boston.com
May 09, 2009
By Derrik J. Lang

For Nimoy, 'Fringe' was comfortable fit

LOS ANGELES - Outside of Leonard Nimoy's Bel Air home, workers are busy constructing a new driveway, replacing flagstone with sleek cement as part of an ongoing conversion from Mediterranean to modern. Though the 78-year-old actor is also undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts, he isn't paving over his past.

(...)

"I've never played America's richest man before," Nimoy cooed.

He has filmed one scene so far in New York with actress Anna Torv, who plays Olivia Dunham, an FBI agent assigned to investigate unexplained phenomena with Bishop and his son. After production moves to Vancouver for the second season later this year, Nimoy will appear in additional episodes "when they call me."

Something about Bell is very different from any character Nimoy has ever played, but he wants to keep that under wraps. What's not a mystery is why Nimoy was offered the part: He bonded with "Fringe" cocreator Abrams during his "Trek" resurrection. Nimoy had never seen "Fringe" before but was impressed with the show after watching a few episodes.

"It's not unlike any other show that's ever been done," said Nimoy. "It's just that the execution is so much more thoughtful and theatrical than what I've seen in the past."

Nimoy, surrounded by art in his house - including many of his own photographs - said the version of Spock he's portraying in the new film is more like who he is more than ever before because "I know where I'm going, and I know where I've been." Other than the "Fringe" role and possibly another "Trek" film, Nimoy doesn't have other on-screen commitments.

And that's exactly the way he wants it.

"I like being here," he said. "This is a great place to spend time."

Virgin Media’s revolutionary TiVo service today sees the arrival of a brand new interactive Star Trek app courtesy of CBS Action. The app will thrill aficionados of the legendary show as well as take newcomers behind the scenes of one of the world’s most successful television franchises.
Every episode of Star Trek: The Digitally Remastered Original Series which is exclusively broadcast on CBS Action (Virgin Media channel 192), will be featured in the app following each original broadcast. Additionally, the app will showcase cast interviews, the classic 1970s Star Trek animated series and rare documentaries on demand, plus a host of exclusive and original content including footage from the hottest Star Trek conventions, interactive games and monthly quizzes.

(...)

Starfleet Interviews

A vault of behind the scenes interviews with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise and its creators, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, DC Fontana and Walter 'Matt' Jefferies.

Source: Virgin Media

“Movies from an Alternate Universe”: What If Recent Films Had Been Made Decades Earlier?

by Matt Goldberg Posted:January 17th, 2012

Classic films are getting remade left and right, but what if it went the other way? What if our original films of recent years were thrown back to an earlier era? Who would star? Who would direct? What would the poster look like? Artist Peter Stults ran with that idea and came up with some wonderfully creative and thoughtful posters based on recent movies. I’m not sure if I see Leonard Nimoy as John McClane, but I can absolutely see James Dean starring in a 1950s version of Drive.

Source: Collider

Leonard Nimoy On 'Star Trek II''s 30th Anniversary
The Actor Wanted to Beam Out of the Role of Spock - But Changed His Mind

On the first signs that there might be something unexpected happening:

I went to work for [‘Star Trek II’ executive producer] Harve Bennett on another project in Israel called 'A Woman Called Golda' that was about Golda Meir, the woman who became Prime Minister of Israel. I was playing her husband. They sent me the script while I was in Israel. I read it and I was not terribly impressed. I didn't feel very good about it. I contacted him and I told him so. He said, 'You have a week off. You come to L.A. and let's deal with this.' I said that I would. I came to Los Angeles and by then he had hired Nicholas Meyer, who was a very talented writer and a good director. I had a meeting with the two of them and I told them what my concerns were about the script, and I got a very refreshing response. Particularly in television, you go to the producer and say, 'I have a problem with the script,' and they go, 'Well, let's sit down and see what the problem is. Page 17, what's your problem there? Page 22, we'll change that line, change that moment,' and what you end up with is a script with a lot of band-aids on it. When I told Harve and Nick what my concerns were, Nicholas Meyer to my delight said, 'I agree with you. I'm doing a rewrite. When do you have to go back to Israel?' and I said, 'Friday.' He said, 'I'll have a script ready for you to take back on the plane.' He did, and it was wonderful. So I thought, 'Okay, we're going to make a movie.'

