Preview for Ghosts in the Machine and new BTS clip

SyFy has a new behind-the-scenes clip with the cast & creators talking about the holoband and the virtual reality aspect of the show.

In the clip: Mark Stern, David Eick, Esai Morales, Alessandra Torresani, Magda Apanowicz, Eric Stoltz



The synopsis for episode 1x08, "Ghosts in the Machine," reads: "Daniel Graystone engages in a dangerous game to draw out his daughter's avatar." Not sure if they decided to rename it to "Ghost in the Machine" or if it's just a typo, so I'm leaving the old title.

Here is the teaser:

Interview with Ron Moore and Alessandra Torresani (Madrid)

This just in (with big thanks to Dids for the link):

(SPOILER warning for the second question, concerning the evolution of the Cylons and Zoe in particular, and watch out for possible Willie Adama spoilers after the clip.)



In case you haven't caught this on Twitter, Ron Moore also addressed the issue of Willie Adama's eyes being the wrong colour and sort of implied if not said that it will be explained on the show. Hit the link above for clarification if you've missed all the Willie/Evelyn speculation in the last couple of months.

For more tidbits from the Madrid event, read Dids' post here.

Caprica premieres in Spain on April 5 and if you're in the U.S./Canada, don't forget to tune in for the new episode, "The Imperfections of Memory," tonight at 9/8c on SyFy.

Cast & creators at the Paley Center and Toronto Comic Con

The guest list for the Caprica preview screening and discussion at the Paley Center (March 17) has been updated to include Esai Morales (who has also confirmed this on his Facebook page) and Mark Stern.

Also, Magda Apanowicz, Luciana Carro and Battlestar's Kandyse McClure and Mark Sheppard will appear at the Toronto Comic Con later this month (March 26 - 28), so if you're planning on going, keep an eye on this site.

Here is the updated announcement for the Paley Center next week:

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
6:30 pm ET
New York
In Person

Ronald D. Moore, Cocreator and Executive Producer
David Eick, Executive Producer
Esai Morales, "Joseph Adama"
Alessandra Torresani, "Zoe Graystone"
Magda Apanowicz, "Lacy Rand"
Sasha Roiz, "Sam Adama"
Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Development, Syfy and Co-Head of Content, Universal Cable Productions
Others to be announced.

Syfy’s new Battlestar Galactica prequel—more futuristic family saga than space opera—is a provocative, superbly crafted drama that, like its predecessor, tackles complex, highly resonant themes, such as religion, race, terrorism, technology, love, and the very nature of humanity. Like all quality drama, Caprica is not just emotionally and intellectually gripping, but also compels viewers to confront their own reality, even as they are swept up in this visually arresting, preapocalyptic world of sentient robots, avatars, and interplanetary travel.

The Paley Center will preview an upcoming episode from Caprica’s first season, followed by a discussion with members of the cast and creative team.

Alessandra Torresani and Ron Moore in Madrid

Alessandra Torresani and Ron Moore were in Madrid last night for the pilot screening and a Q&A session.

No reports yet, but you can see some pictures from the event at Multipleverses.com.

And, while you're there, check out this article: Caprica A Study in Complications and Human Nature

Bonus scene from Know Thy Enemy & promo for The Imperfections of Memory

SyFy has put up a bonus scene from last week's episode, "Know Thy Enemy," and a couple of previews for episode 1x07, "The Imperfections of Memory."

The deleted scene, with Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson and Alessandra Torresani:



The teaser for this Friday's ep:



A preview clip, with Alessandra Torresani and Alex Arsenault:



The synopsis:

Amanda’s life spirals out of control as she begins to see visions of her brother, who died years earlier. As a result, Clarice sees an opportunity to gain her trust and we learn a dark secret from Amanda’s past that could have major implications for her life with Daniel.

And some promotional stills:

 

  

 

Interviews: Esai Morales, Genevieve Buechner, James Marsters

First, a reminder: the new episode, introducing two new recurring characters -- Tomas Vergis (John Pyper-Ferguson) and Barnabas Greeley (James Marsters) airs tonight (Friday) at 9.

And another round of interviews today.

SCI FI Wire has the first part of a Q & A they did with Esai Morales:

The Caprica Times talked to Genevieve Buechner this week. The interview is here.

