There is a lot of buzz around the time Morgan Freeman was shown to be falling asleep on national TV while co-star Michael Caine was discussing their movie "Now You See Me". I don't think Freeman can do wrong no matter what he does and to prove that, he released this statement to People magazine explaining himself:
"I wasn't actually sleeping, I'm a beta tester for Google Eyelids," he says. "I was merely updating my Facebook page."
Haha Morgan Freeman! We love you more and you can never do wrong in our eyes!
(I would link a video but all videos of the incident have been taken offline for copyright reasons).
Trolling the interwebs recently, I found this gem. You can be made into a Star Trek figurine! Thanks to the technology of 3D printing! I'm glad you can make it a male or female and choose which Star Trek universe you want to be from: DS9, Next Generation or Voyager. there's tons of choices for each in terms of poses, hair, dress vs pants uniform for females and which team you want to be on: science, operations or command, height and weight and more!
The price is $69.99 for each figure.
This is very much like the Star Wars Weekends Storm Trooper and Han Solo in Carbonite figures but there's a lot more options to it and you don't have to go to an exclusive place for it to have the scans done. Just a couple good high-res pics will do it.
A reminder these are not toys, they are figurines that are not posable and they are very breakable.
Cubify does even more cool 3d printing like phone accessories, other 3d Me's, jewelery and more so check them out!
So one of my favorite comic artists, Thom Zahler of Love and Capes fame, came across an old Star Trek coloring book from the 70's. Thom went through and scanned page by page and added his own wit to it. Comedy ensued. Please read part 1 and then part 2 of his humorous tale.
So a friend/coworker of mine and I went to check out the celebs at the Star Trek premiere on May 14th. We got into a penned in area but the tent over the red carpet was up thanks to the on and off again rain that day. So we didn't think we'd get much footage having to look into a plastic sheet wall and then over press and photographers heads that would be between us and the celebs. It was also getting later and later, closer to the time the film was supposed to start and no one had bothered to show up yet. Those L.A. types. hehe
Due to some health complications as well from me, we decided to just go get food first. Maybe afterwards, the cast would come out and sign. So having a lovely time at dinner and sitting was good for us, we then left the diner around 9pm. My friend said it was getting late and she had to go a longer ways home so we departed.
On the way to my subway though, I decided to stop and see if anyone was waiting. Yes, yes they were. But it was a much more manageable crowd than earlier and a smaller area to wait in. It now look more like after seeing a broadway show where you meet the cast afterwards.
So I decided to stick it out and wait. I ended up waiting longer than I had anticipated but it was worth it to be a foot away from the wonderful and handsome Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch. I didn't have anything with me to get signed but when he came out he was mobbed with requests for pics and autographs. Thank goodness for barricades though! Some of the younger, 20-something ladies in the crowd were a bit ruthless. And since I'm short, everyone always puts their items they want signed over my head. I'm used to that.
Because of the more ruthless fans, I couldn't get close to the barricade, I was about 4 people back. And therefore, couldn't get a picture with him. And none of these fans, unlike Broadway fans, would let me even through to get to the front once they were "done" (they are never "done" but you know what I mean.)
Chris Pine came running out and ran straight for the car - not even acknowledging fans. Which was a slight dissappointment. Usually even in a rush, they will at least acknowledge you as a whole group and leave. But this wasn't the case with Pine. Ah well.
I briefly saw Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Makita as they exited in a very quick manner as well. (Ferguson is in town because he's cast in the Shakespeare in the Park play this summer). I would have liked to have said hello to him as well. But oh well, this wasn't his party.
Cumberbatch was very kind and tried to sign everything people threw his way and take as many pics as possible without there being a mob scene or injuries. Too bad I had nothing with me to have him sign though.
But without further ado, here are my Cumberbatch pics.
Sunday was a busy day for me. I went into Jersey early for a bridal shower. Wonderful time there. That's for another post perhaps though. Came back into the city late because the train was late.
I was two blocks from home when I got a text saying Matt Smith was at the Way Station bar in Brooklyn. What? So I race home the two blocks change clothes from my inappropriate sundress that I foolishly wore in this cold rainy day, to comfy jeans and Doctor Who shirt.
I race back out the door, not before grabbing a couple DW magazines and a Sharpie just in case.
As I leave, i text a couple friends who I know would want to know about this. Unfortunately one is in the middle of studying for finals and the other could care less about Doctor Who, but put on pants anyway to come make sure I didn't molest Matt Smith. (Tho let's be honest, he's not the one I'd "molest"... <cough> Tennant... <cough>)
This same friend also tells me she checked the Way Station Facebook page and tells me Stephen Moffat is there too. Whoa! (curse words might have been spewed)
So I basically run as fast as I can to the train and hope for a miracle that trains get there quickly, including the transfer i need to take once in Brooklyn.
Get into Brooklyn, run down the ten blocks to get there. People are giving me hope as I run, via text messages telling me based on crowds they are both probably still there. Hooray!
I make it there sweaty and out of breath. Big madhouse.
