A Stuart Townsend Fan Media Archive

Filmmaker eager to screen "Battle" at SIFF

Wed, 28 May 2008 23:43:54 GMT

photo from stuart-online

From the Seattle Times May 22, 2008

Filmmaker Stuart Townsend eager to screen "Battle" at SIFF
by Moira Macdonald

The Seattle International Film Festival kicks off tonight with something unusual: a film with direct ties to our city. Stuart Townsend's drama "Battle in Seattle," which stars Charlize Theron, Martin Henderson and Woody Harrelson, takes place during the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle. Townsend, Theron, Henderson and other members of the cast will be in town tonight to walk the red carpet before the film's local premiere at McCaw Hall.

Townsend, a Dublin native who makes his writing/directing debut with "Battle in Seattle," said in a telephone interview that he'd long been wanting to tell this story. He remembered watching coverage of the WTO riots on television in Dublin, but said his interest was especially piqued by an essay by environmental writer Paul Hawken about the event several years later. "I thought, it'd be great to make a movie about something important," he said, remembering his own growing environmental and political awareness at the time. "When I read this essay, it really jumped out at me. I vaguely remembered this event, and no one had done a movie about it. I started to research it. I'd say within about five hours, I felt that I was going to tell this story."

From his home in Los Angeles (Townsend moved to the U.S. in 2001), he began the research process -- which took a year and a half. Though his film is a fictionalized story in which several characters' paths cross during the course of the Seattle WTO protests, Townsend wanted factual accuracy, and he studied several documentaries about the event (especially praising Jill Friedberg and Rick Rowley's "This Is What Democracy Looks Like"), devoured media coverage and numerous books about the event and took several trips to Seattle. "I went up there quite a few times very early on," he said. "I bought a Seattle map, and I started to map it out, from all my research, pinpointing where things happened. I love maps, so I really started to learn the city through the map and started to realize how the activist and direct action tactics had worked."

In his Seattle visits, Townsend said he "fell in love" with the city. "It's very much like Ireland; kind of grungy, very damp and gray but very beautiful. It was really hard not to film it all there." Ultimately -- like so many films set in Seattle -- "Battle in Seattle" was mostly shot in Vancouver, B.C., mainly for financial reasons. "My financiers were all Canadian," said Townsend. "It was cost efficient for them to shoot in Vancouver." He also noted the wealth of experienced crew in Vancouver, from several previous experiences shooting movies there. With only a 29-day shoot (in late 2006), he needed efficiency. "I could not have made this film in the time that we had without having such a great crew," he said. Townsend was, however, able to spend a few days shooting in Seattle for the film.

Locations included the top of the Space Needle ("That was amazing!"), outside the Paramount Theatre, at the Chief Seattle statue near Fifth Avenue, at the Convention Center, and some helicopter shots over the city. During production, a number of people involved with the original event helped Townsend with notes on the script. Activist John Sellers, of the Ruckus Society, was instrumental, as was Shannon Service, an activist arrested just before the WTO meetings for hanging an anti-WTO banner. Not present on set but also helpful were John Quigley (an "aerial artist" who formed protesters into human messages to be read from above); Mike Brune from the Rainforest Action Network; and Tom Wright, a maker of the WTO documentary "Trade Off." Though "Battle in Seattle" has already had a number of public screenings since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, Townsend spoke of two crucial screenings.

The first was a small event for a group of activists in California, including many who were present at the WTO protests, and Townsend was pleased with the response. "I saw that they appreciated what I was trying to do. They didn't criticize me for the things I left out. They just appreciated where I was going and what I was doing." And now he's getting anxious for the Seattle screening. "I've showed this film in Dublin, to my home audience in the Savoy 1, which is the theater I grew up watching all my films in," he said. "I was nervous, but I'll be more nervous in Seattle, way more. Most screenings I go to, one person stands up and they say, I was in Seattle. This night it's going to be like, who wasn't in Seattle?" "I'm really proud of this film. I got to make the film that I want. But I also know that you can't make a film that everyone's going to love." Townsend said he's open to criticism and knows that the nature of filmmaking means that he's left out parts of the WTO story that locals may miss. "But ultimately," he said, "my mission as a filmmaker and a storyteller is to capture the spirit and hopefully create an inspirational film about an event that was really important."

Director's Best Friend

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:04:53 GMT

Stuart's best friend (his dog Tucker) while on set during filming for BiS in late-November 2006.

Photos from StuartTownsend.org

Stuart in Paris

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:54:00 GMT

A few pictures of Stuart in Paris this past weekend. He went there with Charlize (From what I gather was some sort of vacation/semi-business trip) but she's not pictured in the pics I chose.

If you want to see more pictures like these. visit Stuart-Online

Night Stalker Unfilmed Scripts

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:58:16 GMT

For those Night Stalker fans without DVD-Rom's

I've only recently have bought a new computer with a DVD-rom for those who wish to own PDF files of the two unfilmed scripts of Stuart's 2005 television series 'Night Stalker' please feel free to comment here and I will see to it that they are uploaded.

They are titled as follows.

Episode 1-11 'Ascendant'
Episode 1-12 'The M Word'

Stuart's newest movie: Chaos Theory

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:18:24 GMT

On the Official Chaos Theory site (Stuart's upcoming movie)

Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds), celebrated author of the bestseller The Five Minute Efficiency Trainer, has perfected the art of living via a foolproof system of timetables and index cards. In fact, his daily “to do” lists are legendary. A man known for playing it safe, Frank doesn’t believe in spontaneity. Every choice he makes is deliberate––designed to contribute to a well-ordered, predictable life.

But life, as he soon learns, never adheres to a strict schedule.

Frank’s wife, Susan (Emily Mortimer), and seven-year-old daughter, Jesse (Matreya Fedor), find his obsession charming in small doses, but as a steady diet it can be very frustrating. One morning, Susan attempts to loosen her husband’s scheduling stranglehold by adding ten minutes to his day. But, by setting the clock backward instead of forward, she inadvertently unleashes a series of mishaps that turn his meticulously ordered life upside down. A belligerent ferryman, a ruthless seductress, a reluctant mother-to-be and the secret amor of his best friend, Buddy (Stuart Townsend), combine to send his life into complete chaos.

As his life unravels in several directions simultaneously, however, a stunning family revelation forces Frank to look fate squarely in the eye. Shaken to his core, he starts living entirely “in the moment,” allowing him to defy the conventions that have heretofore defined him. Those carefully coordinated index cards that had once kept his life in perfect order now become a deck of chance as Frank scribbles spontaneous ideas on random cards, shuffles, chooses and follows the luck of the draw…with unexpected results.

Frank is about to discover that not even an efficiency expert armed with timetables and index cards can change the serendipitous nature of family and friendship, love and forgiveness.

Castle Rock Entertainment and Lone Star Film Group present a Frederic Golchan Production, “Chaos Theory,” starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, Sarah Chalke and Mike Erwin. Marcos Siega directed the film from a screenplay by Daniel Taplitz. “Chaos Theory” is produced by Frederic Golchan and Erica Westheimer, with Fred Westheimer serving as executive producer and Barbara Kelly as co-producer.

The behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Ramsey Nickell, production designer Sandy Cochrane and film editor Nicholas Erasmus. The music is composed by Gilad Benamram.

“Chaos Theory” has been rated “PG-13” by the MPAA for mature thematic material, sexual content and language.

STUART TOWNSEND (Buddy) most recently made his feature film directorial debut with “Battle in Seattle,” which he also wrote and produced. The true-life action drama, starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson and Ray Liotta, premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival and will be released in March 2008.

Townsend previously starred in the romantic comedy “The Best Man,” with Seth Green and Amy Smart; the drama “Head in the Clouds,” opposite Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz; the action fantasy “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman,” alongside Sean Connery; the horror thriller “Queen of the Damned”; and the romantic comedy “About Adam,” in which he played the title role, opposite Kate Hudson.

