WEBSITE: Examiner.com

WRITTEN BY: Michael Langston Moore

DIRECT LINK: http://www.examiner.com/x-11484-Boston-TV-Examiner~y2010m3d30-Exclusive-interview-with-Jace-Hall-executive-producer-of-the-ABC-series-V

Michael Langston Moore: What can viewers expect from the second half of V this year?
Jace Hall: Simply put, I think viewers can expect some great entertainment along with some compelling food for thought.. A wider platform for social commentary, a thoughtful examination at the universal nature of survival of family and species, a series of oh – my – god – holy – wow – didn’t – see – that – coming moments.. More visceral drama with awe and wonder and excitement..

People should expect to be presented with great main characters that won’t always make the right choices.. As we all know, in life, happy endings are far from guaranteed for everyone.. That being said, the show is definitely not going to be a dark, fugitive, purely resistance story.. Certainly there will be some dark elements, and the stakes are always incredibly high, but the show also aims to be rewarding with great fun and depth of discovery..

MLM: How important is it to stay faithful to the original mini – series in hopes of hooking older viewers, but also be fresh and original enough to rope in a 2010 audience?
JH: Obviously the original mini – series has a special place in many people’s hearts.. It’s been a part of many people’s childhoods ( My own included ) and it is important to recognize that audience’s desire to see certain elements of the core concept remain intact in some form.. However, the truth is that great storytelling, compelling characters and a fascinating premise are the fundamental key ingredients to generating interest in virtually any drama audience demographic – that stuff is the ultimate audience desire – so really it is not so much about balancing ” old series and new series “ as it is just about focusing on telling the best story possible.. Our desire is not to tell a story that has already been told, but instead try to bring something new and fresh to the table so that there is something there to be explored and discovered..

MLM: What are the challenges that you encounter in producing a show that not only is based off a previous program, but is a sci-fi story that incorporates CGI and green screen effects?
JH: Well, the challenges always revolve around the triangle of ” Time, Money, and Quality..” You can always have 2 of the 3, but never all three! The concept of V allows for some incredible opportunities in terms of visual effects, however there is only so much time available to realize these opportunities, so it gets to be very important to pick and choose things that are going to greatly enhance the story we are trying to tell and avoid having visual effects just for the sake of having visual effects.. Obviously, when you watch the show, V leads on the technology front with things like virtual sets and such, but it is always important to remember that we are focused on making a story about people, characters, families.. The visual effects are there to support this primary goal..

MLM: What are your thoughts on some in the media claiming V is an allegory on President Barack Obama and, essentially, the ” Obamania ” that swept the nation two years ago?
JH: Great Science Fiction writing can seem to carry many allegories for many subjects depending on a person’s point of view.. I think that anytime Science Fiction can inadvertently spark a meaningful discussion about what is happening ( Or not happening ) in real life it is always a good thing.. Everyone has their various opinions and this show seems to act as conduit to help opinions get expressed from all sides.. That’s good television..

MLM: You created your own web series called ” The Jace Hall Show..” What is it that about and how did it begin?
JH: The Jace Hall Show began with the simple realization that 99% of all video game culture depictions in the mass media are grossly artificial and play toward the worst stereotypes possible.. I realized that much like Hip – Hop, Internet / Gamer culture and lifestyle has permeated many levels of our general society and has become far more relevant that is currently being acknowledged.. The bottom line is either you play video games or you know someone who does.. It’s that simple..

This realization led me to understand that aside from things like sports, movies, music etc.. there was something else acting as a common bond in our society and there was basically no programming addressing it – THUS, the Jace Hall Show was born..

I would describe the show as ” Curb Your Enthusiasm “ meets ” Attack of the Show..” The show generally follows the Gamer – meets – Hollywood cross – culture antics of host me ( Jason Hall ) – an avid gamer, accomplished TV and videogame producer and founder of HDFILMS.. It is a weekly, short form online program that fuses celebrities, videogames, internet culture and humor, featuring exclusive behind – the – scenes footage and interviews with the hottest game developers, actors, musicians, athletes and more..

The show’s format essentially re – invents the very concept of the ‘ television talkshow..’ and I aim it straight at the gamer and internet youth audiences.. It’s been very successful on the internet garnering millions of viewers and there has been some discussion here about possibly taking to television – but I’m not sure if TV is ready for it yet!

MLM: You have a deep love for video games, which is evident from your web series and personal website.. How did you come up with the idea for creating music videos for video games? And when did you begin to add celebrities such as Seth MacFarlane and Randy Jackson to your online productions?
JH: Well, to be honest I didn’t come up with the idea for creating music videos for video game culture, I just try to crank it up a notch and perhaps provide a more commercial look and sound to my productions.. The goal is to make it as approachable as possible and encourage discovery..

As far as celebrities go, they have always been a part of the production of The Jace Hall Show.. There are many reasons for this.. For one, a lot of them are my friends and it is just cool hang out and chill.. Secondly, they either play video games or at least participate in the lifestyle or culture in some way and having them on my show further proves the point that this ” gamer / internet “ thing is nearly ubiquitous.. Thirdly, my show offers celebs a rare opportunity to just be themselves without having to promote something or act a certain way.. It’s a way for people to get to know them as ” people “ and not ” things..” It’s all good, clean fun..

