Blalock Says She's Not Happy With Finale
Executive Producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga might be calling it a "valentine for Star Trek fans," but actress Jolene Blalock said she's not looking forward to the series finale of "Star Trek: Enterprise."
"I don't know where to begin with that one," Blalock told the Toronto Star about the episode, reportedly titled "These Are the Voyages." "The final episode is ... appalling."
Blalock, who plays T'Pol in the series, said that she was not shocked when UPN finally cancelled the series.
"It is said," she said. "I think most of us here are still in active denial. But you've got to know, going in, that these last few days are going to be highly emotional."
When the series first debuted, it brought it more than 13 million viewers. Blalock said she didn't understand how they could've "somehow managed to drive 11 million of them away."
But Blalock wasn't all negative. She said this past season was a treat.
"It was an unexpected surprise to have the scripts that we did," she said about the fourth season. "And I am grateful and thankful for that. It was fun to come to work again. And it was certainly much better than spending another season doing what we had been doing. It said a lot about the potential of the show."
Blalock also saluted the fans that are trying to bring the show back, like the Save Enterprise group and TrekUnited.
"I really am touched by their [outpouring] of support, and their display of passion for the show. i was sort of caught off guard. I didn't now that they were so adamant. But, you know, they really aren't saying anything new. They're just saying it louder."
"Star Trek: Enterprise" airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on UPN.
Duchovny Maintains 'X-Files 2' In The Works
Will there or won't there be an "X-Files 2" movie?
Questions have been raised over the validity of David Duchovny’s recent claims that a second movie is in the works based on the popular Fox television series, "The X-Files."
The actor, who starred in the series for 10 years, previously stated that the movie was in the works and scheduled to begin shooting early this year for an early launch in 2006. But now it seems the movie won’t be kicking into gear until December.
"We're all happy to do it: Gillian and I, Chris Carter," Duchovny said in a recent interview with Empire magazine. "So, it's just a matter of getting everybody in the same spot."
Duchovny again confirmed that the movie will stand alone from the show and will not deal with the alien colonization plot, an arc which became popular in the 1990’s.
Instead, the film will be more like a supernatural thriller. Duchovny said it will resemble the 2003 Vivendi Universal video game release based on the show, "Resist or Serve," which featured the central characters battling zombies and the undead.
"There's an idea in place, but Chris won't show it to anybody," Duchovny said.
"I think what's important in looking to do the show in a movie form is that it's accessible. The first one was conspiracy-oriented, alien-oriented, and I think that alienated some people. They were like, 'I don't know the show, I can't watch it.'"
"I think if you go at it as a supernatural thriller, then it can stand alone, on it's own," said the actor who played FBI agent Fox Mulder. "It should be something like 'The Forgotten,' very much like an X-File, but you don't need to know anything before going into it. Then I think it's more welcoming, so it's not only for the fans, but for new people who might not know the show."
Jendresen: Star Trek Needs Epic Adventure
Next year, it will be 40 years since Gene Roddenberry's vision of "Star Trek" first came to life on the small screen.
Through those years, there's been plenty of ups and downs for the millions of fans who have followed the adventures of Capt. James T. Kirk, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, Capt. Benjamin Sisko, Capt. Kathryn Janeway, and even Capt. Jonathan Archer -- whose time aboard "Star Trek: Enterprise" ends early this May on UPN.
With Star Trek not pulling in the viewers and the revenue as it once did, is Paramount still willing to keep the Roddenberry torch burning?
Erik Jendresen thinks so. Name doesn't ring a bell? Soon it will, as he has been commissioned by Paramount to write the 11th Star Trek film. And for the first time in history, a new slate of characters, as well as a new cast, will be introduced on the big screen. But that's just the beginning of the new Star Trek.
"I can certainly say that the story concept, the basic idea of this thing, is pretty damn big," Jendresen recently told SyFy Portal's Michael Hinman. "It's a noble enterprise, pun intended."
Jendresen -- probably best known for his Emmy-award winning work as a producer and lead writer for HBO's "Band of Brothers" -- said he wasn't too interested in stepping into science-fiction. And when Paramount officials first came to him about doing Star Trek, his answer was an immediate no.
"I was not a diehard Star Trek fan," he said. "When they first approached me, I wasn't really interested. But they said, 'What if we could approach this as a blank slate, and here's a notion.' When I heard the notion, I realized that the people I was talking to were serious, and genuinely dedicated. I started to really think about it, and, ultimately to develop a story. And it's a pretty good one."