His additional film credits include “The Escort,” “Wonderland,” “Resurrection Man,” “Under the Skin,” “Shooting Fish” and “Trojan Eddie.”

On television, Townsend starred in the title role of the ABC series “The Night Stalker.” He also had a memorable guest role on the hit NBC series “Will & Grace.”

A Dublin native, Townsend divides his time between Europe and California.

His photos from the site (which I had to screencap)

18 Stuart icons by me

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 22:10:27 GMT

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18.

cross-posted with stuart_lovers

'Night Stalker' Rises Again

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 00:52:57 GMT

'Night Stalker' Rises Again
Thanks to DVD and a run on Sci Fi, ABC's short-lived remake gets more life
By Kate O'Hare

LOS ANGELES -- In the olden days of television, when a show was canceled after only a few episodes, it was tossed in the dustbin of history, never to see the light of a TV screen again. Now in the age of cable channels and DVD box sets, even a premature death is no impediment to a rewarding afterlife.

On May 30, Walt Disney Video released "Night Stalker: The Complete Series," a boxed set of all 10 produced episodes of the ABC series "Night Stalker," which premiered in Sept. 2005. It was a re-imagined version of an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice and two 1970s TV movies, "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler," which starred Darren McGavin as monster-hunting newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak.

In the new version, handsome Irish actor Stuart Townsend took on the role of Kolchak, who was still investigating the bizarre, but this time with a far more personal twist because of the mysterious murder of his wife.

Also on the DVD are four unaired episodes and two unpublished scripts: "Ascendant," by Melissa and Joy Blake, and "The 'M' Word," by the reclusive Darin Morgan, who won an Emmy for his "X-Files" script "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."

Also, Sci Fi Channel starts airing the series beginning Friday, July 28.

Frank Spotnitz, who was an executive producer on "The X-Files," created the new "Night Stalker" and says, "It's bittersweet. I'm thrilled they're putting it out on DVD, and I'm thrilled to be on Sci Fi Channel, but more than that, I wanted the show to continue. It's a great disappointment, because you put everything you have into the thing. I believed in it. It's frustrating to not be able to follow through on your vision.

"And I finally got Darin Morgan back in television, finally got him to finish a script, and the day after he turned it in, we got canceled."

Although he'll never know exactly why "Night Stalker" was canceled, Spotnitz feels that a lack of promotion, combined with a weak lead-in in "Alias," and the Thursday, 9 p.m. ET, time slot, contributed to the demise.

"'CSI' was the highest rated drama in television," says Spotnitz of his direct competition. "As it turned out, not only did we have an incompatible lead-in, but our audience is their audience, so it was just brutal."

Spotnitz is aware of some of the criticisms of the show, starting with the casting of Townsend, who couldn't be more different from the rumpled McGavin.

"My whole thing was," Spotnitz says, "'I'm not trying to do what Darren McGavin did, because I'll fail.' You can't do Darren McGavin better than Darren McGavin. The direction the show went in is so completely different.

"If you watch the second part of the two-parter ['The Source' and 'The Sea'], you see where the mythology of the show was going, and you see that Stuart was perfect for this. He's young and good-looking and charming, but is he good? Is he good or evil?

"Stuart, I think, was a home run for that, but it's a tough thing when you're doing a remake. You get people to check you out because of the title, but you're trying to complete with their fond memories of a beloved title. That's a double-edged sword, to be sure."

Speaking of the McGavin original, it became an ABC series that lasted barely longer than the newer edition, leading one to wonder if there's a fatal flaw in the concept.

"I would like to think that's not why we didn't make it," Spotnitz says. "I thought there was a lot to recommend in the show and a lot of reasons to stick with it. I made that case as forcibly as I could. Also, a lot of other people at the network and at the studio felt the same thing. It just was a battle we couldn't win."

On the subject of battles, Spotnitz relates one example from his "Night Stalker" experience: "Believe it or not, after the show was ordered, I was told they didn't want any monsters in the show, which was kind of jaw-dropping to me, because if anybody knows the 'Night Stalker' title, more than anything it's about monsters.

"I didn't want my monsters to be cheesy, but I did want monsters. As a result, in the testing we did, we didn't have monsters, but the human villains we came up with were, in some ways, scarier than monsters would have been.

"It's one of those things where, maybe if we'd had the monsters I wanted ... this is when you get into the game of 'what ifs,' which is not a good game to play."

Horror.about.com interview

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 19:27:29 GMT

from the video interview on horror.about.com while at the May 30, 2006 DVD release even at Best Buy in L.A. for Night Stalker. I noticed he said a few things during Gabby's int as well so you may want to click th link about to catch that as well.

Sadly this was all he was asked as Staci Wilson (the interviewer) asked Gabrielle some questions as well.

Interviewer (Staci Wilson): You also played an Iconic character, Lestat in the Queen of the Damned movie so you're no stranger to fans of the genre.
Stuart: Used to the iconic roles yeah. (laughs)
SW: Are you a fan of Horror?
Stuart: Yeah I do love Horror. I love Horror movies. Ever since I was about 12 there was a double-bill every Friday night and I used to watch them all. All the classics, so yeah huge fan. It's a huge genre I realize why. I'm still going to see them all the time.

Now I mad some caps of the interview as any clips from the sitem that I've seen in the past they're a bit blotchy and bleh, but I did my best..

The Sequel Is Out There

Thu, 25 May 2006 01:09:27 GMT

(Sorry if the subject seems a bit misleading) Again this isn't really Stuart-related but It's all about Stuart's show "Night Stalker"

Just today I found An interview Frank Spotnitz did for EW.com. The Main subject was about an X-Files movie sequel but he also talks a great deal about "Night Stalker", which is coming out on DVD this coming Tuesday, May 30, 2006.

The Sequel Is Out There
A new ''X-Files'' movie?!? Exec producer Frank Spotnitz tells Michelle Kung about the big-screen resurrection
of Mulder and Scully, plus the new ''Night Stalker'' DVD

''Creepy'' and ''disturbing'' aren't your typical compliments, but for any TV series executive-produced by Frank Spotnitz, both are high praise. The former X-Files producer and staff writer (not to mention ex-EW contributor) chatted with EW about a possible cinematic resurrection of Mulder and Scully, plus finding closure for his canceled (and new-to-DVD) series Night Stalker.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So... what can you tell us about the second X-Files movie?
FRANK SPOTNITZ: My deal has been done for almost two years. Actually, I think I was the first one to close the deal, and it took some time for David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and Chris Carter to close their deals as well. And now, there are these legal issues that have emerged between Chris and [20th Century Fox] over the television series. I don't know exactly what those issues are and when and if they will be resolved, but I don't think the movie can go forth until they are.

Have you guys mapped out the plot yet?
Yeah, we went in and pitched the story a year and a half ago. We've worked out most of it. We haven't written a script yet, but we're ready to go if and when.

But no conspiracy stuff, right?
Yeah, I think that was one of the big appeals of doing a movie — to not be constrained by the mythology. Nine years was a long time to stretch out the mythology of the series, and the first movie had to deal with it because it was sandwiched between two seasons of the TV show. It will catch up to the characters where they are now. We'll address whatever period of time has elapsed between the end of the series and the current moment.

Does that include disclosing the whereabouts of Mulder and Scully's baby?
Well, the way it was left at the very end was that they had just given up the child and they were fugitives from the FBI, so we'll have to address where they're living and whether they're still in a fugitive state.

ABC pulled Night Stalker, your re-imagining of the classic '70s series, off the schedule in the middle of a two-part episode. How gratifying is it to finally see the show available on DVD?
Very much so. One of the ideas unique to the series was, ''Is Carl Kolchak [Stuart Townsend] what he seems to be? Is he a hero or a murderer? By the time of [the last aired] episode, people were pretty sure he was a hero, and the ending of the two-parter makes you question that all over again. We've also included two scripts that were in pre-production when we were canceled.

