CelebWatch Stardate 4.17.08

Trek Celebs are all over the place this week. Colm Meaney is getting tough, Kurtzman and Orci are going underwater, and Quinto is hanging with C-3PO. And in captain news we got Patrick Stewart taking the subway, Avery Brooks in mass, and William Shatner flipping off motorists. Plus lots of Trek celebs are headed to Germany this weekend for the big FedCon.

Kirk Meets Number Six + Shatner Autobio Dish
William Shatner and Tricia Helfer (BSG’s hot Cylon, Six) were on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno April 11th. The Shat talked about his recent hip surgery, his new autobiography, the April 26th charity horse show, and more. He recounted a story about getting in a motorcycle accident and then dealing with some fans to whom he gave a special salute (see below for vid). Bill stuck around for Helfer who noted it was “quite the event” for Captain Kirk to meet Number Six. Speaking of Shatner’s Auto biography, The New York Daily News gossip column has some salacious previews from the book about Shatner dealing with ex-co-stars ‘dislike’ of him and his ex-wife’s alcoholism (with help from Leonard Nimoy).


Bill lets some fans have it
[Click to open new window – choose April 11, Chapters 3-5]

Kurtzman/Orci Rising
DreamWorks has picked up the rights to a film adaptation of the comic book mini-series Atlantis Rising, to be produced by Star Trek 2009 scribes and exec producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. As you can guess by the title, Atlantis deals with an underwater civilization that rises up against us dry folk. Don’t expect The Little Mermaid III, though; as the producers tell The Hollywood Reporter:

Kurtzman: The comic brings a fresh, techno-thriller approach to a story that holds all the tenets of a classic us-vs.-them alien invasion movie.
Orci: No sea horses or tridents here.

Quinto Groks Data
Zachary Quinto (the new Spock) was in attendance at the Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall of Fame induction ceremony this week. Quinto (himself a Carnegie Mellon alumnus) represented TNG’s Lieutenant Commander Data, who is one of the four robots inducted. I would tell you the others being inducted but I’ve never bloody heard of them. Instead, enjoy this lovely image of Quinto with C-3PO and the voice of C-3PO (Anthony Daniels). More info at Carnegie Mellon.


Anthony Daniels (left), C-3PO (center), and Zach Quinto

Meaney Wins Award, Breaks Co-star’s Rib
Colm Meaney (Miles O’Brien) and his co-stars from the Irish film Kings walked away with the Palm Beach Festival Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, things didn’t go so well for one of Meaney’s current co-stars, Mackenzie Crook (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame) on the set of their movie, Three and Out. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Crook explains how grappling with Meaney cost him a rib:

There’s a scene in the film where Colm Meaney’s character catches me in bed with his daughter and chases me across the Lake District wearing only a pair of pants and a kimono. In the end he catches me, slams me over the side of a bridge and dangles me over a waterfall. That was when I broke the rib. It was horrible. The pain you see in the movie is real.

Patrick Stewart’s Day Off + Chatting With Conan
Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) never takes a break from Shakespeare, not even on his day off. The actor told The Associated Press that he recently had a day off from his acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and, finding himself with nothing to do, began reading Hamlet. Stewart also said he won’t be done with Shakespeare even after Macbeth ends on May 24th.

You’re never done — that’s the great thing. I know come the 24th of May, we’re going to be feeling like Liam Neeson’s character in ‘Schindler’s List’: ‘I could have done more.’ You can never say this job is done, mission accomplished. That’s impossible with Shakespeare.

In the meantime, Stewart paid a visit to Conan O’Brien on April 11th to discuss Macbeth. He also discussed how he wore hairpieces during auditions and why he likes taking the subway in New York City. You can see the full exchange at


Could be worse Patrick, you could have Conan’s hair
[Click to open new window – choose April 11, Chapters 2-3]

Avery Brooks at Mass
DS9’s Avery Brooks (Ben Sisko) isn’t commanding a space station anymore but he still knows how to take charge. The Associated Press reports that Brooks was the stage director of a jazz and gospel mass at Lincoln Center in New York City from April 10-12. The event served as “a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York State’s oldest African-American congregation.” I wonder what the Prophets think of their Emissary directing a Christian concert…

