Watch The Hostage online

The Hostage is now available online for viewing. It's definitely a very different role for Tahmoh. Enjoy, and do let us know what you think of it!

The Hostage to be Released - Tonight!

The Hostage will be released tonight!  Tahmoh and Aleks Paunovic produced and star in this independent film, written and directed by their friend Brent Cote.


Brent broke the story of the release on Twitter and Tahmoh tweeted soon after:

The boys and I are thinking its time to release The Hostage. Perfect movie for the month of Oct and in the spirit of Halloween! Within 24hrs.

I am not going to be able to be online much of the day to provide the extra details that Brent promises. But keep an eye on @Brent_Cote, @alekspaun, and @TahmohPenikett on twitter and I'm sure you'll get fed the link!

Tartarus

Tahmoh has been cast as the main character in a science fiction short film called Tartarus. The filmmakers are currently sourcing for funding to make the film at Kickstarter. Check out the film's official site here. We will keep you updated once we have more info.

Tahmoh (& other BSG cast) voice Robot Chicken episode

Tahmoh, Katee Sackhoff and Michael Hogan all lent their voices to a recent episode of Comedy Central's Robot Chicken. You can see the segment at the Adult Swim website. Tahmoh voiced Helo (at left), but also Armpit, the failed rapist in an earlier clip.

During the Galactica press preview earlier this summer, Tahmoh revealed how he and the other cast members became involved in the show:

IGN: "Robot Chicken Meets Battlestar Galactica"
Galactica actors to appear on Season 3 of Chicken.

IGN visited the set of Battlestar Galactica this week for a special press event. During a Q&A with Battlestar cast members Jamie Bamber, Michael Hogan, Grace Park, Aaron Douglas and Tahmoh Penikett, Penikett told a story about a brief encounter with Robot Chicken co-creator/writer Seth Green at an after-Grammy party. As Penikett related, Green and "his entourage" walked past, but not before he stopped and gave Penikett a long stare, which Penikett joked he thought meant Green wanted to pick a fight.

However, as it turned out, it was likely simply Green recognizing the Galactica star, because Penikett turned to Hogan and said, "A month and a half later we got called for Robot Chicken, huh Mike?" Penikett didn't reveal what sort of sketch they would be appearing in on the stop-motion series, but it's not difficult to guess a Galactica segment is coming on the show's upcoming third season.

Watch the Battlestar Galactica segment.
(The humor might not be to everyone's taste.)

Watch the Halloween segment with Armpit and the followup.

ETA: The correct direct link to the BSG clip, sorry!

Trailer for Taming Tammy (2006)

A short preview for this upcoming adaptation of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," in which Tahmoh plays Wilson, an arrogant plastic surgeon has been posted to MySpace. You might recognize one of its stars, Aleks Paunovic, who played Sgt. Fischer (killed on the Algae planet) on Battlestar.

Tahmoh's only in the trailer very briefly, but here's a screencap:

Watch the trailer.

You can see a different, higher res photo of Tahmoh on the set as well as find out more about the movie, in my previous posts about Taming Tammy.

Here's a synopsis of the plot:

A lively modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” which takes the battle of the sexes to the extreme with ex-champ boxer, Sy “The Bruiser” Balkovich, and feisty sex toy seller, Tammy “The Shrew” Taylor.

Tammy has moved back home to take care of her ailing father, Burt, also an ex-boxer. Her brother, Tristan, a strong, quiet, athletic gay man, lives at home and is dating Lucas, a sweet, flamboyant restaurant manager. Burt has resigned himself to his son being gay but he would prefer that his son he be with someone who can take care of him when he’s gone and he thinks Lucas is an unsuccessful deadbeat. Burt also wants Tammy to have her life in order before he passes so he introduces her to Damon, the VP from his company, hoping that they would hit it off and she would be taken care of and happy when he’s gone.

