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Roger Ebert (1942 - 2013)
Thu Apr 04, 2013 at 06:30 PM ETTags: Roger Ebert (all tags)
We've lost one of the best film critics and writers of all time.
Rather than recap the details of his life, please do yourself a favor and read the story as told by the man himself.
He's left behind a treasure trove of reviews, essays, and journal entries, each of which is well worth checking out. Unfortunately, as of this writing, Ebert's website, which was set to relaunch next Tuesday, appears to be overwhelmed with traffic. We encourage you to read his reviews and essays once the site is back up an running (a personal favorite is "Blackie come home," which is still working as of this posting).
You can browse the rest of Mr. Ebert's published works on Amazon.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Bonus View Digest - November 16, 2012
Fri Nov 16, 2012 at 01:25 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, The Bonus View, Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff, 007 (all tags)
With winter hanging over us like the harbinger of doom that it is, isn't it nice to know that you have a place online that will keep you toasty? Like a giant cyber blanket The Bonus View engulfs you in the warm glow of all things high definition, and beyond.
This week we have more contests, more monsters, and more movies. Seems like we're running a contest every week here on The Bonus View. Last week we gave away a remastered release of 'Patton,' this week try your chance at winning a totally awesome copy of 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.' Today is the last day to enter, so get on it!
Monster Madness
The tournament rages on. Cities are being destroyed as we speak. This isn't to be taken lightly. Famous movie monsters are falling left and right and it's still only the first round. Check out the match-ups that have taken place this week, and cast your votes!
Godzilla vs. T-Rex – The Thing vs. Samael
The Kraken vs. Mothra – Killer Rabbit vs. Kuato
Blu-ray News
Besides the giveaway announced above (seriously, enter today!) we have our weekly Blu-ray Highlights column where Josh runs down all the Blu-ray releases for the week. This week saw a release of an all-time classics in 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'The Postman Always Rings Twice.'
Theatrical News
There are two huge releases slated for this weekend. See what Luke thought about 'Lincoln' and the newest, and last, movie of the 'Twilight' franchise, 'Breaking Dawn: Part 2.' I'll give you one guess at which movie is better .
In the Trailer Park we discussed a trio of zombie-centric movies. Haven't seen the newest trailer for 'World War Z' yet? Check it out and see what you think.
Also, one of the most popular posts this week is Luke's article stating the exact reasons why he thought 'Skyfall' was terrible. Read it and then see if you agree or disagree. The more comments the better.
TV Recaps
This week we have recaps for 'The Walking Dead,' 'Happy Endings ,' 'Fringe,' and 'American Horror Story.'
Special Features
Since we've been in spy mode since 'Skyfall' came out we took time in our Mid-Week Poll to ask you who you think is the best movie spy around. In the Weekend Roundtable we discussed who should take the helm of the newly announced 'Star Wars' films.
Thanks for joining us this week. I'll make one last plug for the 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' Blu-ray contest, because hell, it's a free Blu-ray!
Have a great weekend. Be safe. And join us back here next week with another wrap-up of The Bonus View.
Bonus View Digest - June 29, 2012
Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, The Bonus View, Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
June has come and gone on The Bonus View. We're headed into July now, but not before we recap the last week to see what nuggets of high-def gold you might have missed.
TV Madness
We ended things in the tournament. Jack Bauer fought with the cyborg Terminator Cameron. Bauer won by two votes and was crowned champion. You may not agree with the outcome; if you don't Jack Bauer is headed to your house right now to make you agree.
TV Madness may be over, but we have a new tournament planned coming in October. Monster Madness! So get thinking about what movie monsters you'd like to see in a tournament to the death.
Blu-ray News
We recapped the Blu-rays that came out this week in our Blu-ray Highlights post. It's all about 'The Artist' this week. Are you picking it up? Or are your eyes set on something else?
Theatrical News
Aaron reviewed Seth MacFarlane's first foray into feature-filmmaking, with 'Ted'. Find out if it really is funny and worth seeing. He also wrote a Posterizing article this week that took a look at some of the new posters that have come out in recent weeks.
E covered two movies in his Trailer Park. See what he thinks about the new trailers for 'Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai' and 'Django Unchained'.
Gaming News
This week in videogame news Brian Hoss discussed his feelings on the new 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' game along with the new 8-bit style game 'Retro City Rampage'. Check them out and see if they're for you.
TV Recaps
We had recaps for episodes of 'True Blood', 'Wilfred', and the series premiere of 'The Newsroom'.
Special Features
This week's Mid-Week Poll asked what TV shows you'll be watching this summer. With so many new series starting there's plenty of progamming to get into. The Weekend Roundtable talked about our favorite and least favorite vampire movies. What are some of yours?
Thanks for sticking with us through June. As we head into July we have a lot of things planned, most notably covering some of the huge theatrical releases that will be coming out in the next few weeks. So, stay tuned to The Bonus View until next time.
HDD Attends Calgary Expo Star Trek: EXPOsed: 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Cast Reunion
Mon Jun 18, 2012 at 05:25 PM ET
by Tom Landy
My continuing mission to catch up with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D came to a close during my trip to Western Canada this past April. The headlining event of the 2012 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo was Star Trek: EXPOsed -- a sold-out 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' 25th Anniversary Reunion with all nine principle cast members from the iconic series. This was the first time they were all on stage together in over two decades!
The evening got off to a very slow start, but eventually we were treated to a video tribute to the 'TNG' cast that appeared on the big screens in the arena. The video featured a host of stars paying their honors including George Takei, Walter Koenig, Edward James Olmos, and Robert Picardo to name a few. After that, the hostess of the Calgary Expo, Emily Expo -- who was celebrating her birthday that day, introduced a surprise special guest from 'Star Trek: Voyager' to say a few words before the cast of 'TNG' took center stage. A transcript of the festivities is provided below.
Emily Expo: Please welcome Garrett Wang to the stage!
(Applause)
Garrett Wang: Hello!
(Applause)
Garrett Wang: In the words of George Takei, "Ohhh Myyy."
(Laughter)
Garrett Wang: All right. So I was asked if I could say a few words in this commemoration for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and I would like to say, more than anything -- I owe my thanks to being on 'Star Trek: Voyager' to 'The Next Generation' cast and the show itself because, let me tell you this story. When Next-Gen first came on the air I was very excited, because I've always been a sci-fi fan. I've seen every bit of sci-fi since being a small young child. So when Next-Gen came on, I thought "Awesome! A new Star Trek series." I watched the first time... back in -- oh my god what year was it it premiered in?
Crowd: '87!
Garrett Wang: Thank you! So I turn on the TV and the episode that aired has been agreed upon to be the worst written episode of 'Star Trek'...
(Laughter)
Garrett Wang: ...by every person who has ever produced a 'Star Trek' show. It was called "Code of Honor." For those of you who don't know which episode that is, the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' crew encounters this planet of turban people... okay? And the scene that really just kicked me in the butt was the scene when they go down to the planet, the away team is there, the aliens are about to hand Captain Picard a gift. Tasha Yar -- the security officer -- grabs the hand of the alien and flips him on the floor, and then the guy goes, "but it was a gift!" And Picard goes, (imitating Patrick Stewart) "oh sorry, that was my security officer." So at that point the alien goes, "your security chief... is a woMAAAN??!" And at that point I knew this is not a very well written episode.
(Laughter)
Garrett Wang: I watched it all the way through, even to the little cage battle between Tasha Yar and the alien woman, okay? Turned it off going, oh man... Now, a year later, I turned on the TV to watch Next Generation again to get into it and what happens? It is rerun of "Code of Honor."
(Laughter)
Garrett Wang: I immediately turn it off. I don't watch it a second time. I already know what I'm in store for. Two years after that, I turn it on again to watch Next Generation, it's yet another rerun of "Code of Honor"...
(Laughter)
Garrett Wang: At this point, I felt God was telling me something. "You shall not... watch... Next-Gen." Now here's the thing: if I had watched any other episode, I would have become a mega fan -- just like all of you, and that would have impacted my audition for 'Voyager.' I would've been so nervous, there's a good chance I would've blown that audition and never, never have become Ensign Kim. So thank God, The Next Generation, and "Code of Honor!" Thank you!
(Cheering)
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Emily Expo: All right. Best birthday present EVER! (Laughs) So here's a thank you to Revolve Furniture. They've provided all of our furnishings for today. Um, I just received news that Megan and Cam got engaged at this event!
(Cheering)
Emily Expo: Yeah! So HUGE round of applause! Congratulations, guys!
(Applause)
Emily Expo: And now it is time to meet our moderators. Please give a very warm welcome to Teddy Wilson, Ajay Fry and Cynthia Loyst from Innesspace!
(Applause)
Ajay: Thank you Emily Expo! How are you doing? 'TNG' EXPOsed!
(Cheering)
Ajay: It's absolutely 100% surreal watching the cast of 'Star Trek' dancing backstage just moments ago. Give it up for Johnny Summers Little Big Band! They are phenomenal.
Teddy: Johnny Summers Little Big Band!
(Applause)
Ajay: And give it up for Emily Expo! It's her birthday today! Happy birthday!
Cynthia: Happy birthday!
(Applause)
Teddy: So how does it feel -- everybody in this stadium tonight is a part of history... Are you excited about that?
(Cheering)
Teddy: Who fell in love with 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' in 1987 with the first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint?"
(Cheering)
Ajay: I was four years old. (Raising his hand)
Teddy: You were four??
Cynthia: God, you remember??
Ajay: I remember!
Teddy: You don't remember... (laughs)
Ajay: I do remember! I remember my parents being super-excited that 'Star Trek' was returning to television. I remember the week leading up to it and they were like programming the VCR to make sure they would have a recording of it as well so they could watch it later...
Teddy: Programming the Beta...
Ajay: (inaudible) Beta.
Cynthia: Yeah.
Ajay: So... we do have a little business to impart. Flash photography, like you're doing right now, is totally acceptable for the first 5 minutes, but so that we don't annoy them throughout the hour and a half or so of the show maybe just take a break after 5 minutes of flash photography if you please. Otherwise, (inaudible) a starship guys!
Teddy: Do you want to get this started?
(Cheering)
Ajay: Let's get the crew of the starship Enterprise 1701-D out here, shall we?
(Cheering)
Cynthia: So every starship needs security, so please welcome Lt. Tasha Yar -- Denise Crosby!
(Cheering)
(Denise Crosby walks out wearing a Calgary Flames touque and works the crowd)
Teddy: Denise Crosby! Next up, I don't think it's a stretch for this crowd to say that he was easily the most beloved Klingon in the history of 'Star Trek.' Please welcome Commander Worf -- Michael Dorn!
(Cheering)
(Michael Dorn is escorted to his seat on the stage by Emily Expo)
Ajay: Right, up next you certainly don't need to be an empath to feel the excitement in the room but let's get one out here: Counselor Deanna Troi - Marina Sirtis!
(Cheering)
(Marina walks out waving and blowing kisses to the crowd)
Cynthia: He's the head of engineering and the master of techno-babble. Please welcome Geordi La Forge -- LeVar Burton!
(Cheering)
(LeVar comes out skipping and takes a bow)
Teddy: Even in the utopian future of 'Star Trek' people still get sick and every starship needs a doctor. There's none better in the universe than Beverly Crusher -- please welcome Gates McFadden!
(Cheering)
(Gates dances her way on the stage)
Ajay: All right. Welcome aboard! Well, our next guest certainly wouldn't need a doctor... unless he happened to catch a virus ewwwww, please welcome Lt. Commander Data -- Brent Spiner!
(Cheering)
(Emily Expo escorts Brent to the stage while the orchestra plays the "Happy Little Lifeforms" tune from 'Generations')
Ajay: Welcome aboard!
Cynthia: He may have been the youngest member of the crew but he constantly saved the ship! Please welcome Wesley Crusher -- Wil Wheaton!
(Cheering)
(Wil Wheaton walks out also escorted by Emily Expo)
Teddy: And if you're going to boldly go where no one has gone before, you better have the best right hand by your side. Please welcome William T. Riker -- Jonathan Frakes!
(Cheering)
(Frakes kind of dances out on the stage locked arms with Emily Expo and she stays on stage this time)
Ajay: Well it seems we have but one person left to introduce...
(Cheering)
Ajay: And given that Calgary is her home, who better to introduce our next guest than Emily Expo on her birthday.
Emily Expo: So, I'm sure you've noticed that we're missing one person. He is one of the greatest actors to ever grace the stage, not to mention Shakespearean text...
(Cheering)
Emily Expo: Definitely one of the sexiest bald men alive...