Reports of the next movie have it taking place after the events of "Star Trek: Enterprise" and before the adventures of James Kirk in the original "Star Trek" series. Jendresen confirmed that the movie would take place more than a century before Kirk, but acknowledged that it would not be an "Enterprise" spinoff.
Although he had only some passing knowledge of Star Trek in the past, Jendresen said he really started to look into the heart of Roddenberry's vision to find the lost path of telling good science-fiction.
"I read an interesting piece online about the relevance of Star Trek," Jendresen said. "It posed the idea that maybe it's not relevant anymore. It was an impressive argument, but a fine story is always relevant, and I think solid storytelling that's rooted in the absolute spirit of the original series is what it was all about to begin with."
The original series you say?
"In the original series, there were big ideas, and they were delivered each week with a lot of verve," Jendresen said. "The crew in particular, lead by a commanding officer who had a certain sense of timeless style, boldness and vision. He had a pioneering spirit, the spirit of all great explorers, that was captured by the original series."
After the original series went off the air in the 1960s, Jendresen said a lot of that was lost, with a few exceptions. And now that four decades have passed, he said it's time to find it again.
"'Star Trek,' the original series, borrowed in an often elegant way from classic mythology and great ancient storytelling," he said. "There's something kind of epic - almost mythic about the prequel (movie)."
Bringing in Jendresen was an attempt to go outside of the current realm of Star Trek, and focus more on an actual story, Jendresen said. It's similar to what happened in the early 1980s when Nicholas Meyer came on board to create "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." There was a realness about it, and moviewatchers had to stop and think.
But that's something that doesn't have to be relegated to the past.
"There's an old tradition in space films, if you think about it, where war and conflict are very sterile," Jendresen said. "Death doesn't hurt, it's not really ugly. You can get killed by a phaser and just … disintegrate.
"We're going 160-odd years before Kirk is born. It's an earlier time, and I think it would be really refreshing to feel something in the course of telling this tale, instead of being wowed by special effects, or presenting another crew in jeopardy where, in the end, the captain does something brilliant, and all’s right with the world.”
And that means not everything will end with a chuckle, laugh and some smiles when this film is over.
"By the end of this story, everyone isn't fine," Jendresen said. "I can safely say as a storyteller with certain standards…my intention is literally as a writer, as a storyteller, as a filmmaker, to go boldly where no one has gone before."
With the cancellation of "Enterprise," and reports of what actress Jolene Blalock (Cmdr. T'Pol) described as an "appalling" finale, Jendresen said he's well aware that there's a lot of anger out there. But he said he definitely is working on something that fans can look forward to.
"There is a lot of misinformation out there, negative speculation and ill-will,” Jendresen said. "Everybody just needs to just take a Romulan chill pill and have some faith. Everything that has gone down over the last few years has not been lost on the gentlemen involved in this effort. I think it would be wonderful to bring a whole new generation into this world."
In the meantime, while "Star Trek XI" moves forward in the pre-production stage, Jendresen is staying busy with other projects. He recently wrote "Journey to thte Center of the Earth" for Twentieth Century Fox, and has worked on other screenplays for Paramount, Dreamworks, and even National Geographic Feature Films.
Reports have "Star Trek XI" being released sometime in 2007. No director and no cast has been brought in, but it is clear that characters from other Star Trek properties will not be included.
''Seinfeld'' Season 4 DVD debuts May 17.
The catchphrase-spawning fourth season of Seinfeld will arrive on DVD on May 17.
The 1993-1994 season ''may be the finest season of any sitcom ever,'' a clearly biased Howard West, the DVD's producer, told USA Today.
The fourth season includes such memorable episodes as ''The Contest,'' in which Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer have an abstinence contest to become ''masters of their domain,'' as well as ''The Outing,'' in which Jerry and George are mistaken by a reporter for being a gay couple — ''not that there's anything wrong with that.''
The DVD will include 13 hours of bonus features, which will hopefully settle the debate: Moors or Moops?
Oddsmaker Installs Anwar as New 'Idol' Favorite
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) After many weeks of audition episodes and three more weeks of semi-final action, "American Idol" reached its Final 12 on Wednesday (March 9) night. Antigua-based Internet sports betting site Intertops.com has set Anwar Robinson as the favorite, leading three men with the lowest odds.
Anwar, a 25-year-old music teacher from New Jersey, closed Monday night's show with a bang as his version of "What a Wonderful World" had the crowd on its feet and has 5/2 odds from InterTops. Rocker Bo Bice, told by judge Simon Cowell that this is his competition to lose, is the second choice with 3/1 odds, followed by the 7/2 odds for New York City's Mario Vazquez.
