Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Fan spotting: Zack Whedon

Because I never get tired of these:

“Dr. Horrible” [and Deadwood and John from Cincinnati and Fringe] writer Zack Whedon will be tackling considerably darker fare in his upcoming “Terminator” miniseries from Dark Horse. The writer, who is the younger brother of “Dollhouse” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, is no stranger to science fiction, having written several episodes of the television series “Fringe.” Whedon’s three-issue “Terminator” miniseries begins in March, shining the spotlight on Kyle Reese, the man destined to sire the savior of humankind. (…)

Though Whedon does not remember the first time he saw the original “Terminator” film (“but I’m sure it was on video”), he does know that he became an enthusiastic fan with the release of the sequel. “I vividly remember seeing ‘T2.’ I went to see it twice in one day, or two days in a row at least. I was blown away by it,” he said. “I called my brother and we talked for a long time about all the things we loved about the movie. Both of those hold up incredibly well. I’m fond of the whole series, and I loved the TV show, too. I did the all of the ‘Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ on DVD and disappeared for a week or two. I thought they did an amazing job with that show of finding stories to tell about Sarah and John that felt fresh and exciting. I’m also a big fan of Garret Dillahunt, who made an awesome Terminator.” [Comic Book Resources]

2009 in review

Okay, it’s the last day of the year and this blog will be a year old tomorrow, so I am posting a recap of everything that’s happened in 2009.

Hope everyone has a great time tonight and a fantastic year ahead.

See you in 2010!

_________________________________________________________________________________

The year started with Terminator promo and press tours. The show returned with the last nine episodes in the Friday slot in mid-February.

garret dillahunt,john henry,terminator,the sarah connor chronicles

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming Winter’s Bone in Missouri. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January. If anyone plans on going, the Sundance screening schedule is here.

The Last House on the Left opened on March 13. The reviews ranged from excellent to free branding campaign and the film made it to several lists of best horrors of the year. In October, it won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009.

garret dillahunt,krug,last house on the left

Toward the end of the month, Garret played his fifth character on T:SCC, the Skynet virus from the future. Previous four were George Laszlo, Cromartie, the Beastwizard and John Henry.

In late March, the first pictures from Burning Bright appeared online. Burning Bright was later renamed to Ravenous and it still awaits theatrical release. In November, it was screened at the AFM. The first reviews were pretty positive.

garret dillahunt,burning bright,ravenous

In early April, Water Pills had its U.S. premiere at the Florida Film Festival. Jasmine Jessica Anthony walked away with a grand jury award for best performance.

garret dillahunt,water pills

Also in April, two series finales aired two days apart. Garret snuffed the TV crew and gave Damian Lewis his final headache in Life on April 8. Life season two was released on DVD on August 25.

garret dillahunt,roman nevikov,life

The Terminator finale aired on April 10. Despite cancellation, the show made it to #8 on the list of  the Top 10 Most Pirated Shows in 2009. Last year, it was the only new show among the top 10, at #4.

garret dillahunt,terminator

In the meantime, Garret joined Delroy Lindo and Roslyn Ruff in Things of Dry Hours, a play by Naomi Wallace about communists in 1930s Alabama. Rehearsals started on April 21.

garret dillahunt,theatre,things of dry hours,delroy lindo

The first trailer for The Road hit the web on May 15.

garret dillahunt,gang member,the road

On May 18, Fox announced that they would not be picking up Terminator for a third season. Even though there has been talk of a possible TV/DVD movie, Terminator rights are currently up for grabs and in limbo until February 2010.

On May 20, Garret appeared in the season finale of Criminal Minds.

garret dillahunt,criminal minds,mason turner

Two days later, Things of Dry Hours went into previews at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show premiered on June 8 and ran through June 28. Critics liked the cast, but were divided on the writing.

garret dillahunt,things of dry hours,delroy lindo,roslyn ruff

At some point over the spring/summer, Garret was cast in Madeleine Stowe’s Unbound Captives, an independent western epic with Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. If they get financing in time, the film will go into production in March (at the earliest).

In late July and early August, Garret filmed two TV guest appearances,  on CSI and Lie to Me, and a short film, One Night Only.

Garret Dillahunt, Tim Roth, Lie to Me

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD in mid-August.

garret dillahunt,last house on the left,krug

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming the season three finale of Burn Notice. The episode will air in March 2010.

garret dillahunt,burn notice,john mahoney

The trailer for One Night Only was released on September 2.

garret dillahunt,one night only

On September 3, The Road had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Ten days later, it was screened in Toronto.

