A Dog's Breakfast
Encyclopedia
A Dog's Breakfast is a Canadian comedy
independent film
produced in 2006. It was the first film to be written and directed by David Hewlett
, who is best known for his role in the TV series Stargate Atlantis
. Hewlett created the film as a private off-season project and stars alongside his real-life sister Kate Hewlett
and Atlantis actor Paul McGillion
. The film was produced by John Lenic and Hewlett's then-girlfriend (now-wife) Jane Loughman.
Due to its strong affiliation with the Stargate franchise, the film generated considerable buzz within the Stargate fandom. It had several screenings in selected major towns in the USA and the UK in late 2006 and 2007. MGM picked up worldwide television and home video rights to the film in early December 2006. The film was released on DVD on September 18, 2007 in The United States and Canada.
) is single, loves his dog (Mars the Dog) and still lives in his parents' house ten years after their death. Shortly before Christmas
, Patrick's sister Marilyn (Kate Hewlett
) visits Patrick to introduce him to Ryan (Paul McGillion
), a science fiction television star.
After accidentally knocking Ryan out with a cricket bat
, Patrick is shocked to learn of Marilyn's engagement to Ryan. Patrick also overhears a dialogue excerpt that Ryan cites over the phone, which makes Patrick believe that Ryan wants to kill Marilyn. From this time on, Patrick tries everything in his power to protect his sister. But an apparently fatal accident happens: While Patrick is on the phone with Marilyn, Ryan tries to mount Christmas lights and falls off the ladder. Patrick panics and tries everything to hide Ryan's death from his sister. As such, Patrick arranges a blind date between Marilyn and Chris (Christopher Judge
) to get time to dispose the body in the garden and in a lake nearby. But Ryan's dead body reappears each time. When Marilyn alerts the police that Ryan is missing, Ryan's aunt investigates Ryan's disappearance. After first suspecting Marilyn, Patrick's cover blows.
Because it looks bad for Marilyn, the siblings decide to dismember Ryan's body and give it to Mars and the neighbors' dogs as food. Finally, when Patrick admits that Ryan has basically always been a friend to him, Marilyn reveals her plan: She and Ryan just faked his death, and the body that Patrick has been trying to get rid of has been Marilyn's sex doll
all the time. Ryan has assumed the role of his aunt.
Some time later, when Patrick grows comfortable with the idea to accept Ryan as his brother-in-law, Ryan's sister Elise (Amanda Byram
) arrives but is not enthused with the upcoming wedding. A love at first sight between Patrick and Elise is apparent. While Marilyn shows her sister-in-law to-be the house, Ryan leads Patrick to the lake, with a moose figure behind his back.
with other projects.
He wrote three scripts of the horror and thriller genre before he got the idea for A Dog's Breakfast. He chose a more humorous subject because Stargate Atlantis generally involves peril despite its comedy elements. Hewlett considered the movie as a personal challenge and did not have wide-distribution plans initially.
The title of the film is derived from an English
slang phrase meaning "a mess or muddle". In an online radio interview, David Hewlett joked that he chose this title so that the movie would have the right title in case it didn't work out. He also said that the main character makes a mess out of everything, including murder, so the title was in fact carefully chosen.
Although David Hewlett had been rather focused on the actors and the acting before, he started paying more attention to old style comedy film-making such as works of Monty Python
and director Blake Edwards
. In general, old-fashioned comedies would appeal more to him than comedy films of recent history. Hewlett said he copied some old-fashioned techniques into his own project. He specifically mentioned A Fish Called Wanda
and Fawlty Towers
as major influences.
Despite A Dog's Breakfasts murder theme, Hewlett wanted to avoid violence and gore as audience attraction, and rather produce a family film for all ages. He thinks that younger members of the audience will enjoy the cartoon-like elements of the movie.
Hewlett further mentioned Buster Keaton
and Harold Lloyd
of the silent era of movie-making as major influences, who he says reflect a simpler method of story-telling and comedy. Similarly, he did not want to overdo cutting and manipulation, as he feared this would endanger the comedy effect.
producer John Lenic, who arranged deals with motion picture companies. Paramount
Production Services in Vancouver
were confident enough in them to support them with free grip and electric equipment. Panavision
Canada provided HD
cameras for two weeks for a day's rate.
