate SG-1 movie could begin production later this year, as soon as the first season of Syfy’s upcoming SGU: Stargate Universe wraps. A new straight-to-DVD movie was announced a while back.

“As far as I know, we may start in late fall or early winter this year,” Tapping said in an exclusive interview. “And I will slip back into Sam Carter very nicely; I’m looking forward to it.”

Martin Wood would again direct. “They asked me to direct the Stargate SG-1 movie, and they are waiting until Universe is finished, and then, of course, they ask me when I’m available,” said Wood, who was also a co-producer on Stargate SG-1 and a supervising producer on Atlantis, as well as an executive producer, with Tapping, on Syfy’s Sanctuary. “Then that may get done by the end of the year. That’s what everyone is hoping, at least.”

What about a new Stargate Atlantis movie? “Atlantis is still being talked about for this year,” Wood said. “Right now, I’m so far removed from it, but they’ll let me know, and I’m happy to do it.”

The SG-1 movie is green-lighted, and the Atlantis film is in the works, but both Wood and Tapping are already committed to the second season of Sanctuary, which finished filming in July but still needs work to be done. The first season’s four-disc DVD set is coming out next Tuesday.

Wood spoke this week from his car, driving to finish up sound editing on season two of Sanctuary. He’s eager to see Tapping put on Carter’s fatigues again.

“Samantha Carter is a very familiar mindset for Amanda, so it won’t be hard for her to find her,” Wood said. “In fact, there are a number of people I’ve met going to conventions who said they did not realize at first that she was the same person as Dr. Magnus on Sanctuary.”

Tapping said she tried very hard to make her role as Stargate’s Col. Carter very different from the sultry and mysterious Dr. Helen Magnus, who runs a haven for abnormal creatures in Sanctuary.

“I dyed my hair and changed my accent and made it so that I don’t look at all like Carter,” Tapping said. “I needed to reinvent myself as an artist, so it was a challenge. I had to have more eccentricities and walk with stilettos.”

The new season of Sanctuary begins Oct. 9 and will air Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Tapping directs one of the new episodes.

Tapping will also make an appearance in the premiere of Stargate Universe, which debuts Oct. 2 at 9 p.m.

Source: Report on Scifiwire.com

Published on October 14, 2009

Roland Emmerich still game for Stargate sequel film?

Given the complex mythology built up around Stargate SG-1, Atlantis and now Stargate Universe, it’s easy to forget that the whole thing started in 1994 with director Roland Emmerich’s movie, starring Kurt Russell as Jack O’Neill and James Spader as Daniel Jackson.

In the years since, Devlin has told us that he still wants to produce the two sequels he and Emmerich always envisioned, and Emmerich told us over the weekend that he’s also game, though that means overcoming some rights issues and his natural aversion to doing sequels.

“Whew, it’s a tough one,” Emmerich told us in an exclusive interview in Jackson Hole, Wyo. “I mean, I constantly keep talking about it with Dean, too. I mean, we also keep talking about an Independence Day sequel, but it’s just, like, such a … tough thing to do in these days.”

In 2006, Devlin told us: “We would just continue the mythology of the movie and finish that out. I think the series could still live at the end of the third sequel. So we’re going to try to not tread on their stories.”

“When we created the original Stargate, we always envisioned it as a trilogy, and, unfortunately, the way in which the movie got made, we didn’t really have control over [it],” Devlin added. “I think it will be very exciting to actually get to go do parts two and three.”

Last Friday, Emmerich said: “It was probably good that we never did these sequels, because it forced us always to do something new. … In general, I’m not a big fan of sequels. I’m just not a big fan of sequels. Because it’s very rare that a sequel really works for me. Like, for instance, Aliens was a great sequel. But most of the time they’re kind of a lesser version of the first one.”

Another consideration: Russell is now 58 and Spader is a rotund 49 (as anyone who’s seen him on Boston Legal can attest), and that may be a bit long in the tooth.

Not to say they couldn’t recast, though, and it would be fascinating to see how Emmerich and Devlin’s Stargate mythology would have diverged from the elaborate universe we’ve seen developed in the TV shows.

Source: Report on Scifiwire.com

So..what is next? A Stargate Atlantis Movie? A Stargate SG-1 Movie? Or a STARGATE Movie Sequel ????
Where are the Stargate Movie news? What is happening behind closed doors?