Rest In Power - Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols

Sorry to hear of the passing of Nichelle Nichols best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura on Star Trek. 

I'm going to leave you with some adjectives that come to mind when I think of Nichelle. Rest In Power Goddess.

Trailblazer, Beauty, Talent, Class, Strength, Courage, Rebel, Brains, Original, Kind...

Nichelle on the WWW -

https://uhura.com/  

Hump Day & Chill

Who's Hotter?
William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy

Here's something shall we say rather unique, this week's Hump Day & Chill is dedicated to all you Trekkies out there who found Captain Kirk (William Shatner) or Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) of Star Trek fame, dare we say "out of this world."

Leave it to Tye Briggs via his Favorite Hunks & Other Things blog to dedicate a post to the classic TV show with copious images of a shirtless Kirk and Spock on it. 

Oh wait, there's more, skin that is...did you know that William Shatner did a love scene where he appeared nude with Angie Dickinson in Big Bad Mama? Yeah, there's that.

Wait for it, and that Leonard Nimoy also appeared nude in the movie Catlow? Whether you did or did not, all you need for today's Hump Day & Chill is a lust for Kirk or Spock, perhaps both, stirring in your loins.

Blast off at the link below!!!

https://favoritehunks.blogspot.com/2021/05/to-explore-strange-new-worlds.html

Hump Day & Chill

Join Me?
Chris Pine

Today's Hump Day & Chill is brought to you by the film A Wrinkle in Time - and by the name Chris Pine. Yeah, that's correct I made rhyme, and I can do that anytime Sam I Am...

Mr. Pine currently appearing in A Wrinkle in Time is one tasty view whether he is "your type" or not. Oh and he is a talented thespian as well.

What's that?! No, I did not see the Star Trek movies, NMT aka Not My Thing, but those baby blues are all so mesmerizing. And he was real and spectacular as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman.

Chris is a really great movie star in the old Hollywood tradition. He is quite particular about the projects he picks and keeps a very low key profile when it comes to his personal life. Because life is a mystery after all, and everyone must stand alone.

This guy ain't no Kardashian, that's for sure! No letting it all hang out physically or personally for him.

So why don't you join me in pining for Chris, Hump Day &Chill powers activate.

It's time to go, I gotta blow! (another rhyme I'm on a roll!)

My man Chris on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1517976/

Sci-Fi Cinema: The Man From Earth

What would the Halloween season be without a little Science Fiction mixed in with your horror??? Jerome Bixby's THE MAN FROM EARTH celebrates its  10th anniversary with a brand new Blu-ray + DVD set  exclusively from MVD Entertainment Group

Special Edition Blu-ray + DVD Collector's Set of the cult classic science fiction drama available On November 21st

Originally debuting in November 2007, this new anniversary release hits retailers exactly ten years later.

Directed by Richard Schenkman (A Diva's Christmas Carol), The Man From Earth stars David Lee Smith (Fight Club, Zodiac), John Billingsley (2012, "True Blood"), William Katt (Carrie, "The Greatest American Hero"), Ellen Crawford ("ER", Soldier), Tony Todd (Candyman, The Rock), Annika Peterson (The Devil You Know), Alexis Thorpe (American Wedding) and Richard Riehle (Bridesmaids, Office Space) in this special edition release (with disc only exclusive features) of the worldwide cult smash movie that dazzled critics and audiences alike and currently resides among IMDb's top science fiction films of all time.

 

The Man From Earth is the provocative final screenplay by renowned science fiction author and screenwriter Jerome Bixby ("Star Trek", "The Twilight Zone", Fantastic Voyage, It! The Terror From Beyond Space) and tells the story of a mysterious professor named John Oldman (David Lee Smith). During a cold night in a remote cabin, an uneventful, impromptu goodbye party for Oldman becomes something extraordinary when he makes a prodigious announcement: He is an immortal who has migrated through 140 centuries of evolution and now must move on. Is Oldman truly Cro-Magnon or simply insane? Now one man will force five scholars to confront their own notions of history, religion, science and humanity, all reading to a final revelation that may shatter their world forever. Bixby's script explores themes first presented in the classic season three "Star Trek" episode "Requiem For Methuselah". He began work on the script in the early 1960's and completed it on his death bed in 1998.