Unfortunately, Damon is in the ‘closet’ and finds himself more attracted to Tristan than Tammy. On top of this, Lucas is determined to prove to Burt that he’s good enough for Tristan so Burt makes an ultimatum: no one can be with Tristan until they find someone to be with Tammy!

This is no small task since Tammy’s shrewish reputation has preceded her at every turn and Damon and Lucas can’t find a single willing match. That’s until Lucas turns to his roommate, ex-champ boxer Sy “The Bruiser” Balkovich who desperately wants a chance to showcase his songwriting at Lucas’ bar. Lucas tells him if he can get Tammy to go out with him, he’ll put him on stage.

Only question is, will the toughest guy in town be tough enough for Tammy?

Tahmoh in short martial arts video

"Power of the Heart," by Ridgehand Productions is now on YouTube. Tahmoh plays "Thug #1". Not sure when this was filmed.

Here are two screencaps. You can watch the 5 minute video here. Enjoy.

Thanks to reblrose for the link!

Tahmoh in independent film Taming Tammy

This past May, Tahmoh played Wilson, an arrogant plastic surgeon, in Tracy D. Smith's Taming Tammy. Smith also directed Tahmoh in the 2005 short film, Sandra goes to Whistler, in which he starred as Conrad.

Taming Tammy is "a lively modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” which takes the battle of the sexes to the extreme with ex-champ boxer, Sy “The Bruiser” Balkovich, and feisty sex toy seller, Tammy “The Shrew;” it stars Aleks Paunovic (Sgt. Fischer on Battlestar) as Sy and Sarah Jane Redmond as Tammy.

Aleks Paunovic, Sarah Jane Redmond and Tahmoh Penikett on set

Tahmoh's sister, Stephanie Penikett, also participated in the production. ("Susan Penikett" is also credited, but is likely meant to be "Sarah Penikett," Tahmoh's other sister).

A longer synopsis of the film can be found here.

For more, see also the Province profile of the film and filmmakers, "Taming Tammy on their own terms: These people are having the times of their lives bankrolling and filming."

Thanks to Michelle of Aaron Douglas Fans for the head's up!

New screen caps from Under the Cover

Under the Cover is the three-part sequel to the short film, Below the Belt, in which Tahmoh stars. You can download Below the Belt from cineclix.com for 99 cents (see a description and instructions in my earlier post). All three episodes of Under the Cover can be downloaded for free from ZeD (links here).


To put the photos in context, here's the summary I posted a year ago:

I'd really recommend watching Below the Belt first as it's the pilot to the series, but if you can't spare the 99 cents, be warned, Jonas (Tahmoh) has:

- retreated under a red blanket.
- declared himself an asexual amoeba.
- broken up with his sex-starved girlfriend, Tabatha.
- Oh and there's a freaky clown.

Incidentally, Tahmoh was filming Under the Cover when he had to go audition for Helo. So he's not always the one under the red blanket. Your guess is as good as mine as to when that is... Though clearly he made it back in time for episode 4.



See dozens more caps over at Northern Lights.

You can also check out the Career News Archive to see my other posts on both short films. I try to keep it up to date, but the best way to find previous posts on a topic that interests you is to use the "search this blog" box at the top of this page. Google owns Blogger and so the search function is quite good.

Pic of Tahmoh from Sandra Goes to Whistler

New pics and cast and crew bios have been posted to the Sandra Goes to Whistler website.


Tahmoh starred in this short film last year. A brief synopsis:

Suze, Sandra’s crazy but caring best friend is determined to make Sandra forget her ex-boyfriend who dumped her and takes her to Whistler for the Western Steer Conference—a place where there are many cowboys that may be interested in a wounded calf like Sandra. It’s time to save a horse and ride a cowboy, but like all best laid plans (no pun intended), things go awry.

See my earlier post on the film here.

Tahmoh short film, Below the Belt, online

Tahmoh's early short film, which I blogged about here and reviewed here, is now only 99 cents to download at Cineclix.com. Just search for "Below the Belt" to watch the trailer and to download.