Terminator: The Complete Season Two was released on DVD on September 22.

On September 24, the CSI season 10 premiere aired. “Family Affair” is one of the five hours of television nominated for an ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Award this year.

garret dillahunt,csi,family affair

Speaking of CSI, in a fine display of Terminator fanboyism, the last episode before the break, Better off Dead, had a bunch of people stealing Cromartie’s music and killing each other. Also, a killer described as a Terminator.

On October 13, Oliver Sherman, an independent drama with Molly Parker and Donal Logue, went into production in North Bay. The film will most likely premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, but Canadians might get an early screening in the spring.

garret dillahunt,oliver sherman

On October 21st, Garret appeared on Lie to Me.

garret dillahunt,lie to me,honey

And two days later, on Law & Order: SVU.

garret dillahunt,mariska hargitay,svu

The Road finally saw its U.S. premiere at AFI fest in early November. On Thanksgiving, it got a limited release. Even though the film has been vastly overlooked in the early awards season, the reviews were mostly positive and it scored a few acting nods (Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee) from several critics’ societies (Broadcast Film Critics, Utah Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics).

Garret Dillahunt,Gang Member,The Road

On November 13, Garret appeared on White Collar.

garret dillahunt,white collar

And the next day, One Night Only had its premiere in New York.

garret dillahunt,one night only

In November, Garret was cast in two new projects. The comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, was filmed earlier this month. If it gets picked up, it will be aired in the 2010/11 season.

The other project, John Sayles’ film Baryo, starts shooting in February in the Philippines. The crew is already there, building the set and preparing for the shoot. You can follow the updates on the new production blog, at johnsaylesbaryo.blogspot.com.

And that about wraps it up. If 2010 is even half as eventful, it will be another excellent year.

“Honey” obliterates American Idol and 24 in new poll

TV.com has posted its annual poll, The Best of 2009 at TV.com. You can vote for Terminator in the “Show Axed Before Its Time” category and also for Lie to Me, “Honey,” which is up for “Best Nail Biter.” Not that the latter needs much help.

One for posterity:

Lie to Me - TV poll

Terminator DVD details for the UK (out November 16)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete Season Two Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete Second Season comes out in the UK on November 16. Not sure if the additional stuff applies to the entire region 2 (probably not), but there’s at least one country that will get the complete edition. Details below.

EXTRAS

Gag reel
Five minute gag reel

Commentary
“Samson and Delilah” – Audio Commentary with Ex. Producer Josh Friedman and actors Lena Headey Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, and Shirley Manson.
“Allison from Palmdale” – Audio Commentary with Ex. Producers Josh Friedman, James Middleton, and John Wirth, and actors Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau
Episode 221 “Adam Raised a Cain”
Episode 222 “Born to Run”

Featurettes
The Storyboard Process: Cameron Goes Bad
Cameron vs. Rosie: Fight Rehearsal
Write the Future: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Conceptualization: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Blood and Metal: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Designing Destruction: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Choreographing Chaos: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
War Stories: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Setting the Tempo: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Motivations: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Deleted Scenes
Ep. 3T7308 Sc. 47 John and Cameron have a moment in the bathroom
Ep. 3T7313 Sc. A29 Sarah and another woman talk
Ep. 318-Today is the Day Part 1 Sc. 35-“Part of the Plan”
Ep. 321- Today is the Day Part 2 Sc. 12-“Captain Bligh”
Ep. 321- Today is the Day Part 2 Sc. 18-“Missed Call”
Ep. 321- Sc. 22-“I Shouldn’t Have Let Him Get to Me”
Ep. 321- Today is the Day Part 2 Sc. 25-“Fire Control”
Ep. 319- To the Lighthouse Sc. 7-“Secrets”
Ep. 319- To the Lighthouse Sc. 36 & 37 – “El Viejo del Monte”
Ep. 322-Born to Run Sc. 12- “Stakeout”

Sources: Bluray.com, RealMovieNews.com

James Middleton confirms: There is still hope for Terminator

Charlie Jane Anders at io9.com asked producer James Middleton if there was still hope that the Terminator fan campaigns would lead to some kind of continuation of the series. This is what he said:

The quick answer is, yes, there have been many discussions. I can’t go into more detail about the subject until I have something truly substantial to report. What the fans should know is that I hear them and I too would love to see T:SCC come back in some form. [io9.com]

So nothing concrete yet, but a producer going on record with this should be enough to create some more hype.