The majority of A Dog's Breakfast was filmed on a fourteen day schedule and with extremely limited funds in January 2006 when Stargate Atlantis
(the TV show David Hewlett stars in) was on hiatus between seasons, although some scenes had already been filmed on Saturdays during the Atlantis season. David Hewlett had originally planned to shoot at his own house in Washington, but legal problems due to its U.S. location forced the otherwise Canadian production to rent a house near Burnaby, British Columbia
, Canada
. Vancouver proved convenient as an alternative.
Many of the local actors and crew were eager to participate in the project, since the Vancouver winter weather creates a yearly lull in the local acting business. As such, A Dog's Breakfast featured many actors, crew members and pieces of equipment that are usually associated with the Stargate
franchise. David Hewlett
plays Rodney McKay
in Stargate Atlantis
, Kate Hewlett
plays McKay's sister in several Atlantis episodes, Paul McGillion
and Rachel Luttrell
play Carson Beckett
and Teyla Emmagan
in Atlantis, respectively, and Christopher Judge
is known as Teal'c
from Stargate SG-1
. Hewlett joked that McGillion joined the project because "he [had] nothing else to do," and that his sister, Kate Hewlett, "was really hard to get a hold of, because she's got a writing/acting career herself." Hewlett considered Christopher Judge for the role of the "Internet-dating loser" because "he seemed so incredibly inappropriate for the part that I thought it would be very funny to have him play it." Luttrell played "a space princess on the cheesy show."
A Dog's Breakfast producer John Lenic is a producer on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and several other film crew members have significantly contributed to Stargate previously: Jim Menard (cinematography), James Robbins (production design), Mark & Robert Davidson (set decoration), Jan Newman (key makeup artist), Bill Mizel (first assistant director), Wray Douglas (special effects supervisor), James Bamford (stunt coordinator), Will Waring
(camera operator), and Ivon Bartok
(Behind the Scenes
director). One set that is featured in the film as well as on Stargate is the Starcrossed spacecraft
set, which stands in for several spaceships in the Stargate series, such as the Daedalus-class battlecruisers
and the Prometheus. Music was composed by Timothy Williams
.
Hewlett wrote the script especially around those availabilities. This made it possible to produce the film with a budget of $120,000 total to film and produce, mostly privately raised.
The script was written with the Stargate
audience in mind and pet lovers as a secondary audience. David Hewlett stated that he very consciously wrote for certain audiences, as he had seen too many independent film
makers fail who did not do so.
Before contacting possible distributors, the producers of A Dog's Breakfast mapped out specific marketing strategies by visiting Stargate websites to learn about DVD
sales, television viewers and convention
attendance around the world.
Inspired by The Long Tail
, Hewlett started an internet marketing campaign by setting up a youtube
channel and his own producer blog for $8 a month to keep promotion costs down. Hewlett discussed marketing strategies with eager fans online. He called this Squirrel Marketing.
Promoting the movie from a Stargate angle plus high youtube sneak preview viewing numbers and a full theater for the test screening helped to convince Stargate's distributor MGM to make a deal with A Dog's Breakfast in November 2006. MGM in turn took advantage of Hewlett's grassroots support and wanted to make the movie into a test-run for direct-to-download releases. MGM officially announced the pick-up for worldwide television and home video rights on December 4, 2006.
Stargate Convention in Los Angeles
on November 16, 2006. Two further screenings took place in London
on February 1, 2007, with the second one only being arranged after the first planned screening had unexpectedly sold out online within twenty minutes. A Dog's Breakfast was screened several times at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival
in early March 2007, and two screenings took place in the city of Vancouver
on March 25, 2007. In the screening at the 2007 Stratford-Upon-Avon
Film Festival on May 24 and 26, the film was awarded Best Feature Film, and David Hewlett won the award for Best Actor. The Glastonbury Festival
screened A Dog's Breakfast on June 22, 2007.
Although highly unusual for new movies, A Dog's Breakfast was offered in other digital formats months before the official DVD release, with iTunes
and Amazon Unbox
beginning their release on July 4, 2007. MGM senior executive vice president Charles Cohen considered this as a natural move due to the high amount of interest among the Stargate fan online community. A release on hulu.com followed later.
