Tag: star trek the next generation

  • “The Best of Both Worlds” on the big screen

    Aw yeah, that’s a baby Borg on my t-shirt!

    Aw yeah, that’s a baby Borg on my t-shirt!

    Star Trek is my first nerdy love. Without it, I would not be the nerd I am today. I’ve said before that I literally have no memory of my life without Star Trek. Watching The Original Series with my parents on Saturday nights is one of my earliest memories and, although I was very young when The Next Generation came on the air, I was not so young that I don’t remember watching it for the first time very clearly. In my humble opinion it is, quite simply, the greatest franchise ever created.

    The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Best of Both Worlds” is arguably one of the greatest cliff hangers in the history of television. So, when my friend Mike reminded me that it was going to be playing in movie theatres across the country this past Thursday evening in all its remastered glory, I immediately bought my ticket.

    Me and my friend Mike before the show

    I love seeing stuff from my childhood on the big screen. In a relatively recent phenomenon, they’ve started bringing movies back to the theatres for limited runs.  Movies like Star Wars, Top Gun, Jurassic Park, and The Lion King. It’s so much better than remaking a movie and introduces them to a whole new generation. When I lived in Los Angeles, they would have events where they would play a movie on the big screen for the first time in decades, then have people who worked on the movie do a Q&A panel afterwards. My NerdBFF Geek Outlaw and I went to one of these for Ghostbusters and LOVED it. Events like that are one of the few things I miss about living in LA.

    The lights went down and we were immediately treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The Best of Both Worlds, part I & II” that included interviews with the people involved and fan reactions to the season three cliffhanger. Some highlights:

    –          Patrick Stewart recalled how a woman pulled up next to him while driving, rolled down her window, and shouted “You ruined our summer!” and a guy walking past him in the NY subway, paused in front of him momentarily and said “You’re keeping it real.”

    –          The late, great Michael Piller wrote the episode thinking he’d be leaving the show and someone else would have to figure out how to get the crew out of this mess. Of course, he ended up sticking around and had to clean up after himself.

    –          For some reason, I never put two and two together that Elizabeth Dennehy (LCDR Shelby) was Brian Dennehy’s daughter. Which is weird because I LOVE Brian Dennehy. Turns out he didn’t really want her to do an episode of Star Trek. Elizabeth didn’t really know anything about the franchise. It was one of her first auditions after moving to Los Angeles and she didn’t know enough about it to be intimidated. She also didn’t realize that it wasn’t like working on a soap opera (where you apparently get several hours to just sit around and learn your lines) and was completely unprepared the first day of shooting. She learned quickly and never made that mistake again.

    –          I’ve never been one to notice hairdos, but once Elizabeth Dennehy pointed out how much hairspray was used in her updo, I couldn’t help but notice how it affected other people’s hair.

    That’s DOES look like it takes way more time than a Commander has in the morning.

    Especially Dr. Crusher’s, whose hair pretty much didn’t move when she turned her head. It was like a gloriously shellacked red waterfall.

    I never understood why one side of her hair was longer than the other

    –          They showed how they achieved many of the special effects and how they remastered them for the Blu-ray. The hardest part was the starship graveyard at Wolf 359, mostly because of their limited budget.

    –          I’m always struck by how the actors have to pretend like they’re being jostled around when the ship is struck by enemy fire. When I was a kid they had an attraction at Universal Studios in which members of the audience were called up to participate in some scenes from Star Trek. We got to see firsthand how they put together an episode, including having to fake being bounced around in your seat. So I‘ve always known that this is how it’s done. But it’s quite funny to see the actors do it over and over again, take after take, with a completely straight face.