"If music is the food of love, then at Intertops.com we are hungry for Anwar!" ejaculates Intertops.com Chief Operations Officer Michael Maerz. "He has true idol potential in his voice, stage presence and personality. But it is the American public who will decide who they want to see on that pedestal... billboard... CD cover... TV program ..." Two weeks ago, Intertops' competitor BetWWTS.com installed Oklahoma songstress Carrie Underwood as the early favorite, but apparently some on the luster has gone off of the golden girl after a couple so-so performances. Carrie has 11/2 odds, which makes her the second pick among the "Idol" women after only Nadia Turner, who gets 9/2 odds.
With the men dominating the ranks of favorites, it's little surprise that both longshots are women. Intertops can't spell "Lindsay" Cardinale's name, but the site doesn't figure it needs to, offering prohibitive 40/1 odds on the Louisiana thrush. Las Vegas wild girl Mikalah Gordon is next lowest with 30/1 odds. Round Mound of Sound Scott Savol has the worst odds among the men at 25/1.
Aerosmith Gears Up For Tour, Live Set
Aerosmith will reconvene in late August or early September to prepare for a tour that will begin in the fall, guitarist Joe Perry tells Billboard.com. The group has also begun sifting through material for a prospective live CD/DVD. "We're trying to find a show that has been recorded from beginning to end," Perry says. "That's something the fans have been requesting: a stone cold live record with a video."
"Some of the shows we're looking at are from the last year, but who knows," the guitarist continues. "We just heard about somebody who had a bunch of tapes from 1972. It might be fun to watch some of that on the B-side."
As for the follow-up to 2004's blues-inspired collection "Honkin' on Bobo," Perry reveals that Aerosmith will try to return to the studio "during a break in the tour sometime next year." And while "Bobo" was recorded at Perry's basement studio, the Boneyard, the next set will likely be put to tape in a new facility the band built within their Boston-based office.
"On the one hand, it was a lot of fun to do it here, but the studio is truly in the basement," Perry says. "It's right in the house, so the drums just thunder. The whole family is involved [laughs]. For countless nights, they would go to bed hearing the band rocking out downstairs. That was a dream come true; to come full circle from having a garage band in the basement of my parents' house to doing the same thing with Aerosmith now."
"The one limitation we have is the size," he continues. "We have to record in a style where we're limited to one way of playing. What we did by putting the other studio in is allow a lot more flexibility for drum and guitar sounds. The next project we do we'll definitely do the majority of it there, but I'll probably do guitars here. I have some great old stuff here that they don't have there."
As previously reported, Perry utilized the free time since Aerosmith's last round of touring to complete his self-titled solo debut, due May 3 via Columbia. Without revealing specifics, he hinted that the upcoming projects may encompass Aerosmith's final bout of major activity.
"We're closer to the end than the beginning, and again, that's part of why I wanted to put this record out," he says. "I don't know how long we're going to keep going, but I feel really good about it. I really wanted to get it out. I don't know if I'll be as excited about putting out solo records or even going out on the road in five years. Time goes by fast."
Lucas Says New 'Star Wars' May Rate PG-13
NEW YORK - George Lucas says the newest — and final installment — of his "Star Wars" films may get a PG-13 rating.
"I don't think I would take a 5- or a 6-year-old to this. It's way too strong," Lucas says of "Star Wars Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" on CBS' "60 Minutes," to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "My feeling is that it will probably be a PG-13, so it will be the first `Star Wars' that's a PG-13."
"Revenge of the Sith," the third prequel to the "Star Wars" trilogy, will open May 19. The movie features Anakin Skywalker's transformation to Darth Vader, a descent based on Lucas' vision of hell, a mythical planet composed entirely of erupting volcanos.
"We're going to watch him make a pact with the devil," says the director. "The film is more dark ... more emotional. It's much more of a tragedy."
Despite critical pans of Episodes I and II, Lucas says in the interview: "Actually, I am very happy. I'm very pleased with the whole thing."
The Couch Potato Report - March 10th, 2005
This week The Couch Potato Report has a ladder 49 and the pre-Fab four.
There are few professions that are as noble as police officers and firemen.
Over the years there have been many great movies about police officers - including DIRTY HARRY, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, FARGO and SERPICO, just to name six.
Unfortunately the equally noble firefighting profession hasn't been as well represented on the silver screen.
THE TOWERING INFERNO, BACKDRAFT and now LADDER 49 were all valiant, yet ultimately failed attempts to dramatize some of life's most gracious servants.
After watching the new DVD release of LADDER 49 I was left feeling like the men and women who risk their lives for us will just never get their cinematic due.
And they are due a great amount as they are models of heroism.
