Vala Mal Doran/Claudia Black WOW Thread

[meredithchandler73]

Haven't seen The Shroud yet. Trying to stay unspoiled!

I posted in the Ben Browder Thunk Thread and thought I'd do the same here. I was a Farscape fan that tried out Stargate because of Claudia and Ben. (Though being the obsessive person that I am, I was going to watch the first eight seasons and not just start with the season Ben was going to be in.) In the process, I became a Stargate fan, too!

I haven't pulled out my Farscape DVDs in a while. (I've spent the last several months watching all of Stargate from the very beginning. And also trying to convert people into fans.) I pulled out "Look at the Princess part 1" and the scene between Aeryn and John in the Farscape module set my heart to flutter (as it always does). *sigh*

[ValaMalduran]

Thanks for the beautiful caps, FF!


Hey, meredithchandler73!

This is for you then:

(for size)

Spoiler:

A.

[Farscapefan]

Some more The Shroud screencaps:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

[meredithchandler73]

ValaMalduran....you ROCK!

The 2nd Farscape pic you posted - I always notice John's fingers lightly touching Aeryn's arm as he says, "You don't like that I like it?"

*swoons*



(I don't know where everyone gets all those cool smilies and thuds, but if I knew how to post them, there would be many here.)

[poundpuppy29]

hey all found this vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4Vns-uJ1o

enjoy!

oh meredithchandler73

I was going to watch the first eight seasons

that's what I am doing. I am in the middle of season 7 watched I have watched 1 through 6 and 8 and 9. I discovered Stargate in syndication I didn't watch Farscape "poundpuppy29 ducks to avoid flyings objects" but I plan to buy the DVDS when I have money because of all I have heard about it sounds like I would've liked it. I've seen some of it in syndication but I want to watch it in it's entirety.

[phaeton]

Congrats ValaCB on 4200

Claudia continues to shine in SG1, loved The Shroud

[Stef]

Haven't seen The Shroud yet. Trying to stay unspoiled!

I posted in the Ben Browder Thunk Thread and thought I'd do the same here. I was a Farscape fan that tried out Stargate because of Claudia and Ben. (Though being the obsessive person that I am, I was going to watch the first eight seasons and not just start with the season Ben was going to be in.) In the process, I became a Stargate fan, too!

I haven't pulled out my Farscape DVDs in a while. (I've spent the last several months watching all of Stargate from the very beginning. And also trying to convert people into fans.) I pulled out "Look at the Princess part 1" and the scene between Aeryn and John in the Farscape module set my heart to flutter (as it always does). *sigh*

Hey, you and me both. I started watching SG-1 for Ben and Claudia (smart move, capitalizing on the 'scapers who were lost without their show). Of course, I started with Avalon PT1...which was nicely set up because it started a whole new arc that I could actually follow. Unfortunately, after CB left, I lost track of the show and wondered away. Vala was really the key ingredient for me to watch SG-1, it just didn't feel the same without her. Then I got addicted to Atlantis for some reason....which followed the episode of "Uninvited." That's when I became addicted.

That scene from LATP Pt1 was great...one of the most memorable. Here's the little snippet of that scene:

Spoiler:

JOHN: Um, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What is that smell?
AERYN: Wh-what?
JOHN: It's your hair. It smells.
AERYN: Zhaan gave me something.
JOHN: All right. It smells good. I like it.
AERYN: Well, it's not for you to like.
JOHN: Oh. Then what's it for?
AERYN: For me to like.
JOHN: You don't like that... I like it?
AERYN: Personal indulgences can fracture a small crew.
JOHN: I would never tell them that you scented your hair.

AERYN: No!
JOHN: Aeryn, wait!
AERYN: I will not be a slave to your hormones!
JOHN: My hormones?! Hey, I was lips, you were tongue!
AERYN: Oh!
JOHN: Why did you do your hair? Huh?
AERYN: To see if you'd notice.
JOHN: Standing at attention.
AERYN: Well, I'll let Zhaan know that you find her oils pleasing.
JOHN: It's you I find pleasing.

I especially liked that last line from Crichton

-Stef

[ValaMalduran]

ValaMalduran....you ROCK!

The 2nd Farscape pic you posted - I always notice John's fingers lightly touching Aeryn's arm as he says, "You don't like that I like it?"

