Trekmachine
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A person I love would come first before a TV show, no question. But I would miss Trek
Same Here
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Welcome Back
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Chris Doohan, son of the original Scotty, James Doohan, will be making his second appearance in a Star Trek film.
As reported at Trekmovie.com, Chris Doohan, the son of James Doohan, will have a role in the upcoming Star Trek XI. Chris Doohan had appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as a background character in a crowd scene, along with his brother Montgomery.
"I'm tentatively scheduled to go in later next week to film," said Doohan, "but, like James Cawley, I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do. I can tell you that my father would be happy with my position on the ship."
When Doohan first saw the Star Trek uniforms that had been assembled, he was impressed. "I stood there in awe of the rows and rows of Star Trek uniforms that seemed to be everywhere," he said. "The uniforms are incredible and extremely well made. When it comes to wardrobe, they definitely spared no expense and I can only imagine what the Enterprise set will look like. I can't wait to see it."
Doohan has not yet met Simon Pegg, who is playing the young Scotty, but has exchanged emails with him. "We may get together to toast my Father," he said. "I guess I'll need to bring some green food coloring to put in our drinks."
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Chocolate Milk
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Jeri Ryan posed recently to show off her expanding waistline as she awaits the birth of child number two.
As reported at the Celebrity Baby Blog, Jeri Ryan is in blooming good health and is excited about the upcoming birth of her daughter, who was conceived on Ryan's honeymoon.
Pregnancy is more fun the second time for the former Voyager actress. "I didn't think I wanted to be a mom at all," she said about her first pregnancy. "I was just terrified. I had migraines every day and horrible back pain. I didn't have one millisecond where I was the glowing happy pregnant woman. Not for a millisecond."
Ryan married French chef Christophe Emé last June, in France. They honeymooned in Italy and Ryan's plan was to "come back pregnant." The thirty-nine-year-old actress knew that the odds were against here, but a surprise was in store for her. " I think we were back a day and a half when I took a pregnancy test," said Ryan. "I watched a blue minus line appear in the control window, then another in the test window. I almost cried because I thought, 'Well, I'm not.' A minute later, a much darker vertical line appeared. It took a minute for it to register and then I just started sobbing."
Her husband took the news of the quick pregnancy in stride after the initial surprise. "I couldn't even talk to Christophe," said Ryan. "He just kind of looked at me and his eyes got really big. I was trying to explain to him how unusual it is at thirty-nine to get pregnant the first time you try. We have so many friends going through fertility treatments and having such a hard time. His response was, 'Well, I'm French.'
Ryan's thirteen-year-old son from a prior marriage, Alex, had been asking for a sibling for years, said Ryan. When she told him of the news, he said "You mean you're having sex already?" Ryan remembered that when she was Alex's age, a friend's mother had become pregnant Ryan and her friend were "mortified".
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The scenario to bring back Kirk worked in The Return and could have worked in Star Trek XI says William Shatner.
As reported at USA Today, William Shatner is sorry not to be in Star Trek XI, feeling that a way could have been found to bring back his Kirk. He also regrets Kirk's death in Star Trek: Generations. "The mistake I made was thinking I could make it a spectacular death with what they had written," he said in reference to Kirk's death in Generations.
J.J. Abrams disagrees with Shatner. "You and I could come up with dozens of ways, but every way that we came up with felt like it was transparently fan boys trying to get Shatner in the movie."
Shatner disagreed, saying "J.J. doesn't need to worry about being a geek. He's a fabulous moviemaker, and this is science fiction." Other fans agree with Shatner and have a website calling for Kirk's return.
As reported at Cinema Blend.com, Chris Pine, who is playing Kirk in the film, had this to say about the pressures of playing the famous captain. "I'm having a great time. It's a lot of fun. J.J.'s wonderful. I haven't really thought that far ahead just because I'm neurotic and just try to concentrate on the day-to-day thing. That kind of keeps me in check. Whatever happens will happen. I have no control over it. All I try to do is good work and that's that."
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Boxer Shorts
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The LAPD Phraselator isn't quite the Universal Translator of Star Trek, but it's a step on the path towards development of one.
As reported in the L.A. Times, sometimes communication can be an issue in a city where two hundred and twenty-four languages are spoken. Not being able to communicate properly can lead to problems, such as happened in Los Angeles last May when a disturbance based on communication difficulties caused a melee which lead to injuries.