 

A decade after its initial release The Man From Earth has become a world-wide cult classic and has become a favorite film among fans of the genre. The film currently ranks among the top 50 science fiction films of all time on the IMDb, was selected by AOL's "Sci-Fi Squad"as one of the Top 10 "Best Science Fiction Films of the Decade" (2000 - 2009) and was nominated for a Saturn Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 2008.  The movie's success has spawned a sequel, The Man From Earth: Holocene, which is scheduled for release in theaters Fall 2017.

 

Regarding the film's popularity, Director Richard Schenkman muses "The idea that The Man From Earth would become someone's favorite movie of all time, and so many people's favorite movie of all time, is just amazing. It really is one of your fondest goals when you become a filmmaker, to have your movie seen. And God knows it's been seen, it's been seen millions and millions and millions of times. Given the phenomenon it has become over the last decade, I was compelled to go back and revisit why this film has touched so many people over the years and was the inspiration for the brand new, feature length documentary I directed called "The Man From Earth: Legacy", which will be included on the new Blu-ray and DVD as an exclusive feature".

 

Jerome Bixby's The Man From Earth: Special Edition makes is home video debut on November 21 2017 on Blu-ray (UPC# 760137051282) MVD Entertainment Group in North America.

 

REVIEWS

 

"A considerable achievement... a picture which deserves wide exposure... The Man From Earth gradually and stimulatingly builds to a pitch of near hypnotic intensity." - Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter

 

"Based on a really wonderful final work by Jerome Bixby... If you're a fan of Bixby's - it's a must own." - Harry Knowles, Ain't It Cool News

 

"One film has taken us back to the good old days of classic sci-fi; The Man From Earth... If you love science fiction, this is a must for you." - Doug MacLean, Home Theater Info

 

"The Man From Earth is very much a labor of love from all involved... it's well worth the effort. The final work from the writer responsible for some of the finest episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and the original "Star Trek" gets a thoughtful, low-budget treatment." - Ian Spelling, Sci Fi.com

FESTIVAL WINS

2007 - WINNER (GRAND PRIZE - BEST SCREENPLAY) Rhode Island International Film Festival

2007 - WINNER (1st PLACE - BEST FEATURE) Rhode Island International Film Festival

2008 - WINNER (BEST SCREENPLAY) Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre - Int'l Independent Horror, Fantasy & Bizarre, Argentina

2008 - WINNER (BEST SCI-FI SCREENPLAY) International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival, Phoenix, AZ

2008 - WINNER (Jury Award: BEST SCREENPLAY) Fixion-Sars Horror & Fantastic Film Festival of Santiago, Chile

2008 - WINNER (Audience Award: BEST FEATURE FILM) Fixion-Sars Horror & Fantastic Film Festival of Santiago, Chile

2008 - WINNER (2ND PLACE - BEST FEATURE) Rio de Janeiro International Fantastic Film Festival

2008 - WINNER (BEST DIRECTOR) Fantaspoa - International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre, Brazil

2008 - WINNER (AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD) Montevideo Fantastic Film Festival of Uruguay

2008 - WINNER (BEST FILM) Montevideo Fantastic Film Festival of Uruguay

FESTIVALS - OFFICIAL SELECTION

2007 - Official Selection (U.S. PREMIERE) - San Diego ComicCon International Film Festival

2007 - Official Selection - Another Hole in the Head SF IndieFest

2008 - Official Selection - Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival

2008 - Official Selection - Atlantic City Cinefest

2008 - Official Selection - Otrocine Fantastic Film Festival of Bogota

2008 - Official Selection - FilmColumbia - Festival of Film in Chatham, NY

2008 - Official Selection - Festival de Cine Fantástico (FANCINE)

2008 - Official Selection - Festival Cinema de Salvador

2008 - Official Selection - Mostra Curta Fantástico of São Paulo, Brazil

2009 - Official Selection - Tel Aviv SPIRIT Film Festival

2009 - Official Selection - Festival of Science Fiction & Fantasy Film & Video in Mexico City

2010 - Official Selection - Festival de Cinema de Porto Alegre, Brazil

Fall to earth at:

http://mvdentertainment.com/  

Selfie Snap: Zoe Saldana

Selfie, No Stick
Zoe Saldana & Fan

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...ooooops! Wrong movie and it was only yesterday in Bejing, China when the Star Trek Beyond press conference happened. 

Much to a fans delight Zoe Saldana who plays Lieutenant Uhura was on deck to snap a selfie with him.

Why am I running this pic? Because it made me smile, and we all need to smile more in a world of election coverage overkill. 

So buck up and grin, it's Monday, have a most excellent week!

Zoe on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757855/?ref_=nv_sr_1  

Star Trek Realness

We Go Together Like...
Chris Pine & John Cho

As the world at large knows this past weekend Comi-Con in San Diego, CA happened. It's the biggest event of it's type that brings fans and stars together and melds them into one big...I was going to say "happy family" but having been I'm going to go with cluster fuck.

On hand to promote Star Trek Beyond were Captain James T. Kirk and Sulu aka the actors known as Chris Pine and John Cho who served up some fanboy realness by attending the Starz party together.

Since the latest Trek movie was number one at the box office this past weekend (how surprising, not!) I bring you an image of the two U.S.S. Enterprise crew members to commemorate Comi-Con 2016.

Enjoy my generosity and have a Trekkie Tuesday! 

Star Trek Beyond on IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2660888/?pf_rd_m=A2FGELUUNOQJNL&pf_rd_p=2495768522&pf_rd_r=1HR7TXAEPR9SEC6V1HRB&pf_rd_s=right-7&pf_rd_t=15061&pf_rd_i=homepage&ref_=hm_cht_t0  

Matt Zarley Is A "hopefulRomantic"

Broadway veteran, Billboard dance sensation and People Magazine’s first-ever gay “Hottest Bachelor” Matt Zarley has received critical acclaim as an LGBT artist for over a decade since his debut on the music scene.  As one of the first openly gay male artists in music, a lot has changed in the world for the LGBT community. In his latest endeavor, hopefulROMANTIC, Zarley has created an original musical film about one man's emotional journey through love, heartbreak, and healing. It's a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith that there's somebody for everybody.  In addition, the film also features film and TV icon, Star Trek star and LGBT activist, George Takei. 

The project consists of not only the film but, the original soundtrack and pop album titled “hopefulROMANTIC – The Deluxe Edition,” featuring new, acoustic renditions of songs featured in the film, as well as a bonus video duet with Jeb Havens – all available now!!!

Say Hello, Matt.

Matt Zarley

MS: I was just watching the trailer for "hopefulRomantic" for the third time when you called, it's gained a lot of fans.

MZ:  Yeah, well, thank you. It's really cool.

MS: So, what was the inspiration for the project?

MZ: Originally I was writing a little CD of love songs. Very fond and very sweet, I was in love at the time, in a relationship, very happy. I wrote a song called "Somebody For Everybody" it's very up and fun, and I wanted to stay on that path. A couple of weeks before the writing process for the EP my relationship ended. I was sideswiped, I didn't see it coming, it ended very abruptly. It really broke my heart. Well, than when that happened I wanted the EP to be really different and I wrote the song called "Constantly" which is featured in the film. It's about when you break-up with somebody and you run into each other in the future, you don't want them to see you dying. Your heart is broke and you don't want then to see you like that. All of it is completely opposite of what I meant the EP to be. This message was what was relate able to me at the time and everybody, universal. So I started finishing the songs with that idea in mind. In that process I re-connected with Ben Pollack who directed my "Trust Me" music video. He called me and said: "What's going on?" I sent him the demo for "Constantly" and he said I'll direct this music video for free. So I told him I had an idea for three music videos for a project with one narrative. That's how it started. As I was finishing the song, as every writer I started to fall in love with my stuff. I started to think it would be great if this chorus would transition into this next song, so before I knew it all the songs were connected and it became an actual short film. 