(Cheering)
Emily Expo: Please welcome Sir Patrick Stewart to the stage!
(Cheering)
(Sir Patrick Stewart walks on stage and gives Frakes a huge hug as the band plays the 'Star Trek' theme)
Teddy: History in the making!
(Cheering)
Ajay: Have a seat everybody.
Teddy: TNG! TNG! TNG! (Gets crowd going).
Cynthia: So I have to say first off that I'm feeling a little bit awkward because someone gave me this chair which seems decisively like it should be for you, Sir Patrick. (Laughs) I feel like I got the captain-esque chair. Awkward! (Laughs) So I have to start asking you the question: What's it like getting together with the crew after all these years?
Ajay: The whole crew together.
Patrick Stewart: This happens from time to time...
(Cheering)
Jonathan Frakes: (inaudible) night.
Patrick Stewart: That's right. Jonathan will tell you the last time this happened because it's difficult for me to tell you...
 |
Jonathan Frakes: Because you're so humble.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Humble, and yet you notice how I made sure I got it in place anyway.
Jonathan Frakes: Remember the night? Sir Patrick?
Patrick Stewart: That was the last time. We had a little party... to celebrate.
(Cheering)
Teddy: I want to ask -- we're gonna get some audience questions but first off, obviously in '87 when you started 'TNG' you knew that you were continuing this iconic franchise and it was going to be huge, but was there a moment at which you knew that on its own 'TNG' was going to stand and be something special? Was there a moment or an episode?
Marina Sirtis: The third season. Third season, yeah. I think we kind of, because you know, you're all cheering now...
(Cheering)
Marina Sirtis: But when we started you weren't happy.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: We're old, we remember.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: So around about the third season it was basically coming to cons, you know after appearing in front of 30 angry people, you know suddenly we were appearing in front of thousands of happy people so we figured we'd done something right.
(Cheering)
Jonathan Frakes: My first convention, which was in the Yukon, the show had just begun to air and it was a very, very reluctant audience because they were very loyal to Kirk and Spock and Bones and very resistant to us. And I was standing in the dealers room waiting to go on stage nervously, and they were selling the action figures, the younger thinner versions of all of us. They were selling Geordi La Forge for $35, a limited Data for $45.00, Wesley Crusher for... 50, Captain Picard for $65, and at the end of the table there was a sign -- buy any action figure and get Riker for free.
(Laughter)
(Sir Patrick Stewart hugs him)
Wil Wheaton: But in your defense, that Riker action figure did not have a beard.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: Thanks, Wil.
Wil Wheaton: It's what I do.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: And now you do.
Wil Wheaton: Yes, I'm playing you in the reboot of 'The Next Generation.'
(Cheering)
Jonathan Frakes: You need a little more hairspray. (Touching Wil's hair).
Ajay: Well, maybe that's an appropriate question. We've seen the recent film reboot of 'Star Trek' that J.J. Abrams gave us, do we need a film version of 'Next Gen?' With a new cast? Are you guys--do you want to come back? What are your thoughts?
Cynthia: Maybe Brent, what's your opinion?
Brent Spiner: My opinion?
Ajay: Anyone, anyone.
Brent Spiner: I think we became a success... uhh... what was your question?
(Laughter)
Ajay: Do we need a 'Next Gen' reboot film that something Hollywood seems to be doing so much these days?
Brent Spiner: When you say "we," do you mean "WE..." (pointing at himself) or "THEY" (gesturing towards the audience?
(Laughter)
Ajay: Answer how you wish.
Brent Spiner: "WE" don't...
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: "THEY" may... whatever you like is obviously what's going to happen.
(Applause)
Cynthia: Do you have -- I'm sure you get asked all the time about a favorite memory you may have -- but do you have a favorite memory of someone else, like a moment that you watched another one of the cast or cast mates and thought something funny or crazy...a story or memory? LeVar? You look like you're wanting to sort of laugh right now...
LeVar Burton: I've been wanting to laugh since arrived in Calgary...
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: And only because I have the opportunity to spend time with the people I laugh best with this weekend.
(Applause)
Gates McFadden: I remember one of my favorite moments, which I think was a favorite moment for all but particularly juicy for me, was when I finally found the button to turn Data on...
(Laughter)
Gates McFadden: I mean, you know, let me -- Brent, do you mind if I show them where it was?
(Brent turns his back to Gates at first, but then stands up and begins to unbuckle his pants)
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: While you're at it Dr. Crusher I've got a button, too.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: One of my favorite moments from the first season was two of three episodes into the show -- we were all shooting on the bridge -- and I don't think I was in the scene I was just there watching. You were in the turbolift (To Jonathan), the upstage turbolift and they roll the cameras and you start the take and the turbolift doors go THUD!!! Sort of like falling, go forward, and you hear Frakes from inside go, "ohhhh shiiiittt!!!"
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: And it wasn't that they had forgotten to open the doors, it was that you had decided to just come in early.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: Like you felt the moment. And I thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever experienced in my life.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: First rule of acting, Michael?
Michael Dorn: Live in the moment.
Jonathan Frakes: Thank you.
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: Second rule of acting?
Michael Dorn: Direct to the furniture.
LeVar Burton: There you go.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Third rule of acting?
Michael Dorn: Don't indicate... (half the panel points forward)
Jonathan Frakes: NEVER INDICATE!
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: Make sure your shoes fit.
Michael Dorn: I gotta say, Marina and I were in an interview and uh...
(Marina turns crossing her legs, putting them on Michael's lap)
Michael Dorn: I'm sorry I just blanked out...
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: The blood will return to your head momentarily.
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Yeah (laughs). The one thing was, was that everybody on the set -- along with being wonderful actors and all of that -- were genuinely... each of them... were genuinely funny. I mean, just hilarious. I mean we just laughed, and people say did you play practical jokes? No, we didn't do all that kind of stuff. But it was just, something was just...
Marina Sirtis: We're funny.
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(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Funny.
Marina Sirtis: Yeah.
Michael Dorn: But there was a moment that, Patrick and I, Patrick and I had this moment a couple of times where we were, he was being captured remember when he was captured... (pointing at Patrick)
Marina Sirtis: Don't indicate, Dorny. Don't indicate.
Michael Dorn: See, I did it already. He was captured, remember he was being tortured...
Jonathan Frakes: I SEE FOUR LIGHTS!!!! (Screaming, holding up five fingers)
Wil Wheaton: FOUR LIGHTS!!!
Jonathan Frakes: I SEE FOUR LIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Cheering)
Wil Wheaton: Which one of us did the best you? (Looking at Patrick). Who was the best one? Was it me? Just lie and say it was me.
Patrick Stewart: The fact is that there were eight other "me"s...
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: But one of us REALLY stood out and it was me, right?
Patrick Stewart: No...
Wil Wheaton: God dammit...
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Because what I felt was that each one of you took an aspect of me because...
LeVar Burton: No, no, dear boy. It wasn't eight of you, it was just that you were so big you could not embody one... single... en-ti-ty!
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: That... is... a compliment?
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Uh, like I was saying...
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: I had a point. But anyway, before he got captured, we had been crawling through caves... in dirt... on Stage 16 -- which was called Planet Hell because that's where they put all the godforsaken planets we go to -- and there was dirt, they just keep dirt on this stage just for this occasion... and we had a lot of cats... at Paramount...
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Stray cats. Cats... dirt... and we're crawling around and we've got these things on, and we're all dirty -- Gates is there -- and all of a sudden it was late and we're sitting there in between takes, and I look over, Patrick and I and look at each other and we both just start laughing. Just for no reason we start... (laughs). I mean, uncontrollably. And I say Patrick, what are you laughing about? And he says, "I don't know how I got here."
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: He said, "I was at a seminar in Santa Barbara and the next thing I know I'm crawling around in cat shit."
(Applause)
Michael Dorn: I gotta say that those moments happened with every one of the actors. I mean, there are moments when you are just in tears...
Marina Sirtis: Not the cat shit part.
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Not the cat shit part. I mean, there was, one of the other ones was, Brent has never -- Brent has always has it together.$. doesn't bust up... doesn't crack up... during a scene. But there was a scene where LeVar was actually dead...
Marina Sirtis: That was the best.
Michael Dorn: And he's laying out on the slab in sickbay. And Brent and I, we walk in and Brent says, "Nurse Okawa, can I speak to Geordi?"
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: And he's laying on this slab...
Brent Spiner: You can see him! He's like a piece of meat on a slab and I say, "Can I speak to Geordi please?" He can't talk, HE'S DEAD!
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: For twenty minutes we couldn't do it and Marina was on the ground, and I was making jokes like, he says "Can I speak to Geordi?" "Well yes you can, but it'll be a little one-sided."
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: But it was those types of moments -- for seven years. And that's, kind of you know, how it was.
LeVar Burton: You know what? I always thought you guys were laughing because I was naked under the cloth...
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: And now I know that it was the DIALOGUE?!
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: It was always the dialogue.
Michael Dorn: LeVar, you naked is no laughing matter...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: Yeah, exactly. LeVar, we would not be laughing. We would be in awe.
(Cheering)
Jonathan Frakes: Is there anything you'd like to say about acting naked, sir? (To Patrick)
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: Yeeees. I-think-there-may-BE! (Imitating Patrick)
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: I did my butt shot.
(Applause)
Cynthia: Please extrapolate.
Marina Sirtis: Well actually had to say quickly before he extrapolates, if I had known girls, he didn't tell anyone he was going to be naked, but if I had known I would have been there... with a camera... and those photos would've been on my table this weekend.
(Laughter)
Cynthia: Please tell the naked bottom story.
(Laughter)
Cynthia: No? It's not coming out, all right. Is it?
Patrick Stewart: Can I mention another moment that remains warm in my memory. And this has nothing to do with butts...
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: I'll just quote a line -- that's all -- and you watch the reaction (trying not to laugh). "It wasn't him. It never was. It was his assistant." Go for it. (To Jonathan).
Jonathan Frakes: It wasn't him. It never was. It was his assistance. It wasn't him. It never was. It was his assisiss.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: It wasn't him. It never was. It was his assisiss. It was his assistance. Is there any way I can phrase this differently? It wasn't him. It never was. It was his assisiss... It was his assistant.
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: Take 43.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: IT WASN'T HIM. IT NEVER WAS. IT WAS HIS ASSISISS. It wasn't him... It never was... It was the guy who worked for him.
(Applause)
Jonathan Frakes: I worked up a sweat thinking about that moment.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: The thing about moments like that is that I think there were maybe four of us on the set and the bug of laughter captures each one of you at different times, so just when the director thinks the cast are under control...
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: The one person who has never laughed yet -- and we are now 30 minutes into this moment -- suddenly finds this the funniest thing he as ever...
(Laughter)
Ajay: Well, we are getting a note just to once again ask please no more flash photography. Pleeease. I wanted to ask Denise, I mentioned as we came out I remember the first episode of Star Trek, I was four years old, my parents were super excited about...
Marina Sirtis: Ohhhh.. shut up. Four years old...
(Applause)
Ajay: But it relates to my question! It's important information because my first experience...
Marina Sirtis: Don't make me come over there...
(Laughter)
Ajay: My first experience with death was the death of Tasha Yar. That's -- my parents told me about death -- through Star Trek. And it's amazing that it's a show...
Denise Crosby: Sorry you had to learn about death through an oil slick.
(Laughter)
Denise Crosby: It doesn't really happen usually. You know that?
Ajay: Not usually.
Denise Crosby: Okay, you got that? Because I'm really concerned...
Marina Sirtis: Unless you're a fish in Louisiana then it happens a lot.
(Big "OOOOOOHHHH" from the crowd)
Teddy: Topical.
Ajay: But do you think that is the resounding appeal of 'Star Trek?' The fact that it deals with these very, very human elements in this fantastic way that is out there in the stars? Is that what makes it work and inspired such fandom?
Denise Crosby: Are you asking me?
Ajay: Yes.
Denise Crosby: Oh. YES! Yes. Yes. That's why 'Star Trek'...
(Laughter)
Ajay: I figured it out, hey?
Denise Crosby: That's why 'Star Trek' is so important. It deals with...
(Inaudible shout out from audience member)
Denise Crosby: What? Huh?
Teddy: Someone loves you.
Ajay: They love you.
Wil Wheaton: The difference between good science fiction and great science fiction is that good science fiction is really enjoyable to watch, great science fiction works on multiple levels for different people. It can be an exciting action-adventure for some member of the audience, and it can be an incredibly meaningful message about equality, or technology, or death, or love, and that is...