    Then it was time for the episodes, which they combined to make a feature length presentation. In case you haven’t seen the episodes, here’s a little summary/background information:

    First seen in the 2nd season episode “Q Who” (thanks to Q playfully tossing the USS Enterprise right in the path of a Cube), the Borg have been on the Federation’s mind for years. None more so than Admiral JP Hanson and Lieutenant Commander Shelby who have been working tirelessly to develop weapons and defenses based on what they know from the Enterprise’s encounter. They assumed it would take the Borg a certain amount of time to reach the Alpha Quadrant but they severely underestimated the Borg’s capabilities and they arrived much sooner than planned. The Borg’s goal is to reach Sector 001 aka Earth. To do this, they need to tap someone’s brain, someone who has the knowledge they need to get around the Federation’s best laid plans. They choose Captain Picard, assimilating him into the Collective, making him their spokesman, giving him a killer mechanical six-pack, and dubbing him “Locutus of Borg.” To my knowledge, Locutus is the only Borg who is ever given a name as opposed to a designation (ie, Seven of Nine). Despite the friction in their relationship, Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander Shelby must work together to rescue Picard and stop the Borg from reaching Earth.

    Mmmmm…Borg abs….

    When the third season ended abruptly with Picard as Locutus and Riker telling Worf to fire on the Borg Cube, a collective (heehee) uproar went up in the Star Trek community. No one knew what was going to happen or if Patrick Stewart would be coming back to the show, not even the showrunners. Speculation was so great that someone wrote a fake script in which the whole thing was a prank orchestrated by the Q Continuum.

    “The Best of Both Worlds” is critical in Star Trek cannon. It provides a major part of the back story for the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and is the basis for the movie Star Trek: First Contact.

    After the ending credits, we were delighted to watch a blooper reel featuring outtakes from many different episodes. Some of the highlights included stumbles over the technobabble, forgotten lines, Worf blurting out that he never played with little boys, Guinan cursing, and Lieutenant Richard Castillo asking Tasha Yar to call him “Dick.” It was a lot of laughs that were missed by at least half the audience who walked out during the ending credits.

    Speaking of credits, I must say, it was amazing to see the opening credits on the big screen. Every time I ever watched them as a child, it was always on our little 1980’s-era tube television set. As an adult I’ve watched them on my nice flat screen TV but NOTHING compares to seeing it that big and whispering the words along with Patrick Stewart in movie theatre surround sound. They are some of my favorite words in the world and I’ve known them by heart since before I could read:

    “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one as gone before.”

    Thanks to Mike for being my nerdy Star Trek buddy!

    One last note: folks have been asking me to put out a calendar for the last couple of years and I finally got around to doing it with the amazing artistic talents of my sister-in-law, Reba. It’s really an awesome calendar. It’s got every nerdy holiday you can imagine, plus a super handy convention calendar, and some never-before-seen pictures that will never, ever be seen anywhere else. I know it’s almost May but it’s worth it to get the 2013 calendar. Besides, if I don’t sell these, then there probably won’t be one next year so, ya know…buy one 🙂 Since it is almost May, they’re super discounted (I promise you I’m not making a fortune off of them) AND I’ll sign it if you want.

    Buy one here: http://hotnerdgirl.com/shop/

  • WonderCon 2013

    Mama Jedi, HNG, Geek Outlaw

    Mama Jedi, HNG, Geek Outlaw

    Hope y’all had a very happy and nerderific Easter! I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Between working full-time (yes, I have a “real” job!), out of town guests, and just plain old life, I just haven’t much time to blog. But I’ll try to be better.

    So, a lot of cool crap happened this past weekend. There was new Doctor Who, the season premier of Game of Thrones, and the season finale of The Walking Dead. And, of course, WonderCon.

    I mentioned in my wrap-up of last year’s WonderCon that WC was the first comic book convention I ever went to (back when it was in Oakland) and it holds a very special place in my hearts. It’s a nice combination of comic books and TV/movies. San Diego Comic Con is great, but it focuses so much on the Hollywood stuff that the comic books tend to get a little lost. A comic book vendor and I were joking on Saturday about the audacity of the people who actually buy comic books at a comic book convention! Inconceivable!