The film was released on RC1
DVD (North America) on September 18, 2007. MGM originally planned an international release for between April and June 2008, which they later pushed back to August 2008 to be published in tandem with Stargate: Continuum
. However, as of May 2009, MGM held off an international release for up to December 2009. A UK release date remains unknown. The DVD contains special features, including a commentary track, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes, and interviews with the cast and crew.
gave four out of four stars for the "mix of physical comedy and goofy sound effects, smart storytelling and a good deal of warmth". The reviewer labeled the movie a must-see for David Hewlett fans, and considered the acting "very real", with "delightful bonuses to Stargate fans". Bostennow thought the movie was "well worth watching" and "quirky, funny and, that rarest of finds in comedy, original." They liked the comic timing of the actors, especially Hewlett. DVDSnapshot further found the low-budget indie project "a surprisingly good [film] while not relying on any big name stars or special effects." The Hewlett siblings were considered to have a "great onscreen brother-sister chemistry", and Paul McGillion's performance was lauded despite the few scenes he appears in. DVDSnapshot also stated that "the obvious jabs at Stargate are a lot of fun."
DVD Talk
"highly recommended" the film as "unquestionably one of the best direct-to-video releases of the year," comparing the film to "Arsenic and Old Lace
gone maniacally modern. [...] Breakfast reveals how great comedy is not dependent on cost – put together an intelligent script and a talented cast, and look how solid the results can be." The character work and beats, the direction and Hewlett's performance as "a master of wild overreaction and cartoonish screams" receive further positive mention. The Leader-Post found "what it may lack in polish it more than makes up for in wit and fun. The result is a quirky black comedy with plenty of Monty Python
-esque humour and a hint of "The Tell-Tale Heart
". [...] The movie's originality and simplicity is an asset as the spotlight is reserved fully for David Hewlett and his great acting abilities."
show originally within A Dog's Breakfast, created as a tribute to Stargate. During the movie production, several people told David Hewlett that Starcrossed should be made into a real show, so Hewlett approached NBC Universal
and the Sci Fi Channel. David Hewlett wrote a draft for the Starcrossed pilot in late January 2007 and sent it to the network, who bought the pilot in return. A press release by the Sci Fi Channel described Starcrossed as a high touch, high-tech half-hour comedy
about life behind the camera at a long-running sci-fi space soap, similar to the movie Galaxy Quest
. David Hewlett further outlined Starcrossed as a "situation comedy about the making of a science fiction show, because there's really nothing sillier than serious science fiction. [...] It's very loosely based on a Stargate kind of thing, but it's not Stargate. It's not a spoof. It's just the silliness of the day-to-day life of trying to make a television series".
In March 2007, David Hewlett acknowledged that although Starcrossed made it into script stage, it might never be filmed. In July 2007, however, he stated that a Starcrossed deal was still very much possible, leading to another potential hiatus project for him. Hewlett also mentioned the project in September 2007, stating that he was still in talks with Sci Fi "about spinning off [Starcrossed] into a Larry Sanders-type show about making science fiction." Other possibilities are producing webisode
s. In March 2008, The Hollywood Reporter
announced that Starcrossed was planned to debut in the fourth quarter of 2008 as an original web series, produced by Universal Media Studios, Jane Loughman and John Lenic. However, none of the plans were eventually implemented. In April 2009, David Hewlett said via his Twitter account that Sci Fi would return the rights of Starcrossed to him and that he planned to shoot a two-hour pilot episode himself.
In his blogs and in an interview, David Hewlett has announced that a sequel is planned named A Dog's Breakfast 2: Heir of the Dog. He also announced that he would like to bring back Christopher Judge, Rachel Luttrell, and Paul McGillion in the new movie.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
produced in 2006. It was the first film to be written and directed by David Hewlett
David Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
, who is best known for his role in the TV series Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
. Hewlett created the film as a private off-season project and stars alongside his real-life sister Kate Hewlett
Kate Hewlett
Katherine Emily "Kate" Hewlett is a Canadian actress, writer and songwriter.-Biography:Hewlett was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her brother is actor David Hewlett, who portrayed Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis who was also her brother on-screen. Kate guest-starred as McKay's sister Jeannie in four...
and Atlantis actor Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion is a Vancouver-based actor who has worked in television, film and theatre since 1990. He is best known for his role on the television series Stargate Atlantis as Dr. Carson Beckett.-Early life:...
. The film was produced by John Lenic and Hewlett's then-girlfriend (now-wife) Jane Loughman.
Due to its strong affiliation with the Stargate franchise, the film generated considerable buzz within the Stargate fandom. It had several screenings in selected major towns in the USA and the UK in late 2006 and 2007. MGM picked up worldwide television and home video rights to the film in early December 2006. The film was released on DVD on September 18, 2007 in The United States and Canada.
