O'Hara, Nimoy Up For Bid In Symphony Space Auction

Broadway leading lady Kelli O'Hara and STAR TREK's Spock (and sometime playwright) Leonard Nimoy both are up for auction as part of a new fundraising initiative for Symphony Space, billed as the Spring Swing.

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Nimoy's VINCENT is the actor and playwight's theatrical ode to Van Gogh and the winner of that slightly more costly package receives tickets to the show and drinks with Spock himself afterwards.

Of special note, VINCENT plays at the Symphony Space's own aptly-named Leonard Nimoy Thalia.

The auction ends April 15, following the gala.

Source: broadwayworld.com

Bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann began writing her very first novel in chemistry class in high school. She and her friend Denny are characters in that book—and so are Brockmann’s favorite Star Trek characters. [Emphasis added]

When I asked Suzanne about her relation with her readers, she told me “I really know what it means to be a fan.” She described what happened when she, a long-time Trekkie, met one of her heroes, Leonard Nimoy. And she described the kind of relation she wants to have with her fans.

Suzanne Brockman: I have a really interesting relationship with my readers. Because I come from a place of really understanding what it means to be a fan. I am a really good fan. Starting, you know, “Trekkie, Trekkie.” And having gone to, you know, Star Trek conventions and being so passionate about somebody else’s story, it gives me insight into what I believe readers would want. What I would want if I were one of my own readers. So, you know, massive amounts of information.

Access, I think, is really important. And with the Internet, it’s so easy to do that. If somebody writes you an email, like, write back to them. And you can create what some people call, like, super fans. I don’t really like the word, “fan.” I prefer to call my readers “readers.” But having been a fan myself, and knowing what that is like just, I think, really does give me good insight into that.

I think that most of all readers want to be heard. And so to give people an opportunity to let them speak, and to listen when they speak, I think is really important. So I have this, like, kind of, notorious reputation for having really long lines at book signings. But I’ve just really found that, you know, sometimes, readers will drive six hours to see me. And I went to a book signing relatively early in my writing career. I went to see Leonard Nimoy, “Mr. Spock.” He was doing a signing for a book that he had out. And I waited on this massively long line. And I finally made my way up to the beginning of the line. And the bookseller, who was running the book signing, took the book out of my hand, opened it, put it in front of Mr. Nimoy. And, kind of, like, pushed me in front of the table. And there I was standing there. And I was so overwhelmed by the fact that here was this man that I admired so greatly. And I’m standing in front of him.

And I couldn’t hardly even breathe. And he’s signing his name. He looks up at me. We have eye contact. And I couldn’t speak. And then, the bookseller pushed me out of the way. And it was, kind of, like, “Wait. I just want to say thank you so much for, you know, having such an impact on me as a teenager. And your interpretation of this character was so wonderful. And you brought this world to life so completely for me.” And all these things that I didn’t get a chance to say, if I had just had a moment to respond in some way, just ‘til I get my voice working. And it was not his fault. It was so much about the massive amount of humanity that was there to see this man. And the bookseller trying to sell as many books as possible. But I, kind of, carried that with me.

Source: http://popularromanceproject.org/interviews/1195/

Hand-written poem by Leonard Nimoy for the KQED Channel 8 Bay Area Educational Television Association Auction

“In the circle of time
we all come back
to the center

You are not the first
nor the last
to enter here

In the halls of greatness
shall be found
those who speak
the truth

L Nimoy 6/73”

Source: Ebay

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Vulcan, Alberta, and loved learning what the community did to attract visitors to their town. Many of the town residents all embraced the Star Trek connection, reached out to Leonard Nimoy and other high profile Trekkers, and even took to buying Vulcan ears in bulk for residents of the town. Town residents would wear these ears while they were on vacation, to try to lure outsiders to visit their town. Talk about dedication!

Rare ‘Star Trek’ convention footage (1976)

Thanks to The Retroist for this excellent find: a brief amateur documentary covering an early Star Trek fan convention in Denver, Colorado in the fall of 1976.

YouTube poster, ultimessence, has this to say about his unique video:

“One of the earliest Star Trek conventions occurred in 1976 at the Northgenn Mall in Denver Colorado in Fall of 1976.

Only 7 years after the series ended, Star Trek already had a very strong cult following in the US and even abroad. There were small fan clubs popping up all over the world, so after a while it had such momentum that someone began organizing these gatherings into conventions…At homes, schools, malls, they eventually had to rent large convention halls to accommodate the throngs of devoted ‘trekkies’.

This one had Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and James Doohan (Scotty), so I had to bring my super 8 movie camera to the Mall to film it. I brought my old pal Terry McCoy as the on-camera reporter to interview the cults and play with the toys.”

 

Source: Bionic Disc

Happy Birthday Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek's Spock Turns 82 (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

Happy birthday Leonard Nimoy! The actor best known for bringing Star Trek's Spock to life turns 82 today.

Nimoy, who was born in Boston in 1931, has been beloved by geeks since he donned pointy ears and played the highly logical half-human, half vulcan Spock in Star Trek.

Over the years, Nimoy has embraced his status as a geek icon, appearing not just in Star Trek movies but in sci-fi shows and video games.

Ever the classy guy, Nimoy even wished his fans thanks for the many, many birthday wishes he got on Tuesday.

Below, our eight reasons why we love Leonard Nimoy.

1. He showed us that being the nerd was awesome
He was the smartest guy in the room and was awesome about it. Kirk got the girl but Spock often saved the day.

2. And the girls still loved him

3. He's a nerd like us
Would you narrate Civilization IV if you weren't a nerd? Or sing the ballad of Bilbo Baggins?

4. And he knows how to laugh at himself

5. He'll even play an action figure!

6. He reaches out to his fans

Nimoy once wrote a moving letter to a mixed-race fan who said they identified with Spock's mixed-race heritage.

7. He's an artist

Nimoy has been a photographer for years and even published books of his photographs.

8. He gets better with age

Source: Huffington Post

Leonard Nimoy: Live Long and Happy Birthday!

We lowly humans often dream of traversing the stars and sailing across the dark matter of the universe in a galactic vessel. To us, space may seem like the final frontier, but it is one known all too well by Leonard “Mr. Spock” Nimoy who will turn 82 on March 26th.

The USS Enterprise’s science/first officer spent three years (a total of 80 episodes) exploring space in the original Star Trek series. More recently he crossed over to a parallel dimension as Dr. William Bell in 11 episodes of Fringe. From space to spatial universes, he has amassed a total of 123 acting credits, almost half of which came before the start of Trek. Yet for better or for worse, whenever we hear Mr. Nimoy speak, we’ll always hope that we’re about to be told to “Live long and prosper.”

Source: bio.

Actors Spinning Stories at the Getty
Leonard Nimoy and Robert Sean Leonard are two of the special guests.

It's one of our first, and most favorite, leisure-time activities: Hearing a short story read aloud.

That pleasure sometimes ends too soon, with childhood, and months or years can pass before we hear another human read to us, live and in person and not via an electronic device.

It's more than a pleasure, some would argue; enjoying spoken words and lively tales is something our minds crave. If it has been too long for you, or you simply just love the simple act of being read to, make for the Getty Center on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24.

"Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story," the public radio program, is inviting several actors to step up to the mic and read yarns involving something we're all pretty fond of: leisure.

Source: NBC

Acting Triple-Threat Zachary Quinto Discusses His Latest Projects

How would you describe your take on Spock in the new Star Trek films? Does it relate more to Leonard Nimoy's Spock or mainly your own interpretation?

It's definitely my own interpretation, Leonard and I obviously spent time working together on the first film and became very good friends and are still very close and speak of the character from time to time. He was very clear about wanting to hand it [the character of Spock] to somebody that he could trust and that would respect the character the same way that he did. We are very different people and we come at the experience from very different perspectives and invariably it is going to be unique to me even though it is a character he created. I think J.J. really supported that as well, he wanted all of us to bring our own points of view and perspectives to the characters we are recreating. I think all of us have done that and I think that now that we are into our second film the thing that was most important to all of us was maintaining our sense of personal integrity and personal relationships to the characters we set.

How did having Leonard Nimoy on the set of the film affect your portrayal of Spock? If it did at all?

I don't think it affected my portrayal; it affected my appreciation for the character, my appreciation for how important it's been to him in his life and how much it's been formed from his perspective and his work and his creativity. I'd say getting to know Leonard was one of the biggest gifts of the experience that first time around and now having him in my life the way I do; it means the world to me that he is invested not only in me and my relationship with the character of Spock, but also me as a person and me as I relate to the world. I have learned so much from him and I value him so much, so to me [him being on set] took a lot of pressure of actually when we were making the first movie, because I felt like he was always there for me if I needed any help, advice or guidance. We had many conversations during the first movie about the character and it was enormously helpful to have him around, certainly more helpful than it was stressful.

Source: Huffington Post

Tricorders Soon Won't Be Just for Star Trek

"The tricorder for us was kind of a magical tool," says Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Spock in the noted 1960s TV series. "I always believed we were doing things and showing things and explaining things that would be part of the future."

During the reign of the Star Trek series, Spock, an alien science officer aboard an Earth starship, carried his tricorder throughout the galaxy. The device captured the imagination of not only science fiction fans, but the general public, because the tricorder was an icon of things to come.

"It's a handheld device that gives you access to so much info," Nimoy says.

Source: Sci-Tech Today

Crazy Bill

The App Store’s latest zombie game takes the next logical step for the undead – zombie celebrities! Why mow down more nameless, boring zombies when you can fight Zombie Einstein, Zombie Leonard Nimoy and Zombie Elvis instead?

Source: IGN

‘Buffy’: James Marsters on Spike, Spock and romantic vampires

James Marsters — the actor behind the peroxide-haired punk rock vampire Spike in Joss Whedon’s long-running series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — found inspiration for his character from an unusual source: Mr. Spock.

Marsters said he looked to his favorite character from “Star Trek” — Leonard Nimoy’s starship Enterprise science officer Spock — when he was first cast on “Buffy” for what was initially supposed to be a brief role. Marsters ended up acting in 97 episodes of the series, not to mention another 24 episodes in the spinoff “Angel.”

“Spock was that side character that nobody thought would be that much, and he ended up kind of turning the theme on its head,” Marsters told Entertainment Tonight, in the video above. “‘Cause ‘Star Trek’ really was about human beings perfecting a worldview and then sharing it with the galaxy, and then Spock was just trying to figure out how to be human in the first place. And in ‘Buffy,’ I thought that I wanted to be the new Spock. I was like, Spock, Spike. Spike, Spock. … I was a little side character that no one really thought would be much, but I kind of turned the theme at a different angle so that you could kind of look at it.”

Marsters said he was looking forward to “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the J.J. Abrams sequel to the 2009 reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise, slated to hit theaters May 17.

Source: L.A. Times, Hero Complex