It’s another Shatnerific Edition of CelebWatch. This week, we have Shatner discussing his life, his career, and (again) J.J. Abrams. This report also raises several questions: Will Boston Legal receive any Emmy nominations this year? Can Shatner save the Earth from everyone else? Is Shatner really designing new versions of My Little Pony? The answer to one of these questions can be read below!
In May TrekMovie first reported that the future of the Star Trek The Experience at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas was in doubt after its contract ended in December. Recently we reported that talks were continuing to the end of this month, but apparently a decision has been made in the last couple of days and the contract will not be renewed. After over 10 years in operation, The Experience will close its doors in early September.
According Nichelle Nichols, the original Uhura, there was talk about her getting a cameo role in the new Star Trek movie. Nichols, who has previously spoken enthusiastically about visiting the movie set and meeting both the new Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and director JJ Abrams, made this new revaluation Saturday at the Supernova Pop Culture Expo in Perth Australia.
This week we have good news on the follow-up to to 300 and bad news on the follow up to Cloverfield. Plus details on the Transformers and Dark Knight sequels along with more new trailers, images and movie posters than you can handle. In TV Land Jericho is still making news, plus we got Heroes details, Atlantis photos and more. Also the Saturn awards were this week and JJ Abrams Lost was the big winner. All that and more below.
Summer seems to be the time for Fan Productions to do their filming. For this belated FanMade we have production updates from the producers of Phase II, Starship Farragut and Hidden Frontier, including some exclusive preview photos. We also have an update on the Filmation-style fan made animated series and a new Enterprise fan production that is all about action (figures). Lastly there is a rare update on Starship Exeter.
This week, Celeb spied with its little eye an out of this world chat with the Shat, a Trek composer named as one of Michael Giacchino’s major influences, J.J. Abrams being political, the new Kirk and Spock out on the town, a new movie for Alexander Siddig, a potential series for John Billingsley, The Doctor and Q getting musical, and more. Plus lots of bdays to report, including one for JJ Abrams today! Read on!
This week is an exciting one for Mars scientists who found evidence for water ice and nutrients necessary for supporting life on the surface of Mars. Also in Mars news, the mystery of the "two-faced" planet might have been answered. This plus an accidental ‘electron spin’ discovery in the laboratory could lead to faster computers, a new ‘dermal skin regenerator’, and our gadget of the week: the GINA BMW shape-shifting car.
JJ Abrams gave Aint It Cool News’ Harry Knowles a sneak peek of a few scenes the new Star Trek movie. Excerpts below. [Obviously contains spoilers].
According to Variety’s ‘Thompson on Hollywood’ blog, Paramount “will not be putting on any panels or bringing any stars to Comic-Con” this year. A Paramount spokesman notes that “the time is off” because all the geek-friendly Paramount movies (G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Transformers 2 and The Last Airbender) are all a year or more off.
Exit Patrick Stewart and enter Kate Mulgrew, look out New York another Star Trek captain is headed to Broadway. Today it was announced that Kate Mulgrew (Voyager – Capt. Janeway) has been cast in the Broadway revival of Equus which starts its 22 week run in September. Mulgrew is the first American cast for the US run, joining Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter series) and Richard Griffiths (History Boys) who are reprising their roles from the London run of the play.
In this week’s Great Links we have TNG being declared a modern classic with a little help from a star from The Office, but is it classic enough? Plus we have TOS invading US politics, Elvis on the bridge, secret Voyager images, a ‘living’ Enterprise and more.
This week, the Library Computer begins its look at the six ‘what if?’ tales of alternate history featured in the two new ‘Myriad Universes’ anthologies. We start with "A Less Perfect Union," an alternative take on the TOS era based on a successful Terra Prime and a solidly isolationist Earth. But history takes a turn again, and brings T’Pol along for the ride. We have a review, author interview and exclusive online excerpt.
In the third and final part of our retrospective interview with Ron Moore, the veteran writer talks about the two Trek feature films he co-wrote with Brannon Braga. We also discuss JJ Abrams new Star Trek feature, including Moore’s visit to the set. Lastly Moore talks about his new non-Trek movie projects. [AUDIO + Transcript below]
This Trek Ink we take a look at the 4th issue of Peter David’s New Frontier comic series where it begins to hit its climax, opening everyone’s eyes as to what is going on, and setting up the explosive conclusion. We also have a guide to the IDW Trade Paperback collections and some news on the Tokyo Pop Manga that was supposed to come out this month.
