Actor Of The Day: ANTON YELCHIN
ANTON YELCHIN
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Pavel Chekov
Why we like him: Anton Yelchin is a young and fascinating up and coming face in Hollywood. He has a boyish charm and quite a catchy way of delivering his lines.
Biography:
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (Russian Антон Викторович Ельчин; born March 11, 1989) is an American film and television actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, as well as the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis. More recently, Yelchin appeared on the television series Huff and starred in the films House of D, Alpha Dog and Charlie Bartlett.
Yelchin was born in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), the son of Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, figure skaters who were national celebrities as stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for fifteen years.
Yelchin began acting at the age of nine, in the independent film A Man is Mostly Water. His earliest roles include Jackson in A Time for Dancing, Milo in Delivering Milo, Tommy Warshaw in House of D, and "Jacob Clarke" in the mini-series Taken. He made a guest appearance as Stewart, Cheryl David's nephew and a self-described magician (who only knows one card trick), in a season four episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and starred as Byrd Huffstodt, the fourteen year-old son of Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt (Hank Azaria) on the television series Huff, which ran from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, he also had a role on an episode ("Tru Love") of the series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, playing the son of a dead doctor. His biggest film recognition came for the role of Bobby Garfield in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), for which he won Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor at the 2002 Young Artist Awards. He also appeared as Nathan Harris in Criminal Minds' episode "Sex, Birth & Death".
In 2007, Yelchin starred in Alpha Dog, a crime thriller that received a U.S. release on January 12. In the film, he played Zack Mazursky, who is based on real-life kidnap and murder victim Nicholas Markowitz. USA Today's review described the performance as "heartbreakingly endearing". Yelchin felt awkward appearing in the swimming pool-set sexual scene in the film, specifying that he felt "uncomfortable" for his co-stars and that he could not "imagine enjoying it or taking pleasure" in filming the scene. Fierce People, a drama co-starring Yelchin, Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland, received a limited release on September 7 of that year. Charlie Bartlett, in which Yelchin plays the title role of a wealthy teenager in a public high school, was released on February 22, 2008. He will next appear in You and I, which was filmed in Moscow during the summer of 2007,[8] Middle of Nowhere, opposite Susan Sarandon and Justin Chatwin, and the eleventh Star Trek film, in which he will portray Pavel Chekov. In February 2008, he was cast as a teenage Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
Actor Of The Day: KARL URBAN
KARL URBAN
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Why we like him: He is an interesting intensity in the way he acts as demonstrated in the Bourne Supremacy when he was playing the Russian assassin Kirill. I am certain that this intensity will translate into a remarkable performance as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the new STAR TREK.
Biography:
Karl-Heinz Urban (born June 7, 1972) is a New Zealand actor. He is best known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy, and for lead roles in Viking adventure Pathfinder, and the movie adaptation of video game Doom. He also won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue.
Karl Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of a leather goods manufacturer. He attended St Mark's Church School where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role was when he was eight he had a line on a television show. However, he did not act again until after high school. He then went on to Wellington College. Upon leaving High School Karl was offered a role in the hit New Zealand TV-series Shortland Street playing homosexual paramedic Jamie Forrest. After appearing on the show for the 1993-1994 season he attended Victoria University of Wellington for one year, then left to pursue his acting career. Over the next few years, he landed several theater roles in the Wellington area. Eventually, he moved to Auckland where he was offered many guest roles in local shows. One of his first roles was that of a heroin addict in police drama Shark In the Park.
As well as appearing in films and television shows, Urban had various roles in theatre productions and TV advertisements. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called The Herbal Bed at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The following year he appeared in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of New Zealand classic Foreskin's Lament.
Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, in which he played both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. Both shows were filmed in New Zealand. He won the New Zealand Film and TV Awards for his starring role in the offbeat rural romance The Price of Milk. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in Out of the Blue, a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana Massacre.
Urban's Hollywood break came with his role in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, Karl has worked on many blockbusters including The Lord of the Rings trilogy (in which he played Éomer of Rohan), The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick with Vin Diesel and Judi Dench.
The Hollywood Reporter speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell. Website filmforce.com expressed mixed feelings over whether he would make the best Bond. "While darkly handsome, he's a bit elfish-looking for Bond. He's the right age, is recognizable, but not yet a big name and had proven himself adept at genre fare. But does Urban have the gravitas and flair needed for Bond?" The role finally went to Daniel Craig.
Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm, one of the lead characters in Universal Pictures' Doom which was released on October 21, 2005. Following his role in Doom, he played the lead in the Viking adventure Pathfinder, which is regarded as a box office disappointment.
A longtime fan of Westerns, Urban recently appeared in Comanche Moon, the mini-series prequel to Lonesome Dove. In October 2007, it was announced that he would take on the role of Leonard McCoy in the eleventh Star Trek film.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
Actor Of The Day: JOHN CHO
JOHN CHO
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Hikaru Sulu
Why we like him: John Cho is well know as the wannabe serious yet hilariously endearing Harold from the Harold and Kumar franchise. It would be very interesting to see him take on this very iconic role of Sulu on the new Star Trek.
