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Dominion: Talking with Christopher Egan and Producer Vaun Wilmott

Recently, several writers and bloggers sat in on a conference call with Dominion star Christopher Egan (Alex) and creator/producer Vaun Wilmott to talk about the development of the series, the mythology of Legion (the movie that Dominion was based on), the interaction between characters, and lots of other angel-talk. Here are some of the highlights of that call:

How much of the mythology from Legion is going to be in the series? Is it completely going to be the same mythology or have you changed things?

Vaun Wilmott: It was definitely the starting – the jumping off point. But for the TV show it’s definitely expanded and changed and there’s all kinds of new stuff. It was – Legion was definitely kind of our foundation and then from there the show grew into its own thing with, you know, new rules, new terms, new angels, new – you know, new mythology, new mythology for the chosen one.

Then of course for the TV show, you know, a whole new setting, all new characters with just a couple of the characters from Legion moving into TV show, the baby growing up to be Alex, Michael, Gabriel, Jeep. But it’s definitely become its own thing in terms of the TV show, Dominion.

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Give us a walk-through as to what this world of Legion, now Dominion, is like 25 years later.

Christopher Egan: The world of Vega and this fortified city and the – you know – the land is desolate apart from these fortified cities.

Vaun: Yes, I think that – you know, in terms of what the world is like versus – you know, 25 years in the future, it’s got contemporary aspects, it’s got all the – you know, it’s definitely grounded. It’s definitely a big what if, you know, what if angels appeared in the sky? What if this actually happened what would life – or what could life be like? So it’s not an alternate reality.

It is very much based in what could have happened and Vega has a lot of, you know, giant casino hotels that could actually be perfect for housing people if need be. And we use all of that to basically create this new city, this new civilization, built a wall around it as Chris said to protect this from the angels. But it will definitely be a recognizable world in terms of things we know. But it will also have things, I think, that, you know, the what if aspect of the storytelling.

What about Alex’s rebellious nature? Talk about that a little bit.

Chris: Yes, well, I think – again, like what – in the interest – in the story is that hero’s journey that he takes to – you know, to discover himself, to discover who he is. And that’s sort of between being a man and the responsibility that’s laid on his shoulders to save mankind. It’s – from that beginning, you know, and the pitch of the story for me was so interesting and where that was going to go.

And I think, you know, we establish that in the pilot but then as the episodes come on it gets crazier and crazier and the relationships around him are redefined between Michael and Claire and really it’s about which path is he going to take as a man to realize and understand his calling in a sense upon his life.

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Vaun: You know, characters that either have, you know – something about their personality that fights against what’s being done to them or, you know, they just have had – you know, Alex’s journey has been a tough one. And so he’s had to take care of himself, he’s had to survive.

So that rebellious nature has actually kept him alive. But now he’s being asked to do something that he didn’t expect, that he didn’t ask for, it becomes a trick like – what is that rebellious nature going to do in terms of, you know, how he handles that destiny that he’s been given.

And I think from a character point of view that’s where all of the fun of the storytelling comes in. And we get to watch Alex go through really the thing that we all watch characters for, which is just growth and change. We want to see what they’re going to do.

And that’s what’s exciting for me about Alex’s character, about Chris’s character.

Can you talk a bit about the specific scene that inspired your pitch for continuing the film story for TV? And what’s ben the most surprising or challenging aspect  of bringing it to TV?

Vaun: Okay, on the first part for – that’s an easy one. For me when I saw the movie Legion I really – when I saw two brothers, Gabriel and Michael fighting over this baby and having very different perspectives on what should happen to that baby and what that baby means, that was it.

I mean I just immediately saw the series because I thought, you know, that baby grows up, 25 years later he’s a grown man, what’s happening to him now, what are the two archangels doing, what are they up to. And that’s where it began, that’s where I started building out the series.

And the one thing about that is that in series we don’t – I don’t track kind of Gabriel and Michael’s point of view in the movie Legion with – like in the series, it kind of became its own thing. But for me that was definitely the starting point for the series.

