The actor, who was best-known all over the world as Star Trek's Spock, passed away at his Los Angeles home today, at the age of 83.
It seems the universe was weeping because not coincidentally (for there are no such things as coincidences!).... just a few seconds after reliable media outlets were publishing the news, Red Dot Diva woke up from a deep sleep and decided to check her Twitter timeline. That was when she saw that dear Leonard Nimoy had passed on.
Not only was Leonard Nimoy an actor of such an iconic character, he was the kind of Renaissance Man who took our imagination to the wide frontiers of creative space. For Nimoy was also an avid photographer, singer, poet and director. His warmth and wisdom permeates his social network space as well as fan base, even before there was the commercially portable PC, smartphone and the existence of Facebook or Twitter. Red Dot Diva loves that he fights ardently for equal rights, and is a strong voice for the feminist movement, like the Full Body Project.
The loss of Nimoyis felt throughout the world, and his death is being grieved by countless family members, colleagues and fans.
As part of a tribute to our dearest "Grandpa", here are just a few of the farewell messages sent through space and time to Leonard Nimoy. Red Dot Diva hopes he is able to hear them somehow....
The very very very expensive epic historical action movie "Dragon Blade" opens officially in cinemas island-wide today on 19 February, the 1st day of Chinese New Year.
From what Red Dot Diva was told, the movie did very well during the sneak screenings from 13-15 February, grossing about S$147,662 in just 3 days.
RED CARPET
The cast were in visibly good spirits on their first promotional stop in Red Dot Island, even though Adrien did seem jetlagged at the morning's press conference.
Later that day at GV Vivocity for the red carpet gala premiere, they seem to have perked up more. Hundreds of fans (mostly young ones, who seem to be there screaming for Choi SiWon) were lined up along the passageway leading into the multiplex, all eager to catch a glimpse of their favourite idol(s).
Jackie leads the way on the red carpet (pic from Encore)
There's no better time to discuss about rebirth than the start of a New Year.
As the Goat leaps in to take over the lunar calendar year, Red Dot Diva has been wondering what's up with the mini-series "Heroes Reborn", NBC's reboot of the popular TV show that ran for four seasons from 2006. Since the series was announced early last year, news about the project has been scarce.
Then, suddenly, a surprise piece of news emerged in January 2015 that caused Red Dot Diva to squee with glee. Zachary Levi, star of another well-loved NBC series "Chuck", will be taking up a key role in "Heroes Reborn". W00t! This was very good news indeed. To have Zac working together with Jack Coleman (who incidentally was the first cast member to be confirmed for "Heroes Reborn"), the project seems set to a positive start.
For one thing, Zac has a horde of fans who adore him as Chuck Bartowski as well as real life in person. For the many who have met him in the flesh, either at the Nerd HQ or outside the Broadway theatre after his performance for "First Date", the man has been nothing but warm and friendly to his fans.
Zac looking super-serious in the "Heroes Reborn" teaser
Zac has also mentioned that he is no stranger to Tim Kring's works either, having confessed that he is a follower of the earlier "Heroes" series. That kind of familiarity to the original show's mythology and its fandom can certainly help an actor bring a respectable level of commitment to the table. Having the experience of dealing with the "Chuck" fandom, Red Dot Diva is also confident Zac is capable of handling the hardcore "Heroes" fans with his usual brand of charm.
NBC has stated that the show will be based mainly on new characters, around the timeline before the first season when some people are realizing that they have super-abilities. It is set to premiere in summer 2015 (probably around September??) and Jack Coleman will definitely be reprising his role as the ambiguous HRG in "Heroes Reborn". But other than that, no other casting news or details have been announced.
The producers are not ruling out the original characters making a return, but we do know that Zachary Quinto, who as Sylar, stirred up evil intentions and was the main villain for many episodes, will not be returning to the franchise. This was not a surprise for Red Dot Diva, as Zach's choice of projects has always been eclectic. He had quite a few of them lined up in the last year as well. That included the drama about gay activist Michael Glatze "I Am Michael", which was screened at Sundance Film Festival last month, NBC's adaptation of the Australian series "The Slap", and an upcoming movie about Edward Snowden.
As for the rest of the cast members, Red Dot Diva managed to pose the question to Robert Knepper, who played villain Samuel Sullivan in the last season of "Heroes", and this was what he tweeted:
The short teaser featuring Zachary Levi and Jack Coleman that was released during Superbowl had "Heroes" fans craving for more. All it hinted was that something is about to happen in the cold north during the sighting of an Aurora Borealis that is swirling around another astronomical event, an Eclipse. The Eclipse, if one can remember, features strongly in the original series. Hmmmmmm........
Here's a look at that teaser again:
Generally, things seem to be so very hush-hush. While some networks are glad to toot their horns about their upcoming series, NBC has stayed tight-lipped about "Heroes Reborn". Red Dot Diva finds the lack of news disturbing, and she wonders if the ardent and vocal fanbase has anything to do with that. If keeping an air of mystery around the show is the intended marketing strategy, will there would be more tidbits leaked before and around San Diego Comic-Con? (That would be only about 3 months before September 2015, when most Fall Shows are beginning to air.)
Red Dot Diva and the rest of the "Heroes" fans await with bated breath.....
Adrien Brody caught the attention of the world in 2002 when he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for "The Pianist". He was 29 years old, and his record of being the youngest actor to ever receive the award has yet to be broken.
Now at 41 years of age, the tall and lanky Adrien was here in Red Dot Island for the gala premiere of historical martial arts movie, "Dragon Blade". In the movie, Adrien was the protagonist, a cruel Roman ruler named Tiberius.
He was part of the entourage which consisted of his other co-stars - action superstar Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Chon SiWon, Lin Peng and Wang Ruo Xin. A few hours prior, the group had fielded questions from a hoard of photo-hungry media folks at the press conference. Red Dot Island was their first stop of a whirlwind promotional tour for the film, and during the press con, Adrien looked visibly jet-lagged. Yet, from time to time, a slow smile would form on his trademark lugubrious features.
That same afternoon, together with her favourite movie-watching companion Vernon, Red Dot Diva was patiently waiting outside the 22nd level of Pan Pacific hotel for their roundtable slot with Adrien. When they were finally ushered into the room, Adrien (who was dressed in a simple yet stylish combi of dark greyish sweater, blue jeans and white striped scarf), was already standing, politely greeting each media person with a firm handshake.
ICMYI -- a troupe of popular movie stars and their entourage are set to descend on our little Red Dot Island next week for promotional activities surrounding the premiere of "Dragon Blade"!
The China-produced movie, which will premiere island-wide during the Chinese New Year season on 19 February, is said to have cost a vault-busting, record-breaking USD 65 million to film. This probably doesn't include the costs of the two fancy private jets that will be bringing the group here in time for the press conference on 10 February, a meet and greet at Nex's atrium as well as the Gala Premiere at GV Vivocity.
After the whirlwind of activities, Red Dot Diva was told that the entourage will then zoom off to the next promotional stop on their private jets.