The Caprica Times: Have you seen Battlestar Galactica?
Genevieve Buechner: I have, but not the whole series. I haven’t finished watching it all yet. I have it on DVD. As strange at this might sound coming from someone who works in the film industry, I don’t watch TV. I don’t have any cable – only DVDs – but believe me, I have enough DVDs for a lifetime. Huge collection.
The Caprica Times: You play an important role as William Adama’s sister. Does that factor into how you view Tamara?
Genevieve Buechner: Well they both have very separate stories really. Before Tamara was killed she was probably just a regular big sister – you know, a bit of teasing, a bit of, ”I’m older than you so I can do this, and you cant!,” probably some nice heart to hearts, and she would stand up to anyone who would hurt him, no doubt. But Tamara’s story is about how shes stuck. She’s trying to find a way out. William’s story is more about him learning who he really is – learning that his nameis really Adama, not Adams. He’s connecting with other parts of his family while his father is mourning over Tamara and his wife.
The Caprica Times: How do you relate to your character?
Genevieve Buechner: She is actually very strong-willed. In the pilot you hear her telling her mother about how she stands up for her race. She was being made fun of, being called a dirt-eater, and she didn’t stand for it. When I was little I was bullied in school pretty badly and as I got older I realized that I had the right to stand up for myself, for who I am. We are similar in that way.

And a couple of new interviews with James Marsters have popped up online. Snippets and links below.

How much leverage did they give you to make Barnabas your own?
I feel like I climbed into a playpen with a bunch of energetic children who were just playing. I got down there and the word was I was going to be in a kilt, which I thought was fabulous. I was running around in kilts the first day. We took pictures of that, the pictures went upstairs and they said, “Nah. Not cool enough.” They started throwing other stuff on me to the point where by the time we were filming, it was just like dark jeans, dark T-shirt and just a LOT of dirt. That worked great. And then a really cool jacket on top. (...)

Do you consider him a villain?
Hell no! You can’t. I’ve never thought [that] of any of the characters I’ve played who were making mistakes or hurting people. We’re all villains! It depends on if you’re hurting people or not on that day. -- USA Weekend

iF: Had you wanted to play a terrorist before this?

MARSTERS: [laughs] Yeah. One of my favorite films is V FOR VENDETTA, which is not to say that my personal choice is to take up arms. I myself am in the middle of a nonviolent revolution, but I have to say, the only difference between me and my character on this show is that Barnabus has decided that it’s okay to hurt people for the revolution.

iF Isn’t Barnabus also sort of a religious fanatic?

MARSTERS: Yes. However, and follow me here, because I’m playing the role, I have to understand where he’s coming from. What I love both about BATTLESTAR and about CAPRICA is that there are lots of gray areas. There are people that are fighting for what they believe in, and they’re making mistakes anyway. But Barnabus, my character, is living in a world that’s like ancient Rome, where [in virtual reality] they’re having mass executions and mass orgies and feeding each other to animals, and it’s a society becoming unhinged with decadence. And just like I can understand people being swayed by Christianity in that background, I can understand Barnabus getting swayed, too, to really want there to be one God who has answers and who has rules, like “Don’t hit your sister,” “Don’t pee in the pool,” “Forgive each other,” almost like a parent helping us to stop hurting each other. And that’s very seductive, to not have the answers about how to fix the world but want them to be provided to you by this wise hand. The only difference is that I’m a Jeffersonian Christian, which [means] that you just pay attention to the New Testament, and you don’t care if Jesus walked on water, you just listen to the philosophy, the one that went down through Gandhi and then down to Dr. Martin Luther King. The major part of that is, I believe, you can change the world without hurting people. Barnabus has chosen something different. He is going to change the world by hurting people. That’s where he diverges.

iF: In playing Barnabus, do you as an actor engage in physical fight scenes, or does Barnabus delegate the hurting of people?

MARSTERS: He so far is delegating, but he is definitely a character who could mix it up. As we’re playing him, he’s a very dangerous character physically. But he hasn’t gotten into a fight scene yet. I can’t wait ‘til they let me do that, though – they’re going to be very happy with dailies that day [laughs]. - iF Magazine

Also, SpoilerTV has a full transcript of the conference call Marsters did the other day here.

James Marsters talks about Caprica

James Marsters talked to 411mania.com in recent days and also did a conference call yesterday to discuss his role in Caprica and a bunch of other things.

His first episode, "Know Thy Enemy," airs tomorrow and, from what he says (five episodes in total, the last one directed by Eric Stoltz), it seems that he will be appearing in all the remaining episodes in the first half of the season (Know Thy Enemy, The Imperfections of Memory, Ghosts in the Machine, End of Line) and the first one when the show returns (title and air date TBA).

Links and snippets below.

Al Norton: How did the role on Caprica come about?

James Marsters: This came about because of Jane (Espensen, executive producer of Caprica and former writer/executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer); she really wanted me on the show and she let everyone know that I wouldn't let them down if they let me come on. She really fought for me and I would go anywhere in the world if she called but I'm really glad she called me to come up there.

Al Norton: Had you watched Battlestar Galactica at all during its run?

James Marsters: I've seen some episodes. I didn't see the whole thing but every time I saw it it was amazing. Much more about human interaction and the potential that we all have to hurt each other. It was like, "who's going to be evil this week?"