(Applause)
Patrick Stewart: Wil Wheaton ladies and gentlemen!
(Applause)
Denise Crosby: I was just going to say Wil will be speaking for me for the rest of the evening so please address all questions to Wil Wheaton. Thank you.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: So I've got a question, Wil... Why weren't you that smart 25 years ago?
(Applause)
Wil Wheaton: Well said. 25 years ago I was fourteen and still struggling to find my bum with both hands.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Yeah, I... I... I... accept that... excuse.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: Thank you.
Teddy: I'll ask, those of you -- several of you directed episodes of 'TNG' and so for those of you who got behind the camera, did it give you a different perspective on the series you were a part of? And did you maybe appreciate a little bit less the fact that sometimes people laughed a lot?
Marina Sirtis: Before we start, before the directors amongst us answer this question -- which doesn't include me obviously which is why I'm getting my 2¢ in now...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: Patrick -- you remember all the smoke that we always used to have to act in? The atmospheric smoke? All these...
Jonathan Frakes: Safe... Safe smoke.
Wil Wheaton: Very safe.
Marina Sirtis: Very safe.
LeVar Burton: (inaudible) has nothing to do with carcinogenic properties.
Patrick Stewart: Not only safe... good for you!
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: Good for you smoke!
Denise Crosby: As a matter of fact, I remember they changed the law...
Marina Sirtis: Well wait a sec, Patrick -- when he was an ac-tor -- complained to the Screen Actors Guild and they came to the set...
LeVar Burton: This is actually a true story.
Marina Sirtis: This is a true story. And they came to the set and they told us all what all of the guidelines and recommendations were for working in the smoke, and this was great has basically they had 20 minutes before we had to go breathe some fresh air. Until --and he was the one (pointing to Patrick) who called SAG... bear this in mind... until he got to direct...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: You have never seen so much F-ing smoke in your life!
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: The smoke sure made shit look good, didn't it? (To Patrick)
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: (Nodding) I do remember, I do remember watching the dailies of the bar scene in "A Fistful of Datas" and it (laughing) looked like the bar was on fire!
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: BILLOWING smoke... (laughs)
Michael Dorn: The poor, the poor barmaid. Remember her? It looked like she was on fire! Because she was talking to me, and billows of smoke were coming up behind her!
(I actually saw the rerun of this very episode a few days later when I was in the hospital in Calgary after my ordeal. I can confirm that the smoke really is that excessive. It's hilarious.)
Michael Dorn: Patrick was sitting back there... (impersonating Patrick) "More SMOKE!"
(Laughter)
(Patrick was laughing so hard he was actually crying.)
Jonathan Frakes: LeVar, were you with me in engineering when Patrick asked me if it would be alright if I knelt in the middle of the room?
LeVar Burton: I'm afraid I was Jonathan... I'm afraid I was.
Jonathan Frakes: That was a nice moment, wasn't it?
LeVar Burton: Well see, the thing that you learn as an actor who crosses the line to direct an episode of 'Star Trek' is just how little your friends really care about you.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: "It will look GREAT, Jonathan!" (Impersonating Patrick) "You CROSS the room, you STOP in the MIDDLE of the room, and you KNEEEEEL!"
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: (Shrugs) Yes sir.
Wil Wheaton: "We'll add smoke in POST!" (Imitating Patrick)
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: It seemed like a good idea, didn't it? (To Patrick)
Patrick Stewart: It looked great.
(Laughter)
Ajay: All right we have questions on the floor we can get to.. Um, I'm not sure where the first (inaudible) bringing up the lights...
Steve: There we go. I can hear myself. I love the sound of my own voice. Sorry. Hi guys! I'm Steve with the Calgary Expo
Ajay: Oh there he is!
Steve: Hi guys! Hi everybody!
(The panelists wave.)
Steve: Some people call me -- ah nevermind, this isn't about me -- this is about our contest winners. So Emily Expo -- our vibrant red head -- threw it out through the Internets for questions. And we have five winners and they are here tonight to ask you guys. So first up we have Joanna and I'm going to pass the mic to her. Hello Joanna! Let's hear it for Joanna ladies and gentlemen!
(Applause)
Joanna: Hello! I'm here from Detroit, Michigan and couldn't be happier. My question is for any of the cast who is kind enough to answer. What did you learn throughout the series that you wish you could have gone back and told yourself when you first started filming Season One?
Wil Wheaton: Cherish the time that you have here because it's going to be over sooner than you think.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: That's not a joke. That's true.
Marina Sirtis: Don't throw so many tantrums...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: It really pisses people off.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: It's possible to do good work...
Marina Sirtis: In a space suit.
Patrick Stewart: And have fun.
(Applause)
Jonathan Frakes: Amen.
Steve: Alright next up we have Eunice. Eunice please ask the cast your question.
Eunice: Hi my question is for Patrick Stewart. So I came across a very interesting comment that you kind of made in the eighties to Lalla Ward, who at the time was acting on Dr. Who, apparently after a Hamlet rehearsal you had said to her, "Why do you do all this television? Why don't you do (inaudible) stuff like theatre? But science fiction? I mean, why would you want to do science fiction? Oh I wouldn't want to do that sort of stuff."
(Another big "OOOOOHHHHHH" from the audience)
Jonathan Frakes: Tell us what Sir Ian said. (To Patrick)
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Eunice...
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: I love your name.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: No, I think it's a beautiful name. It may be my favorite... women's name.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: It used to be Lalla...
Brent Spiner: That has nothing to do with her question, actually.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: You're just trying to weasel your way out if it, Patrick.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Were you quoting Miss Lalla Ward?
Eunice: I was, yes.
Patrick Stewart: Yeah. Well, you know what? I don't recall her ever saying that, and she is a neighbor of mine, and she is married to the brilliant and wonderful Richard Dawkins...
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: And he would I'm sure hold Lalla to the truth so give me your telephone number -- and I mean nothing by this...
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: Euuunice...
Patrick Stewart: Eunice... (laughs and gives Brent a thumbs up)
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: But I'll get back to you.
(Cheering)
Steve: Meanwhile, all of the female 'Trek' enthusiasts are running to legally change their name to Eunice...
(Laughter)
Steve: Thank you, Patrick. Next up, we have Katie. So Katie please ask your question to the cast.
Katie: Hi I was wondering what storyline did you always want to do on the show but you never got the chance?
Marina Sirtis: Oh! I know! I know! I know! Troi has an affair with Jon bon Jovi.
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: I thought she did...
(Cheering)
Marina Sirtis: I wish.
Cynthia: Anyone else have an idea about that?
Wil Wheaton: I remember really wishing we could have done more multi-episode story arcs instead of the self contained episodic work that we were doing, it was just the way that television worked back then with us being a first run syndication show it was what we had to do. But I remember a couple of times before we started doing the two-parters to close and open seasons we did... "Conspiracy?" at the end of the first season? And I was just so excited that we were referring back to a thing that had happened a few episodes ago. And I really hoped that meant that we were going to do these things in the second year that would be more about character development and more about the relationships among all of us and as it turns out I was a naive 14-year-old boy.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: What -- (flips his microphone around after speaking into the wrong end) -- What I remember about "Conspiracy"...
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: Do that two or three more times... (laughing)
Jonathan Frakes: It'll be great. (Laughing) At that table at -- wherever the hell it was all those people were, all those heavyweights -- everyone had, uh, noodles... to eat. Whole wheat noodles. But I had --
Guy in Crowd: Gagh!
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: It wasn't Gagh. I had live mealworms.
Marina Sirtis: Oh yeah, you had live worms.
Jonathan Frakes: And I had to hold the mealworms over my... (puts his head back and holds his hand above his mouth)... and they went into my mouth. And I ate them. It was a little like getting into the black slime in your episode... (To Denise)
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: Nobody else would get in the black slime.
Wil Wheaton: "I'LL get in the black slime!" Quote - Jonathan Frakes.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: What is this? I said to Will Thomas. He said it's fine. It's Metamucil and black printers ink.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: Cat shit was NOTHIN' compared to that black slime.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: You jumped into the black slime like somebody jumping off a sinking ship that was on fire.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: I thought it was awesome that you did that.
Marina Sirtis: Johnny -- Johnny was amazing because he ate stuff, and he did stuff, that none of us would have done.
Brent Spiner: Still does!
LeVar Burton: And he slept with stuff...
Marina Sirtis: And he slept with stuff...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: But then they always had to kill 'em. Or they died.
Brent Spiner: I actually had an idea that I pitched more than once that they didn't buy. We worked at Paramount Pictures -- which was really a magical place to go to work every day. It's still maybe the greatest studio in Hollywood to visit or just walk around. The history there is just phenomenal. So I had this idea that we would go back in time and land at Paramount Pictures. And in order to be inconspicuous, we got jobs on a 'Flash Gordon' movie or something. But no, they did not buy that at all.
(Laughter)
Gates McFadden: I remember going to Gene Roddenberry the first season and I brought the Oliver Sacks book "The Awakening" and I said god this would be great for an episode if we would do that and everyone was like, nah, I don't think so, and of course Robin Williams did the movie. But I wanted to do something that was that kind of -- getting people out of comas and a little bit of Ridley Scott kind of stuff.
Steve: Alrighty then. So our next question is from Derek. Derek?
Derek: First off I want to say how amazing it's been to have all of you here...
(Cheering)
Derek: My question is for all of you. You guys must know how influential you've been to all of us here in this crowd. My question for you is how is that influence on us -- influenced you in your lives?
Brent Spiner: (After a long pause) I am such a better person... for having influenced you.
(Applause)
Brent Spiner: And I thank you for it.
(Laughter)
Gates McFadden: Well, I'm actually -- I wouldn't have even be here had it not been for the fans after the first season. It was the fans that brought me back...
(Cheering)
Gates McFadden: I would not even be up here, so that's quite an influence I think. Thank you!
Guy in Crowd: I'm sick! (Shouting)
Teddy: Guy needs a doctor...
Gates McFadden: I've got my tricorder come to my room!
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: That is what Jean-Luc wanted to hear Dr. Crusher to say.
(Applause)
Patrick Stewart: But -- to attempt to strike a serious note -- this might be a good time to leave by the way (to the other panelists), everything that has happened to me and that I have achieved in the last 15-17 years has been radically affected by the seven years and the four movies that we were doing -- Next Generation, and the one way in which I can isolate that one fact it was that what I did with my friends, and what you all showed us, was enough to give me confidence to believe that I could do this job because until I went into TNG I seriously doubted that I could. And so, I look back daily and am grateful for the opportunity that I had to turn my career, my work, and my life around.
(Cheering)
Marina Sirtis: I think all of us -- I mean, ''cause I think we all have the experience of when people come up to our tables and they say, people come up to me and say, "I became a psychologist because of you." Ahem...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: No, No -- I just coughed then, I've been sick, sorry. (laughs) I wasn't making a joke.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: And I'm sure, you know, LeVar has had the same thing. (Putting her hand on Michael Dorn's leg) I'm not sure many people come up and say I became a Klingon because of you, but anyway...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: Although I'm probably wrong there.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: It is, it's the biggest compliment you could ever give an actor. I mean, you know, we're actors. They're not our words, we're just saying someone else's words, and the fact that we make such an impression on you and you look up to us... obviously. I think some people could say that it's a huge responsibility, I personally think that it's the biggest tribute you could give to us. To be so inspired by us that you go out and do the jobs that we played on TV. It always makes me really emotional... and I think we'd all agree with that. It's absolutely amazing that we have influenced you like that.
Gates McFadden: You know, I think -- I agree how much it influenced my life and it took me awhile to fully comprehend how wonderful the show was, actually. I felt very uncomfortable in the beginning because I wasn't used to people coming around and asking for your autograph when they hadn't even seem the show yet. You know? It was just because you were with 'Star Trek.' But as I traveled around and started to go to conventions, I really found that there were so many amazing people who were fans for reasons that really didn't have anything to do with me -- it had to do with something much bigger than me. And the time when it hit home most for me, was that one of the commanders of the Space Shuttle was a huge fan and he emailed me from the space station and he was talking about all of our characters and how amazing, you know, it was and everything. And I was going, but you're up there! You're actually risking your life! I'm working in a starfield. And he said, "yeah but that's -- it kind of is the hope, it's the idea, the possibility, that the show brought to so many people. And it really did make a difference. It makes a difference because we go with the belief and so -- I don't know. I was in awe of him and he was in awe of the show so that was kind of the time that it hit home for me.
(Applause)
Patrick Stewart: Was that Frank De Winne?
