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| Department for Investigations |
| SPACE SHIPS! BLASTERS! GIANT SNAKES! OH MY! Pink Khaki talks to Torsten Dewi, co-author and development executive of Michael Shanks' new fantasy adventure "Sumuru" by The Doc and Rizwaana Husaini |
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| About Torsten Dewi (by Torsten Dewi – short bio and picture snatched with permission from http://www.sf-fan.de): Torsten Dewi, born in 1968, refused the armed services, and prefered to serve on the keyboard instead. After 5 years as an author for "Gong" magazine, he switched in 1995 to German TV channel Pro Sieben, where he was involved with international co-productions for 4 years. For three years now he’s development executive for the production company Tandem. Beside this, he’s writing articles, novels and various fact books. At the moment he’s working on a career as a script writer. The dedicated super heroes fan (superman-logo as a tattoo on his right shoulder!) has fallen out of grace with trekkers for insisting that Voyager is crap, and that with Babylon 5 everything on the subject of soap operas had been said already, anyway. Torsten owns a turtle, too many books and a scooter. |
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| How long have you worked on the script? Well, I can't say how long Peter Jobin took to write the first and the second draft, but my rewrite took about a week. I basically rewrote the opening, the ending, strengthened the relationships between Sumuru/Adam and Will/Jake, and added some science background. The dialog is 85 per cent mine, including the inside jokes. What actor is playing Jake Carpenter? A South African actor called Terence Bridgett, who is doing a magnificent job opposite Michael Shanks. As I imagined him, he is not the perfect, Star Trek-type navigator. He is slightly chubby, sarcastic, and looks more like a trucker than an astronaut. Adam Wade, Jake Carpenter and Sumuru: how would you describe these characters? Adam and Jake have been through a LOT when they finally arrive on Antares. I can't give away the details, but they are "regular Joes" that have been burdoned with a major responsibility. They are close friends. Adam is the commander, and Jake is the navigator/science expert. But they are equal. Both have a great sense of humor, depite all things. Having been in space for very long, they have developed a strong survival instinct. Sumuru is Queen on Antares. A proud, beautiful, and strong leader. She is better educated and liberal than you would give her credit for at first glance. She can hold her own in any situation. |
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| Alexandra Kamp ("Sumuru") - leggy Amazon Queen. |
| Thanks for the interview! (c) Pink Khaki Webzine |
| What movie genre / category would you place Sumuru in? It's fantasy adventure. It has science fiction elements (space ships, blaster, etc.), and is set in the future, but it's more fantastic by nature. Heck, it's got a giant snake! Germany's SFX specialists have quite a good reputation. What can we expect in the SFX department? Apart from the minor stuff (two suns, blaster fire, digital matte paintings), “Das Werk” will handle three major FX sequences: The crash landing of our hero's shuttle in the opening sequence, the snake monster sacrifice, and the final takeoff/battle. Is Sumuru still thought as a pilot for a possible TV series, or will it be a "stand alone" TV movie? We have seen so many gorgeous locations for future episodes in South Africa (and other countries), it would be a shame to stop now. The production is running really smoothly, and everybody is psyched about the prospect of doing more, from what I hear. But the TV movie is a stand alone that works without a series. If a series is planned: how about Shanks’ participation, now that his return to Stargate was confirmed? We have to wait to see how Sumuru does internationally. This will take time. Then we have to find more partners. And once that is done, we need to work on the concept for the series. At the end of the day, if Michael wants to be on board, principal photography can wait until Stargate wraps. But I honestly don't know whether that has been discussed with him. If a series is planned: do you already have plans for it? Stories mapped out, outlines made etc.? That's a tough one. I have three ideas, because the ending of Sumuru is pretty open. Where we take this might depend on the partners involved. It could be set on a space ship à la Star Trek or Farscape, or on a strange planet (like Earth 2). Maybe our group will head back to earth. It hasn't been decided yet. What market is your focus on: Europe or the States? Both. While most of the financing comes from Europe and South Africa, we made sure that the TV movie adheres to US standards. If we take it to series, we will need a US partner. What channel will Sumuru premier on in the USA? From what I know, it'll be released on video first (maybe DVD). |
| What have you seen of the shootings so far, and what does it look like? I have seen roughly 10 hours of footage (watching some as we speak). It looks great. But then, I am expected to say that. Just kidding. It DOES look fabulous - lots of camera movement, big vistas, a strong yellow hue in the exterior shots (see "Pitch Black" as a reference), and terrific locations. Some great chemistry between the leads - and funny bloopers. Are the shootings going according to plan? When are they finished? I have never seen a production that is so on time and on budget. The five week shooting schedule should be over by next week, with some additional days for pickups and second unit. Why was South Africa chosen as location? We wanted great real locations, not fake sets. And we wanted locations that aren't familiar to everybody (like Canada). Plus, they have a great crew down there, and we knew and liked the director's work. It all came together pretty naturally. Any spoilers you can give out? Well, there is kissing... and showering. We have a dog. Cool fighting. There are references to Star Trek, Superman, and Stargate. |
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| Terence Bridgett - "Jake Carpenter" |
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