Do you think the show got a fair shake from the network?
You never know what might have happened, but we had three huge strikes against us. First was the time slot, Thursdays at 9, opposite CSI, which is arguably the worst time slot you could get for a new show. Secondly, we didn't get any paid advertising — the network made a decision to spend all their money on their other dramas. Lastly, our lead-in [Alias] turned out to be a lot weaker than anyone thought it would be, and as it turned out, didn't even have the same audience as our show. When you have those three things going against you, it's almost impossible to succeed.

So was it painful to sit through all the episodes again for the commentary?
I saw the commentary as an opportunity to reveal as much as I could about where the show was going and what all the secrets were. I explain an awful lot about what the mark on Kolchak's wrist means, whether or not he actually killed his wife, and a lot of other questions I think viewers were hoping would get answered when the show got pulled.

Diary of a Night Stalker

Thu, 25 May 2006 00:29:31 GMT

Not this only minorly has something to do with Stuart. This is a Diary Frank Spotnitz kept that was published in Entertainment Weekly magazine (funnily enough he was to be an EW contributor).

I'll put up a scan after the *Diary* bit I just wish I could find a better quality one. I have the magazine itself but I don't have a scanner to scan it in so we're stuck with a low-quality scan until someday, hopefully I can find a better one.

This was in the Sept. 30, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine.

Diary of a Night Stalker
Former 'X-Files' executive producer Frank Spotnitz chronicles
his efforts to resurrect a 1970s TV cult horror classic for ABC
by Frank Spotnitz

July 15, 2004
Having coffee with my wife, Melissa, when my cell phone rings. It's Mark Pedowitz, president of Touchstone Television. Reception is poor, but the words ''The Night Stalker'' cut right through the static. Mark, a longtime science fiction fan, wants to know if I'd be interested in doing a new series based on the 32-year-old TV movie.

Would I be interested? As a child, I watched endless hours of television — Star Trek, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible — but nothing struck me as deeply as The Night Stalker, which aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on Jan. 11, 1972. It was about a down-and-out newspaper reporter, Carl Kolchak, who comes upon the story of his life when cocktail waitresses start turning up exsanguinated, apparent victims of a real-life vampire. The show scared the crap out of me — and I wasn't alone: It was the highest-rated TV movie of all time (up to that point), grabbing 48 percent of the viewing audience.

Not surprisingly, ABC broadcast a sequel, The Night Strangler, which transplanted Kolchak to Seattle in pursuit of a serial killer who couldn't die. I loved every second of it, as I did Kolchak: The Night Stalker, the TV series that followed in 1974. Although the show wasn't half as good as the movies, it had one very big thing going for it: Darren McGavin.

McGavin, by that time a veteran character actor in his 50s, was unforgettable as Kolchak. Funny and charming, sporting a straw hat and seersucker suit, he was always sticking his tape recorder into places it didn't belong — a perpetual irritant to anyone in a position of authority, most especially his long-suffering editor, Tony Vincenzo, played by the late, great Simon Oakland.

But neither McGavin nor the viewing public was enamored of the series, and by the time the 20th episode aired, the network granted McGavin's pleas to cancel it.

It made sense Pedowitz would think of me to take another crack at it — Chris Carter, my friend and collaborator, cited The Night Stalker as his prime inspiration for creating The X-Files. I was an exec producer of that show, writing on it for eight years. And the similarities between the two were undeniable. But much as I loved Night Stalker, I wasn't eager to put in 80-hour weeks over the next eight years telling the same kind of stories. I said I'd think about it.

July 16
Woke up thinking about Night Stalker. Pedowitz probably doesn't know this, but I liked The Night Stalker so much I wrote McGavin into The X-Files as an FBI agent who discovered those unsolved cases before Agent Mulder was born.

July 28
My agent called. Touchstone is prepared to make a deal for me to develop a new Night Stalker. I say I'll mull it over, but I'm leaning against it. Truth is, for the past few years I've had a nice career writing movies — an action thriller about World War III for Revolution Studios, a remake of The Star Chamber for 20th Century Fox, and an adaptation of a novel for Paramount I'm working on with Chris Carter.

August 2
For the hell of it, I put the original two TV movies into my DVD player. They're a little dated: Production values were not what they are today, and there was a reliance on zoom lenses that has (thankfully) gone out of fashion. But so much of it still plays: McGavin's neo-film noir voice-overs, his jauntiness in the face of doom. Even the scares, tame by today's standards, still entertain.

August 7
Thinking more about Night Stalker. Comparisons be damned. This is a chance to do good work.

August 22
Negotiations continue. We're getting close.

September 1
My agent and my lawyer call: The deal's done.

September 2
Pedowitz calls to congratulate me. One problem: I have no idea how to update the show. As much as I liked the first TV series, it clearly was not a success. But why?

September 7
Still don't know what I'm going to do. But surely Kolchak's not Kolchak unless he's still got McGavin's straw hat and seersucker suit.

September 8
Thinking some more. Darren McGavin was in his early 50s when he played the role. Who could play Kolchak today? Ted Danson? Ed O'Neill? John C. Reilly?

September 11
Still stuck. All I know is this: No way can Kolchak wear a straw hat and seersucker suit.

September 15
I have a great idea. Kolchak is a TV personality, a Bill O'Reilly type disgraced by his newfound interest in the supernatural. It'll be scary — and funny. I outline the whole thing.

September 22
Meet with Touchstone and tell them my idea. They think it's interesting. If only I could get Bill O'Reilly to play him...

October 6
Pitch Night Stalker to Steve McPherson, the new president of ABC, who's riding high on the network's new hits, Desperate Housewives and Lost. Expectations are high: I'm expected to deliver a new hit to maintain ABC's momentum. McPherson listens carefully — he seems smart, intense, but he doesn't say much. I finish my pitch, and he nods. No notes.

October 8
The network calls. McPherson likes it, except the Bill O'Reilly part. Which is fine. Except now...I have nothing.

October 9
McPherson is right — what was I thinking? Kolchak as a Bill O'Reilly type?! Forget delivering a hit show — how about no show?

October 10-11
Touchstone calls. My agent calls. They all wonder politely when I'll be ready. Any day now, I assure them.

October 13
I do an interview for a story that'll appear tomorrow in Daily Variety, announcing I'm doing a Night Stalker remake. The reporter asks how the new show will differ from the original. I say this version is not going to be ''religiously faithful.'' Now if only I knew what this version was...

October 14
I wake up inspired. That quote I gave to Variety has liberated my imagination. Forget nostalgia. The world has changed a lot in 30 years. Honor the show by bringing it new life.

October 15
Lots of ideas coming. Fast. The new Kolchak is still a newspaper reporter, but he should be younger, a guy with his future ahead of him. And there needs to be a logic to how he finds these stories every week and why they don't end up in the paper. Just as important, he needs a rich emotional life — some personal connection to these stories that drives him.

November 1
Repitch the idea to ABC. They really like it. So do I.

November 2
I start writing the script. One line of dialogue I particularly like: Kolchak has to enter his house, where a supernatural threat may well be waiting. He's a writer, so the only weapon he finds to defend himself is...a pen. ''Mightier than the sword,'' he says.

December 3
Turn in the script to Touchstone. Even Melissa likes it, and she's my toughest critic.

December 10
Touchstone likes it.

December 17
ABC likes it.

January 4, 2005
ABC executives return from vacation. Word comes that they have ordered two drama pilots. Night Stalker isn't one of them.

January 7
I get some notes from the network. Instead of Kolchak describing the strange phenomena he's encountering, we should actually see what he's talking about. They're smart notes, thank God. Nothing too difficult to address. So why haven't they picked up the show already?

January 10
I turn in my revised, revised, revised draft.

January 11
ABC orders more pilots. Not mine. Crap.

January 12
Still nothing. This is bad.

January 13
My agent calls. ABC is ordering the last of its drama pilots tomorrow.

January 14, 5 p.m.
The day's ending and I haven't heard a thing. Bad. Very bad.

January 14, 5:50 p.m.
I pack up my briefcase. Waiting for the phone to ring. It doesn't.

