According to the German Dollhouse Fansite, a Dollhouse crew member has been divulging Dollhouse filming details, on IMDB:

I will be on the crew barring an actors strike . The Pilot took seven days to shoot . The studio bought the pilot and agreed to 7 locked and 13 total episodes and it waqs deceided that 4 of seven pilot shooting days ( more than half) of the pilot be need to be re-shot . This usually means that they re-cast with that much of a re-do but who knows . The same Camera/ Grip / Electric departments shot the pilot so they liked the look of the show and the Director of Photography ( Ross Berryman lat of Ugly Betty ) or we would not have been asked to do the show run . Locations, used on the pilot may not be available for the series , etc ,etc….

Actual shooting is to begin on July 21st so we would need 2 weeks to prep / load trucks / scout locations /rig stages , pasically a full season load -in . If AFTRA ratifies the new contract ,and since this show is governed by AFTRA contract for actors we have a good shot if the ratify it . Results should be in on Tuesday July 8th…cross your fingers.

In any event , I hope it goes for a long time . If they do the full 13 it will shoot through Christmas and begin airing as promised in January 2009….seems far away don’t it??

Everyone should keep up the VERY POSITIVE BUZZ…..

I nearly didn’t post this as there’s no way of knowing whether this is a genuine crew member or the ramblings of a deluded person, so take the above with a pinch of salt. However s/he brings up an interesting point about the possibility of the pilot being re-shot. It’s likely that FOX leaked the “Fringe” pilot and then went about doing a major edit for the final version, could the same fate befall the Dollhouse pilot?

Perhaps FOX could use the already filmed Dollhouse pilot to ‘test the water’? Although I hope that they have the courage to hold back and allow everyone to see the first episode at the same time when it’s scheduled to land in January 2009.

If it’s buzz FOX are worried about losing then there are plenty of other ways to keep fans tuned in – like an ARG, for example. Yeah..whatever happened to that?

UPDATE: Wiesengrund via the comments, reports that the ‘crew member’ has been posting more Dollhouse filming info on IMDB, specifically:

“Hi , Ok , Dollhouse is a go ! . We start load in / Prep Wednesday the 16th aqnd begin shooting the following Wednesday , August 23 . SAG needs to put the last , best and final offer from Producers to a vote….they don’t want to because they know it would be ratified and the leadership would have egg on its collective face . There is little worry of a strike as they would need 75% of the voting membership to confirm a strike action so they need to let their membership vote on the last offer . In any event , Dollhouse will begin on schedule and I for one am looking forward to working the show .Wish us Luck !! “

Adelle has sent an email to her stooges and she’s not happy – apparently she’s aware that “civilians” are trying to find her “actives”:

All,

We may have a problem regarding one of the Actives.  It appears somebody — a civilian — is trying to find them.

My office, 9am.  Don’t be late.

I’m assuming that she’s referring to Sheridan (and us) who is looking for the ‘Dollhouse mole’, Kimi Lassek. Does this mean that Kimi is an “active” - perhaps she is Echo’s sister? ..Maybe she’s the active called November (Miracle Laurie) who may want to expose the truth about Adelle’s unregulated science? Or perhaps the ARG wont tie-in directly with the actual show, and Kimi will just be an ARG character called Kimi – like Rachel Blakefrom Lost’s first ARG?

Thanks to wisengrund for the heads up on this one – it seems that the ‘game’ has now moved to the next stage, with ‘finding Kimi’ being the next port of call. Check out this photo which was mysteriously sent to Sheridan Owen from Manchester, England (yes folks, this is a global game!):

It appears to be a photo from inside the Dollhouse facility. I’m not sure what other conclusions to make from it – although we’ll probably have to go back through the promo images which were released last week to make some connections.

As for “Kimi” and who she is – she’s Kimi Lassek, the guy/woman/doll who helped me crack Adelle’s website. But what is Kimi’s agenda?

OK, I’ve just got into Adelle’s website – thanks to a little ‘auto-fill’ clue over at the FOX Blog(those guys are clever!) – check out the comment entry from “Kimi Lassek”. A fan or a Dollhouse Rogue?

The username is adelle and the password is wipe

Upon logging in it takes you to Adelle’s webmail, and the inbox contains one single email from Topher Brink, which reads:

Subject: External Website

From: Brink, Topher

Date: Mon, May 26 2008 9:48am

To: DeWitt, Adelle

Priority: Normal

Adelle,

Website is gone as requested.  Will relaunch once the design is good to go.

Topher

So apparently Adelle has requested that the “external website” (southlandlabs) be removed – which I’m assuming is the state we now see it in, with the repeated birds-eye image of the Dollhouse facility - whilst Topher redesigns it. Also, check the date – it’s dated today. Considering the site is in the same state as it was yesterday, it would suggest that us eagle-eyed fans got whiff of southlandlabs earlier than they planned.

So, what IS southlandlabs? Is it a secret division of the Dollhouse? Does it contain murky clues as to the real nature of how and why the ‘dolls’ are wiped clean of their memories? Keep your eyes peeled for more clues everyone!

FOX are playing a clever game..a clever Dollhouse ARG game by the looks of things. They’ve all but confirmed the beginnings of the Dollhouse ARG by posting a link to Adelle deWitt’s password protected site – Adelle deWitt is the shadowy matriarch of the Dollhouse. Also, when you click on the FOX link, you’ll probably notice that the comments ‘web site’ box is pre-filled with this site’s address. Hmm. As I posted the other day, we also have the mysterious southlandlabs website which is awaiting ‘activation’.

What isn’t yet clear is whether this ARG will interlink with the Fringe ARG which is well and truly underway - how cool would that be!?

In the meantime the hunt is on! If my experience from the Lost ARG’s are anything to go by then links and clues to accompany the game could appear in the most obscure to the most obvious of places. First port of call? Cranking Adelle’s code! Any ideas?

If you have any clues/hints on the Dollhouse ARG then feel free to let me know. For those of you wanting to follow the Fringe ARG, the hunt is already on over at Fringe-forum.com

Earlier I posed the question as to whether we will have a Dollhouse ‘ARG’. It looks like I have my answer – take a look at this southlandlabs site. Either Fox have been readying the first stages of a Dollhouse Alternate reality Game, or some fan has chosen a rather obscure domain name for a Dollhouse fansite. Hmm..I’m thinking its ARG.

Just incase you’re wondering why I’m making the connection between that site and Dollhouse – have a look at the Dollhouse set photos. It’s Dollhouse-related all right.

However despite my excitement, let it be known that I have considered the possibility of it being a fake ARG site set up by some mischevious fan. You see, that’s the problem with technology today, there’s no way to regulate it..;)

The Fringe Alternate Reality Game (ARG)/Viral Marketinghas well and truly begun (nod nod wink wink) - it looks like FOX have learned a thing or three from the home of JJ Abrams ‘LOST’. But I’m wondering whether Dollhouse will be treated to the same type of online interaction? I mean, Dollhouse is a different type of show from Fringe and Lost - does it have the necessary scope for months and months of online puzzle solving and clue hunting? Would the Dollhouse fans be ready for such investment in this kind of online interaction?

I ask those questions but in my mind I know the answer – HELL YEAH!

I’m even wondering whether the Fringe ARG will overlap into ‘Dollhouse’ so that we have one mega ARG inter-verse featuring the networks two best shows? I can but dream.

Bring it on Fox.