Friday, March 6, 2009

More from the set of Flash Forward

Another fabulous day on the set of Flash Forward. We were there from about 7:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. (meaning we worked a much shorter day than just about everyone else!).

Had lunch with Sonya Walger, but can't show a picture of her because she was in costume all day. (For those trying to divine the secrets of Flash Forward, sorry, but none of the photos I'm posting are of the actors in costume, and none were taken on the sets.)

Sonya was definitely the hardest working actor today, with the most lines and the most scenes, and she was fabulous. She's incredibly intense when called for, and is absolutely riveting to watch. (How intense? Director David S. Goyer had to remind her at one point yesterday to blink ...) She's British, and has the most wonderful accent, but is playing an American, and it was fun watching her turn the accent on and off (or is that off and on?) when bouncing between playing her part and talking to others.

Zachary Knighton also did incredible work today. In fact, he and Sonya together did what is my favorite scene from the entire script -- and did it and did it and did, from angle after angle after angle ;). Zach's father, stepmother, and girlfriend visited the set today, and I showed them around, which was fun.

Also on hand today and yesterday was Nne Ebong, vice-president of dramatic program development for ABC, and I had a great time talking to her (and yesterday she was responsible for something incredibly cool happening for me -- about which more later).

Brannon Braga was on hand for part of yesterday morning, and it was great getting to chat with him again. He has been wonderfully warm and friendly and supportive, and had some very nice things to say about my Calculating God, which pleased me. He had to leave mid-morning, though, to get back to 24, the other show he works on. :)

John Cho and Courtney B. Vance didn't even have any scenes today, but they dropped by the set (and Jack Davenport came back, too, even though he wasn't filming today, either). Besides being in Flash Forward, John, of course, is Mr. Sulu in the new Star Trek film. He told me he'd just finally seen the whole thing, and thinks it really came out wonderfully.


Robert J. Sawyer, author of the novel Flash Forward, and series regular John Cho.


Series regular Courtney B. Vance and Executive Producer Jessika Borsiczky Goyer; Jessika was the first of the producers to read my novel Flash Forward; the project owes its existence to her enthusiasm for the book.


David S. Goyer who is director, co-author of the pilot script, and executive producer, with Kramer Morgenthau, the Director of Photography; between them, they've given Flash Forward an amazing look -- every frame looks like it's from a feature film, not a TV show; the footage is stunning.

MORE FROM THE FLASH FORWARD SET


The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site

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12 Comments:

At March 07, 2009 7:48 AM , Blogger TheHade said...

Thanks a lot for keeping us posted, Mr. Sawyer!
Your update sounds awesome and makes me even more excited for this show!
It's too bad you cannot share a picture of Sonya Walger with us. This makes me curious about her costume, though (I mean, the part she plays has been widely publicised.). But why did TPTB decide to deprive us of her beautiful accent?
So, did you get to have a cameo scene?!

 
At March 07, 2009 8:08 AM , Blogger DarkUFO said...

Thanks for sharing Robert, can't wait to see this on screen

 
At March 07, 2009 8:46 AM , Blogger TheHade said...

One more question: Is this show primarily shot on location or in studio sets?

 
At March 08, 2009 11:00 AM , Blogger John F said...

I am unspeakably jealous and bitter that you got to have lunch with Sonya Walger. This is worse than the panda incident!

 
At March 08, 2009 9:07 PM , Blogger RobertJSawyer said...

Ah, yes! The panda incident! :D

Rob and a panda

 
At March 09, 2009 8:34 AM , Blogger John F said...

I've decided to nurse my resentment until Wake is released. Then I'll go back to being your fan.

 
At March 09, 2009 2:11 PM , Blogger RobertJSawyer said...

Hi, TheHade. I can't show you Sonya's (or anyone's) costume. Even if it were just plain street clothes (which it might well be), it's a secret what they look like. :) But, my God, Sonya is beautiful, and so, so talented!

As for where we're shooting, that's secret, too, I'm afraid. I mean, it's in Los Angeles or environs; that much the producers have publicly said, and the studio is ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television). But you're just going to have to wait and see ... :D

 
At March 10, 2009 4:14 PM , Blogger TheHade said...

Thank you very much for your reply, Mr. Sawyer! I do appreciate it.
I understand you cannot reply to my questions for legal reasons so I'll just wait and see.
But would you mind telling me what character Zachary Knighton plays, please?
By the way, my kids love the picture of you and the panda! :-D

 
At March 10, 2009 4:20 PM , Blogger RobertJSawyer said...

I don't believe ABC has yet publicly announced which character Zachary Knighton is playing, so I can't tell you, I'm afraid. But it's a series regular -- and he's terrific in the part.

 
At March 10, 2009 5:37 PM , Blogger TheHade said...

I see.
Thank you very much, as always!

 
At March 24, 2009 10:14 AM , Blogger Mary Anne said...

Hi Robert, I'm Zach's stepmom Mary Anne. I found your website and love reading on it. I wanted to thank you for Andy and myself for you and your wife being so warm and welcoming on the set of Flash Forward. I'm still talking about it to everyone. We had a blast. And for the record, I think Zach's great too. (no prejudice here)

 
At March 24, 2009 10:17 AM , Blogger RobertJSawyer said...

Hi, Mary Anne! It was my pleasure! I'm glad you had a great time visiting the set. The show is going to be wonderful -- I bet it's going to be a long time before Zach is looking for work again! ;)

 

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