CelebWatch: Stardate 05.30.09

After a break, CelebWatch is back and today brings you news on Colm Meaney getting a beat-down, Trek alumni say YES (and some saying NO) to the new SAG contract, one Trek alum receiving a Life Achievement Award, and a couple really weird videos featuring the two stars from the new Star Trek film. All this and more await you below!

Meaney gets mean butt-whoopin’ in new film
Colm Meaney (Chief Miles O’Brien) was spotted getting a staged beat-down on the set of his new movie, Get Him to the Greek. As reported by Celebrity Gossip, Meaney was in Las Vegas on May 12th shooting a scene for the movie in which he and his co-star, Sean “Diddy” Combs, get into a brawl on the hood of a car. From what I can tell from the photos, Combs is winning. Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall about a record company intern (played by Jonah Hill) who is hired to accompany out-of-control British rock star (played by Russell Brand) to a concert at L.A.’s Greek Theater; the movie is set to open in April of 2010. In other Meaney news, the actor is now the star of a new advertising campaign for Halifax kicking off in June, according to Irish Times.


The fightin’ Irish ain’t putting up much of a fight: Combs (l) and Meaney on the set of Greek.

Trek actors vote NO on proposed SAG contract
Nichelle Nichols (the original Uhura), Bill Mumy (Kellin in DS9’s “The Siege of AR-558”), and Clancy Brown (Zobral in ENT’s “Desert Crossing”) joined several other actors to voice their concerns about the new proposed Screen Actors Guild contract in a video that was posted online over the weekend. All involved are opposing the proposed contract, which states, among other things, that actors would not receive new media compensation for their work in television shows made before 1974 or films made before 1971. This means that Nichols and Mumy would not be paid for new media distribution of their work on Star Trek and Lost in Space, respectively (among other works). I don’t know about you, but that just doesn’t sound right to me. You can check out the video below.


These actors are mad as hell and they’re not gonna take it anymore!

In the meantime, other Trek vets like Stephen Collins (Will Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and Ed Begley, Jr. (Henry Starling in VOY’s “Future’s End” two-parter) are voting YES on the proposed contract and are urging others to do the same. You can find their video here.

Nichols at Star Trek 09 Roddenberry showing
Earlier in the month Rod Roddenberry held a special screening of Star Trek at Catalina, with George Takei and Nichelle Nichols in attendance. Here is a video of Nichelle from the event.

Auberjonois receiving Lifetime Achievement Award + talks Trek 09 and new video game
Deep Space Nine star Rene Auberjonois will be presented with the Dell’Arte 2009 Lifetime Achievment Award by the Dell’Arte Theatre School in northern California on June 20th. To read more about award dinner and ceremony, and to purchase tickets to the event, head on over to the official Dell’Arte site. In more Auberjonois news, the actor discussed his experience with acting and voicing in video games, particularly his latest project, the PS3 game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, in an interview with Geek.com. However, the interview kicked off with his early impressions about the new Star Trek. Here’s what he had to say:

I’m really hoping it’s great. I think it’s a franchise that has gone through a few manifestations and it’s time for a new look. It has to be a whole fresh look and I’m really hoping it’s very successful. I’m looking forward to seeing it. In some ways, the technology that we’re working with today in this videogames are right out of the old “Star Trek” shows.

Quinto’s got milk… all over him
So, um… there’s, like, this new video where Zachary Quinto (the new Spock) is being hosed down with…um…milk. It is not part of the "Got Milk?" campaign. According to E! Online, it’s a video portrait by artist Tyler Shields, who has more pics of Zach on his blog. Apparently the video’s purpose to get people scratching their heads… and getting people’s minds into the gutter, as it were. It’s, um…. you, you know what, just watch it, you’ll see what I mean. [Not safe for work… er, maybe. I don’t know.]


I wish I could explain… but there are no words…

Pine’s a sex offender
Speaking of weird YouTube videos featuring actors from the new Star Trek movie, we also have this video of the second episode of a new web-based comedy series called Vicarious, created by the movie studio Triple Threat.


“We are a sex offender.” Classic.

Tim Russ talks Trek 09
Tim Russ (Tuvok) also discussed his impressions of the new Trek movie in an interview with Mania.com. It’s clear from his comments that he hadn’t seen the movie yet and that he is unaware that the movie takes place in an alternate reality. Here’s a brief excerpt from the interview.

Well, I personally don’t care for prequels. I just don’t like them. It’s like reading the end of a book first. We know Spock is not going to die because we have seen him later on in other shows. We already know what is going to happen. You know that he can’t die so automatically the suspense of them making it or not making it is lost. What was so intriguing about the Wrath of Khan was that Spock got killed. They killed him off and people were stunned! That is movie making and great storytelling. You kill one of the most popular characters on your series?! That was powerful stuff. That was one of the best of the series of films. People talked about that over and over again because of the fact they were rolling the dice! From my standpoint, I am not really that intrigued, from a story standpoint, in prequels of any kind. I like to go forward – parallel or forward. I have heard that the story for the new film is supposed to be really amazing and really good. It may very well be a good story and very exciting. I certainly wish them the best and hope the film does fantastic. It looks good. But I, traditionally, don’t like prequels.

I would love to see his thoughts after viewing the movie, especially [SPOILER] his reaction to Vulcan’s destruction. [END SPOILER] For the full interview, in which Russ also discusses acting, his experiences on Trek, and Of Gods and Men, just go here.

Frakes, Ruck and Picardo are ‘Unknown’ + Interview with Bob
The upcoming Fox series Unknown Persons hasn’t aired yet but it already has several Trek connections. Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker) is directing the pilot of the show, according to Back Stage, while Alan Ruck (Capt. John Harriman in Star Trek Generations) is one of the main cast members. And guess what? Robert Picardo has filmed a guest spot on the show, which may become a recurring role if the series goes beyond 13 episodes, according to Sci-Fi Wire. Persons Unknown will premiere on Fox this fall. In the meantime, Picardo gave an interview over at Moviehole, where he talks about Stargate: Atlantis (including a bit about the upcoming movie) and his upcoming appearance on Castle, among other topics. Enjoy that.

Bakula helps hype ‘Men
Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) took part in TNT’s upfront presentation for advertisers on May 20th, where he joined his Men of a Certain Age co-stars Ray Romano and Andre Braugher to try and sell their show to advertisers. It was said that their presentation received the most positive reaction from the audience. Men of a Certain Age is now set to premiere on TNT sometime in December, according to Variety.

Collins to reunite with Hemsworth on ‘Thor’?
You may recall that Chris Hemsworth, who played George “Daddy” Kirk in 2009’s Star Trek, has been selected to play the title role in the upcoming film version of Marvel Comics’ Thor. Now we have learned that Clifton Collins, Jr., who played Ayel in Star Trek (where, SPOILER, he had a hand in Daddy Kirk’s death, END SPOILER), will be auditioning for a part in Thor. At 11:36AM on May 26th, Collins left the following message on his Twitter:

Studying my ass off for THOR, gonna be a late night, well worth the loss of sleep!

Collins has not yet revealed what role he read for, but I for one hope he gets it! I also hope he has more screentime in that movie than he did in Star Trek. He’s a talented actor (check out Capote) and he was seriously underused in Trek. Okay, moving on.

TrekBits

  • Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and the rest of the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company version of Hamlet will be performing the play one more time for a 180-minute televised version to air on BBC Two. (The Press Association)
  • Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) guest-starred on the season finale of NBC’s Southland, which aired on Friday, May 22nd.
  • Alexander Siddig (Dr. Julian Bashir) lent his voice to the season finale of Family Guy (“Peter’s Progress”), which aired May 17th.
  • Michael Dorn (Worf) voiced Kru’ll the Caveman (as well as Bane) in an episode of Batman: The Brave & the Bold called “Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!”, which aired on Cartoon Network on May 8th.
  • A new film starring Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) called Make the Yuletide Gay made its world premiere at the at the InsideOut Toronto Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, which ran from May 14th through May 24th. (BlogTO)
  • Robert Beltran (Chakotay) is currently starring in Boleros for the Disenchanted at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco… at least he will be through tomorrow. Yeah, probably shoulda gotten this message to you sooner. (RobertBeltran.com)


Robert Beltran (l) gets a check-up in Boleros.