The Phraselator, a somewhat clunky hand-held device, enables officers to translate and broadcast thousands of prerecorded phrases in many languages. Developed for use in Afghanistan and Iraq by American soldiers who used it to communicate in Farsi and other local languages, it has proved to be a lifesaver in Los Angeles, aiding in situations where communication in other languages is needed.
"It is not quite like that translator thing on 'Star Trek'," said LA police Captain Dennis Kato. "It's a step or two away. But when it comes to crowd control, natural disasters or medical emergencies, it can be a lifesaver."
The Phraselator isn't a complete solution to communication difficulties. It can only be used in one-way translation. It can give phrases in another language, but it can't decipher responses. But the Phraselator has its uses, being used in places that are dangerous for human translators, such as being in the line of fire in a war.
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Sources online have given a detailed description of the forthcoming Star Trek XI teaser.
As reported at HollywoodChicago.com, a written report of the contents of the teaser for Star Trek XI has been posted and the star of the teaser is a ship under construction.
There is an old NASA radio countdown and a closeup of a worker sporting goggles and welding something, while working on a saucer section of a ship. A Kennedy speech claims that, "The eyes of the world now look to space." More shots of welders are shown and we hear that "The Eagle has landed."
Then there are more shots of the ship and it becomes obvious that this ship is being built on Earth, not in space. Leonard Nimoy's voice is heard, saying "Space, the final frontier." More of the ship is seen and it's obvious that this is the USS Enterprise being built. The teaser closes with the title card: "Under Construction".
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The next four cities Star Trek The Tour will visit will begin with San Francisco. Then Star Trek The Tour heads eastward.
As reported at Monsters and Critics, after one more stop in California, The Tour will head to three cities in the Midwest.
Star Trek The Tour, currently in Long Beach, California until February 17th, will be heading out to San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit after completion of the Long Beach engagement. Dates have not yet been announced for the four cities.
The Tour is an interactive and participatory event that will allow fans to immerse themselves in the Star Trek world. There are four full-motion, show-based flight simulators, a theater in which computer-generated sequences put visitors in the middle of Star Trek action, the bridges from the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, various other sets such as Captain Picard's quarters and Dr. Crusher's sickbay. There is also the opportunity for guests to "star" with the original cast in an episode of their choice and watch themselves interact with Star Trek icons such as Spock and Scotty.
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Getting his head molded was a "freaky" experience for Zachary Quinto.
As reported at Zqfans blog, a Zachary Quinto interview is contained in the Official Heroes Magazine issue two, which recently hit the newstands.
Quinto had to get used to secrecy early on, beginning with the news of his casting. "I have known for a while that I had got the Spock role," he said. "I knew for six weeks before they made an official announcement. It was a very difficult secret to keep."
Also difficult was the procedure Quinto endured to have the pointed ears cast. "They put this plaster all over," Quinto explained, "[and] smear it all over your head, and you are basically in this helmet where you can only breathe through your nostrils for half an hour. It is kind of freaky. Then they did a silicon cast of my ears to make them. I am really excited to see the technology and how the ears are made and applied.
Having the ears will help Quinto in the process of transforming into his character. "It will also really inform the character hugely to actually have the ears and step into the character from a physical perspective and balance out the emotional work I'll be doing leading up to production.
The Vulcan hand sign is something that Quinto has had to practice. "I am left-handed, so I can only do it on my left, but I do exercises," he explained. "I rubber-band my ring finger and pinky finger. It is part of my personal training."
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P2 (formerly known as Perpetual Entertainment) has stopped working on Star Trek Online for unknown reasons.
As reported at Wired, more changes have occurred that will impact, but not halt, development of the multi-player online game.
In November, as reported in this article, Perpetual had undergone a change of ownership. It was expected at the time that work on the online game would not stop even though it was also expected that there would be a change in format, changing from subscription based to charging money for optional in-game items, as used in some Korean multiplayer online games.
The work has supposedly been transferred to another unnamed developer. P2 is in the midst of legal woes and is being sued for breach of contract during the advertisement of many of their games. In addition, there was an exodus of employees from P2 who were dissatisfied with the changes to Star Trek Online.
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Still active at 76, Leonard Nimoy discusses life, death and Star Trek XI.
As reported at Trekweb, from an article located at Hossli.com, aging is no reason for Nimoy to slow down.