And in terms of the kind of what is the most surprising or kind of the most difficult thing, I got to say this has been one of those crazy projects that has been, like – just a blessing, you know, in terms of – it just came out of me.

You know, from the moment I started working on it and I wrote the initial script, I had this weird state that I went into that I ended up writing the original script in four days.

My experience at the network has been wonderful, like, from beginning – top to bottom, all the way through. It really has been, you know, getting Chris on board, getting the cast, the actors we did, filming – filming in Cape Town. It was just a crazy good experience.

So for me it was just a – one joy after another. And I think that the most – the really – it’s really just been a gigantic learning curve. I just – the amount that I’ve learned about storytelling, about show running, about managing a crew and a set and interacting, interfacing with the network and the studio, I mean it’s all just been a fantastic incredible learning experience. I learn every day.

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Alex and Michael seem to have a complicated relationship. How will we see that evolve throughout the season?

Chris: I’d like to think, you know, there’s a Star Wars element to this, the teacher, the student, and those roles that reverse, you know. It’s a great relationship and it is constantly getting redefined. Alex is constantly learning more about Michael,  and Michael is learning more about Alex.

So it’s – it grows. It’s constantly growing and as Alex is, you know, struggling with this responsibility and learning about the tattoos and learning about his destiny it’s – it gets tense with Michael and then, you know, it’s back on track and it’s this back and forth that’s – it’s been really wonderful.

And you know, really wonderful to play with Tom as well, the actor who plays Michael. It’s just been fantastic. He’s a great actor and – yes, it’s a great relationship.

Will the action primarily occur in Vega or will we be moving on to other cities as well?

Vaun: In the first season we’re very much based in Vega. I wanted to – it was important to kind of, like, establish that world, establish all the characters, establish – you know, Dominion kind of the series. But definitely in future seasons we’ll be expanding out to New Delphi.

We’ll learn what the camp is, the camp is a city that moves, which is very mysterious. We don’t really know much about it or who they are. So we will definitely explore the world and the world will grow out with, you know, each season as we go.

But for the first season it was kind of important to orient the audience I think in the world of Dominion and then Vega so we didn’t kind of overwhelm right up front. And so that was kind of – that’s definitely was the focus for the first season.

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What are your personal beliefs when it comes to angels? How did your personal or religious beliefs play into this?

Vaun: You know, it’s interesting, two things. One is the show is very much nondenominational. You know, I always intended it to actually not make a statement about religion. I really view the angels, Michael, Gabriel, and all the other angels as literary characters, storytelling characters, as interesting as – you know, super natural characters.

As interesting as vampires and werewolves and ghosts or anything else that we use that’s being used in genre right now.

So for me it was very much about just simplifying it, just seeing it as a literary creation. There’s a God and that God has angels and these angels are doing X, Y, and Z in this story. For me, I have my own personal faith but it really doesn’t – you know, it isn’t like I grew up fascinated by angels or, you know – or had that be a focus of my religion.

I definitely have my own personal faith but for me, this show is purely for entertainment, purely for storytelling purposes, and they don’t really intersect with my own personal beliefs other than the way that all storytelling is informed by what you believe in all ways, not just in your religious beliefs. You know, the themes you’re interested in, the things that attract you to characters of the story but for me, those two things are separate.

Chris: I have my own personal faith and I think really it’s about – there’s a greater good, you know. I’ve always been very fascinated with that outer world, you know – like with Kings, we took a biblical story, we made it modern day. Now we’re taking angels that are in the bible and we’re putting them into this world. So with mythology is – has – it interests me and I want to know these guys, I want to – you know, discover their world.

But yes, I mean I have my personal faith but this story, I mean it resonates with me and I think – as an actor and as a person – maybe I don’t quite understand subconsciously why I’m so attracted to it and what it is the – message in this story, what we’re trying to say. But yes, I think it’s – I think it hits on all those points.

