The awesome people at WLMB 1690 AM were lucky enough to land a one-on-one with Leonard Nimoy, who’s in town for this weekend’s Dragon*Con convention, and they shared the full interview with us.
(Photo by photine / flickr.com)
IS THIS YOUR CHILD? The designer known as Doktor A created this vinyl art toy as a Dragon*Con exclusive. For more aquatic horrors, check out the Titanic Ghost Tour at the Georgia Aquarium.
Despite the marketing buzz for staycations, the idea of getting blissfully lost in your own city seems unlikely, especially when the yard’s still overgrown and a day at the office is still just a phone call away. Fortunately, CL’s Fall Guide ‘09 hit newsstands this morning! And Labor Day weekend is only days away, which means:
1. Dragon*Con. Please understand that this is some of the best people watching on earth. Even if you have zero interest in comic books, games or the special Star Trek shenanigans this year, there’s still plenty to see. I can’t think of a more effective way of “feeling transported” than wading through a crowd of 35,000+ people dressed like walking Tetris blocks or sea captains with tentacles instead of beards. (Click here for ticket options.)
2. Free admission to the High Museum! On Saturday, the High will treat residents of Fulton County to a free day at the museum. All it takes is a proof of residence, or a student ID from a school, college or university in Fulton County. What’s more, Bank of America customers also get free admission on the first full weekend of the month. Just show your BoA credit, check, or ATM card for passes on Saturday or Sunday.
Continue reading “Staycation in Atlanta? 5 other ideas for Labor Day weekend” »
In its official announcement last week, Dragon*Con confirmed William Shatner as yet another Star Trek celebrity guest during this year’s Labor Day convention. Shatner headlines an “away team” of none other than Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and Kate Mulgrew. That means they’ve successfully booked Captain James T. Kirk and Spock of the original series — and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager).
As the AJC reported yesterday:
Dragoncon chairman Pat Henry said he has seen a spike in sales since the Shatner announcement. The 10 a.m. joint appearance, he said, will be first come first serve. He anticipates weekend attendance to be comparable to last year, at 35,000 to 40,000, recession notwithstanding.
The convention unfortunately continues to stubbornly spell its name with an inexplicable asterisk — hence the Dragon*Con website. But at least someone had the comedic foresight to make it rhyme with Shatner’s immortal line: KHAN!!
After four days in release (counting late shows on Thursday), J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is now the fifth highest-grossing installment in the 11-film franchise. One of the clever notions of the new Star Trek prequel is that it uses a time travel plot device to justify alterations in the franchise’s continuity, but that doesn’t mean nits can’t be picked.
1. This isn’t really a spoiler, because it involves a scene from the trailers, in which young Jim Kirk sees the Enterprise being built in the Iowa shipyard. Now, I can see the advantage of building spaceships on flat plains (they obviously don’t need to build space ships on coastal dockyards) but don’t they build starships IN space in the 23rd century? I seem to recall shipbuilding and repairs taking place in “spacedock” in the franchise, because some of those starships aren’t built to land. This is the original teaser trailer:
Continue reading “Spoiler questions, now that we’ve seen Star Trek” »
1) Atlanta Ballet’s Don Quixote continues at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
2) Star Trek opens in area theaters.
3) Blast-Off Burlesque stages Stimulus Package at East Atlanta Icehouse.
CL’s Chanté LaGon and Curt Holman discuss Star Trek, the latest from J.J. Abrams (and subject of this week’s cover story), opening in theaters this Friday.
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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Chekov (Anton Yelchin, from left), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho) and Uhura (Zoë Saldana)
Here we are, near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and I honestly expected to have a personal jet pack by now.
The speculative fiction of the last century promised a shiny, happy future that’s conspicuously failed to pan out. Maybe it’s too much to ask for flying cars, android butlers or domed cities on the moon, but why can’t we commute to work in safe, fuel-efficient, non-ass-burning jet packs? As high-tech personal transport goes, the Segway is a poor option.