MLM: You are both a television producer and video game producer.. How is producing a television show for ABC different from producing a game for the XBOX or Playstation? What challenges do you routinely run into?
JH: Oh wow, these things are quite different actually.. To explain all the differences is a book in itself! Fundamentally, the differences are driven by the different business model demands.. In television, you have an advertising based medium and that has very specific needs.. With video games, you are talking about a packaged product that sits on a shelf and sells for $60 – that’s a whole different world right there.. Also, each medium’s ability to move a viewer emotionally are quite different in capacity.. Really the only thing they have in common is that they both can tell compelling stories..

MLM: What can you tell me about your EP titled ” Video Games Aren’t Bad For You?”
JH: It’s a Hip – Hop style taken to the next level.. I call it G – Hop.. Very catchy, mainstream sounding beats fused with an expression of sensibilities surrounding the internet and gamer culture.. As you know, rappers from the street grow up in the hood, witnessing violence, drugs and crime, so they talk about that in their rhymes – and that is legit.. By that same token, people like me grew up playing video games with friends, phreaking, hacking, using the net, watching technology make the world change, and so I decided to finally make some music that speaks to that experience – my experience – and THAT is legit.. I’ve made games, lived the lifestyle, and have been part of the rise of this new culture.. I wanted to talk about it a little, because there are a lot of us out there.. I compose all the beats and music and lay the vocals down myself..

TV Guide recently sat down with V: The New Series Executive Producer, Jace Hall.. During the interview Jace answered questions relating to his show, The Jace Hall Show, celebrities and the re – imaging of V.. Here’s what he said about V..

TVGuide.com: What would you say is the focus of V in the second half of the season?
Jace Hall: Because we’re dealing with a franchise that existed before in the ’80s, there are certain things that people expect and hope that this franchise will either nod to or communicate in some way.. What comes with that expectation is that we need to do some of that.. We’re able to actually go further with the story, beyond what people have seen or what they can predict.. When this reimaging took place, we actually had a plan and a sense of direction of where this whole thing is supposed to go, so it doesn’t have to be thought up at the last minute.. People will start to really get the benefit of all the forethought that went in..

TVG.com: The fourth episode left us with several huge cliff – hangers, including the impending arrival of an armada of Visitors.. What answers will we get when the show returns?
JH: The audience should always ask themselves when they’re watching this.. ” How would we plausibly react to these things that are coming and happening?” We’re trying to keep this show grounded and character – centric as much as possible, really think about if this was happening, what would logically start to occur and how would people naturally react.. That’s been the challenge and fun for the writing team.. Yes, you’re going to get answers, but those answers are going to create even more questions..

TVG.com: Jane Badler, who played Visitor Diana in the original miniseries, is guest-starring on The Jace Hall Show this year. Does this open the possibility for her to appear on ABC’s V?
JH: I personally would enjoy seeing her in some fashion in the show.. Jane is a great friend and she is wonderful.. That would be a trip.. That will ultimately be up to the writers’ room.. I’m just one person in a team of 100 people.. Yes, I know Jane.. Yes, Jane has come to my office.. That’s as far as I can tell you..

Check out the rest of the interview here..

Jane Badler ( Diana ) recently did a segment on the Jace Hall Show, where she tries to persuade Jace, Producer of V: The New Series, into casting her for the series..

Here are some ” Behind the Scene ” pics that we’re taken by Beth Ashby on the set during filming of the episode..

The Rumor: The V Files has been given a little heads up.. Rumor has it that V: The New Series, will start filming in August.. This would work as it’ll give the writers and team a break now, which will lead to better written episodes.. It’ll give writers more time to develop the scripts and digest focus group feedback.. HD Films twitter had this to say:

Looks like ” V ” will get going in August! It seems unreal!

Still looks like a mid – season January start for V: The New Series, but we’ll keep you updated to when it’ll start screening..

Over at HDFilms.com, you can absolutely feel the sense of joy everyone involved must be experiencing now that V has been officially picked up by ABC as a mid – season series.. On their site they posted the following message:

” After over two years of development, we finally get to experience the moment when a prime time network decides to believe us that the world is ready for V again.. We weathered a crippling writer’s strike, a non – television background, the absence of Ken Johnson and an expectation that this had to be event television to stand up against the power of Lost and Heroes in order to even be considered by prime time television.. Luckily Warner Bros. took a chance on us to bring something fresh to the project and did not let up on their support of the project through the 2007 / 2008 writer’s strike.. Additionally, we continue, to this day, our conversations with Ken to see how we can cross paths again on this much loved property.. And let’s face it, how can you revisit V without making it an event? It’s predisposed to be huge!”

” For any of you that have never experienced the pilot process, let us just tell you that it is one of the most grueling experiences! We had three months to address notes on the script, cast, shoot and post.. For a VFX heavy show, this is a monumental task.. It was made possible by installing some key people to really push hard, a studio that wanted to knock it out of the park and a network that wants to dominate one – hour dramas!”