Today Paramount Pictures announced they crossed the $1 Billion mark in domestic sales (after crossing $1Bil in int’l sales last week). Currently the #1 ranked studio (as they were in 2007), this is a turnaround for Paramount which rarely broke into the top 5 in recent years. However, changes are in store and it appears the studio is becoming more reliant on franchises (like Star Trek).
Levar Burton (TNG’s Geordi LaForge) is profiled with an interview in the new issue of the official Star Trek Magazine. The interview focuses on Burton’s current work as a director (something that he thanks former Star Trek producer Rick Berman for giving him his start in), but he does also talk about the last Star Trek film and also the next one…and his hopes for a possible TNG movie.
This week, two new companies join the growing list of those manufacturing Star Trek products. Trekmovie.com has your guide to new Christmas items by Kurt Adler and a new Vina statue from KitKong’s Model Mansion. Also, there is news about new products from DST including the first image of the Medical Tricorder.
Star Trek: The Exhibit premiered this weekend at the Air and Space Museum in San Diego, California. About 1,000 people visited The Exhibition on opening day Saturday, including local Fan clubs (and local Klingons). We have photos of the opening below, plus video of the local news coverage.
The failure of FedCon USA was big news this week and it isn’t the first con to go down, however such things are rare in the world of conventions. Today Trekmovie.com presents a brief history of conventions, including a couple of past failures to provide some context. We also take a look forward with a guide to trusted cons and tips for fans to avoid con disappointments.
This is kind of a slow week in sci-fi news, but there is some intriguing new info on a teaser for Terminator 4 and rewrites for Transformers 2. Plus Spider-man 4 takes another step towards reality while Silver Surfer takes a step back. We also have new previews and images and TV viral news from JJ Abrams Fringe and more.
In the second part of the exclusive TrekMovie.com interview with Ronald D. Moore [see part 1], we talk about how on TNG he railed against the Trek clichés, how on DS9 he and the team were given more latitude, how he wished it went differently with Voyager and how his time with Trek influenced his new show, Battlestar Galactica. [AUDIO + Transcript below]
Since TrekMovie first reported the abrupt demise of FedCon USA last weekend, there has been much debated and discussed during the postmortem. Although the failure of FedCon USA unfortunate, it is worth highlighting how the actors who showed up, especially Star Trek Enterprise’s John Billingsley (along with his wife Bonita), went above and beyond to make the best of a bad situation. See VIDEO below.
In this special, late edition of CelebWatch (special because it’s late), we bring you news on what Patrick Stewart is doing now that he lost that Tony Award, an update on Meaney’s Life on Mars, Shatner declaring he is not a hustler, Chris Doohan in concert, plus the Holodoc and Q hosting a concert, and several interviews, so check it all out below.
Phoenix has continued to dig on the surface of Mars in search of the oh-so-elusive water ice, with some new trenches and new glitches. NASA is hard at work designing the next generation of space suits that will take our astonauts to the moon and beyond. New nanotube technology looks promising in defeating cancerous cells. Also, TrekMovie celebrates the Summer Solstice with you! All this plus our gadget of the week: the futuristic Kohler Crevasse sink.
Fans of the Deep Space Nine relaunch have been waiting for two years for the story to continue. This week’s Library Computer explores Olivia Woods’ new novel “Fearful Symmetry” and asks, “Was it worth the wait?”.
Another week for Trek Remastered, another late third season episode, and another new digital element. CBS has just sent TrekMovie a shot of a new matte painting from "Requiem for Methuselah," airing this weekend check it out below
Due to various shipping and other issues, TrekInk has some catching up to do. As such, we’re going to do a quick review and summary on each of four recent Trek comics: the second "Assignment Earth", then the third "New Frontier", the second "Enterprise Experiment", and closing it all out with the final issue in the "Intelligence Gathering" series.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is often cited as the best Star Trek film, yet it ironically had very little merchandising and not a singe action figure. That all changed in 2007 as Diamond Select celebrated the 25th Anniversary of TWOK by starting a line of action figures and toy ships. This week TrekMovie takes a look at the entire line of DST TWOK figures, including the latest figures released in the last month.