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Tag: george-takei

  • ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Interview: Amber Noizumi and Michael Green

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    Netflix’s latest adult animation series ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ arrives on the streaming service beginning November 3 and was created by Amber Noizumi and Michael Green (‘Logan’, ‘Blade Runner 2049’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with showrunners Amber Noizumi and Michael Green about the inspiration behind the upcoming animated series, casting Maya Erskine as the lead character Mizu, the influences from various samurai films and shows, and how the process of approaching their first animated project.

    'Blue Eye Samurai's Amber Noizumi and Michael Green.
    (L to R) ‘Blue Eye Samurai’s Amber Noizumi and Michael Green.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview. 

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did this story come together, and what was it about the Eddo period that made you want to focus on it specifically?

    Amber Noizumi: So the Eddo period is heralded as Japan’s golden age. I mean, to this day, they call it the golden age of Japan. That was when their borders were closed, completely closed off to the outside world, where it was its most homogenous. The idea to have somebody who’s mixed race, as I am, and we have a daughter who was born with blue eyes, and we called her our Blue Eye Samurai, which was the start of our conversations about it. What would it have been like to be different, to look different, to be a different race during that time? So ultimately, that was the beginning of it, and it just, with our research, our ideas got richer from there.

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF: Speaking of the blue eyes, the main character’s name is Mizu, which means water in Japanese. Was that the inspiration for naming the character,  based on the color and the meaning of water?

    AN: Yes, but also the idea of water, the idea of its various forms of steam, and ice, and sublimation, and then fire, when she’s sword making, and the fire that’s within her. We just used a lot of that element. Those elemental things to describe what’s going on in her and around her.

    MF: With a show focused on a samurai, were there any samurai films or shows that inspired certain scenes or fighting styles?

    Michael Green: We work with so many wonderful people, all of whom have encyclopedic knowledge. So it was so much fun, everyone bringing their favorite clips, and we would watch them. I’m going to say where I’m going to get to, is we ended up working with Sunny Sun, a fight choreographer who’s one of the greatest stunt choreographers in the world. So it’s really his movies that I want to talk about. He came at this with so much character focus. Jane Wu, our supervising director, also comes from with martial arts background. I mean, we talked about everything from ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ with the tension of scenes, or ‘Once Upon Time in the West,’ same thing. But in Eastern Films, we talked about the way Zatoichi moves and how he always moves differently from everyone around him. Of course, we looked at Kurosawa‘s compositions.

    AN: And then we have a song lifted directly from ‘Kill Bill’. There’s so much greatness to steal from.

    MG: We wear our homages on our sleeve and hope the originators notice and go, “Oh yeah.”

    Masi Oka as Ringo and Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Masi Oka as Ringo and Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF:  Mizu is voiced by Maya Erskine, who audiences know from ‘PEN15’. What has it been like to watch her bring the character of Mizu to life, and how did you know that you found the right actor in Maya?

    AN: Maya is such a talented, versatile actor, and you could see in ‘PEN15,’ even though it is a hilarious show, you could see how she brought that kind of raw pain of growing up mixed race and just growing up in general. I actually think that that’s how the character of Maya might envision herself. She might envision herself like Mizu. This might be who she aspires to be. But Maya really was able to bring a lot of that pain into the character of Mizu. I mean, she just did it beyond our expectations.

    Related Article: Director Marc Jobst Talks ‘One Piece’ and His Work On Netflix’s Marvel Projects

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF: Finally, the series is the first major animated project you’ve worked on as showrunners, what was the process like? Has it been different than your past projects, and did you approach it differently?

    MG: We approached it the same, which might’ve been naive, but that’s good because it ended up working out.

    AN: We would’ve been scared away otherwise.

