|
|
|
Now this movie has me excited
Aug 22 | Star Trek Universe fan audio series posted its first vignette. Simon Rasmussen wrote and stars in the vignette simply called "Ensign Park"
0 comments
Aug 22 | Reza Badiyi, a prolific television director whose credits included "Get Smart" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and who set a Directors Guild of America record for directing the most hours of episodic series television, has died. He was 81.Badiyi, who had been dealing with a number of medical issues in recent weeks, died Saturday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said family spokeswoman Bita Milanian.The Iranian-born Badiyi, who launched his filmmaking career making documentaries in Iran before moving to the United States in 1955, began directing for TV in the late 1960s.
0 comments
Aug 20 | The Star Trek Online Cryptic Store has been updated with a listing for the Rhode Island class refit
0 comments
:
By TRexx / 22:21, 21 February 2006 / People
Beam story to friend
Syndicate news
Shore Leave forum
While retired from the movie business since 1999, Curtis continues to make appearances at fandom conventions. Sci-fi author Stephen Euin Cobb interviewed the erstwhile Vulcan for The Future and You. Following are excerpts from that recent podcast...
Cobb: How did you get your role, the one that everyone here knows you most for?
Curtis: It was actually a very gentle process. I went in and I met the casting people at Paramount, and I had a very nice, congenial meeting, if you will, with the casting people. And, a day or so later, they set up a meeting with Leonard Nimoy. That's unusual, to have a one-on-one meeting with the person who's going to make the decision, as to whether or not they want to put you in their film.
Cobb: Did he give a lot of input on how to bring the character out, or were you already familiar with the Vulcans?
Curtis: Oh, no, he gave me a lot of input. I wasn't familiar -- I was familiar, certainly, with him, in The Original Series, but not to the extent that I felt remotely like I could play the part. I'm not the least bit Vulcan, nor is there anything "wry" about me, which is a word that he used often. The sense of Vulcan humor is wry one. There's nothing subtle about my humor, you know what I mean? Just the whole Vulcan mystique, I think, eludes me. I'm not the least bit logical, and "emotional" is my middle name; so, to be unemotional was a bit of a challenge. But, he guided me every step of the way, used terms like "a thousand years of wisdom behind the eyes." Those are things that although, you know -- I hate to claim that I have that, or achieved that -- those are the things I had strived to do in the project.
Cobb: Other than Leonard Nimoy, did anyone else mentor you a bit, kind of take you under their wing while you were with the...
Curtis: I would say the entire ensemble cast did, really. You know, I got to know these people quite well, just kind of hanging out on the set. Then I would see them, periodically, at the conventions. And they've always been there, to give me guidance had I needed it. They're good people, you know, and always there to extend some encouragement or a supporting word. Uh, you know, the people I'm talking about are Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle [Nichols], Jimmie Doohan, and Dee [DeForest] Kelley. Lovely people. I didn't really get to know Bill Shatner very well at all, because he just kind of remained separate from everyone and elusive, somewhat. But, the rest of them are just great people; and approachable, and friendly, and very kind. Very kind to me.
Cobb: Was there any kind of, maybe, goofy incident or little anecdote that you could share?
Curtis: You know, it's funny, somebody asked that last night. There wasn't a whole lot of goofiness on the set of Star Trek III, unfortunately. It was a very, sort of, somber movie; and Leonard's first attempt at direction, and he had a lot of factors that he had to kind of balance: The original cast, with new cast members; the fact that he was now stepping out from the original cast and being their director. So, I didn't really observe a lot of the joviality that I know the last, like, the Next Generation cast speaks of a lot. I mean, they went to work and had a laugh riot every day. That was not the experience I had on Star Trek III.
Cobb: Let me ask you about the ears: Were they uncomfortable? I've heard different stories about that.
Curtis: Not at all. You could barely tell they were there, once they were glued to you. No, not at all. The only thing that was remarkable about the ears was their removal: They had to use a very strong chemical to take them off, every day. I was cautioned that I should rub Neosporin on my ears every night, because should the skin be broken in any way, that could really present problems; should it become infected, to have to re-glue, every day, those ears. But, no, they were completely... you couldn't feel them at all once they were on. They were just this weightless, nothing bit of latex stuff.
Cobb: I sure appreciate the interview. Is there any one thing you'd like to say before I go?
Curtis: Just "thank you." You know, really, Star Trek has been an enormous blessing in my life, for many, many reasons; but, most of all, just the enduring relationship. You know, the community you feel you have with a group of people. It's been wonderful, and I'm very grateful to have had this association, all these years. It's been a real enrichment to my life. You know, Gene Roddenberry started a very good thing, of which I'm grateful to be a very tiny, tiny part -- but a part that has meant a lot to my life. Thanks!
Listen to the complete MP3 podcast at The Future and You, featuring interviews with science fiction authors David Brin and Joe Haldeman; also Mike Treder, executive director of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.
