There’s been much talk in the Fringe community about whether the show is better when it embraces serialized-mythology over standalone-procedural. While I’m sure we can all agree that we love Fringe, there does seem to be a format preference amongst fans.
But what do the creators think?
In an excellent interview with Alex Pappademas(GQ.com), the Bad Robot gang featuring JJ. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Bryan Burk talk openly about the creative process that goes into likes of Fringe, LOST and Alias, and explain the challenge of balancing standalone stories with overarching mythology.
This really is a fantastic interview. I’d say it’s a must read for all fans of Fringe, Lost, Alias or Bad Robot in general. Below the jump we post a taste of the interview with links to the full article.
At the recent Press Tour, Fringe executive producers and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci spoke to IESB about their preparations for season 2, and what the viewers can expect from the alternate universe storyline.
Click past the jump to read the interview [contains spoiler hints]:
With Fringe filming starting up for season 2 tomorrow, co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci spoke to SuperHeroHype! about the first season success of the show.
In truth, the interview was mostly about Transformers 2, but they did take time out to reveal that they will be adopting a slightly different role next season.
Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci talk to SciFi Wire about some of the lingering questions that remain post-season 1. There are a few mild spoiler hints in there, so it gets the spoiler tag treatment – click through to read:
Collider have a nice video interview with Fringe co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The duo talk about the first season journey, the challenge of balancing a procedural/serialized hybrid, their hopes for a second season, American Idol, and what they think is the heart of the show.
The LA Times have a piece on Fringe co-producers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (aka “Korci”), in which they talk about their partnership in crafting science-fiction productions such as Star Trek and Fringe. In truth it is Fringe-lite but worth a read if you’re a Trek fan, or if you want to gain some insight into what makes them tick as a partnership:
On a leafy hillside on the Universal Studios lot, childhood friends Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman share not just a bungalow but a single desk that sits beneath large letters that spell out “C-O-F-F-E-E” — vintage neon salvaged from an old diner. There, sitting face to face and finishing each other’s sentences, the screenwriters crank out tales of the fantastic for Hollywood, including two of this summer’s biggest popcorn films, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Star Trek,” as well as Fox’s eerie hit series “Fringe.”
The two met in their senior year at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, the Santa Monica private school that lists Amy Pascal, Michael Bay, Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow among its alumni, and their great bonding moment was their mutual passion for “sex, lies, and videotape,” the 1989 Steven Soderbergh film that became a signature moment in American independent film. There were, however, no giant robots or photon torpedoes in that Soderbergh script.
“We came from a place of passion for independent films and imagined ourselves writing films like that, but now, for better or worse, we have developed a reputation as guys who write ‘big’ movies,” Kurtzman said. “And I’d really like ‘good’ to also be an adjective that’s used. I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. You really can do both.”
Fringe Co-Producers and Writers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (affectionately known as “Korci”) recently spoke to Vanity Fair: Here’s an extract below:
VF Daily: Can you describe how your team operates? Roberto Orci: We write every word together. Unlike some teams, we actually sit across the table from each other and our conversations are our scripts. We call each other our first marriage. We’ve been together now 17 years for Christ’s sakes, so that’s a long time. I don’t know how writers do it by themselves. We love being a team, and we can’t imagine ever doing it any other way.
Alex Kurtzman: Obviously, after 17 years you aren’t going to agree on everything, but that conflict is sometimes very good and healthy. By now, we certainly have learned how to use that as part of our secret sauce.
Moving on to Fringe, what inspired you to create a show like this? Kurtzman:We always approach our projects by looking at what we would want to see as fans. In the television landscape, we felt like we were not seeing a procedural show rooted in genre. Usually people will say that procedurals, particularly cop procedurals, have to be devoid of characters and just about the main investigation; and if it’s going to be genre, then it has to be wild and fantastical. We thought, Why do these elements haveto be mutually exclusive? Why can’t we do all these things at once?
In Fringe,you make references to devious corporations and cover-ups, not unlike modern-day Haliburton or Blackwater. How do current events influence your writing? Orci:Fringe is about looking behind the headlines, and having a show that’s a procedural with an ending. But if you want to see more, you can. If you’re a fan of extreme genre, you can accept what the F.B.I. concludes in its press release at the end of the show, or you can think there’s more to it. I think it’s just impossible to pick up a newspaper or any publication and not feel like somehow you’re missing something, and that’s one of the facets we love about Fringe.
Fringe producers Alex Kurtzman, Jeff Pinkner and Roberto Orci tease us with “7 insights” into Fringe, and show us a glimpse of what’s coming up in the next episode. It’s a fantastic watch but contains possible hints, which some readers might consider spoilery, so watch at your own discreation!:
THR held a Q&A session with Fringe co-creators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Here are the mostly Fringe-related parts:
Hollywood Reporter: Has your trajectory as writers and producers followed any kind of plan?
Roberto Orci: At the very least, it was always our intention of breaking into movies by first going through television, so that worked out.
Alex Kurtzman: Television taught us to look at the big picture because when you’re working on television you’re writing and having to consider production at the same time. That really impacted the way we approached producing “Eagle Eye,” and I think that the studio found it refreshing to be able to communicate with writers as producers as well.
THR: What’s most appealing about working on huge-budget, special effects-driven adventures?
Orci: Well, to use a surfer analogy, it’s just the biggest wave you can find. It literally requires all your muscles, and it’s a certain kind of sport.
Kurtzman: In a lot of ways, it lets you be a 12-year-old kid again and love the experience of sitting in the theater in the summer seeing big movies happen in front of you, but it’s the added bonus of also being a grown-up who’s partially responsible for it. That balance is exhilarating.
THR: Where have you been finding the ideas you’re working into “Fringe”?
Orci: The latest thing being published about physics, the latest stuff that the Defense Department is doing, the latest things that are being discovered by corporations that have more money to invest in certain things than governments — that’s what we’re reading. Some of it trickles down through alternative media. Some of it’s right on the front page of regular stuff. “Pentagon creates invisibility cloak” was reported by every major news provider a few weeks ago. That’s the beauty of “Fringe.” It’s happening now, and it’s right in front of your face. You just have to choose to see it.
Kurtzman: Absolutely anything seems possible these days. So many things that were dismissible as outlandish or over-the-top even five years ago are now headlines, so why can’t we take the spirit of that and put it in a television show?
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