January 14, 5:52 p.m.
I walk toward the door. Slowly. The phone rings. Jana, my development exec, picks up. It's my agent, who says a call is coming from the network. While he's talking, the other line rings. I pick it up, and two high-ranking ABC executives say ''Congratulations!'' They're ordering the pilot.

January 18
With the pilot greenlit, I start work with my producer, Michelle MacLaren, and director, Dan Sackheim. We've collaborated before, so there's an instant shorthand, which is going to come in handy. In the next six weeks, we have to hire all the creative personnel — from director of photography to property master to costume designer — and come up with a budget Touchstone will accept.

January 25
We have a casting ''concept meeting'' with ABC and Touchstone. A lot of interesting names are mentioned, although none seem like good choices for Kolchak or the new lead character I've invented, a reporter named Perri Reed. There is one actress I'd love to work with, Gabrielle Union. The network has been high on her for some time, and I can see why. She's beautiful, intelligent, and quick-witted — an essential combination when you're looking for someone who can believably play a newspaper reporter. But word is she's only interested in sitcoms.

February 10
Casting has been going on for three weeks, and we've seen close to 100 actors for Kolchak and Reed. There are some fine candidates, but none of them seem like the right choice.

February 11
We are supposed to bring our top choices for the lead characters to a meeting with McPherson. We stall.

February 14
Surprise. Somehow, someone got a copy of the script to Gabrielle Union — and she likes it. We ask for a meeting as soon as possible.

February 16
Meet with Gabrielle Union. We are working out of shabby production offices near the Burbank airport that no one can ever find, but she's on time. We talk for nearly an hour. And when she leaves the room, I have no doubt who I want to play Reed.

February 18
Bad news. Several other shows are making offers to Gabrielle — mostly sitcoms.

February 22
Hallelujah! After a week of back-and-forth, the deal with Gabrielle closes. But who will play Kolchak? We have less than two weeks to find our man.

February 25
Ten days before filming. I have to find a Kolchak. I review my old casting notes — listing virtually every working leading man of a certain age in Hollywood. They're either actors we've read and passed on, actors who've passed on us, actors who aren't available, or actors who aren't interested in doing TV. Under this last category, I see the name Stuart Townsend. I've liked his work for some time, and I remember how good he was as Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Townsend and I share the same agency. I call to find out whether there is any chance he'd consider TV. As it turns out, he has actually read a few pilot scripts this season, but he turned down everything. I tell them to please send him my script and ask if he could read it right away.

February 25, 5:30 p.m.
Townsend, incredibly, reads my script right away. And he likes it.

February 26
From the moment Townsend walks into our meeting, we're comfortable with him. He seems grounded, genuine. We talk for an hour. He's never seen the original Night Stalker, but he likes The X-Files and, being an Irishman, professes a natural interest in the subject matter. My spirits are high until I drop the bomb: The pilot begins shooting in nine days. Townsend has other plans. Will he cancel them so he can sign up for a pilot that could take over his life for who-knows-how-many years? It's a huge decision. And he has 48 hours to decide.

March 1
Stuart's agent calls. He's going to do it.

March 4
Strangely, it's the Friday before filming and this is the first time I'm going to hear Stuart and Gabrielle read their lines. We meet in a conference room at a Ramada Inn so that we'll have peace and quiet. As it turns out, someone has goofed, and this ''conference room'' only has an accordion divider between it and the bar next door, where a huge sales conference is in progress. I can barely hear Stuart and Gabrielle read. It doesn't matter. They're great.

March 7
We start shooting.

March 24
We finish shooting.

April 2
First cut of the pilot. It's 60 minutes long. That's a problem. Running time has to be 43 minutes.

April 5
Getting the time out. Remember my favorite line from the script? ''Mightier than the sword.'' It's on the cutting-room floor.

May 4
We deliver the pilot to the network.

May 13
Meeting with Touchstone executives to discuss the proposed episodic budget for the series. If we don't get a pickup, the meeting will have been academic. The Touchstone guys are collegial, but meetings about money inevitably become tense. We're interrupted by a phone call — for me.

It's Steve McPherson and his team on a speakerphone. ''Congratulations!'' I feel relief — and disbelief. Night Stalker has been ordered. I think of all the other producers getting less happy calls from the network today. I feel bad for them but grateful to be one of the few still standing. ''I guess we have to finish this meeting,'' one of the execs says.

May 16
I arrive in New York City for the ''upfronts,'' the networks' annual sales presentations to Madison Avenue, trumpeting their new fall lineups. Inviting me here seems like a formality — there's nothing for me to do other than go to parties. In the afternoon, all the celebration is tempered by word that our time slot's been decided: Thursdays at 9 p.m. Unfortunately, our competition is CSI, the top-rated drama on television. That's what some people in this business call a ''death slot.''

But there is a bright side, even to this discouraging news: When you're up against CSI, no one expects you to win. All you have to do is make a showing, and I feel confident Night Stalker can do that. What's more, I feel our series will benefit from a slot where it doesn't have to be an instant hit, as The X-Files did when it aired on Fridays for its first three years.

May 17
ABC holds its presentation at Lincoln Center. After touting the network's successes of the past season, McPherson unveils the new one-hour dramas. My name comes up on the big screen: ''From Frank Spotnitz, executive producer of The X-Files.'' It doesn't feel real.

May 18
Flying home. After nearly a year of obsessing about Night Stalker, I actually get to make the show. I haven't seen the in-flight movie, but I skip it and take out my laptop. Have to figure out how to get that pen/sword line into episode 2.

Night Stalker: The Complete Series DVD

Wed, 17 May 2006 18:43:20 GMT

So far I've only seen one review for this DVD set so far but it's only slightly less than2 weeks until its release date (which I've pre-ordered it from Wal-Mart)

But right now here is the cover and summary of the DVD. I will post any positive professional (or bloggy) reviews I can find at a later date. But right now I'm really hating not having a DVD-Rom at the moment for one of the special features. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will post them over the internet. Not to mention it's gonna be WIDESCREEN, which I'm thrilled over by that, as all I have now are 6 Episodes on VHS which is totally grainy.

I have no idea which version will be used. I'm hoping for the version with the Red Snake
*~*~*~*~*

Carl Kolchak returns in a new series of spine-tingling adventures. Produced by the X-Files' Frank Spotnitz and based on the original '70s suspense drama, Night Stalker updates the chilling classic in a startling new way. "There's something stylishly scary at work here," says The New York Times.

Caught up in an obsessive hunt for his own wife's murderer, Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) discovers that his imagination is no match for the evil that truly lurks in the dark. Paired with skeptic Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union), television's favorite crime reporter will stop at nothing to uncover the supernatural side of the night. Featuring three unaired, unrated episodes to complete the series and a host of exclusive bonus material, this 2-disc DVD set is so good it's scary.
Special Features:
-4 Unaired Episodes
--The Making of Night Stalker
---Deleted Scenes
----Audio Commentaries
-----Script Scanner (DVD-Rom)

The Men of LXG

Thu, 11 May 2006 19:03:00 GMT

from about.com

The Men of LXG
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

It must be tough costarring in a Sean Connery movie. The supporting players of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen don’t even get their names on the poster. It’s just “Sean Connery in…” So, it’s time to give the other guys some props.

Stuart Townsend plays Dorian Gray, the immortal protected by a portrait that ages instead of him. Shane West is Tom Sawyer, now a 20-something gun expert. Tony Curran is The Invisible Man, the guy that’s invisible. Jason Flemyng is both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And Naseerudin Shah is Captain Nemo, the submarine captain and martial arts expert.

Who does the best Sean Connery impression?

Shane West: Tony Curran.
Stuart Townsend: Or Jason Flemyng. They would argue about that.
SW: You have you give it to Tony almost because of his background.
Tony Curran: That’s only after a couple bottles of Cianti.
Nasseerudin Shah: Peta Wilson does the best Sean Connery impression
TC: She’s very good at it. She’s got a voice that comes from the lower regions.
Jason Flemyng: The trick with doing Sean is it has to come from the lower regions.
NS: And you’ve got to do it when Sean’s not around. When we first started the film, the producers said there are two things you must never do when Mr. Connery’s on set. The first is the voice.
TC: And the second is the voice. So what did we do? We never shut up about it.

