Watch Trailer For ‘From The Bridge’ – New Documentary On Fandom Hosted By George Takei

It has just been announced that the documentary From the Bridge, described as a “warp speed ride through the history and evolution of fandom,” will be previewed at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday July 19th.

Hosted by Star Trek’s George Takei, From the Bridge promises a “cinematic journey chronicling the evolution of sci-fi, horror and comic book fandom.” The doc features interviews with Stan Lee, Nichelle Nichols, Gene Simmons, Joe Dante, Tom DeSanto, Adam Nimoy, Bryan Fuller, Neal Adams, Doug Jones, Rod Roddenberry, Howard Roffman and others. It also promises “never-before-seen” archival footage and interviews, including Gene Roddenberry and Leonard Nimoy.

The film delves into how fanzines, magazines and genre films inspired a new generation of storytellers to make the bold, cutting edge films, comic books and video games that now dominate modern culture. This will include discussions with Kerry O’Quinn, co creator of the seminal fandom magazines StarLog and Fangoria.

From the Bridge director Spencer F. Lee with Kerry O’Quinn, George Takei and Brad Takei

Teaser trailer

Clips and panel at SDCC

Clips of From the Bridge will be shown at Comic-Con in Ballroom 20 on Thursday, July 19th beginning at 10am, which will be followed by a panel moderated by Greg Grunberg (Star Trek Beyond). The panel will include doc writer-director Spencer F. Lee, along with Nichelle Nichols, Rod Roddenberry, Kerry O’Quinn, Tom DeSanto, uber cos-player Cecil Grimes and special guests.

Nichelle Nichols with From the Bridge director Spencer F. Lee

From the Bridge is set for a theatrical run in late summer 2018 and will be released on VOD, DVD, and Blu-ray in November.

For more info, visit the official site at fromthebridgemovie.com.

Poster for From the Bridge

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Nichelle is looking great. Photo really made me smile.

On my way to London, recently, NN was on the same plane, I introduced myself, pledged my fandom, and she was nothing but gracious.

Outstanding!

‘Never-before-seen’? So, the blind photographer’s service animal shot the interview? Good boy!

That made me laugh. :-)

I have some thoughts on fandom🤪

Probably best not to think about it too much. :-P

Are they more amusing after a few shots of Jameson?

lol no doubt! Fortunately the loud, fringe element of fandom…the types that frequent these forums are usually just a loud vocal minority…but the casual masses…the ones who simply tune-in to get engaged for an hour or two, then they disconnect and go about their lives without a single thought about canon or studio politics…these fans are the real bread and butter. Someday the studios are going to figure that out.

@Jonboc So true. I consider them to be real trek fans. The toxic people that post here are best to be ignored. They don’t represent Star Trek.

“Someday the studios are going to figure that out.”
No doubt sooner than later, Sir!

Oh, Bob, We are a disparate and sometimes very judgemental bunch. But I’m glad you helped give us Star Trek 1 and Star Trek ID.

“We are a disparate and sometimes very judgemental bunch.”

Especially when you come into our ‘hood. :)

Chances are these are strong thoughts, perhaps even shared by other filmmakers. And thank you very much for your work!

As someone whose leveraged their own fandom as far as it would apparently go, I’d hope so.

Not sure what you mean.

I think he meant you got the whole Trek fan dream [well, except for the end, which really must’ve hurt].

Good for George.

About a month ago, there was a good story in The Observer on those assault allegations (in it the guy now says he wasn’t assaulted — he was mostly just insulted that an older, shorter Asian guy would hit on him).

Yes, it was a tempest in a teapot, and I think the guy just wanted to hitch a ride on the “me, Too” movement’s coattails and get his name in the papers.

Glad you mentioned this, because there was very little follow after the splashy accusations.

I actually ran into Takei at the old A Change of Hobbit sf and fantasy genre bookstore in Santa Monica in the early 1980’s. He talked to several of us about Trek and sf. So I can attest to the fact that this man legitimately was “a fan” himself from way back when.

It’s a real shame and he and Shatner can’t mend fences this late in life. I saw the Shat in Thousand Oaks last Sunday, and he was absolutely tremendous.

I suspect their feud is less acrimonious than they make it appear. More for publicity at this point; a subset of the fans dig it.

I don’t know — I suspect Shatner holds a grudge. I’m glad Takei seems to have stopped talking about it. It was silly and divisive.

Ugh, why is Gene Simmons in it? Ugh!

Okay, I see it’s because he based his KISS outfit on some comics character. But …

I remember the interview on “Fresh Air” when he kept telling Terry Gross, “I bet you want to do me right now.” What an offensive man! She said she didn’t want to be sexually propositioned, and simply wanted to interview him. The interview is famous because he walked out in a huff. This “sex magnet” couldn’t take rejection.

—————————–
Also this film seems more like it’s a tribute to comics, which is fine, but the name seems misleading.

Cool that they have Stan Lee in there, though. He’s 92! And still going pretty strong. I really like that they’re getting his view of the early days.

So I’m interested to see it. Maybe I’ll ignore the Simmons contributions.

That man is living proof that zero talent can’t hold you back from a successful music career.

The Simmons stuff seems random. Is he financing it?

That said, I used to have a tape of that Kiss movie where they all had powers and something happened at an amusement park.

Look for a new edition of ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’ coming soon to some rinky dink media dump near you. He is 110% self-promotion.

100% pig-dog in my book. And I mean a dog that hasn’t been neutered

Yes, I thought at first the name sounded like a nod to Nick Meyer’s autobiography. Still, it looks worth a glance.

Nichelle looks really happy. Glad she came through the health scare.
I love that President Obama got a picture with Nichelle Nichols, his childhood crush.

Ahhhh, Nichelle. The one and only, and finest Star Trek goddess.

But damn, I get it’s a noteworthy story, but if I haven’t heard the MLK anecdote a million times! That and the Whoopi “ain’t no maid!” one. Still, she’s earned it I guess.

Many female astronauts were inspired by Uhura (and Nichelle’s work with NASA). It would nice to hear some stories about this. I’m always surprised no one ever seems to comment on the fact that Uhura is shown very briefly in the captain’s chair in one episode and in another fixes the electronics under her desk (with Spock saying she is the best person for the job). She’s also part of the away team several times, as well as doing a lot more in the movies. Most people seem to think she was just a switchboard operator and that the only notable thing about her character is that she was a black woman.

I was wondering the same. Whenever Nichelle talks about Star Trek it seems to be the MLK story. Is it just that every interviewer asks her to retell that story or is it the only one she has? This is not meant to be disrespectful. I’m just really wondering.

It’s a pretty important story, I think, and reflective of those times. She was about to go to another show. Roles were pretty scarce in those days. I am glad she stayed, and I am glad she had a major part in NASA’s “women in motion” program, that helped women become astronauts. She’s awesome.

This film was made with the generous participation of the Milwaukee County Transit system.

What do you mean? I’m just genuinely curious as someone who lives not too far from Milwaukee.

As a long-time subscriber, I have to say I’ve never seen “Starlog” spelled with a capital “L.” That was jarring to see.

A small point, of course, but still…

Doubt I’ll be watching this. I won’t support Takei after his reprehensible comments supporting the pedo Milo Yiannopoulos.