It’s been a long time since the last CelebWatch, so let’s just get right on into it, shall we? We have all sorts of goodies for you this week, including real and fake new roles for John Cho, Wil Wheaton‘s possible Heroes role (or not?), the fate of Nana Visitor‘s Friday the 13th scenes, J.J. Abrams re-teaming with Harrison Ford, another nomination for William Shatner, the latest Zoe Saldana fashion sighting, Brent Spiner getting Quixotic, and much more!
Shatner nominated (twice) for SAG Award
The nominees for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was announced last week, and Star Trek’s first Kirk William Shatner is again on the list for Best Male Actor in a Drama for his work on Boston Legal. Bill is also nominated along with his BL co-stars for Best Ensemble. This is Bill’s fourth year in a row being nominated for one or both of these, but he has yet to pick one up. In a Shatcember follow-up, you can watch the full episode of Bill’s appearance on Million Dollar Password at TVGuide.com. And lastly, today The Shatner Project put up a special holiday message, and so to all a Merry Shatmas and Bill night.
Cho to ‘Flash Forward’ with Braga – But NOT in Iron Man 2
John Cho (Sulu in Star Trek 2009), is about to expand his connection to Trek. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cho is in talks to co-star in a sci-fi drama pilot for ABC called Flash Forward, which is being co-developed by veteran Star Trek writer and producer Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins). Based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer, Flash Forward “chronicles the chaos that ensues after everyone in the world passes out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and has a mysterious vision of the future that changes lives forever.” From the trade:
Cho will play Dominic Witten, a dedicated FBI agent who is [fellow FBI agent and centeral character] Mark [Banford]’s partner and friend. His experience while unconscious was an absolute blank, which doesn’t bode well for his own future as he realizes he might be murdered.
Cho’s rising profile has got him caught up in an internet rumor fest this week. It is a slow week in celeb news so Entertainment Weekly (trying to make fun of the recent Batman Rumors) started their own ‘fake’ rumor of John Cho appearing as Mandarin in Iron Man 2. Even though the EW article was meant as a joke, some sites didn’t read it thoroughly and just reported it as a real casting rumor, like JoBlo and i09. All this false rumor mongering got ComicBookMovie calling for hate mail to be sent to EW. to So just to be clear…John Cho has not been cast in Iron Man 2.
Visitor not cut from ‘Friday’
As reported earlier, Nana Visitor (DS9’s Kira Nerys) filmed scenes as the mother of murdering psychopath Jason Vorhees in the upcoming Friday the 13th remake. However, reports from test screenings back in October suggested that Visitor’s part had been cut from the movie. Not so, producer Brad Fuller tells Shock Till You Drop. He explains:
Mama Voorhees is in the movie. Little Jason is in the movie. There was a time they were not in the movie, we were having problems with a scene. We figured it out, and now they’re in.
So Nana Visitor will indeed be in the new Friday the 13th, which opens on February 13th. In case you missed it, check out the movie’s trailer below, which features a creepy voiceover from Visitor herself.
Did you know a young boy drowned here? He wasn’t a very good swimmer.
Abrams back with Ford + hanging with Cruise
Star Trek head honcho JJ Abrams will be working on a project with Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford, for the first time since Ford starred in Regarding Henry, which was written by Abrams and was one of his first Hollywood projects in 1991. As reported by Variety, Paramount Pictures has signed up Abrams to and Ford to star in the film Morning Glory, a comedy about an aspiring news producer (potentially played by Rachel McAdams) who tries to save a failing news program by gaining control of its two feuding anchors (including one played by Ford). Abrams and Star Trek executive producer Bryan Burk will be producing the film under their Bad Robot Productions banner. Speaking of reuinions, JJ was spotted with his M:I:III star Tom Cruise at the premiere of Valkyrie in Hollywood last week.