Will kids get all the literary references in this movie?

NS: I don’t really think it matters because what it evoked about these characters is good enough. They’re exciting enough in what they are within the framework of this script.
TC: I think it stands on its own.
NS: And if it can move the kids enough to go and read these books after, I think it will be a fantastic thing.
TC: Things like Romeo and Juliet with Baz Lurhmann, a lot of kids never had the chance with Shakespeare. You see that film put on in a way that’s very theatrical.
NS: Suddenly, this is comprehensible. This is William Shakespeare and I can understand what these characters are playing. So, you make a list of the books from which these characters are drawn, it’s a pretty awesome list of books. You can’t expect any child to have read those books. But hopefully after seeing the movie, he might say, ‘Hey, Dorian Gray’s a very interesting guy. I’d like to know more about him.”
ST: It’s a great, when you see the league together, it is such a bunch of new and interesting characters that you’ve never seen before.
SW: You’ve got Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who’s able to transform. You have the invisible man that I know younger audience is going to love. Dorian Gray who’s immortal and indestructible. You’ve got all these great characters.
ST: Also, because they’re literary characters, they have such a rich tradition already. It would be nice if audiences actually went out and started reading those books, younger audiences.

There were lots of rumors of conflict on the set. Did you witness anything?

ST: No. It was weird. I would hear this all the time.
SW: I think it’s kind of like a thing that’s gotten overdone. We didn’t witness much of that at all.
TC: It was between me and you. [points to Jason]
NS: I was the referee but the fight was a draw.
JF: I would be Sean and he would be someone else.
TC: If you want to make an omelet...
JF: …you’ve got to break eggs.
TC: There was a little bit of that.
NS: But it’s such a long schedule, it does get onto everybody’s nerves. This went on for six months, it was a bit long.
TC: I mean, Jason sometimes wouldn’t come out of his trailer but that was because they realized they had to break the door open because the Hyde costume, he couldn’t actually get out of his trailer. It wasn’t he was being a pretentious actor. He was just stuck.

So, Stuart, did you give Peta Wilson any advice for playing a vampire?

Stuart Townsend: That’s a good question. I don't think I did actually. I think we obviously talked about it, but I think I was so relieved that I wasn’t being a vampire. But I got to be an immortal which was kind of nice.

What did you think of her vampire?

ST: Oh, it was great. I actually didn’t see this moment when we were making it, but when I watched the film yesterday and she has that little moment when she says that she doesn’t need any help, she devours this guy. I just love the moment where she comes up and has blood everywhere. It was a really funny moment.

Shane, how were your moments in father/son scenes with Sean?
Shane West: It was great. Basically, in my head, I was just ‘Keep up.’ His style is so simple and just nails every spot, that I basically didn’t want to get eaten up in the scene.

What did you think about adding an American to the British cast?

SW: It’s a Hollywood thing. I’m sure some of the really serious fans might be kind of upset that in this European cast, we add something that’s American. But I think Tom comes out and kind of keeps a lot of these character together because they’re all so screwed up in their head and have their own issues going on that he kind of ends up being a younger Sean Connery in sense in trying to take care of the situation.

Naseeruddin, did you learn martial arts?

Naseeruddin Shah: Like any good acting job, you don’t have to be the person you're playing. You’ve just got to create the impression that you are this person, or you’re feeling this, or you’re able to kick six foot high and so on. It was impossible to learn anything of martial arts in the couple of months I had and I didn’t know it before but I did undergo a training which helped me to appear as if I’m an expert.

What was your training?

NS: A lot of stretching and finding the right posture at the end of a kick, which is what Yugi, who trained me.

Tony, what were the invisible man effects like? Were you wearing a green suit the whole time?

Tony Curran: I would have liked a green suit, Fred, I must admit, being a Celtic fan. But well done, Rangers. Football talk, sorry. I wore a blue suit which was all right. It sort of matched my eyes and matched my head because I was blue as well. And these things are very tight, these blue spandex outfits. He thinks he had a hard time as Hyde. I mean, this blue spandex outfit left nothing to the imagination and I guess my extremities were on show.

So Jason, how was it doing the Mr. Hyde transformation?

Jason Flemyng: All the prosthetic work was done by Steve Johnson who runs a company called Edge FX which I think are the most progressive and exciting prosthetic makeups at the moment in Hollywood. Basically, it’s a suit and a head prosthetic. It’s a seven hour makeup for the head and then an hour and a half to put the suit on. It was exciting to transform literally into Jekyll and Hyde, from Jason to the character was really exciting.

Shane, how did they do your invisible knife fight?

SW: That one was crazy. We did a take with a guy in a blue suit which they erased out, and we did that first. So I literally got to memorize the moves with this guy. Then we did one without me and just a knife going through which was for CGI. Then we did one where I completely acted out with myself basically, which was kind of difficult, but I think it turned out all right.

ST: I had to do a scene backwards. It’s a very quick clip where I steal Jekyll’s vial. Basically, they wanted to end the shot with the hand on the vial. And because they have to be so specific, it’s such a fast speed shot and it just stops exactly, I couldn’t do it normally. I had to walk into the room backwards and then go all the way back and pick up the vial backwards so that the camera could actually focus on that one. That was strange.

EDIT:

I really really love running this place even if 98% of the Stuart-Loving fandom doesn't know about it.

The Irish Tom Cruise? Just without the scientology!

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:47:17 GMT

the face of irish cinema
stuart townsend is destined for the stars, so just who is this bloke with the pretty face?

Stuart Townsend is a Hollywood heartthrob in the making. He may have made his mark in arthouse, but Townsend is now a contender for numerous sexy, big mainstream roles. From the sweet shy-guy in Shooting Fish to the murderous terrorist in Resurrection Day to the slimy photographer in Michael Winterbottom's ace Wonderland, Townsend's face has been popping up all over the place.

And that's just for starters. With lead roles in Michel Blanc's The Escort, Gerard Stembridge's About Adam, and Queen Of The Damned, the 2001 sequel to Interview With A Vampire, it's a face you'll have to get used to. But what many Irish cinemagoers have yet to realise is that Townsend is a Dubliner.

Not just a pretty face
Born on 15 December 1972 in Howth, his father Peter was a pro golfer, but that didn't deter Townsend from following an acting vocation. After studying drama at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and cutting his teeth in a series of student films, Townsend made his dAcbut in Gilles MacKinnon's Trojan Eddie in 1996 alongside Richard Harris, Stephen Rea and Brendan Gleeson.

Although his role was small, he attracted the attention of a London agent and subsequently landed a lead role as one of a pair of boffin scam artists in Stefan Schwartz's highly overrated 1997 Brit-com Shooting Fish. Although well received, thanks largely to its action-packed trailer, the movie itself was wooden and trite.

Nonetheless, Stuart moved on, scoring another key role, this time opposite Samantha Morton, in Carine Adler's stirring psychosexual drama Under The Skin. Townsend also picked up the role of Victor Kelly, the James Cagney obsessed leader of a violent 1970s loyalist group in Marc Evans' 1998 terrorist flick Resurrection Man, proving he wasn't just a pretty face, but a versatile actor who could do both sweet and menacing.

The Irish Tom Cruise?
He returned to the big screen in 1999 for Ben Hopkins' acclaimed escapist arthouse drama Simon Magus. But perhaps one of Stuart's most impressive film choices has been Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland, a bleak insider story on alienation, fear and deceit in modern London that brought favourable parallels to the work of such acclaimed British filmmakers as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

Despite a stint in the West End opposite Helen Mirren in Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending, Townsend's rapid rise to fame is consolidated with four more movies already in the bag and set to hit the screen. There's The Escort, co-written by director Michel Blanc and Hanif Kureishi and co-starring Daniel Auteil. There's About Adam, Gerard Stembridge's contemporary Irish satire in which Stuart plays a serial seducer.