To its credit, LADDER 49 is very faithful to that heroic side of the men and women who fight fires. It actually does a great job of portraying the harsh and dangerous side of their job.
However, as realistic as the scenes with fire are, the dramatic side of LADDER 49 is full of clichés and uninspiring melodrama.
LADDER 49 stars John Travolta as a tough but compassionate Chief who looks upon his fellow firefighters as a family.
Joaquin Phoenix from GLADIATOR and SIGNS plays the movie's central character, an everyday hero who looks back on his life while he is trapped in a burning building.
LADDER 49 has an honourable premise and it could have been a great movie, and a tribute to the daunting lives of firefighters.
Instead, it is a cliché filled, boring movie with uninteresting characters.
As police officers do, firefighters risk their lives every day and they deserve our respect and admiration, both in real life and in the movies.
I look forward to the day that firefighters get their respect from the movies, in the same manner that police officers have for years.
There was a time in the mid-1990's that I looked forward to a sequel to the 1978 mockumentary THE RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH.
Now that the day has arrived, all I want is the original.
The original RUTLES film was an affectionate spoof of The Beatles and their lives.
It was a collaboration between the casts of Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, and Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Band.
The soundtrack featured songs like "Ouch!" - instead of "Help!" - and "Get Up And Go" - replacing "Get Back" and the combination of the cast and the participants in the film made for an unforgettable viewing experience.
The original RUTLES film ALL YOU NEED IS CASH was brilliant.
Even though some of the original magic is there, THE RUTLES 2 - CAN'T BUT ME LUNCH isn't brilliant on its own.
It is just a rehash of the original RUTLES film, devoid of any new wit. Yes, there is new footage, but no new wit, well except for the comments from comedian Billy Connelly.
Monty Python-alum Eric Idle is back directing and starring in this sequel. However, instead of wit he brings along his famous friends Tom Hanks, David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, Jewel, Mike Nichols, Conan O'Brien and Steve Martin to comment on the fictional band.
I am a huge Rutles fan, and I was greatly anticipating this release.
Unfortunately, THE RUTLES 2 - CAN'T BUT ME LUNCH is just clips from the first film, edited differently to tell the same story.
Yes, it has its moments, but it offers nothing new of substance for Rutles fans.
But don't let this disappointing new release stop you from getting to know The Rutles, and from seeing The Beatles in a whole new light.
Just seek out the original 1978 release THE RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH and enjoy.
THE RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH, THE RUTLES 2 - CAN'T BUT ME LUNCH and LADDER 49 are all available now on video and DVD.
COMING UP ON APRIL 2nd IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
Is Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES; The Oscar nominated FINDING NEVERLAND featuring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet in the story of J.M. Barrie's attempt to create Peter Pan.
Renee Zellweger is back as Bridget Jones in BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON and movie that I didn't like at all!
But, I did like Oscar nominee Annette Bening's work in BEING JULIA and the performance of the wonderful - and Oscar nominated Imelda Staunton in VERA DRAKE.
And on the next Couch Potato Report I will also speak about CLOSER, erotically charged tale of love, loneliness and betrayal with the all-star cast of Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Clive Owen.
I'm Dan Reynish and I will have more on CLOSER, BEING JULIA, THE INCREDIBLES and those other releases, in twenty-one days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here April 2nd on The Couch!
'Meet the Parents' Actress Dies After Two Misdiagnoses
The actress who was famously smashed in the face by a volleyball in the Meet The Parents comedy died last month after two medics misdiagnosed her pneumonia. Nicole DeHuff, who played Teri Polo's sister in the hilarious 2000 movie, checked into three Los Angeles hospitals, but only when her problems became inoperable did doctors realize what was wrong with her. The actress' mother Patsie says, "By the time she reached the third hospital, it was too late. She was unconscious." The grieving mother reveals her daughter was rushed to hospital on February 12 but was sent home by medics and told to take painkiller Tylenol. Patsie DeHuff recalls, "The next day my daughter was worse." Again, the actress went to hospital, but this time medics prescribed antibiotics for bronchitis. Two days later, paramedics rushed to her home after she collapsed, gasping for breath. The tragic actress died on February 16.
Titanic: Special Edition!
Paramount is holding a special event next week to announce the fall DVD release of the Titanic: The Definitive Special Edition.
Our sources tell us to expect a 2-disc and 4-disc set, patterned after New Lines Lord of the Rings DVD releases.
The 4-disc will have the film spread over 2 discs for maximum anamorphic widescreen video quality, along with deleted scenes, literally hours of behind-the-scenes material, audio commentary and much more.