Gates McFadden: No.
Patrick Stewart: It wasn't? Because there have been two. I was lucky enough to take part in a video hookup with the space station. Because the only European commander of the space station there has ever been is a man called Frank De Winne who is Belgian and during our conversation which began with me saying to him, "why would a real space man want to talk to a fake one?"
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: And he told me what you have just said -- that it was watching the show that made him want to transfer from being an ordinary airman to being an astronaut. But then he held up in front of the camera on board the space station a photograph of him and the entire crew which consisted of I think one Canadian, two Americans, a Russian... and they were all wearing Star Trek uniforms...
(Applause)
Patrick Stewart: I said, I said -- oh! That is so cool! You photo-shopped the uniforms! And he said, "No, no... We were wearing them."
(Applause)
Steve: Thank you guys. For our next question...
Marina Sirtis: Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Steve: YEEP!!! Sorry.
Marina Sirtis: Yeah, but I had my photo taken with Neil Armstrong.
(Cheering)
Steve: I think Marina -- 1, the rest of the cast -- nothing.
(Laughter)
Steve: The next question is from Tyler. Tyler? Ask away, buddy.
Tyler: Thank you very much, that's a pretty tough question to follow there, thanks a lot. But I just first wanted to thank you guys for choosing Calgary to come and do this momentous occasion...
(Applause)
Wil Wheaton: Don't just thank us for that. Thank the people who put this convention together because it was not easy to make this happen. And that's not just the con organizers. It's their staff, it's all the volunteers, it's all of the people who have worked very hard to make this series of improbable events line up to this.
(Applause)
Tyler: My question is for the cast. I'm not sure if you get asked all the time whether or not I'm going to do another project together and I know a lot of you have done a lot of voiceover work -- video games, cartoons, things like that -- I just wondered would you ever consider doing an animated show with the entire cast all together?
(Applause)
Wil Wheaton: Only if it was done in the style of 'Star Trek: The Animated Series.'
(Applause)
Patrick Stewart: I would say only if it was written by Seth MacFarlane.
(Cheering)
Teddy: Is that it for audience questions?
Steve: No, actually. I think we have another one. He's a sick kid from Vancouver named Aaron, and I say he's sick because he cheers for the Vancouver Canucks -- ladies and gentlemen Mr. Aaron Douglas!
(Cheering)
Aaron Douglas: Hi everybody!
 |
(Cheering)
Teddy: Hey CHIEF!
Aaron Douglas: It's wonderful to be here. It's wonderful to be here with everybody and I just want to say to all of you people out here I know a great number of these people -- some very well, some somewhat well -- and they are as lovely backstage and in the private moments as they are... here. They are really genuine, wonderful people. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
(Applause)
Aaron Douglas: Except for Wil Wheaton...
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: And I'd like to direct my two comments/questions at Mr. Wheaton. First is a comment. Mr. Wheaton, I disagree with you completely -- there is no such thing as faster than light neutrinos...
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: And secondly, on a serious note...
Wil Wheaton: Wait -- allow me to challenge the preface of your question, sir...
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: Okay.
Wil Wheaton: Faster than light neutrinos as exist in the vacuum of space, or faster than light neutrinos as exist when emitted through the main navigational deflector in an inverse tachyon beam into the heart of the anomaly...
(Cheering)
Wil Wheaton: ... in order to properly modulate the matter/anti-matter intermix in the warp core, sir?
(Applause)
Aaron Douglas: It's a legitimate answer...
Wil Wheaton: It's a good way to power a toaster.
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: Toaster?! My ship jumped -- didn't have a warp core -- Frak you, Wil Wheaton.
(Cheering)
Aaron Douglas: It feels really good to say that in front of 7000 people...
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: But seriously, I've known you for a great number of years, you are one of my dearest friends, you really are a wonderful and genuine human being... God it hurts to say that...
(Laughter)
Aaron Douglas: And being on 'Battlestar' I understand the ensemble cast... I understand the ups and downs. I was a huuuge pain in the... on that show sometimes. And when I go back and I visit with the cast I still feel like this weird kind of outsider kind of thing. It's been a long time since you've sat up there with these people that you called friends so many years ago that I know you have a genuine affection for. What does it mean to you now to be sitting up there with these... well, wonderful people?
(Cheering)
Wil Wheaton: Um, I left 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' when I was 18 years old. And initially, I thought that it was a really smart business career move. And in some ways it was, and in more ways it wasn't, and what I was unprepared for was how much I was going to miss the people that are on this stage. And how much I was going to miss the space suit that I hated wearing and the helmet hair that I couldn't stand putting on every morning.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: And after I left the show, you know, being 18 years old I was just sort of like, I'm going to go into the world and do my own thing! And I didn't see anybody and then that went on for a while -- and I told these guys this when we were having dinner tonight. After that ended, I just felt really ashamed of myself. And I felt like I just couldn't go to the Set. And I felt like I couldn't look them in the eye. I felt like I didn't have the right to invite them to my wedding. And years after that, I sort of saw them in a few conventions and I just, you know, tried to sort of like, say look -- I just apologized for being a kid. And to every person on this stage everyone said, "Yeah you were a kid. You were always welcome. You were always a part of us." To be here tonight -- for me, it's very, very much for me like coming home.
(Audience cheers. A weepy-eyed Marina gets up and gives him a big hug and kiss, then Brent and Gates reach over to shake Wil's hand)
LeVar Burton: I've never fucking liked you, though.
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: To tell you the god's honest truth, you were a pain in the ass.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: I... know...
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: But I'm glad you're here... because you're our pain in the ass.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: You're rockin' the beard...
Wil Wheaton: I learned from the best.
Jonathan Frakes: You're rockin' that Riker beard. Got a little lipstick you might want to get rid of... (gesturing at Wil's cheek)
Wil Wheaton: I'm going to let that hang out for a while.
(Laughter)
Teddy: Let's go from that warm, you know, heartwarming moment to -- let's talk about evil on the show. Let's talk about adversaries, we haven't talked about that yet. I want to start with you, Sir Patrick. Do you have a favorite rival or adversary from 'Star Trek: The Next Generation?' Was there any race, was there any rival, in particular?
(Patrick, Jonathan, and Wil consult each other laughing and obviously suspecting something)
Patrick Stewart: Yes... there... was!
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Yeah. My favorite adversary -- I had to be reminded of his name and I knew you all here would know it -- was Daimon Bok. Ferengi. I came to love the Ferengis... in time...
Voice from crowd: What... a bunch of... POOP!
(Laughter)
Voice from crowd: I got a flower delivery here for a "John Luck Pickerd"...
(Crowd goes nuts when they realize that it's John de Lancie who played Q on the show. John walks on stage and gives Patrick Stewart a bouquet of white flowers and a hug, then goes greets the rest of the cast)
 |
Ajay: John de Lancie!
Teddy: John de Lancie everybody!
(Cheering)
Jonathan Frakes: Patrick meant to say Q!
(Laughter)
Teddy: Patrick? Would you like to revise your answer?
(Laughter)
John de Lancie: I'll help you... (laughing)
(Laughter)
Patrick Stewart: Yep! It was Q!!!
(Applause)
Teddy: And just to confirm, none of you knew that that was about to happen, correct? Surprises are rare in this world.
Cynthia: John, when you first signed of for the show, did you have any idea that Q would become so incredibly memorable for everybody in the world?
John de Lancie: Yes.
(Laughter)
Cynthia: You knew right away? (laughing)
John de Lancie: I was omnipotent. I knew I was going to even be here.
(Laughter)
Cynthia: Of course. Of course. Of course.
John de Lancie: Gene Roddenberry said to me on the third day of shooting, "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." (Takes a bow)
(Cheering)
Wil Wheaton: Did you know you were coming back? Like a lot? Did you know from the beginning that you were going to be a recurring, always on guy?
John de Lancie: No. No. It was a one-shot.
Teddy: Well, the fact -- I mean, you were only in nine or ten episodes of all of the newer interations of 'Star Trek' -- so do you think the fact that the Q appearances were fairly few and far between do you think that in part helped the popularity of the character? Because I remember watching TNG and when you showed up, I knew it was going to be pandemonium in the best way possible.
John de Lancie: Yeah... Actually, yes. I think, you know, less is more.
(Laughter)
Teddy: Did it surprise you then when the character resonated so much?
John de Lancie: Uh, yes. Although infinite powers -- no responsibility, is probably something that a lot of people out here would like to have.
(Cheering)
John de Lancie: So I guess it touched a chord.
Teddy: Would you like to have infinite power and no responsibility?
John de Lancie: You mean, what do I do with it?
(Laughter)
Ajay: Well, let's stay on the same topic to the rest of the cast. Any other favorite, you know, foes, or obstacles, moments of finding the script and going "oh this is going to be a fun one to shoot! I can't wait to see how we get out of this jam we found ourselves in?"
Brent Spiner: I remember a moment with a very famous guest star that we had -- the great Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac...
(Cheering)
Brent Spiner: Who agreed to do our show -- he wanted to be on the show so badly, that he shaved the beard he had had for 30 years to wear the head of a fish.
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: He wanted to do the show so badly, he was willing to play seafood... on the show.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: They eat seafood, as I recall.
Brent Spiner: Exactly. Because that's what happened. He made an entrance in the Holodeck -- not the Holodeck, the transporter -- and he had one word to say. And that word was: "FOOD."
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: Take 18 -- he still couldn't remember the word. It was...
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: They put it on a cue card...
Brent Spiner: They put it on a cue card, finally. "FOOD." It was a daunting moment.
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: And we were trying to help him, we were off camera going... (pretends to take a bite out of something, starts chewing, and points to his mouth)
(Laughter)
Teddy: Rock stars, right?
Brent Spiner: Yeah.
(Laughter)
Teddy: Uh, there's a couple -- there's a great quote between Q -- the flowers are being distributed... (Patrick Stewart is handing out flowers to each of the panelists and kisses Gates on the lips)
Patrick Stewart: Go on...
Teddy: There's a great quote that Jean-Luc Picard has about Q where he says, "he's devious, amoral, and not to be trusted." And then there's another quote that I really like that Q has about Jean-Luc that basically says... (breaks out laughing when Patrick Stewart also kisses LeVar on the lips)
(Laughter)
Teddy: Sorry...
LeVar Burton: Truth be told, he's the only white male that I'll kiss on the lips.
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: Aside from Jonathan...
Jonathan Frakes: I thought you've forgotten...
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: And then there's Brent...
Brent Spiner: I'm hurt.
Teddy: So there's a quote from Jean-Luc about Q that basically says -- or from Q about Jean-Luc Picard that basically says, "he's the closest thing in this universe that I have to a friend." So there was obviously a disconnect between the way they felt. John, did you see -- do you think that Q saw Jean-Luc as a friend? (Just as Patrick Stewart gives John a flower)
John de Lancie: Yesss... Yesss... More than a friend.
(Laughter)
John de Lancie: Uh, yes. Of course. I mean our job is to find as much conflict as possible in all things to make it work. So yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Teddy: So they were friends.
John de Lancie: (Laughs) They were friends, and they were enemies, and they were, you know, all sorts of things. A multitude of different things.
Cynthia: A thorn in the side, basically.
Jonathan Frakes: You and your poems.
John de Lancie: That's right. Oh yeah, that's right.
Wil Wheaton: You had me bayonetted through the stomach on the planet!
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: I was blind man!
(Laughter)
John de Lancie: You told me that your stomach hurt. I... (laughs)
Wil Wheaton: Because there was a bayonet through the middle of it that you put there!
John de Lancie: I don't remember.
(Laughter)
Wil Wheaton: You never do...
Ajay: To switch gears, so much of the technology that was presented on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' has now...
(While Ajay was talking, Gates gets up and starts collecting the flowers that Patrick Stewart handed out and kisses the panelists)
Ajay: ...come to pass... she's collecting the flowers...
(Laughter)
(When Gates gets to Patrick she gives him a huge hug and kiss and the crowd goes wild)
 |
Wil Wheaton: See? Keep writing that fan fiction. Someday it WILL come true!
(Laughter)
Cynthia: On stage no less.
Ajay: I was asking a question but I don't remember now..
(Laughter)
Teddy: Technology!
Ajay: Yes. So much has come true, do you think, Brent, that we will ever see a humanoid android to the same caliber that Data was? Will we ever see that happen?
Brent Spiner: How would I know???
(Laughter)
Brent Spiner: I'm an actor! Why are you asking me??? Isn't there a scientist in the house???
(Laughter)
Ajay: In your professional actor opinion... to anyone.