*swoons*



(I don't know where everyone gets all those cool smilies and thuds, but if I knew how to post them, there would be many here.)

Which is fighting dirty!
.
.
.
As is scenting your hair.


New pics for "Uninvited" up at the SGC Picture Archive.

Spoiler:

A.

[ValaMalduran]

Big thanks to Farscapefan for these 3 great interviews with Claudia.



WELCOME TO ISSUE #7 OF THE UNCHARTED TERRITORIES
THE OFFICIAL FARSCAPE FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER.

Hi,

This issue contains an interview with Claudia Black that was conducted at the Official Farscape Convention in Burbank this past Labor Day weekend. It deals extensively with "The Choice" as well as Aeryn's feelings for John now that she's back on Moya. And she lets us in on the "secret of the single tear."

The Editor
***************************************************************************
Editor: I watched John's death scene this morning in "Infinite Possibilities: Icarus Abides." Knew it had to come someday, but it was soooo sad.

Claudia (smiling sympathetically): Ahhhh.

Editor: Aeryn would have gone to Earth with him?

Claudia: Absolutely. I think her priorities have shifted. It's become increasingly clear to her she can't go back to the Peacekeepers. She's tested again toward the end of the season. I can't give anything
away, but she's constantly reminded of what she had and what she is. She's starting to relax and realize that what she's become -- while not being what she imagined would happen to her -- has made her a better person than if she'd stayed with the Peacekeepers.

Editor: And her feelings for John?

Claudia: It's true love. Which is a testament to the show and what they tried to create between Aeryn and John and what Ben and I have done with the characters. When she says, "I would have gone back to Earth with you," it means she's found something more powerful and more important than anything she's experienced before. I think it's a great arc for her and a spiritual journey for the audience to show that love is more important than anything.

Editor: I wanted to talk a bit about "The Choice." Aeryn's really been filled with conflict this season. As an actor, you look like you're been having a rich time.

Claudia (chuckling): Yeah. Crying all the time.

Editor (laughing): How did you make that one tear go down your cheek?

Claudia (laughing): I'm so glad you noticed that. "Good-bye mother" -- tear. Then, "Don't go anywhere, we'll see what we can do" -- tear.


Editor (laughing): And just out of one eye!

Claudia (laughing): The one that's to the camera.

Editor: Is it difficult to cry on cue?

Claudia: There's this whole vibe about crying when you're an actor. There are some schools that say you've got to find a trigger that makes you cry. Even if it's the word carrot. You've got to be able to get it down to something so simple that if you say to me, "Carrot," it's going to destroy me. The way I work -- and I think Gigi works the same way -- you have to find multiple triggers. Acting is like acquiring a toolbox. You have to know there are things at your disposal you can bring on set at
the last minute. There are people waiting and time is money. You may be in a difficult situation at the end of the day where you've got one take.

Editor: Is is easier to find the emotions of a character you've been playing for some time?

Claudia: Playing the same character in a series, there's enough emotional baggage and history that you will find the scene moving in and of itself. All the scenes I do with Ben are natural. We love the
characters and bring out emotion in each other. It's so romantic -- we're both romantics at heart. And when you're a romantic person, you want to bring a true love story to the screen.

Editor: Aeryn was much more reserved and closed off in the beginning.

Claudia: I really had to hold back the first season. I couldn't cry until it was on the page. And that's unusual. Normally an actor can make that choice when they bring to life what's on the page and inject part of their own personality into their character. For me, I couldn't put some parts of myself into Aeryn. In "Fractures," when Aeryn returns to Moya, after Talyn John's death, saying "Hello John," were two of the hardest words I've ever had to do in my career. There hadn't been much on air to prepare me for that. I had to find the right balance of Aeryn being strong and trying to be a Peacekeeper and also showing how tough it is for her in that moment.

Editor: Was that an occasion when working with Ben helped?

Claudia: He really carried that scene. He did such a beautiful job when he ran in like a teenager, like a puppy, and was so excited. (chuckling) He had that beautiful smile. I saw his take of the
scene and thought I was going to cry just looking at him. That's when it becomes hard to be a character so different from yourself and not allow any of your own natural emotions to come through.