Matt is taking pics as he is mobbed and trying to make his way back to where Moffat was sitting. Then is trying to leave the madness and us still being gracious enough to take pics with people as he's exiting.
I make my way outside hoping to catch him.
Eventually I do. I beg to take a picture with him and throw my camera to the closest random stranger. Matt smiles graciously and patiently. And as soon he's done with me, he throws his hoodie up and bolts the area.
Now Moffat. He's still inside signing but finishing up and honestly there's no way i can back through the crowd inside the bar. So I decide to wait outside. In the meantime I found my friend who says I "molested" Matt since she saw him running for his life (how appropriate, Doctor).
So I patiently wait for Moffat to come out. Of course he's not as mobbed because people have been able to get to him inside as well as the fact that he's not Matt Smith in these people's eyes. But he is followed out but in a more civilized manner.
So I wait for my chance. Someone comes up to shake his hand and say thank you. And that's my in. I do the same and kindly ask for a photo.
Moffat says he feels like a giant for once next to my petite 5 foot frame and also that he's the ugly one. Funny man. He was very kind.
Side note, Moffat's wife was there as well. At the moment if posting I don't recall her name but apparently she of Sherlock fame (no surprise there) but I didn't know her so I didn't want to just take a random pic with her.
And this is the video someone took at the Way Station of Moffat's speech.
So that was my brief but amazing adventure with the Doctor. I hope there
are more adventures with him to come. I'll be intently listening for
that worp worp sound again.
So, after all the backlash of the new revamped, Princess-y Merida, it seems Disney has retracted the new version from their website after inducting her to the Princess world just this week.
Disney has been forced to remove a "glammed-up" version of Princess Merida from the Pixar fantasy fairytale Brave from its official website following a high-profile campaign.
Red-headed teenage tomboy Merida had been given a makeover in
advance of her induction into the Disney Princess collection, rendering
the character slimmer, older and somewhat sexualised in comparison with
her appearance in 2012's Oscar-winning animation.
More than 200,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling on the
studio to return the character to her more realistic origins and the
redesign was also criticised by Merida's Oscar-winning creator Brenda Chapman.
While Disney has not officially announced a U-turn, the creator of the Change.org petition says "glam" Merida has gone missing from the Disney Princesses website after being officially inducted at Disney World last weekend.
"Numerous
supporters have written to us to share the news that the new makeover
version of Merida is no longer appearing on Disney.com," wrote Carolyn
Danckaert of the website A Mighty Girl.
I commend Disney for taking it down. Personally, I did think it was a bit insulting for changing Merida so much and "princess-ifying" her in such a way-- with a smaller waist, off the shoulder dress, brighter colored dress with gold accents, narrower eyes, no-mess hairdo, framing her face with the new hair, a slightly larger chest and worse, the new Merida had no bow and arrow on her at all! I'm glad Disney heard women (and some men) refuse to just accept this new version of Merida. Time will only tell though, if they still revamp her for what seems like Disney Princess standards of something a little more subtle or leave her be now.
Non-Spoiler review for everyone. These are mostly just my initial thoughts as I watched it last night. I might have more thoughts in a few days and I might post if I deem it important enough to. But for now, here's my first thoughts:
The moment the movie begins, you are thrown into the action and it is non-stop. And even when it does, your heart doesn’t stop pounding in your chest, anticipating the next move or the emotional scene that might follow the action sequence. For that reason, most action-adventure film-goers will love this movie.
The storyline is pretty fluid throughout and easy enough to follow. I didn’t really find much flaw there. John Harrison (Cumberbatch) blows up a library-like facility and it’s a mystery as to why that and he is aggressively pursued by the Enterprise crew once the truth is revealed.
The actors are amazing -- most notably Benedict Cumberbatch. He just IS the character. He is rim-rod straight and focused throughout. Whomever wrote his part in this movie was just brilliant. And Cumberbatch delivered all his lines perfectly with all the right emotions at the right time. Pinpoint accurate. Everyone else did just as well as the last film - no real deviations from their characters or how they were written. Not sure why McCoy was angry in this film but he wasn’t the focus so I let it go. And Spock struggles with his human vs. Vulcan side in this a lot. I’m not sure I liked how it was portrayed. He really acted as if it were a light switch that he could turn on and off at a whim. I’m not really sure Roddenberry wrote the character quite that black and white.
I did have some issues with some of the original Star Trek lines getting thrown in for the heck of it. Not that they were out of place perse, but I felt it was forced more than natural. More of a “We need a laugh here so throw in one of McCoy’s classic lines! STAT!” So it felt a bit forced.
I liked the moral thread of “do the right thing” and “what feels right” throughout - although coming from the Spock perspective it seemed forced or pounded into you a bit too often.
I’d say go see this but maybe pay matinee prices instead. Not a bad movie but it needed a little work in certain places. It was definitely a fun movie to go see on a night out. And it does leave it open for the continuity purposes of what Roddenberry set up in the old films as well as for future films in this franchise. I would recommend seeing it in 3D. It did add many good visual effects to a lot of the scenes.
