Comic-Con Red Carpet: ‘Stargate’ Continues with Continuum

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on July 25, 2008

While the rest of the Comic-Con attendees were huddled into crowded meeting rooms and stuck in the dreaded lines outside Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center, fans of the Stargate series had a chance to get a sneak peek at the latest film in the Stargate universe… on a frickin’ aircraft carrier.

Fox and MGM threw a party on the U.S.S. Midway, docked in the San Diego marina. Surrounded by Navy planes, the cast of Stargate: Continuum (available on DVD and BluRay, July 29) were joined by the filmmakers and select Stargate Atlantis cast members for a red carpet event and special hi-def screening of the new film on the deck of the ship.

What was reiterated by many of the cast members, including Amanda Tapping, Richard Dean Anderson and Christopher Judge, was how much like a family they considered everyone on the show. It was like a mini-reunion with Tapping almost tearing up at the fact that they were all gathered together again.

Richard Dean Anderson, who played Jack O’Neill on Stargate SG-1 for eight years, dodged through the press line, ready to speak with the online folks as much as the broadcast journalists. Very cool of him. He explained how he jumped at the chance to reprise his role in Continuum because of its historic shoot in the Arctic.

“Being from Minnesota, I love cold weather,” Anderson said. “I love ice and snow, and there’s plenty of that up there. Originally, I don’t think I was supposed to be in the movie. And one of the producers asked if I’d be interested in going along to see the Arctic.”

Anderson also put to rest any rumors of a MacGyver reunion of any kind. After being approached for everything from a series reboot to a cameo in the defunct “Young MacGyver” concept, nothing panned out. “It had its time in the 80s,” Anderson said. “From the mid 80s to the early 90s, it was the perfect timing. It was like fat bestowed us with that sort of straight-laced type character. It hadn’t been done before.”

Even though the Stargate characters are in the Air Force, the Navy was the key to making Continuum. Writer Brad Wright and director Martin Wood wrapped the story around the Arctic when they knew they had a chance to get on a nuclear sub and break through the ice. Wood recounted being able to climb into an Navy jet during a take, telling the collected press that his favorite parts of the film were “Being in the Arctic, being in a submarine and being in an F-15.”

The plot of the film follows the final Gao’uld system lord Ba’al as he rewrites history to wipe out SG-1 and take over the Earth. In the process, he makes SG-1 team member Teal’c his First Prime. Christopher Judge, who sported a fully-shaved head in the earlier seasons of SG-1, was allowed to grow his hair under Ba’al. “I think Ba’al is a little more relaxed than Apophis is.”

And relaxed is Judge, who was relieved to not shoot in the arctic for fear of being attacked by a polar bear. A notorious practical jokester, Judge spent more time talking about making fake poo from brownie cookies and putting them in castmate Ben Browder’s toilet. “My favorite is the Saran-wrapping of the toilet,” Judge confessed about his practical jokes. “But now everybody’s kinda wised up to it. So that one doesn’t get as much mileage as it used to.”

In addition to the Continuum cast and filmmakers, the creators of the new Stargate Worlds MMO video game were there, as well as members of the Stargate Atlantis family. Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo and Jewel Staite.

Staite is a favorite of fans, not only for her role in Atlantis but also for her role in Joss Whedon’s Firefly. She has fully embraced her fanbase, saying about the quirky character on the show, “I think it’s ‘Nerd is cool.’ That’s what it is. I think that’s the new precedence that McKay has set. And now we can be as nerdy as we like, and no one really cares. They kind of embrace us, the nerdier we are.”

Amen, Jewel. Amen to that.

Stay tuned all this week as we bring you coverage from Comic-Con International. Not only will we be roaming the floor in search of love, but we will have the latest news Live from Hall H, great interviews with some of Hollywood’s hottest stars and random convention shenanigans, courtesy of our Comic-Con Attack Squad! To keep tabs on all of the happenings, just head over to our Comic-Con 2008 Homepage.

| | Read more articles by Kevin Carr