Earlier today we participated in the Canada Reads Live Chat with FlashForward author, Robert J. Sawyer. It was fun chat with lots of interesting discussion.

Here are Robert J. Sawyer’s answers to our questions:

FFB: What inspired you to write FlashForward and which aspect do you hope the TV series brings to the forefront?

RobertJSawyer:  Roco, I was inspired by a 20th-anniversary high-school reunion.   Everyone was saying “If I’d only known then what I know now, things would be better.” …I wanted to test that proposition: that knowing the future, even if it was bad, would be a good thing. For the TV serious, it’s that philosophical debate that I mos want them to keep intact … and the ARE.

FFB: Thanks for your answer – do you personally believe that knowing the future on such a mass level is a good thing for humanity?

RobertJSawyer:  Roco, the question is whether knowing it we can change it.   If we CAN change it, then, yes, the foreknowledge is a great thing.   If people could see just how bad climate change is going to get, for instance, we might actually do something about it in time to stop it.

Many thanks to Hannah Sung for hosting and moderating the Live Chat. To read the entire transcript, head on over to the Canada Reads Bookclub blog!

FlashForward premieres Sept. 24th on ABC.

The latest from the world of FlashForward -- new promos, Gabrielle Union interview and FlashForward news!

Click through the jump to view:

I’ll be honest, it’s getting difficult to keep track of all these FlashForward promos! That said, the following are fresh out of the kitchen:

[AlloTV / babisnakis]

Gabrielle Union interview:

Q: Since you’re not in the pilot, who do you play on the show?

Gabrielle: I play Zoey. She’s Demetri’s (John Cho) fiancé, and a criminal defense attorney.

Q: Will viewers get to see your flash forward?

Gabrielle: Yes. I would say it’s life-affirming. Take that as you may. I’m not a great liar, so they just don’t tell me anything. I was getting information, literally seconds before I was filming.

Q: How is it to work on something so secretive? How can you even go about developing your character?

Gabrielle: I think they instinctually chose actors who embodied what they were looking for. Right before action, they’re like, “Oh, yeah . . .” And, you’re like, “That changes everything! Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Obviously, it can be a little daunting, not to have information to prepare with, but I think it’s all done purposely and, strangely enough, beautifully. I’ve seen it with other actors, with me having information that they don’t have, but they’re instinctually doing what is right, for the moment.

Q: Are you not allowed to talk to each other about the characters then?

Gabrielle: Sometimes my character is a little bit more informed than another character, maybe based on something I have seen or not seen.

Q: Would you want to know what goes on in your life, six months ahead?

Gabrielle: That’s why we have psychics, and I’m obsessed with watching Crossing Over with John Edwards. We want to know. We want to have some sort of insight into what’s going to happen. I’ve been tempted to go to psychics, over the years, when I’ve been up for a job. You’re like, “Can somebody just tell me? I don’t want to wait through the weekend.” But, it takes the fun out of it. When I have gone to see psychics, I’m waiting for signs and I’ll turn somebody crossing in front of my car into something else. So, I think we’re in charge of our own destiny, and we make it with our choices and decisions. I think you can effectively and pro-actively alter your own destiny.

Q: Do you think that’s what this show says?

Gabrielle: I hope so, but I don’t know. That would be daunting for humanity, if you already knew what was coming. We’d all be addicted to psychics, and there would be a line out the door because someone is just giving you all the information. What I think is interesting about life is that you have no clue. Every interaction could be the one to change your whole life. Uncertainly is the beauty of living.

Q: How has John Cho been to work with?

Gabrielle: I’m obsessed with Harold & Kumar, so I thought that’s who I was working with. He’s so funny, so smart, incredibly sexy and he brings really interesting perspectives to things I had never thought about. He’s got a really interesting take, on a lot of things. It’s nice to work with people who aren’t your carbon copy. That gets really, really boring, after awhile.

Q: Had you been looking to do another hour drama?

Gabrielle: I was looking to work, and I don’t get too choosy, when the mortgage is due.

Q: Without really knowing anything about the show or your character, what was it that hooked you?

Gabrielle: I had taken a meeting with ABC and we wanted our relationship to continue. I really enjoy them, as a company, and they’ve been freakishly supportive of me, so they were just looking for a right fit. And then, by chance, the next day, the Goyers called them and were like, “Do you think she’d ever be interested in returning to television?” They were like, “How crazy is that? We just met with her about that very thing.”