    MG: If we knew exactly how hard it was going to be. Some of the ways were very similar. We wrote the script as if it was a live-action piece. We ran our meetings, and mixed it and scored it, and worked with the type of people, with casting directors and costume designers from live action. Suttirat Larlarb did our costumes, worked with her on ‘American Gods’. She’s done everything from Star Wars to Bond, and on and on. Our casting directors work on ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Avatar’. We really just worked with as many live-action people, including Jane Wu, our supervising director and executive producer. But then we met the reality of animation, where we knew we had to learn a lot, where we had to work with people who knew it much better than we ever could, and could teach us and be patient with us, and also just lead us through it. So it was very different. The main difference is how slow animation is. It is for the patient. It’s just the dough needs to rise and you can’t rush it. But you can have anything you want if you’re patient. So it made the show everything we wanted and more.

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    What Is The Plot Of ‘Blue Eye Samurai?

    Set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan, Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu (Maya Erskine), a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise seeking to deliver revenge. In her search for vengeance, she meets Ringo, a soba maker born who longs to be a samurai, Taigen, a pompous samurai, and Princess Akemi, the daughter of Lord Daichi of the Tokunobu clan.

    Who Is In the Cast of ‘Blue Eye Samurai’?

    A scene from 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    A scene from ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Blue Eye Samurai’:

    Buy George Takei Movies on Amazon

     

  • ‘Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols Dies at 89

    The cast of 'Star Trek: The Original Series' (1965 - 1969).
    The cast of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ (1965 – 1969).

    Nichelle Nichols, who found stardom thanks to her iconic role as Lt. Uhura in the original ‘Star Trek’ TV series, has died. She was 89.

    Though Nichols was best known for her years on the classic science fiction show, she also enjoyed a long, respected career.

    Born Grace Nichols in Robbins, Ill. on Dec. 28, 1932, she initially pursued singing and dancing as a career, creating a ballet at the age of 16 from one of Duke Ellington’s compositions and singing with him at performances of it. She also performed with his band.

    From there, she studied in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles and then pursued a career in musicals, her biggest success coming with ‘Porgy and Bess’ on stage and scoring an uncredited role as a dancer in the movie version. She won various awards for her work, but following some small movie roles, her life would change when she was cast as Lt. Uhura in ‘Star Trek’ in 1966.

    It was a groundbreaking part in many ways, not least because it was a role for a Black actor that wasn’t as a maid or other subservient position. Instead, as the communications officer on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, she was a part of the main crew. And while there remains debate in the matter, she participated in what is still seen as a TV first, an interracial kiss with Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner.

    The cast of 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' (1991).
    The cast of ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’ (1991).

    Despite the seeming opportunities offered by ‘Trek’, Nichols considered leaving the show after the first season to relaunch her Broadway career. A famous fan strongly advised her to stay aboard: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    “‘You cannot, you cannot… for the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful, people who can sing dance, and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers,’” Nichols recalled King saying to her in a 2013 interview. “‘If you leave, that door can be closed because your role is not a black role, and is not a female role, he can fill it with anybody even an alien.’”

    Nichols would indeed gone on to star in the next two seasons, and the six ‘Star Trek’ movies featuring the original cast, as well as the animated series. Whoopi Goldberg, who realized her own ‘Trek’ dream via a part on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, cited Nichols as inspiration for her own entertainment career.

    Following her primary run on ‘Star Trek’ Nichols also became an advocate for bringing women and minorities into the sciences and was hired by NASA to help encourage astronaut recruitment.

    Though none of her other TV or movie work quite matched the level of ‘Trek’, she still had plenty of roles, lending her voice to a variety of animated series and appearing in movies such as ‘Snow Dogs’, ‘Are We There Yet?’ and ‘White Orchid’. She also had a recurring run on ‘Heroes’.

    “I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years,” her son, Kyle Johnson wrote on Nichols’ Facebook page on Sunday. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”

    The cast of 'Star Trek: The Original Series' (1965 - 1969).
    The cast of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ (1965 – 1969).

  • Comic-Con 2022: ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ Announces Cast

    Though there has been talk for a long time about a third ‘Gremlins’ movie, it has never quite managed to materialize.

    But there is movement – more targeted at the younger members of the family – on a new series that will act as a prequel to the first two movies.

    ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ is an animated series coming to HBO Max and Cartoon Network next year.

    This new show turns the clock back to 1920s Shanghai to explain how 10-year-old Sam Wing (who we meet when he’s much older as shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie) first crosses path with a certain young Mogwai.

    Sam and Gizmo will embark on a journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore.

    As they attempt to return Gizmo to his family, and discover a legendary treasure, they’ll have to face a power-hungry industrialist and his ever-growing army of evil Gremlins.

    (L to R) Zach Galligan, Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang have all been cast in HBO Max’s ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.’

    Tze Chun is running the show for this new series, and he brought fresh news of the voice cast to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

    Previously announced were Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong and Izaac Wang, to which we can now add Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei and Bowen Yang. Gizmo, meanwhile, who was previously voiced by Howie Mandel, will here be performed by AJ LoCascio.

    Perhaps the biggest surprise for the panel, though, was word that Zach Galligan – who famously played Billy Peltzer, the lad whose life is turned upside down by Gizmo and the Gremlins in the 1984 original and its 1990 sequel, ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ – is also lending his voice to the new show, but as a new character.

    “I can’t say too much but because it’s 1920s China, I’m not playing Billy because he wasn’t around,” Galligan said following his surprise appearance on the panel. “So I’m playing this cool character. It was really fun and amazing to work with a new group of creative people who are taking a fresh look at the franchise and are expanding the mythology—who knows what they’re going to add. Maybe they’ll add a new transformation or a new rule we don’t know about yet… I think Gremlins fans are going to eat it up.”

    Dropping hints that there are plenty of Easter eggs for film fans to find, Galligan seemed enthused about the new show. “I’ve been doing this a long time; it takes a lot really to surprise me. I thought it was very creative and I thought they did some interesting, very smart things, which to me is more important to being surprised,” he later told TooFab. “I think when it comes down to entertainment, the most important thing is execution. It’s how well you’re gonna tell it. The animation, the visual look of it is great, the voices are great and when you put it together with a good story, you’re going to have a really entertaining show to watch.”

    The panel also included a screening of the whole first episode, though that naturally wasn’t put online.

    HBO Max has yet to announce the date for the new series.

    HBO Max's 'Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is scheduled for 2023.
    HBO Max’s ‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is scheduled for 2023.

  • Movie Review: ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’

    Michael Cera as “Hank” and Samuel L. Jackson as “Jimbo” in 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank' from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.
    Michael Cera as “Hank” and Samuel L. Jackson as “Jimbo” in ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.

    Opening in theaters on July 15th is the new animated movie ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank,’ which is loosely based on Mel Brooks’ classic comedy ‘Blazing Saddles.’

    The movie stars Michael Cera (‘Superbad’) as Hank, a troubled dog who is trained to be a samurai by his mentor, a cat named Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson). Now, in order to protect a village of cats, Hank and Jimbo must battle with the evil Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais).

    Co-directed by Rob Minkoff (‘The Lion King’), in addition to Cera, Jackson, and Gervais, the talented voice cast also includes George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Aasif Mandvi, Cathy Shim, and Kylie Kuioka.

    The result is an uninspired animated movie that tries to recreate the best moments from ‘Blazing Saddles’ but never makes the jokes its own and relies too heavily on the original source material without building on the actual characters and their journey.

    The film begins by introducing us to a young Hank (Cera), whose life is saved by a Samurai cat named Jimbo (Jackson). Years later, when a warmongering cat named Ika Chu (Gervais) threatens to destroy the peaceful cat village where Jimbo lives, Hank arrives to help. Unsure of his own abilities, Hank trains with Jimbo in the ways of the samurai to defeat Ika Chu and save the village.

    Gabriel Iglesias as “Chuck” and Aasif Mandvi as “Ichiro” in 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank'
    (L to R) Gabriel Iglesias as “Chuck” and Aasif Mandvi as “Ichiro” in ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.

    Since the animated movie is loosely based on ‘Blazing Saddles,’ the plot points are about the same, following an outcast samurai who saves a small town, instead of an outcast cowboy.