Brent Spiner: You know, that's even dubious.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: Possibly, but he won't be as funny.
Brent Spiner: Ah, thank you.
Patrick Stewart: I was just going to say surely we have them. They're the front runners of the Republican Party.
(Applause)
Wil Wheaton: They don't have that compassion subroutine down...
Marina Sirtis: And they are definitely not as funny.
Jonathan Frakes: And they can't sing as well as you do.
Brent Spiner: Nah, thank you.
Cynthia: You guys get pummeled all the time with questions. I was just wondering if there was a question that you've been dying to ask each other? You haven't seen each other in a while, there must be something in the back of your head... No?
Teddy: Go ahead.
Marina Sirtis: Mmmno...
Michael Dorn: I think we pretty much know about each other.
Marina Sirtis: We're very...
Michael Dorn: Maybe even a little too much, sometimes.
Marina Sirtis: Yeah.
Wil Wheaton: I would like to take this opportunity... (To Patrick) How seriously cool is it to be in 'The X-Men'?
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: Well Wil, the coolest thing about being an X-Man, was to step into the makeup trailer at 6:30 in the morning and see lined up in all of the mirrors Halle Berry... Famke Janssen... Rebecca Stamos... Anna Paquin... Kelly Hu... and have to go along the row saying, "good morning darling, kiss... kiss..."
(Cheering)
Wil Wheaton: Thank you.
Marina Sirtis: Did you (inaudible) Hugh Jackson?
Patrick Stewart: Hugh Jackman?
Marina Sirtis: Hugh Jackman, sorry.
Patrick Stewart: I kissed... I kissed... Hugh.
(Laughter)
Jonathan Frakes: How about Shohreh?
Patrick Stewart: Shohreh and I had our private moments. You understand.
Jonathan Frakes: Of course I do. Much like us.
Patrick Stewart: Absolutely. You took the words from my mouth.
(Laughter)
Teddy: That sounded like the Patrick Stewart we saw in "Extras" when you were talking like that just now. (Laughs)
(Laughter)
Teddy: I want to ask you about 'All Good Things' -- about the final episode, the series finale. What did each of you think about the way the iconic series was wrapped up?
Marina Sirtis: I was pissed I was dead.
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: I was really pissed.
Denise Crosby: I was amazed I was alive...
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: It was funny, it was -- I thought it was really good. I thought it was like, you know, deep and...
Jonathan Frakes: We all cried, man!
Marina Sirtis: All cried.
Jonathan Frakes: Except you...
Michael Dorn: Aw man, I was like cool... for months. Because Patrick and I had this thing where, you know, at the second season we go, well Michael, you know, he'd say how many episodes do we have? And it would be well we have 112 yet. Oh, we can do this. And it got down to the last episode and I was going, you know, this is no big deal. I'm not going to get emotional. We are going to go on and do the movie right afterwards, I'm going to see these people -- no big deal. And we're all sitting around the poker table and all of a sudden spontaneously we all held hands. I mean, it was just this spontaneous thing -- we just all held hands and looked at each other and I went... oh shit.
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Oh no. Oh no. Please. No. And I'm looking at these people going okay, you know? And then we did the scene and the guy said cut! And they took off -- the wardrobe person came and took off my baldric, and I don't know what happened but I just started wailing.
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: Like, you know, just uncontrollably. Oh my god... People I didn't even like...
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: I'd be like, I hated your guts but I'm going to miss you so much!
(Laughter)
Michael Dorn: And it was just -- and I haven't cried, I've never cried like that. But it was just this whole thing that just kind of happened. But it was -- that's what I kind of remembered that I thought it was a wonderful episode. You know? I'm sorry that you were dead (to Marina) and it was good that you were alive (to Denise), But I thought it was a great episode.
Patrick Stewart: I'm going to pour some cold water on this touching moment because I know the world thinks that the last shot of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Season 7 was Brent saying, "...and the sky's the limit" -- which by the way was a line written by Mr. Brent Spiner...
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: And that was brilliant! But in fact, that was not the last scene that was shot on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' and during the weeks that we were shooting that final episode, you remember guys, the stage was filled with executives from Paramount and visitors and dignitaries and politicians -- all wanting to be there when the season wrapped. Well, the series actually wrapped at 2:00 in the morning on Stage 18, which was standing in for Planet Hell -- Stage 16, it was cold and miserable and there were two actors fighting their way through some tough dialogue. I was one of them, and the other was one was Mr. John De Lancie.
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: And nobody was there to watch it... Nobody.
(Laughter)
Teddy: LeVar what did you think about the way that the series wrapped up, with 'All Good Things?'
LeVar Burton: I think for fans it was a nice bow. For us, having gone through this journey -- which was to continue, we are still experiencing that sense of loss and disconnection. We try desperately, I believe, because of the bonds that we have formed to maintain that link that binds us together. This has been...
Jerk in Crowd: READING RAINBOW!!!
LeVar Burton: God bless.
(Laughter)
LeVar Burton: This has been a remarkable opportunity. Unprecedented in that none of us have ever all been together at a convention before.
(Applause)
LeVar Burton: The fact that it has happened in Calgary just goes to show the world... that it's going on... right here.
(Cheering)
LeVar Burton: We are enormously important to one another. We share a bond that is unbreakable. And to have shared it with all of you after all of these years, only lends strength and credence to the reality that what you saw on the screen is in fact -- and indeed reflected -- in our interpersonal relationships. We thank you, enormously, for caring about the people that we have played for all of these years.
(Applause)
Cynthia: We thank you for playing those roles so incredibly well.
Teddy: Yes, we do.
Jonathan Frakes: Thank you very much. Goodnight!
Ajay: We must excuse Patrick, Brent, and Gates -- you have another engagement we're being told from these wonderful screens in front of us. But I believe the rest maaay be willing to stick around for a little bit longer?
Marina Sirtis: What other engagement???
Ajay: That's what it says on the screen...
Marina Sirtis: What other engagement??? I don't believe a word of it. They're going for a drink...
(Laughter)
Marina Sirtis: They're going for a drink. Don't you believe a word of it. You got ten more minutes for all of us. How's that?
(Cheering)
Patrick Stewart: Well, my feeling is... what LeVar has just expressed sums up the very core of what we did and why we are here. And John should join us -- (to De Lancie) the other absent member of this group has joined us -- makes it seem perfect. And that is a note on which I am very happy to pull down the curtain.
Jonathan Frakes: Yes! Here, here!
(Applause)
Ajay: Thank you very much for coming out!
(Applause)
 |
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Bridge to Engineering: HDD Attends 2012 Calgary Expo Q&A with Star Trek's Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Wil Wheaton
Wed May 30, 2012 at 04:40 PM ETTags: Tom Landy, Fun Stuff, Calgary Expo, Star Trek: The Next Generation (all tags)
By Tom Landy
On the first day of the annual Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo that took place April 27-29 in Alberta, Canada, we checked in with 'Star Trek: The Next Generation's Gates McFadden and Denise Crosby (you can check out that coverage here). Join us for Day 2 of the Expo where we catch up with Mr. Data, Geordi La Forge, and Wesley Crusher!
Brent Spiner has starred in several films including 'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,' 'Independence Day' and 'The Aviator,' and has also guest starred on many TV shows such as 'The Simpsons,' 'Leverage,' and Disney's 'Gargoyles,' but most certainly is best known for his role as the emotionless android on 'Star Trek: TNG.' More recently, Spiner has launched a new witty web series (of which you'll hear a lot more about in a moment).
Actor/director LeVar Burton got his big break starring as Kunta Kinte in the acclaimed 1977 TV miniseries 'Roots' before becoming the Enterprise's blind engineer. Burton has also hosted the long-running educational series 'Reading Rainbow' and has directed numerous projects including episodes of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,' 'Star Trek: Voyager,' and 'Star Trek: Enterprise.'
And finally, everyone should remember Wil Wheaton from 'Stand By Me' (based on the novella 'The Body' by Stephen King) and also as Dr. Beverly Crusher's prodigy son on 'TNG.' Wil Wheaton also currently has a recurring role as himself on the hit sitcom, 'The Big Bang Theory.'
Below is a transcript of the panel which was once again moderated by Teddy Wilson from "Innerspace" on Space (Canada's sci-fi network).
---------------------------------------------------
TW: Are you having a good time so far?
(Cheering)
TW: My name is Teddy and I'm the one of the hosts of Innerspace on the Space Channel (inaudible) this weekend so far and your con is about to get a whole lot better (inaudible) especially for me, I fell in love with TNG. Many of you did I'm sure as well back in 1987...
(Cheering)
TW: With the first episode 'Encounter at Farpoint...'
(Cheering)
TW: (inaudible) and the three gentlemen I'm about to bring out are such a huge part of that. Please welcome Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton, and Brent Spiner!
(Applause)
BS: Hello. (As Patrick Stewart).
(Laughter)
BS: I can't believe this. So many people. (Still as Patrick Stewart).
(Laughter)
BS: So... many... flashing lights.
(Laughter)
BS: Stop it!
WW: He has his Patrick Stewart filter on his microphone today.
(Laughter)
BS: What's wrong with this thing? Hello? (Still as Patrick Stewart).
(Laughter)
BS: I have no emotion.
(Laughter)
TW: You guys see each other a lot, I know the cast stays in touch. How does it feel to be on the stage again? Is it surreal? Or is it just another day at the office?
WW: I have to tell you that it's a little weird for me to be in the same place as the entire cast of the Next Generation and I am not wearing a muscle suit under my clothes and my hair doesn't feel like a helmet that's a separate part of my body.
(Laughter)
LB: I could say it's weird knowing that Brent is not wearing any underwear.
(Laughter)
TW: And LeVar you got your cup of Tim Horton's this morning I noticed...
(Cheering)
LB: I've had my cup of Tim's. It's been a long time. It's been a long time. But -- a long time in between Timmy's. God bless Timmy.
(Applause)
BS: I had a cup of Timmy myself this morning. It was delicious. I drank it. I injected it. (In another funny voice).
WW: I woke up in bed next to Tim Hortons as long as we're playing pandering to Canadians.
(Laughter)
WW: Your move guys.
(Laughter)
LB: Wheaton wins.
BS: Maybe (laughs).
TW: So audience we're about to take your questions and we're going to take as many of your questions as possible so if you put up your hand there are some intrepid mic runners out there so put up your hand high and proud and a mic runner will find you and let us know where you are. This is Microsoft Word I believe that we're using (pointing to the screen on stage), its like Star Trek. The future is now! So just stick up your hand--
LB: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...
WW: Whoa, Microsoft Word is NOT the future.
TW: Are you kidding me? This is high tech, Microsoft Word...
WW: No, Open Off (inaudible) is NOT the future.
(Cheering)
WW: Now I'm playing pandering to the nerds. A game I will also win.
(Laughter)
BS: As opposed to what? (Laughs)
(Laughter)
BS: Let me ask you -- may I ask a question?
TW: Please do.
BS: Are any of you going to be here tonight?
(Cheering)
BS: Okay, so don't ask us anything you would ask tonight. Because it would just be redundant later on answering. No? Okay, do what you want. I don't...
(Laughter)
TW: Let me ask you, going all the way back to 1987, do you remember the first time you met each other? Or is there an early memory that sticks out in your first read through or scene together? Is there anything that kind of jumps out at you from that first year on the show?
(A long pause)
BS: When was that?
TW: 1987.
WW: 25 years ago.
BS: (To Teddy) Do you remember something that happened to you 25 years ago?
(Laughter)
BS: No, nothing jumps out, really.
WW: I remember being outside of Stage 8 in my school room -- or Stage 9 -- and you were (to Brent) going in and out of Stage 9 because you were doing make-up tests for Data.
BS: True.
WW: And I remember you having different colored contacts in your eyes and different colored paint on your face...
BS: Yep.
WW: And I remember thinking that it was really cool that you came by my school room every time to show me what -- how Data was changing.
BS: Well, I... I... I... enjoy amusing children.
(Laughter)
WW: And I was! I was amused.
LB: And it's clear that as a child you were easily amused.
(Laughter)
BS: I remember meeting Patrick on the lot the very first day I walked on. I didn't know who he was I didn't know how long the show was going to go, I met Patrick and he says (as Patrick) "I'm playing the captain..." and I thought give this about a month and then it's canceled.
(Laughter)
BS: But I was wrong, obviously. Right?
(Cheering)
BS: (Turns to the audience to his right) You know, I'm going to play to you guys...
(Cheering)
BS: Ah, maybe not. (Turns back to the other panelists). So anyway I...
