It lives! The Watch is back, and this week we’ve got news on George Takei hanging in the Australian jungles, an update on Patrick Stewart’s stage reunion with Ian McKellen, and much more Stewart news. Plus there’s a new baby for Catherine Hicks and new bruises for James Cromwell.
Get Takei out of here!
Between his ongoing spat with William Shatner and California’s decision to (again) ban same-sex marriage, George Takei (Trek’s original Sulu) could use some time away from it all. And what better place to go than the jungles of Australia? As revealed by News of the World, Takei will be participating in the British reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, in which ten celebrities live in the Australian jungle for several weeks and compete in trials in order to be crowned “King of the Jungle”. The winner receives a cash prize for a nominated charity. For his profile on the show’s official site, Takei had this to say:
I am a physically fit person. I work out every day. I used to run marathons! I like challenges. I am willing to boldly go. I think it is going to be good fun.
If you’re living in the UK, you can see George on I’m a Celebrity on channel ITV1 when the show begins November 16th. Oh, and in other Takei news, the actor will be among the guest stars on the new season of the animated series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World which began November 11th, according to Broadway World.
Takei hopes to live long and prosper long enough to be named “King of the Jungle.”
Stewart and McKellen are ‘Waiting for Godot’ + much more Stewart news
It’s official. As reported by WhatsOnStage, TheaterMania, and oh so many other websites, X-Men co-stars Patrick Stewart (a.k.a. TNG’s Jean-Luc Picard) and Ian McKellen will reunite for a production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket next year. (Variety previously reported this as a possibility, but there was no official confirmation at that time.) Stewart will play the role of Vladimir while McKellen will portray Estragon in the play, which is scheduled to run from May 6 to June 28 following an eight-week regional tour and previews starting on April 30. In the meantime, Stewart continues starring in Hamlet with Doctor Who‘s David Tennant and will do so until the show wraps at the Novello Theatre on January 10.
Coincidentally, Stewart was the recipient of the Samuel Beckett Award at Dublin’s Trinity College on October 31st, as reported by Independent.ie. Stewart noted the timing of the award, given the fact that his next major project is a Beckett play (read above). In other Stewart news, the actor took part in a special called Working With Shakespeare at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford on November 2nd, as reported by The Coventry Telegraph. Stewart also toured some neighborhood regeneration project this past week, according to The Associated Press via Northumberland Gazette. Oh, then there was the time a few weeks ago when Stewart, as Chancellor of Huddersfield University, was called in to settle a dispute involving an author and a bishop; you can read about that here. But wait, there’s more! Patrick Stewart might be doing a movie with writer-director Damian Harris (Gardens of the Night). From ComingSoon.net:
I’ve got something I want to do in England which is called “Pop,” it’s sort of a grandfather-granddaughter story that I want to tell. I’m hoping to do that next year with Patrick Stewart at the end of next summer.
But I’m not done yet! The day after Godot closes (June 29th), Stewart will begin supplying the voice of God for a series of English mystery plays in Yorkshire, according to The Star. These shows will run until July 11th.
Visitor on ‘Friday:’ is she is or isn’t she?
In the last CelebWatch, we reported that Nana Visitor (DS9’s Kira Nerys) and her portrayal of Jason Voorhees’ mother did not make it into test screenings of the Friday the 13th remake. Now, however, Shock Till You Drop is reporting that Visitor will be seen in the movie in some sort of flashback. However, this report appears to have been written during a set visit when the film was shooting earlier this year, meaning that even though a flashback featuring Visitor was planned it may still not make the final cut. Whether she does make it into the film or not, Visitor did provide the creepy voice over for the film’s trailer, which was released a few weeks ago; you can check it out below. Friday the 13th slashes its way into theaters on February 13th.
His name was Jason… and today is his birthday.
TOS actress in contempt of court
Good grief! Actress and animal rights activist Pamelyn Ferdin, who appeared as a child on the Star Trek episode “And the Children Shall Lead” but who is best known for voicing Lucy in the Peanuts cartoons, has been found in contempt of court for violating an injunction prohibiting the harassment of personnel at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). According to the UCLA Newsroom (and later reported by The Associated Press and The Los Angeles Times, among others), a judge ruled that Ferdin “violated the injunction by distributing fliers that included UCLA researchers’ photographs, home addresses and phone numbers during demonstrations at the residences of faculty members on June 14.” Ferdin’s sentencing has been scheduled for November 18; she could serve up to five days in prison and/or pay a $1,000 fine. I hope the annual airing of all those Peanuts have been paying well.
