Howdy Gang! Hope you will be part of the team!
PLUS check out our extended video on site -
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Thanks Steve!
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May
12
Like Us On Facebook!
Click for a real good look, and don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/spacecommandmovie
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May
12
SPACE COMMAND – Early Rumblings!
The Space Command Kickstarter page will open on the 16th of this month, coinciding with our appearance on radio’s Coast To Coast! We’ll also be premiering a promo video for Space Command, so save the date!
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We need and appreciate you, and ask for your help! No one in television right now has any interest in making a space show. It’s in our DNA, and it won’t be denied! We can’t help ourselves! So please help us!
Doug
A message from the amazing Marc Zicree -
Yay! At last we can announce the nature of the Secret Science Fiction Project! The official title of the project is SPACE COMMAND, and it’s inspired by great science fiction films, TV shows and books of the 50s including Space Patrol, Forbidden Planet, The Martian Chronicles and more. What follows is our first official press release, and you can see one of Doug Drexler’s brilliant images.
For more, check out our Facebook Page. We launch our Kickstarter campaign May 16th on Coast to Coast. More details soon! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hollywood CA. May 3rd, 2012 ATTENTION SCI-FI FANS: Sci-Fi Legends set to launch fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com for new Feature Film Franchise. SPACE COMMAND will be a series of new and original feature films by STAR TREK writer Marc Zicree, GALACTICA FX whiz Doug Drexler, director Neil Johnson and other Sci-Fi luminaries. Inspired by classic science fiction TV & Film of the 1950s, this dream team is set to bring to life “Bold Adventures in the Far Reaches of Space.” Beginning May 16th, the filmmakers will bypass the Studios and Networks, going straight to the fans for funding to greenlight their project. Since Kickstarter’s launch in April 2009, more than 20,000 creative projects have been successfully funded by more than 1.8 Million individual contributors. Fans who contribute to SPACE COMMAND’s Kickstarter campaign are eligible to receive exclusive rewards in exchange for individual pledges ranging from $5 to $10,000. Contributions of $5000 or greater include rewards of Associate Producer Credit and even an Appearance in the Film. http://www.facebook.com/SpaceCommandMovie
Marc Scott Zicree has written for virtually every major network and studio, with hundreds of hours of produced credits including Star Trek – The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5 and Sliders, and bestsellers including The Twilight Zone Companion and Magic Time trilogy of novels. He has been nominated for the American Book Award, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Humanitas Prize and Diane Thomas A ward, and won the Saturn Award, TV Guide A ward, Rondo Award and prestigious Hamptons Prize.
Doug Drexler is an Oscar and Emmy award winner. His credits include Star Trek — The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, four Star Trek feature films, Battlestar Galactica, and currently Defiance. He has also won the British Academy Award, a Saturn Award, a Visual Effects Society Award and is also a Peabody Award recipient.
Neil Johnson’s credits include 8 Sci-Fi films including Alien Armageddon, Battlespace and Humanity’s End. He has directed over 500 music videos for such bands as U2 and Manowar. Neil’s feature film debut in 1997 is reputed to be the first digital film ever made. – Marc Zicree
Ralph Miller’s wonderful congratulatory video to Walter Koenig.
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I had to think about it for a minute, but as incredible as it may seem, the Ships Of The Line calendar is fifteen years old!
We’ve shared some incredible vistas, and marveled at some awe-inspiring starships, and somehow the excitement has not faded. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what it is that makes the erstwhile saucer\nacelle configuration so endlessly fascinating. The embodiment of humankind at it’s best, the genetic need to explore the unknown, to push that upper right hand corner of the envelope, and in doing so, discover what it means to be human.
A couple of years back it struck me that we had a storehouse of incredible starship pages that were demanding to be lifted to that next level of cool. So was born Ships Of The Line: Active Duty! The SOTL gang responded enthusiastically. They shook out their files, wound up their starships, and warped us out of orbit. The result was breathtaking. I began posting them on my blog, The Drex Files, and not surprisingly, they were a big hit.
About six months back, Matt Boardman assembled a number of these animations, and I posted them for the enjoyment of fans everywhere. When Ian Spelling called me last week about featuring Active Duty! on startrek.com, Jack Marshall and I sat down and expanded on that compilation.
The fascination surely goes beyond the obvious fun and entertainment of Star Trek, but for now, let’s just bask in that magic “I don’t know what”, which Matt Jefferies first conjured almost fifty years ago. Enjoy Ships Of The Line: Active Duty!