(Laughter)
BS: I know you're there. (Turns again and points at the audience to his right)
LB: Oddly enough I do remember meeting Wil Wheaton...
WW: I love that guy.
(Laughter)
LB: You had been in 'Stand By Me....'
(Cheering)
WW: Thank you.
LB: And I'm a big fan of that movie and I thought wow, that's the kid from 'Stand By Me.' And I was very impressed.
WW: I didn't know that. Thanks man.
LB: Which was short lived.
(Laughter)
WW: I know (sighs). I felt the same way.
BS: I thought you were going to say you thought he was Corey Feldman.
(Laughter)
WW: Happens a lot. Yeah, I hardly remember anything about working on 'Lost Boys' but I know it's a good movie.
(Laughter)
WW: I remember the first time I walked around on Stage 9 -- Stage 9 was where engineering, the transporter room, sickbay, and the corridors for the Enterprise were, and ever since I was a really little kid working as an actor I loved going to sound stages because you get to cross the barrier from reality to imagination. And it's a really solid barrier. Once you're inside it, it's really easy to believe that where you are is real. And the sets on Star Trek -- because I was already a fan of the original series. I was already a science fiction nerd. I was 14 and had a really, really active imagination and I was easily entertained...
(Laughter)
WW: Walking around those corridors just going back and forth, from the transporter room, down the corridor and turning right to engineering, and the lights are on and the engine is going, and then coming back and turning left to go to sickbay and thinking this is where I work. This is where I get to live. And it was AMAZING!
(Cheering)
WW: As cool as you think it would be to actually be there, it was so much cooler.
(Laughter)
TW: Let's go to the floor for mic #3, uh... Rose? Where are you?
Q: Hi guys, it's nice to see you out here. I met LeVar in Edmonton a couple of years ago which was a pleasure.
(Applause)
Q: My question is for Brent. (Inaudible) "Fresh Hell" -- I was wondering about your process and what is going on with that right now?
BS: Well thank you so much for mentioning that. Do any of the rest of you know what "Fresh Hell" is?
(Cheering)
BS: Those of you who don't... please find out.
(Laughter)
BS: FreshHellSeries.com -- it's one word -- FreshHellSeries.com. That will take you there. It's a web series that I've been doing. LeVar guested on the show. I don't know if you saw that one, but it was hilarious. It's -- I call it a (inaudible) because it is presented in a comedic way, but it's a really sad story. But it's funny and I would love it if you would watch it. We've had two seasons, which are really short, the episodes are really short too so it's not a big time commitment for you.
(Laughter)
BS: The first season is like a 1/2 an hour long, the second one we started about six weeks ago and we've aired five of them, we've two weeks off, and we've got five more coming starting next Friday and the next one -- is hilarious. Promise me you will watch the next one.
(Cheering)
BS: Thank you so much. You promised, so... I'm going to hold you to it.
(Laughter)
WW: And you'll never hear the end of it if you don't uphold your promise.
(Laughter)
BS: Exactly. I will come after you...
(Laughter)
WW: That's actually the incentive for them to not uphold their promise.
(Laughter)
BS: If you don't watch it, I will not come after you...
(Laughter)
BS: If you do watch it... I'm confused now...
(Laughter)
BS: Just watch it. Will ya? Thank you. Thank you for asking, though, I appreciate it. This is me (pointing to his shirt) in "Fresh Hell."
TW: Can we see the back of the shirt?
BS: The back of the shirt just says (as he stands up and turns around) "At least I'm not Brent Spiner."
 |
(Laughter)
BS: Which you'll find out why if you watch the show.
TW: Uh mic #4 it's Patrick -- I don't think it's Patrick Stewart -- let's look there. Patrick?
Q: Hi, we saw you guys last night at dinner, and we just noticed -- I wanted to ask you is that the first time all of you have been together? Because you were all like hugs and hands out, so was that the first time you have been together?
BS: In 25 years... that's the first time we've ever seen each other.
(Laughter)
WW: That... you liar.
(Laughter)
BS: We had a little contest... to see which one of us looked the worst.
(Laughter)
BS: I won. (shrugs)
(Laughter)
BS: I'm a winner. What can I say? Right? (Laughs) You guys answer this. I'm in trouble.
LB: It wasn't -- the first time we've been together, you know, Christmas parties we try and get together as often as we can. Patrick lives overseas now, but what was great about last night -- and we are so sorry that you were not able to make it Wil --
WW: Yeah, I'm so jet lagged from being in Australia for three weeks so I was dead at 10:00 PM last night. But we'll make it at 2:00 AM! Thanks Brent!
(Laughter)
LB: It's just great when we get an opportunity to really hang together. We're, it's like hanging with your high school friends. Right? And all of your jokes are inside jokes and you know, they're all stupid...but they're yours. Right? So it is good when we have a chance to see each other. It's a really small club that we are a part of.
WW: When we see each other now it means so much to me because when we were working on the show I was a kid and I just wanted so bad to hang out with you guys. I wanted to be so cool like you guys were and I just couldn't do it because I was a kid and I hadn't...
BS: Still.
(Laughter)
WW: I hadn't leveled. I just didn't have enough XP.
(Laughter)
WW: So nowadays when we're together... pandering to the D&D nerds. That's another game I'm always going to win. But when we get together now, I don't feel like I'm that sort of -- I don't feel like a little kid anymore, because I turned 40 this year. And I love it. And I love to be with you guys. And I'm so grateful to the part of a cast that after 25 years -- wants to get together.
BS: It's true. I mean...
(Cheering)
BS: It is rare. I mean you don't see Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard out...
(Laughter)
TW: They don't moonlight together?
BS: No...
WW: A-hahhhhh...
(Laughter)
BS: Well, (to Teddy) you've got to have one. Right?
TW: Let's go down up in front. Alexis? Mic #5?
Q: Hi. All three of you use social media very effectively and I was wondering what effect that has on your careers?
TW: I counted about five million Twitter followers between the three of you, and that's pretty amazing.
LB: Anybody follow Wil Wheaton on Twitter?
(Cheering)
WW: I'm sorry...
(Laughter)
LB: Wil is a large part of the reason that I'm on Twitter...
WW: You're welcome!
(Cheering)
BS: Wil's dog is the reason that I'm on Twitter.
(Laughter)
WW: He also says you're welcome.
(Laughter)
WW: It has had a profound effect on my career because I'm just an early adopter of things that I think are disruptive technologies and I think that Twitter is a wonderfully disruptive technology. Since I started using Twitter just a few months after launch I have not received a breaking news events from traditional news media -- I get it from Twitter. And I was just using it to just be a jackass and entertain myself and I was talking about how much I love the show 'The Big Bang Theory.'
(Cheering)
WW: And I got an e-mail from one of the writers on the show, Steve Molaro. Steve said, "hi I'm a writer on 'The Big Bang Theory' and I'm wondering if you ever want to come down to the set for a visit?" And I said god I would absolutely love to do that. And a couple of days later I got another e-mail that came from Bill Prady's assistant and she said, "Bill Prady would like to talk to you about being on 'The Big Bang Theory.'" And a couple of fun things happened and they put me on the show. And Steve said, "you know the reason that I reached out to you was because I heard through Twitter that you were a fan of our show." So that, in like you know, seven years ago, Steve and I would have to be in the same physical place for him to hear that from me. And that's just not possible. I don't go to places that big fancy famous people go to. I do not fit in. And because we were able to communicate on Twitter, this disruptive technology, I have a job as a recurring evil guy on the greatest show on television.
(Cheering)
WW: That's just one example.
BS: You know, I have been tweeting often about how much I love the show 'Game of Thrones'...
(Laughter)
BS: And as a result, I have not heard a word from them about that.
(Laughter)
BS: But if you write (to Wil), and tell them how much I enjoy...
(Laughter)
WW: The thing is you'd be such a popular character they'd just kill you anyway.
(Laughter)
BS: Well, that's true. Like 'Star Trek' did...
(Laughter)
WW: At least they didn't send you off in a white van with the Traveler.
BS: Well, that's true.
(Cheering)
BS: I love a good Eric Menyuk joke, don't you? You kill 'em everywhere.
(Laughter)
TW: You guys also did 'The Big Bang Theory'...
BS: We did.
LB: We did.
BS: Both LeVar and I were on 'Big Bang.'
LB: Once again -- Wil Wheaton leading the way.
BS: Exactly. I'd just like to--
WW: Hey, what do you guys want to do next?
BS: Yeah. 'Game of Thrones.'
(Laughter)
WW: Me... too. Me... too. So... much.
BS: I'd like to be -- I just like to be around Wil these days just to learn from him, you know?
(Laughter)
BS: Just to study with him.
WW: Shut up (laughing).
BS: There was A time you wouldn't have said that to me.
(Laughter)
BS: Or maybe you would... I don't know. (laughing)
TW: Um mic #3 down in front, Seedy??
Q: Hi!
BS: Seedy! Hey...
Q: Oh god.
(Laughter)
Q: You were supposed to forget that.
BS: How could I ever forget that?
Q: Oh Jesus...
WW: Should we all leave?
(Laughter)
BS: Should they, Seedy? It's up to you.
(Laughter)
Q: My question is for LeVar... (laughing hysterically)
LB: Is that alright with you, Brent?
BS: Your question is for... LeVar?? (Shaking his head)
(Laughter)
BS: Alright. You know what Seedy? Just for that -- Seedy... but not heardy.
(Laughter)
Q: So my question has to do with 'Reading Rainbow'...
(Cheering)
Q: I was a huge -- I love it...
LB: Butterfly in the sky... (singing)
(Cheering)
LB: I can go twice as high... (standing up). Take a look.. It's in a book...
Crowd: Reading Rainboooow.
LB: Wow.
(Applause)
LB: That was fun.
TW: The band even played the theme song before you came out, too.
LB: Did they? Really?
TW: Yeah.
Q: So my question is this...
LB: Oh Seedy! You're still there!
(Laughter)
Q: I am. Sad, but true. My question is this: I remember there was one episode where you actually went behind-the-scenes of Star Trek...
LB: Yep.
(Cheering)
Q: And I was wondering how did you feel about that? I remember being so excited as a kid and I just wanted your thoughts on it.
LB: I was very excited to share my two jobs and not have to commute anywhere for a week
.(Laughter)
LB: And do you remember the name of the book? The Bionic Bunny Show. And one of the things I will never forget was being shown by Academy Award winner Rob Legato, who recently won an Academy Award for...
BS: 'Titanic'...
LB: 'Titanic'...
BS: 'Aviator'...
LB: 'Aviator'... Rob Legato showed me, and I did not know what the process was achieved before, but he showed me how the the transporter effect was done by pouring sparkles into a bowl of water and stirring it...
(Laughter)
LB: Photographing that, and in that you had one element of beaming. And he ruined... Star Trek for me from that day forward.
(Laughter)
BS: As you just did for all of them (pointing at the audience).
WW: Spoiler alert, dude!
(Laughter)
LB: Payback is a bitch.
WW: Do you know that the behind-the-scenes clips that you did, they're on YouTube?
LB: They are?
WW: Yes. I have watched them many times.
LB: Seriously?
WW: Yeah. No, it's awesome.
LB: It is awesome.
TW: (inaudible) 'The Aviator.'
BS: Thank you. A very brief moment with... Marty. As I call him.
(Laughter)
TW: Mic #6 on the left, David?
Q: Hello, I just have a question for Wil Wheaton. Now that you're a recurring character on 'The Big Bang Theory,' what is it like having people come up to you and they'll say "oh my gosh you're Wil Wheaton!" Or they're wearing the T-shirts "Wil Wheaton Crushers"? What is that like compared to when people would come up to you in comparison to when you were recurring -- I'm so sorry I see you all the time. Dear god you're real, you're here...
(Laughter)
Q: What is it like when fans come up to you and say they see you all the time in their living rooms?
(Laughter)
BS: Tim Horton was in your living room (pointing to Wil).
(Laughter)
WW: That's true. It's... awesome. I mean, it's great. I'm so happy and so grateful to be on a show that people really like. Playing a character that people really seem to look forward to seeing. A funny story about 'The Big Bang Theory,' I was in San Francisco (inaudible) and I was waiting for a taxi and this guy comes up to me and says, "I'm so sorry to bother you but are you on 'The Big Bang Theory?'" and I said yes I am. And he says, " You play Wil Wheaton on 'The Big Bang Theory'...
(Laughter)
WW: And I said yeah, yeah I do. And he says, "Oh! I love -- you're so funny I love the things you do with Sheldon." So I talk a little bit about working with Jim Parsons and then he says, "I'm so sorry I feel so awful, but... I don't know what your real name is."