Ferdin then and now
Zoe has ‘Burning Palms’
Zoe Saldana, the actress who plays Uhura in the new Star Trek, is among the players who have signed up to star in the film Burning Palms, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, written and directed by Christopher Landon (Disturbia), will be a “satire of Angeleno stereotypes as told through five interlacing stories.” Joining Saldana in the film will be William Shatner’s former Boston Legal co-star Lake Bell; already a part of the cast was Tom Wright, whom we Trekkies probably best remember for playing Tuvix in the VOY episode of the same name. Principal photography on Burning Palms is currently underway in Los Angeles for a 2009 release. The lovely Zoe was also spotted this week at the 2nd annual H.E.L.P. Malawi Fundraiser at in New York.
(L-R) H.E.L.P. Malawi founder Jillian Wolstein, actress Zoe Saldana, and jewelry designer Lori Leavitt
Cromwell involved in bike accident
Zefram Cochrane may be able to fly a warp-powered spacecraft, but his bicycling skills could use some work. Actor James Cromwell, who played Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Enterprise‘s pilot, was involved in a bike accident over this past weekend, according to The Associated Press. The actor is in the hospital, having suffered a broken collar bone and a partially deflated lung, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Apparently, Cromwell is a “serious cyclist” and was training when the accident
occurred. Fortunately, he’ll be okay, but I would lay off the bikes for a bit. That’ll do, James. That’ll do.
Hicks welcomes daughter #2
Actress Catherine Hicks, a.k.a. Dr. Gillian from Star Trek IV, gave birth to daughter Gemma on Tuesday, October 28th. Gemma is Catherine’s second daughter with husband and make-up effects whiz Kevin Yagher, to whom she has been married since 1990 (their first daughter, Catie, was born in 1992). According to CBS3.com (Philadelphia’s CBS affiliate), Hicks and Yagher were hoping to witness the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series on October 27th, the day before Hicks’ labor was to be induced, but Game 5 was suspended on account of a crap load of rain and postponed until October 29th. As a result, Hicks and Yagher settled for watching the game with their new baby girl from the hospital room, hoping their new daughter’s birthday will be marked with a win from the Phillies Wednesday night… and it was. Congratulations, Catherine and Kevin!
TrekBits
- Tonight’s episode ("Frozen") of the CBS science-focused procedural crime drama Eleventh Hour, was written by former Trek science advisor and writer/producer Andre Bormanis (full episodes available at CBS.com)
- LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) is currently acting in a Lifetime TV Movie called Taken in Broad Daylight, set to air in February 2009. (WorldScreen.com
- Avery Brooks (Ben Sisko) will serve as an emcee at a gala celebrating the 200th anniversary of The Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City on November 10th. (MarketWatch)
- Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) will be appearing at the Big Apple Comic Book, Art, Toy & Sci-Fi Expo at the Penn Plaza Pavilion in New York City on November 14th from 3 to 6pm. (Comic Book Resources)
- Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren) will be appearing on the Canadnian series Durham County and she took time out to discuss her role on the show in an interview with BlogCritics Magazine.
- It appears that Chase Masterson (Leeta) started writing columns for Hollywood Today Newsmagazine earlier this month; you can read her first entry here.
- Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and John de Lancie (Q) reteamed for another Star Trek music concert, this one held in Colorado and conducted by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. (Rocky Mountain News)
- Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest, etc.) attended Collectormania Midlands and Sports-mania 3 in Coventry, England, last weekend. (Coventry Telegraph)
- Christopher Lloyd (Kruge) will be among the stars attending the first annual 3DX Film and Entertainment Technology Festival in Singapore later this month. (AHN)
- BMS Entertainment has bought the North American distribution rights for the film The Race, which stars Colm Meaney. (Variety)
In Memoriam: Ray Ellis a.k.a. Yvette Blais
Ray Ellis, the composer, conductor, and arranger who, credited as Yvette Blais, co-wrote the music score for Star Trek: The Animated Series, has died at the age of 85. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ellis died in Encino, California, on October 27th due to complications from melanoma. Ellis composed the music for many other Filmation TV shows, in addition to his prolific work as an orchestrator and arranger on many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s.
I wish Stewwart would do another X-men have some sentinels and such…
Way to go George Takei !!
Good luck for the the show and Pop over to New Zealand when its done !
:-D
Catherine Hicks is 57ish, right? That’s pretty good! Congrats!
Charles:
Another slow news week. *sigh*
I hope, after midnight tonight, you all can keep up these “side columns.” I’ve stopped going to AICN because you guys do such a good job without all the crap.
And thanks to you, I am actively stalking “Siddig El-Fadil” who drives a cab in the Bronx. He’s 78. He lacks the youthful exuberance and sense of discovery of the ‘classic’ 1st season Bashir, but he’s brutal with a can of pepper spray and a baseball bat. Ouch!
Wow. Magneto and Prof. X in a play together? Awesome.
a bigger wow, #5 is first The Doctor and The Professor in a play together, now Magneto and The Professor in a play together
“…and Godot actually does show up at the end, and he’s actually a beautiful woman, and all her clothes fall off!”
yo trotz….
good article. can i call you trotz?
i can trademark that if you like, too?