On going from wanting out of “Star Trek” to suddenly wanting back in:

Working on the film I felt very strongly that the film was a good 'Star Trek' movie – if not a terrific 'Star Trek' movie. We came to the day when we were going to film the scene that Harve Bennett had talked about and it was a very powerful scene. It was playing very well, and I thought to myself, 'I think I've made a terrible mistake!' Thankfully, Harve came down to the set as I was about to go in to the chamber – this will be a spoiler for some of you who haven't seen the film: He said, 'Is there something you can do that can give us a thread to continue this story?' I came up with the one word that you'll see in the movie, and those of you that know what the word is – you'll ‘remember,’ won't you? Yeah. So I did that. I picked the word and I did the piece of business that was called for, and the movie was a very good movie and very successfully put 'Star Trek' back on track. We were all very grateful for that, because it gave me the opportunity to direct the next two films and to produce the sixth, and a lot of great things happened as a result. That film really, in my opinion, saved the 'Star Trek' franchise, because it was really in trouble at that moment.

Source: 4 NBC New York

Upon hearing that Mr. Nimoy would be appearing in New York City for a ‘Selected Shorts’ appearance, my friend, Bobbie Reno invited me to come up to the Albany, NY area to stay with her. From there, we would take a train to New York City on May 23rd to ‘Symphony Space’, where the performance would be held. On Friday, we planned to drive to Northampton, Massachusetts to see Rich Michelson, Mr.Nimoy’s gallerist, collaborator and friend, at the R.Michelson Galleries. My flight to Albany was uneventful and it was great to finally meet Bobbie face-to-face. We had both been members of the Leonard Nimoy Association of Fans back in the  1960’s and 70’s and were both at the MASS MoCA for the “Secret Selves” exhibition. We had recognized each others’ names over the years, but actually connected via twitter and phone after “Secret Selves.” (read more)

Fringe Season 5: William Bell could be back, says Leonard Nimoy

“It was explained to me that we’re opening up a whole world, and William Bell is being recreated as something else,” Nimoy told us of his Season 4 role. “He’s in another universe and has taken on other characteristics. There were challenges in the character itself that were attractive to me. I could play aspects that I haven’t played in a long time, so it was very welcoming to me.”

“The William Bell character started as a very intelligent and rational character,” says Nimoy of Bell’s arc. “I think he’s still very, very intelligent, but I’m not quite so sure that he’s rational anymore. I think you’ll see some behaviour in the finale that have taken him quite a distance from where he started.”

Source: SciFiNow

Horses, Trains and Spaceships
By Leonard Nimoy, Acclaimed Actor, Director and Photographer

Executive summary

Leonard Nimoy’s life is one of seemingly small opportunities seen, seized, and turned into huge payoffs. But it is also a life guided by several powerful principles. The sense of honor he gained from his two years in the military. The appreciation for how the little things, the small moments – like a chance exchange with John F. Kennedy after an even more serendipitous cab ride together – can have an outsized impact and literally change your life. The realization that we all have some bit of creativity within us – we just need to take the path of discovery, and learn how to tap our creativity and where best to apply it.

For only by finding our creativity and successfully applying it can we truly "live long and prosper."

Sound bites
"Then my father gave me some advice, the only piece of advice he ever gave me. He said ‘Learn to play the accordion. You can always make a living if you can play the accordion.’"
"In search of honor, I got on a train and went to that citadel of honor: Hollywood."
Re: Picking up John F Kennedy in LA while driving a cab: "Your business [acting] is a lot like mine. But keep in mind: There’s always room for another good one.’ And that made a big impression on me."

Confluence 2009 - Keynote Summaries

Leonard Nimoy - the most quotable man yet!

Leonard Nimoy speaks not only about his experience bringing to life "Spock," but also about how he made ends meet pre-Star Trek (stints in Bonanza and taxi driving), advice he received from his father and never followed ("learn to play the accordian"), and what virtue motives him the most ("virtue"). Simply unforgettable!

Confluence: The most quotable...

Mr. Nimoy’s talking about the JFK quote and how you have to put yourself in the work-things he’s mentioned before. His voice sounds a little softer than usual.

