Posted at 03:00 AM in ABC, BBC, Christopher Lambert, CTV, David James Elliott, Defying Gravity, Duncan MacLeod, Dylan Taylor, Entertainment, Florentine Lahme, Fox Studios, GSG 9, Highlander, Impact, James Cromwell, Keinohrhasen, Maddux Donner, Nadia Schilling, OmniFilm Productions, Petra Helmholtz, ProSieben, Ron Livingston, Science Fiction, Steve Wessenfelder, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 03:00 AM in Beverly Hills 90210, Bradford May, David James Elliott, Dawson's Creek, Entertainment, JAG, James Van Der Beek, John Larroquette, Luke Perry, Marisol Nichols, NBC, Teri Polo, The Storm, Treat Williams, TV, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 03:00 AM in Christopher Lloyd, David James Elliott, Dru Viergever, Knight of Bloodsteel, Natassia Malthe, The Sci Fi Channel, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Knights of Bloodsteel brings together a diverse foursome - vigilante John Serragoth (David James Elliott), con man Adric Thane (Christopher Jacot), the warrior elf Perfidia (Natassia Malthe) and a goblin, Ber-Lak (Dru Viergever). They accept a quest by the sorcerer elf Tesselink (Christopher Lloyd) to find the last of the bloodsteel, a magical ore that can save their mytical land of Mirabilis from being dominated by the evil Dragon Eye (Mark Gibbon). Also helping tell this tale is producer Pascal Verschooris. Having worked on other Sci-Fi and/or Fantasy projects such as Flash Gordon and Dead Like Me as well as HBO's Masters of Horror, he knew what basic elements were needed to get Knights of Bloodsteel off the ground.
"The biggest challenge was creating a new world," notes Verschooris, who is on-location today as well. "What is Mirabilis? What does it look like? What brings our heroes together and what is their quest? What does Dragon Eye look like? When you read the script, is he The Devil in a way that you've always imagined him to be, or do want to take a chance and take the character in another direction? Along with the evil, is there also a human aspect to him?
"Looking at all the Sci-Fi projects on TV, we wanted to make sure that if someone is flipping channels and they find Knights of Bloodsteel, that it's obvious to them that they're watching something really different. Every frame of this miniseries will remind you that you're not exactly on Earth, but somewhere else. That's been a tough hill to climb, but I think we're doing quite well in creating this world. We've found some locations in Vancouver that haven't been used before, or if they have, very rarely. We've also build some amazing sets from scratch, including a medieval town. So we're using all our assets, resources and experience and I think this is turning out to be a neat project."
[caption id="attachment_448" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="Christopher Lloyd as Tesselink. Photo by Carol Segal and copyright of The Sci Fi Channel"]Posted at 03:00 AM in David James Elliott, Ian A. Wallace, Knights of Bloodsteel, Natassia Malthe, The Sci Fi Channel, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 03:00 AM in Christopher Jacot, David James Elliott, Eureka, Knights of Bloodsteel, Natassia Malthe, The Sci Fi Channel, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 03:00 AM in David James Elliott, Elektra, Knights of Bloodsteel, Natassia Malthe, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Fans of actor David James Elliott probably best remember him as the clean-cut United States Naval officer Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. in the CBS-TV adventure/legal drama series JAG. This Sunday, he makes his debut played a very different type of hero in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Knights of Bloodsteel. As the sword-wielding John Serragoth, the actor sports long hair as well as a beard and speaks with a Scottish accent. It was brand-new territory for him and one he was happy to explore.
"I'd never done anything quite like this before," says Elliott during a break in filming on-location in British Columbia. "I had just finished filming a miniseries [Impact!] in Victoria and was on vacation with my family in the Bahamas when I got a call about this project. They e-mailed me the script, I read it, thought it was well-written and they [the producers] offered me the role.
"Again, the fact that I had never really played a character like John was what made it interesting to me. My first day on-set was like most in that it feels as if you're about to climb Mount Everest. Not only are you still digging through the script to find the nuances, but you're also trying to find your character from inside yourself. That was certainly true with John because we took some chances with the character, including making him a Scotsman. We felt that that would help reinforce the fact that he's different from everyone else around him and more of an Earth-type guy. He's from the Moorlands, which is a wild territory on this world where our story takes place. So I was excited about the role and the chance to work with a new group of people."
In Knights of Bloodsteel, John Serragoth is one of four unlikely freedom fighters recruited by the sorcerer elf Tesselink (Christopher Lloyd). Their mission is to stop the evil Dragon Eye (Mark Gibbon) and his minions from acquiring the remaining supply of bloodsteel, a sorcery grade ore that gives powerful magical abilities to those who possess it. Should they fail, the island continent of Mirabilis will fall under control of Dragon Eye. Accompanying John on his quest to find the legendary magical Crucible, which is the source of bloodsteel, are Adric Thane (Christopher Jacot), a charming con artist, the enigmatic goblin Ber-Lak (Dru Viergever), and a fearless warrior elf named Perfidia (Natassia Malthe).
"They're a ragtag group," explains Elliott. "Circumstances thrust them together and John has his own agenda as well as this quest for a Crucible that will help his agenda. The latter is how the Elders of our story sold my character on helping them, and, in turn, this will help John complete his 'hit list' for lack of a better term. So he's a man with a list and he's ticking names off. Let's just say that he's got some vengeance issues," he says with a smile.
[caption id="attachment_351" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="John Serragoth (Elliott) and Perfidia (Natassia Malthe) enter dangerous territory. Photo by Carol Segal and copyright The Sci Fi Channel"]Off to one side of Elliott, Knights of Bloodsteel director Philip Spink is busy setting up his next shot. This project is the actor's introduction to Spink and in the director he has found a kindred soul. "Philip's enthusiasm is refreshing and he really gets into it, which is very inspirational," notes Elliott. "Like me, he's always digging and looking for the truth in every moment. Yes, we're doing this because it looks very cool, but at the same time it has to be grounded in some sort of reality.
"Before we began shooting I had to get a hair weave, so I came in for a seven-hour process where they were tying hair and attaching the extensions to my own hair. Philip came and kept me company. He and I laughed and talked about the script as well as my character and we had a good time. We sat together until almost two in the morning, and we were starting work at six the following day. It was nice to have that time because you rarely get that; once a project like this gets going there's really no stopping it and taking a pause."
As with many of his previous roles, this one brought with it various acting challenges, including physical ones, for Elliott to face. "The climax of this piece, which we already shot, was extremely challenging just from an emotional point of view," he recalls. "And it was late at night when we filmed it. We were working the night shift for a week straight, so that was tough. Again, you're constantly digging deep inside yourself and embracing areas that you probably wouldn't bother with in your normal day-to-day life.
"There's also been some fighting for my character," continues Elliott, "and I just missed having my eye taken out by a sword. It cut my eyebrow and I had a black eye for a while. People will often ask me, 'Oh, man, do you enjoy doing the fights?' Every time there's a fight I know I'm going to get hurt, and we have a big fight tomorrow, so I can't wait to see what happens then. I'm often cast in physical roles, probably because I have a high tolerance for pain. It's either that or someone has it out for me," jokes the actor.
[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="John (Elliott) strikes a blow for justice! Photo by Carol Segal and copyright The Sci Fi Channel"]
Posted at 03:00 AM in Christopher Jacot, Christopher Lloyd, David James Elliott, Dru Viergever, Entertainment, JAG, Knights of Bloodsteel, Mark Gibbon, Natassia Malthe, The Sci Fi Channel, Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)