Download it now.

Tahmoh's co-star, Dominika Wolski, commented on my review of the film and offered some behind-the-scenes info on its production. Read what she had to say.

If you're interested in Tahmoh's other work, be sure to check out the career news archive, where I've arranged many of my posts chronologically according to project.

For those interested, the 3-part sequel to Below the Belt titled Under the Cover is available for free download. See the archive for details.

Tahmoh in Sandra Goes to Whistler (2005)

According to IMDB, Tahmoh will play "Conrad" in this six-minute comedic short film, commissioned by the 2005 Whistler Film Festival:

Sandra goes to Whistler for a one night stand to heal her broken heart but the next morning things get complicated when she learns that her Whistler lover actually lives in her building in Vancouver!

Sofia K Productions in coordination with Story Craft Pictures is producing "Sandra Goes to Whistler" to screen at this year's Whistler Film Festival, which will be from December 1st to 4th, 2005. So anyone in the Vancouver-area could go to see the film!

Whistler Stories is a legacy program for the Whistler area in advance of the 2010 Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Games. Slated to run annually until 2010, a jury will select four projects per year to receive a commission of $5,000 to create a short film (approximately five minutes in length) which must be based on stories from Whistler and surrounding areas, including the Sea-to-Sky Corridor.

The movie follows up on the earlier Sandra Gets Dumped (2005):

This is a comedy about being dumped. Sandra's boyfriend's gone up north for a job so she's putting together a care package for him and making a video letter to send with it. Everything in the video short is Sandra addressing the camera for this "letter." After she puts everything into the package, she holds up the love letter he left for her that she's been saving to read on camera. As she reads, she's devastated to see that it's actually a "Dear Jane" letter. He's banging their neighbor in Vegas. First comes shock, then denial and we watch as Sandra goes through the seven stages of grief dealing with being dumped: shock, denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance.

Apparently Sandra Goes to Whistler features a line-dancing scene at a lesbian convention. From zinecat.com:

Ladies! Do you like a party? Do you like to dance? Come be an extra for our big line dancing party scene, shooting Sunday, October 30th, for the hilarious sequel, 'Sandra Goes to Whistler'. If you liked the Crazy8s short film, "Sandra Gets Dumped" you'll love the sequel also known as "Sandra Gets Laid".

From singer-songwriter Fiona Lehn's website, we find this bit of news:

'Every Bit is You,' another song from Lehn's soon-to-be-released CD, will be featured in a new short film entitled "Sandra Goes to Whistler," by Vancouver writer/director Tracy D. Smith.

'Every Bit is You' is a crush parody with an over-the-top cyber metaphor that will have computer geeks (and not so geeky geeks) chuckling as they boogie on down the line -- the line dance, that is. The song will be showcased in a bar scene line dance at a lesbian convention in Whistler. Oh yes -- The fun has just begun!

Listen to clips of some of Lehn's other music.
(Unfortunately not one of "Every Bit is You".)

Tahmoh in Go-Go Boy (2002)

In the absence of real news, I thought I'd let you know what'd I'd discovered about one item on Tahmoh's filmography, Go-Go Boy. I've never seen it and could find out very little. If anyone knows more, please let me know. Here's what I have:

According to Playback, Go-Go Boy stars Gabrielle Rose and newcomers Tahmoh Penikett and Connor Widdows in a story based on a Vancouver-made superhero comic strip.

In the story, a young man develops a fetish for the superhero lifestyle while aspiring to overcome past and present vulnerabilities.

Tahmoh plays "Aaron Fitz," the titular "go-go boy." Go-Go Boy (Prelude), directed by Kenneth Sherman, was filmed in August of 2002 in Vancouver, Canada. The film is about 12 minutes long (filming only took 4 days).

In a strange BSG connection, Connor Widdows plays Boxey on Galactica.