    Michael Cera basically plays the Cleavon Little role, with Samuel L. Jackson playing the Gene Wilder surrogate. Ricky Gervais’s Ika Chu stands-in for Harvey Korman, while Mel Brooks himself makes a voice appearance, playing a similar role to his part in the original, as the ruler of Kakamucho and Ika Chu’s boss.

    But even the involvement of Mr. Brooks is not enough to make this movie work. Although, I did appreciate that the filmmakers included all of ‘Blazing Saddles’ original writers in the credits including Brooks, Andrew Bergman and Richard Pryor, giving them the credit they deserve for the original work.

    For those that don’t know, ‘Blazing Saddles’ is one of the funniest movies ever made and included a now famous sequence of fart jokes. So, adapting it to an animated film for kids actually makes sense, but besides the flatulent humor, a lot of the movie’s jokes and character development lands flat and doesn’t inspire interest from the audience.

    Of the cast, Ricky Gervais is clearly having the most fun and is really funny, adding a lot of his own public persona to the role. He plays the character as an ego-maniacal, insecure, know-it-all, not unlike his David Brent character from ‘The Office.’ Gervais is also a well-known cat lover in real life, which adds to the humor of his character as well.

    Ricky Gervais as "Ika Chu" and George Takei as "Ohga" in 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank'
    (L to R) Ricky Gervais as “Ika Chu” and George Takei as “Ohga” in ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.

    Michael Cera has mastered his persona of playing a youthful, innocent, and naïve young man, which works well with the character of Hank. Cera’s performance certainly makes Hank lovable, but unfortunately the screenplay doesn’t allow enough time for the character to grow and mature.

    His relationship with Jimbo is the most interesting, but again, the two characters are not given enough to do. The training sequences steal from ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ and don’t feel fresh or new. Samuel L. Jackson was great casting for Jimbo, but I would have liked the character to have a more pivotal role.

    ‘Star Trek’ legend George Takei is always a welcomed addition to any project, and hearing his voice in this movie was a nice surprise. Takei plays Ika Chu’s henchman Ohga, and has great chemistry playing off of Gervais. While his role is somewhat limited too, the filmmakers did find time to have him say his signature line, “Oh, my.”

    Director Rob Minkoff is no stranger to animation having directed one of the greatest animated films of all-time, ‘The Lion King.’ But ‘Paws of Fury’ lacks any of the gravitas or character development of his past work, and even the animation itself leaves little to be desired.

    In the end, ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ is both a disappointment to ‘Blazing Saddles’ fans hoping for one last great movie from the mind of Mel Brooks, and also a disappointment to parents hoping to find a fun animated movie to take their kids to this summer.

    Kylie Kuioka as “Emiko” and Michelle Yeoh as “Yuki” in 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank'
    (L to R) Kylie Kuioka as “Emiko” and Michelle Yeoh as “Yuki” in ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.

    Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ receives 1.5 out of 5 stars.

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  • ‘Paws of Fury’s Michael Cera Says “I Love All Cats and Dogs”

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    Opening in theaters on July 15th is the new animated movie loosely based on Mel Brooks’ iconic comedy ‘Blazing Saddles’ entitled ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.’

    Directed by Rob Minkoff (‘The Lion King’), the movie focuses on Hank (Michael Cera), a down-on-his-luck dog who is trained to be a samurai by his mentor, a cat named Jimbo (Samuel L. Jackson). Now, Hank and Jimbo must protect a village of cats from the evil Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) who wants to wage war on them.

    In addition to Cera, Jackson, and Gervais, the talented voice cast also includes George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Aasif Mandvi, Cathy Shim, and Kylie Kuioka.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Cera about his work on Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank,’ meeting Mel Brooks, whether he is a dog or cat person, and working with Samuel L. Jackson and director Rob Minkoff.

    Michael Cera plays Hank in Paramount's 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.'
    Michael Cera plays Hank in Paramount’s ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.’

    You can read our full interview with Michael Cera below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Cera, George Takei, Aasif Mandvi, Cathy Shim, Kylie Kuioka, and director Rob Minkoff.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your reaction when you heard they were making an animated movie loosely based on Mel Brooks’ classic ‘Blazing Saddles?’