Editor: But you did have to do the scene in front of him, yes?

Claudia: Yeah. I said to the director, Tony Tilse, I don't want to say those words. I was really shying away from it. I could tell from the look on his face he was thinking , "Okay, how do I get Claudia to
say those words?" (chuckling) Finally I had a go at it and I think I did three takes and the last one felt good. That was unusual for me. Normally Ben and I are ready and good to go the first time.

Editor: I wanted to know something about doing romantic scenes when actors enjoy working with each other and are supportive the way you and Ben seem to be. It seems that would open the door for small, intuitive natural gestures. I'm thinking of the fact that Aeryn and Ben are always putting their heads together. That motion struck me as very intimate.

Claudia: When we put our foreheads together?

Editor: Yeah, it's beautiful.

Claudia: The origin of that is actually from New Zealand. It's something in the Maori culture. In a traditional, respectful greeting of two heads of tribes or dignitaries, they join their foreheads together and breathe in and out of their noses. The idea is that your history and that of your ancestors is carried on your breath. So you are intermingling your pasts. It came about one day when Ben and I were tired and doing an intimate scene. We rested our heads together and I said to him, "This is such a comfortable, peaceful place to be, isn't it?" There's something
about putting your forehead up against somebody else's that is
really
powerful.

Editor: Now, we come to "The Choice." I wish I could run the episode and have you talk to me while we watch it.

Claudia: I can talk you through it. The original idea for the episode, where Aeryn is grieving for John, was to have flashbacks. I asked the writers if they could minimize the flashbacks. I wanted the story
that was happening in real time to be the main story.

Editor: It gave you lots to sink your teeth into.

Claudia: It's satisfying to have the challenge of carrying an episode. Justin Monjo wanted to do a quiet, contemplative episode based on Aeryn reacting to John's death and responding emotionally. Both Rowan (Woods, director) and Justin were terrific about letting me give input into the story. One of the things Rowan said about directing is, "You spot good work and you shoot it." He told me to do what I felt was right and he would find a way to capture it. A lot of the episode was still with not much going on. The last scene we filmed was in the corridor with Crais and Stark.

Editor: That was a riveting moment. I couldn't tell which way Aeryn was going to jump.

Claudia: It was like Ophelia from Hamlet. She goes crazy and completely loses her mind. I told Rowan I was really nervous about being able to really nail this scene. I don't prepare things. I find them in the moment. The part where I said to Stark, "That would be really nice . . . don't touch me."

Editor (chuckling): It was chilling!

Claudia (laughing): That madness she was going through. It was the sinister nature of being around men when all you want to do is conjure the one you love. The script was aiming for Aeryn to do something sexual to Crais -- you'll pardon the expression -- dry hump him. I understood what they wanted. But, I felt something a bit different. I said to Justin, I think Aeryn might say, "If I squeeze my eyes tightly closed enough, you could be someone else." He said, "Oh, that's good!" And Lani was fabulous with his reaction. He played it that Crais was affected by what Aeryn was doing to him, but didn't want to enjoy it too much. It was making Crais so nervous having physical contact with her when she was in such a terrible state. And when Aeryn finally says to him, "I want you to be someone else," it was the ultimate blow.

Editor: You were breaking his heart.

Claudia: Absolutely. Paul Goddard was great to me in that scene. He said, "Wow, I really love the choices you're making." And I said, "Really? Is it okay? Because I'm so scared about this scene." He told me it was terrific and I felt so relieved. There were also noises in the corridor during the take.

Editor: Do you work on regular soundstages?

Claudia: No, they're sort of like airline hangars. We hear the rain when it falls, the sun makes the tin roofs creak, planes overhead. We reloop about 98% of our dialogue.

Editor: You looked so totally burnt out, as if your soul had been removed.

Claudia: I'm always very professional and never have late nights when I'm working. But the day before we were about to start shooting, my agent took me to the premiere of “Moulin Rouge”. I said to my makeup person, "I'm going to go out tonight and I wanted to let you know." She said, "That's great! That'll be terrific for the makeup. We need you to look dark under the eyes." (chuckles)

Editor (chuckling): Well, that turned out well for both of you.

