Red Faction: Origins - Assignment X: Exclusive Brian J. Smith Interview

Source: Assignment X [follow link for complete interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - ASSIGNMENT X: Exclusive Interview: RED FACTION: ORIGINS actor Brian J. Smith on his new Syfy tour of duty

The actor talks about the differences between this and STARGATE UNIVERSE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN
June 4th, 2011

Syfy’s new telefilm RED FACTION: ORIGINS, premiering Saturday at 9 PM, is a live-action film produced in partnership with videogame company THQ. It is set in the universe of THQ’s RED FACTION videogame franchise. The original game involved a group of miners on Mars rebelling against the oppressive government on Earth. ORIGINS takes place between the games RED FACTION: GUERILLA and RED FACTION: ARMAGEDDON, picking up twenty years after the original rebellion. Red Faction leader Alec Mason, played in the telefilm by Robert Patrick, has become seriously disillusioned with how things have worked out now that Mars is governing itself. However, his son Jake Mason, played by Brian J. Smith, is ready to challenge the new world order.

Smith, who just finished a different tour of duty as Lt. Matthew Scott on two seasons of STARGATE UNIVERSE talks about his work on RED FACTION: ORIGINS...



Danielle Nicolet and Brian J. Smith in Red Faction: Origins

... ASSIGNMENT X: Since you were already working for Syfy on SGU, did that factor into them bringing you in for RED FACTION: ORIGINS?

SMITH: Yeah. Erica McNair, who was sort of our point person at Syfy for SGU, knew my work. She was really familiar with what I did and I guess I didn’t piss too many people off [laughs] and I think they thought this would be not just a good role for me, but it would be a challenging one and this would be the kind of project that would be really fun to work with me on and for me to work with them on. It a great, great stretching experience, because there were things I got to do in this that I think I probably might have eventually gotten to do on STARGATE, but hadn’t really gotten to yet...



Brian J. Smith and Robert Patrick in Red Faction: Origins

Red Faction: Origins - Media Blvd. Magazine: Andrew Kreisberg Interview

Source: Media Blvd. Magazine [follow link for complete interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - MEDIA BLVD. MAGAZINE: Andrew Kreisberg Interview

By Kenn Gold
Friday, 03 June 2011

Andrew Kreisberg wrote the screenplay for this weekend’s Syfy movie, Red Faction: Origins, based on an idea from THQ, creators of the popular video game. The story takes place between the previous video game, Guerilla, and the upcoming Armageddon and features Jake Mason, the son of Alec Mason, and father of Darius Mason, the respective leads in the two games. Andrew is also currently the co-executive producer of Warehouse 13, one of the most popular series on Syfy, and previously served in a similar role on Fringe and The Vampire Diaries. Andrew recently took the time to sit down with MediaBlvd for an exclusive interview in which he discussed the upcoming movie, and the challenges of developing a new entry, albeit in a different medium, for an existing franchise...



Brian J. Smith and Robert Patrick from Red Faction: Origins

... MediaBlvd> Is it difficult to lay the origin out enough that anyone who hasn’t played the game will understand it for the movie?

Andrew> Yeah, we tried a bunch of different ways to condense the first three games into a prologue, and I think we came up with a fairly clever way to do it; basically just setting up the idea that there is a colony on Mars, that it is several hundred years in the future, and that there had previously been a conflict between the marauders and the colonists, and that they had all been controlled by the Earth Defense Force which had subsequently been driven off the planet. Now that is all information from the previous video games and our movie picks up 25 years after that. So we give the audience a primer on what happened before, which you will have to watch to see. But once you are into the movie, we make it pretty clear what is going on and you see that the world itself is just so exciting and pretty straight forward. So new people will instantly get pulled in...

Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.

Red Faction: Origins - Media Blvd. Magazine: Brian J. Smith Interview

Source: Media Blvd. Magazine [follow link for complete interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - MEDIA BLVD. MAGAZINE: Brian J. Smith Is The Lead in Red Faction: Origins

By Kenn Gold
Friday, 03 June 2011

Brian J. Smith got his big acting break coming into the Stargate franchise’s third installment, playing Lt. Matthew Scott, the young military officer who frequently found himself placed in dangerous off world situations on a weekly basis. After Stargate Universe, which recently aired it’s final episode, ended, Brian found himself in Bulgaria filming another entry into an existing franchise, this time with Red Faction: Origins, which airs on Syfy this week, and may potentially lead to an on-going series. Brian is Jake Mason, the lead of the film which is directed by Battlestar favorite, Michael Nankin and which also stars Kate Vernon and Robert Patrick. The movie is set in the universe of the Red Faction series of video games, and takes place after Guerilla and before the events of the upcoming Armageddon. Brian recently spoke in-depth to MediaBlvd about filming the movie, about how much he likes this new character, and also about his time as Scott on Stargate Universe...