    After cosplaying as Thor for a day at SDCC last year, I honestly didn’t think I would cosplay in public again for a very long time. I’m quite shy, especially around large groups of strangers, and my instinct is to blend in. Cosplaying is the opposite of blending in. Because of the timing of the day, I didn’t spend much time at SDCC walking around as Thor. But in the brief times that I did, it garnered a lot of attention. Attention that I’m not used to and that made me a bit panicky. I was very uncomfortable and not just because of the corset. I’ve been putting together a Tenth Doctor costume for quite a while now. He’s my favorite of the Doctor incarnations (followed by Eleven, Four, Nine, and Five) and, if I’m being completely honest with myself, I was looking for an excuse to buy a sonic screwdriver. Because of last year’s experience, I almost didn’t wear it, but I’m glad that I did. It was comfortable and fun and was a great ice breaker (that and the flask of liquor I kept in my backpack *ahem*)

    Enough rambling, on to the panels I attended. Sadly, the TV show panel I was most excited about was the Vikings one and I missed it thanks to the traffic around the convention center. I was very, very sad because, as many of you know, I’m very proud of my Viking heritage. But I sat in on a bunch of really cool ones that made up for it.

    Allons-y!

    Geeking Out with the League of Extraordinary Ladies

    Panelists: Autumn Massey, Dina Kampmeyer, Emily Heyer, Geek Girl Diva, Jenn Fujikawa (Just Jenn), Sarah Kuhn, Stephanie Thorpe, Theresa Wollenstein

    These geektacular ladies are very much in line with my favorite motto: “nerd girls of the world unite.” They are a positive group of strong, independent, intelligent women who love to geek out together and support each other. As someone who can’t stand cattiness, these ladies are right up my alley. The first thing I did when I got home was to join their facebook group. I encourage everyone (men are also welcome) to join as well.  Unfortunately, we had to leave their panel early to make it to the next one. What I wouldn’t give for a time-turner so that I could go to multiple panels that are scheduled for the same time.

    Falling Skies

    Panelists: Drew Roy (Hal), Sarah Carter (Maggie), Seychelle Gabriel (Lourdes), Remi Aubuchon (Executive Producer)

    I’ve been a fan of Falling Skies from the get go. As my NerdBFF Geek Outlaw says, “if it’s got aliens in it, I’ll watch it!” And it keeps getting better. We got to see some clips from the first episode premiering June 9th on TNT, including a new baby girl, some more Karen, a badass new punk rock haircut for Matt, promotions for Tom and Lourdes, new alien technology, conflict for Maggie, and some pretty epic looking battle scenes. It definitely got me excited.

    Oddball Comics Live: Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll

    Panelist: Scott Shaw

    I’ve never laughed harder at a panel than I did at this one. Scott Shaw has collected some of the most bizarre comic books imaginable over the course of the last 50 years. It’s filled with crotches, boobs, phallic symbols, crazy concepts, and hidden-in-plain-sight imagery (kind of like the dirty stuff found in every Disney movie made from 1989 to 1992). It’s hard to tell if they were done intentionally or unintentionally.  He’s compiled them into a power point presentation that he complements with witty commentary. It’s hysterical and I highly recommend checking it out if you ever see him on a convention schedule.

    Roddenberry Presents

    Panelists: Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Tory Mell

    As a life-long Trekker, I always enjoy checking out the Roddenberry Presents panel. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Rod and Trevor a few times now and even interviewed Rod at SDCC last year (I’m still perfecting my interviewing skills, mmmkay?) They are super nice and working on some seriously awesome stuff.

    Rod Roddenberry, HNG, Trevor Roth. I have no idea why I look bored in this picture, I SWEAR I wasn’t. I was probably wondering if Mama Jedi knew how to operate my camera.

    Things worth checking out right now: Days Missing, Mission Log podcast, and White Room: 02B3. Things worth checking out in the near future: Worth. We were teased about exciting new things TBA at SDCC this year. One of the highlights of the panel? Winning this awesome “Cool as Kirk” t-shirt for answering one of the trivia questions correctly.

