Tag: Chris Pine

The “Star Trek” sequel is still way off in deep space – it won’t reach theaters until May 2013 — but  there was a cosmic cast reunion Monday on the stretch of sidewalk in front of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf over at the Sony lot in Culver City. Throughout the morning, the crew members of the Starship Enterprise were scheduled for fittings with the wardrobe department and the atmosphere was a bit like the first day of school with big grins, backslaps, hugs and handshakes. There was Simon Pegg (Scotty) and John Cho (Mr. Sulu) ducking into the coffee shop just before lunchtime and, on the patio out front, Bruce Greenwood (Capt. Christopher Pike) and cast newcomer Peter Weller discussing their golf swings and the enduring allure of John Le Carre novels. Pegg, with a toothy grin, stopped by Greenwood’s table to pay his respects: ...

At a panel for the animated movie ”Quantum Quest,” the new Captain Kirk, Chris Pine, called co-director Dr. Harry Kloor, who promptly put his cellphone up to the microphone – so that Pine could address the crowd and promote the movie.  Pine went over points including his desire to be a voiceover actor (“Cause they always looked like they were having the most fun.”), the funny faces he made while in the voiceover booth, and his newfound respect and interest in science because of his participation in the movie (“If I had had a movie like this when I was younger, I may have been more into it.”) The panel included Robert Picardo of “Star Trek Voyager” and Doug Jones of many things (“Hellboy”). The movie itself is a star-studded event that includes the voices of William Shatner (when Kirks collide!), Jason Alexander, Samuel ...

Betsy Sharkey is one of the two film critics at the Los Angeles Times. After surveying the great glut of fanboy fare this year, she got to thinking about the nature of the modern film hero and the inner workings of their characters as well as their appeal. Here’s an excerpt, or you can read the entire piece right here.   This summer’s heroes may go boldly, but in every case, someone has gone many times before: three earlier “X-Men” and “Terminators“; one earlier Michael Bay “Transformers,” a 1984 animated film and the pervasive TV series; and countless iterations of “Star Trek” on every size screen known to modern man. It hasn’t been easy to be the fresh prince this year. Yet on they came in their own distinctive ways. For “Terminator’s” Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, martyrdom drips like sweat from their brows. Others swagger with ...

When I interviewed Chris Pine a few months back at a Greek restaurant in L.A. we were there to talk about his movie “Star Trek” but he was just as interested in discussing my brief but memorable time as a campaign-trail reporter during the the 2000 presidential race. The reason was Pine was then in deep preparation for a starring role in the stage production “Farragut North.” Now the show is underway and here’s an excerpt from the review by Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty. — Geoff Boucher “Farragut North,” Beau Willimon’s engaging drama about the dirty tricks and brutal backstabbing of those conducting the spin war for aspiring presidents, attempts to reignite our tapped-out passion for political one-upmanship. The play, which is having its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, may not be able to compete with the loony ...

Sunday was the big Summer Sneaks issue of the Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times and I had an article on Chris Pine taking over the captain’s chair on “Star Trek.” Here is a longer version of that story — it was trimmed for publication for space issues, so think of this as the director’s cut. Wearing a trucker hat, battered blue jeans and an air of breezy confidence, Chris Pine walked through the Paramount Pictures studio lot like he owned the place but felt no particular need to show anyone the deed in his pocket. It’s precisely that mix of fighter-pilot cockiness and surfer-dude Zen that you would expect from an actor who, as the leading man in “Star Trek,” has taken on the biggest challenge of any popcorn-movie star this summer: How to play James T. Kirk without ...

The “Star Trek” film franchise, after 10 films, is about to hit maximum warp for the first time. Yes, the new one is the best of them all, which (in my opinion) is actually faint praise. The movies have each been flawed, really, and while I do adore “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,“ this new film, pound for pound, is far superior. That’s all the more impressive when you consider the fact that this all-new crew ensemble can’t take emotional shortcuts with the audience.      I saw the new film last Friday and it’s fun, smart, sexy, sleek and action-packed. J.J. Abrams took plenty of lessons from the most recent trilogy of “Star Wars” films and their portrayal of alien cultures, space travel and frenetic battle scenes. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, meanwhile, have written a script that is infused with Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of unity, exploration and technological possibility. It seems ...

    It’s a funny old universe, isn’t it? Take this Priceline commercial from a while back. That’s William Shatner at the wheel, of course, but what about the guy in the back? Well, that’s Robert Pine, who you may remember as the sergeant on “CHiPs” and from a zillion other roles through the years. Robert Pine’s son is … Chris Pine. Yes, that’s right, the new Captain Kirk. Here’s a little story Chris told me over lunch at a Greek restaurant a few weeks ago:   “William Shatner and I have never met. I wrote him a letter in the beginning, when I first got the role, and we were going to go out to lunch, which never happened. And we need to get together sooner than later. Absolutely. And I’m looking forward to it. Here’s a funny thing: My father, strangely and oddly enough, ...

The final days of 2008 are ticking down, but the news never stops. Here’s a busy Monday morning edition of Everyday Hero, a roundup of handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe. SO IS IT LIKE MATTER-EATER LAD? In the category of reader’s digest, we bring you "The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude," which may be the first "memoir-as-self-help-book-as-graphic-novel," presenting a true challenge to the shelfing system over at Barnes & Noble. The book is the handiwork of Carol Lay, the cartoonist behind the weekly strip WayLay, and she talked recently to Michael C. Lorah about living large: "’I was obese when I was 19, reaching 206 pounds before my mom sent me to a doctor who put me on diet pills. I shed 40 pounds pretty quickly, but then I was addicted to speed for a few years. ...