Middle-of-nowhere, NJ rag Bayonne Community News ran a puff piece on hometown boy and Trek screenwriter William Stape yesterday with the following lead: “With a new film due for release by Christmas, ‘Star Trek’ has once again become fashionable.”
Since when does Trek “become fashionable” only in the months surrounding a movie release? And since Trek XI has been re-scheduled for ’09 — long before the aforementioned article published — does that mean that Trek isn’t “fashionable?”
Let me translate this lead from bad-writer to geek-speak. What Bayonne scribe Al Sullivan really meant to say is, “Since there’s a Star Trek movie coming out sometime soon, I can slap some twenty-year-old nerd headline on a piece about a local guy who does geek stuff I wouldn’t normally give a damn about and my editor will totally take it.”
Yep, I’m working my way up to a full rant about the so-incredibly-wrong “geeks don’t really have a life” myth. But I’m going to save it for the next podcast. Here’s the short version, for people like Al: Geeks have great lives full of all the same things you want — geeks just don’t necessarily share these things with you.
In the meantime, please don’t allow any of the muck I’m slinging to attach to Mr. Stape, who happily helped to bring us at least one ST: TNG and ST: DS9 episode. I’m just sorry he didn’t get to talk to someone more interested in what he had to say.
Beam Me Up, Scotty (No, I’m not kidding.) [Bayonne Comm. News]
William N. Stape [IMDB]
GWCers have recommended the Star Wars Legacy comics, and considering that the folks at Dark Horse are shipping the first issue of a new story arc today, now’s a great time to jump in and check ‘em out. According to our friends over at Rebelscum.com, the new arc focuses on “the adventures of outlaw Admiral Gar Stazi, who has led the remains of the Galactic Alliance in hit-and-run operations against the Sith-led Empire.”
I’m in.
Note: The ‘scum also noted that the ’08 Wave 1 Star Wars figures are on shelves. Avid collectors, start your engines.
Dark Horse On Sale Today [Rebelscum.com]
Though Sillof’s website is short on details about himself, he includes some great pictures of his custom figurines, including a full set of Venture Brothers. My favorite: the Monarch, of course.
He’s prolific, too, creating figures from Justice League, Dune, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Daredevil, and lots, lots more. Don’t miss his “re-visioned” Star Wars figures, which are “intended to be high-tech meets the middle ages with accents of cowboy and eastern Samurai influences.”
Note: Look for some seriously sweet custom action figures from GWCer iGhost shortly!
Custom Figurines [Sillof's Workshop]
Venture Brothers season three storyboard and design supervisor Stephen Destefano created an art bible prior to beginning work on the series, and he kindly shared the first four pages on his blog yesterday. It’s exactly as fun and crazy as you’d expect from someone warped enough to bring us the genius that is Dr. Venture.
Not to be missed: his samples of the Doc’s “wide acting range” and the details of Rusty’s glasses. Be sure to check back later in the week when Destefano promises to teach us how to “DRAW BROCK…DRAW DEATH!”
Hells yeah.
How To Draw The Venture Brothers [Stephen Destefano]
It looks like this interview took place last year, but was recently posted to the Cinefantastique site. Regardless, it’s totally worth a look. The sometimes ebullient — and always interesting — Takei takes interviewer Craig D. Reid from early Trek through his appearance in Heroes with stops via Howard Stern and the insanely funny Shatner roast.
Every time I read something about Takei or see him in a performance — either acting or just being himself — I become a bigger fan. Is it just me, or do you feel the same?
Note: We also saw rumors from AICN that Takei will appear in Trek XI. We don’t believe them, but we’ve been wrong before.
Sulu In San Diego: Part 1 [Cinefantastique]
Sulu In San Diego: Part 2 [Cinefantastique]
Sulu In San Diego: Part 3 [Cinefantastique]
TrekWeb and many others are touting the addition of Darlena Tejeiro and Paul Townsend to the cast of the upcoming Trek XI. While Townsend will reportedly play “a Starfleet security officer” — red shirt? — the only lead we can find on Tejeiro’s role is from TrekToday, which writes that “she will not be playing an Orion.”