As this article about the technology behind the film points out, "The film was feted by the local industry for its artistic merit in 2003, was intended to be both a visual treatment for a feature, and to showcase transfer technologies."

Won 4 2003 Leo Awards (British Columbia Film and Television)

Best Cinematography in a Short Drama

Best Picture Editing in a Short Drama

Best Overall Sound in a Short Drama

Best Sound Editing in a Short Drama

Behind-the-Scenes Photos from Under the Cover

I know alot of you had a chance to see Tahmoh in Under the Cover, which I posted about a week ago, but I thought I'd point out that ZeD also has posted behind-the-scenes photos from the set.

Sadly most don't feature Tahmoh, but here are a couple I found:

Now you see him...



Now you don't.



(Bonus points to whoever deciphers what he's writing...)


(Photos courtesy of Katie Yu.)

More behind-the-scenes photos here:

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

For more on Under the Cover, see my previous posts or the career news archive.

Under the Cover online!

ZeD has posted Under the Cover online--for free! (For more on Under the Cover, see my previous posts or the career news archive). ZeD sounds pretty cool. Oh to be Canadian:

ZeD is a launch pad for independent creative expression that uses TV and the Web to seek out and broadcast the best new short films, videos, animation, visual art, performance and music in Canada and around the world.

I'd really recommend watching Below the Belt first as it's the pilot to the series, but if you can't spare the 99 cents, be warned, Jonas (Tahmoh) has:

- retreated under a red blanket.
- declared himself an asexual amoeba.
- broken up with his sex-starved girlfriend, Tabatha.
- Oh and there's a freaky clown.

(I posted a longer review with screen caps earlier).

Here are the links:

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Jonas spends most of eps 2&3 covered in his red blanket. But in ep 4 he emerges. It results in some racy action, so beware. (Not work-safe).

Please feel free to comment in response to this post and to the film!

Here are some screencaps:

More on Under the Cover (2003)

An interview with the director of Under the Cover, Jason Bourque, offers some more details about the project:

Under the Cover, originally titled Below the Belt, is a series of three 10-minute shorts described as "sexy social satire" by Jason Bourque, the Leo Award-winning filmmaker who directed from teleplays by longtime friend and creative collaborator, writer-actress Dominika Wolski....

The bizarre, whimsical pilot, filmed at Saxe Point in Esquimalt over two years ago, was selected for broadcast from over 1,000 submissions. The film... amusingly comments on how the media fuels sexual stereotyping through the tale of a sex-starved woman whose frigid boyfriend claims to be an amoeba trapped in a man's body.

Wolski and Bourque... had originally envisioned a potential series about the rise of the amoebas against the infrastructure, but the tone shifted direction during the creative process.

"It changed from this epic about an amoeba nation to more of a love story," said Bourque, 30, who financed the pilot with his VISA card.

Under the Cover, whose three episodes were filmed back-to-back over six days in nightclubs, parks and coffee shops in Vancouver last month [March 2003], is just one of dozens of projects that have kept Bourque busy....

(From "The Bourque Identity" by Michael D. Reid, Times Colonist, April 2003).

I'm glad they decided against the whole amoebas vs. the infrastructure thing... it was nice to see Tahmoh out from under his blanket eventually.

Tahmoh in Under the Cover (2003)

Wondering about the other items on Tahmoh's filmography? Well IMBD has very little info on the TV movie, Under the Cover (2002), but I've done some research.

In it, Tahmoh reprises his role as Jonas (see Below the Belt); in fact, Under the Cover seems to continue the story started in Below the Belt. It was shot in Vancouver in 2002 and released on Canadian TV (and theatrically) in 2002/2003.

According to GoldStar Productions, the production company:

"Under the Cover" began as a short film that was selected out of 1200 others across Canada to be made into a 4-part mini-series that aired on CBC.

Created by Dominika Wolski, the four episodes follow Jonas and Tabatha (played by Tahmoh Penikett and Dominika) on their road to understanding the pressures of sex and relationships in the new millennium.

