and (10)
The Battlestar Galactica Fan club is honored to feature this interview with veteran actor Michael Swan, perhaps best known for his roles in daytime television but who also is a part of the Battlestar Galactica legend with his appearance in Galactica: 1980!
I always enjoy speaking to him & I'm sure that some of you folks who attended the Galacticruise back in '08 remember him visiting with us all at the pre-cruise dinner aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California...
On to the interview!
Shawn: Michael, what made you think of acting as a career?
I know your mother Alys was an actress but at the same time your family was very involved in the wine business...
Michael: Mom dropped me off at the Palo Alto children's theater when I was 9 years old.
I stayed with the PA children's theater until I was 14 & at some point in all those plays it just seemed that I was meant to be in the theater.
Shawn: Interestingly, you were a wine consultant in Westwood...what does being a wine consultant entail?
Michael: Because I had grown up partially in Sonoma County helping my Uncle Joe Swan in his vineyard & winery and later worked for Louis M. Martini, wine became a hobby and passion.
When I first came to L.A. to start a recurring role at MGM Steve Wallace hired me as his first wine consultant.
I was in charge of buying, displaying & recommending wine's to Wally's customers.
Shawn: Let's talk about the Illegitimate Theater...and improv company you worked with...and David Alexander, he was a mentor to you?
Michael: The Illegitimate theater was in the upstairs room at the Tangent in Palo Alto, founded by Philip Schultz & it was very much in the classic improv tradition and thriving at the same time as the Committee in San Francisco.
This was 1968 and Phil paid me ten bucks a show.
David was Elia Kazan's protege out of the remnant's of the group theater and taught a hybrid technique based on Kazan's group & Yiddish theater experiences.
David coached many well known actors, most notably Jack Lemmon, who consulted with David well into the late Seventies.
He provided me with indispensable rehearsal tools.
Shawn: At some point the floodgates opened and you went on to literally a hundred different shows...such as "Brock" with Jack Palance & "Medical Center" with Chad Everett...when did you realize that your star was rising?
Michael: I worked at MGM recurring in "Medical Center" & "Bronk" (with Jack Palance) and just considered myself very lucky to be a working actor.
That has never changed.
Word of mouth between casting directors brought me to different shows at all the studios & TV Production companies of the day.
Shawn: Among all that television you did this Sci-Fi thing...this show called "Battlestar Galactica"....actually "Galactica: 1980"...where you played a character called Collins...actually Deputy Collins in "The Super Scouts"...anything that leaps out about that role?
Of course, with all the roles that you've done I'm sure it can be a blur...
Michael: One of my acting coach clients at the the time was Robyn Douglas & I remember much more about helping her than I do about the role of Collins!
Shawn: Let's talk soaps...at least two BSG original cast members...Richard Hatch & Jack Stauffer got their starts working in daytime TV...you played Duncan McKechie on "As The World Turns" for what...nearly 10 years?
Michael: I played Duncan for 9 years & 8 months...but this was after 17 years in prime time
Shawn: Then a turn on "The Bold And The Beautiful"...what about that?
Michael: I met two of my favorite all time people, Darlene Conley & Bobbie Eakes.
Darlene is no longer with us but I see Bobbie and her husband David Steen several times a year.
Shawn: You also do a lot of commercial & voice over work too...how is that playing out for you?
Michael: Nice to be working!
Shawn: Current projects?...anything you have a particular yen to do? Be it theater, TV or film?
Michael: I currently announce "We're Alive!" which is a zombiepodcast & can be seen in the recently released "Piranhaconda" on SYFY & on Charlie Sheen's "Anger Management" episode 5.
Also in the soon to be released "I Love Your Moves" playing a famous Russian ballroom dancing champ.
Shawn: I'm gonna hit you with the question I always pose...this is the advice section...what would you tell someone trying to break into show business...what's your advice on making their way in?
Michael: To quote Stanisavsky, love the art in yourself...not yourself in the art...
|
Creative fan made clip - Classic BSG.
Apollo Launches his Vioer after Starbuck and Boomer, then something strange happens. Dig The "Turbo" Button lol
Richard I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this as well. Looks like the Outer Limits or Twilight Zone hit you and the Galactica buddy. Anyway Shawn and I thought it would be great to post it for a funny.
During the run of Caprica the SyFy Channel started to map out Blood and Chrome...at the time they were considering 9 or 10 webisodes at about 10 minutes apiece filmed on greenscreen.
Doesn't sound very satisfying does it?
Then came the end of Caprica...and new thinking was put forward to instead make this...first a movie pilot...and of course as the formula goes then on to a series format.
Well, news has come that they are considering switching back to the original concept of having those 10 minute webisodes, which I for one think is a terrible idea...webisodes are merely meant to enhance a regulary televised show, not BE the show!
Please read here:
Airlock Alpha as well as
Really bad idea.
But there is something you can do about it...YOU can make your opinions on this be known in a big way.
Starting today, I want to ask you all to send two...2...count 'em....two letters every Saturday to a couple of gentlemen who have a LOT to do with this show.