JJ and Tom…BFFs at Valkyrie premiere
Abrams, Moore, Pegg and Shawn on USA Top 100 of 2008
The end of the year is the time for lots of ‘top’ lists and over at USA Today Pop Candy they have their new ‘top 100 People of 2008’ covering those who made ‘an artistic contribution’ to the year. In the top 10 were Star Trek director JJ Abrams along with veteran Trek writer/producer Ron Moore. Also on the list were Star Trek’s new Scotty Simon Pegg (#90) and DS9 recurring guest star Wallace Shawn (#59).
‘Star Trek 2009’ Stars on Hot 2009 List
Fandango is taking the list thing to the next level, releasing their list of what will be hot next year, based on votes from site visitors. And making their top 10 ‘Big Stars of 2009’ are the new Kirk and Spock, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, and joining them is Rachel Nichols, who also appears in the new Star Trek movie.
Spiner’s the ‘Man from La Mancha’
Everybody’s favorite android Brent Spiner (TNG’s Data), is heading back to the theater. Spiner will be playing the title role (namely, Don Quixote) in the Reprise Theatre Company’s upcoming production of the musical Man from La Mancha, according to Playbill. The production is set to run at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse from February 14, 2009 through March 1, 2009; single tickets went on sale on December 9th.
Bana at the AFI Awards
Eric Bana (Nero in the upcoming Star Trek) has been nominated for an International Award by the Australian Film Institute for his performance in The Other Boleyn Girl. As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, Bana attended the AFI Awards on December 6th, and naturally, the topic of Star Trek came up. And naturally, Bana couldn’t say a word.
Bana and wife Rebecca Gleeson at the AFI Awards.
Wheaton on ‘Heroes’? + ‘Happiest Days’ gets audio version, special edition
There has been some talk that Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) might become the latest Star Trek alum to join the cast of NBC’s Heroes. Wil and Heroes star Greg Grunberg (who also happens to be a good friend of 2009’s Star Trek director/producer, J.J. Abrams) have been networking publicly on Twitter and earlier this month, Grunberg asked Wheaton if he would like to be on the show. This prompted i09 to create a poll asking readers what superpowers Wil’s character on Heroes should have. Wheaton doubts it will happen, though, at least not for the foreeable future. For one thing, he auditioned for roles on the show twice and, according to him, “tanked” both auditions because he was too excited. For another, there’s this report, in which Heroes creator Tim Kring said of Wheaton:
There is nothing in the works for him at this point – although a bunch of us over here are big fans of his and would love nothing more than to find some part for him.
In other Wil Wheaton news, an audio version of Wil’s book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, will go on sale tomorrow (Dec. 20) at noon Pacific time. Be sure to check Wil’s blog, WWdN: In Exile, for details on how to buy it. Also, a special edition of the book is in the works for release in spring 2009; visit SubterraneanPress.com to pre-order your copy. But wait, also be sure to check out LA Weekly’s interview with Wil, which you can read here. Wheaton also writes a weekly column for LA Weekly, the RSS for which you can read here. And that is all.
Russ goes ‘Greyscale’
Tim Russ (Voyager’s Tuvok) is currently taking time off from his work on ABC’s Samantha Who? to play a mob boss in the independent film Greyscale. Written by, directed by, and starring some guy named Ryan Dunlap, Greyscale tells the tale of a once-gifted painter named Oliver who loses his wife and his ability to see colors following an explosion at a mob-owned warehouse. Russ is playing one of the main mob bosses who for one reason or another is on Oliver’s trail. Shooting, which is taking place in Dunlap’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is nearly wrapped, and Dunlap is hoping to premiere the film there sometime next year. See IndieWIRE for more information.
Greenwood reads for the turkeys
Actor Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in 2009’s Star Trek) participated in a public reading with author Karen Dawn and actress Emily Deschanel at Animal Acres on December 14th. According to Dawn in an interview with ecorazzi, the event is for rescuing turkeys or something like that, during which Greenwood and Deschanel retired two turkeys that were named for them. Greenwood’s role in Trek was also brought up, to which Dawn replied:
It is going to be so cool. Bruce has done a lot of great work in wonderful films but it will be fun to see him in that kind of, you know, blockbuster.
