Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
| Star Trek’s Big Box-Office Bang | May 11th, 2009 |
J.J. Abrams’ retooled, timeline-tweaking Star Trek scored an estimated $72.5 million Friday-Sunday opening weekend, Exhibitor Relations reported today, coming in on the high side of projections and blowing past previous franchise hits—and misses.
Since bowing Thursday night, Star Trek has grossed $76.5 million overall.
Star Trek, $72.5 million
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, $27 million
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $10.5 million
Obsessed, $6.6 million
17 Again, $4.4 million
Next Day Air, $4 million
The Soloist, $3.6 million
Monsters vs. Aliens, $3.4 million
Earth, $2.5 million
Hannah Montana: The Movie, $2.4 million
| Zoe Saldana is JJ Abrams’ Uhura | May 7th, 2009 |
Zoe Saldana has big shoes to fill. Saldana is JJ Abrams’ choice to play Communications Officer Uhura in the new Star Trek and the actress luckily had the pleasure of meeting the original Uhura.
Saldana first caught global eyes in the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opposite Johnny Depp and has the rare fortune of appearing in James Cameron’s return to filming after Titanic. Avatar promises to push the film envelope. Saldana’s career is pushing the upper-atmosphere appearing opposite Ashton Kutcher in Guess Who? and Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid and Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker in 2008’s Vantage Point.
A meeting of the minds
SheKnows: Were you able to connect with the original Uhura, Nichelle Nichols?
Zoe Saldana: I did speak with Nichelle a couple of times. The response was completely overwhelming. We would talk about that sometimes on set how we felt completely supported (by the original cast). There’s an overall happiness that Star Trekkers will be coming back and that we were stepping in to the family. It made it much easier for us to approach our characters. No only remembering the fundamental essences of all them, but also not being afraid to add any innovation.
Star Trek recharges
SheKnows: Batman, Superman and James Bond have all enjoyed a successful cinematic genesis of late. Once you accepted this role, was there any emotional weight that suddenly felt pushed upon you?
Zoe Saldana: That’s where JJ comes in. I thought it was incredibly brave on his behalf to show them as young people. They’re not yet comfortable in their own skin — to see how they meet for the very first time – you kind of start with a clean palette.
SheKnows: I’ve always thought having the end is a fascinating place to begin a story.
Zoe Saldana: (Laughs) Sometimes knowing the end is really a good perspective on where to start. You know where they end up in terms of the series. But, this is completely different. It says nothing about how they’re going to start. They could be lost. They could be found.
A personal Star Trek
SheKnows: What do you think is the central element of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek?
Zoe Saldana: There are all these relationships – all these battles within themselves and each other. And still they need to complete these missions on the Enterprise.
SheKnows: Fans and neophytes alike will be a little shocked by the love story permeating Star Trek…
Zoe Saldana: (Laughs) If only there was a camera in the office at Bad Robot (Abrams’ company) when they locked us in and we had to read the script. I dropped it and I grabbed my Blackberry and I texting ‘this man’s crazy. JJ is out of his mind. I am not that aware of Star Trek, but I do know that they never mingle. It’s crazy.’ And then, when I finished the script, it makes so much sense. They share so many characteristics they share. She has this admiration for Spock because he was older and a teacher. There’s this crush, this platonic infatuation with someone who’s wiser, handsome – with pointy ears. Why not?
SheKnows: For you as an actress, did you ever feel like you were the only woman in an all-boys’ club making this movie?
Zoe Saldana: Of course, and I loved it (laughs).
From She Knows
| Star Trek: Zoe Saldana Interview | May 7th, 2009 |
Spending part of her childhood in the Dominican Republic, Zoe Saldana recalls watching the show VIAJE A LAS ESTRELLAS with her mother and great-grandmother. Devoted fans of the series, her relatives were not only emotionally involved with the characters, but immersed in all the stories. Little did they realize that the 10 year-old girl sitting next to them on the couch would one day get her chance to actually portray the most important woman on the show in a big screen adaptation of the series.
If the name VIJAE A LAS ESTRELLAS doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps the English version strikes a more familiar tone, STAR TREK. “My mom was a huge Trekkie,” Saldana now admits. “Needless to say, she was very happy when I got this part.” And not just any part. Saldana is portraying Lt. Nyota Uhura, the lead communications officer of the ship who is an expert in linguistics. As the USS Enterprise travels to different galaxies, she is the mediator between the commanders of two different ships from two different planets. If she gets the communication wrong, she can actually start a war.
STAR TREK, directed by JJ Abrams, is the latest incarnation birthed out of the landmark 1966 television series; however unlike the ten other films or five television adaptations, this version takes audiences back to the beginning. We witness the formation of the now infamous team of Captain Kirk, Sulu, Chekhov, Spock and Uhura; how these young Star Fleet cadets morphed into their leadership roles aboard the USS Enterprise.
| Actress gave Uhura her own touch | May 7th, 2009 |
Stepping into her “Star Trek” costume made Zoë Saldana feel like a Trekkie.
“The moment the outfit was on, I was the character. It was so much fun. I was hooked,” says Saldana, who plays communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in the latest incarnation of “Star Trek.”
The film, opening nationwide Thursday with 7 p.m. screenings, is based on the 1960s TV series created by Gene Roddenberry. “Star Trek” follows the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise, taking viewers to the origins of the ship’s crew, characters that fans have come to know through the years.
Given its rich history and devoted fan base, Saldana, 30, was a bit overwhelmed to become a part of the “Star Trek” family.
“Stepping onto the set was so surreal. I was so in awe,” she says by phone.
Until she was cast in “Star Trek,” Saldana was unfamiliar with the original series or the feature films that followed in the 1980s and ’90s. However, she has been exposed to its fanatic following.
| Zach and Zoe: Trek’s Unlikely Love Match | May 7th, 2009 |
Okay, the word is out all over the web. The new Star Trek film contains a more-than-BFF relationship between the young Mr. Spock and his student/crewmate Uhura. The filmmakers excuse the match with an “alternate timeline” explanation in case the die-hard, old-school Trekkie fans of the classic, original TV series take offense.
On the TV series, as a Vulcan/human hybrid, Mr. Spock rarely showed his emotions and usually only under great physical duress, or under the influence of some alien drug. But, this was the older, more seasoned, more experienced and more practiced Spock. In the “Trek” re-boot, Zachary Quinto plays the younger Vulcan in his last years at Space Academy. He’s still wet behind those cute, large, pointy ears.
Did the younger Uhura have a soft spot for guys with elfish ears and bowl haircuts? Zach admits he had a bowl cut at age 12, poor kid. We wanted details so we asked the actors! Hey Zach and Zoe (awww, sounds sweet together, doesn’t it), wazzup with the match and what’s your take on your characters in general?
Picture tall, dark and cute Zach totally out of “Heroes” grim Syler mode and wearing gray jacket over light blue shirt and loosened stripe tie and, of course, pants. Zoe is in a gorgeous fuchsia silk dress and her long dark hair is down.
The Losers
Death at a Funeral
Takers
Avatar
Star Trek
The Skeptic