In some ways, our real present exceeds the visions of the future imagined by writers of the past. The iPhone completely outshines the 23rd-century Starfleet-issue communicator. Our cordless cell phones empower us to take pictures, send text messages, play games, access a vast network of computers and even, in a pinch, talk to other people. On “Star Trek,” the Starship Enterprise crew’s walkie-talkies didn’t even have touch-screen technology.
Otherwise, “Star Trek” set a relatively high standard for things to come, and gave the human race something to shoot for. Fans and critics frequently point to the enduring sci-fi franchise’s positive attitude to explain its longevity. Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic space opera began as a low-rated NBC series in 1966. It found a fanatically supported second life in syndication, eventually spinning off four more live-action shows, a cartoon series, a multitude of books and 11 feature films. The latest, simply named Star Trek, opens in theaters on Friday and boldly strays from Roddenberry’s vision of the future.
(Photo courtesy Industrial Light & Magic)
On his English sitcom “Spaced,” Simon Pegg affirmed the geek truism that only the even-numbered Star Trek films are decent, and the rest are crap (or words to that effect). Since Pegg plays Scotty in J.J. Abrams’ reboot Star Trek — the 11th in the franchise — he’s now hoping to be proved wrong. So does the odd/even rule hold up? Sort of, with two conspicuous exceptions. Here’s a ranking of the 11 Star Trek films, from first to worst. Check out the narrator voices in the trailers.
1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The Enterprise’s big screen debut in 1979 was a financial success (and currently ranks as the third-highest grossing film in the series) but something of a critical and aesthetic let-down. Director Nicholas Meyer put wind in the series’ sails in part by crafting Khan as a futuristic maritime adventure, like a Horatio Hornblower novel or World War II submarine film. A sequel to the original series episode “Space Speed,” Khan features the late Ricardo Montalban as Captain Kirk’s best bad guy, but also brought the Trek regulars (as well as Kirstie Alley’s scene-stealing Lt. Saavik) to vivid life as well. Plus, the (temporary) death of Spock makes grown men cry.
Famous line: “KHHAAANNNN!!!” — Captain Kirk (William Shatner)
Continue reading “Odds vs. evens: Ranking the Star Trek films” »
Beam Me Up, Frenchy
Last night the Braves reigned victorious after an unfortunate rain delay, gaining a decisive win against the Astros 7-2. The mood was bittersweet as fans booed former Braves pitcher, the perpetually injured Mike Hampton during his two at bats. An outfield sign read “Hampton’s Have Nots: Thanks for Nothing,” a reminder of Hampton’s unproductive run with the club.
On a lighter note, one lucky row of fans won promotional foam hands fashioned to emulate the traditional Vulcan sign, in honor of the upcoming Star Trek movie, a sentiment that will hopefully propel the Braves to boldly go where no team has ever gone before … or something to that effect.
Continue reading “Fans signal Braves to ‘Live Long and Prosper’” »
Now that the long-anticipated, much-hyped pop epic Watchmen has reached theaters, we can finally get on with our lives… by anticipating the soon-to-be-hyped pop epic summer movies! Several studios have recently released a batch of new, full-length trailers for the would-be biggest blockbusters of the hot months, including the latest from Pixar and several relaunches of science fiction’s most lucrative franchises. Based on these clips, which do you most want to see?
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)
Oscar host Hugh Jackman stars in this prequel to the X-Men trilogy that fills in the backstory of Wolverine and should answer questions like, “How old is he?” “Why does he have a metal skeleton?” and “Why is Liev Schreiber portraying Sabretooth, a bad guy played by huge wrestler Tyler Mane in the first film?” Director Gavin Hood previously made some heavy dramas, including South African Oscar nominee Tsotsi and the homeland security thriller Rendition, but hasn’t helmed a huge Hollywood action franchise before. At any rate, it’s the season’s only big comic book movie.
Continue reading “Which summer movie has the best trailer?” »