MS: Very cool.

Oh My!
Matt Zarley & George Takei

MZ:  I wanted to have a figure in the film that represented a sort of mentor figure. The thought was to get George Takei, that would be a home run, that would be it! 

MS: Yeah, I was going to ask you about that, I thought, look! It's George!

MZ: Stafford Arima, who is the director of George's show on Broadway right now "Allegiance" is a really dear friend of mine. I was I New York, he was in New York and we were going to shoot a song and I asked him: "would you feel comfortable doing an E-Mail to George? I would love him to be involved in this project if he is interested."

MS: That's great!

MZ: Honestly, I didn't know if he was going to have the time. He was enjoying a revival in his career and all these incredible things are happening. Not to mention he has taken over social media.

MS: Yeah, he really has taken over social media. (both laugh)

MZ: The stars were aligned I guess. It just worked out. The whole shoot was an incredible experience. It's a very personal project, but I also learned in the creative process how much I am not married to my own stuff, which is very important for me to learn about myself. It also made me aware of a lot of skills I didn't realize I had. It's been a wonderful two years for me, it has opened my eyes a lot to where I want to go with my career.     

                                                       "hopefulRomantic" Trailer

MS: How do you think social media affects romantic relationships?

MZ: I think it depends on how much you buy into it and put yourself out there. My last relationship was a little more out there than I have ever been before. I keep a pretty private life I think, for the most part. But people knew who he was. We were just a little more visible I guess. I would not do that again. Because if it doesn't work out, you have to explain yourself and everyone gets in your business. You have all these snarky comments why people thought it ended. It's like: "None of you know." I'm not the type of person to air my laundry for everyone to know. It's not my scene, I don't need to do that for my own game.

MS: You're preaching to the choir on that one.

MZ: I can't stand people who post on Facebook, their single, their in a relationship, it's constant status changing. When they break-up with someone and air their whole fight on social media. It's just so tired. I don't get it and it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

MS: Mine too!

MZ: I don't even voice my critical opinion on pop culture. I never really voice my critical opinion on anything. Not only because you don't know who is going to read it and how it could back and bite you in the ass number one. But who cares what I think?! (both laugh)

MS: Ditto. 

MZ: When you're in love it's fine to share it. It's when you break up and shit comes down, and you get to the minute updates on stuff. That's when I'm like, ugh!

MS: I agree. Is it safe to assume Matt, that you are still a "hopefulRomantic?" 

MZ: Yes, I am. This project really helped heal me in a very personal way.  

hopefulROMANTIC (the short film and recording) is available on iTunes and other digital outlets. For more information visit MattZarley.com or hopefulROMANTICmovie.com.  

Follow Matt on Social Media at:
https://instagram.com/mattzarley/
https://twitter.com/mattzarley
https://www.facebook.com/mattzarley/

Leonard Nimoy, Go Boldly Into The Next Adventure

Leonard Nimoy as Spock: Live Long and Prosper

Leonard Nimoy most known for his iconic role as Spock on the TV series Star Trek, which later spawned a string of successful movies with the original cast and then a later a new one has passed away.

While I was never into Star Trek I respect it's place in television history and the cultural impact it has had.

