Star Trek finally wins an Oscar

Finally, after 40 years of television series and 30 years of movies, it happened last night at the Academy Awards: Star Trek won it's first Oscar!

Though in the Best Makeup category, it was no less well deserved.

I wish to extend my warmest congratulations to Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow!!!

Live long and Prosper.

Star Trek Back on IMAX for a Limited Time Only

This friday, IMAX will bring back Star Trek for a two-week special engagement in some selected cities. If you are one of the lucky ones (not in my city of Montreal unfortunately), I urge you to go and see it on the IMAX screen if you haven't done so yet. I can tell that that it's an incredible experience to be able to see the Enterprise on that giant screen. For those who have already seen it, why not go back to see it again?

You can click to the IMAX web site HERE to go and see if Star Trek will play in your city.

Trek Movie also has a list of the theatres currently showing the movie HERE

2009 Star Trek Convention Sunday: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy Panel

The William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy panels were an event many people were really looking forward to. Unfortunately, yours truly missed the major part of the Bill Shatner panel, as I was recovering from my earlier meeting with the lovely Zachary Quinto. Again I digress.

When I walked in on Shatner’s panel, the theatre was packed. Bill was already telling tall tales about filming with a horse on the set of the Star Trek: Generations movie. He was recalling the time when the horse fell on him and that he had gone up saying he required no hospital, fallen down again and then required to be sent to the hospital. Plus, while there, as he was getting ready to give a ''sample'' by peeing into a bottle, a nurse poked her head in, telling him she was his biggest fan. Hilarious. Bill was telling the story with tremendous energy and the crowd was visibly pleased and amused.

The actor also talked about the death of Captain Kirk in that movie. He also discussed his ad-libbed last line: ''Oh my!'' Shatner said he envisioned that what was coming his way was wonderful and awesome and it was death.

I arrived in time, however, to witness the arrival of Leonard Nimoy on stage when he joined his friend William Shatner. The uproar and applauds rising from the audience was deafening. It was really touching to see them both embracing.

The banter between the Original Kirk and Spock was amazing. These two old friends were really going at it, making everyone in the audience laugh.

Nimoy mentioned he did not understand why Kirk had to die in Generations, to which Shatner replied that it was the producer (namely Rick Berman) who wanted Kirk dead. At one point, Leonard Nimoy asked Bill Shatner what he thought of the new movie and this one flat out admitted he had not seen it. Nimoy retorted he had seen Generations though he had not liked it, to which Shatner replied that this was why he hadn't seen the new movie as well: he did not want to say the same thing to him. Uh, Oh. Nimoy diffused the situation by talking about SNL and making the audience laugh and Bill gasp when he said people who didn't like the new movie were ''dickheads.'' Another priceless moment. Shatner had to make Nimoy repeat himself, did you just say dickheads?

Another funny part of this joint panel was when William Shatner kept on calling Leonard Nimoy ''whore'' several times - while he was running around the stage in imitation - because, Shatner said, Nimoy ran to JJ Abrams when this one called for Fringe. Then he added a ''prostitute'' for good measure. Though it may seem rude, it was in fact very, very funny. And Nimoy was heartily laughing at his friend’s mocked affront. This whole shenanigan was making the audience laugh hysterically. Both men, especially Shatner, were in great form, though I have to admit that Nimoy came across as a little frail.

Nimoy later made Shatner promise that the two would sit together and watch the movie. Shatner agreed on one condition: That Leonard Nimoy brings popcorn and that he holds his hand (very funny). Nimoy also added that Shatner will be proud about the way Kirk was portrayed in the new movie, and that Chris Pine honored him.

When it was Bill Shatner’s turn to leave, Nimoy told him that ''you are my dearest friend'' and Shatner replied ''I love you Leonard.'' It was a very sweet moment.

Nimoy then began his solo panel which quickly went to Q&A.

He said that he and Zachary Quinto had spent more than 15 hours discussing the character of Spock, and that he did an excellent job by creating a slightly different character because he's at a different time in his life. He also mentioned that he was jealous regarding the new Spock/Uhura romance.