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Will we see any other sort of beings coming into play? Will a God or higher power or anything that can kind of rival these angels be coming into play during the series as it develops?

Vaun: There definitely will be new and exciting angels, new additions and expansions of the mythology. So yes, but you know, those will all be spoilers if I were to say anything now. we’ll be expanding. We’ll keep growing the mythology, definitely.

David Peterson created a language for Dominion. How much of this language will be spoken in the series?

Vaun: You know, David Peterson is an absolute genius and the stuff that he creates is just incredible. And he did, he created a language called Lishepus for the angels and we do – we feature it here and there depending on – you know, where it’s kind of the most dramatic and the best used. But it definitely is going to be in series.

We don’t – we try not to have it be, like, used in an entire scene where, you know, you’ve got giant, you know, blocks of dialog being said in it. But we definitely utilize it and when we do it sounds cool. David is amazing.

We seem to be seeing a mini-spell of movies being adapted for TV. About a Boy for NBC, and Fargo, among others. Why do you think we’re seeing this mini spell of movie adaptations or movie expansions, if you will?

Vaun: I think that networks and studios are looking to pre-brand, you know, a TV show or anything that they’re doing right up front. They want to get that built in awareness and that built in recognition from the audience. So it’s just – it kind of eases its way into the marketplace.

It starts from a base. Certainly Fargo is a perfect example of doing that. I mean the show has a beautiful symmetry between the look of the movie and the look of the show. I think it all comes down to storytelling. For me, it wasn’t that, you know, we had to do Legion as a TV show.

It was something in Legion that attracted me to it and then all the other people that have worked on it and that kernel that I spoke about earlier was there that just seemed right for a TV show. And so that was the jumping off point and that’s how we did it.

I think as you’ll see – I mean I haven’t seen About a Boy or some of those other examples you used but sometimes you use a little bit of it and it kind of is a jumping off point like ours or sometimes they really – you know, it really is a continuation of the movie.

It’s all pre-branding and audience awareness. I think (those) are the two main reasons why networks are doing it right now. So it’s good to have underlying material I think. They feel like they’re hedging their bets if they do that.

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If you could talk a bit about some of the special effects and maybe the stunts used in the show?

Vaun: We have a really great VFX vendor, Spin – the name of the company is called Spin. They’re located in Toronto. And you know, they do special effects for Game of Thrones and a bunch of other really – some high-end movies. They’re just really, really talented people. We had someone who was on the pilot with us the entire time from Spin and the same within the series.

And I think the special effects, the angel’s wings, the flying, the fighting, all of the stuff we’ve got going, the cityscapes of Vega, I think people are going to be really surprised by the quality of the special effects on Dominion.

In terms of the stunts, we have a really great stunt team down in Cape Town and in terms of the action – I mean Chris can speak to training with them because he did a lot of training in terms of preparation for his action sequences. But I mean they’re really just top notch, top notch stunt people. Don’t you think, Chris?

Chris: these guys were great. It was a great stunt team and, you know, the training was – training was full on. I mean I think before we started the series they just wanted to test our agility and endurance and made us – you know, run around 20 blocks just to see how – you know, see how our bodies worked.

And you know, I don’t have wings in it but, you know, watching Tom, you know, fly off on those wires in those scenes it’s just fantastic. I’m just hoping Vaun can, you know, write something where I’m attached to a wire and I get to fly around like that. It’s great.

So you know, being good with a gun, being good with a sword—these guys understood the importance of it, so there’s a lot of sword training, a lot of firearms training. We really wanted to keep it tight.

I had kind of a Planet of the Apes moment when you first see Vega. It sounds like you talked about it a little bit. There’s some CGI and is there a lot of green screen, or did you also have practical sets built as well?

Vaun: We actually used a mix of both but we have – we did build a lot, that was one of the advantages of going to Cape Town was – the level of crew was really high in terms of their talent and experience, but also in terms of what we could build, how far our dollars went.