    Michael Cera: It sounded great to me, and the whole team just sounded great. I felt like it was a very lucky thing to be a part of.

    MF: Did you get a chance to meet Mel Brooks?

    MC: Not on this project. I have not overlapped with him at all, but I did get to meet him in his office several years ago. It must have been 10 years ago now on the Culver City lot in Los Angeles.

    I just went over and paid him a visit in his office, and we got to sit with him for a half an hour and chat. That was just an amazing thing for me. He was so sweet, and it was a great half hour of my life.

    MF: In your own words, how would you describe Hank and how did you find the voice for the character?

    MC: He’s a dog that has a very strong sense of his destiny and his dream, and he’s fully committed to that. His heart is completely behind that, and he’s willing to go through whatever hardship is thrown his way to achieve it. I like that about him. I think that’s an admirable quality about the character.

    Finding the voice, I think came from just understanding the character slowly and kind of working with the creative team on bringing him to life. It just kind of comes through osmosis, through trying things, I guess.

    Michael Cera as “Hank” and Samuel L. Jackson as “Jimbo” in 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank' from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.
    Michael Cera as “Hank” and Samuel L. Jackson as “Jimbo” in ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Align, and Aniventure.

    MF: Can you talk about Hank’s friendship with Jimbo, who is played by Samuel L. Jackson?

    MC: Well, Jimbo is the reason that Hank wants to be a Samurai, even though he doesn’t realize that when he meets him because Jimbo came to Hank’s rescue when he was a little puppy.

    So, there’s sort of a troubled relationship between them because Jimbo’s this inspiring figure to Hank who’s turned into such a shell of his former self. But Hank revives the old fire in him and kind of help each other in that way.

    MF: Can you talk about the recording process and working with director Rob Minkoff?

    MC: Working with Rob was amazing. Rob is an incredible guy, he’s got an incredible career and he even came up under (legendary animator) Chuck Jones. We were talking about Chuck Jones last time I saw him.

    So, he’s just kind of from this world of legendary animators. Having a guy like that to collaborate with is exciting because they just know this space so well, and the fundamentals of it and of character and of bringing all the emotions forward. So, it was great. It was very educational and very fun.

    MF: Finally, are you a dog or cat person?

    MC: I really couldn’t say because I really love all cats and dogs, and I’ve had great experiences all around with them. So, I wouldn’t exclude any from my life.

    Michael Cera plays Hank in Paramount's 'Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.'
    Michael Cera plays Hank in Paramount’s ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.’
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  • A Shape-Shifting Spirit Haunts an Internment Camp in Trailer for AMC’s ‘The Terror: Infamy’

    A Shape-Shifting Spirit Haunts an Internment Camp in Trailer for AMC’s ‘The Terror: Infamy’

    AMC

    “Unfulfilled souls need bodies to occupy.”

    That’s the chilling words we hear in the latest trailer for “The Terror: Infamy.”

    Season 2 of AMC’s anthology series is set in an internment for Japanese Americans during World War II, where a series of bizarre deaths reveal a malevolent entity is responsible.

    This season stars George Takei as Yamato-san, a community elder and former fishing captain. The “Star Trek” alum, whose family was interned in a real-life camp when he was a child, also serves as a consultant to the series.

    In the trailer, a younger man tells Takei’s character, “I never used to believe in that old country stuff.”

    Takei responds: “Everywhere you go, it follow you.”

    “The Terror: Infamy” premieres Monday, August 12.

    [Via Collider]

  • ‘The Terror’ Adds George Takei for Season 2

    ‘The Terror’ Adds George Takei for Season 2

    Fathom Events

    “Star Trek” album George Takei just signed up to star on Season 2 of “The Terror,” which will be set in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.

    In addition to appearing as “Yamato-san, a former fishing captain and community elder,” AMC announced that the actor will be serving as a consultant this season.

    The 81-year-old Takei has often talked about his experiences living in a wartime internment camp as a young boy. He also produced the stage play “Allegiance” based on his childhood experiences in a camp. A film of the play was released in 2016.