And so, the next day, I met with them. They were like, “We can’t tell you a lot, but we love you and we will write for you, and we want you to be a part of this,” and I was like, “Yeah!” It was kind of like Match.com. You just don’t really know what you’re gonna get, but you want to leap at the chance because the possibility is awesome and exciting. So, that’s all I had to go on, along with meeting them. I liked them, and that’s pretty much been what’s guided my decisions, the last few years, certainly with television. I wanted to work with Frank Spotnitz (for Night Stalker), Daniel Sackheim (for Life) and now the Goyers. I’m really happy.

Q: Were you looking for an ensemble show?

Gabrielle: Yes. After Nightstalker and Life, I didn’t have much of a life. When you don’t have a big cast, you work a lot. I love working, but when I work 16, 19 or 20 hours a day, my dogs stop recognizing me. I want to have a life, but I also want to work. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

Q: Do you know what will happen once you get to this date of April 29th?

Gabrielle: We don’t know what happens. Has this ever happened before? We’re going to explore what caused it. Could it happen again? Did it happen before and we missed it? We don’t know how this will all unfold.

[IESB]

The show that says “we’re in this together” really means it as more international broadcasters purchase the rights to air FlashForward:

LONDON — ABC high-concept thriller “FlashForward,” starring Joseph Fiennes and Jack Davenport, has notched up sales to 11 territories across Europe.

Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, Disney’s international distribution arm, said that free-to-air and pay broadcasters have bought the 13-part show, whose protagonists get a glimpse of the future when they lose consciousness in unexplained circumstances.

Among the free broadcasters to license “FlashForward” are Cuatro (Spain), Nelonen (Finland), RTE (Ireland), RUV (Iceland) and TV2 (Norway).

The pay stations include AXN (Spain & Portugal), Digiturk (Turkey), Fox International Channels (Greece and Cyprus) and SBS (Netherlands).

In July, it was announced that U.K. web Five had acquired “FlashForward.”

[Variety]

Lexus and FlashForward hook-up for a spot of product placement:

To launch the HS, the automaker is debuting an integrated marketing campaign
highlighting the vehicle’s future-forward innovations. Titled, “Hello
Someday,” the campaign reveals that the car of the future is now a reality.

In one of five television spots produced for the launch the voiceover reads:
“Someday cars will use infrared to monitor the driver’s face and alert them
when they’re not paying attention to the road. Hello Someday.” The ad, which
showcases the vehicle’s available Pre-Collision System with Driver Attention
Monitor, illustrates how Lexus delivers the possibilities of tomorrow, or
“Someday,” to the forefront of the automotive industry today.

ABC’s FlashForward Partnership--The HS 250h will be a featured
vehicle of a key character on ABC’s highly-anticipated premiere
season of FlashForward, and will also be featured in the show’s
print, television and online ad campaigns.

[Reuters]

Hannah Sung from the CBC Canada Reads Bookclub is hosting a Live Chat with FlashForward author Robert J. Sawyer on Thursday September 10th at 2PM ET.

Hannah has kingly invited FlashForwardBlog and our readers to join the live chat with a chance to ask Robert J. Sawyer some questions relating to his work. For those of you who don’t know, ABC’s FlashForward is based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, so this will be a good opportunity to gain some extra insight into the book and why it inspired FlashForward producer David Goyer to bring it to our screens.

The Live Chat is being held over at the CBC Canada Reads blog tomorrow, so feel free to join us – don’t forget to spread the word!

Above is the advertisement that channel Five have been running in preparation for the UK’s FlashForward premiere. Sure, it lacks a bit of subtlety, but I think this is one of the more exciting FlashForward promos that I”ve seen so far. The new clips are also worth a look, if you can catch them.

FlashForward will apparently premiere in the UK the week after its September 24th US start.

TV Guide fall preview featuring FlashForward’s Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger and Dominic Monaghan.

[TV Guide Magazine]

ABC are trying out a new FlashForward promotional technique using print ads -Variety has more:

Hoping to attract a few more fanboys and gals to frosh thriller “FlashForward,” ABC has started printing bizarre codes in certain print ads for the show.

When users hold the black-and-white codes up to a webcam, the picture on their computer screen turns into a 3-D ad for “FlashForward,” featuring photos from the show. And if clicked, the pics turn into minute-plus clips from the show. “It appears to play right out of the ad,” said Darren Schillace, ABC Entertainment advertising/marketing veep. “Once you watch all the videos, it’s a 10-minute experience. In the normal world, you’d never spend 10 minutes with a print ad.” Dubbed “augmented reality,” the experience was produced by ABC inhouse with help from its Web team.

