IGN: Star Trek XI Casting Scoop!
ebruary 26, 2007 – IGN Movies has learned from studio sources which actors may play the Big Three in Paramount’s Star Trek XI. By the “Big Three,” we mean, of course, Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.
Confirming rumors that have been making the rounds for some months now, IGN has learned that Oscar winner Matt Damon is indeed in talks with Paramount about playing the role of Jim Kirk, previously immortalized onscreen by Emmy winner William Shatner.
Damon brings star power and an acting pedigree to the role that should convince audiences that this is a serious reboot of the beloved franchise.
For the part of Kirk’s Vulcan first officer Mr. Spock, IGN has been told that none other than Oscar winner Adrien Brody (King Kong, The Pianist) is in talks with Paramount to play the role. If cast, Brody would succeed Leonard Nimoy in a role that forever marked Nimoy’s career. But with a Best Actor award already under his belt and an eclectic mix of films on his resume, Brody wouldn’t have as much to lose by taking on the iconic role as Nimoy had.
IGN has also been told that Oscar nominee Gary Sinise — currently seen on the small screen in CSI: NY — is in talks for the role of Dr. McCoy, the ornery and politically incorrect ship’s physician aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. McCoy’s prickly relationship with Spock was the basis of much of the humor and humanity of the original 1960s series. The late DeForrest Kelley played “Bones” on TV.
All outstanding news.
Ironically, of course, these guys, who are going to play the young Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, are not exactly cadet age. But that’s Hollywood!
Technorati Tags: Star Trek XI
Kidnapped teen’s family describes safety pin escape – CNN.com
BRADENTON, Florida (CNN) — A 13-year-old boy left bound and gagged in a remote patch of Florida countryside used a safety pin, a stick and his teeth to free himself from captivity, his family said Tuesday.
The key to his escape was a safety pin that was holding together a rip in Clay’s jacket, Kelle said. (Watch how teen used hidden pin to help get himself free Video)
While his abductor was driving Clay away from the bus stop, the boy took the safety pin off his sleeve and nervously played with it, Kelle said.
When Clay was taken from the truck into the woods, he put the safety pin in his mouth, his stepfather said. Asked later by his parents why he did that, he said he “just thought it would be helpful,” Kelle said.
I’m keeping a file of “Heroes” stories because I feel impelled to write on this theme. I am working on figuring out the right angle for a book.
Technorati Tags: heroes
BBC NEWS | Health | Lung cancer ‘colour breath test’
Lung cancer ‘colour breath test’
colour sensor
The sensor, slightly bigger than a coin, is inexpensive
US scientists have devised a colour test which shows up unique chemical changes in the breath of people with lung cancer.
The hues of a series of 36 dots detect lung cancer accurately in just under three out of four people with the disease, the researchers told Thorax.
The concept of a “gas fingerprint” for lung cancer is not new, but the kit is.
The sensor, which is slightly bigger than a quarter dollar or a two pound coin, is inexpensive and easy to use.
It could revolutionise the way cancer is detected and potentially save lives, say the Cleveland Clinic doctors.
Experts have known for many years that the chemical composition of a person’s breath changes when they develop lung cancer.
Dogs – animals with a very keen sense of smell – are able to distinguish the breath of patients with lung cancer from that of healthy people, for example.
Volatile organic compounds
This is because lung cancer cells give off chemicals, called volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which are then breathed out.
In the past, scientists have used highly sensitive machines such as gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to “read” these VOCs with extreme accuracy.
But the machines are expensive to use and require specially trained experts to interpret the results.
In comparison, the colour sensor is cheap and easy to read, say the researchers.
The spots on the sensor change colour according to the chemicals with which they come into contact.
The researchers used the colour sensor to test the breath of 122 people with different types of lung disease, including 49 with cancer, and 21 healthy people.
It was able to accurately predict the presence of cancer in just under three out of four of those with lung cancer, including very early tumours.
This is crucial because lung cancer is often silent in its early stages, making it difficult to pick up at a stage when it could be treated effectively, explained lead researcher Dr Peter Mazzone and his team.
“Ultimately, this line of investigation could lead to an inexpensive, non-invasive screening or diagnostic test for lung cancer,” they explained.
Dr Jesme Fox, medical oncologist and medical director at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “There is a desperate need to get people diagnosed earlier.
“At the moment we rely on people coming forward with symptoms, or a suspect chest x-ray picked up purely by chance.
“In the UK our five-year survival for lung cancer is about seven out of 100.
“That’s appalling. Within one year from diagnosis almost 80% are dead. That’s because people are picked up when the disease is advanced.