    Geeks Get Published

    Panelists: SG Browne, Katrina Hill, Alan Kistler, Alex Langley, Dr. Travis Langley. Moderated by Jenna Busch.

    This panel was extremely informative. It was a panel full of geek-centric authors offering up free advice on how to get published. The main thing I took away from it was that I’d like to get a literary agent and that I’m doing the right thing by writing what I love. Afterwards, Alan Kistler found me downstairs and wanted a picture (he’s a big Doctor Who fan and is coming out with a Doctor Who book later this year.

    Alan Kistler and HNG

    He graciously stayed and chatted with Geek Outlaw and I for a good 10-15 minutes about writing while his friends wandered off to the bar without him. Thanks again, Alan!

    Here’s some of what happened down on the Floor…

    One of the first booths we noticed was that of Lion Forge Comics. It was a mighty impressive booth.

    Geek Outlaw oohing and ahhing

    They had a healthy line for the slot machine which we were talked into joining. It was manned by this lovely lady armed with a sonic screwdriver.

    Mama Jedi went first and won a giant bag.

    Then it was my turn.

    The machine didn’t seem to be working properly so I fixed it when no one was paying attention and won a bracelet.

    Then Geek Outlaw went and won a bracelet. I totally took a picture of him doing it but he didn’t send it to me so blame him for the empty space here.

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    Based out of St. Louis, MO, Lion Forge has a lot of projects in the works and were some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. We chatted with a number of the people involved, including the Creative Director, the YouTube channel host, one of the primary writers, and even the guy who’s in charge of Licensing who was kind enough to help me get Mama Jedi into the giant bag she’d won.

    It seemed like a good idea at the time

    There was a large “celebrity row” including Boomer aka Herbert Jefferson Jr. from the Classic Battlestar Galactica.

    Star Wars staple Chewbacca aka Peter Mayhew.

    The ghost of Richard Hatch aka OG Apollo and reboot Zarek.

    The Soup Nazi aka Larry Thomas, who’s decision to sign soup ladles convinced Geek Outlaw to buy an autographed one for his parents who LOVE the Soup Nazi.

    And then there was this guy who Mama Jedi made a beeline for. I still have absolutely no idea who he is or what he does besides sitting there shirtless.

    We ran into SDCC buddy Daniel who was holding down the fort at the booth of a friend.

    We also visited a buddy from this past Long Beach Comic Con. Artist Matt Stevens creates metal fan art. Last time I bought Tenth Doctor and Wash. This time I got an Eleventh Doctor and River Song bookmark. They sit right by my desk and I LOVE them. Not only is Matt a fantastic artist but he’s a super cool dude so you should definitely check him out HERE.

    That’s a mighty fine t-shirt you got there, Matt

    One of the ships from Oblivion.

    There was a parade of R2 units lead by a small child.

    Where were those brakes again?

    They got into a fight with a couple of WALL-E‘s.

    There was some spitting and at one point the Black R2 unit totally flipped off one of the WALL-E’s as you can see in this video I took:

    [youtube:http://youtu.be/gfu_uFi_W6E]

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    It wouldn’t be an HNG convention wrap up without the costume pictures!

    One of the very first cosplayers we ran into was Toni Darling, better known to the interwebz as Lady Thor. She’s a friend of Daniel’s and the artist who’s booth he was manning (see the posters and artwork behind him?)

    I have no idea why I’m making that stupid face

    On our way to the Falling Skies panel I time crashed into my future self in the form of a delightful guy with a very convincing British accent named Jack.

    Something’s up with the universe because we ran into each other again at the end of the night while Geek Outlaw and I were chatting with Alan Kistler and took some more pics.

    This is Alan’s friend who took off for the bar while we were deep in conversation about writing and stuff

    Jack even helped us out by taking the picture of our little group in front of the WonderCon sign.