Brian J. Smith from Red Faction: Origins

... MediaBlvd> How was it working with Robert Patrick? I assume you must have worked pretty closely together since you play father and son? And were you a fan of his at all before this?

Brian> Oh yeah, I grew up with that “bad-ass-arm-turning-into-a-sword” kind of guy. That’s how I knew him, but what I didn’t know was that he has a reputation for being one of the most interesting actors out there right now. I don’t know if you’ve seen him on The Sopranos or a lot of the films he’s done. But he’s quietly done some amazing performances. He’s just this really outstanding actor. He reminds me of Robert Carlye in a way, because he knows what he is doing so well he doesn’t have to do anything. He’ll just show up and be himself, and let whatever happens happen. We’re all acting our asses off and he is just sitting there breathing and is the best part of the scene without doing anything. He’s a nice guy and funny and has a really great energy about him. And he couldn’t have been nicer to me. There are some of these guys that you work with, like Lou Diamond Phillips or Robert Carlyle, and now Robert Patrick. These guys have every excuse to be butt holes on set, and they’re not. They are just incredibly nice and humble on set and are just grateful to be working, and are very generous to actors like me who really look up to them...



Brian J. Smith and Robert Patrick from Red Faction: Origins

Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.

Red Faction: Origins - Media Blvd. Magazine: Kate Vernon Returns to the Syfy Family

Source: Media Blvd. Magazine [follow link for complete interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - MEDIA BLVD. MAGAZINE: Kate Vernon Returns to the Syfy Family

By Kenn Gold
Friday, 03 June 2011

Kate Vernon captivated sci fi fans with her portrayal of the broken Ellen Tigh, the wife of number two, Col. Saul Tigh, on the re-imaged Battlestar Galactica. In the final episodes though, her star was set as an Icon in the sci-fi universe when it was revealed that Ellen was the hidden fifth Cylon, somewhat the leader of the previous race of human/robotic inhabitants of a distant Earth who gave birth to the human like Cylons who were the protagonists of the series. Now Kate returns to the Syfy family as a lead in this weekend’s movie, Red Faction: Origins, based on the popular video game series. Her character is another strong woman known as The Matriarch, and plays an important part in the movie’s major plot development. The film is being hailed as a potential backdoor pilot, which may spin off a new series for the cable network.

Kate recently spoke to MediaBlvd in an exclusive interview, both about the new role and her experiences filming in Bulgaria and working with director Michael Nankin, as well as the revelation of her true nature in Battlestar Galactica...



... MediaBlvd> Who does The Matriarch interact with? Are we going to see you on the screen with Brian J. Smith and Robert Patrick?

Kate> Yes, both of them. Robert Patrick is my ex-lover. So she had to give up him because he was not of royal blood. This woman is duty bound, so she gave up the love of her life. Then her sister defects and runs off with Robert Patrick’s character and has his son, who is Jake. And so it’s all very family tied, and it’s very connected. So I’ve got this deep betrayal because my sister got the man I loved. Then I have a son with someone else, and it’s not clear who, but it’s a son. And I needed a daughter. So I have these two huge wounds. But I have a lot of scenes with Brian J. Smith, who carries this movie. He has such a heavy heart, and he didn’t mean to bring these two warring communities together, but it evolved in the most beautiful way, and he emerges as this incredible hero. He does such an incredible job. And Robert Patrick was divine. He was so rich and so soulful. I worked with him as a hologram, so it’s a cold scene. The character might come off as cold because she is trying to protect and defend her people. But she is mostly seen as a hologram except for in the final scene with who plays my son.

Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.

Red Faction: Origins - Boston Herald: Syfy plays the game right with ‘Red Faction’

Source: Boston Herald [follow link for complete article]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - BOSTON HERALD: Syfy plays the game right with ‘Red Faction’

By Mark A. Perigard
Saturday, June 4, 2011

Syfy’s original films tend to be some of the silliest bits captured on the small screen, involving the likes of bloodthirsty rocks or flying sharks.

So the idea of the cable network partnering with video-game developer THQ to create a film based on one of its titles sounds about as appealing as a recipe for Cheez-It Jell-O Salad.

Instead of being one of the lamest infomercials ever made (the new “Red Faction: Armageddon” video game just happens to come out Tuesday), “Red Faction: Origins” tweaks a familiar plot with some snappy dialogue, a reasonably adept cast and the occasional surprise.



Danielle Nicolet and Brian J. Smith from Red Faction: Origins

... Part “Searchers,” with shuttles by “Space: 1999,” special effects courtesy of “Lost in Space,” sets lifted from “Doctor Who” and a tone still raspy from “Battlestar Galactica,” “Red Faction: Origins” is surprisingly light on violence for a production based on a third-person shooter video game. The terra-formed Mars looks like a mash of Gotham City and Afghanistan. The towns are named after famous sci-fi writers (Asimov, Bradbury). The future is gross, dirty and smelly, and teenagers still like to tune out adults with mp3 players.