Trek stars on TV
Earlier this week, TrekMovie reported that Michael Dorn (Worf) made a surprise appearance on Heroes while Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) guest-starred on Prison Break. In the past month, however, several other Star Trek alumni have appeared on various television programs; check them out below.
- Rene Auberjonois (Odo) returned to Boston Legal one last time, working alongside series regulars William Shatner (he who once was Kirk but who no longer plays Kirk) and John Larroquette (he who was… Maltz… you know, in Star Trek III) for the show’s two-hour series finale, which aired on December 8th. In the episode, Rene’s character, Paul Lewiston, found himself at odds with the lawyers of Crane, Poole & Schmidt as he facilitated the firm’s takeover by a Chinese company. According to his website, Rene’s shooting schedule for these episodes required him to cancel a number of appearances and events. Oh, well… at least we got to see Reen on Boston Legal one last time.
- Alexander Siddig (Dr. Julian Bashir) guest-starred in the November 22nd episode of the BBC1 series Merlin. (TV Scoop, SidCity.net)
- Nicole de Boer (Ezri Dax) starred in a holiday movie called Christmas Town, which aired on ION Television on December 11th. (MarketWatch)
- Ethan Phillips (VOY’s Neelix) guest-starred as a lawyer in the November 26th episode of VOY writer Bryan Fuller‘s Pushing Daisies. (TV Squad)
- As we reported previously, Anthony Montgomery (ENT’s Travis Mayweather) recently shot an episode of NCIS; that episode, “Collateral Damage,” aired on November 11th. (IMDb)
- Wallace Shawn (Grand Nagus Zek) currently has a recurring role on The CW’s Gossip Girl. Inconceivable, I tell you!
Zoe sighing of the week
If there is a big fashion event going on you are almost always sure to find Star Trek’s new Uhura Zoe Saldana on hand looking fabulous in some new outfit.
Here is Zoe from last week’s The Art of Elysium charity event opening of the Dolce & Gabgana flagship boutique in Beverly Hills.
Fashionista Zoe mugs for the cameras in Beverly Hills last week
(click to enlarge)
TrekBits
- Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) was among the first 31 Screen Actors Guild members to sign “solidarity statement” in support of a “yes” vote for a proposed strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. (Variety)
- Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), on the other hand, is against a SAG strike for some very good reasons. (WWdN: In Exile)
- Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko) directed a musical performance piece called God’s Trombone, which performed at the Harlem Gatehouse at CCNY on December 5th. (Black Star News) BlackVoices.com discussed Brooks and this latest project in a brief article, which you can read here.
- Jeri Ryan (VOY’s Seven of Nine) described to CNN the first time she met her future husband, chef Christophe Eme, and how he proposed to her.
- The first two episodes of Colm Meaney‘s (Miles O’Brien) new series, the Canadian-made ZOS: Zone of Separation, will be showing on Air Canada flights beginning January 1st, ahead of the show’s network premiere on January 9th. (MediaCaster)
- The Arizona Daily star has an interview with Armin Shimerman (Quark) in which the actor discusses his love of music and the one-actor performance he did on November 30th called Copland and Me; you can read that here. Also don’t forget to check out Shimerman’s latest Fine Print column at Back Stage.
- Joanne Linville reminisced over her portrayal of the Romulan Commander in the TOS episode “The Enterprise Incident” in the latest issue of Star Trek Magazine; you can read some of the interview here.
- Veteran Trek visual effects artist Rob Legato is directing a thriller called Choose, which is currently shooting in New York. (Shock Till You Drop)
- The DeadBolt has an interview with TNG/DS9/VOY guest star Sherman Howard which you can read here.