    Time crash number two occurred down on the Floor. This time I ran into my Fourth incarnation.

    Four is my favorite of the Classic Doctors so he gave me a jelly baby which I totally ate, because, heck, it’s a jelly baby from the Doctor! It was delicious.

    It was a little freakier when I saw myself. I’m just going to assume that he’s the Meta-Crisis Doctor 😉

    Mini me. Seriously, this kid was adorable. He was a bit upset with his Mom because she ruined his jacket. It’s not easy being the mother of a Time Lord, mmmkay kiddo?

    There were many, many, many ladies dressed up as the TARDIS. Apparently a Time Lord dropped some TARDIS coral on Earth at some point in the past.  This one was one of my favorites because it was so unique.

    Let’s move away from Gallifrey and check out some of the other costumes, shall we?

    This Lady Thor sat next to us during the Roddenberry panel.

    I ran into this walker at least three times. It freaked me out just as much each time. *shudder* He obviously ran into Haley from Woodbury because there’s no way Daryl would have missed that badly. Twice.

    There are always a few Ghostbusters wandering around conventions. This time they were everywhere. We chatted with a group from Sacramento for quite a while. I like the Ghostbusters groups, they do great things in their communities.

    The Ecto-truck (behind Ecto-1) belongs to one of the guys from the Sacramento group.

    The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was the Dad of the Mini Tenth Doctor (see him down in the right hand corner? He’s totally thinking he has the coolest Dad ever).

    Stay Puft helped me out by posing with Flat Stanley. I was put in charge of Flat Stanley by a friend who’s kid read the book. I honestly have no idea what the heck Flat Stanley is all about but I returned him to his owner yesterday. Apparently I’m getting him back when I go to Wisconsin for my family reunion next month,

    Rad.

    Steam Punk Snow White can kick your ass.

    Disney Princesses + Rainbow Brite = every little girl’s fantasy come true.

    Jon Snow admiring Daenerys’ …uh…eggs. Riiiight…..

    THIS.

    COBRA Command from GI Joe. I’m pulling this entirely from memory here but the group seems to include Serpentor, Destro, The Baroness, and I think Zarana, a BAT and a Night Creeper. Please correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been more than a few years.

    Marvel goodies vs. DC baddies.

    LEGO Darth Maul!

    This fellow HNG was mighty hot for a scruffy looking nerf herder.

    That’s a nice multipass you got there, Leeloo (and a view from the rear for anyone who’s interested).Finally, there’s CMDR William T. Riker as portrayed by a guy who’s name really is William (no joke). He was very nice and we chatted for a few minutes about how much we love Star Trek. It was only after I got home that I realize we’d already met and taken a picture together at Long Beach Comic Con back in November. Kismet!

    And that concludes my wrap up of WonderCon 2013. It was loads of fun and I’m looking forward to next year!

  • Long Beach Comic Con wrap-up 2012

    I love Long Beach Comic Con because it’s still small enough that comic books are the main focus. San Diego Comic Con is great, with it’s giant movie and TV show panels but it’s nice to be able to get back to the roots of what comic cons started as…a place to nerd out over your favorite artists and find out what’s next in the genre of, uh, comic books. Plus I got press passes again this year which totally rocks my socks.

    My brother was just as in to X-Men as I was when we were kids. He even stole my Series II trading cards (I still haven’t gotten them back…ahem) but he’s never been to a Comic Book Convention. Neither has my nephew, Zeke (yes, that’s a boy, don’t let his voluptuous locks fool you). So I thought LBCC would be a nice starter convention for them.

    It was a huge learning experience for me as well. For example, I now know that if I want to sit in on some panels, bringing a 4-year-old is probably not the best idea.

    Case in point.

    But that’s okay. I loved taking him around and he was totally blown away by all the “supers” (or “shoopers” in 4-year-old speech). He even convinced his dad to whip out his credit card and buy him a Green Lantern action figure. Of course, then we ran into Superman AND Green Lantern so Zeke needed a picture with them.

