PINK KHAKI - The Stargate SG-1 Online Magazine

How did you earn your very first money, and what did you spend it on?
I earned $2200 (CDN) for my very first produced script, "Patrick Pig Learns to Talk", a ten minute tale for The Busy World of Richard Scarry. I really dont remember what I spent it on but, given my general spending habits, I probably blew it at Toys R Us. I have a huge toy collection and I do mean HUUUGE. If a Marvel or DC comic book character has been released as an action figure, Ive got it.

First credit for you as an author goes back to 1996 ("The Little Lulu Show"). What have you done before to make a living?
Actually, my first credit was "Patrick Pig Learns to Talk". Little Lulu followed soon after. Before that, I held a variety of jobs mainly part time because I was completing a Masters in English Literature. Some of the more memorable part-time jobs included: Summer camp counselor and tending bar at a drinking establishment that had its alcohol license revoked.

You wrote short stories even as a child - you still remember what kind of stories they were?
I wrote mainly sci-fi and horror, short stories and novels (well, I suppose what would pass as a novel to a fifth grader). I was heavily influenced by the works of Ambrose Bierce, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, and…Irwin Allen (my one and only attempt at disaster novel).

Before "Stargate SG-1", you've written for animated cartoons. It's quite a step from Lyle the Lion to Jack o'Neill (ok. Some might disagree here ...!) Did your agent approach the studios or were you asked to do the job, and how did you prepare?
Our agent contacted us about a live-action show called Student Bodies. The producers had read our writing samples and were interested in having us come aboard. At the time, I was writing, story-editing, and developing a lot of animation. I decided the opportunity to move in to live-action was too good to pass up. Paul and I made the move. Three years later, we had scripted about a third of the shows 65 episode run. From there, we worked on a number of different shows before landing on Stargate. Again, this was thanks to our agent who got us the opportunity to pitch some ideas. We pitched five, they liked three, and we wrote our first script, "Scorched Earth", as a sort of audition.

You and Paul Mullie work together very closely. Do you have the same ideas about a story, or is a lot of discussion involved? Can you give us an example for a "typical" Mallozzi and a "typical" Mullie script? And
who's the first one you talk with about a new idea?
Paul and I have very different approaches to a story. Paul is very particular. He attacks the story from all angles, and, if and when the logic works for him, we proceed. I tend to opt for the "full steam ahead" approach, preferring to deal with the small problems once we get there. If he were writing alone, it would take him months to put out a script. If I were writing alone, the scripts would be nowhere near as tight and Id be in rewrite hell.
We rarely write separately. The sole exceptions were season fives Fail Safe and Summit. Being pressed for time, we wrote them separately then, once we were done, did a pass on each others drafts. Fail Safe was Pauls script. Hes more into the hard scifi and tech. Summit was mine. The mythology and over-the-top villains is my area of preference.

What stages goes a script thru, starting with the idea and ending with the shootings?
We come up with an idea which we toss out to the group (Brad Wright, Robert Cooper, and Peter DeLuise). We spin the story for a while and, once we feel we have a handle on where were going, we head off and write the outline. The outline goes out to the same group of individuals who offer notes (or congratulations on a wonderful job well done), then we move on to first draft. Once the first draft is completed, again, we receive notes from our fellow-writers. We do another pass and, finally, the script sees the light of day. Michael Greenburg and Richard Dean Anderson give us their notes, we incorporate them into yet another draft, and head into production (along the way, we will attend a number of meetings concept, costume, visual effects, casting that may necessitate further script changes). Surprisingly, despite the changes, you can usually recognize your original script when all is said and done. Usually.

Who's asking for most changes?
My writing partner. We just finished a script called Nightwalkers that we restructured a good twenty times, mid-way through the first draft. We spent days just taking it apart and putting it back together. Once it gets past Paul, everything else is smooth sailing.

Do you take the personality of an actor/an actress into consideration when you write for a character, or do you leave this part totally up to the actor/actress?
In the case of SG-1, were dealing with established characters so were simply following the road already laid out for us. In other shows where we got in on the ground floor yes, the actor/actress will definitely affect the development of a given character.

You've mentioned that "point of no return" was one of your favourit episodes. what makes it so special to you?
Point of No Return was one of our faves because: a) It was a comedy and we love to write comedy, b) The episode aired was almost exactly the script we had written and, c) The casting was terrific. We couldnt have asked for a better Martin. Im a big Willie Garson fan.