When asked why he is still working even though he supposedly retired three years ago, Nimoy said, "..Why do we eat? To live, to be alive. I enjoy my life. I like to work. I like to be productive. I like to explore and to learn." He went on to explain that "I don’t want to waste any time. Even if I’m not doing anything I want to enjoy that time. If I’m conscious of the time, then I don’t waste it."
When told that he seemed to be running from death, Nimoy denied it. "I think about death," he said. "I think about how much time I have left. I put a clock in place that runs backwards. It tells me how much time I have left." Nimoy obtained the clock from a life insurance company.
Nimoy hasn't been paying attention to what is happening to Star Trek in general, but is enthusiastic about Star Trek XI. "Now were going into a project that in its own way is going to be a very important project if it works," he said. "It will revitalize the entire 'Star Trek' franchise. It will be a very big, very expensive movie, much more expansive than any of the movies I was involved with."
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Christmas 2008 may come a bit early for Star Trek fans with a possible earlier release of the movie.
As reported at The Trek Movie Report, the delay of Angels & Demons has created a possible opening for Star Trek XI. There is discussion at Paramount regarding moving Star Trek XI up to December 19th or another date before Christmas, when it was due to be released.
It is not uncommon to have movies open earlier than expected. Several high-profile movies, including Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End and Transformers have done just that recently.
In other Star Trek XI as reported at TV Guide, Jennifer Morrison, who will be portraying Winona Kirk (James T. Kirk's mother), was another with praise for J.J. Abrams. "When I got the call to even come in and meet on it," she said, "I thought, 'Oh gosh, this is never going to work. I don't know anything about this. But J.J. Abrams has got a really cool vision for it and I fit into that. It was lucky for me."
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From beyond Mars, where an asteroid bearing his name travels through space, to travel in cities all around the globe, George Takei's association with Star Trek has taken him to many surprising places.
As reported at Metroweekly, George Takei has boldly gone where he might not have otherwise gone before his association with Star Trek.
"Star Trek has given me the opportunity, if not trekking the galaxy, to at least trek this planet," explained Takei. "I've been able to go to places where I never thought I'd be, or to places I never wanted to be. I've made wonderful discoveries like Montana. I'm an architecture buff and some of the architecture of Helena, Montana, was absolutely fascinating."
Takei has even had an asteroid named after him. "7307 Takei" floats in space in the vast expanse between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid, which is five miles in diameter, was given Takei's name in 2007.
Star Trek was known for its travel into unexpected and uncharted places. Takei, who came out in 2005, praised Gene Roddenberry for his openness. "He was an extraordinary man, a real visionary," said Takei. "He used to tell the Star Trek cast frequently that the Starship Enterprise was a metaphor for Starship Earth. And the strength of the starship was its diversity, the crew coming together and working in concert." Discussing why a gay character had not made it onto Star Trek in spite of efforts to add one, Takei said, "Gene was truly an enlightened person, and he said, 'It's silly, this homophobia and all this legislation and prejudice against equality.' But he felt that in order to make the statements that he had been making on Star Trek, it was important for Star Trek to be on, and network television is the most conservative medium of communication. If he pushes the envelope too far, the envelope gets burned up."
Blood and Fire, a script penned by David Gerrold and intended for Star Trek: The Next Generation, would have introduced a gay couple to Star Trek. The script became a book instead, and will shortly be seen on the screen as an episode courtesy of Star Trek: New Voyages.
Takei will not be in Star Trek XI, but he had this to say about Sulu's character, who will be played by John Cho. "It's a younger Sulu. As a matter of fact, he has some bravura heroics in this movie coming out. We know that Sulu's passion is fencing and there's a lot of fencing going on."
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Wil Wheaton has returned to the Star Trek world, as an assistant chief engineer on the USS Titan, a ship from a book series now seen in the new Star Trek: The Tour which opened recently in Long Beach, California.
As reported on Wil Wheaton's website, Wesley Crusher is back, in a small role on Star Trek: The Tour, where he recently shot a four-minute movie for use in The Tour. "Last week, I mentioned one of those 'so cool I can't talk about it' projects," he explained in his blog. "Today, I can go ahead and reveal what it was: I composed that post about an hour before I put on pointy sideburns and a space suit, brought Lieutenant Commander Wesley Crusher back to life as the Assistant Chief Engineer of the U.S.S. Titan."