  • Avery Brooks (Ben Sisko) was in attendance at the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony held on May 11th. (Mangalorean.com)
  • Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) was a presenter at the first annual Apollo Awards in Pennsylvania on May 18th. (Pennlive.com)
  • Jonja.net has a video interview with Voyager co-stars Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and Ethan Phillips (Neelix); you can check it out here.
  • Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) co-presented the award for Best Play at this year’s Obie Awards, which were held on May 15th. (MetroMix)
  • LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) directed a master class in film directing at California State University, Long Beach, on May 15th. (Daily 49er)


LeVar Burton directs a student at Cal State Long Beach

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Star Trek is over $200 Million in the US. I say Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine can do anything they want. They’re both gorgeous and ain’t hurting anybody. I don’t know if it’s art but I like it.

Weird….Just weird… All Around weird.

Not bashing…..just weird.

I don’t know that it matters that we got late notification on Beltran’s play.

With as much bashing of Star Trek as that guy does, I don’t know that many people really care.

As far as Zach and Chris’s stuff: No comment.

And Tim Russ should actually go see the movie before he actually decides he isn’t going to like it. I swear that sort of thing really pisses me off. He’s basically saying that “yeah the story may be good but I know I’m not going to like it because its a prequel and everything is predictable.” Perhaps if he actually saw the movie he would know that there is some pretty major stuff going on that he obviously doesn’t know about. Like, oh I don’t know, the death of Kirk’s dad, the Spock/Uhura relationship, Amanda’s death, and the destruction of Vulcan. Yep, nothing new about this prequel at all. Wait to go Tim.

-End of Rant-

The Governator

Milk video……what the mother f***.

The milk thing is just creepy. Guess I’ll have to eat my Corn Flakes dry tomorrow….

The milk vid is a little weird. But the next one with Chris Pine in it is HILARIOUS. I love that he did it.

Why is Spock being covered in milk?
And where the hell are his ears?
This is not logical!!

Qiunto. WTF?

Zach is pulling some serious Triple H faces in that video, definitely not to be watched while under the influence of certain substances!

I like Tim Russ. I really do. But after those comments…I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Tuvok was on Vulcan when things went all pear shaped. Maybe he’s still upset that Samantha Who? got canceled. I know my wife is!

And as for the the Quinto/milk thing… Well, I don’t really know what to say. Weird stuff. He looks like he’s going to eat the camera. Or the viewer, depending on how you look at it.

Milk is now officially ruined for me.

The biggest irony about Tim Russ’s complaint that we already know what’s going to happen and that they can’t kill of any of the characters is that, in all likelihood, his OWN character is probably dead as a result of the events of the movie.

14. odiin

HA!!! Oh the irony!!! LOL

Come on Colm Meaney. You can take P Diddy. I believe in you!!!!! You are better and stronger and smarter. Tim Russ. See the Movie then talk about it. (Unlike all of us here on Trek Movie) Milk. Does a body good. or a Vulcan i guess. Robert Beltran Good to see you having fun. Patricj Stewart. A Hell of an Actor.

Opps. I meant Patrick. Ok Back to the Agoniser booth for me again.

Why did Qunito agree to do that? I thought maybe he was a little bit gay and now this confirms it

That really sucks with the SAG contract. Steven Collins and Ed Begley Jr. don’t have anything to worry about since they probably didn’t act in anything that long ago, but what about all of the other actors? Besides Trek there are tons of shows from 1970 on back that the actors are still alive and probably depend on the money that comes in. Most of these people never act again. I always think back to what happened to acts like the Three Stooges who were broke while the studio that owned the rights to their shows was making alot of money. There is only one word for this: GREED.

Nichelle Nichols: I absolutely love her! She is a Goddess! I love how she has remained a true friend to George, and the the little dig on the Shat made me smile. But someone should have told her that Abrams was never a trekkie, or trekker. I still love her, she just reeks of “class”. And she is a Goddess!

Quinto: Relax folks! It’s an artistic photo/video shoot, almost a music video. I think it’s cool. And very cool that Quinto had the balls to do it.

Pine: It was ok, funny in spots. Also cool that Pine had the balls to do it.

Entertainment is changing. It’s more Internet based than ever. Get used to it, and expect more of the same from this talented young cast.

As for Beltran and Russ, who cares what they think. Both minor players in the Trek universe. As for Russ, I find his comments amusing, since he recently produced and directed Star Trek: Of Gods and Men as an internet movie. In which he destroyed Vulcan, and Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols) was married to a Vulcan! Sour grapes? Perhaps, LOL.

Memo to Tim Russ:

Dude, you are a good actor — I give you that! But taking potshots at the new Trek movie when you have not even seen it when you were in the lamest of the Trek series that forced this reboot is hypocrtical at best.