One running gag hinges on Tess’ insecurity about not being native. “It’s not easy being Earth-born. I have to work twice as hard to prove to everybody that I belong,” she says.

“Red Faction: Origins” is light-years brighter than the typical Syfy Saturday dreck.

Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.

Red Faction: Origins - Kansas City Star: Kate Vernon comes in from the cold

Source: Kansas City Star [follow link for complete interview]



RED FACTION: ORIGINS - KANSAS CITY STAR: Kate Vernon comes in from the cold for Syfy movie 'Red Faction: Origins'

By RICK BENTLEY
Sat, Jun. 04, 2011

LOS ANGELES - The Syfy cable channel original film "Red Faction: Origins" takes place on Mars. Star Kate Vernon jokes she may have a guess at what life would be like there after filming the movie during the winter in Bulgaria.

"It was very, VERY cold," Vernon says.

Chilling experience aside, the stark location did help the actors get into the story of the Mason family, Martian colonists who must battle for survival and freedom during a war between two factions. Vernon plays the matriarch of the desert-dwelling marauders.

The film is based on a video game, but Vernon found the script to be deep.

"What drew me to my character was this conflict she has as a woman. She's a mother and she's the ruler of this matriarchal society. But, she bore a son and she had to give up her son because he was of no value to her..." Vernon says.



Red Faction: Origins premieres on Syfy Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 9/8C.

Cast includes Robert Patrick, Brian J. Smith, Tamzin Merchant, Kate Vernon, Devon Graye, Gareth David-Lloyd, Danielle Nicolet and Gordon Kennedy.

Red Faction: Origins - MSN TV: Tonight's Picks Jun 4 '11 - Syfy 9/8C

Source: MSN TV [follow link for complete column]



MSN TV: Tonight's Picks Saturday, June 4, 2011

... Red Faction: Origins

9:00 PM, SYFY

Based on the video game series, this new sci-fi tale stars Robert Patrick ("The Unit") as Alec Mason, who liberated Mars from the oppressive Earth Defense Force 25 years earlier. Thirteen years after the liberation, his enemies killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter. Now his son, Jake (Brian J. Smith), has discovered his sister (Tamzin Merchant) is still alive and sets out to rescue her, but an unpleasant surprise awaits.

Stargate Universe - Washington Examiner: GI Film Festival Honors Lou Diamond Phillips

Source: Washington Examiner [follow link for complete article]



WASHINGTON EXAMINER: GIFF to honor Lou Diamond Phillips

By: Robert Fulton 05/08/11

Festival recognizes actor for his work with the military

When it comes to veterans issues, actor Lou Diamond Phillips doesn't have to feign interest.

The son of a Navy vet and named for a legendary member of the Marine Corps, Phillips is quite familiar with issues that the members of the armed forces face. His commitment is reflected in visits to Veterans Affairs hospitals, public service announcements for the United Service Organizations, and trips to Capitol Hill.

Festival recognizes actor for his work with the military

When it comes to veterans issues, actor Lou Diamond Phillips doesn't have to feign interest.

The son of a Navy vet and named for a legendary member of the Marine Corps, Phillips is quite familiar with issues that the members of the armed forces face. His commitment is reflected in visits to Veterans Affairs hospitals, public service announcements for the United Service Organizations, and trips to Capitol Hill.

[On May 15, 20110 the GI Film Festival present[ed] its annual Spirit Award to Phillips.

"I'm incredibly flattered and humbled," said Phillips during a phone interview last week. He spoke from outside Santa Fe, where he's filming a pilot. "I have the highest regard for our troops, our people in uniform. I've been able to use my celebrity over the years to shine a spotlight on some deserving people and to speak up for charities. To get an award for that sort of thing, it's very flattering but it's not why you do what you do. You don't do it to get awards. You do it because it's the right thing to do."

From the GI Film Festival site:

The GI Film Festival also awarded actor Lou Diamond Phillips the festival’s GI Spirit Award, which is presented to an entertainer who embodies the spirit of an American GI in their creative and philanthropic work; and honored actor William Devane with The GI Choice Award, which is presented to an entertainer who has portrayed classic GI characters in film.

Red Faction: Origins - Canada East: What to See Saturday, June 4, 2011

Source: Canada East [follow link for complete column]



CANADA EAST: What to See Saturday, June 4, 2011

Red Faction: Origins is a made-for-SyFy sci-fi TV movie based on a first-person shooter video game - one of popular entertainment's more tiresome ideas - but this one is a step up from the usual giant-squid-vs.-man-eating-shark SyFy flick.