Claudia: We added a lot more, but I went up to the Director of Photography and told him it was deliberate and not to try and light it out. I'm supposed to look bad. Ironically, everyone kept saying, "This is the best you've ever looked with the hair and dress and eyes." (chuckling)

[continued in next post]

[ValaMalduran]

[continued]

Editor: It was a stunning look.

Claudia: Thank you. We had a really funny scene that didn't end up in the final cut. I was standing there and threw the bottle out the window for the first time. The second AD, Andy Playford, was standing out in the wings waiting to catch it. The second time, I had to throw it backwards, but there was a CGI rigging behind me and there was a space of about a foot. Michael, one of the grips, told Andy he wouldn't catch it. I asked the grip if it was a lack of confidence in my throw or Andy's catch. (laughing)

Editor (laughing) A no-win question if ever I've heard one.

Claudia: He said, "Kinda both." He bet ten dollars we wouldn't do it.

Editor (laughing): I'll bet you loved the challenge.

Claudia: I told him he was on! I was standing with my back to the camera and no one could see me talking with him. I walked out, threw the bottle behind me and didn't hear the clunk of it hitting the ground. I turned to Michael and said, "That will be ten dollars." (laughing)

Editor (laughing): You did it and Andy caught it!

Claudia: Yeah!

Editor: For such a serious episode, did any other funny things happen?

Claudia: There was one with Linda Cropper who played my mother. There was a green screen set up with a lot of cushions below because that room was a raised set with quite a drop. She was supposed to fling herself out the window when Crais came in. It was complicated because I had to flick the gun out of her hand at the right time without anticipating it and then catch her. I yelled out, flicked the gun and we both fell over the edge. (laughing)

Editor (laughing)

Claudia: We both sat up laughing.

Editor: She seems like a great guest to have had on the show. It isn't always easy coming on to a show with such a family-style cast.

Claudia: Linda Cropper is sensational and a fantastic woman. She was so good to me. And it's really important for me to be there for the guests. I make sure I'm available to them not only for their off
lines, but from the very beginning when they arrive. It's a great joy for me to meet all these people.

Editor: Your scenes with Linda were tremendously touching. The scene in "Relativity" where you touched the scar on her face.

Claudia: Aeryn as a child. This little girl reaching out for her mummy.

Editor: Speaking of mom going out the window, did Aeryn let her mother fall? It seemed ambiguous.

Claudia: Aeryn was the one who was holding her, but what the mother was really saying to her was "Let go of me emotionally. I'm used up." They finally have this connection and Aeryn realizes she has to let go of the pain and their history. The fact that her mother killed her father. All those things. Aeryn subconciously lets go of her hand which allows her mother to fall.

Editor: It wasn't a big gesture.

Claudia: No, it was just letting her slip away.

Editor: You've filmed four more episodes that we'll start seeing in January so I'm not sure if you can answer this, but I was wondering how Aeryn feels about John now?

Claudia: Ben and I went to Tony Tilse, the director of "Fractures" and told him what had happened with Ben and Aeryn and asked for his help in following this through. Tony said, "It's not something that's going to be on the page. We have to do it ourselves." We selected certain moments and shot them at forty frames. Times when Crichton and Aeryn both say simultaneously, "I have an idea." There would be a quick pause. We marked in slow motion the moments when Crichton and Aeryn are reminded of how sympatico they are. Tony, Ben and I discussed the scenes where we could trace the Aeryn/Crichton stuff. It was Tony's idea to have a prolonged shot of the back of Aeryn's head from Crichton's point of view. It was also his idea to have Aeryn overhear the message from the holographic Crichton. He added them to try and give their relationship an emotional fulfillment.

Editor: And the last four episodes?

Claudia: There's a very dramatic four-parter at the end of the season. There are greater adversities than the conflict between Crichton and Aeryn. Even though they would want each other to be their
universe, there are so many political things happening. The world of the Uncharted Territories has become so much more political than the Scarrans, the Charrids, Scorpius and the Peacekeepers on the command carrier. They have so many things to deal with and it involves galaxies. It takes the focus
off Crichton and Aeryn. They're focusing on how to save a larger group of people rather than just their own hearts.