@ #18 –
And, that matters to you……. just why?
Anything considered artistic is labelled “gay”…….. just why?
And just suppose, as you assume, Quinto is gay……….so what?

I actually thought that was Antonio Banderas in that video.

well I guess we all know that Brian is out of the closet.

# 18 –
Uh…. I just happened to see your website after clicking on your name. Big mistake, but very enlightening. It’s all clear now, you have an ultra-conservative anti-gay agenda, masquerading as a star trek fan. An oxymoron, by the way, if you are a true Trek fan.

You’re a Troll. Maybe look in your own closet before worrying about others….

#25

Have been, for many years dude!! Your point was? Anything relevant or intelligent?

can you guys take your little gay pride versus homophobic nonsense of this board please…

#21–where do u think they got the idea for the destruction of Vulcan and Uhura marrying a Vulcan? Russ should be getting some kind of creative credit on the new film..

#22–ahem…it was BAKULA’s show which tanked old-guard Trek, along with Nemesis, NOT Voyager….

27. live and let live, but not on this board please.

That was real intelligent!! Thanks!!

Maybe you should send your venom to #18, as he is the one that brought up the subject.

Dude, this board is not about you or your sexual orientation. Sorry, you are not going to bait me into going at it with you on your pet issue.

#30 — AGREED…enough of the gay-anti-gay discussion please

#29, I actually loved both Voyager and Enterprise. Probably Voyager a little bit more as I’ve watched the complete series many times, but Enterprise was great too. I guess it all comes down to personal preference though.

#30
I agree, live and let live. From BOTH sides. But trust me, when attacked or denegrated for my personal life, I will respond. And when I feel the same is done, unfairly, to others I will respond. On these boards or any other.

#35. I don’t have a problem with that.

# 36
Cool!

I was only responding to the troll that brought up the whole subject (#18) to begin with. HE made it an issue, not me. And to be fair, you added fuel with #25

Anyway, my thoughts on the Nichols/Quinto/Pine/Russ articles are posted above.

Discuss!

Zachary Quinto is the Adam Lambert of the sci-fi world. Just accept the inevitable and move on.

And? Please elaborate.

“Zachary Quinto is the Adam Lambert of the sci-fi world. Just accept the inevitable and move on.”

Not even close….

All, the rumors are all true — Quinto has in fact been dating Dumbledore for years.

Got one word for that Quinto video: guh º¬º

Funny shot at Shatner, but the whole Shatner bashing (right or wrong) from the supporting cast of TOS is tired at this point.

It was 40 plus years ago… Let it go.

Could Shatner have been that much of a jerk that it still stings 40 plus years on? Maybe he was, but Ms. Nichols, G.Takei. W.Koenig and the late James Doohan are better + bigger than that. They have said their peace. It’s time to move on and mend fences if possible.

5. The Governator / 22. Trek Dynasty — I’m sure he’s seen it by now. He wasn’t actually saying he won’t like the movie or saying that it’s automatically bad, he was saying he traditionally doesn’t like prequels but he hopes Trek will be different. That’s what I got out of it. If he’s seen it, I’m sure he realized, “Well, this isn’t exactly a prequel, after all…”

12. The Seeker — Tuvok wouldn’t have actually been born at that time. There’s a chance his parents were killed, but since they were both in Starfleet, it’s just as likely they were off-world at the time.

Everyone, enough with the gay and anti-gay cracks. That’s not what this forum is here for.

Correction — that’s not what this site is here for. At all. :)

Well i guess Tuvok won’t exist in the new timeline. No wonder he isn’t too excited about the new film.

Get real, no one gives a crap about Tim Russ. As if he should even be talking about the new film … he’s seen “Of Gods and Men”, right? I should assume so considering that it says he directed it, but you’d never know … to me it looked like some guy getting sneak shots of Trek actors at a convention on his mobile phone.
It was laughably bad.

#43,

Doohan was a class act and managed to be amicable to Shatner before he died. The others are a bunch of whiners who couldn’t understand that Shatner was the star of the show.

I think my posts are being deleted…. Either that or my computer is doing something wierd.

“Doohan was a class act and managed to be amicable to Shatner before he died. The others are a bunch of whiners who couldn’t understand that Shatner was the star of the show.”

WELL SAID. Well meaning wannabe’s, but I still love them nevertheless.