People
May 08, 2009
By Scott Huver

Spock on Spock: Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto Sound Off

Leonard, was it fun to see someone else have to deal with the Vulcan ears, eyebrows and haircut?
Nimoy: Yeah, it was! I didn't have the severe problem with the eyebrows because mine weren't so prominent to begin with. I would pencil in the missing portion of the eyebrows so that I could get away with it.

Quinto: The eyebrows for me were probably the biggest challenge, just because my eyebrows are such a big part of my face. There's really no way around it and to lose three-quarters of them for six months...! Did you have any irreparable eyebrow damage over the years? Did they always grow back?

Nimoy: I asked about that before they shaved them: Will they grow back? They told me that they would and they did, but I think that over the years the more and more I shaved them the less and less they came back!

Do you have a favorite encounter with the intensely devoted fans of Star Trek – or Heroes?
Nimoy: People talk about the positive influence that Star Trek and the character have had on their lives. A lot of people will tell me that they're in the sciences because of Spock, [or] that during adolescence they used Spock as a role model on how to function with some dignity and equilibrium, dealing with the logic versus the emotional issues that all of us feel sometimes. It's just good to hear that.

Quinto: We spent a day [in Kuwait] screening the film for the troops. There was one encounter that I had with a soldier who told me that she would ration her episodes of Heroes and she would only watch them at a half-hour at a time on her breaks when she was in the thick of fighting a war because it was something that she really looked forward to and really, really took her out of the horror that she was in.

Where you surprised by Spock's emergence as a sex symbol, both then and now?
Nimoy: Are you going to write about that? I think that my wife might get upset! [Laughs] There's a truth in that, yeah. I didn't see that coming. I really didn't see that coming.

Quinto: It's really a fascinating thing to have happen when it's the last thing that you would ever expect. I've already gotten messages from people that I know either well or not so well saying, "If you put on those ears, I don't even know –!" It's a strange phenomenon.

Leonard, what did you take away from your Star Trek experience that you also hope Zach gets to enjoy?
Nimoy: Ever since the show went on the air in 1966 I've had all kinds of wonderful opportunities. I've never had to search for work or be concerned with work. I've gotten to have work of all kinds beyond my wildest dreams. I've acted all over the place and in all kinds of characters that aren't as well known as Spock. The opportunity that's going to come to him is going to be extraordinary.

Quinto: Cool!

But even as you pass the baton, are you truly done with Mr. Spock?
Nimoy: I've said time and time again: If J.J. Abrams calls me, I have to take the call!

KINGDOM HEARTS 3D

One of the hardest but most rewarding parts of developing games is not just bringing it to audiences of different speaking countries, but giving it the localisation it deserves. Discovering the right voice actor to represent the much-beloved characters of our games is taken very seriously. It's also very important for us to remain consistent throughout with our voice talent throughout the entire series so that you never lose the emotional connection you've developed with the characters.

In KINGDOM HEARTS 3D we're very pleased to confirm a number of fantastic voice actors who will be reprising your favourite characters.

Leonard Nimoy as Master Xehanort

Probably most renowned for his role as Spock on Star Trek (and Most recently as William Bell in Fringe), Leonard Nimoy is one of the industry's most distinctive voices.

Source. Square Enix

Characters of Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. The series features a mixture of familiar Disney and Final Fantasy characters, as well as several new characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura.[1] In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors.

Source: Wikipedia

Master Xehanort

Xehanort is the main antagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series. First seen in Kingdom Hearts II, his influence in the storyline began many years earlier, during the events of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Xehanort, or Master Xehanort as he is originally called, is a Keyblade master and colleague of Master Eraqus. However, unlike Eraqus, who seeks the containment of darkness in favor of light, Master Xehanort seeks power by accepting darkness. As a part of his plan, he takes in an apprentice of his own, a boy named Ventus, with the goal of training him to accept the darkness in his heart and become capable of summoning the X-blade (pronounced Keyblade).

Master Xehanort's plans hits a snag, however, as Ventus proves to be too pure to accept the darkness in his heart. In response, Xehanort takes the drastic step of extracting the darkness from within Ventus and gives it a physical form. He takes this new being, Vanitas, as his new apprentice, and leaves a now amnesiac Ventus with Eraqus. He also manipulates the feelings of Terra, a Keyblade apprentice and Eraqus's own son, in an effort to cultivate the darkness in the young man's heart.

Source: Giant Bomb