***************************************************************************
Issue 7 of The Uncharted Territories. Produced by Creation
Entertainment. Publishers: Adam Malin/Gary Berman. Editor/Sharon
Delaney. FARSCAPE is trade mark and copyright © The Jim Henson
Company 2001.

[ValaMalduran]

FS Newsletter #2:

CLAUDIA BLACK: INTERNATIONAL VOCALIST

When you hear Claudia Black talking, she sounds slightly different from Aeryn Sun -- but then, Aeryn isn't from Earth . . .

They wrote Aeryn as an American, and it had all their shortening of words. I remember thinking about it and having a chat with some of the writers and producers. I said, "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to tweak some of the syntax slightly. I'm going to have to, because it doesn't fit with the voice I've chosen." The voice I use for Aeryn is a mixture. It's a melange of English, Australian, vaguely New Zealand, and American accents, but it's predominantly English and Australian. The voice I used for Shazza in "Pitch Black" isn't my voice at all either. The reason I auditioned for that film was because the casting director didn't believe I could do an Australian accent, so eventually, by the end of the audition, I was
talking like this amazingly caricatured creature from the Outback of
Australia. They were saying I'd got the part, but that the accent was not broad enough. I said they had to be joking!

My voice has broadened definitely. I was born with an absolute plum in my mouth. My grandmother taught us to talk "round and forwards," and all the children threatened to beat us up at camp in the holidays because we sounded like Poms [the British]. My cousins from England would come out every year and thought I sounded enormously Australian and I had a very funny accent. I have never fitted in either world -- in England they think I sound Australian, in Australia they think I sound quite English.

The beauty of science fiction is you get to establish the rules. As long as you stick to those rules, the audience will stay with you although there's an element of leniency when you can slightly shift the rules. I remember reading an article about the film "Event Horizon" saying that the actors had been asked to choose a futuristic flag for their nationality or for their country and that Sam Neill had chosen the aboriginal flag. I decided I wanted Aeryn to have a slightly international presence about her. I wanted to change the American '"shoot 'em up girl with the guns" idea -- my handle when I get on line with fans is Chick With Gun. I can't change every line in the script, but it was very American and I'm trying to anglicise it slightly so there's a way with the words that in an odd way gives it an international spirit. It gives an originality to it.

[ValaMalduran]

#1 of FS Newsletter. Plus a small quiz at the end of it

IN THE CHAIR:

CLAUDIA BLACK REVEALS SOME MORE HIDDEN SECRETS...

Meeting Ben Browder for the first time:

I was becoming enormously excited about the project and there was a
handsome young man sitting there in a gray trench coat. I've talked to Ben
about this later when we filled in the details. I remember him sitting
there and they introduced me to him. I wanted to go out to get a breath of
fresh air and learn my lines and I said, 'Do you mind if we go outside?'
and he said, 'No not at all, yes let's go out', and as we were walking down
the corridor to walk out of the building he started to run the lines from
the scene. And we started the line right and instantly we knew we had a
scene. He turned to me and he said, 'You know what? We don't need to work
this, let's just go straight in there and take this thing. It's perfect.
It's ready. Let's go.'

**

....on John Crichton:

Crichton comes to realise that the universe is not his friend. As with all
great stories, like The Wizard of Oz, we need to be reminded that Crichton
is far from home and I think that 'The Hidden Memory' does it beautifully.
He can joke around long enough, he can save the day as often as he likes,
but finally he is reduced to a blubbering mess in the Aurora Chair.

**

....on her transformation in 'DNA Mad Scientist'

I loved the opportunity to wear prosthetics. I love working with all that
goo. It was a very Doctor Seuss moment - I could extol the virtues of goo!
The response to the episode was controversial, to say the least. Aeryn was
so defensive of Pilot, and it was like opening someone out and looking
inside at the guts of the crew. The essential ingredient in that story was
that everyone wanted to go home. As the first season progresses we see that
those choices to go home become progressively harder. In 'The Flax', D'Argo
oscillates between choosing whether he goes home to find his son, or does
he save Aeryn and Crichton? And he makes a choice that pleases Aeryn a lot!

**

...on the introduction of Chiana

There is a continuity with some of the FARSCAPE characters, which I think
is terrific for the project. It was an experiment, and I'm glad and
delighted it's succeeded, and we pushed through and found a show. When you
look at shows like 'Lexx', and I've read a lot of press about it, it really
is 'tits and arse'. I think FARSCAPE always wanted to do something different.