After a fan asked him if he had a bucket list, Nimoy answered no, because he was already happy and fulfilled in his life. When asked who was his idol, the actor also mentioned that he once met Cary Grant, and that he had been star struck: He simply just couldn't talk in front of him.

At the end of the panel, Zachary Quinto and Jacob Kogan both walked on stage for a 3 Spocks reunion to the complete surprise and delight of the audience. After talking a bit and waving to the crowd, and giving the ''live long and prosper'' salute, the 3 actors then left the stage together.

What a wonderful moment for the last panel I was attending. I will remember that.

2009 Star Trek convention Sunday: The Zachary Quinto Panel

Picture 1: More coffee for Zach

Last picture: Zachary Quinto on stage with Garrett Wang asking the last question of the panel -Garrett Wang is on the bottom right corner of the picture (click on it to make it bigger)

When Zachary Quinto walked on stage, holding a cup of coffee in his hands on the Sunday morning of the Convention, the theatre was packed. People cheered and clapped loudly at his appearance, and he waved to the assembled audience. Not wasting time, Zach decided to go directly to questions.

This was the Heroes actor’s second appearance at a Star Trek convention for the second year in a row and he seemed at ease to work the stage, going back and forth between one end of the deck to the other.

Heroes fans will be happy to know that he was very much excited about the direction in which the show was going for season 4. He’s kept very busy in the last months by doing press tours for the movie, working on Heroes, and having his own production company (Before the Door). Zachary Quinto thinks that his next announcement as an actor will be a play, and revealed that his ideal career would be a movie, then a play, then a movie, etc. I was saddened to learn that he will take a break from TV after Heroes ends.

Talking about the new Star Trek movie, Zachary Quinto told us that it was rather easy to work with Chris Pine since they knew each other and that he really liked the scene where he got to kick Kirk’s ass on the bridge, a comment that elicited laughter from the audience. About the kissing scene, he was mostly happy and relieved that they had managed to keep it secret. He also mentioned that the hardest part about the whole experience of the new Star Trek was the expectations; but when asked what he thought about people who had problems with the new movie, his answer, in a deep Sylar voice, was that ''those are not my problems.''

There was a very lovely moment during the panel when, at one point, a young girl in the audience simply forgot the question she wanted to ask him and started crying. Zachary Quinto asked if she was alright and tried to make her feel better while saying ''just complete the sentence, I feel . . . ?'' (which drew laughs in the theatre) and then people shouted for him to go and give her a hug. Mr. Quinto complied to the sound of applause from the assembled audience.
The actor later made us laugh heartily when he mentioned that Leonard Nimoy was here at the convention and that he’d been ''kicked to the curb'' since William Shatner was also there! (Very funny and everyone was laughing). He reminisced that last year HE was doing everything with Nimoy, panels, photo-ops, everything. Poor Zach, we all felt sorry for him Haha! He was a very good sport about it and made us laugh quite a bit.

Zachary Quinto also told a funny story about the moment he learned he would play Spock. It was 10 am in the morning and he was still in bed sleeping. When the phone rang, he answered in a very sleepy voice, took in the news, then basically went back to bed. It took him a while for the fact that he had gotten the part of Spock to sink in as he was groggy from sleep.
He also made people laugh when he asked a person asking him a question ''are you wearing ears?'' to which the person replied yes but that they were LOTR ears. Zach jockingly told the person to ''get outta here.''

When time was up and there was only time left for one more question, Voyager actor Garrett Wang surprised everyone by being the last person to ask a question (Wang had to explain to Zachary Quinto who he was, since Zach had only seen a few of the Original series’ episodes and none of the other ones). Wang talked about the fact that he loved the new movie and that he saw it nine times, he also told Zach that he had pestered the Voyager production team for more action, more humour, and that the new movie got it right – at which point there was a round of applause. Then he asked Zachary Quinto for a picture to which Zach kindly obliged. What a great and wonderful moment.

Too quickly again it ended. After Zach made his salutation to a rapturous and applauding crowd, he left the stage. Another year, another time Zach.