Post by slidershal on Oct 1, 2006 16:57:44 GMT -5
Coupla stories that showed up on SCIFI Wire:
www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=38247
www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=38288
www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=38247
Day Break Beats The Clock
Rob Bowman—co-executive producer of the upcoming ABC series Day Break and director of
several of its episodes, including the pilot and the subsequent two shows—told SCI FI Wire
that he's not sweating the timeline issues presented by the SF-ish plot. In the show, Brett
Hopper (Taye Diggs), a narcotics cop who's been framed for murder, relives one fateful
day—the day he's accused of the murder in question—over and over again.
"Within this discussion lies Hopper's daily urgency," Bowman said in an interview. "He knows
that things happen initially at a certain time on that first repeat day, and so when he
wakes up in the morning he's on a schedule to beat everybody to [the punch], to do whatever
he's got to do. He's got to go back to the mailbox, and he's got to get that envelope before
the SWAT guys show up. And if he gets held up in the morning somehow, and he's going to be
late, well, he can't get the package today, so the package, whatever is in that manila
envelope, might lead to some discoveries. But I think a lot of what grounds it [in reality]
is Taye's performance. [Hopper] is an ordinary guy, a narcotics cop who's just trying to
figure this out. There's a sobriety, I think, to all of the performances that keeps us
grounded, because they're all real people dealing with it."
Bowman is best known for his work directing episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and
The X-Files, as well as the feature films Reign of Fire and Elektra. About Day Break, he
said, "We only have 42 and a half minutes to tell the whole story. And most of it is about
Hopper's emotional state and his carrying over knowledge from the previous day. It's an
action-thriller. I'd say it's short of science fiction because we're not saying that aliens
are causing this or anything. It's short of science fiction, so it's got to be kept in the
real world. But to me, the thing that's most powerful about it is the emotional value in it
and the fact that [Hopper's girlfriend] Rita [Moon Bloodgood] dies, if he can't prevent it,
every day. So you don't get caught up in a lot of the tiny details, although we're very,
very careful about continuity. When we go back to the same place, we've got the same extras
in place. We've got the pilot [episode] on set and know who was moving where. So I think for
the scrutinizing viewer, the TiVo-ing viewer, they can go back and see that we're, ... I
don't know if we're perfect, but we're sure trying hard to keep things identical in the
repeat days so that there's some good water-cooler talk to be discussed." Day Break, which
also stars Victoria Pratt and Adam Baldwin, will debut Nov. 15 on ABC. —Ian Spelling
Rob Bowman—co-executive producer of the upcoming ABC series Day Break and director of
several of its episodes, including the pilot and the subsequent two shows—told SCI FI Wire
that he's not sweating the timeline issues presented by the SF-ish plot. In the show, Brett
Hopper (Taye Diggs), a narcotics cop who's been framed for murder, relives one fateful
day—the day he's accused of the murder in question—over and over again.
"Within this discussion lies Hopper's daily urgency," Bowman said in an interview. "He knows
that things happen initially at a certain time on that first repeat day, and so when he
wakes up in the morning he's on a schedule to beat everybody to [the punch], to do whatever
he's got to do. He's got to go back to the mailbox, and he's got to get that envelope before
the SWAT guys show up. And if he gets held up in the morning somehow, and he's going to be
late, well, he can't get the package today, so the package, whatever is in that manila
envelope, might lead to some discoveries. But I think a lot of what grounds it [in reality]
is Taye's performance. [Hopper] is an ordinary guy, a narcotics cop who's just trying to
figure this out. There's a sobriety, I think, to all of the performances that keeps us
grounded, because they're all real people dealing with it."
Bowman is best known for his work directing episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and
The X-Files, as well as the feature films Reign of Fire and Elektra. About Day Break, he
said, "We only have 42 and a half minutes to tell the whole story. And most of it is about
Hopper's emotional state and his carrying over knowledge from the previous day. It's an
action-thriller. I'd say it's short of science fiction because we're not saying that aliens
are causing this or anything. It's short of science fiction, so it's got to be kept in the
real world. But to me, the thing that's most powerful about it is the emotional value in it
and the fact that [Hopper's girlfriend] Rita [Moon Bloodgood] dies, if he can't prevent it,
every day. So you don't get caught up in a lot of the tiny details, although we're very,
very careful about continuity. When we go back to the same place, we've got the same extras
in place. We've got the pilot [episode] on set and know who was moving where. So I think for
the scrutinizing viewer, the TiVo-ing viewer, they can go back and see that we're, ... I
don't know if we're perfect, but we're sure trying hard to keep things identical in the
repeat days so that there's some good water-cooler talk to be discussed." Day Break, which
also stars Victoria Pratt and Adam Baldwin, will debut Nov. 15 on ABC. —Ian Spelling
www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=38288
Pratt: Don't Call Day Break SF
Victoria Pratt, who stars in ABC's upcoming surreal drama Day Break, told SCI FI Wire that
she doesn't consider it a science fiction show. Day Break stars Taye Diggs as Brett Hopper,
a narcotics cop who's been framed for murder, who relives the same day over and over again.