Plot
Patrick (David HewlettDavid Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
) is single, loves his dog (Mars the Dog) and still lives in his parents' house ten years after their death. Shortly before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, Patrick's sister Marilyn (Kate Hewlett
Kate Hewlett
Katherine Emily "Kate" Hewlett is a Canadian actress, writer and songwriter.-Biography:Hewlett was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her brother is actor David Hewlett, who portrayed Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis who was also her brother on-screen. Kate guest-starred as McKay's sister Jeannie in four...
) visits Patrick to introduce him to Ryan (Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion is a Vancouver-based actor who has worked in television, film and theatre since 1990. He is best known for his role on the television series Stargate Atlantis as Dr. Carson Beckett.-Early life:...
), a science fiction television star.
After accidentally knocking Ryan out with a cricket bat
Cricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....
, Patrick is shocked to learn of Marilyn's engagement to Ryan. Patrick also overhears a dialogue excerpt that Ryan cites over the phone, which makes Patrick believe that Ryan wants to kill Marilyn. From this time on, Patrick tries everything in his power to protect his sister. But an apparently fatal accident happens: While Patrick is on the phone with Marilyn, Ryan tries to mount Christmas lights and falls off the ladder. Patrick panics and tries everything to hide Ryan's death from his sister. As such, Patrick arranges a blind date between Marilyn and Chris (Christopher Judge
Christopher Judge
Douglas Christopher Judge is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific Ten Conference player.-Early life:Christopher Judge was...
) to get time to dispose the body in the garden and in a lake nearby. But Ryan's dead body reappears each time. When Marilyn alerts the police that Ryan is missing, Ryan's aunt investigates Ryan's disappearance. After first suspecting Marilyn, Patrick's cover blows.
Because it looks bad for Marilyn, the siblings decide to dismember Ryan's body and give it to Mars and the neighbors' dogs as food. Finally, when Patrick admits that Ryan has basically always been a friend to him, Marilyn reveals her plan: She and Ryan just faked his death, and the body that Patrick has been trying to get rid of has been Marilyn's sex doll
Sex doll
A sex doll is a type of sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner for aid in masturbation....
all the time. Ryan has assumed the role of his aunt.
Some time later, when Patrick grows comfortable with the idea to accept Ryan as his brother-in-law, Ryan's sister Elise (Amanda Byram
Amanda Byram
Amanda Byram is an Irish television presenter, originally from Castleknock in Dublin, Ireland.-Early life:Formerly a model, Byram started her career on television in 1999 presenting the TV3 morning show Ireland AM with Mark Cagney, during which time she met her then boyfriend comedian Patrick...
) arrives but is not enthused with the upcoming wedding. A love at first sight between Patrick and Elise is apparent. While Marilyn shows her sister-in-law to-be the house, Ryan leads Patrick to the lake, with a moose figure behind his back.
Cast
- David HewlettDavid HewlettDavid Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
as Patrick - Kate HewlettKate HewlettKatherine Emily "Kate" Hewlett is a Canadian actress, writer and songwriter.-Biography:Hewlett was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her brother is actor David Hewlett, who portrayed Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis who was also her brother on-screen. Kate guest-starred as McKay's sister Jeannie in four...
as Marilyn - Paul McGillionPaul McGillionPaul McGillion is a Vancouver-based actor who has worked in television, film and theatre since 1990. He is best known for his role on the television series Stargate Atlantis as Dr. Carson Beckett.-Early life:...
as Ryan / Colt / Detective Morse - Christopher JudgeChristopher JudgeDouglas Christopher Judge is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific Ten Conference player.-Early life:Christopher Judge was...
as Chris - Rachel LuttrellRachel LuttrellRachel Luttrell is an actress best known for her role as Teyla Emmagan, an Athosian warrior leader on Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
as Ratcha - Amanda ByramAmanda ByramAmanda Byram is an Irish television presenter, originally from Castleknock in Dublin, Ireland.-Early life:Formerly a model, Byram started her career on television in 1999 presenting the TV3 morning show Ireland AM with Mark Cagney, during which time she met her then boyfriend comedian Patrick...
as Elise - Michael Lenic as Zero
- Mars the Dog as Mars
Conception
Inspired by other actors pursuing a career in directing, David Hewlett wanted to spend his hiatus from Stargate AtlantisStargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
with other projects.