Doug Drexler
North Hollywood
* Special thanks to our friend, Margaret Clark of Pocket Books, for making it all happen
Luke leaning against a CG Viper.
Okaaaaaay… so that was not an official release, and was pulled off of YouTube by Uni legal.
Anyway, it’s great to get AICN love:
From Ain’t It Cool News -
Behold A Very Badass Reel For BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME!!
Published at: Mar 20, 2012 9:43:34 PM CDT
Merrick here…
Apparently, over the weekend, a trailer for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: BLOOD AND CHROME was screened at Wondercon (details HERE).
From what I’ve heard of the trailer…which is cut to “Immigrant Song” and styled after the famously awesome GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO promo…the embed below represents the same material screened at that convention.
BLOOD & CHROME is set in the years preceding the famously revamped BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series from Ron Moore and David Eick, chronicling the adventures of young William Adama (played by Edward James Olmos in the recent series – but portrayed by Luke Pasqualino here) during the Cylon War. Fans of BG may recall that the Cylon War was a significant back story component for that series. B&C has been characterized as much more of a “war” and “action” series than its progenitor/successor…an assertion apparently borne out by the pacing and content of of this trailer.
BLOOD & CHROME has been said to utilize a significantly different production model from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, employing a staggering array of virtual sets and environments as opposed to physically constructing costly locations (details HERE). The results? See for yourself below…but keep in mind that much of the physicality surrounding the actors here isn’t even real.
Pretty great as far as I’m concerned. I want to see more NOW!
Original post: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/54428
I will be returning to Trek Radio this weekend on Saturday at 11am PST for what is sure to be another wacky interview. If you have any questions for me, you can mail them to zach@startrekradio.com or call in live and raise hell during the interview on 347-321-8955. If you have Skype, you can add “hailing.frequency”. Be sure to tune in at www.trekradio.net
Had a great time this weekend shooting a bit part, in Ben Alpi’s Indi western, “Cowboy Creed”. Thanks Ben!
More here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150409749216104.355004.570346103&type=1&l=62191223e5
Craig Frey recounts creating the cover art for the 2012 Ship Of The Line calendar.
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DTV-05
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SOTL Flashback – 2009
8472 vs Borg – John Teska
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Dec
11
Steve Neil And The Big E
Many of you know Steve Neil already. For most of his life he has been a professional makeup artist for motion pictures and television. Steve worked for Fred Phillips in the Star Trek:The Motion Picture makeup department. For the last year, working with Gary Kerr’s definitive plans, Steve has built a six foot, original series Enterprise. At the tail of the article find a video that Steve sent over, and when you’re thru with that, check the blog roll and visit his site. The man is amazing. If you have any questions for Steve, ask away, he’ll be monitoring your comments!
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Dec
11
One Big Happy Fleet
This shot from VFX’s Eric Alba. It doesn’t get much cooler.
04
Dec
11
VFX Minds
I was on a VFX panel at the Television Academy, in North Hollywood, sponsored by Newtek, and privileged to to sit in with the likes of Ron Thornton, Chuck Comsky, and Eric Hance.
My first day on the job working DS9 – I slid the makeup case under my desk and never looked back.
Mike hired me to design graphics, but as soon as Herman found out I could sketch, he had me designing hand props. Mike had an idea about hand props that would snap into walls or consoles.
04
Dec
11
Unused Pocket Cover
An unused variant of my cover for the Pocket Books Trek novel, Kobayahi Maru. This model of the NX was the original approval model of that ship, which I built in the art department. It had one important difference from the final CG model, the windows were larger. I preferred the larger ports, because it made the ship look smaller, and more vulnerable.
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Dec
11
SOTL Flashback – 2009
Falling Prey – Fred Pienkos
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Dec
11
Robert Lansing – 12 O’Clock High
(Left) Lansing in his iconic role as Gary Seven, in the classic double-duty TOS episode, “Assignment Earth”. AE was a backdoor pilot for a new Roddenberry series that was never realized. (Right) Lansing prior to Star Trek, in his arguably quintessential role as General Frank Savage, in Quinn Martin’s WWII epic, “12 O’Clock High”.
Robert Lansing was one of the most underated actors in television during the 1960′s. That may have been because Lansing was known as a hot head. By the end of the first season of 12 O’Clock High, inspite of his stellar performance, Lansing was sacked by QM. He may have been a difficult man on stage, but we are left with an incredible character on screen, that more likely than not, benefited by Lansing’s personal intensity.
