One of the most anticipated series of the fall season is the ABC drama “FastForward,” based on the novel by Robert Sawyer and written by David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga.
Joseph Fiennes stars in the series, about the aftermath of a mysterious global event where everyone on earth suffers a brief blackout and foresees their future. Goyer also directed the pilot and executive produces with Braga, Marc Guggenheim and his spouse Jessika Borsiczky Goyer.
Goyer co-wrote Warner Bros.’ “Batman Begins” with the film’s director Christopher Nolan, and co-wrote the story of the blockbuster sequel “The Dark Knight.” His previous TV credits include executive producing “Blade,” Spike TV’s first original scripted series and "Threshold," the CBS hour-long sci-fi drama which ran in fall 2005. He chatted with The Wrap about “FastForward,” his future film projects and more.
The “FlashForward” pilot is high concept and looks very expensive. Was that a tough sell, given the current economy?
It would be very easy in the TV industry now to take a defensive position and say “the economy is down and we have to cut corners.”
But, especially in network television, the only way to get more eyeballs back to the screen is to do a big quality show. And if the show involves a lot of spectacle and scope, like “FlashForward” does, you have to deliver on the promise. ABC has been very good about opening up the piggy bank.
What challenges do you face on the small screen as opposed to your work in film? What aspects are easier?
Obviously the immediate challenge, which you mentioned, is budget. We don’t have “Dark Knight” money to spend every week. But we’ve filmed five episodes since the pilot and there’s no drop in spectacle or budget.
The pace is a certain challenge, but it’s also a nice change. With features it’s often a lot of endless hand-wringing. I was quite happy with what we accomplished with the pilot and the prep time was a fraction of what you get on a film.
Another thing that’s different is that I’m working with a whole staff of writers. Serialized TV allows us take a much more novelistic approach to the story than features do.
"FlashForward" sold very well at the L.A. Screenings, with several deals in place with foreign broadcasters. What about it do you think appeals to foreign audiences?
There’s a universal appeal in that everyone thinks about their future. The pilot is about an event that happens in the entire world and the show takes place throughout the world. Within the first 13 episodes, we’re in London, Munich, Afghanistan, Somalia, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
And we are making an effort to cast indigenous talent. We asked foreign buyers to identify the really big actors in their territories. If those territories help us with budget as far as flying actors over or providing translators, then we’ll cast those actors.
Was that a network initiative or your idea or something the studio came up with?
That was my suggestion.