He wrote three scripts of the horror and thriller genre before he got the idea for A Dog's Breakfast. He chose a more humorous subject because Stargate Atlantis generally involves peril despite its comedy elements. Hewlett considered the movie as a personal challenge and did not have wide-distribution plans initially.
The title of the film is derived from an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
slang phrase meaning "a mess or muddle". In an online radio interview, David Hewlett joked that he chose this title so that the movie would have the right title in case it didn't work out. He also said that the main character makes a mess out of everything, including murder, so the title was in fact carefully chosen.
Although David Hewlett had been rather focused on the actors and the acting before, he started paying more attention to old style comedy film-making such as works of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
and director Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
. In general, old-fashioned comedies would appeal more to him than comedy films of recent history. Hewlett said he copied some old-fashioned techniques into his own project. He specifically mentioned A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 crime-comedy film written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. It was directed by Crichton and an uncredited Cleese, and stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. The film is about a jewel heist and its aftermath...
and Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
as major influences.
Despite A Dog's Breakfasts murder theme, Hewlett wanted to avoid violence and gore as audience attraction, and rather produce a family film for all ages. He thinks that younger members of the audience will enjoy the cartoon-like elements of the movie.
Hewlett further mentioned Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
and Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
of the silent era of movie-making as major influences, who he says reflect a simpler method of story-telling and comedy. Similarly, he did not want to overdo cutting and manipulation, as he feared this would endanger the comedy effect.
Filming
With the idea of making a movie, David Hewlett and Jane Loughman approached StargateStargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
producer John Lenic, who arranged deals with motion picture companies. Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Production Services in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
were confident enough in them to support them with free grip and electric equipment. Panavision
Panavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
Canada provided HD
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
cameras for two weeks for a day's rate.
The majority of A Dog's Breakfast was filmed on a fourteen day schedule and with extremely limited funds in January 2006 when Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
(the TV show David Hewlett stars in) was on hiatus between seasons, although some scenes had already been filmed on Saturdays during the Atlantis season. David Hewlett had originally planned to shoot at his own house in Washington, but legal problems due to its U.S. location forced the otherwise Canadian production to rent a house near Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Vancouver proved convenient as an alternative.
Many of the local actors and crew were eager to participate in the project, since the Vancouver winter weather creates a yearly lull in the local acting business. As such, A Dog's Breakfast featured many actors, crew members and pieces of equipment that are usually associated with the Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
franchise. David Hewlett
David Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
plays Rodney McKay
Rodney McKay
Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D, is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two military science fiction television shows about a military team exploring two galaxies via a network of alien transportation devices...
in Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
, Kate Hewlett
Kate Hewlett
Katherine Emily "Kate" Hewlett is a Canadian actress, writer and songwriter.-Biography:Hewlett was born in Toronto, Ontario. Her brother is actor David Hewlett, who portrayed Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis who was also her brother on-screen. Kate guest-starred as McKay's sister Jeannie in four...
plays McKay's sister in several Atlantis episodes, Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion
Paul McGillion is a Vancouver-based actor who has worked in television, film and theatre since 1990. He is best known for his role on the television series Stargate Atlantis as Dr. Carson Beckett.-Early life:...
and Rachel Luttrell
Rachel Luttrell
Rachel Luttrell is an actress best known for her role as Teyla Emmagan, an Athosian warrior leader on Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
play Carson Beckett
Carson Beckett
Dr. Carson Beckett is a fictional Scottish character in the Canadian-American science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1. He is portrayed by Scottish-born Canadian actor Paul McGillion, who previously played Dr. Ernest Littlefield in the first season of...
and Teyla Emmagan
Teyla Emmagan
Teyla Emmagan was a primary fictional character played by Rachel Luttrell in the science fiction series, Stargate Atlantis. In the show, she is the daughter of Tagan, and was a leader of a village on the planet Athos...
in Atlantis, respectively, and Christopher Judge
Christopher Judge
Douglas Christopher Judge is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific Ten Conference player.-Early life:Christopher Judge was...
is known as Teal'c
Teal'c
Teal'c is a fictional character in the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Played by Christopher Judge, Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak. As a Jaffa, Teal'c is a genetically modified human with an abdominal pouch that serves as an incubator for a larval Goa'uld...
from Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
. Hewlett joked that McGillion joined the project because "he [had] nothing else to do," and that his sister, Kate Hewlett, "was really hard to get a hold of, because she's got a writing/acting career herself." Hewlett considered Christopher Judge for the role of the "Internet-dating loser" because "he seemed so incredibly inappropriate for the part that I thought it would be very funny to have him play it." Luttrell played "a space princess on the cheesy show."
