Hello Friends,
Nick J. here with your weekly update from Australia. Various deadlines are on the horizon so I’ll be brief and let the season premiere speak for itself. (Feel free to repost this message elsewhere.)
Here are a couple of items:
1) What else? -- the Season 3 premiere. Hope you were as thrilled as we were and thanks again for your patience during the long wait. Great fun to see Challenger, Roxton and Marguerite in uniform, yes? And what about Veronica kicking butt? What other show gives you action, romance, dinosaurs, history and Winston Churchill (thanks to actor Linal Haft) in one hour?
2) David Orth. I noticed the understandable concern about Malone’s involvement in ep. 301. Sorry to bring up the business side of the show, but in case you didn’t see it, let me reprint the exact information I wrote in my first Treehouse News post of 19 Sept. ’01 (check out my other “Nick J” posts for more info).
“David’s case is a bit more complex. It has nothing at all to do with David Orth’s tax situation, but involves the business side of the series being an Australian production this year. In return for various tax incentive programs which make it possible for the show to be produced, we are limited in the number of non-Australian lead actors we can have over the course of a season. Thus, for the moment, Malone is scheduled to appear in seven episodes this season, beginning with episode #4. (However, Malone does have important roles to play in the first three episodes). Everyone involved with the production knows how important Malone is to the series, and we hope to have him back full time in the Treehouse as soon as possible.”
(Ugh! I think I need a tax-immigration-entertainment lawyer after that statement!)
Again, Malone is NOT leaving -- he will be in at least 7 full episodes this season with important roles in the others. The production is working (and pleading) with TPTB to increase the number of shows in which he can appear. For Season 4 and on (hey, think positive) we’re working on a permanent solution so that Malone can appear in the entire season. I will definitely keep you updated -- believe me, it’s a lot harder to write a great character like Malone out than to leave him in. (Plus, David, as you might expect, is a great guy. We really have a positive cast.)
That’s all for now but I’ll talk to you next week. The many people who make The Lost World happen wish you the very best.
(Can’t wait to see what you think about ep. 302 -- “The Travelers.” As I mentioned before, look for a TLW guest star favourite in a completely new role.)
Thanks,
Nick J.
Wednesday October 10, 2001
Dear Friends,
Nick J. here again with your weekly update from Australia. Busy with deadlines so I’ll keep it
short this week. (Feel free to repost this message elsewhere.)
1) Will start shooting episode 308 “Hollow Victory” tomorrow. Should be a good mix of
new people and a new world for our cast to visit – and they won’t even have to leave
the plateau.
2) Season 3 opener finished and shipped out last week. Our group in post production
does a great job of putting it all together on a really tight schedule. Many people involved
from picture and sound editors, music composers, ADR mixers, visual and sound FX, film lab
techs, office support staff, runners and more. You can see how the crew really adds up.
3) Veronica fans -- check out the blond jungle beauty with straight locks. It happens in ep. 307 -- what a change!
That’s all for now but I’ll talk to you next week. Hope we can begin the season (and the postings) on a positive note.
Let’s keep building on a good thing.
Nick J.
PS – Okay, you’ve got me hooked. I’ll admit that I have just as much of an ego as anyone. I
just saw the “Nick J. Fan Club” thread – I laughed hard several times (especially at the swipes)
but please don’t single me out for your kudos. If you ask me, I’m not even my favorite writer on
the show. There are many, many crew people who make it happen. I’m just a writing geek who
wants to spread the word of TLW and the hardest working crew in show business (at least it feels that way).
BTW – Laughed hard at the Nick Jacobs treasurer photo -- my kid brother!! If you mix that pix with
the dog’s head, you’ve got me spot on. Imagine a LW Trog (from Season 2) who wears glasses.
Don’t make these postings about me – it’s the show. I’m just a typing monkey!! Beware of the tall
poppy syndrome – an Aussie phrase which I’ll let you mull over.
Bye.
(Hello to the gals in Accounting!)
September 18
Hello Friends,
Nick Jacobs here. I’m the Assistant Story Editor for Season Three on The Lost World, on location
at the Movie World Studios in Australia. This is the first of a weekly series of postings to keep
everyone up to date on the latest Lost World production news. Please feel free to repost elsewhere.