Media's influences on modern sexual expectations are at the root of one young man's alienation. His solution is to become an asexual being: an amoeba. Will his peers follow him, as they do every other trend they encounter?

For those curious, a clip is available online. (You'll have to disable your pop-up blocker. Then click on "What We've Done" and scroll to the right to "Under the Cover." Click the film still to download the clip.)

Jonas (Tahmoh) is the one with the red blanket over his head. But really you shouldn't miss this clip. When else will you get to hear Tahmoh yell:

"I am an amoeba, the preacher of the petri-dish!"

----------
UPDATE: Link to all the episodes and screen caps now posted!

Tahmoh in The Winner (2002)

Because of late I'm apparently all about resurrecting obscure past roles in tiny indy films, I bring you: Tahmoh Penikett as Jackie in The Winner (2002).

How much money is enough to kill for? Can friendships persist through greed and suspicion? These and other questions are explored in The Winner, a fast paced 15-minute film that exposes the frailties of human nature in four diametrically opposed characters.

A group of roommates celebrate winning two million dollars in their lottery pool. The next morning they awake to find that one of them is dead! The ensuing battle of wits and finger pointing leaves us wondering how they all managed to live together in the first place. Who is telling the truth, who is teaming up with who? In a thrilling twist, the winner is revealed in the biggest lie of all.

You can read the 17-page press kit PDF here.

Tahmoh Penikett as "Jackie":

Tahmoh's bio from the press kit:

Tahmoh recently played "Eric" in Glory Days, a new Warner Brothers series and has also appeared in over 15 independent films including Suspicious Circumstances, Clive and Below the Belt. He is a graduate of the Victoria Motion Picture School and is currently studying at the Lyric School of Acting in Vancouver. Born in Whitehorse, Yukon, he enjoys training and looks forward to future projects.

Ah ha! More obscure films for me to search out...

Unfortunately, I think Tahmoh plays the dead guy in The Winner.
(Insert bad "I guess he's not really a winner" joke here).

Review: Below the Belt (2000)

So I downloaded the film (see previous post). For those of you wondering, it's 55MB and requires Windows Media Player 9 or above. Here are some initial reactions/thoughts.

Below the Belt, as you might imagine, is all about sex. After a Monty-Pythonesque opening about the birds and the bees, we meet the principle protagonists: Jonas and Tabatha. They've been dating six months and by now Tabatha is, to put it mildly, quite eager to have sex (see previous post for more plot summary).

Tahmoh plays an asexual guy, with a dorky streak (he knows all about flowers?). It's set outdoors by the lake in Canada/Caprica that Baltar's imaginary house overlooks (see picture below... which is named? anyone?)

The film is racy and a bit awkward. It features rather explicit discussion of sex and lots of sexually suggestive imagery (involving balloons and a clown... don't ask). In any case, I wouldn't watch it with any children/parents about... consider yourself warned.

In short, Below the Belt is not going to be winning any Oscars, but was a quirky, low-budget, indy short film.

(Spoilers below the photos for those wondering how it ends.)

If you watch, please leave a comment or email me. I feel the need to discuss.

Some pretty screen caps for your enjoyment...






SPOILERS... in the comment to this post. Click below.

Tahmoh in Below the Belt (2000)

Tahmoh stars in this 10 minute film, available for download (for 99 cents) at CineClix.com. Just search for "Below the Belt" and click for more detail and then an info page with more information and a cast list will appear.

It appears to be a kind of Sex and the City / Clueless take on a young relationship; complete with a female narrator...

Below the Belt is a quirky perspective on defining love in the new millennium. By considering the outside influences through which humans interpret one another's boundaries of devotion, the film dips into a subliminal level of gonad confusion.

Jonas (Tahmoh Penikett) and Tabatha (Dominika Wolski), a couple in their early twenties, are having a picnic in the park to celebrate their six month anniversary. As Tabatha petitions Jonas to finally have sex with her, his hesitation to mark intimacy by physical intercourse becomes a catalyst for a behind-the-zipper revelation.

