Star Trek in the News - July 20, 2010

Zoe Saldana is everywhere. Star Trek’s new Uhura is currently gracing the cover of GQ magazine’s British edition, and in the interview inside she chats up both Star Trek and that other little sci-fi movie she recently appeared in, Avatar. She also stars in a new Funny or Die video titled "Idiots" with Kate Bosworth. And congratulations are in order for Saldana on the personal front, as she and longtime beau Keith Britton announced their engagement late last month… Sir Patrick Stewart certainly has a nice ring to it. Star Trek: The Next Generation’s beloved Captain Picard was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on June 2. Of the honor he said, “My heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Alec Guinness. Being in that company is the grandest thing that has professionally happened to me." Moving on to a different honor, Stewart has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie category for his role as Claudius & The Ghost in Hamlet. And not one to rest on his laurels, Stewart remains busy as ever on the thespian front. He’s set to star with former Grey’s Anatomy regular TR Knight in a Broadway production of David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre, with previews kicking off on September 21 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York City…Meanwhile, another Enterprise captain, Chris Pine of the recent J.J. Abrams film, has been treading the boards, starring in the current Los Angeles run of Martin McDonagh’s black comedy The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Pine plays a vengeance-seeking Irish lawman. Who’s he after? The people that killed his cat. "I don't get opportunities to play wackos, whom I love playing, and this was a great chance to play one," Pine told the Los Angeles Times during an opening-night interview. "He's become more and more weird as I've played him, to my great joy." Pine began prepping for the play right after wrapping production on the upcoming film Unstoppable, on which he collaborated with the powerhouse tandem of star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott…Alice Krige made an indelible impression on moviegoers with her sly, sexy performances as the Borg Queen, first in Star Trek: First Contact and later on Star Trek: Voyager, as well as in the video game Star Trek: Armada II and The Star Trek Experience – Borg Invasion 4-D. Krige is back to her evil ways, currently playing the baddie opposite Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel and Alfred Molina in the action-fantasy The Sorcerer’s Apprentice… Cartoon Network continues to tap a whole host of Star Trek figures for its popular animated show Marvel Super Hero Squad. George Takei guest starred in season one as Galactus, and he’ll be back again in season two, this time joined by ST:TNG veterans Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton and Michael Dorn. Of course, Marvel Super Hero Squad is just one of more than a half-dozen recent and upcoming Takei enterprises. Takei recently appeared on Futurama (as a head in a jar, animated version of himself), and on July 16 and 17 he was a special guest when the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performed its Sci-Fi Spectacular, featuring music from popular genre films and television shows. Takei was on hand to provide dramatic narration. And, finally, the actor just completed work on the upcoming film Larry Crowne, directed by and starring Tom Hanks. Hanks plays a man who returns to college and Takei is one of his professors…And, finally, we pay tribute to actor and director Corey Allen, who passed away on June 27 at the age of 75 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. As an actor he was probably best known as the gang leader who challenged James Dean to a deadly chicken race in the film classic Rebel Without a Cause, but he really made his mark as an Emmy Award-winning director, helming some of television's most popular shows from the late 1960s through to the mid-1990s. Among those shows were Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He directed five ST:TNG outings and four ST:DS9 episodes, most notably the ST:TNG pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint,” which he played a role in casting. Allen is survived by a daughter, Robin. We extend our condolences to Allen’s family and friends, and his contributions to the Star Trek universe will be never be forgotten.