- Spencer Daniels, the young actor who plays Jim Kirk’s brother, Sam, in the new Trek film, is starring in a low-budget movie called Au Pair, Kansas. The film began shooting in Lindsborg on December 1st. (Salina Journal)
- Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker) was a guest at this year’s Super Megafest at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel in Boston on November 22nd. (Boston Globe)
- Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) was a celebrity judge at this year’s Gypsy of the Year competition on December 8th.
(Playbill)
Kate Mulgrew and fellow actor Peter Sarsgaard at the Gypsy of the Year Competition, Dec. 8
“Give Next Gen another movie or the kid gets it! Oh, and a new motivator for the R2 unit!”
“bill shatner was such a bad boy”
way to go Billy
That last picture is a SciFi nerd’s art. Riker and R2 CLASSIC!!
That was a very nice holiday wish from Bill Shatner…
the guy with kate has a tribble on his chin….how nice
ya someone should photoshop the cute kid out and make it funny
I wonder if Abrams is any good story wise. I have seen clover field which was a steaming pile. I love lost, but from what I hear he is one of several involved. It seems like JJ latches on and uses others skills to sky rocket him to fame.
I forgot that John Larroquette was in ST:III. I sure loved seeing all those Star Trek alumni on Boston Legal. Of course, I had to explain to my wife how cool it was when Rene Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman had that scene together.
Yeah Shatner! And I love that pic of Frakes. He’s such a nice guy.
Congratulations on your nomination, Mr. Shatner! And thank you for such an inspiring holiday message. You are right about cycles and things turning around.
I sure hope the fact that Tom Cruise is such pals with JJ and his visit to the “Star Trek” set will NOT see him having a cameo in the film. That’s my Christmas wish.
Great news articles except for the pic of JJ hanging with that creepy looking dude.
10 – Perhaps his scientologist pal Travolta will help the creepy looking dude get a role in a remake of “Battlefield Earth.”
Mind you, that will be the end of civilization as we know it.
Jesus will return.
And demand his money back.
Aww, Poor Tom. He’s fruity as a nutcake, as my friend Capt Kirk would say, but he’s done some terrific work. Anytime I feel frustrated with him I re-watch Interview With a Vampire to remind myself that at one time, the man had some chops.
12 – Haven’t seen “Interview” in years. I’ll have to watch it again sometime.
Isn’t Keanu Reeves in it also? That’d help anybody look good.
#6
That ability to latch and launch is how reputations and fortunes are made
I love the fact that the Shat has become so respected in his old age. He really is good on BP.
14 – Not to mention lunch. That’s often where a lot of latches are launched.
15 – Amen.
#13
NO NO NO NO. And NO. Keanu is nowhere to be found, thank god. Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst all co-star. I think you’re thinking of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, by Francis Ford Coppola. That’s good, but not because of Keanu Reeves. Or Winona Ryder, for that matter. That sucker is all Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman.
18 – You’re right. Whoa. I knew Keanu was in some vampire movie somewhere. Now I can re-approach “Interview” with less trepidation and less at stake. Ba-da-bing!
Oh, by the way, was that a “No”? ;-)
#6
JJ started out solo, writing Regarding Henry as well as Forever Young on his own. I’d say he’s a smart collaborator, but that’s a long way from ‘latching on’.
#19
Haha. Sorry, my distaste for Keanu has been known to cause violent outbursts! ;)
I just lost a bit of respect for JJ, seeing him “hanging out” with Tom Cruise.
I’d rather poke my eyes out than ever see another Tom Cruise movie. Ever.
21- That’s okay. It’s an AMA-diagnosed medical condition: Keanu barada nikto.
#6: Cloverfield was a Matt Reeves film, written by Drew Goddard. The only film JJ Abrams has ever directed is Mission Impossible III. Abrams was just the producer on Cloverfield – he didn’t write or direct it, just wrangled the people who did.