THE WOMEN!!
=h=
7. NoRez — LOL!!!
8. reinvorgated… — Um, sure, trotz(TM) is fine. :-D Just don’t call me Ishmael. :-P
4. AJ — More like a slow news month. I think it’s been three weeks since my last CelebWatch. That said, there are a few stories I didn’t add in here. I just couldn’t find the time to write them all up, so I did a pick ‘n’ choose. The ones that are not here will be in next week’s celeb, though. Assuming I do one next week, of course. :-P
Also, I think you’re stalking the wrong “Siddig El-Fadil.” In fact, I think that’s the same guy I was tracking! took me a while to realize it wasn’t “that” Sid. By the way, watch out, he has a crowbar in that cab, too!
yo, trotz…
I’m thinking that “trottah” is the better fit.
and its gonna look like this: trottah™
chaz trottah™.
throw in an underslash, some caps… you’ve got yourself a moniker bro!!!
oh man… that is stylish. I’m a bit jealous. However, if I can just call myself your wingman for a moment, maybe two. Like C is for cookie, thats good enough for me. I’ll be looking for it in your next byline.
chaZ_Trottah™!!
=h=
Am I really such a nerd that I’d consider a trip to England just to see Picard and Gandalf in Godot?
Yeah, guess so. Just in that poster you can tell they’re having a blast.
Can’t wait to see George Takei hanging in the Australian jungles!
Major Bummer!
I’m in Canada and saw the first showing of Quantum of Solace at midnight Thursday and THERE WAS NO STARTREK TRAILER !!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Is there anyone else here from Canada who saw the Bond film? Was the ST trailer shown?
The only reason I went to the theatre was to see the trailer – the Bond film wasn’t worth watching – not half as good as Casino Royale. More like one of the lamer Roger Moore efforts.
14 – same here man
went to an AMC theatre…no trailer
and the movie wasn’t good enough to warrant a second viewing
i honestly would’ve waited if I had known in advance
AMC in the toronto area (mississauga)
“More like one of the lamer Roger Moore efforts.”
Sweet!
yeah…the shitty thing is that the movie itself isn’t worth watching again
I feel slightly shitted on…only slightly
I don’t know if this was ever mentioned here on TrekMovie but George Takei plays Emperor Yoshiro of the Empire of the Rising Sun in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 video game. I have the game and he does an excellent job. I highly recommend it to anyone who like RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games.
I SAW IT! It looked great! I cheered when the shot of Quinto and Pine came on together in their uniforms! The Enterprise looked BAD ASS. Lots of nice visuals in this one. Everyone was kinda talking at the beginning when the car appeared, but when the kid said, “James Tiberius Kirk.” People were like “Star Trek?”
The first time I’ll be watching “Celebrity” because of our George Takei (as in toupee, Bill!) Oh my!
The first time I ever met George Takei he was in Washington D.C. for exactly the thing he mentions there – to run a marathon. Of course, he still took the time to run an impromptu fencing workshop for a bunch of interested kids, and do all the usual Trek-con stuff. Then, and every time I’ve seen him since, he’s been a warm and friendly presence, one of my favorite of the Star Trek cast & crew.
More ‘Stewart News’ :) ……
Patrick was at Foreign Secretary David Milliband MP’s South Shields Lecture as the guest speaker last Friday… so there!
He still looks great and his talk was a wonderful ride through his life from his early days bathing by the open fire in a zinc bath to more recent times and less strife!
He also hinted that there may be another Xmen movie around the corner and Star Trek was now finally over for him…
Now, can I have a job? :)
I’ll be cheering on George Takei on Sunday! I’ve never bothered to watch it before, but it should be great with him on it. I just hope the British public warm to him, as they might not be so familiar with Sulu as they are with Kirk and Spock.
If I was casting for the voice of God, Mr. Stewart would be at the very top of my list. Brilliant!
10:
Charles:
Siddig El-Fadil is here now…..what do I do?
He won’t sign my Dennis McCarthy CD’s. Going for Ron Jones now…
Oh….sh*t!
;-)
Still won’t be watching it. Trash television at its best….
waiting for godot will be playing here in edinburgh before it hits the west end of london
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/XMen-stars-to-reunite-for.4648913.jp
***
‘i’m a celebrity…’ is lowest common denominator tv at its worst, but, sadly can sometimes be compelling viewing, although my soul always feel slightly dirty after watching it.
if they don’t like him, the british public will select him to take the challenges and we can expect to see mr sulu chewing down some witchetty grubs, being buried alive in a coffin full of rats, or swimming with snakes
I used to date a woman that looked like a brunette Catherine Hicks.
Big tribbles. LOL
I wonder if they are gonna get the Shat on I’m a Celebrity. That would be awesome.
Pamela Ferdin certainly has changed over the past 30 years. I remember her from Star Trek, Space Academy and the Peanuts cartoons.