A Dog's Breakfast producer John Lenic is a producer on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and several other film crew members have significantly contributed to Stargate previously: Jim Menard (cinematography), James Robbins (production design), Mark & Robert Davidson (set decoration), Jan Newman (key makeup artist), Bill Mizel (first assistant director), Wray Douglas (special effects supervisor), James Bamford (stunt coordinator), Will Waring
Will Waring
William Waring is a camera operator and director, primarily for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis....
(camera operator), and Ivon Bartok
Ivon Bartok
Ivon Bartok is a Producer and Director, working in Canada.-Biography:Ivon Bartok studied International Relations at university, and Writing for Film and Television at the Vancouver Film School. He currently resides in Vancouver, Canada, and his birthday is in March.-Career:Ivon Bartok is a producer...
(Behind the Scenes
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
director). One set that is featured in the film as well as on Stargate is the Starcrossed spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
set, which stands in for several spaceships in the Stargate series, such as the Daedalus-class battlecruisers
Daedalus class battlecruiser
In the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and its sequels, several types of starships are introduced in the later seasons. In the series, they are the product of several years' worth of research into alien technologies discovered on off-world missions to other planets visited via the...
and the Prometheus. Music was composed by Timothy Williams
Timothy Williams (composer)
Timothy Williams is an award-winning composer of film and theater, a conductor and orchestrator. Born in England in 1966, he moved to Canada in 1970. He studied music at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and the Victoria Conservatory of Music. He won many piano competitions and was originally on a...
.
Hewlett wrote the script especially around those availabilities. This made it possible to produce the film with a budget of $120,000 total to film and produce, mostly privately raised.
Marketing
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
audience in mind and pet lovers as a secondary audience. David Hewlett stated that he very consciously wrote for certain audiences, as he had seen too many independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
makers fail who did not do so.
Before contacting possible distributors, the producers of A Dog's Breakfast mapped out specific marketing strategies by visiting Stargate websites to learn about DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sales, television viewers and convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
attendance around the world.
Inspired by The Long Tail
The Long Tail
The Long Tail or long tail refers to the statistical property that a larger share of population rests within the tail of a probability distribution than observed under a 'normal' or Gaussian distribution...
, Hewlett started an internet marketing campaign by setting up a youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel and his own producer blog for $8 a month to keep promotion costs down. Hewlett discussed marketing strategies with eager fans online. He called this Squirrel Marketing.
Promoting the movie from a Stargate angle plus high youtube sneak preview viewing numbers and a full theater for the test screening helped to convince Stargate's distributor MGM to make a deal with A Dog's Breakfast in November 2006. MGM in turn took advantage of Hewlett's grassroots support and wanted to make the movie into a test-run for direct-to-download releases. MGM officially announced the pick-up for worldwide television and home video rights on December 4, 2006.
Releases
David Hewlett and his production team did not consider a theatrical release for A Dog's Breakfast until they noticed its potential to generate interest and to enable fans to see the film. They arranged a first sneak preview at the CreationCreation Entertainment
Creation Entertainment is an entertainment company located in Glendale, California which produces fan conventions for fans of comic books, and various films and television series, mainly in the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. It was founded in 1971 by Gary Berman and Adam Malin in New York....
Stargate Convention in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on November 16, 2006. Two further screenings took place in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on February 1, 2007, with the second one only being arranged after the first planned screening had unexpectedly sold out online within twenty minutes. A Dog's Breakfast was screened several times at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film Festival is an annual independent film festival held in San Jose, California. The festival highlights the work of new film makers....
in early March 2007, and two screenings took place in the city of Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
on March 25, 2007. In the screening at the 2007 Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
Film Festival on May 24 and 26, the film was awarded Best Feature Film, and David Hewlett won the award for Best Actor. The Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
screened A Dog's Breakfast on June 22, 2007.
Although highly unusual for new movies, A Dog's Breakfast was offered in other digital formats months before the official DVD release, with iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
and Amazon Unbox
Amazon Unbox
Amazon Instant Video is an Internet video on demand service, only available in the United States, offered by Amazon.com which offers television shows and films for rental and purchase. The service became available on September 7, 2006 as Amazon Unbox...
beginning their release on July 4, 2007. MGM senior executive vice president Charles Cohen considered this as a natural move due to the high amount of interest among the Stargate fan online community. A release on hulu.com followed later.