Robert Patrick, of Terminator II and late-seasons X-Files fame, plays Alec Mason. Brian J. Smith plays his son, Jake. Together, father and son are freedom fighters in a rebel group that calls itself the Red Faction; the baddies are represented by the Earth Defense Force, a.k.a. Big Government.

Who are you rooting for? Careful, now. They may be watching.

Red Faction: Origins was filmed in Vancouver, by the way, with several holdovers from Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe in the cast and crew. (Space, 10 AT)

Airs in the US on Syfy at 9/8C.

Doctor Who - Times Transcript: Matt Smith infuses new energy into Dr. Who

Source: Times Transcript [follow link for complete column]



TIMES TRANSCRIPT: Matt Smith infuses new energy into Dr. Who

Resurrected series a hit for the BBC

Published Saturday June 4th, 2011

The BBC seems younger, all of a sudden. The growing longevity of the resurrected Doctor Who is a success story for the network, even if, at the time, BBC suits said revisiting Doctor Who would never work.

As the new season has shown - tonight's episode is the sixth of the new Doctor Who's sixth season - every new Doctor infuses fresh energy and attitude into one of TV's longest-running serial dramas.

And Matt Smith, the youngest and arguably most eccentric of all the actors to have donned the cape and scarf of the universe's sole remaining Time Lord, has not just made Doctor Who his own.

He has earned the show some respect. Smith's recent BAFTA nomination, the U.K. equivalent of an Emmy, is the first acting nod for a serialized sci-fi show that can trace its origins back to 1963.

Smith has imbued the role with a buoyant wit, but there are also moments of genuine empathy and emotion there.

Look beneath the flashy exterior, and Doctor Who is no wafer-thin superhero tale. As the last new episode showed, it can also be a sobering meditation on the nature of existence and what it means to be human...

NOTE: In the US, Doctor Who airs on BBC America, Saturdays at 9/8C.

The Graham Norton Show - Entertainment Weekly: Tonight's Best TV Jun 4 '11 - BBC America 10/9C

Source: Entertainment Weekly [follow link for complete column]



ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tonight's Best TV Saturday, June 4, 2011

A Daily Guide To Notable Shows

... The Graham Norton Show

10-11 PM BBC AMERICA

Tonight the flamboyant Brit talk-show host (who isn't Piers Morgan) interviews Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and...Rob Lowe? Was Zach Galifianakis too furry for him?

NOTE: Also Doctor Who's Alex Kingston guests.

James Arness of 'Gunsmoke' fame dead at 88

Source: Yahoo News [follow link for complete obituary]



YAHOO NEWS: James Arness of 'Gunsmoke' fame dead at 88

By FRAZIER MOORE
Fri Jun 3, 2011

It takes a special kind of lawman to carry on for 20 years in the Wild West of TV.

Matt Dillon, the mythical marshal of Dodge City, stood tall — all 6 feet, 6 inches of him — on "Gunsmoke" from 1955 to 1975. He outlasted dozens of other Western heroes while making history on TV's longest-running dramatic series, a record that held until NBC's "Law & Order" tied the CBS Western's record in 2010.

Through all those gunslinging years, James Arness, who died Friday [June 3, 2011], kept Marshal Dillon righteous, peace-seeking and, most of all, believable...

... In an era when TV actors typically chewed the scenery, Arness had a credible, commanding presence by hardly uttering a word. A typical scene found a dozen cowboys riding up to the town jail intent on busting out a prisoner pal.

Dillon faces them all down.

"The first move anybody makes," he says, with a slight shake of his head, "I cut you in two."

Arness' defiant but rueful delivery is so understated, he makes Clint Eastwood seem like a loudmouth...

... Born James Aurness in Minneapolis (he dropped the "u" for show business reasons), he and younger brother Peter enjoyed a "real Huckleberry Finn existence," Arness once recalled.

Peter, who changed his last name to Graves, went on to star in the TV series "Mission Impossible." (He died in 2010.)

A self-described drifter, Arness left home at age 18, hopping freight trains and Caribbean-bound freighters. He entered Beloit College in Wisconsin, but was drafted into the Army in his 1942-43 freshman year. Wounded in the leg during the 1944 invasion at Anzio, Italy, Arness was hospitalized for a year and left with a slight limp. He returned to Minneapolis to work as a radio announcer and in small theater roles.

He moved to Hollywood in 1946 at a friend's suggestion. After a slow start in which he took jobs as a carpenter and salesman, a role in MGM's "Battleground" (1949) was a career turning point. Parts in more than 20 films followed, including "The Thing," "Hellgate" and "Hondo" with Wayne. Then came "Gunsmoke," which proved a durable hit and a multimillion-dollar boon for Arness, who owned part of the series...

Remembering "Gunsmoke" actor James Arness

Source: CBS You Tube channel [follow link to view video]

Actor James Arness, famous for playing the lawman Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke," died at the age of 88 in Brentwood, California. Bill Whitaker takes a look back at his life and career.