STAR DOGS interview with George Webster

George Webster on creating the SciFi comedy TV pilot STAR DOGS and writing HERE WE ARE, a short film by Alexander Vlahos

Foto: Copyright: Star Dogs
© Star Dogs

28 April, 2020 by Nicole Oebel @philomina_

George Webster is a British actor, best known as William of Orange in VERSAILLES and Milo in TRIPPED, and a filmmaker whose debut film FURTHER ED is on Amazon Prime. STAR DOGS is an exciting new TV pilot George created and starred in that not only fans of Joss Whedon's SciFi western "Firefly" should take a look at.

Watch STAR DOGS on YouTube

Congrats on releasing your SciFi comedy TV pilot on Youtube last night. What is STAR DOGS all about? And is there going to be a dog in it?

Thank you so much! I'm so excited to finally get it out there. STAR DOGS is about a dysfunctional crew of space-outlaws trying to stay free in a galaxy controlled by insane gangsters, corrupt corporations and evil kings/queens. And there was supposed to be a dog in it! But due to time constraints we had to re-think that unfortunately. If we ever get an episode II though, you bet there will be a little dog running around the ship!

Take us back to when you felt like something is missing in today's TV landscape. What were your thoughts and first steps in the early days of creating STAR DOGS?

Foto: George Webster - Copyright: Star Dogs
George Webster
© Star Dogs

I'd just finished rewatching Firefly for the tenth time and felt the void that all Firefly fans feel that there aren't going to be any more episodes. That show finished in 2005, and since then nothing has scratched that itch for me, so I went about creating something that would. I never envisioned I'd make it so soon after writing it, but an old friend of mine was looking for TV projects and the stars (pun intended) aligned!

Writing, directing and starring in STAR DOGS, you've had a go at the triple threat of filmmaking again after FURTHER ED?

I did! I had a lot of help this time though as one of my best friends and creative partner in crime Dave Fricker co-directed the pilot with me. Dave is far more technically competent than I am so when anybody asked a technical question he was there to save me from embarrassment. I love writing, I love directing and I love acting. But doing all three with very little time is a quick way to lose your mind. If there were other options I'd have taken them!

SKINS fans will recognise Michelle aka April Pearson - with the stunning QR code around her eye - in your pilot. Talk to us about casting and assembling the crew for STAR DOGS?

Foto: April Pearson - Copyright: Star Dogs
April Pearson
© Star Dogs

April was one of the first people to sign onto the project and really helped us get other people on board, so I'm eternally grateful to her for that. She has also really helped us on the back-end in getting this thing out there.

Blake Harrison from The Inbetweeners turned up for us as well, which was so incredibly kind of him. I worked with him on a show called Tripped a while back and we remained friends since.

All of the 'Star Dogs' characters I wrote with the specific actors in mind. I had either worked with them before or seen their work, which really helped me blend each actor with their character. I'd never had that esoteric experience of 'hearing the characters talk' that some writers claim happens... until writing this. It was the strangest thing. I could sit at my laptop today, come up with a scene, and these characters would just take over and write it themselves.

I'm in love with the costumes, makeup and special effects that are on show here. What's your vision for the look of the show if or when the show will be picked up?

The costumes were heavily inspired by a kind of retro-future aesthetic that our designer Kelly Hall nailed. In the 80's, SciFi seemed a lot more rag-tag than it is now. Writers of the genre today can be obsessed with realism and getting the technology and science right. But we pushed against that. They still have USB ports in our vision of the future. Voice controlled computers still hear things wrong. Space-phones still ring etc. So if the show got picked up I'd absolutely love to take those ideas and run with them even further.

In your debut film FURTHER ED you have the two main characters explore your very own inner conflict on screen. So who is pirate Captain Eli Sinn? And is he related to Han Solo?

Great question! Every actor wants to be Han Solo, right? We all want to be the mysterious outlaw with the square-jaw who doesn't play by the rules. Han Solo, Mal Reynolds (Firefly), Spike Speigel (Cowboy Bebop) all appeal to that fantasy. I wanted to subvert that a little with Captain Sinn. He would LOVE to be that cool, calm and collected captain. But he's not. He needs constant reassurance and is always doubting himself. Which I guess is more George Webster than Han Solo!

Foto: George Webster, April Pearson, Star Dogs - Copyright: Star Dogs
George Webster, April Pearson, Star Dogs
© Star Dogs

Comic books are sort of today's mythology, aren't they, and STAR DOGS feels like a comic book adaptation. So where would you like to go with the storytelling of the show?

Comics and Saturday morning cartoons like Biker Mice from Mars were another aesthetic inspiration for the show. I love colour and neon lights. With Further Ed, colour was really important to me, making the frame pleasing to the eye. I suppose because the comics I love most tend to have that vibrancy to them too. As for the story of the show, I have an entire season worth of stories as well as a movie pitch already lined up. And whilst it's mostly an 'adventure of the week' type show, there is this over-arching plot that ties it all together.

Star Dogs is also envisioned as a multi-media property, so one day I'd love there to be a comic, and a movie, and a videogame etc.

I like the idea of the STAR DOGS pirates receiving TV signals from Old Earth 500 years ago aka today's TV programme. Is this where you'd like to explore a kind of commentary on today's TV landscape or our present day in general from a distant point of view?

That is absolutely correct! It's actually my favourite idea from the show, being able to give characters of the future the power to comment on things that are happening to us today, but interpreting them slightly wrong. I think we might be doing that with our own history too, like maybe Stone Henge was just somewhere ancient druids liked to party!?

The QR code on Cass' eye for example, people of the future have forgotten what that code is, they just see it as strange graffiti that must have meant something important as it was everywhere. There's a lot of comic opportunity in misinterpreting facts that I'd love to explore more.

STAR DOGS won the award for Best British Pilot at the Pilot Light TV Festival in 2019. What's ahead for the project?

This one was a real surprise and honour for us. We hope by putting the pilot on YouTube we get the word out there so we can prove to television execs that there is a market for this kind of show. We also have the potential of making Star Dogs into a movie! But again, only if people respond to it positively and would want that sort of thing...

Let's talk about HERE WE ARE, a short film by your VERSAILLES mate Alexander Vlahos. You wrote the wonderful script for this film shot in Wales last year. What was the experience like for you writing what Alex pitched to you and seeing it come to life?

Foto: Alexander Vlahos - Copyright: Here We Are Short Film
Alexander Vlahos
© Here We Are Short Film

Alex is the most tenacious creator I've ever met. He really is a bundle of creative energy. When he channeled that energy into getting HERE WE ARE made it was inevitably going to get made. I just rode the wave with him for a little while. It's the first time, I'd never written anything for somebody else before and that was incredibly freeing. And I thank Alex so much for giving me that opportunity. And the finished product is staggering. As well as being an annoyingly talented and brilliant actor, it seems he's also disproportionately talented and brilliant in directing as well. Bastard.

Thank you so much for the wonderful interview, George!

Versailles interview with George Webster
Here we Are interview with Alexander Vlahos

Note: © myFanbase 2020 - The interview is exclusive to myFanbase and may not be published on other websites or the like. You may share the first two questions (up to 180 words) if you link back to this site. Translations other than English and German may be posted with full credit including the link to this site.

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