The film was released on RC1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD (North America) on September 18, 2007. MGM originally planned an international release for between April and June 2008, which they later pushed back to August 2008 to be published in tandem with Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum
Stargate: Continuum is a Canadian-American military science fiction film released through MGM Home Entertainment , written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to Stargate SG-1, after Stargate: The Ark of Truth...
. However, as of May 2009, MGM held off an international release for up to December 2009. A UK release date remains unknown. The DVD contains special features, including a commentary track, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes, and interviews with the cast and crew.
Reception
GateWorldGateWorld
Stargate fandom is a community of people actively interested in the military science fiction film Stargate and the television shows Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Infinity , Stargate Atlantis , Stargate Universe and their spin offs...
gave four out of four stars for the "mix of physical comedy and goofy sound effects, smart storytelling and a good deal of warmth". The reviewer labeled the movie a must-see for David Hewlett fans, and considered the acting "very real", with "delightful bonuses to Stargate fans". Bostennow thought the movie was "well worth watching" and "quirky, funny and, that rarest of finds in comedy, original." They liked the comic timing of the actors, especially Hewlett. DVDSnapshot further found the low-budget indie project "a surprisingly good [film] while not relying on any big name stars or special effects." The Hewlett siblings were considered to have a "great onscreen brother-sister chemistry", and Paul McGillion's performance was lauded despite the few scenes he appears in. DVDSnapshot also stated that "the obvious jabs at Stargate are a lot of fun."
DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
"highly recommended" the film as "unquestionably one of the best direct-to-video releases of the year," comparing the film to "Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace (film)
Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 film directed by Frank Capra based on Joseph Kesselring's play of the same name. The script adaptation was by twins Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941, but it was not released until 1944, after the original stage version...
gone maniacally modern. [...] Breakfast reveals how great comedy is not dependent on cost – put together an intelligent script and a talented cast, and look how solid the results can be." The character work and beats, the direction and Hewlett's performance as "a master of wild overreaction and cartoonish screams" receive further positive mention. The Leader-Post found "what it may lack in polish it more than makes up for in wit and fun. The result is a quirky black comedy with plenty of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
-esque humour and a hint of "The Tell-Tale Heart
The Tell-Tale Heart
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the...
". [...] The movie's originality and simplicity is an asset as the spotlight is reserved fully for David Hewlett and his great acting abilities."
Starcrossed and sequels
Starcrossed is a science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
show originally within A Dog's Breakfast, created as a tribute to Stargate. During the movie production, several people told David Hewlett that Starcrossed should be made into a real show, so Hewlett approached NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
and the Sci Fi Channel. David Hewlett wrote a draft for the Starcrossed pilot in late January 2007 and sent it to the network, who bought the pilot in return. A press release by the Sci Fi Channel described Starcrossed as a high touch, high-tech half-hour comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
about life behind the camera at a long-running sci-fi space soap, similar to the movie Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
. David Hewlett further outlined Starcrossed as a "situation comedy about the making of a science fiction show, because there's really nothing sillier than serious science fiction. [...] It's very loosely based on a Stargate kind of thing, but it's not Stargate. It's not a spoof. It's just the silliness of the day-to-day life of trying to make a television series".
In March 2007, David Hewlett acknowledged that although Starcrossed made it into script stage, it might never be filmed. In July 2007, however, he stated that a Starcrossed deal was still very much possible, leading to another potential hiatus project for him. Hewlett also mentioned the project in September 2007, stating that he was still in talks with Sci Fi "about spinning off [Starcrossed] into a Larry Sanders-type show about making science fiction." Other possibilities are producing webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
s. In March 2008, The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
announced that Starcrossed was planned to debut in the fourth quarter of 2008 as an original web series, produced by Universal Media Studios, Jane Loughman and John Lenic. However, none of the plans were eventually implemented. In April 2009, David Hewlett said via his Twitter account that Sci Fi would return the rights of Starcrossed to him and that he planned to shoot a two-hour pilot episode himself.
In his blogs and in an interview, David Hewlett has announced that a sequel is planned named A Dog's Breakfast 2: Heir of the Dog. He also announced that he would like to bring back Christopher Judge, Rachel Luttrell, and Paul McGillion in the new movie.