Disclaimer: My original guest-post was first published on The MacGyver Project on September 6, 2016. I made some minor changes (e.g. grammar or source corrections, link corrections, additional pictures) before re-posting it on my own blog for safe-keeping.
Less than three weeks until the Premiere! Filming continues while the promo cycle goes on. The huge wall paintings ad is finished and garners lots of attention. Also, we got more preview trailers!
(Spoiler Alert: To avoid spoilers, I won’t post any revealing pictures, but you will get spoilered by reading this post or by clicking on the links provided!)
Working on Episodes 3, 4 and 5
Filming continued for Episodes 3 and 4 and they already started on Episode 5 (called “Toothpick“), directed by Bobby Roth (Revenge, Agents of Shield). On September 4, he shared a picture of him with Tristin Mays on set.
Several extras shared pictures of themselves in military gear; e.g. Derek Bosworth or Thomas Murphy. Stills Photographer Erika Doss revealed her own dresscode.
Extra Mark Stevens granted us another glimpse of the interior set with New MacGyver’s home. Hopefully, it’s not as dark as “Bunker City” like this picture that Lucas Till shared on September 1.
Location Scout Gonzo Rey showed a picture of him sitting on a “throne” on set – in fact, several of the cast and crew took turns to pose with the prop (apparently an old shroud from a commercial jet engine). Maybe they tried to distract us from the Russian nuclear bomb in the Lifecycle Building Center? Good thing the bomb is constantly guarded by May.
Executive Producer Peter Lenkov didn’t share as many pictures recently – it seems he was busy editing Episode 2 and cutting the scenes with Amy Acker. On August 30, he posted a picture of “a man and his old school bomb”. On September 6, he shared two other pictures from set; one of them titled “train”.
On the other hand, George Eads finally discovered Instagram. He shared a picture of him between takes and granted us a look at the “War Wagon” (presumably from Episode 2). We also got a picture of him posing in front of the headstone of “Jack S. Dalton Sr.” and one with Extra Sonia Rockwell.
Let the Promo continue: Wall Painting
Mando shared a picture of the finished Wall Painting ad on Hotel Figueroa in LA. The Mural garnered quite some attention on social media; being posted from different angles.
Let the Promo continue: Preview Trailers
On August 29, Hot Bench released a preview video with new scenes. I have to say that while it looks nice at first, I don’t like it. I have to assume that it was put together by someone at CBS who doesn’t know the original show at all. I don’t know what audience they try to reach with this – I guess a younger one that likes this kind of music, but if the reboot is anything like this preview, it won’t work that way…
TV Promo 360 released another “inofficial” preview that explains the use and meaning of the verb “MacGyver” (=using limited resources to escape an impossible situation). If you want to see the other promo videos (that I posted about in the last update) in a better quality, you can check out SpoilerTV.
On September 1, we got a combo-video-promo for MacGyver and Hawaii Five-0 – MacGyver and McGarrett (or Mac and M(a)c, back to back) on Fridays.
Additionally, we also got a short video interview (probably from the TCAs) with George Eads and Lucas Till. George jokes about how his body is too old for all the action scenes and both say again that they would really like to have Richard Dean Anderson on the show.
Let the Promo continue: MacGyver on “Big Brother”
I didn’t know “Big Brother” is still a thing (since I can’t stand these type of shows and don’t keep up with them). Apparently, they had some MacGyver-themed contest going on and got Pizza afterwards – Pizza in interesting-looking Pizza Boxes. CBS is sure promoting the hell out of this reboot.
There will also be a special premiere screening at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Georgia on September 11. The invitation is made by the Georgia Departement of Defense, and John Till (Lucas Till’s father who’s a lieutenant colonel) will hold a meet and greet along with some of the cast and directors of the show.
Cast and Crew News
Central Casting Georgia has again made several casting calls; e.g. for a new hand double for MacGyver. We all know about Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson and his tendency to cut up his hands with the SAK on set. (He recently told the story of how he got the injury on Episode 2×10 (Three for the Road) at Armageddon Expo New Zealand in March – check the video at the 19-Minute-Mark if you want to hear the gory details.) Did New MacGyver’s old hand double already get into trouble?
I guess it’s more likely that because they’re filming two or more episodes at the same time, they needed more hand doubles for the close-up scenes. Nonetheless, the casting call gave us another close look at the watch that New MacGyver is wearing. Looks good!
Casting Calls also included American Militia Separatists, Moroccan Pedestrians, German Commuters, Japanese Board Members, German Cars, a Caucasian Male in his Late 20’s-40’s with a neatly trimmed beard, German and African looking Men and Women to work in a train depot and a Caucasian Female with a 3 or 4 year old daughter.
The Press Release for the Pilot Episode revealed that Tracy Spiridakos will play Nikki Carpenter. We already disscussed the possibility of Nikki Carpenter appearing in the Reboot (especially now that we know Penny Parker will also be back); but because I always assumed that Tracy will play the “Big Bad” betraying MacGyver, I never made the connection before. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Somehow, I can’t imagine Original Nikki Carpenter being a “Big Bad”; at least not on purpose.
Sharing Filming Locations
It was revealed that shooting will continue at Atlanta City Hall on Wednesday, September 7 – it’s the same location where the new Spiderman-Movie was being filmed today. The scenes will involve simulated gunfire. More Action!
Dashboard On Fire 