Stephen Euin Cobb's sci-fi novel Bones Burnt Black is on sale in the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and Deutschland.
| More Top Stories | Comments | |
| Aug 26 | David Warner on Working in Star Trek V and Star Trek VI | 4 |
| Aug 26 | New Poster and Trailer for Captain Harlock CG Movie | 0 |
| Aug 25 | New Mondo's Star Trek The Motion Picture Poster on Sale Tomorrow | 5 |
| Aug 25 | Watch Previews of Torchwood Miracle Day "End of the Road" Featuring John De Lancie and Nana Visitor | 0 |
| Aug 25 | Zoe Saldana on Avatar 2, Star Trek and Her Hopes for Starring in a Thundercats Movie | 3 |
| Story Archives...Browse: | ||
It's not her fault, because Alley was so good in ST2. But she was awful.
--------
The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's. -Mark Twain
|
Reply |
Quote |
That was a great interview. Too bad Robin was not the original Saavik in STII. I am not anti-Alley but it would be nice to have the same actress for all the movies.
Robin is definitely a class act. I would like to meet her.
--------
"Life's tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."
-- John Wayne
"Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
--Dr. Leonard McCoy
"I'm a politician, which means I am a cheat and a liar, and when I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollipops."
-- Jeffrey Pelt, The Hunt for Red October
"Liberals, Intellectuals, Peacemongers, IDIOTS!!!!"
- General Decker, Mars Attacks
"It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
- Q from Q Who
|
Reply |
Quote |
Why didn't Alley return for STIII? Anyone know?
--------
"My old friend, this song's for you. Cause a few simple verses was the least that I could do to tell the world that you were here. Cause the love and the laughter, will live on long after all of the sadness and the tears. We'll meet again, my old friend"
Tim McGraw "My Old Friend"
Dedicated To My Home..New Orleans
|
Reply |
Quote |
Alley turned down the role of Saavik in Star Trek III because the producers would not meet her salary demands and because she didn't want to be typecast as a science fiction actress.
Gustavo
--------
TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
Join me on Facebook
|
Reply |
Quote |
She was also really freaked out by the Star Trek fans. A little too into it, I heard her say in an interview from the last year. She was asked to be in Star Trek VI, director Nicholas Meyer wanted her, but she didn't want it, so the creation of Lt. Valeris came about. If you watch that movie, thinking of Saavik instead of Valeris, Spock's emotional responses seem more credible.
|
Reply |
Quote |
(2)
I remember seeing her in some old commercials as well, and always thought she was the best thing in a TOS uniform. Has anyone ever mentioned that she really acted like a pure-breed Vulcan, unlike Kirstey Alley who seemed quite emotional in comparison?
|
Reply |
Quote |
(1)
Regarding Alley's performance--I think it may be because, in earlier versions of the Wrath of Khan, Saavik was supposed to be part Romulan; I don't know if that element made it past the script stage, but if it did, perhaps it made it onto film, with Alley's performance based on it, only to have the actual references to it wind up on the cutting room floor; and subsequently the decision was to let that aspect of her character drop, leaving Curtis to play the role in TSFS as a pure Vulcan. Just speculation on my part.
EDIT: Well, Gustavo's responded with a definitive answer, so never mind... :)
|
Reply |
Quote |
(2)
Alley played Saavik emotional because it was revealed by Spock that she was half-Romulan.
One of the two most notable deleted scenes that was cut from the film is a dialogue exchange between Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in the halls of Starfleet Academy, in which they discuss Saavik's background and heritage:
Kirk: "Your protege's first-rate."
Spock: "She's half-Romulan, Jim. The odd mixture tends to make her blood more volatile than... me, for example."
Kirk: "Than you?" (looking at Spock) "Yes, I see that."
Nowhere in the final released version of the film, in the extended television broadcasts, or in the Director's Edition DVD, is Lt. Saavik's half-Romulan heritage mentioned. The audience assumes that she is a full-blooded Vulcan. Publicity materials, the film's novelization by author Vonda N. McIntyre, and the expanded universe of comics and novels explore and promote Saavik as half-Romulan.
Read the full TrekWeb story at
Lost Scenes from THE WRATH OF KHAN Online, 'Lt. Saavik's Half-Romulan Heritage Revealed
Gustavo
--------
TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
Join me on Facebook
|
Reply |
Quote |
Curtis sounds like a class act to me. (At least, from this interview.) She gives the rest of the cast their props, while not totally dissing Shatner. She also doesn't come up with an anecdote, just because she's "supposed" to have one. Cool.
--------
The supervisor is Verizon!
|
Reply |
Quote |
She did sound very nice. For someone who says playing a Vulcan sounded difficult, she did a wonderful job. Lines like "Captain, David is dead" might've been hammy coming from some people. It's painful to recast a character, but she was a LOT better Saavik than Kirstie Alley.
--------
Click here to check out my band, ego tree , and the Ego Tree site at myspace. Listen to/buy the CD for $9.99! ALSO AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!!
|
Reply |
Quote |
Quote from Meglo:
She gives the rest of the cast their props, while not totally dissing Shatner. She also doesn't come up with an anecdote, just because she's "supposed" to have one.
Curtis does tell something of an anecdote, but it's omitted from the excerpts here for being somewhat cruel toward Shatner (re singing "There Aint Nothin' Like A Dame" to actress Dame Judith Anderson).
--------------
STAR WARS C-3PO & R2-D2 Water Globe
|
Reply |
Quote |
Mmm, serves me right for not being thorough.
--------
The supervisor is Verizon!
|
Reply |
Quote |