Transcript of the
Q&A of the ComiCon 2004. Sorry, it took a bit longer to write than was
intended but I tried to be as accurate as I could be.
by GitonCrais
After a delay of 15 minutes, due to the
people of the drawing-auction not wanting to leave the room, the guests came in
to take their places. From left to right: Lani, David, Virginia and (after a
small drumroll on the drums on stage) Bianca.
Bianca: My mother gave me a violin but I liked the drums more.
Virginia: I'm intelligent. I said there was a band playing... How are
ye?
(gives us a couple of phrases in an Australian accent and entices the room
to join in)
"G'day, Gizza a beer" and everyone joins in happily.
David: Shaw us yer tits...
this is a recording ritual.
Lani: I'm drier than a dead dingo's donger.
V:
They don't know what that means...
(some nod happily)
Question: Are any of these lines in the Miniseries?
Guests: They might be in there with subtitles.
Q:
You can't tell us anyway?
D:
Saw the trailer, it's really good.
L:
I honestly don't know. I haven't done Pilot yet.
Q:
How much did you interpret? How free were you in making changes in the
script?
V:
There are certain guidelines and you have to stay within parameters. Ben Browder
is a good one for ad libbing but he will say that in advance and do a take like
in the script and then one with the ad lib and let them chose.
Q:
What sort of preparation do you do for an audition or do producers let you know
what they want when you audition for a role?
L:
Actors can be chosen for being proficient. One of the actors might be chosen
for their quality.
V:
David wanted to be Zhaan.
L:
A Director might see a certain quality, which he likes in an actor and with
that he will go to the Producer.
V:
Like Anthony and Lani were both going for the role of D'Argo. And we all know
that Anthony got the role of D'Argo. But the producers had seen Lani in action
and said, "We want him for Crais!" and for his voice.
V:
It doesn't matter how good you are if your don't have that specific quality the
producer is looking for...
L:
To him the characters are already visually cast or when you walk through that
door..
B:
I know, I am now also on the other side...
L:
By God! You're alive!
B:
Producers go to bed with their film, they have a certain picture in their
mind... unless an actor walks in who changes their perspective.
Q:
Have Lani and David worked together before Farscape?
L/D (doing a double take): We worked on this grueling film on an
island. For two weeks. We had a holiday and soaked up the sun on Hamilton
Island.
We have also done corporate work together. Which is doing workshop scenarios
and play role-playing with Management and Middle management.
Q:
How hard is it to capture an accent? The Guardian, starring Simon Baker show
is set in Pittburgh.
L:
He is really good, so is Toni Collette... (all Aussies)
Q:
Could you do a Pittsburghese?
Yunz gan dahntahn? (Are you going downtown?)
Geh aht! (Get out!)
'n 'ah... (and that...)
The guests are trying and getting a bit muddled. Lani asks what the last one is
and when the answer is "and that" he remarks, "Really?"
Q:
Which scene was the best for you?
(Couldn't write down Bianca's answer down properly, sorry)
V:
Seeing Wayne in costume as Scorpius the first time he walked on set.
D:
Love working with Wayne.
D:
Not me, it's Captain Braca.
L:
Simply great moments? Day one! Walking on half a set of Moya and seeing the
whole crew. And in the end. My last take, when I'm standing on Talyn and said
"StarBurst". There was silence at the end of that scene and the whole
crew realized it was the end.
The Miniseries will wrap up the whole story and that will be a landmark in
storytelling.
Q:
Will there be a movie?
D:
We still haven't seen the contract...
L:
If they see that the rating is up for the miniseries, they might change their
minds.
V:
It will be shown in almost every country in the world.
Q:
Will the ratings also be from all over the world?
V/L: No, it has to be the rating in the States.
Q:
How is it on the work-front?
L:
I have no work at the moment. Work is pretty dry in Australia. Reality shows
are taking work away from actors. When I'm going back, I'm going to do Pilot
and then I don't know.
D:
After I've finished Peacekeeper War... I don't know.
V:
He's an alien of extraordinary abilities. (gesturing to David)
L:
I'm allowed to tell you this... I've been working on one of Anthony's projects,
called "Eddie's Place". It is in the SciFi-genre. He managed to get
70 or 80 people together for one whole week; lightning, costumes etc. It's a
Pilot and he tries to shoot it in the States.
