Editing Richard A. Colla
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'''Richard A. Colla''' | '''Richard A. Colla''' is the solely-credited director of the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] pilot "[[Saga of a Star World]]." | ||
== Early Career == | == Early Career == | ||
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Colla relocated to [[w:California|California]], acting in ''[[w:Days of our Lives|Days of our Lives]]'' after being introduced to that series' executive producer by actor [[w:Mac Carey|Mac Carey]], even though he had designs on directing.<ref name="galtv"/> | Colla relocated to [[w:California|California]], acting in ''[[w:Days of our Lives|Days of our Lives]]'' after being introduced to that series' executive producer by actor [[w:Mac Carey|Mac Carey]], even though he had designs on directing.<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
Colla then shifted from acting to directing, and directed a variety of short films to use as "Calling cards" in order to acquire his first directing gig (and his [[w:Directors Guild of America|Directors Guild of America]] card<ref>Per | Colla then shifted from acting to directing, and directed a variety of short films to use as "Calling cards" in order to acquire his first directing gig (and his [[w:Directors Guild of America|Directors Guild of America]] card<ref>Per the Galactica.TV interview, "You have to get three directors to sign your application. So I went to find [[Leslie Stevens|Leslie [Stevens]]] because I asked him to sign my application [because] I really appreciated his work. So I knew him, and at the time I don't think I even knew that [[Glen Larson|Glen [Larson]]] was involved in the project."</ref>) in [[w:Don Siegel|Don Siegel]]'s 1966 half-hour series ''[[w:The Legend of Jesse James|The Legend of Jesse James]]'' for [[w:Twentieth Century fox|Twentieth Century Fox]].<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
Colla became a contract director for [[w:Universal Studios|Universal Studios]] under [[George Santoro]], and was offered work on ''[[w:McCloud|McCloud]]'', where he met future "[[Saga of a Star World]]" cinematographer [[Ben Coleman]].<ref name="galtv"/> | Colla became a contract director for [[w:Universal Studios|Universal Studios]] under [[George Santoro]], and was offered work on ''[[w:McCloud|McCloud]]'', where he met future "[[Saga of a Star World]]" cinematographer [[Ben Coleman]].<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
== ''Battlestar Galactica'' == | == ''Battlestar Galactica'' == | ||
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Upon being informed by Santoro that [[Glen Larson]] sold the movie-of-the-week, "[[Saga of a Star World]]," to [[ABC]] for $1.8 million United States Dollars (adjusted for inflation in 2018 dollars: $7,590,534.65 USD<ref> {{cite_web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1977?amount=1800000|title=CPI Inflation Calculator|date=|accessdate=8 June 2019|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref>) Colla arranged multiple discussions with various department heads to gather an actual budget. Upon these discussions and with copies of the various department budgets in hand, Colla had discovered (much to Santoro's chagrin) that "Saga" was undersold and would need to be shot for $9 million (adjusted for inflation in 2018 dollars: $37,952,673.27 USD<ref> {{cite_web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1977?amount=9000000|title=CPI Inflation Calculator|date=|accessdate=8 June 2019|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref>). As a result of this fact, the studio would need to release "Saga" as a theatrical feature in order to recoup the cost differences.<ref name="galtv"/> | Upon being informed by Santoro that [[Glen Larson]] sold the movie-of-the-week, "[[Saga of a Star World]]," to [[ABC]] for $1.8 million United States Dollars (adjusted for inflation in 2018 dollars: $7,590,534.65 USD<ref> {{cite_web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1977?amount=1800000|title=CPI Inflation Calculator|date=|accessdate=8 June 2019|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref>) Colla arranged multiple discussions with various department heads to gather an actual budget. Upon these discussions and with copies of the various department budgets in hand, Colla had discovered (much to Santoro's chagrin) that "Saga" was undersold and would need to be shot for $9 million (adjusted for inflation in 2018 dollars: $37,952,673.27 USD<ref> {{cite_web|url=http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1977?amount=9000000|title=CPI Inflation Calculator|date=|accessdate=8 June 2019|last=|first=|format=|language=}}</ref>). As a result of this fact, the studio would need to release "Saga" as a theatrical feature in order to recoup the cost differences.<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
Upon further reading the script, he believed it to be a "comic book" insofar as both the story and characterizations were concerned. Despite assurances from | Upon further reading the script, he believed it to be a "comic book" insofar as both the story and characterizations were concerned. Despite assurances from Stevens that these areas of opportunity would be addressed, Colla felt that the deficiencies were never addressed.<ref>{{cite book/sswa|48}}</ref> | ||
Due to creative differences with Glen Larson and believing him to be an "ungrateful bastard," Colla was asked to leave four days prior to the scheduled completion of shooting "Saga of a Star World." He obliged.<ref name="galtv"/> | Due to creative differences with [[Glen Larson]] and believing him to be an "ungrateful bastard," Colla was asked to leave four days prior to the scheduled completion of shooting shooting "Saga of a Star World." He obliged.<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
It should be noted that, due to re-shoots and re-writes by Larson, this ballooned so that Colla had ended up leaving at the half-way point as the remaining scenes (along with re-shoots) were directed by [[Alan J. Levi]]. Colla never had the chance to discuss anything with Levi.<ref name="galtv"/> | It should be noted that, due to re-shoots and re-writes by Larson, this ballooned so that Colla had ended up leaving at the half-way point as the remaining scenes (along with re-shoots) were directed by [[Alan J. Levi]]. Colla never had the chance to discuss anything with Levi.<ref name="galtv"/> | ||
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== Post-''Galactica'' == | == Post-''Galactica'' == | ||
He also directed ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[MemoryAlpha:The Last Outpost|The Last Outpost]]", which first introduced the [[MemoryAlpha:Ferengi|Ferengi]]. | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{ext-ma | {{ext-ma}} | ||
*[http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-1978---interviews/richard-colla-galactica.tv-interview.html Richard Colla interview at Galactica.TV] | *[http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-1978---interviews/richard-colla-galactica.tv-interview.html Richard Colla interview at Galactica.TV] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div> | |||
[[Category:A to Z]] | [[Category:A to Z]] | ||
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[[Category:Former Star Trek Cast and Crew]] | [[Category:Former Star Trek Cast and Crew]] | ||
[[Category:TOS]] | |||
[[fr:Richard A. Colla]] | [[fr:Richard A. Colla]] | ||