Stuart's two biggest films to date will follow later next year with The Venice Project and Queen Of The Damned. The former sees him join an all-star cast including Lauren Bacall, Dennis Hopper and current girlfriend Parker Posey. The latter sees him take on the role of the vampire Lestat, last played by Tom Cruise in Interview With A Vampire. Stuart Townsend - the Irish Tom Cruise? God, no.

Queen of the Damned: Interview

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 21:22:34 GMT

Queen of the Damned: Interview
Review by By Clint Morris
Interview with Stuart Townsend
Starring in the forthcoming Queen of the Damned film.

In his previous films like About Adam and Shooting Fish, Stuart Townsend looked as far away from a creature of the night as anyone could - but somehow Director Michael Rymer pictured him as the Vampire Lestat.

"Michael Rymer saw me in a film called Resurrection Man in which I played a very dark, psychotic character who ends up being a drug addict, and my face ended up looking all Goth and white, and with a coat, it actually looked kinda vampiric," explains Townsend.

"He saw that, and he saw me in a show in London where I was this wandering guitar player on stage - and the rest is history."

And according to the Townsend, it was a blast. "It was great. There was lot's of great make-up. It was fantasy and it was nice imaginary work." And in much the same way Tom Cruise would have had to for Interview with the Vampire (the first book based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series), Townsend had to immerse himself in this world.

"I guess when I first started I went through all the reference points, the literature, there's so much material like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Bela Lugosi, and all the contemporary films like Interview. And then, the whole rock star thing, and then a lot of it's just sit there and read the script and then again, and again, and again.

"And then all the exterior stuff is like a mask that changes you. You can only do so much homework; and a lot of it just happens on the set. And with the sets you try to think what would my characters motivations be there, and that, but obviously none of that comes out in the dialogue."

The film also required Townsend to put on an additional disguise, that of a Marilyn Manson-esque rocker. "I preferred being the rock star. I looked at all the old greats; and I looked at live performances and for me, David Bowie was the performer, so I based my act on him.

"The big one was the concert, so I had three months to prepare for that, but it was always at the back of my mind. But when you go out there and it works, it just feels really right," he says. "It was weird actually because I have bags of CD's from jazz to blues to classical, 60's rock… One type of music I don't like is heavy metal. But I get why they wanted to use it."

What Townsend is inexorably going to get from the public is comparison to Tom Cruise, he having played the part in the 1994 predecessor. Big shoes to fill indeed! "Tiny shoes actually," Townsend laughs. "No, this is a very different film. I watched Interview but more for the point of seeing Anne Rice's world than watching Tom Cruise.

"All the journalists always go "did you feel this"? You know, and I never even thought about it. I guess this is contemporary and Interview was period. This is much more contemporary, tongue in cheek, fun, rock and roll - I mean you see it on screen. It doesn't take itself too seriously."

Townsend did read Anne Rice's work, but doesn't applaud it. "I read Interview. I wasn't a big fan of her work, but I love her themes. She bought a whole new side to it, before Vampires were like the bogeymen, and I think she bought a human element to it, struggling with eternity; I'm with vampires on that. And she bought the whole sexuality to it too."

Queen of the Damned was made in Australia, and for four months, Townsend had to live offshore - but to the tune of a starring role. "Normally if you're the lead, as I am this time, all your stuff's in there," says Townsend of an obvious advantage. But of his rising status in Hollywood, Townsend still remains coy: "As an actor I just hope I get better scripts. Nothing's changed. It's the same old same old. I don't get recognized, because I don't really look like Lestat. I've never seen The Crow, but people are saying I look like Brandon Lee. Funnily enough, my co-star Vincent Perez was 'The Crow'," says Townsend.

He's also filled with praise for the cast and crew of the film. "The crew especially were great. They're working in their hometown and they go home. The Melbourne crew were always ready to go home. And it was a hard shoot, but I got the weekends off which was great. Lena Olin, I barely got to know her, but she was totally amazing, a real pro.

"First day she came in and gave it all, and then a week later she left. She didn't really go out, she's a pro. She just worked. She's great." But most of the praise is for Aaliyah, the 22-year-old actress who died shortly after production.

"It's just so sad", says the stirring star. "She was incredible. She was hard working, always on set. There was none of that exterior bullshit that happens with stars. She just works, I mean she did music, was starting her own clothes line, doing videos. She was one of those people that really did her homework, and she'd come on set and she'd be really serious about what she's doing."

Queen of the Damned shot to the top of the box office in its first week in the United States, but Townsend's not getting cocky. "I just hope I keep getting good scripts. I've turned down so many bad ones. I don't want to play Lestat again though (in a sequel) I've done that. Although he'll be placed in different situations, I just don't feel I could do anything with it," he announces.

"One thing I was disappointed about with Queen was that we didn't see Lestat's repulsion towards Akasha (Aaliyah's character) and how he felt about all the bad things she was doing," he adds.

Next up, audiences will see an even different side to Townsend, in 24 Hours starring opposite Courtney Love, Kevin Bacon and his now-girlfriend, Charlize Theron. "It couldn't get more different. Queen of the Damned was a big production, but it felt like an independent movie because there was no pressure, people were cool and people were just there to do the job. And well the other one… I'll be sick of Hollywood. Yeah," says Townsend.

"This is a square-jaw straight-laced doctor. It's very different but not half as much fun to play." And while working with Courtney Love doesn't sound like it's been a pleasurable experience, Townsend got something out of his Hollywood experience. "Yeah, I met my girlfriend on set, so there was a light at the end of the tunnel."

CNN interview (About Adam)

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:40:34 GMT

Stuart Townsend: Out and 'About'
By Lori Blackman
CNN Showbiz Today Reports

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The new movie "About Adam" may star Kate Hudson, but it's really all about a new actor named Stuart Townsend, who plays Adam.

Townsend, 28, plays Adam as a Don Juan with a twist. He romances three sisters simultaneously, and still manages to come off slightly sympathetic. He's the kind of character who makes everyone around him feel better about themselves.

Townsend hails from Ireland, where the film was shot. Most of his experience is on the live stage; he's only been in a handful of films. But that's about to change, as he has two lead roles lined up to follow this one. His name might not be in the title of all of them, but it's still one you won't soon forget.

CNN: Your character in this film had sex with three sisters without any one of them knowing about the others, yet he still seems sympathetic to many. Do you consider Adam a little wicked?

Stuart Townsend: Yeah, he's a little wicked, but in a nice way. That's what I liked about the film, that people do come out and go, "I hate him, he's bad," and then another person says, "No, he makes everything work out OK in the end." I think it is whatever you feel.

The thing about Adam is that he's ambiguous ... you never know who the guy is. I think it also depends on if you have sisters. ... If you have two sisters or three sisters you might be a little scared of the whole thing, but if you don't you may go, "everything worked out, everyone was happy."

CNN: How did you approach (the character)?

Townsend: For me it was a chance to go home, and it wasn't much of a stretch because it was just me doing an Irish accent, playing me just having a laugh. And it's a comedy ... it's not "Hamlet" or anything like that.

CNN: (Let me) read a quote from the filmmaker: "As soon as we saw this character, we knew Stuart Townsend was Adam." Why?

Townsend: Because there's only about three Irish young guys out there at the moment, so there wasn't much choice -- they had to give it to me.

CNN: U.S. audiences are unfamiliar with you, but you have done extensive theater work in Ireland and England. When you get a project like this, where you carry a film, do you hesitate at all?

Townsend: No. I don't think I carry the film. I think it's more an ensemble really. It's not (Adam's) film, because you never even see his perspective. ... It's called "About Adam," but it's really about a family and the dynamics within that family.

CNN: What was the best part of making this?

Townsend: Being back home in Dublin in a very different context, working on a film. I left Ireland and hadn't been back in three years and being on location in a very familiar place was wonderful.