V:
I'm an herbal therapist. I work with perfumes, you can read it all in the
leaflet and I am teaching meditation. Some people think I'm jumping the
bandwagon but I have been doing this for years. I don't have an agent and no
agent means no work. QVC loved my CD's and I will probably be on QVC. If Cathy
Ireland can be on for 60 minutes flogging lamps and making 70 million, then I
certainly can. You know what, if it works, I will be so filthy rich, richer
than any actor. It will be on May the 14th if not than in August.
EC can get her calculator out, then Lani can go on QVC and sell his artwork.
B:
I'm with a single Production Company, part German part French. We will be
sending one feature film to Cannes, "Devil's Highway". We will use an
American distribution Company. Probably Wallmart or the SciFi Channel to sell
the "Devil's Highway". This whole Farscape experience was a good
learning curve. I've got my work-papers and now I'm stuck in the country with
nothing to do. It is nice to be able to act in the ones I love and do
production. I'm legal now. Look out for Tomas Pictures, "The Niece".
V:
Lani has become a most important artist. Come and see his pictures at his
table.
L:
I'm putting canvasses and pictures together and will be selling the smaller
pictures. I hope to do an exhibition twelve months from now and I will need 25
large canvasses to do so. In Australia top notch actors in their 40s and 50s
drop out because there is no work. There are 200 younger actors each year
flooding the market for a country where 9 to 11 million people are of voting
age. They serve the number of people of about a population of New York.
V:
Even the top ten in Australia need to have a second job.
L:
It forces you to be creative. I like to do things I like to do, rather then do
1 I hate.
V:
Actors is Oz are not as revered as in other parts of the world. The general
opinion is that they are just trying to attract attention to themselves. I'm
generalizing here, we're not acting for the money.
Q:
David what are you doing?
D:
People in LA asked me what I was doing and I said Actor. They asked Crack
Whore? They didn't understand me.
L:
They asked me, which restaurant are you working for. Los Angeles is like the
Belly of the Beast, if you can't survive there, forget it.
Q:
And what about New Zealand and Lord Of The Rings? Won't that produce work?
B:
No, that will not change. It will be where the studios are.
V:
It will probably go to Czechoslovakia or Prague.
L:
When they filmed in New Zealand and Australia it was 49 cents to the US-Dollar
now it is 78 cents to the US-Dollar. "King Kong", which was shot in
New Zealand was probably the last picture. Czechoslovakia is cheaper.
B:
Germany and New Zealand are putting money back in the productions.
L:
It will work for Independent Films but not for big scale productions. The
Dollar is too high. When Farscape was shot it was 49 cents to the US-Dollar.
Q:
How are costumes in the Miniseries?
D:
They took some of my leathers in and gave me more facial hair, more hotter. (grins)
All rise in the face of Farscape. We went through 4 camera crews in one year.
Q:
Is ad lib allowed on the set?
V:
In Ben's case a lot of ad lib.
L:
It is all scripted for continuity.
B:
Ben Browder would ad lib.
L:
But he would let you know what he would ad lib.
Q:
Lani, How did you do Crais and Pilot?
L:
I would come in and do Crais and Pilot but Pilot was in higher registrars and
Crais' voice dropped a little, so I had to do Pilot first, especially if Crais'
lines asked for a lot of screaming.
Reads an excerpt from Bone To Be Wild (I believe that this was the scene, please
correct me if I was wrong)
PILOT (talking to Aeryn): You were a
Peacekeeper. You, better than any of us, might understand what's been done to
him. If Moya were told, perhaps she could solidify his trust in her... and us.
(It is strange how Lani's voice completely changes in pitch and is still
recognizably his. The people in the room applaud him for this.)
D:
One more question or Jean will kill us and I want to live.
Q:
A quick funny scene in Farscape?
L:
Seeing Anthony in his boxer shorts.
D:
Shooting Captain Braca with the crew cooperating.
L:
Seeing Rygel lying on the floor, smoking a cigarette after sex.
The guests group together for a group photo and then leave the stage.