Marina Visits Holby City
Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) guest-starred on the British medical drama Holby City in an episode which aired on BBC1 this past Tuesday. Last week we used a stock photo of Marina, but if you missed it (as I did living in the USA), Marina’s official site has posted images…


Marina…she’s going to pull through
[Click to see gallery]

TNG stars (and Odo!) in Germany
DS9’s Rene Auberjonois (Odo) will be joining TNG stars Brent Spiner (Data), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge), and Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren) at FedCon in Bonn, Germany… which starts TOMORROW! Also at the event will be John de Lancie (Q), TNG/DS9 guest star Julie Caitlin Brown, VOY guest star Mark Sheppard, and veteran Trek guest William Morgan Sheppard. For a complete list of guests, see goto the FedCon site.

TrekBits

  • John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox) guest-starred on an episode of Eli Stone which aired this past Sunday… yeah, probably should have gotten that news to you earlier…
  • Teaser trailer for The Boundary, a short film starring Alexander Siddig, is available at the film’s official site.
  • Robert Picardo (VOY’s Holodoc) discussed his Stargate character’s transition to the head of the Atlantis project in an interview with GateWorld.
  • Enterprise‘s second season writer and co-producer John Shiban has been tapped to executive produce the upcoming syndicated series Wizard’s First Rule, based on the books by Terry Goodkind. (Variety)

Happy birthday!

  • Michael Ansara (Kang) is 86
  • Erick Avari (B’iJik, TNG: “Unification I;” Vedek Yarka, DS9: “Destiny;” Jamin, ENT: “Terra Nova”) and Kenneth Messeroll (McDowell, TNG: “The Next Phase”) are 56
  • Jay Baker (Stevens, DS9: “Starship Dow”) is 47
  • David Bell (DS9/VOY/ENT composer) is 54
  • Jeff Bornstein (STVI stuntman) is 48
  • Bob Clendenin (Vidiian surgeon, VOY: “Deadlock”) and Darin Cooper (Cardassian, DS9: “Sacrifice of Angels”) are 44
  • Alicia Coppola (Stadi, VOY: “Caretaker”) is 40
  • Ousaun Elam (DS9 stuntman) and Jon David Weigand (Borg drone, Star Trek: First Contact) are 38
  • Michael Forest (Apollo, “Who Mourns for Adonais?”) is 79
  • Edward French (TNG/STVI/VOY makeup artist) is 57
  • Jake Garber (veteran Trek make-up artist) is 43
  • Joel Grey (Caylem, VOY: “Resistance”) is 76
  • Brent Hinkley (Butch, VOY: “Future’s End, Part II”) is 46
  • Elizabeth Lindsey (Louisa Kim, TNG: “Home Soil”) is 52
  • Kenneth Mars (Colyus, DS9: “Shadowplay”) and Charles Napier (Adam, TOS: “The Way to Eden”; Rex Denning, DS9: “Little Green Men”) are 72
  • Arlene Martel (T’Pring, TOS: “Amok Time”) is 74
  • Johnny Miller (TNG stuntman) is 73
  • Jennifer Morris (Winona Kirk, 2009’s Star Trek) is 29
  • Ron Perlman (Viceroy, Star Trek Nemesis) and William Sadler (DS9’s Luther Sloan) are both 58
  • Courtney Peldon (Karen Farris, DS9: “Valiant”) and Kevin Derr (MACO stuntman on ENT) are 27
  • Peter Mark Richman (Ralph Offenhouse, TNG: “The Neutral Zone”) is 81
  • Jay Robinson (Petri, TOS: “Elaan of Troyius”) is 78
  • Julia Rose (Cpl. McKenzie, ENT: “Anomaly”) is 35
  • Joseph Ruskin (Galt, TOS: “The Gamesters of Triskelion;” DS9’s Tumek; etc.) is 84
  • Faith C. Salie (Sarina Douglas, DS9: “Statistical Probabilities” and “Chrysalis”) is 37
  • Douglas Spain (young Chakotay, VOY: “Tattoo”) is 34
  • Paul Sorvino (Nikolai Rozhenko, TNG: “Homeward”) is 69
  • Robert Walker, Jr. (Charlie Evans, TOS: “Charlie X”) is 68


Have an honorable birthday Mr. Ansara

 

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Quinto and Data….. KEWL.