Trek XI Casting News [TrekToday]
StarWarsLocations.com is offering Jeremy Beckett’s travel guide to Star Wars filming locations in Tunisia Tataouine Tours: On Location Guidebook as a $5 eBook. While ‘Tours has always been a must-have for Tunesia-bound fans, at this price there’s no reason not to check it out even if you’re land-locked.
The book includes “28 detailed map, including route guides,” plus “all the information you need to get to grips with Tunisia’s history and diverse culture.” It’s a 3.36MB download in PDF format and includes a number of site photographs, which are browsable at the link below.
Tataouine Tours: On Location Guidebook [StarWarsLocations.com] [via]
It looks like Star Trek XI’s move to spring 2009 isn’t as free of competition as it was a month ago. Variety is reporting that the new McG-directed Terminator flick is opening just two weeks after the Trek franchise’s new hope. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins will (as of now) release May 22, 2009, and will star Christian Bale. With the Wolverine X-Men spin-off opening days before Trek, could this be another Nemesis situation?
For what it’s worth, I’ve always been a Nemesis fan. Sure, it’s not my single favorite Trek film, but I suspect that its poor box-office numbers — and subsequent fan thrashing — was due more to release date than to the quality of the film itself. Then again, I must not be the primary demographic — because I’m going to see all three. It’s gonna be a great spring!
In late Toy Fair ’08 coverage, IGN posted pictures of some Diamond Select’s series two Galactica action figures, which should hit shelves this summer. According to IGN, series two will include “Starbuck, Kat, a Cylon Centurion, and exclusives of Helo and Cain.” They report that Diamond also has “busts and statues of characters and ships from the series” in production.
As you can see from their photos (one above), they look pretty sweet. Be sure to check out the original IGN post for lots more photos, plus some of Diamond’s new Star Trek figures as well.
One gripe, though: No Larry?
Toy Fair ’08: BSG Collectibles [IGN]
Diamond Select Toys [Corporate Site]
Sean was kind enough to bring over some of his complete Gundam Wing collection tonight to give me a chance to check it out. Since he grabbed the wrong box and ended up with the second box set instead of the first, we chose this episode as my introduction. It required a bit of explanation, but as most of the episode is a flashback to earlier episodes, it provides a good bit of back story.
My first take: I’m going to like this series a lot. I love the fact that so much happens in such a short time in each episode, and hey — freakin’ big robot powered suits!
One question for all you anime gurus out there: why does every episode of anime always end with a song and a young, female character doing kid-like things that don’t actually take place in the series? (I’m not complaining — just wondering.)
Episode Guide [TV.com]
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing [Wikipedia]
Yes, the C3PO you see pictures above is indeed made entirely of paper. As one not well acquainted with the art of papercraft, I’m nothing short of amazed by it. It’s an incredible design. The good news: if you’ve got the patience to assemble it, you can easily build your own. The design is available for free in PDF form.
The bad news: it’s incredibly complex, and the instructions are in Japanese. Then again, there’s never been a better time to take up a new language.
Papercraft C3PO [PaperKraft]
Direct Link To PDF [Way-Nifty.com]
MSNBC film critic Alonso Duralde has rounded up six lessons Hollywood starlets can learn from the youngest Star Wars royalty, Natalie Portman. He writes:
In an age of starlets gone wild — and the pursuit of same by the insatiable scandal-sheet press corps — Portman has risen to the top of her profession with smarts and class. Even if all of her film choices weren’t the greatest — anybody remember “Where the Heart Is� — she’s hit upon a winning formula for playing the fame game, and her peers would do well to follow her lead.
The rules:
- Be smart.
- Be politically committed.
- Date non-gross guys.
- Work hard.
- Have a sense of humor about yourself.
- Have parents that support you — and who stay out of the spotlight.
He also adds a seventh: “…remember to wear panties when exiting a limousine.”
Kidding aside, this is a really nice article showing how Ms. Portman clearly has a good head on her shoulders and is handling herself — and her career — with style and class. It’s a good read.
(Thanks, Hot Rod Homepage, for the great CC-licensed photo.)
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