Of course, if you’ve seen Mission Impossible III (or, like me, have seen only the first 11 or 12 hours of it), there’s still no good news in this post … But I’m giving JJ and the writers the benefit of the doubt, and blaming Tom Cruise and his awkward attempts at imitating human emotion.
That Frakes-kid-R2 pic should be converted into a Sev Trek cartoon!
Oh I miss the days of free Sev Trek!
The people have spoken! Anthony just changed the lead-photo from that of JJ and whatsizname to one of Zoe blowing a kiss.
See, Shat is right about things taking turns for the better!
Yet another reason to hate ENTERPRISE: Scott Bakula supports the strike. It’s a lot easier to make that kind of call when you’re rolling in cash, living in multiple homes and have absolutely no stake in the consequences to the rest of Hollywood.
For those who think Hollywood labor strikes are cute, the WGA Strike took $3B out of LA’s economy and the average working WGA member will realize about $200 in benefits.
22 – If you do poke out your eyes, they can fix them or put in transplants. Just like in “Minority Report” which starred ….
Oh God! My eyes! My eyes!
Yet another reason to hate ENTERPRISE: Scott Bakula supports the strike.
That’s a completely idiotic reason to hate Enterprise.
“I’d rather poke my eyes out than ever see another Tom Cruise movie. Ever.”
Yeah, me too which presents a dilemma because I would like to see that Hitler film. The era fascinates me. I just don’t know if I can stomach Mr. Cruise.
Wow. Can you feel the hate?
Anti-Keanu, anti-J.J., anti-Cruise, anti-Bakula. Happy holidays, posters!
yeah, TREK fans used to be a more optimistic lot.
I never thought TREK was about hate… but after reading some of these posts and some of the ones about Blood and Fire, I’m not so sure.
William Shatner. What a great, exuberant, and much needed message to hear at these times. Health and happiness to all!
31 & 32 – People are just having some laughs and not hating. Please don’t make it more than it is.
33 – Ain’t he great?
Im glad Nana Visitor is the film. I think I could find her really creepy after hearing her voice over from the trailer.
And Im always shocked when I see the age of Trek allumni on wiki/mem alpha.
#36
is in the film
not
is the film
Tom Cruise would have made a good Pike, he kind of looks like Jeffery Hunter. Bruce Greenwood could have been Robert April.
#31
Oh come on, deep down, isn’t *everyone* anti-Keanu? ;)
38 – I think Tom Cruise would have a better Bass than a Pike.
Possibly a Trout, Kilgore.
Man, this poster hates fish! I’m outta here!!
If Wil Wheaton does get a part in Heroes, then the obvious choice for superpower would be to allow him to create quasi-stable pocket universes and hide/hold people hostage within them for a period of time.
Total rip-off of what he did in ‘Remeber Me’ I know, but I still think it would be a darn good superpower…
My 40 – Whoops. He would have BEEN a better Bass…
Brett, your humour is almost as corny as mine! Yowza!!!
Just in a friskier mood than usual tonight, I guess, Harry.
Happy holidays!
Thanks, Brett! You, too!
Tell me, were you named Brett after the character of Brett Sinclair from the old TV show The Persuaders?
No, Harry. From what I’m told by my Mom, my grandmother (father’s side) liked the old “Maverick Brothers” TV show. I was born in the last few weeks of the 1950’s, and she liked the name from the character of Bret Maverick. Luckily she liked it better than Bart, or my life might have been very different still. (It’s pretty different as is.)
I often think that if I’d been born just six years later, and if she had liked “Star Trek” (she didn’t — how could I watch such foolishness?), I could be going through life as Spock. How cool would that be?!
Spock Campbell?
Kinda rolls off the tongue, don’t ya think?
And dribbles onto sidewalk, too, maybe!!
Now that I think of it, it sure sounds like a Scotsman hacking a looey, doesn’t it?!
Better than Kirk Campbell…..that one sounds like you star on an ’80’s sitcom!
I did — “Growing Pain in the Arse (to Everyone Else).”