Al Norton: What Galactica and Buffy have in common is they were both shows where critics and fans tried to convince people, "don't be put off by the genre, it's really just about people."

James Marsters: Yes, exactly. It's nice that the actors are following. These are just good stories. The whole point of good writing and good directing is to get human beings in very intense circumstances. My favorite director is Martin Scorsese because he notches up the tension in his characters so high. That's one thing that fantasy and science fiction can do so well, put people in extraordinary circumstances and then the audience gets to sit back and watch how they deal with it.

Al Norton: Tell me about Barnabas and what drew you to him.

James Marsters: He is a lot like me. He's a revolutionary fighting for a more just world, at least one he believes in. He's at war with the world, like me (laughing). My thing is that my revolution is peaceful whereas he has decided otherwise. He is so thinking that he is right that he is going to battle for it and he's hurting people in the name of philosophy.

Al Norton: And you're on for at least four episodes?

James Marsters: Yes. They've left it open. I've completed one arc and I'm hoping they weren't just being friendly when they told me it was going well and they were thinking about having me back. They didn't promise anything, of course, but they told me they would definitely like to see my face again. We'll see. -- 411mania.com

Since playing Spike, Marsters has played a series of mean, menacing guys, including his character Barnabus Greely, a diehard revolutionary on "Caprica," but he doesn't mind being typecast.

"I mean if I was playing Urkel, then I'd have a problem being typecast," he says. "But when you're typecast as the cool guy or the tough guy, or the potent character or the jerk who mixes things up, I think if you're going to get typecast, that's the one you'd want. I went in to audition for this 'Moonshot' [moon landing TV movie]. I love the Apollo program, I'm a science geek and stuff, so I was just so excited and would have taken any three roles, but the director's like, 'Oh no, I saw you in "Buffy" and I need you for Buzz Aldrin because he's the rock star.' -- Zap2It

We asked Marsters how he felt about playing a religious zealot, after years of playing bad boys, and he said:

I love anybody who has conviction enough to make mistakes, because only people who make mistakes get into enough trouble to be called drama... I feel like I understand why he's doing what he's doing: he's living in a time that is coming apart at the seams. In his world, people are committing mass sacrifice, and mass execution, and mass orgies, and people are shooting each other for fun. In Rome, it was the coliseum. In Caprica, it's the V-club. (...)

And Marsters says Caprica's portrayal of a society on the verge of collapse — whose residents don't know they're doomed to destruction within 50 years — is a clear parallel to our own reality. "Being that Caprica is scifi, you don't have to call it America. You can call it Caprica." You only have to watch Battlestar Galactica to know how screwed these people are. Meanwhile, in the here and now, you only have to listen to climatologists or experts on food supplies and clean water to know how precarious our situation is.

"In scifi and fantasy, we address those issues," Marsters says. "We just change the names."

Marsters says he's filmed five episodes of Caprica so far, culminating in episode nine or ten, and he's not sure whether his character will reappear in the first season. "They've left the door open" to bring his character back. -- Io9.com

- He says his favorite character on Caprica is Barnabas. His favorite actor is Eric Stoltz. James had a hard time not gushing in awe when in Eric's presence.

- Marsters says that Eric Stoltz directed the last episode Barnabas appears in. He says Eric was an awesome director, cracking just the right amount of jokes. He called Eric very brave and of having a 'free mind'.

- Regarding working with Caprica head writer Jane Espenson, James says, "I'm glad Jane worked with me on Buffy, because she fought to bring me on to Caprica". He also says that Jane is on the the top of the list of writers in Hollywood that he follows and enjoys working with.

- James is in five episodes this season. The writers have left the storyline open for Barnabas' return at a later date, although James hasn't heard anything about returning for a possible season two appearance. -- SpoilerTV

James on his character, Barnabus Greely:
James describes Barnabus as a religious warrior, a man who will do anything to change this corrupting world. And in trying to save the world, he is ‘not afraid to make mistakes;’ this James says with a heavy dose of admiration. When asked how he feels about playing such a zealous character, James says that he understands Barnabus’ motivation as he sees his world coming apart. In this fallen world, Barnabus is trying to save humanity and as such, he doesn’t fear going too far to do so. He will hurt and use people in order to make this right.

On Barnabus’ motivation:
Barnabus is driven by the loss of his father to the corruption of the surrounding world. Barnabus’ journey starts out very personal, as a quest to save his father and then expands to become very large in a quest to save the world in whole.

On Caprica and society:
Caprica reflects where we are in current society. James compares the world today to Rome and the rise of decadence. Before declining to get too morose, James admits that he finds the idea depressing.

Favorite episode of Caprica:
The episode the character is introduced in gives more for the actor to work with. James adds that the first episode is very intense for an actor because you don’t know what you’re doing well. -- Poptimal

SCI FI Wire has posted the preview clip from tomorrow's episode: