What's New September 2013

Sighting/Events

Leonard and Susan Nimoy at the 11th annual Gala in the Garden on Saturday, Oct. 5, Hammer Museum.

"Leonard Nimoy and wife Susan Bay Nimoy, who sits on the Hammer's board of overseers, were among the attendees, who also included producer Lawrence Bender, Simpsons creator Matt Groening, China Chow, writer and producer Maria Bell, DreamWorks Animations' Bill Damaschke and business manager John McIlwee." (Sources:Los Angeles Confidential, The Hollywood Reporter, Submitted by Grace.)

"Leonard Nimoy sported his usual cool haircut." (Source: Los Angeles Magazine)

 

Voices

These Are the Voyages: Behind The Scenes Of The Original Star Trek – Part I

"First season Associate Producer John D.F. Black" and Marc Cushman discuss the making of the series and their impression of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Submitted by Grace.

Sighting

 

Leonard Nimoy, Dana Delany, and More Join Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto at a Shimmering Opening Night for Broadway's The Glass Menagerie

John Tiffany's Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie celebrated its Broadway opening night at the Booth Theatre on Thursday, September 26, with a post-performance gala at the Redeye Grill. Starring Cherry Jones, Zachary Quinto, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Brian J. Smith, the production welcomed a host of celebs to the after-party, including Leonard Nimoy, Dana Delaney, Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Sandra Bernhard, Tyne Daly, Victor Garber, and more.

Source: theatermania.com

 

 

Leonard Nimoy in The Captain And Tennille Show

 

Twitter

...with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen

Voices

Pharrell muses on milestones and meeting 'Spock'

The superstar singer-songwriter continues to blaze musical trails as he enters middle age, but Williams remains a kid at heart -- a fact that becomes evident when he recalls a recent encounter with a boyhood idol.

The "Star Trek" fan recently had a chance to meet Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. The actor also narrated documentary series "In Search Of..." which originally aired in the '70s and '80s and explored the paranormal. Williams was such a fan of the show that when his rap-rock group N.E.R.D released its debut album, the title was -- you guessed it -- "In Search Of...."

"I've been noticing all of these weird connections in my life since I turned 40," mused the soft-spoken Williams, who grew up in Virginia Beach, Va.

"'In Search Of...' used to come on CBS when I was a kid... and I was obsessed with that TV show then. And they would talk about everything from the legend of Bigfoot to the pyramids to the Dogon tribe.

"I'm still obsessed with all of those same topics and I never realized that it was a consistent theme."

Another intergalactic connection between childhood and present day? The neighbourhood street called Neptune that Williams would see frequently as a child shares the same moniker as his production partnership with Hugo. And Williams also recalled the Neptune Festival that would take place on Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach.

"It's just crazy to see how these tie in together. I think I've always been like a super sci-fi guy and I think one of the main connections with it all is Leonard Nimoy. It's weird," said Williams.

 

Source interview: CP24

Source photo: Twitter

 

New on DVD

“Harbor Command: The Complete Television Series” (MGM/Timeless, 1957-58, b/w, five discs, $29.97, 39 episodes). Character actor Wendell Corey stars in this one-season, half-hour crime drama from the early days of commercial television. Corey plays a U.S. Coast Guard captain in charge of San Francisco Bay’s Harbor Police, pursuing drug-runners, smugglers, arsonists and, of course, killers of various stripes.

The scripts are pretty good and the unique setting and location shooting give this one some flair, along with the range of interesting guest stars these shows always have, from veteran actors on their way down, such as Stuart Whitman, to newcomers on their way up, such as Leonard Nimoy and future “Hollywood Squares” host Peter Marshall.

(Source: deseretnews.com)

 

Singer

David Letterman's take on Leonard Nimoy's singing career and Simon&Garfunkel

Fringe

Commentary for the Fringe pilot episode where they talk about making the decision to cast Leonard Nimoy as William Bell. (It's mainly J.J. Abrams talking, Roberto Orci's and Alex Kurtzman's input put in brackets)

By the way, the reference here to William Bell...We always knew that the character of William Bell, who's founded Massive Dynamic - and this was always going to be a critical character, because we actually talked quite a bit about the back story of Walter Bishop and William Bell. Geniuses at Harvard. One of them going off to become sort of Bill Gates billionaire and [???]* this company here. Massive Dynamic. (What don't we do.) But the reference to William Bell...We knew we wanted to build to it and we were very lucky - when this was shot we were doing the - we were filming Star Trek and obviously we all met with Leonard Nimoy - you know - a year and a half before this. But working with him on Star Trek was just the greatest experience. He's just such an amazing (He's great), thoughtful (Soulful), yeah, graceful guy who's so supportive of what we trying to do with Trek and certainly of the actor Zachary Quinto who played young Spock, anyway, when it finally came time to meet William Bell and it was Bryan Burk again who had the idea what about Leonard Nimoy. And it was one of those things where it frankly hadn't even occurred to me - because I sort of had gotten to know him as Spock. And we had that idea when he sent that email to us it was kind of, just like, one of those revelations. So we're very lucky to have Mr. Nimoy come in and actually play a character in the last episode of the first season, that we reference in this panel.

* I can't make out what he's saying here. Help please?

 

Interviews

Star Trek Story, BBC

 

Interviews

Star Trek Into Darkness DVD Premiere. (Why is Star Trek still successful)

 

Pop Culture Reference: In Search Of...

The mysterious shrinking workforce

FOR TEENAGE nerds growing up in the 1970s, the TV series “In Search of . . . ” was the pinnacle of entertainment. Investigating the world’s unsolved mysteries, the show featured waves of creepy music and narration by Leonard Nimoy — Mr. Spock of “Star Trek” fame. I was always intrigued by the mysteries that were right in front of us, such as the monolithic Easter Island statues or the Nazca lines on the plains of Peru. Despite decades of archaeological research and analysis, the explanations for these phenomena still came down to piles of conjecture and the lasting hope that some new piece of evidence would help unravel the riddle.

The phrase “declining labor participation” doesn’t generate the same electricity as “Loch Ness monster” or “curse of Tutankhamen,” but scratching the surface of the past year’s employment statistics reveals a mystery every bit deserving of Nimoy’s dramatic flair. (...)

Source: The Boston Globe

 

DVD Premiere Star Trek Into Darkness

Submitted by Grace

Looking back. 4 years ago at the Star Trek premiere. 

Reuters
Date May 5 2009
By Frank Simons

"Star Trek" aims to stun fans

For new "Trekkies" -- and there will likely be many when the movie debuts in U.S. theaters on Friday -- the 1960s TV show started with a prologue about the voyages of the starship Enterprise and its crew that would "boldly go where no (one) has gone before" in the "final frontier" of space.

To reignite the franchise that spawned five TV series and 10 movies over roughly 40 years, Abrams has done exactly that -- gone where no other "Star Trek" storyteller had gone before -- with a tale of how Captain James T. Kirk, Dr. "Bones" McCoy and the Vulcan Mr. Spock came to be shipmates.

But changing the "canon" -- events and characters that shape "Star Trek" lore -- could leave legions of old "Trekkies" thinking Abrams had done something "highly illogical," as Spock might have once said. Old Spock Leonard Nimoy begs to differ.

"Canon is only important to certain people because they have to cling to their knowledge of the minutiae," Nimoy told Reuters. "Open your mind! Be a 'Star Trek' fan and open your mind and say, 'Where does Star Trek want to take me now'."

(...)

'GREAT JOB,' SAYS SPOCK

Nimoy, 78, is the only actor from the original TV series and "Star Trek" movies to also claim a role in the new film, playing Spock Prime, who helps set in motion the new future.

He heaped praise on the 31-year-old Quinto for taking Spock in a new direction as he first despises Kirk then grows to have a grudging respect for the man that will become his captain.

"I couldn't have improved on what he did," Nimoy said. "He did a great job, a great job, and I admire his choices."

After more than 40 years, Nimoy seems to have reached a comfort level with the character from whom he once wanted to distance himself. Nimoy even wrote one book called "I Am Not Spock", but later followed it with, "I Am Spock".

Nimoy was "ready to play the wise old character that hands down some help and philosophy to the young people", he said. "Settled, resolved, comfortable ... The Spock I played in this movie is pretty much me. Pretty much where I am in my life."

 

Interviews

Reuters
Oct 7, 2009
By Jill Serjeant

Leonard Nimoy gets new sci-fi life on "Fringe"

It was the connection with Abrams that led to Nimoy's brief appearance in May on "Fringe" -- the Fox science fiction TV show created by Abrams that explores the existence of a parallel universe.

Nimoy said viewers will learn more about his character William Bell, the founder of a mysterious corporation called Massive Dynamic, when they see him again in an episode airing on Thursday, and in at least one more episode this year.

Discussions are under way regarding further appearances.

Nimoy described Bell as a "master of the universe" character who is "brilliant, wealthy and very powerful." As for whether Bell is good or evil, "time will tell," he said.

"The character was somewhat a blank slate and therefore attractive, because there is an opportunity to build an interesting and unpredictable character," he said.

Nimoy all but gave up acting for photography 10 years ago, but said he is enjoying his comeback.

"I am very flattered that people are still finding me useful," Nimoy said. "I still feel strong and healthy and active, and as long as there is interesting work to do, I'll probably keep on doing it."

 

Looking back. 4 years ago the Actors appeared on Saturday Night Live

“Star Trek” — The actors strike back!

“I would say that Abrams and (company) pulled it off and that Trek is back with a vengeance and that Hardcore trekies who wanted it to fail didn’t get their wish,” wrote one commentator using the name Garovorkin on Trekmovie.com.

Everything seems to be a battle in Star Trek fandom. Trekmovie.com contained plenty of comments suggesting fans should be called Trekkers, not Trekkies. But the uninitiated have no reason to feel bad. Even Leonard Nimoy, appearing on “SNL,” jokingly got it wrong for a second.

“I have spent many years of my life among trekkies, er trekkers, and they have been among the best years of my life,” Nimoy said.

How does that sit with the Trekkies, er Trekkers?

Source: Reuters

 

Looking back. 4 years ago at the DVD premiere for Star Trek

Launching a Star Ship? Nah, just the “Star Trek” DVD

Other members of the new “Star Trek” universe were more willing to discuss how they wanted events to unfold ahead — in the 23rd Century. Zoë Saldana (Uhura) “wouldn’t mind having a couple Spock-Babies,” John Cho wanted his Sulu character to learn more martial arts and possibly become “a poet,” and Karl Urban would like McCoy to say “I’m a Doctor, not a Scientologist!” As for more Spock, Leonard Nimoy told us, “there’s more Spock to play – and Zachary Quinto is going to do it.”

Source: Reuters

 

Twitter

After 36 years, Voyager 1 goes interstellar (Waschington Post)

No IMAX 3D Conversion for ST: The Voyage Home

An IMAX test of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," filmed in 1986, didn't handle the magnification so well, recalls Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment.

"We saw the staples in Leonard Nimoy's ears," he says. "We saw the whales in the harbor were cardboard whales. As much as we wanted to do it, we passed."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

 

Voices

Peter Weller on feminism, sequels, and more

The A.V. Club: You’d been part of the Star Trek universe prior to this film, having guest-starred on a couple of episodes of Enterprise, but what’s your familiarity with Star Trek as a franchise? Are you a fan?

PW: I’m not a science-fiction fan. Well, you know, I guess I’m a fan of Philip K. Dick. I did a film called Screamers, based on “Second Variety,” his little novella, and I loved doing that thing. I admire certain pieces of science fiction, but I don’t read science fiction, I’m not a big Trekkie, and… I’m just not a big science-fiction guy. But creating alternative universes and alternative moralities is what I admire it for. I like to read about it. And I watched some episodes of Star Trek that they did in the ’60s, and there’s a couple of them that I really liked, but I didn’t watch it every week. I’m a big fan of Leonard Nimoy’s, though, because I did my third job with Leonard.

(Although Weller didn’t clarify what his “third job with Leonard” was, an email to his manager got us the answer: It was the 1973 play Full Circle, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Nimoy and Bibi Andersson, which started at the Kennedy Center before earning a brief run on Broadway. — Ed.)

Source: A.V. Club

 

Sighting

 Leonard Nimoy at the Hollywood Bowl Aug. 2013. (Full picture here.)

Submitted by Grace

 

 

 

Political Supporter

This 3 inch pinback button features a great photograph of Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, surrounded by the names of 20 famous Americans who supported him in his candidacy for President.  John Kerry eventually won the Democrat’s nomination. 

 

TNG: Unification on Blu-ray

 

 

StarTrek.com has a First Look at the trailer for the Star Trek: The Next Generation – Unification Blu-ray, due out on November 19 from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution.

The Unification Blu-ray transforms the landmark two-parter – in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) work in tandem to unify Vulcans and Romulans -- into an epic feature-length presentation complemented by an audio commentary and an exclusive documentary, “From One Generation to the Next,” which documents the making of the episodes and the introduction of Nimoy’s iconic character to TNG.

Source: StarTrek.com. Submitted by Grace.

 

 

Clippings

Submitted by Irene. Many thanks.

 

Star Trek Into Darkness Release Party

 

 

Nimoy took a moment to reflect about the original groundbreaking television series, which just passed another major milestone.

"Two days ago, on Sept 8, we celebrated the 47th anniversary of the debut of the show, which was Sept 8, 1966," said Nimoy. "Forty-seven years later we are still here doing this."

Nimoy said he celebrated the day talking to old friends about the anniversary. "It's just a great feeling to be involved with something so enduring," he added.

Source: USA Today

What the press has to say

StarTrek.com

August 2013 October 2013