And also the actors. Having Kate (Hudson) and Frances (O'Conner) here, as an American and Australian, respectively ... nailing the whole Irish thing. That was great. And it's a comedy and it's fun. I mean it's great to do drama or a psychological thriller, but it's also nice to do a comedy and relax and enjoy it.

CNN: Do you have a preference between the stage and the screen?

Townsend: Not really, I love them both. I did a Tennessee Williams show last year in London with Helen Mirren, and that was the best experience working-wise that I have ever had. But I love film as well. It's just very different.

CNN: You have another movie coming out this year, correct?

Townsend: Yes, (Anne Rice's) "The Queen of the Damned. " (I play) the Lestat character, which has been a lot of fun. ... And now I am doing another movie called "24 Hours." It's ... sort of a psychological thriller with Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love and Charlize Theron. I've just been up in Vancouver with them for the last week and they are great people.

CNN: You are still young and I imagine have a long road ahead of you. What would you like to do with your career?

Townsend: Just tell good stories and do good work. I think the career thing and the actual creativity are sort of at odds with each other, but the creativity is the best thing. When you get on a project, who you are working with and what you are doing -- that is always the most fulfilling thing.

Sometimes, like with Lestat, there (were) certain things that I had problems with. But at the end of four months I was so glad that I did that project because so many amazing experiences happened. I think that's the best thing about having a career like this ... you get to meet amazing people and do extraordinary things. Going on stage, it's so different. You're earning 300 pounds a week, you work your ass off, and it's really fulfilling to tell a story to a live audience.

Star Chat - A conversation with Stuart Townsend

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:30:20 GMT

Tribute’s Bonnie Laufer talks to Stuart Townsend about working on the testosterone-filled set of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

B.L. What was it like getting into the skin of Dorian Gray?
S.T. It was a lot of fun. To be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect. It kind of all started with my costume. That jacket was just unbelievable. Once I got into it I thought, this is just fabulous, I am Dorian Gray! It was so flamboyant and a lot of fun.

B.L. Having been in Queen of the Damned I bet you were relieved that you didn’t have to wear fangs for this movie.
S.T. I really was, that is for sure. I’d had enough of the blood, no more for me!

B.L. Let Peta Wilson take care of that for LXG!
S.T. Exactly!

B.L. Did you give her any tips on being a vampire?
S.T. I really didn’t. I was just so happy not to have to play one and I was really glad that she didn’t have to bite me on the neck and I didn’t have to bite her, it was great.

B.L. There was so much testosterone on this set, what on earth was it like working with all of these guys?
S.T. It was a lot of fun actually. We had a lot of drinking competitions, table tennis competitions; yeah, we had a lot of things going on. We were all very competitive. They are all great guys and we are all very different people. We were all stuck in Prague, which was a total party town, so we had a lot of fun.

B.L. We didn’t see THOSE scenes in the movie; I guess they were cut out.
S.T. (laughing) Yeah, those are being saved for the DVD version.

B.L. You were in Prague for six months shooting this movie but I understand that you thought that was three months too long!
S.T. Yeah it was. The summer was amazing but by December we all wanted to get out of there. The big problem was that none of us knew when we were leaving. I think if they had said you’re going to finish December 5th [it would have been easier], but it didn’t work like that. So some days we got a little homesick.

B.L. It amazes me that Sean Connery is 73 years old and he is still electrifying when you see him on screen.
S.T. It’s unreal. The guy is so cool.

B.L. Can you recall your first meeting with him before you started shooting the film?
S.T I want to be Sean Connery when I grow up. He is amazing; he’s a big fellow who is larger than life. He is huge on screen and he’s also huge off screen. I met him as Dorian Gray so he said, "Hi," and later on I met him at a restaurant where we were all having dinner and I came up as myself and I said, "Hey Sean," like we were old mates. He looked at me like, who are you? So that was my first meeting with Sean.

B.L. I understand that for one of the key scenes in LXG you had the daunting task of shooting it backwards.
S.T. Yeah, we did have to some strange stuff like that. It’s a very quick insert of me—I don’t know if I should say this—but I’m taking this vial from Dr. Jekyll. Because the camera movement was so quick and it ends very specifically and quickly on the vial I had to do it backwards so that the camera could actually end on this frame. It was quite cool actually acting backwards.

B.L Sounds like a bit of a challenge?
S.T. Yeah, it’s not something you are normally asked to do so it was quite fun.

B.L. You recently spent some time in Canada—you shot Head in the Clouds in Montreal. What was that like for you and how did you enjoy working again with your sweetie Charlize Theron who co-stars in the movie?
S.T Yes, we worked together for about five minutes in Trapped; then we got kidnapped so we never got to see each other. Working on Head in the Clouds was lovely. Montreal was mostly work, I didn’t really get to see too much of the city, I just worked all the time. But the film itself was actually my best experience so far because it’s a beautiful story, I got to do it with Charlize and we just had a lot of fun working together. We worked with John Duigan who wrote and directed it and he’s just a really amazing man. I hope the film is great, you never know. We had great fun making it so when it comes out about a year from now I hope it turns into a really good film.

B.L You also have a film coming out with Sylvester Stallone called Shade.
S.T. Yes, it also stars Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx and Melanie Griffith. I have to tell you that I love this film. The director did a great cut and then it was taken away from him and they did this atrocious cut where we didn’t even know what the film was about. Since then I think that they realized that they have made a very big mistake with the film and they have given it back to the director who is in the editing room right now and I think that it will come out pretty soon. Hopefully we’ll see it in its original format because it’s a wicked film about card players and hustlers. I can’t say enough good things about it.

COUNTDOWN TO LXG: WEST AND TOWNSEND - RIVAL HEROES

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:21:24 GMT

COUNTDOWN TO LXG: WEST AND TOWNSEND - RIVAL HEROES
by Rob Worley

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" made its premiere June 30th at a press event. The movie was screened and the cast and crew were on hand to be interviewed by the press.

Twentieth Century Fox has provide Comics2Film/CBR News readers with this brief Q & A session with actors Shane West and Stuart Townsend who play Tom Sawyer and Dorian Gray in the movie.

Q: What are the characters that you guys play?

Shane West (SW): Tom Sawyer. Special Agent Sawyer.

Stuart Townsend (ST): I'm Dorian Gray.

Q: So we've got a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen here. What exactly makes these characters extraordinary?

ST: Well they each have different attributes. One's immortal. One's a vampire. One's an invisible man but more than that they also all have these dark pasts that they're trying to escape from or forget. Unfortunately those pasts catch up with them and they have to do this mission in order to sort of reconcile, in a way, with the past.

Q: How was The League brought together?

SW: Well, it was through M, right?

ST: [nods]

SW: ...actually.

ST: There's a character called M.

SW: The character called M brought these guys together because he knew how extraordinary these people were and if anybody was going to be able to save the world from The Fantom, it's probably these characters.

ST: And what's happening is there's all these...these events are happening in England and Germany, around the world...

SW: Around the world.

ST: ...that no one knows who's doing. So each country's blaming, you know...Germany is blaming Britain. Britain's blaming Germany and suddenly there's the threat of world war. These characters step in.

Q: When the audience goes to see this movie there going to notice that it's a period piece. It takes place in the 1800s. How do you think that the kids today are going to be able to relate to what's going on with the movie.

SW: I think they're going to very much enjoy it, really. In the beginning, you know, with the tank...there's not supposed to be...there is a car. They've added specific things that I think the kids are going to identify with anyway and I think they're just gonna like these characters.

ST: Yeah. There're certain elements they might miss, like the literary elements, but it's the kind of film where it doesn't matter. It's a fantastic film. You don't have to get everything and if you can actually learn something like, "Oh, you know Tom Sawyer was a literary character," and they go and read the book, that'll be great.

Q: Did you guys do any research to find out about your characters?

ST: Yeah. I read as much as I could and saw the old thirties or forties movie, but essentially you still have to stick to the story you're telling.