    Season 2 of the AMC series will be about “an uncanny specter that menaces a Japanese-American community from its home in Southern California to the internment camps to the war in the Pacific.” Production begins next month in Vancouver.

    Announced cast for Season 2 includes Derek Mio (Wade on “Greek”), Kiki Sukezane, Miki Ishikawa, Shingo Usami, and Naoko Mori.

    “Manos sucias (Dirty Hands)” director Josef Kubota Wladyka will direct the first two episodes.

    The season will air sometime in 2019.

  • ‘Star Trek’ Actors ‘Disappointed’ by George Takei’s Reaction to Gay Sulu

    George Takei As Sulu (L) And Walter Koenig As Chekov (R) In The Television Series Star TrekFinally, Sulu is getting more attention in the “Star Trek” universe! Unfortunately, the source of the attention is dividing the actors in the “Star Trek” family.

    Casually revealing John Cho’s Sulu to be gay in the new “Star Trek Beyond” movie was meant, in part, to honor George Takei, the original Sulu actor who is also gay. But Takei seemed to surprise the new cast members with his negative reaction to boldly going where no character had gone before.

    “I’m delighted that there’s a gay character,” Takei told The Hollywood Reporter. “Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of Gene [Roddenberry]’s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate.” Takei said he wanted the filmmakers to create a new character with a history of being gay, “rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, suddenly being revealed as being closeted.” Spock would admire that logic, if nothing else.
    Star Trek Germany PremiereSimon Pegg plays Scotty, and he also co-wrote the new movie’s script; he and director Justin Lin are credited with the idea of making Sulu gay. Pegg shared a written statement with the Guardian reacting to Takei’s reaction:

    “I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humour are an inspiration. However, with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him.

    He’s right, it is unfortunate, it’s unfortunate that the screen version of the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction hasn’t featured an LGBT character until now. We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ‘gay character’, rather than simply for who they are, and isn’t that tokenism?

    Justin Lin, Doug Jung and I loved the idea of it being someone we already knew because the audience have a pre-existing opinion of that character as a human being, unaffected by any prejudice. Their sexual orientation is just one of many personal aspects, not the defining characteristic. Also, the audience would infer that there has been an LGBT presence in the Trek Universe from the beginning (at least in the Kelvin timeline), that a gay hero isn’t something new or strange.

    It’s also important to note that at no point do we suggest that our Sulu was ever closeted, why would he need to be? It’s just hasn’t come up before.”

    Read more here. His reasoning is also sound and Spock-worthy. This is turning into quite a debating society! Speaking of Spock, Zachary Quinto (who, like Takei, is also openly gay) reacted to Takei’s response in an interview with Pedestrian.TV:

    “As a member of the LGBT community myself, I found it slightly — I was disappointed by the fact that George was disappointed. I think any member of the LGBT community that takes issue with the normalized and positive portrayal of members of our community in Hollywood and in mainstream blockbuster cinema, you know — I get it that he has his own personal journey and has his own personal relationship with this character. But, you know, as we established in the first ‘Star Trek’ film in 2009, we’ve created an alternate universe. And my hope is that eventually George can be strengthened by the enormously positive response from especially young people who are heartened by and inspired by this really tasteful and beautiful portrayal of something that I think is gaining acceptance and inclusion in our societies across the world, and should be.”

    Sulu being gay isn’t meant to define him, and John Cho said they don’t make a big deal about it in “Star Trek Beyond,” which opens July 22.

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  • 5 Best Comedy Roasts of All Time

    Comedy Central Roast Of Donald Trump - ShowIf Betty White has taught us anything, it’s that being old doesn’t mean you’re not hilarious. It also doesn’t mean you’re not really, really vulgar when the battlefield of comedy needs you to drop some serious F-bombs.

    By entertainment standards, the roast — a concept originated by the Friar’s Club fraternity way back in 1907 — is an absolute dinosaur. But it’s like a T. rex that assaults you with politically incorrect character assassination and ridiculous celebrity humiliation instead of killer jaws and tiny arms — old as it is, the roast walks the razor’s edge of “too funny” and “too far.” Here are five times the comics got that balance exactly right.