(Laughter)
WW: And I said, it's LeVar Burton...
(Laughter)
WW: It's really nice to meet you.
(Laughter)
WW: True story. Mostly (laughs).
TW: Zack to the right, mic #4.
Q: I have a question for Wil. Now that you have that table top gaming show on YouTube...
(Cheering)
WW: Oh thank you, guys.
Q: That popular table top gaming show on YouTube...
(Laughter)
Q: Are you going to take the opportunity having the whole cast here, forcing them to play a game with you?
TW: Settlers of Catan!
(Cheering)
WW: Excuse me (in a funny voice), there's eight of us and there's no expansion...
(Laughter)
WW: (Inaudible)...play a game like "Bang," "The Resistance" or "Werewolf."
(Cheering)
WW: I'm sorry... (to LeVar)
LB: W-w-what is he talking about???
(Laughter)
WW: Felicia Day and I co-created a show together called "Table Top" and we play nerdy tabletop board games, like the kind I've been playing all my life, and we get our friends to come over and play the game with us. So it's sort of like Celebrity Poker plus Dinner For Five -- with nerdy board games instead of a poker game or dinner...
(Laughter)
WW: And it's really, it's a lot of fun to do. There's 20 episodes and we shot 20 episodes in 10 days and they're coming out every other Friday on her YouTube channel geekandsundry. So if you want to see it go to YouTube.com/geekandsundry. And honestly, to answer your question, it would mean the world to me if I could get all these guys to come play on our show, but I think that is logistically very unlikely to happen.
BS: It's not even about logistics, really.
(Laughter)
TW: Um mic #5 on the left side of the floor, Sandra? I think. Right there.
Q: Hi my question is for Brent...
BS: Hi Sandra.
Q: First I just want to say --
BS: Do you know Seedy?
(Laughter)
Q: No, but you did make my son cry the other day...
BS: Oh yes you did I remember that. I didn't make him cry... he was moved.
(Laughter)
BS: Right, Sandra? Moved.
Q: Very. I just wanted to say how a awesome it is that I could bring my son to something like this and that there is still a show out there and he could watch it has good moral components to it. But my question is for you: now with Twitter and Facebook we get to see your personality. How the hell did you suppress that while being Data?
(Cheering)
BS: You know, I only suppressed it when they said "action."
WW: Isn't that the truth?
(Laughter)
BS: Yeah. These guys saw it all the time. But you know, we rehearsed and we laughed all the way up to the word "action"... and then we became professional.
LB: Some of us.
(Laughter)
BS: Exactly. (Inaudible) but it was hard. It really was. But now I'm glad I have the opportunity to let you all know.. just who I am.
(Laughter)
BS: Let me begin with an apology...
(Laughter)
BS: Sandra, thank you so much for watching the show and encouraging your son to watch the show. I hope that Star Trek in some form is on forever and ever and I think it will be.
(Cheering)
TW: (inaudible) day-to-day life when you weren't shooting, not using contractions?
BS: No. I always use contractions. Except when I was reading the dialog from the show. Yeah, because I was able to make this distinction between this is a fictional character... I am a real person.
(Laughter)
BS: It was easy for me, really.
(Laughter)
LB: I think they call that "acting."
BS: There you go!
TW: We'll take mic #3 on the left for Chloe.
Q: Hi my question is for Brent Spiner about your background with musical theatre and whether when you started your career if that was what you wanted to do and how you got into it and all that sort of...?
BS: You know, I went to a high school in Houston, Texas and I had a teacher named Cecil Pickett who was a genius. And in my high school drama class, I had so many people that -- the Quaid brothers Randy and Dennis were in my class, Tommy Schlamme who produced 'The West Wing' and directed 'The West Wing' was in my drama class, and our teacher Cecil Pickett he encouraged us to do everything. So we did Shakespeare, we did musicals, we did Moliere, we did contemporary things, and it really was just the best foundation possible and set me up for what I later found in New York which was its best if you can do it all. That being said (standing up), I'd like to do a little song for you now, Tracy...
(Applause)
BS: Let me -- if there was only a drum set here I could probably (looking back at the drum set on stage) -- Oh! Maybe I'll just head on back to the drums...
(Cheering)
BS: I've just set you all up for such disappointment.
(Laughter)
BS: I'm so sorry. I wish I knew a song. LeVar do you know a song? What about the "Reading Rainbow" song? Could you do that?
LB: I think we've already done that one, Brent.
BS: We have? Where was I when you were doing the "Reading Rainbow" song?
LB: You were asleep, as always. Taking a nap.
BS: I always nap when they don't start with "I have a question for Brent Spiner..."
(Laughter)
BS: Anyway, I hope that answers your question Tracy. It is Tracy, right? Yeah. Chloe! Oh man. Where's Tracy? Where did you go?
WW: Tracy is in the back you can see right there (pointing into the floor seats).
BS: Oh there you are, Tracy. Anyway, so I hope that answers your question, Chloe.
TW: LeVar can I ask you about the first time putting on the visor and how much you could see or not see when you had that thing in front of your eyes?
LB: For the record, putting on the visor was a pain... in my head.
(Laughter)
LB: The visor tended to restrict my vision by about 80-85 percent.
TW: Really? Wow.
LB: The first season I bumped into everything on the set, including the other actors.
(Laughter)
LB: It was necessary to learn how to navigate without actually seeing my feet. And by the end of the seven-year run I came to loathe its very being.
(Laughter)
WW: Be honest.
LB: However, I do have a daughter going to college next year and I intend to auction that sucker on eBay.
(Applause)
WW: That could be called "The Visor Scholarship." The "Geordi La Forge...
LB: ...Visor Scholarship."
BS: So I take it you stole the visor?
LB: "Steeeeal"... is... such a harsh word. Right?
(Laughter)
BS: "Borrowed?" (laughs)
WW: I think "forgot to return."
LB: Well as you know -- payback is a bitch.
(Laughter)
TW: Brent, Wil -- did you "forget to return" anything from the set of 'TNG?'
WW: I have two -- well, I had two communicators that were given to me by my costume designer because she knew how much I loved them. One of them I have in my office at home, the other was cremated with a friend of mine who died way too young who was an enormous Star Trek fan so I gave that communicator to him.
(Applause)
WW: I have (inaudible) I have dozens of sheets of stickers that Mike and Ricky gave me, and one day behind Stage 9 -- I don't know why it was there -- but there was a cardboard box and it had in it from the original Star Trek, these little square things, that sort of look like floppy disks that didn't exist in the sixties, and they are these little square pieces of wood that they would put into things on the bridge and they were just sitting there. And it seemed like an unbelievable crime -- they were trash! So I gave them a good home where they would be appreciated.
(Applause)
BS: I, you know when we were making -- I think it was 'Generations,' the first feature -- we got to the studio one morning to start shooting and we were informed that the captain's chair had been stolen.
LB: Right.
(Laughter)
BS: In the middle of the night. I don't know how they got away with it. But if you come to my living room...
(Laughter)
BS: And I charge very little to take your photo in that chair...
(Laughter)
WW: There's easier ways to get them to watch "Fresh Hell."
BS: I guess.
(Laughter)
BS: If you will watch "Fresh Hell..."
(Laughter)
BS: I will give you that chair.
(Laughter)
TW: On the right --Clinton.
BS: Clinton! Hi, how are you doin'?
Q: Good! My question is for LeVar Burton: I wanted to ask what the hiring process was like when you were getting the job on 'Roots'?
(Applause)
LB: The hiring process? I was a student. Second year at university studying theatre. They had pretty much exhausted normal means of finding professional talent in Los Angeles and they had seen everyone who had an agent who was black and male. And they started beating the bushes. They did a casting session in New York, one in Chicago, then they came back to Los Angeles and then they just sort of started casting the net wider. And as a drama student at the University of Southern California I went out on what they call a "go see" -- you go to an address and see whoever answers the door.
(Laughter)
WW: That's also called "outcall."
(Laughter)
LB: No, I think that's an adult... magazine... personal ad situation.
(Laughter)
WW: Really?
LB: Yeah. Yeah.
WW: So I should have been paid a lot more?
(Laughter)
LB: A lot more. A lot more.
WW: Damn It.
LB: Sorry.
(Laughter)
BS: Well that's depending--
WW: No... More...
LB: Have you seen it? E-le-ven inches.
(Laughter)
WW: Stop it.
LB: What? I'm just sayin'.
(Laughter)
WW: Finish your 'Roots' -- you went to the place, to the "go see"...
(Laughter)
LB: Went to the place, went to the "go see," and read for the director, David Greene. He told me I was terrible. He did, because I was a theatre major because I had no concept of acting for the camera so I was trying to project to the balcony and he thought it was awful because it was inappropriate. However, he said to me later that in the adjustment that I made, when he explained to me that acting for the camera is very intimate activity, that he believed he had found his Kunta.
(Applause)
TW: (inaudible)... of all time.
LB: I think the final episode of 'Roots' is #3 on the list of most watched television events in the history of the media. Yeah.
(Applause)
LB: Thank you.
TW: I wanted to ask you: all of the different technical devices that you used on the show at the time, you know, this stuff was science fiction, but now in a way the producers were pressing it -- you had things like iPads and tricorders -- does that surprise you at all now? That you're sometimes holding in your hand these things you had as props 20-25 years ago?
LB: It doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think the producers were necessarily pressing. I think there has always been a link between science fiction literature -- that which we imagine and that which we create. And I believe there was some kid who in the sixties watched the original 'Star Trek' series, grew up and became a designer, an engineer, and was inspired by those scenes of Shatner, you know? Pulling out that thing, you know, in that velcro place on his hip because apparently there are no pockets in the future.
(Laughter)
WW: There are noooo pockets in the future. When there's not a pocket in the world in the 24th century...
(Laughter)
LB: Right.
WW: Act surprised... when it happens.
(Laughter)
WW: Enjoy them now.
(Laughter)
LB: And he flips that thing out and calls Scotty on the ship and asks him to be beamed up, that child became a designer, a product, an engineer, and is responsible for a technology more prevalent than the toaster. By a show of hands, how many of you have either used or are in the presence of someone using a flip cell phone?
(Pretty much everyone raised their hands)
LB: See what I mean? There are a lot of technological innovations that I think their roots can be traced back to 'Star Trek.' The iPad -- we carried pads all over the ship.
BS: The Captain always had a pad in his Ready Room...
LB: Right.
BS: Geordi always had a pad...
LB: Yep.
BS: How did they come up with that? The iPad?
(Laughter)
LB: Google Glasses. Wow! What a really...
(Applause)
LB: ...interesting idea. That is totally unique! I have never seen anything like that before!
(Laughter)
WW: I tried to save the world from Angry Birds but I was just too slow.
(Laughter)
WW: Wait -- that's one you're gonna have to wait for. It's gonna come back around. That was extraordinarily clever.
(Laughter)
WW: I was helping Frakes fix his computer and we were doing it via text messages, and I was doing it with my Android phone...
(Cheering)
WW: Which makes the original series communicator sound whenever I get a text message because that's the only sound it should make. 'The Next Generation' communicator sound is too quiet. And we were making 'Star Trek' jokes to each other while we were doing it and I thought it was remarkable that he and I were communicating in a way that did not exist when we worked on the show that inspired the devices that we were using to communicate with each other. And it was one of the most satisfying, meta-moments of my life.
(Applause)
BS: Why is everybody looking at me?
(Laughter)
BS: What is that phone called? An Android phone? Where did they get that???
(Cheering)
WW: It's constantly correcting my contractions. It's really annoying.
(Laughter)
BS: I have nothing else to say...
(Laughter)
BS: I'm just... (to Wil and LeVar) STOP LOOKING AT ME!
(Laughter)
TW: We're gonna wrap it up in a sec... any final words, was there any question that you've never been asked in life that you wish you would have been asked and would like to answer now? Or a favorite question you've gotten? I'll leave it to you.
LB: The answer is... yes.
(Laughter)
WW: If you take just one thing from spending time with me today I hope that it would be this: Please be kind, be honest, work hard, and be awesome.
(Cheering)
BS: Did I -- have I mentioned... "Fresh Hell" yet?
(Laughter)
BS: Oh I have, okay. If I can leave you with anything (grins)... ah, you know, you've got your own stuff.
(Laughter)
BS: I'm glad you were here. This was really fun.
(Applause)
LB: Thanks for having us.
BS: We'll see you tonight if you're here, okay? We'll have some more people with us.