You are the (officially) only person involved with the production of Stargate SG-1 who's sticking out his/her neck on the internet. Are you posting as "Joe Mallozzi, private person" or "Joe Mallozzi, official representant of the show? If you post as a private person, don't you see a certain danger that your statements will be regarded as "offical" rather than your personal opinion? You've reacted quite strongly on the salon.com article about the Save Daniel Jackson campaign - why are you dealing with this yourself? Wouldn't it be more effective to have your publicist dealing with it?
When I first found out I had a shot at writing for Stargate SG-1, I decided to do as much research as I could. Part of that research was going online and finding out what the fans liked/disliked. From the beginning, I went on as a private person and I continue to post as Joseph Mallozzi, regular guy. A number of individuals have objected to the fact that I go online, but this is usually because they disagree with what I have to say. Rather than engage me in debate, some have made a concerted effort to censor me instead. For instance my response to the recent Salon.com article. The author of the article makes a number of claims. She states the shows ratings are plummeting, arriving at this conclusion on the basis of a two year old ratings report, totally dismissing the fact that the show is doing great in syndication. That would be like my convincing you to invest in tech stock on the basis of a two year old Wall Street journal article. She goes on to state a number of other erroneous "facts" (ie. the predominance of NID storylines, the predominance of Earth-based storylines, etc.) which I went on to refute. Surprisingly, few of the fans who disagreed with me actually came online to present any sort of counter-argument. Instead, they criticized the fact that I dared offer a response of any sort.

You have been under heavy attack these last months. sometimes critic was voiced in a sensible manner, sometimes you were personally attacked. How do you feel about and deal with it?
Well, as Ive often said, most of the fans Ive dealt with have been wonderful. Theyve been quite honest about what theyve liked and, yes, taken me to task for things they didnt like. But always, theyve been polite and respectful. There are a few fans who have been rude, but Ill simply note their names and skip their subsequent posts. As for how I feel about the personal attacks well, you develop a pretty thick skin as a writer. If you cant take criticism, you shouldnt be in the business. When it comes right down to it, personal attacks are to be expected when people are unable to formulate informed arguments. To be honest, I read all of my hate mail. In a bizarre way, its kind of nice to know youre making a difference in someones life.

Have, as a consequence of the critic on your work and your person, your feelings about Michael Shanks and the character of Daniel Jackson changed?
Not really. Michael was a nice guy to work with and the character of Daniel Jackson was a great character to write for, but he made his decision to move on and all we can do now is concentrate on season six.

If you could write a script without any restrictions or limits, time-, cast- or budget-wise, what would it look like?
Ive always wanted to explore Chinese and Japanese mythology. The sets would probably be prohibitively expensive, but I would love to build a gate in the mouth of a bronze dragon. Granted, it would really add to the story, but the visual of the kawoosh bursting forth like dragonfire would just be too cool to pass up. Id also love to end the infighting between the System Lords once and for all one grand battle, winner takes all.

Have you any idea what you'd like to do after Stargate? Will you be involved in the spin-off?
I havent really thought that far ahead. Of course Id like to be involved in the spin-off, but its a long way off.

What's Joe Mallozzi doing when he's not working?
Usually a) dining out, b) walking/playing with my dogs, c) watching/taping The Simpsons.

Can you give us an eenie weenie tiny li'l spoiler which will *not* be common knowledge already when we go online on April 1 ... ?
To all those complaining that SG-1 never gets to keep all of that cool, off-world technology…part-way through season six well draw the curtain on "a big, impressive toy". And this one is all ours!

"Mallozzi " è un nome italiano. è la tua famiglia venuto dall' Italia? la mia nonna proveniva dal napoli, e ha usato giudicare la gente dalla loro risposta alla domanda: "Mangi gli spaghetti con cucchiaio?" ;-)
Ill answer in English because my written Italian is atrocious. My mother was born in southern Italy, a place called Altamura near Bari. My fathers mother (who lived to the ripe old age of 112) was born in Napoli. Alas, I dont use a spoon to eat my pasta. What would your grandmother say?

My grandmother? "Mangi gli spaghetti senza cucchiaio? Allora puoi rimanere per pranzo!"

© Pink Khaki 2002