“If you pick it up early these people have a good chance of survival.
“This breath test certainly looks promising, being easy to use and non-invasive.”
She said the test would require more development before it could become available clinically.
Title: Forty signs of rain
Author: Robinson, Kim Stanley
Desc: 358 p
Subject Headings: Scientists — Fiction — Legislators — Fiction — Washington (D.C.) — Fiction — Business intelligence — Fiction — Political fiction. lcsh — Science fiction. gsafd — Spy stories. gsafd
Material Type: Book
Language: eng
Pub. Info: New York : Bantam Books, 2004
Catalog Date: 05-31-2005
ISBN: 0553803115
Price: $25.00
# of copies: 5
Availability: 1 copy available at NE Adult
Due Date: 05-12-07
Title: Fifty degrees below
Author: Robinson, Kim Stanley
Desc: 405 p
Subject Headings: Washington (D.C.) — Fiction — Political fiction. lcsh
Material Type: Book
Language: eng
Pub. Info: New York : Bantam Books, 2005
Catalog Date: 11-08-2005
ISBN: 0553803123
Price: $25.00
Availability: No copies available
Due Date: 05-12-07
Ioan Gruffudd Wants To Make ‘Hornblower’ Movie – Starpulse News Blog
Ioan Gruffudd Wants To Make ‘Hornblower’ Movie
Ioan GruffuddWelsh actor Ioan Gruffudd is planning to make a big screen version of his TV hit series Horatio Hornblower. The movie would also be a remake of the 1951 Gregory Peck-starring classic Captain Horatio Hornblower.
Gruffudd, 33, made his name in the hugely successful mini-series and is attempting to gain the rights to the books by C.S. Forester, despite the refusal of network A&E, which produced the TV series, to fund the project.
Gruffudd says, “I would love to play Hornblower again. I have a dream of playing him on the big screen and maybe doing a remake of Captain Horatio Hornblower, a.k.a. Gregory Peck. A&E decided that since it’s such an expensive venture to make these movies for television, they’re not going to make any more at this point. So it’s down to me, I think, to try to bring it back to life.”
Right on.
Technorati Tags: Hornblower, C.S. Forester, Ioan Gruffudd
mediabistro.com: GalleyCat
Would Borders Merge With B&N?
What are we to make of the fact that the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund revealed in a recent SEC filing that it owns shares in both Borders and Barnes & Noble? David Polonitza of SeekingAlpha focuses on Pershing’s track record for shareholder activism to speculate (very wildly) on the possibilities of a merger between “the number #1 and #2 big box book stores in the country.” He explains the logic behind the hypothetical move: “There would be considerable cost savings in merging the two companies with respect to distribution, management, along with the increased purchasing power. Each company’s online presence is still not competitive and they might fare better combined…a much stronger competitor to the likes of Amazon than they are apart.”
From a cost-cutting corporate shark point of view, why not? The two companies have essentially duplicate infrastructures and there is no really significant differentiation in their value propositions. Why not put all the stores under a common management and get rid of half the infrastructure?
Just as long as it’s not the Borders half they get rid of … that would be a horrendous blow to Ann Arbor, already reeling from the loss of Pfizer.
Technorati Tags: Borders, Pfizer, Ann Arbor, BGP
wfzimmerman’s review: “This "anticipation" book will have been in print for at least three years before the real sequel to DA VINCI CODE comes out. But it is good value for money, with a very careful approach to the facts and an appendix containing Dan Brown’s witness statement in the London copyright trial.”
Nimble Books (2005), Paperback, 156 pages
wfzimmerman’s review: “My technical editor warned me not to be so self-indulgent, but I pushed on anyway. He was probably right, but oddly enough, some readers really liked the "diversion" into the context of note-taking.
The experience of writing for a publisher made me feel like a monkey feeding a sausage-grinder … I switched to publishing after this!”
Apress (2003), Paperback, 440 pages
wfzimmerman’s review: “I published this using public-domain content as part of an experiment in generating ad-relevant book content in the hopes that it would prove to be self-supporting via Google Book Search. That did not pan out, but the title and content of this book is compelling enough that it continues to sell a couple of copies every month. A more full-fledged series along these lines might have some promise. I’m just not interested enough in validating hypochondria to make it a priority.”
Nimble Books (2006), Paperback, 80 pages
tags: first edition
|
|
 Baron de Kalb.jpg "(50) Baron de Kalb.jpg")
 Nnautilus Fulton sub with sail HiRes.gif "(12) Nnautilus Fulton sub with sail HiRes.gif")
Recent Comments