If you're not ready to commit the $2, then you can watch the trailer in which Tahmoh appears briefly. I'm currently working up my courage to watch the whole film as I embarrass easily. I'll report back once I've seen it (see my review here).

Career news

This is an index of all my posts (through March 2006) relating to Tahmoh's career--except the posts on Battlestar Galactica... to see those you have to go through the month by month archives (left sidebar).

However, the best way to find posts on topics that interest you is to click on the relevant tag at the bottom of a post or in the sidebar at left. I've been working on tagging all my old posts, but it's a work in progress.

Alternatively, you can use the "search this blog" box at the top of this page. Google owns Blogger and so the search function is quite good. With the advent of this search utility, I do not plan to continue laboriously hand-indexing these posts.

I also recommend you visit Tahmoh's IMDB profile for the latest casting news.

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Trapped Ashes: Stanley's Girlfriend (2006) - Young Leo

Fangoria #252: Trapped Ashes coverage
Update on Trapped Ashes
New plot details for Trapped Ashes
Tahmoh to play "young Leo" in Trapped Ashes

Sandra Goes to Whistler (2005) - Conrad

Pic of Tahmoh from Sandra Goes to Whistler
Tahmoh in Sandra Goes to Whistler

Hush (2005) - Noah Hamilton

Last Chance to see Hush
Hush (2005) on Lifetime tonight @ 9/8c
Hush on Lifetime Tonight @ 11/10c
More Hush Screen Caps
Screen Caps of Tahmoh in Hush
Hush on Tonight @ 9/8c on Lifetime
Trailer/Screen Caps for Tahmoh's new movie, Hush
Lifetime posts more info on Hush
More Hush Airdates Announced
Hush (2005) to be released this May
More on Tahmoh's movie, "Hush"
Tahmoh in a movie!

Battlestar Galactica (2004-) - Lt. Karl 'Helo' Agathon

Cold Squad (2004) - Det. Ray Chase

"And the Fury" screen caps (part 3)
"And the Fury" screen caps (part 2)
Tahmoh Cold Squad promotional photos
"And the Fury" screen caps (part 1)
"C'mon I Tip Waitresses" screen caps
"Teen Angel" screen caps
Screen caps of Tahmoh in the Cold Squad credits
Tahmoh Talks about "Cold Squad" (2004)
Tahmoh on "Cold Squad"

Smallville (2004) - Vince in "Resurrection" (3.15)

Tahmoh in "Smallville" (2004)

The L Word (2004) - Sheriff in "Losing It" (1.6)

Tahmoh on "The L Word" (2004)

Battlestar Galactica miniseries (2003) - Lt. Karl 'Helo' Agathon

Just Cause (2003) - in "Blackboard Jungle" (1.20)

Stargate SG-1 (2003) - Third in "Unnatural Selection" (6.12)

Photos of Tahmoh from Stargate SG-1

Under the Cover (2003) - Jonas

Behind-the-Scenes Photos from Under the Cover
Under the Cover online!
More on Under the Cover (2003)
Tahmoh in Under the Cover (2003)

Go-Go Boy: Prelude (2002) - Aaron Fitz (Go-Go Boy)

Tahmoh in Go-Go Boy (2002)

The Winner (2002) - Jackie

Tahmoh in The Winner (2002)

Dark Angel (2002) - N.D. Cop #1 in "Freak Nation" (2.21)

Tahmoh in Dark Angel (2002)

Glory Days (2002) - Eric in "No Guts, No Glory" (1.08)

Wildfire 7: The Inferno (2002) - Ranger

Suspicious Circumstances (200?)

Clive (200?)

Below the Belt (2000) - Jonas

Tahmoh short film, Below the Belt, online
Review: Below the Belt (2000)
Tahmoh in Below the Belt (2000)

The Cold Heart of a Killer (1996)