First is:
Dave Howe
President
NBC Universal-SyFi Channel
30 Rockefeller Plaza 21st Floor
New York, NY 10112
The next:
Mark Stern
President Original Programming
NBC Universal-SyFy Channel
100 Universal City Plaza
Bldg 1400 14th Floor
Universal City, CA 91608
We are talking two stamps a week on this is all!
On the front of the envelope (very important) write: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME TELEVISED NOT WEBISODED!
Be nice, be polite....but be to the point.
Photocopy duplicate letters if you like to send...but just say one thing & one thing only...that YOU want to see Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome on TELEVISION where it's meant to be.
Actual episodes...not 10 minute extened soundbites.
You are the consumer...make no mistake, YOU tell the networks what to air by your viewing habits, not the other way around...and this gives you the opportunity to say it directly.
Snail mail is much more effective in a case like this...email can be deleted with the touch of a finger...you can't delete bags & bags of mail coming in every day.
At last count we have 828 members on the site with well over 500 on the CDF...lemme do some math....oh that's 2600 pieces of mal in one day! (well, approxmiately!).
That means if you all can take the time and write that letter (hey it can be two lines...doesn't matter) pop it in the mail...they will get nearly 11.000 pieces of mail over the coming month.
Please believe we WILL be making more people aware of this...so I promise you a lot more mail than that will be on the way!
Draw the line & speak your mind!
So say we all!
Shawn O'Donnell
President
Battlestar Galactica Fan Club
Well, everyone...I know you are anticipating the advent of "Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome"...I will say that it is being filmed, it is being processed, it is being worked on.
Release date...up in the air...it WILL be either late this year or I suspect in early 2012.
However, there ARE little hints of it here & there which I want to share with you visually.
As you can see....Scyfy is quite willing to share out some "teasers" for everyone...here we have a shot from the set...so why not another one?
You will of course note the green screen!
Now something I wish to make a point on....there have been several renditions of Battlestar Galactica.
Simply put...different interpretations.
Not only the original series, but Galactica: 1980...Richard Hatch's "The Second Coming", the re-imagined series, Caprica & of course Blood & Chrome.
The commanality of everything is the basic of the story...man's fight for survival & ultimate redemption.
However you must also understand that Battlestar Galactica is in fact, the END of a story.
It is explored more fully with the newer material of course...Battlestar Galactica is the end, Caprica is the beginning & Blood & Chrome is the middle...but however you want to cut it...there is an ultimate end that must of course (happily) lead to a new beginning.
There is more of course....
Cylon's anyone...a modified version of the average Centurion....not quite as modern...but he..."it" will do.
A concept that was borrowed....well, they borrowed it as well....but, the evolution of a Cylon...or at least a 4D look!
Now this would be an example of six without any makeup at all...Tricia Helfer...if you are reading this...sorrrrrry!....I don't know if I'm looking at "Metropolis", "Blade Runner", "Terminator" or "The Borg" here....but I DO see where man's vanity can take him....and frankly speaking not to good ends....don't rely on those toasters so much!
I believe this is a young William Adama fighting for his proverbial life!...."Husker" does seem to be in a snowy environment...Hoth? Ice Planet Zero? Hollywood?...be the judge, but he don't look anything like Eddie Olmos...I think.
Well, no doubt Cylon's will abound...we just can't seem to get away from them...but then without them, what's the point of the story?
My friends..if we had no Cylon's we would have perhaps...Galactichicken?
Well...maybe not.
But we would surely have a less interesting show, that's for sure...or maybe a more interesting one....I really don't know, that is one interesting rubber chicken.
One thing I DO know is that all of YOU count as the fan's of this franchise, you make it live & breathe, you in FACT brought it back to life & MAKE it continue.
So please, all of you...keep up the fight, keep the faith!
So say we all!
Very Very Nice.
Hey folks,
I posted this in the forum's for you to dissect, inspect & retrospect...even introspect!
On this coming Saturday the 18th,"Young and beautiful in a hurry" will be having a release party at Molly Malone's in Los Angeles.
Who is..or what is.."Young and beautiful in a hurry"?
You are asking...I'm sure!
It's Brendan McCreary's band...brother of Bear! (Say that five times fast!).
Bear will be in attendance, Richard Hatch will be there and who knows who from the alumni of BSG...I'm going along with notable BSG Fan Club alumni's Herb Brunner, Cliff Gardner & Chris Loomis.
Ok, kids this is gonna rock...word to the wise, this shindig kicks off at 8pm...BUT sez Bear & sez Richard the place fills up in a hurry.
Be there or be a...Cylon?...anyway if you are in range of the Los Angeles area...you will know where to go!
Check out Molly Malone's at their website:
http://www.mollymalonesla.com/
We will be looking for you at the party...we are gonna rock!
Check out "Young and beautiful in a hurry"...just...google them!
So say we all!
Bear McCreary the Composer of the new Battlestar Galactica music will at the Dark Delicacies shop for a CD signing of the Socom 4 game (look it up if you don't know what it is) It's a pretty amazing first person shooter game; though I like to call em simulators because like Call of Duty, they are awesomely realistic in game play, story line, characters and graphics.
Great music for this game. From what I've read closely follows his awesome delivery and way of using multi-cultural instruments as with BSG that immerses you completely. Should be great to meet him.