Biography:
John Yohan Cho (born June 16, 1972) is an American film and television actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films (1999-2003) and the Harold & Kumar films (2004-2008).
Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Los Angeles, California, where his family settled in 1978. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1996 with a BA degree in English and proceeding to teach English for some time at Pacific Hills School in West Hollywood, California.
Cho began his career as a print model for Korean magazines. He even did a print ad for Enterprise rent a car. Cho's big break was a small role in the 1999 comedy American Pie, in which he popularised the slang term "MILF". His most successful starring role to date was as Harold Lee in 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Cho was one of the stars of the short-lived situation comedy, Off Centre, and guest-starred on Charmed as a ghost. He was also a co-star of the now-defunct Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential. Cho also had supporting roles in American Beauty, Evolution, and Down to Earth, and a minor role in Bowfinger.
In 2002, Cho had a starring role in the ensemble cast of Better Luck Tomorrow, a drama/dark comedy focusing on the travails of a group of Asian Americans living in Southern California who are academically successful, but socially discontented, and as a result engage in wantonly violent, criminal behavior. He was cast in NBC's new comedy The Singles Table September 2006, but the series never aired due to changes in scheduling and production. Cho was selected People Magazine's 11th sexiest man alive in 2006.
Cho appeared on July 2004 issue of KoreAm Journal. He is the lead singer for Viva La Union, a Los Angeles band composed of former UCB and USC students. In 2007, Cho was added to the cast of Ugly Betty as a recurring regular. Cho plays Kenny, a best friend of accountant Henry Grubstick (played by Christopher Gorham). Cho has been cast as helmsman Hikaru Sulu in J. J. Abrams's upcoming Star Trek movie.
(Source: Wikipedia )
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
First Look: J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK's Enterprise
EW has a first look at J.J. Abrams' new STAR TREK Enterprise ship.
Since I literally don't know anything about Star Trek - having never seen any of the movies of TV series - I decided to take a look at an old picture from Enterprise and compare the two.
I don't know about you Star Trek fans out there, but the new Enterprise looks pretty damn good and similar to the original ship.
Abrams wanted to take the original TV-series Enterprise and the movie-franchise Enterprise and fuse them together into a new yet familiar Enterprise.
Now I ask you, do you like J.J. Abrams' take on Enterprise? What would you change if you could?
J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK Movie Trailer (2009)
Update: I have updated the trailer now that it is officially released and put up a better video below.
The trailer from J.J. Abrams' new STAR TREK movie was just leaked on the internet although it wasn't supposed to premiere until Monday.
I guess it was bound to happen, especially with the trailer appearing before Quantum of Solace in theaters.
And since I just saw Quantum of Solace (which was really good) and thus the Star Trek trailer, I was happy to find that someone posted the video online so that I could share it with you.
My first thought about it was "Wow, this looks awesome!" It almost makes me want to go out and rent the previous movies so that I can be up to date on May 8, 2009, when Star Trek will be released.
So hurry and watch the Star Trek trailer before it is pulled down (in which case you will have to wait until Monday to watch it) below.
What do you think? Does it live up to your expectations?
Actor Of The Day: CHRIS PINE
CHRIS PINE
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Captain James T. Kirk
Why we like him: Under the guidance of J.J. Abrams, Chris Pine has the potential of breathing new life into the character of Captain Kirk.
Biography:
Chris Pine was born in Los Angeles, California to Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford. Pine graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in English. He spent his junior year in the UK, studying English at the University of Leeds.
Pine's first acting role was in a 2003 episode of ER; the same year, he also appeared in episodes of The Guardian and CSI: Miami. In 2004, he appeared in Why Germany?, a short film, and in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Pine was one of several love interests of Anne Hathaway's character in the film, which was released in August of that year to a strong box office. In 2005, Pine appeared in an episode of the series Six Feet Under, as well as in Confession, an independent film that was released directly-to-video, and The Bulls, another short film.
Pine appeared in the made-for-television film, Surrender Dorothy, which aired in early 2006. He also played Jake Hardin in the American film Just My Luck, a romantic comedy in which he stars opposite Lindsay Lohan who plays Ashley Albright. The film was released on May 12, 2006. Also starring in Just My Luck were McFly who starred, as themselves, as a new band founded by Jake in America. Pine appears in the comedy, Blind Dating and in the action film Smokin' Aces.
In 2007, Pine turned down a role in an upcoming film adaptation of White Jazz in order to accept the part of James T. Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek, to be directed by J. J. Abrams.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
Actor Of The Day: SIMON PEGG
SIMON PEGG
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Why we like him:Who doesn't like Scotty? In the hands of Simon Pegg, he will surely bring welcome comic relief to the movie.
