Louis Ferreira and I share more than one thing in common: we both speak Portuguese aside from English and both of us were not Sci-Fi kind of guys before Stargate Universe — the latest entity in the space-themed franchise, which premiers today at 9 p.m. exclusively on Space.
Ferreira’s resume includes an impressive amount of TV and film work. His characters range from The Donald himself in a Trump TV-movie, to lead roles in shows like “Trinity” and “Missing,” guest spots on “24” and “CSI Miami,” among tens of other TV series and films, including a a role in this year’s “Grey Gardens” with Drew Barrymore. Still, Sci-Fi remained unexplored territory for the actor (aside from a very short stint on “Star Trek”).
So how did he wind up on one of the most successful Sci-Fi franchises of all time? It’s actually quite a serendipitous story which Fereira (formerly known as Justin Louis) shared with andPOP.
Side story: when the Portuguese-born, Toronto-raised actor kicked off his career in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, Vancouver was a booming destination for film productions so he’d go there whenever work would dry up in Toronto. “I remember being in my twenties and being like, ‘If I could have the ultimate lifestyle, it would be the farm in Toronto, the apartment in New York’ and I said, ‘a boat!’ If you could live on a boat like “Miami Vice” you would want to do it in Vancouver,” shared the Gemini winner.
Many actors dream of having a feature film debut in a major blockbuster hit, but very few actually get that chance. One of those few actors is Antonio Elias. The up-and-coming actor plays Officer Pitts in the upcoming “Star Trek” movie and when we spoke, the film was one day from its highly anticipated release.
“I can tell you a little bit, only cause like I’m sworn to secrecy,” Elias says in a joking but serious way. “Man like I’m paranoid there’s people outside you know Paramount, outside my house at every moment till the movie comes out.”
Elias has a supporting role in the film. “I play a character named Officer Pitts. He’s a Starfleet officer, aboard Federation starShip,” says the 26-year-old. “I can’t tell you which one. All I can tell you that in the sequence that I’m in the film, it’s a really really cool part of the film.”
He guarantees his contribution to the movie features “high tension” moments, “really cool” character revelations and as he puts it, “some really cool stuff is going down.”
A few months ago I caught a 20-minute non-screening of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, where the most memorable thing that happened was me falling down a third of a long flight of stairs, injuring my shoulders in a way that still hasn’t fully healed.
The scenes were disconnected, 12-year-old Kirk announcing himself as “James Tiberious Kirk!” was still stupid, and the time travel device driving the plot looked sketchy. The film was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orchi, who typically favour setpieces over plot and quirks over character development. But the actors were effective and during the rapid-fire action sequences I could actually tell what was going on. I’m glad I saw it; when the lights came down on the full-length movie, I knew what to expect.
Make no mistake: this is not science fiction. It does not utilize a technology-driven society to explore an issue in the present. It is not Star Trek as defined by The Next Generation onward; there are no Big Ideas, no debates over man’s place in the universe. It is, in short, no Battlestar Galactica. But I underestimated Abrams and company; this is an exhilirating, slam-bang space opera, one of the best I’ve seen, that happens to star the characters from the original Star Trek. That also means it has one of the most memorable casts ever to grace a screen, and while most of them are drawn in broad strokes, that’s long been the fate of supporting characters: Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) do have actual character arcs.
There’s a new captain of The Enterprise and his name is Bruce Greenwood, playing Captain Pike in the newest Star Trek movie, coming out this weekend. Bruce told Jordan about producing the film and explains what it takes to be captain.
“Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Saturn Awards.
The 78-year-old, who played Spock in the popular sci-fi series, is being recognized for his work as an actor and director.
According to the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, which presents the annual awards, Nimoy has “established himself as one of the great film and television stars with his performances in such television series as Mission Impossible and the original science fiction series, STAR TREK, in the 60s.”
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who played Nurse Christina Chapel on the original Star Trek series, was buried today at Los Angeles’ Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetary, after passing away December 18 at the age of 76.
According to E News, the service saw many fans decked in their Star Treck gear, paying tribute to Roddenberry’s TV character. Costars Walter Koenig (Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru) and George Takei (Sulu) were also in attendece.
Roddenberry, the widow of Trek mastermind Gene Roddenberry, also supplied the voice of the USS Enterprise’s computer through the franchise’s various offshoots, including J.J. Abrams’ upcoming big-screen reboot.
More wedding bells are on the horizon after the state of California passed the bill allowing gay marriage.
“Star Trek” alum George Takei has announced on his website that he is ready to marry his partner, Brad Altman.
“Our California dream is reality,” Takei wrote. “Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We’ve worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We’ve traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We’ve shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can’t imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily…For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.”
The latest Star Trek movie is the latest casualty of the fallout from the Writers’ Guild of America strike which officially ended yesterday.
The movie will not be released now until 2009, reports Variety.
Originally the film, to be directed by “Lost” co-creator J.J. Abrams, was to be released late this year. Instead, Paramount has decided to push the release date back to May of next year.
Variety reports the reason the studio gave for moving the film ahead is due to “gaps” that now occur in the movie release schedule because of projects being postponed or canceled due to the strike.
Studio insiders also told the trade magazine that the latest saga in the Star Trek series would have gained more money with a summer release than a fall one.
Rumour has it that William Shatner is upset that he has not been cast in the new Star Trek movie.
Director J.J Abrams (Lost, MI:III) has reportedly left Shatner out of the movie’s lead roles, but was considering asking the actor to make a cameo.
That idea didn’t go over so well with Shatner.
“I don’t do cameos. I can’t imagine what I would do as a cameo,” he reportedly has said on the issue.
The 11th adaptation of the Star Trek series will however feature a prominent role for fellow veteran, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. Heroes star Zachary Quinto, will play a younger version of the pointy eared Vulcan.
Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana are also set to star in the new movie, which kicks off shooting next month.
Louis Ferreira and I share more than one thing in common: we both speak Portuguese aside from English and both of us were not Sci-Fi kind of guys before Stargate Universe — the latest entity in the space-themed franchise, which premiers today at 9 p.m. exclusively on Space.
Many actors dream of having a feature film debut in a major blockbuster hit, but very few actually get that chance. One of those few actors is Antonio Elias. The up-and-coming actor plays Officer Pitts in the upcoming “Star Trek” movie and when we spoke, the film was one day from its highly anticipated release.
A few months ago I caught a 20-minute non-screening of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, where the most memorable thing that happened was me falling down a third of a long flight of stairs, injuring my shoulders in a way that still hasn’t fully healed.
There’s a new captain of The Enterprise and his name is Bruce Greenwood, playing Captain Pike in the newest Star Trek movie, coming out this weekend. Bruce told Jordan about producing the film and explains what it takes to be captain.
“Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Saturn Awards.
