Two more Hugo nominations

Thursday, 19 March 2009 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The nominations for the 2009 Hugo Awards have been announced, and once again Doctor Who has been nominated for the "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form" category. Two Doctor Who stories received nominations: "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" by Steven Moffat, directed by Euros Lyn; and "Turn Left" by Russell T Davies, directed by Graeme Harper. They will compete against episodes of Lost andBattlestar Galactica, and Joss Whedon's Internet musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog".

The Hugo Awards are given each year for the best works of science fiction or fantasy, as determined by the members of the World Science Fiction Society. Doctor Who has won every year since its return to television in 2005: the last three winners have been "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" (2006), "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2007) and "Blink" (2008), all written by Steven Moffat. Five other Doctor Who stories and one episode of Torchwood have been nominated in the past.

This year's winner will be announced at Anticipation, the 67th Annual Worldcon, in Montreal, Canada in August.

Thanks to Steve Manfred.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Russell T Davies - Awards/Nominations - Series 4/30

News round-up

Monday, 2 March 2009 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

The Daily Mirror is reporting that the TARDIS interior will be redesigned for Matt Smith's arrival in the TARDIS and the move to HD filming. The Mirroralso says that the designers will "improve the quality of the police box exterior", and credits the change to incoming showrunner Steven Moffat, who scripted a line in the 2007 episode "Blink" noting that the TARDIS's police box windows were the wrong size, an in-joke aimed at the Outpost Gallifrey Forum (now the Doctor Who Forum). The TARDIS redesign story has been picked up by the Daily Telegraph, METRO and Digital Spy.

Cardiff's Western Mail has reported on recent filming in Newport for the second of the 2009 Doctor Who specials.David Tennant and Lindsay Duncanwere filmed with the TARDIS in a snowy street. Spoilery photographs and set reports from fans who were present at the filming can be found in this thread in the Doctor Who Forum.

In other news, the Guardian's TV and radio blog has an entry speculating about casting for the companion in Series 5. The Radio Times will have 21 different covers for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, including one with David Tennant(also covered at The Wire). And the Daily Telegraph reports that the Royal Shakespeare Company is preparing to film their recent production of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.

Thanks to the posters on the Doctor Who Forum's "Media Watch" thread.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Press - Series 5/31

Official: Matt Smith is the Eleventh Doctor

Saturday, 3 January 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight

26-year-old actor Matt Smith has been cast as the Eleventh Doctor, as revealed in today's special broadcast of Doctor Who Confidentialon BBC One. Smith will succeed David Tennant in the role for the fifth series, which begins filming this summer and will air in 2010.

Smith has appeared in various television productions, including alongside Billie Piper in the BBC's adaptations of the Philip Pullman novels The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. He co-starred in the drama series Party Animals, and on stage was in Alan Bennett's acclaimed play The History Boys.

Smith was born and bred in Northampton, England, and later attended the University of East Anglia in Norwich. He is the youngest actor ever to have been cast as the Doctor in the TV series.

BBC News quotes Smith as saying: "I've got this wonderful journey in front of me where I've got this six months to build this Time Lord - and that's such an exciting prospect." Executive producer Piers Wengerhas said that: "It was abundantly clear that he had that 'Doctor-ness' about him. You are either the Doctor or you are not." The BBC News site has also published a profile of Smith, while the official website has avideo interview with the actor available to UK users. The first BBC News story has been updated with a clip from an interview with Smith, which is available to users worldwide.

The BBC Press Office, meanwhile, has a full release with quotes from new chief writer Steven Moffat, who was one of those behind Smith's casting. "The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and the wise old man of the universe. As soon as Matt walked through the door, and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man."

Some biographical notes on Smith follow, from the official BBC Doctor Who website:

Matt Smith, 26, grew up with his family including one sister in Northampton. He was head boy at Northampton School For Boys where he excelled at sports, music and drama. Initially, Matt wanted to be a professional footballer and played for Northampton Town Under 11 and 12s, Nottingham Forest Under 12,13,14s and Leicester City Under 15 and 16s before a back injury forced him out of the game.

Following his injury, and with the encouragement of one of his teachers, Jerry Hardingham, Matt decided to join the National Youth Theatre. It was during this time that Matt first gained attention at the Royal Court Theatre when he was cast in the play Fresh Kills, directed by Wilson Milam, whilst still at the University Of East Anglia where he was studying Drama and Creative Writing.

Already a stalwart of the National Youth Theatre, his performance at the Court led to a variety of theatrical experiences at the National Theatre: in the award winning History Boys (directed by Nick Hytner), On The Shore Of The Wide World (directed by Sarah Frankcom) and also in the acclaimed trio of plays Burn / Citizenship / Chatroom (directed by Anna Mackmin).