There was a lot of pressure to put more sex into the show, and I was at the
centre of it. That's really why the character of Chiana came in. I felt it
was important that if my character was bringing a lot of violence into the
project, I didn't want to be carrying the burden of the sex as well. I've
never been one to allow my characters to have an unnecessarily plunging
neckline or be nude every second episode. Since they couldn't have Crichton
and Aeryn constantly coming together, I either would have been with
different characters every couple of episodes, or they would have contrived
a way for Aeryn to be naked. I absolutely put my foot down and in the end,
they said, 'Fine, but this show needs to have someone.'

Originally they were going to cast a younger girl as Aeryn, and they could
get that younger audience in if there was a character closer to their age
group. I think Chiana is a stroke of brilliance - we have an amoral
character in this day and age who represents what happens to women.
Especially in the Nineties, women are all business and little heart, that's
the problem. They've asked men for equal opportunities but they run the
risk of not having time to have families, and I think Chiana is really
interesting, watching this character blossom. Through sheer necessity she
does what she has to for survival, and as long as they play the amorality
of her, rather than endowing her with the responsibility to provide a
sexual element to the show, I think she's fascinating. Gigi's brilliant -
she's brought quite a character piece to the show.

**

...on being a 'Chick With Gun'...

I've been having a real crisis of conscience. I watch so little television
now. The more you appear on it, or the more you're asked to review it, the
less you watch. Everything that has been happening with the gun laws in
America and the crossover and the potential violence in Australia... we're
lucky. There's a cliché that Australia is a backwater, we're an
underdeveloped third world country. We're lucky in the sense that it takes
a while for everything that happens in America to manifest here, and if we
can stop and learn from America's mistakes, then we'll be alright.

In terms of responsibility, I know FARSCAPE is a science fiction show, but
every time a child of someone who's working on the project comes on the
set, I'm intensely conscious of our responsibility. 'You understand this
isn't a real gun?' 'Yes, but can I play with it anyway?' 'You understand
what this represents, what this gun can do if it's real?' 'Yes, but can I
play with it anyway? Give me your gun!'

I don't know if it's implanted at a very young age. I don't know where it
comes from. I know of families who have protected their children quite
specifically from things like violence on television, guns and toys of that
nature, and they still come home one day saying, 'Bang bang, you're dead!'
It's penetrated our society to the point where it's unavoidable. To what
extent can we take responsibility for these things?

**

.... and on the fans

I couldn't believe how appropriate 'Galaxy Quest' was: the extraordinary
intelligence of the script! Before the Burbank convention, Anthony Simcoe
asked if it was really like that, and I told him that it couldn't be more
accurate. The sheer brilliance of having characters who seem like nerdish
fans who are actually aliens from another planet. It endows all of this
with such significance and importance when it's the silliest thing
possible. We have a special relationship with our fans on FARSCAPE because
we can post with them on the internet, and discuss things with them.

*****************************************************************

QUICK QUIZ:

5 QUESTIONS ABOUT AERYN SUN... ANSWERS NEXT MONTH...

What does Aeryn compare to Fellip Nectar?

How old was Aeryn when she attended Prowler Attack School?

Whom does Aeryn name Talyn after?

In which episode does Aeryn first admit that she has feelings for Crichton?

In 'DNA Mad Scientist', where, according to Kornata, does Crichton have to
inject Aeryn?

[Aeryn/Vala]

New pics for "Uninvited" up at the SGC Picture Archive.

Spoiler:

A.

Thanks for the info VMD

Here are another two great pics:

Spoiler:

Oh and thanks VMD and FF for the interviews *hug*

[Stef]

Thanks for posting those interviews, ValaMalDuran and FarscapeFan Some very interesting stuff there. That scene with John running to greet Aeryn like a little puppy and her treating him so coldly was heartbreaking....gotta give credit to Claudia and Ben for doing such an amazing job there.

-Stef

[MB.Eddie]

I love Vala. She is an awesome character. So funny. She has been a great addition to Stargate imo. Claudia Black is very good at showing how much of a diverse character Vala can be emotionally.

I really hope she is in the 3rd series in some form