Pratt (Mutant X) plays Andrea Battle, Hopper's partner.
"There is obviously an element of the unknown," Pratt said in an interview. "I guess it
depends on what your definition of science fiction is. There is an element of the unknown,
but nobody other than Hopper knows it. The rest of the characters, we're just living our
lives completely oblivious to the fact that this day is repeating. So I just get up, and I
do my thing. My day has changed because of information I've learned or because of things
that happen around me, but in my character's eyes, I'm just waking up, and it's another day.
Hopper is the only one who might wake up and think he's in the middle of a sci-fi show, but
it's definitely not played for that. It's a mystery, really."
Pratt said that "the whole show is based on relationships." Hopper is a man dealing with
several fractured relationships, and Battle's relationship with him is one of the most
fractured. "We're partners, but there's a distance," she said. "He's been doing something
that he hasn't been telling me about. I've been doing something that I haven't been telling
him about. We've got secrets from each other. Ultimately it's his job to find a way to
repair these relationships. So our relationship is a very interesting one, because there's
obviously a closeness, a love that comes from protecting each other and watching each
other's back, but as much as you care for a person, that's how much you can hurt them by
withdrawing and by being secretive. So it's a very neat dynamic between the two of us."
Pratt added: "Most of my interactions are with Hopper and with Adam Baldwin's character,
Chad Shelton, the head of internal affairs. My character is being investigated by internal
affairs. So my career is kind of on the line, and I'm always doing things to endanger my
career. They've explained to me that I'm a good person doing all the wrong things for all
the right reasons. It's a really neat, neat line to walk." Day Break debuts Nov. 15 and will
air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the timeslot vacated by Lost, which takes a midseason break.
—Ian Spelling
Victoria Pratt, who stars in ABC's upcoming surreal drama Day Break, told SCI FI Wire that
she doesn't consider it a science fiction show. Day Break stars Taye Diggs as Brett Hopper,
a narcotics cop who's been framed for murder, who relives the same day over and over again.
Pratt (Mutant X) plays Andrea Battle, Hopper's partner.
"There is obviously an element of the unknown," Pratt said in an interview. "I guess it
depends on what your definition of science fiction is. There is an element of the unknown,
but nobody other than Hopper knows it. The rest of the characters, we're just living our
lives completely oblivious to the fact that this day is repeating. So I just get up, and I
do my thing. My day has changed because of information I've learned or because of things
that happen around me, but in my character's eyes, I'm just waking up, and it's another day.
Hopper is the only one who might wake up and think he's in the middle of a sci-fi show, but
it's definitely not played for that. It's a mystery, really."
Pratt said that "the whole show is based on relationships." Hopper is a man dealing with
several fractured relationships, and Battle's relationship with him is one of the most
fractured. "We're partners, but there's a distance," she said. "He's been doing something
that he hasn't been telling me about. I've been doing something that I haven't been telling
him about. We've got secrets from each other. Ultimately it's his job to find a way to
repair these relationships. So our relationship is a very interesting one, because there's
obviously a closeness, a love that comes from protecting each other and watching each
other's back, but as much as you care for a person, that's how much you can hurt them by
withdrawing and by being secretive. So it's a very neat dynamic between the two of us."
Pratt added: "Most of my interactions are with Hopper and with Adam Baldwin's character,
Chad Shelton, the head of internal affairs. My character is being investigated by internal
affairs. So my career is kind of on the line, and I'm always doing things to endanger my
career. They've explained to me that I'm a good person doing all the wrong things for all
the right reasons. It's a really neat, neat line to walk." Day Break debuts Nov. 15 and will
air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the timeslot vacated by Lost, which takes a midseason break.
—Ian Spelling