Today - Wednesday, September 19 in Australia - we continued production on episode number 5,
which is being filmed on one of the biggest sets ever made for the series. I don’t want to give away
the surprise, but it’s a location that’s not on the Plateau, or even in the year 1922. Let the guessing begin!
To get things started, here are some answers to a few of the many questions that have been asked on this board:
1. Scheduled air dates. As of today, these are the scheduled air dates for the first eight episodes.
#1 “Out of the Blue” - Week of October 15
There definitely will be a full, 22-episode season.
2. Jennifer O’Dell’s and David Orth’s involvement. As you all know, because of the Telescene situation,
the third-season return of The Lost World was a true cliffhanger for all concerned, and some accommodations
had to be made to get the full season up and running at the last possible second.
In Jennifer’s case, the production had to make allowances for her to take part in other productions.
Thus, as has been reported on this board, Veronica will be appearing in 15 of 22 episodes. Fortunately,
there are big plans this season regarding her quest for her parents, so it will make sense for Veronica to
be off on her own journey during Jennifer’s two brief absences from the show.
David’s case is a bit more complex. It has nothing at all to do with David Orth’s tax situation, but involves the
business side of the series being an Australian production this year. In return for various tax incentive programs
which make it possible for the show to be produced, we are limited in the number of non-Australian lead actors
we can have over the course of a season. Thus, for the moment, Malone is scheduled to appear in seven episodes
this season, beginning with episode #4. (However, Malone does have important roles to play in the first three episodes).
Everyone involved with the production knows how important Malone is to the series, and we hope to have him back full time in
the Treehouse as soon as possible.
(Since we’re talking about Jennifer and David, I know someone’s going to want to ask about Michael Sinelnikoff and Summerlee.
All I can say right now is that Summerlee stories are being discussed in the writers’ room but nothing definite has been planned.)
3. I don’t have an answer yet on when the main website will be back up but we’re certainly eager to get it going again. More news as it happens.
That’s it for now. In the weeks ahead, I’ll post more updates, answer some of your questions, and introduce you to some of the fine
people working behind the camera. Then, when the new episodes start airing, I’ll even share some behind-the-scenes stories.
Until next time, on behalf of everyone on The Lost World, we wish to sincerely thank you for your kind support and passion for the
show. We have an ambitious season planned, and we think it will be the best one yet.
Stay tuned...
Nick Jacobs
Thursday Aug 23
Thursday Aug 16th
This is what Nick posted today at the official board
This is what Nick Jacobs posted at the offical message board:
#2 “The Travelers” - Week of October 22
#3 “Eye for an Eye” - Week of October 29
#4 “True Spirit” - Week of November 5
#5 “The Knife” - Week of November 12
#6 “Fire in the Sky” - Week of November 19
#7 “Dead Man’s Hill” - Week of November 26
#8 “Untitled” - Week of December 3
Bad news for Malone fans. It will appear that David Orth will not be in every episode in the new season. He posted this at the
official message board:
Hi Guys,
It`s David here. I`m up in Montreal visiting Micheal Sinelnikoff. He showed me this
message on the board and I wanted to let you folks know what is going on with the
character of Malone. I will be returning to Australia in mid September to shoot a number
of episodes of the show. There are a number of tax credit issues etc. that affect the
number of episodes I am allowed to participate in (being neither Australian or American),
but the producers have worked very hard to fit me in where they are allowed to do so.
Thank you all sincerely for your kind words and support on Malone`s behalf. We will all be
working very hard this year to (hopefully) bring you the most enjoyable season of LW yet!
Best Wishes,
David
We finally received official word that season 3 was a go! Season 3 should start
airing in the North American market in October. So far we've heard week of August 1st and week of August 15th.
So check you're local listing. Personally its such a great feeling that finally after months and months of
speculation, pretzel positions, chanting, and rumours that we finally got official confirmation. Of course Karen's tidbit
that season 3 was starting filming on Aug. 13 was pretty official for most of us. Thank you Karen for keeping us informed
on what your reliable sources say!
