The The Florida Masochist e-mails to note that director Robert Wise has passed away at age 91.

He is probably best known for the classic musicals The Sound of Music and West Side Story.

Trek geeks will also know that he directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Here’s the AP story.

Hy-larious (via the SciFi Wire): Shatner To Sing Trek

Original Star Trek star William Shatner will sing the theme from his show at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, airing Sept. 18 on CBS, TV Guide Online reported. Shatner, now on the cast of ABC’s Boston Legal, will be joined by opera star Frederica von Stade.

The stunt is part of a segment called “Emmy Idol,” in which actors will perform classic TV theme songs throughout the telecast and viewers will pick a winner.

That right there is enough to get me to TiVo the thing.

h/t: reader Adam Jones via e-mail

Via Trektoday: Shatner, Stewart Discuss Changes In Lives, Star Trek

Shatner said that if he could talk to the producers of Star Trek, he would say, “‘You gotta get outa there, guys. Bring a new team in and see ya later.’” He thinks the franchise should begin again from scratch “with some wonderful writers who love Star Trek” and laughed, when fans shouted that he should do it, “If I’m elected…!”

He is right about the current team (excepting Coto) needing to “get outta here.”

Based on Trek V, I am unlikley to be nominating him to take over, however. Although I will say that the stuff he has done with the Reeves-Stevens has ranged from the decent to the quite good and they work they did on Enterprise was top notch (although too little, too late).

Via Trektoday: Jendresen Talks Trek XI

Erik Jendresen, who is working on the proposed eleventh Star Trek feature film, announced that he has completed a first draft of a screenplay, Star Trek: The Beginning and turned it in to executives at Paramount Pictures.

[…]

Jendresen also confirmed longtime Star Trek executive producer Rick Berman’s previous statements that the film would not incorporate any existing Star Trek characters. “This would take place just a couple of years after the end of the events in Enterprise but well before the original series, and it would look at the inciting incident that started everything,” he said. “We’re looking at a very small group of men and women…there are a couple of ships, including a principal ship, but this is not a traditional captain and crew of a starship story in the least.”

The fact the Berman is still in charge means that all optimism should be checked at the door.

And I find it ironic that they are now thinking about doing what I have long argued should have been the basis for Enterprise: the founding of the Federation.

Maybe they should entitle it Star Trek XI: The Search to Reclaim Lost Opportunities

of course, the film that I’d like to see made is:

Star Trek: Don’t Worry, Berman’s Been Sacked.

I shan’t hold my breath.