Wheaton went on to show a schematic of Star Trek: The Tour. It can be seen here. Wheaton went on to describe some of the goodies available for fans attending Star Trek: The Tour. "In addition to the encounter thing that I'm in, there are some really cool things for Trekkies on this tour," he explained. "including full-size recreations of the NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-D bridges (where you can trade some of your gold-pressed latinum for the opportunity to sit in the captain's chair and pose for a picture) corridors you can walk through, and more costumes and props than you could feed a Targ." Wheaton went on to add that, "There is a killer app that I can't wait to try out: There is this thing where you step into a blue screen environment, and through the magic of teleprompters, multiple camera angles, and creative editing, perform in a mini episode of the original series, where you'll get to act with Kirk and Spock."
According to a post on TrekBBS, a six foot physical model of the Titan is being built for the tour by Gene Rizzardi and his crew. Rizzardi has worked on many well-known movies, such as Final Destination 3, 10.5 and Titanic.
Another familiar name, Tim Russ, will also be appearing in The Tour. His character of Tuvok, originally seen on Voyager, has also appeared in the Titan series of books which are set after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Another familiar name from the Titan books, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Will Riker, will not make an appearance, however, as The Tour was unable to get Jonathan Frakes to appear as the captain of the USS Titan.
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Karl Urban actively pursued getting the role of Leonard McCoy and has tried to be faithful to the character.
As reported at IGN.com, Karl Urban is enjoying portraying Dr. Leonard McCoy. The role was one that he "actively pursued and was very fortunate enough to be offered."
Urban will play McCoy trying to be faithful to the spirit of the original character. "It is a case of not doing some sort of facsimile or carbon copy," he explained, "but really taking the very essence of what DeForest has done and honoring that and bringing something new to the table."
Having viewed Star Trek since childhood, Urban did not need to rewatch old episodes of the show to prepare for his role of McCoy. "I didn't actually even have to go out of my way to re-watch old episodes," he said, laughing. "I've just been watching them for over 20 years!"
Urban was unable to say whether the young McCoy would be a more physical version. "I can't divulge any secrets. I would love to spill the beans, but I'm really not at liberty to say," he explained. Instead, he praised J.J. Abrams. "I just will say that the project as a whole is very faithful to the original series and I think that J.J. has a very fresh and exciting approach and I think that he's an incredibly talented visionary. I believe that he is going to reinvigorate this franchise in a really healthy, positive and exciting way."
He also felt that the fans would enjoy Star Trek XI. "I really think that the Trekkers and the long time fans will be really pleased with it," he said. "because it really does honor the very spirit of what we are all really quite crazy about, in a good way."
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January 9, 2008 - 8:26 PM
The anticipated teaser for Star Trek XI will appear online on January 21.
As reported at The Can Magazine, the trailer for Star Trek XI will be available after the theatrical release of Cloverfield, the movie with which the trailer will first be seen.
Paramount confirmed the online release, which will occur after Cloverfield screens, giving theaters an entire weekend to draw moviegoers before the trailer is seen online.
Cloverfield is a monster attack movie set in New York. The story is told from the point of view of the video camera used by a small group of New Yorkers. Cloverfield is produced by J.J. Abrams, who is also directing Star Trek XI.
It's Not Easy Being Green
in Trek News
Posted
Lawrence Montaigne discovered that sometimes it's not easy to be green when he came into conflict with Gene Roddenberry after accepting a Star Trek role.
As reported at Reviewjournal.com, Lawrence Montaigne shared his memories of working on Star Trek. He played the Romulan Decius on Balance of Terror and the Vulcan Stonn in Amok Time.
Montaigne originally read for the part of the Romulan commander in Balance of Terror but was offered the role of Decius instead. "What's a Decius?" he asked his agent when called with the news that he had won the part. Montaigne soon found out and donned the ear-hiding helmet to play the overly-loyal Romulan crewmember.
His next Star Trek role was that of Stonn, the man for whom Spock was jilted by T'Pring in Amok Time. Montaigne was told that Vulcans were not supposed to have chest hair. "They told me to shave my chest, that Vulcans didn't have chest hair," he explained. "Well, this Vulcan has chest hair. So they called Roddenberry. Gene was a big man, a former cop. He talked down to you, like he was about to give you a citation. But I still refused, so they called my agent. They worked it out, but by then everyone hates me and Gene won't talk to me."
Montaigne recently revisited the Star Trek world, appearing in the fan film production of Star Trek: Of Gods and Men as Stonn, who is the husband of Nyota Uhura.
http://www.trektoday.com/news/280108_03.shtml