Q: What was it like working on a film of this scope? The sets are just amazing and it just looks so spectacular.

SW: You kind of...you know every day you'd walk to set and there was something new and something always amazing. We knew...I knew in the end that this was gonna look really good but we just didn't know how it was gonna come out.

ST: How the story would play...

SW: Yeah. Exactly, but the sets were insane and when we were done we just ended up with a very cool looking project.

ST: It's also like one of the few times where...I actually went to the cinema yesterday to see the move and I was really excited because I no idea really what it was going to be like. There was all these effects that I'd never seen.

SW: Right.

ST: There were these scenes that I wasn't in. Normally in a film you pretty much know, OK I did the film. I sort of know what it's gonna be. In this I didn't so it was almost like watching a film that I'm not in, and it was great!

Q: I know you guys had a little bit of a rivalry right from the start. Can you talk about that a little?

ST: It's interesting because Dorian immediately takes a dislike to this fella...

SW: ..uh huh...

ST: ...and we don't know why, you know. We find out.

SW: Yeah. We find out later and Tom, I guess, is just trying to...He's being a bit brash, I guess. He's an American, a silly American, and he's gonna try to fit in if he can, but he also knows that everybody's not necessarily in love with each other. So, he's not gonna really go out of his way to make anything too better and they can sense a thing right off, at the beginning, in Dorian's library, and I think they kind of probably enjoy each other's competition.

ST: It is tongue-in-cheek the whole movie anyway.

SW: Yeah. It's definitely tongue-in-cheek.

Q: But, Shane, your character gets to build a relationship with Sean's character (Allan Quatermain). Can you talk about that a little bit?

SW: You know Sean's character, Allan Quatermain, has lost a son and, I guess, buried many wives. This character as Tom really comes in as this guy who must have been very reminiscent of his son and he pretty much teaches him how to fire a gun in a better way than he's been doing. Yeah...it's just a very cool, classic storyline, that I actually got to deal with Sean Connery, which is kinda cool.

STUART TOWNSEND: VAMPIRES BE DAMNED

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:04:55 GMT

STUART TOWNSEND: VAMPIRES BE DAMNED

Ireland's latest heartthrob Stuart Townsend is about to take Hollywood by storm, what with his starring role as that ageing vampire Lestat in the Australian-shot Queen of the Damned and his new romance with the gorgeous Charlize Theron. In this conversation with PAUL FISCHER, Townsend fesses up on vampires, Aaliyah, boozing with the Aussies and his forthcoming trip to the Australian outback with Miss Theron.

Stuart Townsend is your classically good-looking Irishman, the kind of guy one can easily see as a vampire. Being Irish, he doesn't take himself too seriously. But then how can he, playing an eternal bloodsucker like Lestat. "I think for me it was the opportunity to fulfil all those teenage fantasies of being a rock star", Townsend laughingly concedes in his thick Irish brogue. After all, this version of Anne Rice's trilogy has Lestat 'reborn' as it were as a rock god. "A lot of people ask me, if it's intimidating because Tom Cruise was the star of the original and that kind of thing, but for me, it was just such a different story, it was rock and roll," and Townsend lapped it up.

An adaptation of two of Anne Rice's best-selling novels, both Queen of the Damned and the Vampire Lestat, Australian director Michael Rymer's take on the supernatural adventure follows the legendary vampire Lestat who reinvents himself as a rock star in the contemporary American music scene. His music wakes Akasha (the late Aaliyah), the queen of all vampires, whose malevolent power is so great that all the immortal vampires must stand against her if they hope to survive. As Lestat's music inspires Akasha to make him her king, Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), a young woman with a fascination for the dark side, falls in love with Lestat.

Townsend found the character compelling from the outset, he recalls. "I thought there was a sensitivity. He loved music and he was creative and he wasn't given a choice. He was just created, then he was left alone and then spends a couple of hundred years hiding in the shadows, wanting to enjoy all these powers and wanting to connect but literally emerging as this solitary bird. He despises that, even though he's monstrous at times but he kind of has to deal with that, along with existence."

The film does raise the question: Would we want to live forever? Townsend says no. "Because it would be a drag. Why do we all watch movies? Reality is quite mundane but we have great imaginations such that, you know, there are tons of beautiful things in this world, but I don't think I'd like to be around forever."

Not a likely prospect after his arduous shoot in the Australian city of Melbourne, he recalls laughingly. "It was great being in Melbourne. It was one of the best crews I've ever worked with. They were just my kind of people - Work hard, play hard." Townsend managed to drink a few of the Aussies under the table. "Bunch of pussies the Aussies", Townsend whispers laughingly. "They were pretty good, actually, because they've got a bit of Irish in them which makes 'em ok." Seriously though, "everyone just worked pretty hard and then the weekends, these guys, every night, the weekends, just partying away. It was just great because we were away from family and friends."

Lots of partying might have taken place, but Townsend's mood changes when then conversation inevitably turns to the late Aaliyah, the 22-year old singer who tragically in a plane crash last year, shortly after completing principal photography on Queen of the Damned. "Working with her was amazing," Townsend quietly recalls. "She was a really special person and, I mean amazing on set. We'd walk around and she created this fantastic character, but it was always a sense of fun, like the shoot was fun, and most shoots aren't, and with her, she's very serious about work but off set or in between takes, she was always a lot of fun."

Like everyone who worked on Queen of the Damned, Townsend was in a state of shock following her death. "I didn't know if I'd be able to meet the press and sitting here, doing this, but thankfully, her family want the public to see her performance because it's wild."

Townsend, who recently starred in the cute comedy About Adam, was born in a tiny town in Dublin, Hoath. He recalls wanting to be an actor because he just "loved film and I was bored. It was a very small village I grew up in and we were fed American culture. I mean, Australia's interesting because it's sort of wedged in between English and American culture and so was Ireland. A lot of people understood the cultural references and I felt more connected to Aussies than anywhere."

Townsend was born to pro golfer Peter Townsend and Lorna Townsend, a well-known former model who died in 1994. He first became interested in performing through his then-girlfriend, who was studying at the Gaiety School of Acting. Townsend also enrolled at the school and made his stage debut in the school's production of Tear Up the Black Sail. He made his professional stage debut in John Crowley's True Lines. In 1996, Townsend broke onto the screen with his role in Gillies MacKinnon's Trojan Eddie. Portraying a seductive young man who steals away a bride from her groom on their wedding day, Townsend was afforded the opportunity to work with the legendary Richard Harris. His exposure in the film led to his first starring role, in Shooting Fish (1997), a successful comedy which cast him as a sweet-natured con man.

That same year, Townsend had a supporting role in Carine Adler's acclaimed drama Under the Skin, engaging in emotional dysfunction and phone sex with the film's heroine. He also made a terrifying impression in the Irish crime thriller Resurrection Man, playing a psychotic killer. Townsend subsequently extended his talents to period drama, portraying an impoverished Jew in 19th century Silesia in Simon Magus (1998) and playing a dual role in the 16th- and 20th century-set The Venice Project (1999). In 1999, he was also visible in Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland, an ensemble drama that screened at that year's Cannes Film Festival.

With Queen of the Damned, Townsend's Irish star may be rising, and the actor just hopes "that better scripts come in my door. I mean, it's shocking, the material that one gets to read where you go: Come on, are you serious? But then sometimes a script comes in and you go: This is amazing and then it just goes straight over to someone else. I want this film to enable me to receive a script that has MY name on it. Because there's nothing worse than going: I can really do something with this and then they give it to some guy who might not have as much talent but he's big at the box office. I just hate that, you know?"

Townsend just finished shooting the crime thriller 24 Hours, where he fell in love with co-star Charlize Theron, whom he gleefully describes as both "tall and fearless." He is about to take her to Australia while he promotes Queen of the Damned, then "I'm going to grab a tent and go out to the Outback for a week." A daring move? "Nah, she's more adventurous than I am. After all, she's a farm girl, you know."

- Paul Fischer