LB: We'll see you next time, but you don't have to take our word for it.
(Cheering)
 |
Don't forget to check out our previous 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Q&A transcripts with Jonathan Frakes (2011 Central Canada Comic-Con), Michael Dorn (2012 Winnipeg Comic and Toy Expo), and Gates McFadden/Denise Crosby (2012 Calgary Expo).
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Check HDD Out on Facebook and Let Your Friends Know That You "LIKE us" like us!
Mon Apr 16, 2012 at 03:30 PM ET
Have you visited the High-Def Digest Facebook page lately? If not, why not swing by and let your friends know that you like us? In return, we'll make sure you never miss a great review or exciting HD news story.
Please check out the High-Def Digest Page on Facebook, click "like," and spread the word, so you and your friends can always find the best Blu-ray and High-Def news and reviews online.
Our Facebook page is still going strong and we'd love you to join in the fun. In addition to our reviews, highlights from The Bonus View, and priceless witticisms, we use the page as one more way of spreading the word about the best high-def releases on the market.
If you haven't joined the fun yet, you can check it out here.
Hope to see you there soon!
HDD's 2012 Oscars Live-Blog Is Happening NOW! Join the fun!
Sun Feb 26, 2012 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Oscars 2012, The Bonus View, Oscars Live Blog, 2012 Oscars Live Blog, Fun Stuff, Prizes (all tags)
Join High-Def Digest's The Bonus View for our second annual Oscars Live-Blog! You supply the refreshments, we'll deliver the prizes! It's happening RIGHT NOW!
There are many reasons to join us. Wit, prizes, world weary wisdom, prizes, film trivia, prizes, priceless snark, and did we mention prizes?
With last-minute replacement Billy Crystal hosting for the 74th time, not to mention a huge assortment of behind-the-scenes fiascoes with the production, the ceremony itself promises to be yet another overlong, self-important, and generally boring slog, if not an outright clusterfrack. We'd settle for nothing less!
We will do our best to liven up the proceedings by making fun of them and giving away lots of free Blu-ray goodies! Don’t miss out!
Check out The Bonus View's 2012 Oscars Live-Blog right here!
HDD's 2012 Oscars Live-Blog Is This Sunday!
Thu Feb 23, 2012 at 03:20 PM ETTags: Academy Awards, Oscars, Oscars 2012, Oscars Live-Blog, 2012 Oscars Live-Blog, The Bonus View, Fun Stuff, Prizes (all tags)
Yes, we’re doing it again. Join us this Sunday, February 26th for The Bonus View's second annual Oscars Live-Blog! You supply the refreshments, we'll deliver the prizes!
There are many reasons to join us. Wit, prizes, world weary wisdom, prizes, film trivia, prizes, priceless snark, and did we mention prizes?
With last-minute replacement Billy Crystal hosting for the 74th time, not to mention a huge assortment of behind-the-scenes fiascoes with the production, the ceremony itself promises to be yet another overlong, self-important, and generally boring slog, if not an outright clusterfrack. We'd settle for nothing less!
We will do our best here to liven up the proceedings by making fun of them and giving away lots of free Blu-ray goodies! Don’t miss out!
Ranking Steven Soderbergh's Top 10 Films
Tue Jan 17, 2012 at 05:15 PM ETTags: Aaron Peck, Fun Stuff (all tags)
by Aaron Peck
It was the Sundance hit 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' that put him on the map. The world of independent cinema would never be the same after his first feature-length film premiered at the festival in 1989.
Since then, Steven Soderbergh's work has spanned genres. He's careful not to pigeonhole himself. He's taken on comedies, thrillers, and is about to take on the action/espionage genre with his new movie 'Haywire.'
Every time he plans a new film, the ensemble cast seemingly appears out of nowhere. Actors and actresses who command leading roles are lining up just to play bit parts. He routinely gets casts that other directors would kill for.
This month has seen the Blu-ray release of his worldwide plague thriller 'Contagion' and the Criterion release of his masterpiece about the world of drug trafficking, 'Traffic.' So I'd like to take this time to rank what I believe are the top ten favorite Soderbergh films.
10. 'Erin Brockovich'
 |
There's flat character issues here, along with a paper-thin plot, but this was the film where Soderbergh was able to wrangle Julia Roberts' ultra-star power and bring her down to earth in the role of Erin Brockovich. Squeaking in at number ten, this is my least favorite of his top films, but it's hard to deny the drama and humor injected into the story and the great directorial job done with one of the world's biggest (and sometimes most insufferable) stars.
9. 'Solaris'
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The lovers and the haters of Soderbergh's remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's 1976 sci-fi masterpiece are pretty evenly split down the middle. Count me on the side that really enjoyed the minimalistic visual tone that he provided here. Yes, it's a slow, methodical movie, but Soderbergh does slow and methodical very well. Buoyed by a great Clooney performance, 'Solaris' had to make the top ten.
8. 'The Limey'
 |
If you haven't been able to catch 'The Limey' you really should make time for this first-rate crime thriller starring Terrance Stamp in one of the best performances of his illustrious acting career. There's a decidedly visual aesthetic applied here by Soderbergh, like in many of his other films, that makes watching the movie an entrancing experience. When are we gonna get a Blu-ray release?
7. 'Ocean's Eleven'
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It's the who's who of Hollywood. A gigantic ensemble cast that would make any director drool. Here superstars like George Clooney and Brad Pitt are working side by side, making Matt Damon look like he was called in to play a bit part. This is the only 'Ocean's' movie I enjoy watching. It's witty and clever, pure popcorn entertainment. It has that frenzied Soderbergh pace to it, bouncing around from character to character, but somehow we never get lost in the fray.
6. 'Contagion'
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I still think 'Contagion' was one of the best thrillers of last year. It's not packed full of action or intrigue, but it's plenty suspenseful. It was a fresh take on the disease thriller. Soderbergh created a world of fear which was much scarier than the disease itself. Plus (spoiler!), Gwyneth Paltrow got scalped. Scalped! Only Soderbergh can amass this cast of A-list actors only to chop the top off the head of one of the biggest names on the bill.
5. 'Che'
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Soderbergh's epic about Ernesto "Che" Guevara is long, and for that very reason you may have not ventured in to take a peek at it. However, once you start watching it you'll find it hard to stop. Benicio Del Toro is mesmerizing as the Cuban militant. There's something to be said for a director that can take a 270 minute epic and make it a compelling character study without veering off into snoozeville.
4. 'The Informant!'
 |
People may disagree with my high ranking of 'The Informant!' but I stand by it. Here's a movie that I didn't ever expect much from and instead got everything I could have wanted and more. The key is that it contains the best performance of Matt Damon's career; It's also his most underrated. Damon plays Mark Whitacre, a top employee in the agricultural industry who turns informer to report to the feds about the illegal dealings of his company. He loves the cloak and dagger routines they put him through. The movie is genuinely funny, and never really got its due.
3. 'Out of Sight'
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He had a good foundation. Any Elmore Leonard book is a good basis for a screenplay. However, from movies like 'Be Cool' we've learned that it's all too easy to screw up even some of the best fictional writing out there. 'Out of Sight' remains one of the great modern day crime thrillers. Soderbergh toned down the visual trickery and his at times oddball stylistic choices and was able to craft a very marketable caper film. The biggest story here though, isn't that 'Out of Sight' was when we kind of all took notice of Clooney and realized, "Hey maybe this guy can be a movie star." No, it was the fact that Soderbergh somehow got a borderline fantastic performance from one Jennifer Lopez. You know, the same woman who has starred in such hits as 'Maid in Manhattan,' 'The Wedding Planner,' and 'Monster In Law.' I don't know how he did it, but as director Soderbergh was able to squeeze out whatever acting ability Lopez has.
2. 'Sex, Lies and Videotape'
 |
It's a classic now. There's no way around it. It's the movie that really jumpstarted the whole independent film craze. A movie that showed everyone that low-budgets weren't barriers that couldn't be overcome. Soderbergh wrote the movie in less than two weeks. A thrilling psychological study, it remains a masterpiece.
1. 'Traffic'
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'Traffic' is to Soderbergh what 'Schindler's List' is to Spielberg. It's his magnum opus. It's the rare time where all the quintessential Soderbergh elements – dozens of characters; intersecting storylines; experimental filming techniques – all meshed into a grandm unified whole. In 2000 Soderbergh was nominated as Best Director twice. Once for 'Traffic' the other for 'Erin Brockovich.' The fun part is that if you didn't know Soderbergh directed both of them you'd swear they were directed by different people. However, 'Traffic' truly bears his mark as a filmmaker (he also acted as cinematographer using the name Peter Andrews). It's experimental, it's large in scope, and it has that trademark ensemble cast that everyone fawns over. With all those elements he was able to weave together numerous tales of the way drugs and the war on them affects everyday life here in America.
How would you rank Soderbergh's films? Are there some that were left off this list like 'King of the Hill,' 'The Underneath,' 'The Good German,' 'The Girlfriend Experience,' or 'Kafka,' that you would add to the list? Please let us know in the forums. Click on the link below and let us in on what movies would make your top ten list of Soderbergh films.
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The Bonus View is Giving Away 20 Blu-rays During Sunday Night's Golden Globes Live-Blog!!!
Fri Jan 13, 2012 at 02:40 PM ETTags: Bonus View Digest, Fun Stuff, Contests, Giveaways (all tags)
I know you sit around waiting anxiously for the next edition of the Bonus View Digest. Well, here we are again, but this time we've got a mega-special announcement. This coming Sunday The Bonus View will be alive with activity. Normally, we're silent on Sundays, but we'll be live-blogging the Golden Globes on the 15th and we hope that you'll join us. Oh and there's more! We'll be having TONS of giveaways!
Last year we had tons of fun during our live-blogging events. The Oscars were a blast and we gave away a bunch of free Blu-rays to other chatters. This year the live-blogging Golden Globes event will be even bigger. We're giving away 20, count them 20, Blu-rays to all of you who will be joining in on the chat with us. Not only will you be able to chat with us live and get showered with our unfiltered wit, but we're also showering you with prizes galore. How could your Sunday night get any better?
So, we hope you'll join us for our live-blog on Sunday. Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you all there. Josh and Aaron will be there running things and hoping to make the chat go as smoothly as possible. It should be a lot of fun. Don't miss it, or you'll miss your chance at scoring some free movies along with missing out on some great camaraderie between writers, readers, and movie buffs.
Besides the impending live-blogging event – which everyone is coming to, right? – we had a lot of fun at The Bonus View this week. Check out some of the highlights below.
Blu-ray News
Josh covered the weekly look at the new Blu-rays hitting store shelves this week. This was the week to pick up hot films like 'Moneyball,' and 'Killer Elite.' Also, 'Boardwalk Empire' hit Blu-ray this week, which should have HBO fans in a buying frenzy.
With Uncovered, Aaron discussed some of the newly released artwork for upcoming titles like 'Immortals,' 'J. Edgar,' and the highly anticipated 'Bond 50' anthology. Aaron also returned to his popular feature Off The Shelf where he revisits movies that have been sitting on his shelf for a while. This time he rewatched the stop-motion favorite 'Coraline' and observed 20 random things about it.
Theatrical News
There was no shortage of theatrical news this week, starting off with a trio of reviews from Luke Hickman. He reviewed 'Joyful Noise,' 'Contraband,' and the unsettling drama 'We Need to Talk About Kevin.'
Luke also covered 2011's Biggest Box Office Bombs. E discussed the very unfunny, and might I add depressing trailer for 'The Three Stooges' in this week's Trailer Park.
This week's Mid-Week Poll also had to do with going out to the cinema. We asked you which critically acclaimed movie of 2011 was your favorite film. The conversation has grown to one of the most popular threads on the site. Weigh in with your opinion now.
Home Theater News
Watch out for those supposed 3000 hour rated projector bulbs. In the post 507 Hours Josh found out the hard way this week that these bulbs may not last as long as they're supposed to.
If you don't feel like hitting the theater this weekend and would rather check out what you can stream into your home check out our weekly Netflix Stream and VUDU posts. If you're looking for a recommendation, Josh recommends an erotic thriller starring Rob Lowe (I know, sounds awesome right?) in his VUDU Diaries post called 'Bad Influence.'
That's it for this week. Be sure to join us this Sunday at 8:00pm EST/5:00pm PST for our live-blogging coverage of The Golden Globes. Remember, we're giving away at least 20 Blu-rays during the telecast so you're odds are very good when it comes to winning. So join us for a night of fun, laughs, and contests. We hope to see you there! And by there, I mean right here!
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