UNO!!

=h=

Haha, the Shat and Stewart are awesome.

Ansara is 86??? Nice run!!!

hmmm,,, so C3P0 visted the set of the newTrek movie too,,

I bet R2D2 is pissed he wasnt invited !!

( Another cool report,,cheers )

Kirk meets Number Six, and Kang has a Disarming Birthday – nice Watch.

As for Shatner’s autobiography; looks like the tough things that happen during such a long career, professionally and personally, have welded Shatner and Nimoy together, instead of estranging them from each other – and this is no mean feat.

here’s a picture of Mark Hamill(luke), Anthony Daniels and Zachary Quinto
I found on flickr:
http://s3.supload.com/free/2402633256_c26afb7092_m.jpeg/view/

Wish I could meet Number Six!! Way to go Shat!!

Stewart is fine wine compared to Shatners malt liquor.

I wonder if Shatner will ever play a Kirk-like character again.

You know, a serious character.

To be fair to Tony Daniels, he’s not just the voice of Threepio, he’s also in that suit in five of the six movies and operated the puppet in another. It’s more than just a voice over job for him, it’s a huge undertaking involving mime and much else besides.

The Shat: Raconteur Extraordinaire! :-)

TOS Klingons weren’t hypocritically obsessed with “honor” the way TNG Klingons are…the caption would be more true to the spirit of the TOS Klingons if it said “Have a glorious birthday, Mr. Ansara.” None of that “honor” garbage!! lol

#10. Jim Smith

Which SW movie was he not in the suit? The last one? Oops I mean Episode III?

kg

Oops! Clicking on Mr. Ansara’s pic brings up the Marina gallery.

#13, Katie G.

Episode I, The Phantom Menace.

Threepio was under construction by young Anakin and, so he was just a puppet.

C-3PO!

#8 … Stewart may very well represent a wine & cheese tasting. The Shat is one BLAST of a Keg Party!!

Whoa! Kang is pushing 90?! Happy Birthday to Kang, my personal favorite Klingon!!

And why was Quinto inducting Data? Quinto is quite busy. What does Spiner have better to do?

Shatner. Wow. And he got a plug in, on national TV, for a classical CD. That’s showbiz. My wife plays for the conductor of that CD. Wow. The power of the medium. Mindboggling.

Wow. And look at Ansara. Keep going.

Interesting fact about character actor Joseph Ruskin – he appeared in TOS, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and a TNG movie! If I’m not mistaken, that makes ol’ Galt the ONLY actor to appear with all 5 Star Trek casts! Quite a distinction, and one that I’ve never seen publicized anywhere.

Actor William Wellman did a great job as Charlie X in Star Trek “Of Gods and Men,” but I wonder if they tried getting a hold of Robert Walker, Jr.?

#21 … I read an interview that said they did contact him, but for whatever reason (I cannot recall) things didn’t work out.

#17—My favorite Klingon as well. Happy Birthday, Kang!!!

#5—They do have a genuine affection for one another.

#12—On that, we agree…I always thought that the TNG-era ruined the Klingons, making them more like medieval, and feudalistic thugs than the intelligent and evolved species they were depicted as being in TOS-era Trek. TOS-era Klingons were as well spoken, cunning, and efficient, as they were brutal and ruthless. If you only knew them from the TNG-era, you might wonder how they ever developed warp capability or even made it into space!

Spock to Capt. Kirk: “And the Klingons are…most efficient.” (TOS, TTWT)

17,23

And he was married to Barbara Eden. There you go brother.

#15. Dark_Lord_Prime

Thanks! That makes sense. Gotta go back and watch them again. Actually, I have Episode I, have seen II on TV but haven’t bought it yet and only saw parts of III. I am not AT ALL IMPRESSED with young Anakin (the blonde kid, Jake Lloyd). Just looked it up and found out that Haley Joel Osment was considered and lost. What were they thinking? He’s excellent. Oh well. It’s their $$. Maybe they wanted a relatively unknown face.

Not impressed with the teen/young man (Hayden Christensen) either. At all. Don’t know why but he really didn’t do it for me either. River Phoenix would have been brilliant but we tragically lost him a few years ago. Very sad.

Very sleepy. Gotta go. Goodnight.

kg