One of the great mysteries is why 12 O’Clock has never been released on DVD. Well, you’re in luck. Below find the pilot episode of “12 O’Clock High” in it’s entirety. At least watch Lansing tear up the teaser, and then stick around for the title sequence, with music by the always amazing Dominic Frontiere, who scored the original Outer Limits.
Kudos to the supporting cast, including Paul Burke, Bruce Dern, Frank Overton, and Paul Comi.
Andy Probert has a landmark painting in the works for the Ships of the Line 2014 – The aftermath of Wolf 359, and starfleet’s salvage operation of the monumental battle. One Borg cube left the once mighty Federation fleet an awe-inspiring vista of wreckage. Here are some of Probert’s exploratory sketches of a starfleet tug and salvage vessel. The CG model is a light, and perspective guide. As you work your way down the images, note that we are working our way backward in the design process.
Andy Probert - “This whole idea came about when a fan suggested that I design a new Starfleet Deep SpaceTug & Repair Ship for the calendar a couple of years ago. I already was into another idea at the time but started playing around with the idea because it intrigued me. As time went by, I continued to sketch up various concepts but nothing looked quite right. I eventually expanded it’s roll to lifeboat rescue (the four docking ports on top) added a shuttle bay, a mid-hull cargo section, and more clearly defined the ‘service deck’ (flat area on the “bottom”) which incorporates an inverted gravity field within it’s two decks. That allows those working on repairing & servicing smaller ships that have “landed” on that surface to have a ‘heads-up’ orientation to that surface. Incorporating it’s own exterior gravity plates, ships and personal could use it as an Earth-bound strip of tarmac. With flexible side ‘arms’ extending from the sides, that same surface may also be used to store large (or segments of) ships for transport to a repair base. Two tractor beam emitters are mounted at the rear for towing, with cable winches available as tangible backups. Finally, there are the obligatory phaser strips as a security measure.
When my computer died last year, the name of that fan went with it. If he’s still out there, he should find it interesting that his idea if finally going to be implemented.”
One thing is certain – A lot of us fans are champing at the bit to see Andy’s upcoming painting. It’s bound to be awe inspiring.
04
Dec
11
Bajoran Interceptor Bridge
A few happy snaps I took of the set, in preparation for decking the it out with graphics. I figure at this point we had 1-2 days before they would be shooting in there. Put the spurs to ‘er, Chuck!
Somebody up there likes me – Mikey O gave me the assignment to finish off this set of the Bajoran interceptor bridge on DS9. It’s all about speed, and knowing your topic. The camera waits for no one, and it never blinks. I had designed all of the Bajoran emblems and etc, so I was the man for the job. Bajoran interfaces reflected the culture, and it was all based on the wormhole. Wheels within wheels. I also broke up some of the white ceiling plexi with graphic gingerbread that made use of the Bajoran military emblem.
(Above) Movie posters of the great Frank McCarthy. (Top L-R) The Dirty Dozen, PT-109, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. (Above L-R) The Blue Max, Around The World Under The Sea.
When I was growing up, movie posters were usually incredibly electrifying paintings that were larger than life. They distilled in one mind blowing image all the excitement that one motion picture could possibly contain. Frank McCarthy was one of the all time greats, and his movie work is seared into my brain. When I get the occasional cover assignment from Pocket Books, and loads of action is called for, I always think of McCarthy.
The way I approach one of these novel covers is not at all the way I approach a shot for a television show. On a show, we go for as real as possible. On a novel I go larger than life, and painterly. Here are two new action covers, one for one for the big Vanguard finale, Storming Heaven, and one for Enterprise: The Romulan Wars.
(Above) Vanguard: Storming Heaven. (Below) Enterprise: The Romulan Wars.
04
Dec
11
Blog Day!
Ready or not, here it comes… a full day of blogging here on the Drex Files! I’ve actually had a few days to relax, and I’ve rounded up a cargo bay full of stuff that I want to share, and hope that you’ll tag along!
Did you see Rod Roddenberry’s Trek Nation on the Science Channel? Bar none, one of the best docs on Star Trek ever. What I miss most about Star Trek, is Gene Roddenberry, and that is what TN is about. Gene died when Rod was only 17 years old. Trek Nation is the journey of a son discovering his father. It’s extraordinarily touching, and you and I are a part of it. Trek Nation is not to be missed.
Now… on with the blog!
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