These roles led to Matt's first outings on the small screen, alongside Billie Piper in Phillip Pullman's period detective stories, The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North, where he played Jim, right hand man to Billie's detective heroine Sally Lockhart. These pieces were followed by the lead role of Danny in the BBC Two series Party Animals, the brilliantly observed drama set in the world of young politicians.

In a dazzling return to the Royal Court in 2007, Matt played Henry in Polly Stenham's award winning first play That Face, opposite Lindsay Duncan. His performance gained Matt an Evening Standard Best Newcomer nomination and a year later the play had a second life in the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre. In between the two runs, Matt played Guy opposite Christian Slater's Buddy in Swimming With Sharks, Mike Leslie's searing West End adaptation of the 1994 Hollywood film. In this time he also played a lead role in the BAFTA winning BBC One series, The Street, opposite Gina McKee and Lorraine Ashbourne.

Matt has recently completed work on Moses Jones for BBC Two, directed by Michael Offer, in which he plays the lead role of Dan Twentyman, alongside Shaun Parkes in the title role.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Matt Smith

Moffat gains BAFTA Scotland nomination

Thursday, 16 October 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Doctor Who chief writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (pictured right) has been nominated in the "Best Writing for Film or TV" category at the BAFTA Scotland Awards, according to a report in the Daily Record newspaper. Moffat, who earlier this year won the equivalent categories at the BAFTA Craft (UK as a whole) and BAFTA Cymru (Welsh) Awards, will be up against Bryan Elsey, creator of the series "Skins", and Greg McHugh, who wrote "Gary's War".

The BAFTA Scotland Awards reward film and television productions made in Scotland or by Scottish people. They have been given annually since 1997.

The official BAFTA Scotland website's nominations page - which manages to misspell both his first and surname! - cites Moffat as being nominated specifically for his work on Doctor Who. The BAFTA Scotland year runs from August to August, meaning he has been nominated for his 2008 series episodes "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead".

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - Awards/Nominations

Execs speak out

Thursday, 14 August 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Incoming executive producer Steven Moffat will be interviewed on Saturday 23rd August at the MediaGuardianEdinburgh International Television Festival.

Moffat is replacing Russell T Davies who was originally scheduled to give a masterclass in the slot but withdrew due to work commitments.

Davies is still scheduled to appear at this year's Times Cheltenham Literature Festival along with John Barrowman. The event takes place on Sunday 12th October at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Davies is also scheduled to give an interview at the National Theatre on Friday 7th November, where he will be interviewed by Benjamin Cook about their forthcoming book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Russell T Davies - Production

Hugo Award hat-trick for Moffat

Saturday, 9 August 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Steven Moffat has won his third Hugo Award in a row for an episode of Doctor Who, after his 2007 episode "Blink" won the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category in the 2008 awards, given at the WorldCon event in Denver last night. This is according to a run-down of winners on the HugoAwards.org website.

The Hugo Awards celebrate the best of science-fiction across various media. "Blink", which was directed by Hettie Macdonald, was nominated alongside Paul Cornell's two-parter "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood" and Catherine Treganna's Torchwood episode "Captain Jack Harkness".

Moffat is pictured right at last year's ceremony, with the Hugo Award he won for "The Girl in the Fireplace".

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Awards/Nominations

Moffat Interviews from SDCC

Thursday, 24 July 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

Steven Moffat found time in his very busy schedule at the San Diego Comics Convention to give interviews with ComingSoon.net, SciFi.comand io9.

In the ComingSoon.net interview, Moffat talks about growing up as a fan of the show, dipping into the Classic Series for ideas, tackling the enormous tasks of merchandising and continuity, and spin-offs. He also confirms that there will be five special episodes before the beginning of Series Five: one at Christmas of this year, and four more after that.

He talked to SciFi.com about the difference between his experience as a writer for the show and the responsibilities he's taking on as executive producer.

