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Sep 07 |
According to Variety, Mel Harris, the exec who was an innovator in firstrun syndication and the homevideo biz during his 25-year run in the top ranks at Paramount and Sony Pictures Entertainment, died of cancer Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 65. Harris was known as a champion of new technologies and new markets in a biz that has often been slow to embrace change. He helped modernize the firstrun syndie biz by harnessing satellite distribution to deliver "Entertainment Tonight" to affiliates on a timely basis, and he spearheaded the studio's 1987 revival of Star Trek in the form of The Next Generation, a high-end syndie production.
Sep 06 | TNG star Patrick Stewart will appear at a Stephen Fry/Joanna Lumley-hosted star-studded tribute to the James Bond creator. The Story Of James Bond - A Tribute To Ian Fleming will be held at the London Palladium Theatre on October 5, 2008 to mark the final event in the Ian Fleming Centenary year. The evening will also star Roger Moore, Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, Joely Richardson, Toby Stephens, David Suchet and Harriet Walter. A 60-piece orchestra will accompany the performers and there will be a sneak preview clip of the new Bond film Quantum Of Solace starring Daniel Craig. The evening is being held in aid of the British Heart Foundation. For tickets, which begin at £25, call 0844 4124657 or Buy Tickets Here
Sep 04 | Star Trek's George Takei will narrate The Lord of the Rings in an appearance with the Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra on April 4, 2009 at 8 p.m.Tickets, priced at $10, $20, $34, $46 and $57, go on sale Monday, Sept. 8. (The ticket price includes free parking). Half price tickets for youths ages 4 - 17 are available and a group sales discount of 25 percent on the purchase of 10 or more tickets.The performance will take place at the 2,600-seat Symphony Hall in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. The orchestra, under the direction of Kevin Rhodes, will also play music from science fiction and fantasy films that Saturday evening.
For the box office, call (413) 733-2291 or online at
www.springfieldsymphony.org/ Thanks to Ray Kelly for the tip.
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By TRexx / 06:03, 1 June 2006 / General Star Trek
Erstwhile commander from starship NX-01 Enterprise, Connor Trinneer was among Star Trek alumni to attend FedCon XV, May 19-21, in Germany. SF Radio was on hand to record several Q&A sessions with guest panelists.
More than a year after Enterprise "These Are the Voyages..." aired, there are still sore memories of the series finale.
"I was more bothered, and I think we were as a cast more bothered, by the fact that the episode itself was sort of taken from our hands and ultimately made as a Next Generation episode," said Trinneer onstage. "That really bothered us. I think that, you know, we felt as though we'd done all this work, and devoted four years of our lives to this show that, at the very end... I don't really know what they were thinking, quite frankly.
"I love Jonathan Frakes and Marina [Sirtis], they're fantastic people, great actors -- but we really sort of felt like, 'Let us put it to bed,' and we were unable to do that."
When asked about the campaign that solicited funds to purchase a fifth season of Enterprise, Trinneer spoke as though a Paramount executive had led fans to believe they could pay to get more of the cancelled series.
"I find that that was offensive," says Trinneer. "I don't think that Paramount ever, for a moment, was considering a season five -- and I don't know who, in the higher echelon of that company, said that. They shouldn't have. I mean, you know, shame on them for saying to the fans, 'Well, if you pay for it, we'll put it back on.' You know.
"Save your money, I mean, it's hard enough out there. I mean, there's no reason for anybody to try to use some of their money that can be used for much better things. So, I really -- that bothered me a lot. You know, they were asking for how much, 17-million, 25-million dollars? I mean, come on, that's awful. This is a movie studio, and to ask fans to pay for their project, I thought was kind of unforgivable."
The group that claims to have had "secret talks" with Paramount is Trek United, headed by Tim Brazeal. As reported in April 2005 by SCI FI Wire, Paramount officially denies any such dialog. StarTrek.com, which cautioned fans about parting with their money, reprinted a definitive studio response to Brazeal: "We can not and will not be able to accept funds from viewers to produce Star Trek: Enterprise or any other series."
Brazeal eventually ceased the fundraising campaign. The Tennessee resident now operates a website that sells Hollywood "producer" credentials to any sci-fi fan for $25 to $500 per annum, T-shirt included.
Since the demise of Enterprise, Connor Trinneer has guest-starred in episodes of Stargate Atlantis, Numb3rs, NCIS, and Close to Home.
The above excerpts are from SF Radio clips of Trinneer's onstage Q&A at FedCon. Audio files can be accessed [here] and [here]. Brief introductions are in German.
The 4400 - The Complete Second Season DVD is on sale now in the U.S.A. and Canada.
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Perhaps Connor Trinneer believes TrekUnited's claim of having "negotiated" with David Stapf.
This statement was made by the TrekUnited rep ("Al Vinci") who claims to be a Canadian movie producer...
"I had negotiations with David Stapf, lasting from the end of February [2005] for well over about a month and a half, going back and forth, and setting up a meeting with David Stapf and the top producer in Vancouver. All of these things got to a point where David Stapf -- who is, by the way, the president of Paramount network television -- was quite, um, I'm not going to say enthusiastic, but definitely receptive to the idea. When we completed our pitch, he took it to the other guys -- namely Les Moonves and Brad Grey, the other two top executives at Paramount television division -- and came back to me like he had just been whipped. He, literally, tail between his legs, 'Terribly sorry, Al, we can't do anything. Absolutely not, it's completely off the table. It's not for negotiation.' That was the end of that."
Posts by "Al Vinci" at TrekFansUnited BBS assert that Stapf subsequently instructed John Wentworth to issue a statement to confirm that these secret negotiations took place: "David Stapf specifically told me John Wentworth was going to issue a statement about the TU talks and asked me to tell John Wentworth to call him. Which I did. He told me he would call David Stapf to confirm."
Tim Brazeal announced, "Paramount has agreed to do a release on our combined efforts proving that we were involved with these talks, negotiations or whatever you choose to call them. This is supposed to come from Mr. Wentworth's office".
That release never came.
Brazeal's wife, Jane, asserts, "John Wentworth double-crossed Al by violating direct statements made to him about going public with the truth about the negotiations."
Such is the story behind a Paramount executive's alleged expectation of fan money.
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