So there’s a lot of – and where we could, you know – Scott Stewart who was a director of the pilot, he was the founder of a special effects house called the Orphanage, one of the founders. And so he’s a real genius at special effects and he’s just a really talented guy. He used to always say to me, you know, real is better. Whenever you can point your camera at something real is better.

So we built a lot of sets but, you know, we also had Spin working for us and they – you know, they could create unbelievable, you know, vistas and landscapes and buildings and – so they were also – so we did a lot of that as well. And then of course, you know, wherever there’s angels flying sometimes it’s – you know, we do something more practical with the wires or we, you know, use green screen and those as well.

Chris, can you describe Alex’s relationship with Claire? It sounds like it’s complicated.

Chris: Yes, Romeo and Juliet. And really it’s that great unattainable love. Their love is full of tribulation. You know, and the responsibility – and I mean the pilot – really Alex just wants to get out of Vega. He’s got the love of his life, you know, he’s got his family.

He’s just ready to get out and he’s over the system, he wants the freedom. But then there’s sort of the – you know, this – what happens in the end and the responsibility and this great calling and then there’s a responsibility that Claire has to Vega and, you know, we go into that back and forth.

And we go – they take that road so sort of discovering themselves, discovering responsibility that they both have and I think – you know, it’s going to be interesting to see where that goes.

claire

How did you find the experience of working with Roxanne McKee, both as a castmate and as a scene partner?

Chris: She’s fantastic and she’s so strong. She really – she plays that strong woman. I mean it’s just – she was fantastic and fantastic to work with. There was great chemistry, the natural connection between the both of us. And it’s a great love story. It’s a really great love story.

Certainly, American genre fans have a fond affection for Anthony Head (David Whele) for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Can you talk a little bit about working with him and what he’s brought to the series as a cast member?

Vaun: Yes, I think, you know, like Tony has – Tony Head is just – you know, he’s Tony Head. He’s so funny, he’s so talented, he’s smart. Yes, I mean the guy just – you know, he just – he pops off the screen and I think the Buffy fans will be really interested to see him in such a different way because he plays such a different character than he did on Buffy.

David Whele is this rakish and manipulative, charismatic, articulate kind of power broker. And it will be – I think it will be a big surprise for the fans of Buffy and Tony Head to see him in Dominion. It’s really a whole new – it’s a whole new Tony.

Chris: I agree with Vaun. I was very lucky to have him. He’s fantastic. He’s just an absolute professional and – you know, working with a great like him, it’s – you know, you learn a lot, you learn a lot from these guys. And yes, he’s fantastic.

Vaun: On Dominion we really lucked out. The level of cast that we have on the show is just a cut above, just amazingly talented group of actors that bring a heightened world to life with a real legitimacy. You know what I mean?

david

I think one of the most shocking things for people who have seen the first episode is Tony (Head) speaking with an American accent. Was it a conscious decision to have him do an American accent since we don’t usually see that from him?

Vaun: It’s funny. I think I’ve seen a little bit of that on comment boards. But yes, I think that – the whole idea was that it was set in America, it was the west – the western States of America, the – it’s called the Cradle, which is what’s left of what know of humanity.

And so it was important to have it be American characters. The funny thing about the show is I don’t think we have a single American on the cast. I think that the entire cast is either British, Australian, or New Zealand, I think is the breakdown. But yes, Tony, he’s an American on it and he does a great accent. He sounds the part.

Chris: He’s got that politician thing down so well. I mean watching him do that speech in the pilot, it’s like – yes, it’s like he’s got the politician thing.

The way the society is structured, it’s a very strict caste system. What’s the thinking behind these very specific social structures and people unable to move between them?

Vaun: I think that – it basically was a system that General Rysen created at the beginning basically at the founding of Vega when they were still fighting the war against the eight balls and the angels. They were quickly trying to build a wall at the same time as fighting off these onslaughts of these eight balls.

So it was a chaotic time and they needed a way to kind of give everybody a job, give everybody a designation, give everybody a way to pitch in and be classified. It was a very military system that Rysen used. It was a V – it was called the V system for Vega, the V one through six. And each level had a different designation in terms of what it means and who’s in it.