    1. Charlie Sheen (2011)

    “I respect Charlie Sheen, I do … not his body of work … it’s all been very Christian Slater-ish … he sucks, but he’s good, but he sucks at the same time.” And so it was that the late Patrice O’Neal immortalized Charlie Sheen at his own 2011 Comedy Central roast. The whole night was lightning in a weird bottle, mixed with tiger’s blood and Twitter meltdowns, and shaken till it foamed over. “How do you roast a meltdown?,” asked Jeff Ross. You do it just like this: A madman who set his own world afire giggles along as the sharpest comics in the industry point and laugh at the blaze.

    As a bonus, this one helped put the brilliant Amy Schumer on the map. We’ll take that.

    2. Joan Rivers (2009)

    The late, legendary Joan Rivers was made to be roasted on Comedy Central. She had the perfect combo of comedic icon status paired with plenty of ammo for her roasters, from her famously numerous plastic surgeries to her cringe-worthy red carpet interviews.

    “Joan, I loved you in The Wrestler.” With that intro, Whitney Cummings summed up what made Joan’s roast the perfect dish — the veteran comedienne’s night in the chair not only cemented her well-earned relevance, it shined the world’s spotlight on new talent. Even though most of that spotlight was focused on jokes about Joan’s vagina.

    3. Hugh Hefner (2001)

    Hef’s New York Friar’s Club roast could’ve been a disaster. The nation was still reeling from 9/11, and the minefield of cliched old-man jokes just seemed too obvious. But thanks to the power of comics like Drew Carey and Sarah Silverman, it turned out to be the cream of the roast crop. Carey started out with a cathartic string of mega-profanity aimed at none other than Osama bin Laden, priming the audience for a combo of airhead-Playboy Bunny gags and old-age digs that moved at a clip and somehow managed to avoid any semblance of cliche. Silverman solidified the one-two punch with a short set centered on — wait for it — butthole waxing that was so left-field, it was clear she’d be a comedy queen by the time the roast ended.

    4. William Shatner (2006)

    Sometimes, it’s the truth behind the jokes that makes a roast truly great. And it’s that dose of reality that made Star Trek” co-stars like George Takei and Nichelle Nichols certainly had enough USS Enterprise drama to load their comedic cannons, completely apart from the former Captain’s bizarre forays into spoken word albums and TV commercials. When Takei looks right at Bill and straight-up says, “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on” in that outrageous baritone of his, we laugh, because we know it comes from a place of truth. Feels good to let it all out, doesn’t it, Mr. Sulu?

    5. Donald Trump (2011)

    We’ll admit it. The thing that makes Donald Trump’s Comedy Central roast so great is that it’s a catharsis for the audience — in 2011, we loved seeing the uber-rich, business tycoon get his just deserts, and in 2016, we love seeing it even more.

    But it wasn’t just seeing Trump get towered that made the night a standout — it was the evening’s completely unexpected roasters. A Marlee Matlin / Gilbert Gottfried double-team isn’t something we knew we wanted till we got it, and Snoop Lion (aka Snoop Dogg) once again proved his comedic prowess with razor-sharp jabs like, “Donald says he wants to run for president and move on into the White House. Why not? It wouldn’t be the first time he pushed a black family out of their home.”

    Enough said, Snoop. Enough said.

    Sources

  • First ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Teaser Trailer Showcases Gorgeous Animation

    Kubo and the Two STringsIf you loved the quirky, gentle, sensitive stop-motion-animated movies “Coraline” and “The Box Trolls,” you’re in for a treat.

    Laika, the animation company behind those films, released the first teaser trailer for its next movie, “Kubo and the Two Strings.” It’s just a brief glimpse, with no explanation of the plot, but the animation is breathtaking and gorgeous. Just what we’d expect from a Laika production.
    The movie features the voices of several Hollywood A-listers, including Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey. Here’s the official synopsis:

    Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of Game of Thrones) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Hashi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Kamekichi (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara) to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.

    “Kubo and the Two Strings” opens in theaters August 19.

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