Ads will appear in publications that target a tech-savvy audience, including Wired, Popular Mechanics and several gaming magazines. Users can also download the ad at the “FlashForward”-related website Jointhemosaic.com.”We think it’s fun and savvy enough for the group of fanboys that are out there,” Schillace said.The nets continue to look at ways to enhance their print ads: CBS, for example, is embedding a paper-thin video player in an ad that will appear in the Sept. 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly

“FlashForward,” which revolves around a mysterious occurrence when the entire world blacks out for a few minutes — and witnesses the future — bows Sept. 24.

[Variety]

ABC have released the official episode description for the FlashForward premiere – No More Good Days:

EVERYONE ON EARTH BLACKS OUT FOR TWO MINUTES AND SEVENTEEN SECONDS AND SEES A GLIMPSE OF THEIR FUTURE, BUT THEY MUST DECIDE IF THEY WILL ACCEPT THEIR DESTINY OR DO ANYTHING THEY CAN TO CHANGE IT, ON THE PREMIERE OF ABC’S “FLASHFORWARD”.

What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? When the world’s population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided, on the premiere of “FlashForward,” THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 24 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (This program will repeat Friday, Sept. 25, from 8:00-9:00 p.m.)

On the season premiere episode, “No More Good Days,” it’s just another normal day in Los Angeles. FBI agent Mark Benford and his partner, Demetri Noh, are in the middle of a car chase monitored by their boss, Stanford Wedeck, and colleague Janis Hawk; Mark’s wife, Dr. Olivia Benford, is in the middle of surgery; Dr. Bryce Varley is weighing a potentially life-ending decision; Mark’s friend, Aaron Stark, is working high above the ground on power lines; and Nicole Kirby — baby-sitter to Mark and Olivia’s daughter, Charlie — is in the throes of passion with her boyfriend when suddenly, and without warning, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn’t seem to exist.

Everyone in the world will eventually begin chronicling what they saw in their flashforwards on a worldwide website — the Mosaic Collective — that will further draw people together. And some of the flashforwards just might help Mark and his colleagues piece together the cause of the blackout.

Knowing their fate will alter each person’s life in one way or another, and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?

“FlashForward” stars Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford, John Cho as Demetri Noh, Jack Davenport as Lloyd Simcoe, Zachary Knighton as Bryce Varley, Peyton List as Nicole Kirby, Dominic Monaghan as Simon, Br’an F. O’Byrne as Aaron Stark, Courtney B. Vance as Stanford Wedeck, Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford and Christine Woods as Janis Hawk.

Guest starring are Genevieve Cortese as Tracy, Lennon Wynn as Charlie Benford, Bryce Robinson as Dylan Simcoe, Daniel Zacapa as Hector, Blair Redford as Joel, Lee Thompson Young as Agent Gough, Barry Shabaka Henley as Agent Vreede, Alex Kingston as Fiona Banks, Rachel Roberts as Alda Hertzog, Kelly Galindo as distressed woman, Jim Lau as Asian man, Cooper Huckabee as trucker, Chyna Layne as nervous woman, Drake Kemper as teenaged boy, James Carraway as older man, Brandon Bell as paramedic #1, Pete Koch as paramedic #2, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as nurse, Loren Lester as neurologist, Kent Shocknek as medical correspondent, Ken Rudulph as pundit #1, Bill Lagattuta as pundit #2, Ted Garcia as pundit #3, Ammar Daraiseh as Arabic man #1 and Raj Maan as Arabic man #2.

“No More Good Days” was written by David S. Goyer and Brannon Braga and directed by David S. Goyer.

“FlashForward” executive producers are David S. Goyer, Brannon Braga, Marc Guggenheim and Jessika Borsiczky. The series is from ABC Studios.

[ABC]

Here is the first footage of Dominic Monaghan on FlashForward:

[video: flashforwardpl]

Two more FlashForward promos follow the jump:

[video: fabal2]

[video: babisnakis]

Here is the latest promo for FlashForward.

[video: babisnakis]

FlashForward Promo -- Memories From The Future

[nzchuckfan]

Click the jump below to view the 2 minute FlashForward sneak peek

FlashForward Sneak Peek

[flashforwardpl]