And in the io9 interview, Moffat explains why Doctor Who is a children's show and why that's not something adults should be ashamed of:

It's aimed at kids and adults. And why should anyone care about this? If you watch it, then it's for you. It shouldn't matter. I mean the specific thing about it being a children's program, is that it follows the imperatives and narrative rules and the joy of children's fiction. If you watch Doctor Who at 9 pm at night [as you do in the United States] it's going to seem a bit odd. It's energetic. The Doctor walks straight out of the TARDIS and into trouble, and you accept it. The Master becomes Prime Minister of Britain, and you accept it. It's got all the brio and vigor of Harry Potter, Narnia and Star Wars. That doesn't mean it doesn't appeal to adults. Star Wars, the most successful film franchise ever, is explicitly for children, but adults love it. Doctor Who is my favorite thing in the world. If you're in Britain, we'll show you the sticker books [and] the lunchboxes. In the schoolyard on Monday, they're all talking about Doctor Who. That doesn't mean it's childish. It's very sophisticated.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Production - Conventions

Mail reports Moffat chose Who over Spielberg -- UPDATED

Saturday, 19 July 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The Mail on Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom is running a news story titled 500,000 pounds Mr Spielberg? Sorry, I've got a date with the Beeb, says the new Dr Who writer, in which it claims that incoming Doctor Who executive producer and chief writerSteven Moffatturned down a lucrative deal to write the second instalment of the new Tintin film franchise in order to take over the running of Doctor Who.

Moffat tells the Mail that he had originally signed up to write the first two Tintin films of the planned trilogy, to be directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. However, after completing the script for the first film, Moffat was offered his new position with Doctor Who, and pulled out of the deal.

"I was offered the Doctor Who job and accepted immediately," Moffat is quoted as telling the paper. "I hope you won't make what happened sound too dramatic. I talked to Steven and he understood completely. I could not work on the second Tintin film and work on Doctor Who. So I chose Doctor Who. Steven is a fan and he understood my passion for the series completely."

"There are no bad feelings between Spielberg and me, but Doctor Who has to come before Hollywood."

Moffat further adds that current executive producer and chief writer Russell T Davies is working on four specials, and then Moffat will take over the running of the series.

UPDATE, July 21:
Moffat has described the Daily Mail report as "a bit misleading" in an interview with BBC News. Moffat told the BBC that he had planned to finish his work on Tintin before beginning his Doctor Who work, but the former was interrupted by the US writers' strike. He also says that "nothing less than Doctor Who could have torn [him] away" from Tintin. He called Tintin a "stunning project" he was "proud" to be part of, but added that it was "the proper duty of every British subject to come to the aid of the TARDIS".

Moffat also noted that although the Daily Mail report called Steven Spielberg "a fan" of Doctor Who, in fact he merely "knows and admires" the programme. Of the two directors working on the Tintin project, it is Peter Jackson who is a Doctor Who fan, according to Moffat.

Finally, Moffat told the BBC that the figures quoted in the Daily Mail article are "entirely speculative and wildly inaccurate".

The first Tintin film, directed by Spielberg based on Moffat's script, will star Thomas Sangster in the title role; Doctor Who fans will remember Sangster as Tim Latimer in last year's story "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood".

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People

Moffat speaks to Big Issue Scotland

Saturday, 31 May 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Steven Moffat has given his first full-length interview since being announced as the next lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who to the new issue of Big Issue Scotland, the weekly magazine sold by the homeless in Scotland.

In the interview, Moffat admits that he had to think hard about whether to accept the role, comparing his replacing Russell T Davies with fellow Scot Gordon Brown succeeding Tony Blair as Prime Minister.

"You wouldn’t immediately say yes to that job. You imagine that you would say yes immediately, but it’s a huge job and you have to think about it," he tells the magazine. "I was kind of the other contender, which puts me sort of in the position of Gordon Brown. And look how that turned out. The surly Scot comes in and it all goes to ******."

The full interview is available in Big Issue Scotland, on sale now across Scotland.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - Production - Press

Moffat reaction round-up

Friday, 23 May 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The news that Steven Moffat is to replace Russell T Davies as the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who has garnered a large amount of media reaction, particularly in the UK. On Tuesday after the news broke the story was even featured on the BBC News television channel, as well as in the hourly bulletin on BBC Radio 2, the most listened to radio station in Britain. The BBC News website also ran an article, which was the main front page feature in their Entertainment section after the news broke on Tuesday.

The story ran in British national daily newspapers, such as The Mirror and The Times, and today The Independentpublished an opinion piece by Thomas Sutcliffe, bemoaning the fact that Moffat's talents were, like Davies's, to be wasted on a children's programme such as Doctor Who. Industry newspapers such as The Stage, Broadcast and even the Hollywood Reporter in the United States ran articles on the news.

Reaction has not been limited to news sources - blogs have been particularly active in relaying and commenting upon the news. Doctor Who scriptwriter Paul Cornell, celebrated comics writer and novelist Neil Gaiman, writer Warren Ellisand musical comedian Mitch Benn are all amongst the many hundreds to have passed comment on the news in their online journals.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Russell T Davies - Press

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