But then, like all systems that – you know, that start out intended to be one way and often become something else, that happens. Over time you have the elites getting entrenched, taking control of more and more of the resources of the city, you know, installing themselves as senators, as basically the fat cats of the city.

And then everybody else kind of below them, you know, getting kind of further and further cemented into their V system or their V level and not being able to move about.

So I think that’s one of the great conflicts in the season and in the series will be certainly in Vega, which is, you know, what is right and what’s wrong and what’s happening to the people and is it fair?

I think Claire certainly represents a very different point of view than her father in terms of believing that it needs to change whereas he is very much fixed in – you know, although he recognizes that it did get warped and it did get – just – it did get – you know, I’m blanking on the term, but it became distorted basically over time.

He’s not really willing to get rid of it. But that was the thinking at the beginning. It was definitely created for survival and then overtime just unfortunately became – it turned into something else.

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Now that we know who Alex really is, is he going to some extent move up or is he going to continue to hide since nobody else knows anyway?

Vaun: I’m sure we can both answer that. From, you know, my point of view, you know, he’s got bigger fish to fry because of what kind of landed on his shoulders. But certainly, you know, he – as we clearly see in the pilot, he does not like the system. He hates it. He wants to escape it.

And who knows, I mean down the line we’ll get to see if he does anything about that as part of his journey and that’s just something that we’ll learn as we go. But I’m sure Chris can speak about that from a character point too.

Chris: Yes, I think it’s – you know, it comes down to that saying, with great power comes great responsibility. I think we’re going to see that struggle, that constant struggle with himself and with his relationships around him. I think – and by the end you’re really going to be left with that – will he – you know, what’s going to happen? Is he going to leave? Is he going to join?

You know, with the relationship with Michael, you know, where does that leave us? Is this – he really goes on this – you know, he goes through stages and he makes sacrifices and, you know, it’s really about someone owning that calling on his life.

What have you learned since you started filming this show?

Vaun: Wow, so much. I mean look – just putting words in people’s mouths and hearing how they sound live and hearing how specific characters and actors bring very intricate and distinct styles and humanity to each character, that’s one of the most interesting things that I’ve learned about how to calibrate that.

Also, you know, just kind of the realities of filming a show and how fast we move. It takes your breath away.

It really is – the speed with which everybody’s working on these TV shows is really – you know, it’s an endurance run and you really realize quickly, like, what works, what doesn’t work, what can you film, what can’t you, you know, what is affordable, what is just something that we would love to do but we can’t because it’s not practically since – you know, possible or the – we can’t find the location for it or – you just – it’s – for me, it was a total immersion in the reality of making TV.

And all the millions of little choices you make on a daily basis to make it happen. But for – as I said earlier, the learning curve has been wonderful, it’s just – it’s been an amazing experience.

How far in advance did you know what was going to happen for your characters?

Chris: We had a lot of changes that were happening. I mean – and some rewrites and – but we usually get – we usually get about a week with an episode. So it was very much like sneaking into the makeup trailer or sneaking into the AV trailer because you know someone’s got the next episode.

You want to read it and they’re not releasing it yet and you’re like, but no. Even getting to episode – you know, the very end episode and the real finale and you just – I want to know what happens next. I mean it really leaves the audience with a lot of questions and a lot of – you know, where are we going to go next. So you know, I’m just – I just can’t wait.

Vaun: Full disclosure – Chris was the one, the actor with the stickiest fingers.

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How much do you have planned out as far as this season and possibly beyond?

Vaun: When I wrote the pilot I spent about six weeks working on a series document that broke down the first three seasons in detail. And then another three series after that – three seasons after that in, you know, kind of more macro.

And I – and one of the main kind of spines through the series is, of course, Alex’s journey and the stages that he goes through – through each season. So I – I’ve got loads of ideas, loads. So yes, we have all kinds of stories to tell for many seasons for Dominion.

 

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