Biography:
Simon Pegg Pegg was born in Gloucester, England, the son of Gillian Rosemary (née Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. He attended many schools including Dene Magna Secondary School and Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School and later Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English Literature and Performance Studies. Pegg finally studied drama at the University of Bristol and wrote his undergraduate thesis on "A Marxist overview of popular Seventies cinema and hegemonic discourses".
In 1993 he moved to London and performed on the stand-up comedy circuit. In 1995 he took his acclaimed one-man show to the Edinburgh Festival, which led to his being invited to perform at festivals in Adelaide and Melbourne in Australia and Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand, which he did in 1996 and 1997.
His work as a stand up attracted the attention of several TV producers, leading to appearances in Asylum, Six Pairs of Pants, Faith in the Future, Big Train and Hippies. From 1998 to 2004, Pegg regularly featured on BBC Radio 4's The 99p Challenge. In 1999, he created and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced with Jessica Stevenson. For this project Pegg brought in Nick Frost, his best friend. For his performance in this series, Pegg was nominated for a British Comedy Award as Best Male Comedy Newcomer.
Pegg co-wrote (with Spaced director Edgar Wright) and starred in the "romantic zombie comedy" film (or "RomZomCom") Shaun of the Dead, released in April 2004. At George A. Romero's invitation, Pegg and Wright made cameo appearances in Romero's film, Land of the Dead. In 2004 Pegg also starred in a spin-off of the television show Danger! 50,000 Volts! called Danger! 50,000 Zombies!, in which he played a zombie hunter named Dr. Russel Fell.
In 2006, Pegg and Wright completed their second film, Hot Fuzz, released in February 2007. The film is a police-action movie homage and also stars Nick Frost. Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a London policeman who is transferred to rural Sandford, where grisly events take place.
In 2007, Pegg starred in The Good Night (directed by Jake Paltrow) and Run, Fat Boy, Run directed by David Schwimmer and co-starring Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria.
Pegg will play the part of engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in a new film adaptation of Star Trek, now due to be released May 8, 2009.
(Source: )
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
Actor Of The Day: ZACHARY QUINTO
ZACHARY QUINTO
What he's in: STAR TREK coming out in May 8, 2009
His Character: Spock, the science officer and executive officer of the USS Enterprise, under Captain James T. Kirk
Why we like him: Zachary Quinto devoted a lot of time and energy into this part (He shaved his eyebrows to practice the role) and we believe that he has the right amount of quiet intensity to make this role look amazing.
Biography:
Quinto, who is half-Italian and half-Irish[1], was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in nearby Green Tree, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Central Catholic High School, class of 1995, and then attended Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, from which he graduated in 1999.
Quinto first appeared on television in the short-lived television series The Others, and frequently appeared as a guest star on several hit television shows, including CSI, Touched By An Angel, Charmed, Six Feet Under, Lizzie McGuire, and L.A. Dragnet. In 2003, he landed a recurring role on the FOX series 24, as computer expert Adam Kaufman. Quinto appeared in all but one of the third season episodes of 24.
In 2006, Quinto played the role of Sasan, the haughty, flamboyantly gay Persian-American best friend of Tori Spelling on her "reality" VH1 sitcom So NoTORIous. Later that year, he joined the cast of NBC's Heroes as the quiet, insecure, and dangerously superpowered serial killer, Sylar. Quinto is now a series regular as Sylar for Heroes'.
On July 23, 2007, several websites including E! Online reported that Quinto had in fact been cast as Spock. An official announcement confirming this followed on July 26, 2007 at the 2007 Comic-Con. Rumors dating back to December 2006 speculated that Zachary Quinto had been in negotiations to play a young Spock in the upcoming eleventh Star Trek film. Quinto had expressed interest in portraying Spock in a 2006 article in which he noted his resemblance to Leonard Nimoy.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Read all our STAR TREK coverage here.
STAR TREK (2009) New Character Posters of Spock and Kirk
Two theatrical teaser posters for the new STAR TREK movie featuring Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) have been released. You can check them out below.
I have to say that I really love the dark look they have. So far the marketing department has been doing a really great job at getting me excited without showing me a real trailer, and the movie comes out next year on May 8.
Star Trek has also made it onto our Must See Movies of 2009 list and with everything that we have seen so far for it, you definitely shouldn't miss it.
So what do you think of the new posters of Spock and Kirk?
New J.J. Abrams STAR TREK (2009) Pictures Released
Check out some new released pictures from J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK. As a non Star Trek fan, I have to say that I am very impressed. I am really excited about watching the movie and that's saying a lot since I have never seen any Star Trek movie (or TV show for that matter) and never wanted to... until now.
You can see six additional pictures below. And don't forget that Star Trek comes out on May 8, 2009.
What do you think? Does the new cast seem appealing to you?
