The biggest Trek news this week, of course, is that filming on the new film has
begun. Well, that and the whole Winona Ryder thing. In addition to that,
however, This Week in Trek also brings you news on a holographic fashion
show, the premiere of Walter Koenig’s new movie, Trek making people’s lists, Captain Picard for Vice President (?!), and much more. Just click below. You know you want to.
Star Trek (2008 film):
- Principal photography on Star Trek began on Wednesday! Shooting began on location in Southern California and will begin at the Paramount lot next week. Filming is expected to last through March of next year. See the Trek Movie Report for more information.
- Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days, I, Robot) has been cast in the role of Captain Christopher Pike for the new film, as announced by The Hollywood Reporter.
- In what has caused a fair share of “Holy crap” and “WTF?” moments, it was announced that Oscar-nominated actress Winona Ryder has been cast in the role of Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson.
- JFX Online posted a number of spy shots of the first day of shooting on the film, which took place on location somewhere in Southern California. You can check them out here.
- Among the people spotted at the first day of shooting was House actress Jennifer Morrison. It was later confirmed that Morrison is indeed in the film, although her role has not yet been specified.
- In that same report, it was also announced that Australian soap star Chris Hemsworth has been cast as James T. Kirk’s father, George Samuel Kirk, Sr.
- Although she apparently has no idea as to the name of her character, Rachel Nichols says there’s a good chance she’ll be in the movie.
- Christopher Doohan, the son of original Scotty actor James Doohan, revealed this week that he recently auditioned for a “minor speaking role” in the film although he had not yet been offered a part. Read our report for more information.
- Headquarters Casting/Hollywood OS held an open casting call for extras on November 10th. See the Trek Movie Report for more details on the casting; click here to read up on the turnout.
- J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman are all committed to the writers’ strike, meaning they won’t be lending any writing services to any production. Shooting on Star Trek will not be affected, though.
- William Shatner told Howard Stern he doesn’t care that he’s not in the movie. That’s a good thing because…
- William Shatner still isn’t in the movie.
Trek Stuff:
- Eric A. Stillwell’s The Making of Yesterday’s Enterprise has been re-released and is available for order at Lulu.
- IDW Publishing has released Star Trek: Alien Spotlight – The Vulcans. See IDW’s official site for more information.
- Images of the covers for the Star Trek: Terok Nor series of books are available for your viewing pleasure.
- Rod Roddenberry spent much of Wednesday promoting next week’s screening of “The Menagerie” Remastered. See StarTrek.com for more information.
This week in Trek lists
- It may never have actually been said on the show, but “Beam me up, Scotty” is the Third Most Popular TV or Movie Line, at least according to some poll mentioned by The Sun.
- Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy lead The Stage’s list of the Top 5 Grumpy TV Doctors.
- Nomad from "The Changeling" was named Third Most Evil Computer by CNET
Trek in the World:
- The Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival are offering two-for-one tickets to their screening of “The Menagerie” Remastered for Star Trek fans. Click here for more info.
- It may never have actually been said on the show, but “Beam me up, Scotty” is the third movie/TV people repeat the most, at least according to some poll mentioned by The Sun.
- The City Council of Riverside, Iowa (‘the future birthplace of James T. Kirk’) has voted to create a city museum that would house, among other things, Star Trek memorabilia.
- Make it so: Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has chosen Captain Jean-Luc Picard as his running mate for Vice President… or so The Daily Utah Chronicle would have you believe.
- The Paris Players of Paris High School in Paris, Illinois will be presenting a play called Sahara Nights this weekend which spoofs popular culture, including Star Trek. Check out the Paris Beacon News for more details.
Trek Science:
- Do a little turn on the holodeck: a fashion show held at Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall in New York City apparently consisted of holographic models and a virtual runway. Read all about it.
- A report by The Sunday Herald explains how a warp drive could work and how it could be developed. Click here to engage.
Trek on the Web:
- Someone at NewsOK.com compares the internet to the Borg and says we have all been assimilated. Resistance is futile.
- With the Hollywood writers’ strike now in effect, The Daily Cardinal has offered some movie proposals to keep the film industry going (none of which are meant to be taken seriously), including Young Star Trek: Plutonian Pie. Interested?
- The Republican ran a piece on Star Trek Remastered in which show runners Dave Rossi and Denise and Michael Okuda discuss the project. You can read it here.
Trek Celebrity News:
- InAlienable, the new science fiction film directed by Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov) and starring the likes of Koenig, Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Gary Graham (Ambassador Soval, Tanis), Alan Ruck (Capt. John Harriman), and Erick Avari (B’iJik, Vedek Yarka, Jamin), held its premiere at LA’s Lansing Theatre on Thursday.
- I’m Through With White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks), a movie which stars Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather) in the title role and also features Deep Space Nine‘s Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), won the Blockbuster Audience Award for Best U.S. Feature at the 11th Annual American Black Film Festival. Check out the press release here; see the IMDb page for more info on the movie.
- George Takei (Hikaru Sulu) told The Sunday Star in their November 4th issue that many people who worked on the original Star Trek series were gay… and that “most of them despised” William Shatner.
- Tony Todd (Kurn) will be a special guest at the Dark X-Mas horror/sci-fi convention this weekend.
- Simon Pegg (the new Scotty) told WENN that he will not audition to play the next Doctor in the Doctor Who franchise because he’s “too much of a fan.”
- Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) has been nominated by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in the Best Actor category for his performance as Macbeth.
- Speaking of Stewart, the Shakespearean-trained actor was forced to pull out of his performance in Macbeth on Thursday due to a bout with acute laryngitis. Nasty stuff, that.