So I asked my friend and Trekkie Rhonda Bernstein to speak to the passing of Mr. Nimoy:

"I was very saddened and surprised to hear of his passing. Spock, as written and portrayed by Nimoy, was truly an iconic figure and one of the most complex, endearing and enduring characters in all the Star Trek iterations. Nimoy used his fame to advance numerous artistic and charitable causes.  His lifetime of achievements, both before and off the screen, enriched us all."

Well put! 

R.I.P. Spock

Leonard Nimoy on IMDB: 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000559/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

Huston Huddleston Invades Hollywood

A spaceship is landing in Hollywood, CA, estimated time of arrival 2015, it's The Hollywood Science Fiction Museum which recently met it's start up goal and then some with a Kickstarter campaign.

Their Mission:  The mission of New Starship Foundation and the Hollywood Science Fiction Museum is to inspire people of all ages and nationalities with an uplifting vision of the future found in science fiction media, art and literature by teaching Real Science through Science Fiction, including technology, ecology, engineering, computers, robotics, math, medicine, space travel and all aspects of filmmaking through fun, interactive exhibits and programs.

Here to tell us more about this alien invasion is the CEO of the museum, give a great big "Live Long And Prosper" to Huston Huddleston!

MS: Huston tell us what inspired your alien invasion of Hollywood.

HH: One thing lead to another. It started because I saved the Enterprise Bridge (from Star Trek) that was a display tour set that was made for Paramount in the late 90's. I did a Kickstarter, I got a bunch of people associated with Star Trek to support me then we got to a point where A) We didn't have enough money to complete the restoration B) We didn't have a place to set it up, where would we store it? The biggest problem I had with the companies I was approaching for donations was that none of them cared specifically about the bridge itself, they weren't Star Trek fans, which is understandable. We needed to create a bigger picture, there is no exclusive science fiction museum anywhere in the world, and certainly none in Hollywood. So we are creating our own, it was the only logical conclusion. 

MS: So, what is going to set your museum apart from others?

HH: Our museum will be so universal, and so exciting it will have the fun of a theme park inside of a museum. I think we will get the numbers of people coming, and hopefully break records as far as museums go.

MS: It would be so dry otherwise.

HH: We are making it fun which is something museums normally don't do. 

MS: You also have fantasy and horror along with the science fiction.

HH: Some people actually complained to us that Herbie The Love Bug and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang can't be in the museum because it is a science fiction museum not a science fantasy museum and I'm like: "Why the Hell not?" The joy that people will get from seeing these will be way overcome by the people who are complaining about them.

It's Huston!

MS: Hey Huston, time for some fun! I picked five random sci-fi, fantasy TV and Movie titles and want you to say what comes to mind, ready.

HH: Sure, let's go.

MS: Planet of the Apes

HH: Pivotal film. Rod Serling wrote the screenplay, that's why it had so much apocalyptic insight. The film was unique and a major watermark.

MS: Bionic Woman

HH: Kenneth Johnson (creator of the show) has been supportive of our museum. That show is the first female superhero who wasn't treated campy, and could actually be a woman and not a cartoon character. She could be soft and feminine and kick butt! It was ground breaking.

MS: X-Men

HH: Stan Lee is a huge hero of mine. As far as the film it was one of the first to treat the situation as 100% real. X-Men brought the superhero movie to a whole new level of realism and the series just keeps getting better and better, and you have the integrity of some amazing actors and a director.

MS: Labyrinth 

HH: It's unique, it's a musical. David Bowie is a very underrated actor, I wished he'd do more. Jennifer Connelly is beautiful. I think it was Jim Henson's way of making something more mainstream since Dark Crystal didn't do well, he took the technology and made it more commercial.

MS: Star Trek

HH: Never heard of it (laughs) It was a groundbreaking TV Show, in too many ways to even mention. It has single handily inspired more astronauts and scientists I think than any entity. Every NASA person I have met says Star Trek is the show that inspired them.

Get your science fiction/fantasy/horror on at: 

www.hollywoodscifi.org

https://twitter.com/hollywoodscifi