- LeVar Burton‘s (Geordi La Forge) film Tempting Hyenas, which stars Burton and fellow Trek alumni Alfre Woodard (Lily Sloan), Seymour Cassel (Lt. Cmdr. Hester Dealt), and Adrienne Barbeau (Senator Cretak), is the first feature film to be shot in 4K resolution, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Michael Dorn (Worf) will be seen in the next episode of Without a Trace, airing Thursday at 10pm ET on CBS. For information on the episode, see the press release.
- Dorn’s TNG and DS9 co-star Colm Meaney (Miles O’Brien) will be seen in Friday’s episode of Men in Trees, which airs on ABC at 8pm ET. For more, see this episode’s press release.
- Armin Shimerman (Quark) and his wife, Kitty Swink, are currently performing in Tonight at 8:30, a series of 10 one-act plays, for the Antaeus Company.
- Ethan Phillips (Neelix) will guest star in this week’s episode of Cavemen, according to a press release. The show airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC.
- The Boston Herald has a brief piece on Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). You can read it here.
- In other Jeri Ryan news, the Star Trek: Voyager actress has learned her baby will be a girl.
- Remember Tania Lemani, the belly dancer from the Star Trek episode “Wolf in the Fold?” Well, she was a guest at San Francisco’s fourth annual Carnival of the Stars Belly Dance and Comic Book Convention this weekend.
- Americanizing Shelley, a romantic comedy starring Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), will be released on DVD on February 5th by Warner Bros., according to Variety. For more info on the film, see its listing at IMDb.
- Those waiting to see John Billingsley in the new season of 24 will have to wait longer than expected: due to the strike, Fox has delayed the season premiere of 24 indefinitely until they are sure they can show the entire season without interruption. See Variety for more details.
- Variety also reports that Transformers 2, co-written by Star Trek scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, can begin pre-production but the film “will face serious issues” if the writers’ strike carries on for several months.
- Star Trek producer Damon Lindelof hopes ABC does not air the eight finished episodes of Lost without having the rest of the episodes completed. Click here for more.
YouTube Clip of the Week:
Last weekend’s "Family Guy" had a somewhat familiar ending
I love you, Family Guy. Even though you’re rarely funny… your sendups are so obscure that I double over.
By the time I post this, I will no longer be FIRST, surely. But why not say it anyway?
am i first ?
blast
darn my connection
Someone at NewsOK.com compares the internet to the Borg and says we have all been assimilated. Resistance is futile.
God, how true!
Although I am still upset over Shatner, I’m glad that ST XI filming seems to be starting according to schedule….it would be a horrible shame if the release date had to be postponed.
On a side note, how many of you are going to see the Menagerie in theaters? This will actually be my first “out-of-closet” social Trek event…and I’m not quite sure what to expect.
The cliffhanger ending for Family Guy put me on the floor. Unexpected and truly, truly funny. Honestly, how many people are going to get that?
Speking of which, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane has said that he was on an episode of TNG, but I’ve not been able to find out which one. Does anyone know what part he played?
George Takei (Hikaru Sulu) told The Sunday Star in their November 4th issue that many people who worked on the original Star Trek series were gay… and that “most of them despised” William Shatner.
jeez. let it go. he’s dead (well, Kirk is.) It bothers me that a) everyone hated Shatner and b) they can’t move on 40 years later.
Ahahahaha Family Guy’s so cool.
Isn’t that a perfect testament to Best of Both Worlds’ continuing survival in the memory, though?
Long live Star Trek!!
Though nothing will quite outdo Futurama’s “Where No Fan Has Gone Before…”
But by God, what a cliffhanger.
“Mr Worf…fire!”
I think it alone is credited with the return of the end-of-season cliffhanger (even on Wikipedia!) for the first time since Dallas and the use of such cliffhangers hasn’t stopped since…
re 5: McFarlane is not listed in the TNG companion, so he was not on TNG. at least not on screen.
MacFarlane was on 2 episodes of Enterprise. I don’t remember which ones off the top of my head though.
And yes, when that moment came up on Family Guy, I was the ONLY one of my friends who burst out laughing hysterically. It was a glorious moment though.
I, for one, am glad Abrams is not casting Shatner–at least as a 24th century Kirk (assuming plausible rumors are true that the movie involves a 24th century Sock and time-travelling Romulans of the same era). The obvious reason is that Kirk was killed in one of the weaker Trek films. Although some may contend that this was a mistake, “correcting” that kind of error has been done, and we do not need to see it again. Beyond that, I cannot imagine a 24th century star fleet officer with a gut like the Shat’s! I am thrilled to hear of the new Trek movie, but as much as I love TOS Shat, my enthusiasm for it would be much more reserved if he were in it… We need a captain…not a punchline!
That Family Guy ending was too much! Loved it.
What’s especially amusing, now that I think about it, is that Ron Jones does the music for Family Guy… and wrote the original music for TBOBW. So that was just… so perfect.
George Takei seems to get more and more bitter every year about Shatner. I mean, get over it.
arrrgh the video’s gone!! please please please can you fix it? thank you :)
I think the new movie will be breath of fresh air in the Star Trek Universe!!
Who needs William Shatner anyway!! Picard was way cooler!!!!!!!!!!!!
so special, this was family guy’s 2nd or 3rd cliffhanger in 100 episodes, and best of both worlds ending was fantastic, it actually gave me the same chill that i had when i first saw the actual cliffhanger of best of both worlds (which still gives me chills)….i love it….now family guy did their star wars episode, time for a star trek one, though i’m content with the many trek references (picard, riker, and work on the bridge; odo at quark’s, majel barrett as the computer on stewie’s ship…) all good stuff…