    I’m pretty sure he had a nerdgasm over the sheer volume of action figures surrounding him in every direction.

    We tested Zeke’s superhero knowledge often. It’s become apparent that our entire family is on a mission to make sure this child is a geeky as humanly possible.

    If you follow the facebook page, you probably saw my announcement that I managed to convince my brother and sister-in-law to give Doctor Who a try. I’m proud to say that they are officially obsessed.

    There was an artist there named Matt Stevens who creates and makes metal fan art. It’s basically a crapload of little dots engraved in metal. The pictures don’t do them justice, they are really quite stunning.

    If I was a wealthy woman I would have bought the whole lot because they all went together in big montages and he had them for most of my favorite TV shows. Since I am not a wealthy woman, I settled on a small one of the 10th Doctor in all of his sheepishly adorkable glory and a small one of Wash in the midst of a sudden but inevitable betrayal.

    We just happened to walk by Jesse Blaze Snider‘s booth while Zeke was being fussy and he was sweet enough to give The Zekester a free Toy Story comic that he’d written. We ended up chatting with him for a few minutes. He’s got a couple of projects coming up, including one about heavy metal bands featuring some of our favorite Asgardians that I’ll be keeping an eye out for.

    Yes, we started pinning Zeke’s bangs back with a bobby pin. His mother refuses to cut his hair.

    We saw a couple of celebs including Jason Faunt aka Wes Collins aka Red Time Force Power Ranger.

    And a personal favorite of mine, Lance Henriksen. Lance has many, many, many amazing credits to his name but he is best know to the masses as Bishop from the Alien franchise. Lance was extremely nice. He kept calling Zeke “she” and was mortified when I gently informed him that I was holding my nephew, not my niece. Zeke seemed to get a kick out of that 

    They had a whole Star Wars section.

    Including a game where you could shoot various Troopers of the Clone and Storm variety using a vast array of Nerf weaponry.

    They had a Jawa hanging out with them but he got the hell out of Tosche just before the shooting started.

    Around the corner was a laser tag obstacle course. I can only imagine how ridiculous this looked to my brother (he’s a Marine). I should ask him.

    Then this happened.

    Oh, Leatherface…

    On to costumes!

    I don’t know if it’s because I went on Sunday or if there were just fewer cosplayers this year, but the costumed character selection was a bit limited. But here’s the best of the best of what I saw.

    Bane from The Dark Knight Rises.

    The Joker from The Dark Knight.

    Rick and Daryl from The Walking Dead.

    A pair of sexy lady Punisher‘s. I really wanted a picture of Zeke standing between them but he didn’t want to get his picture taken unless me or my brother was holding him. Of course, once I picked him up he was totally stoked to be next to such hotties.

    I felt a happy disturbance in the Schwartz when I saw this guy with his singing and dancing Chestburster from Spaceballs.

    The 11th Doctor. He was facing away from me and I quietly said “Doctor?” and he immediately turned around like he responds to that name all the time. We also crossed paths with a pretty excellent 4th Doctor as we were walking in. Wish I’d gotten a picture of him but alas.

    Keeping with the sci-fi, we ran into this guy pulling a CMDR William Riker.

    Zeke was a little confused by this Jedi. Either that or he was super jealous of his epic lightsaber.

    This is not the child you’re looking for. Move along.

    Barbie Fett?

    But the winner of the “Best Comic Con Costume Ever Award” goes to this chick. Yes, that’s a chick.

    That’s it for costumes. Here’s a look at the fun stuff I accumulated. Iron Man fingerless gloves hand-crocheted by Bobbie Bomber and sold by Geeky Mamas.  A pink-skeleton-Sailer Jack-with bomb t-shirt that was on sale. My previously mentioned metal art. And a stuffed Thor (not included in the picture is the pretty awesome Thor print that came with the stuffed godlet).

    Every convention I go to I seek out my favorite nerdy t-shirt. This time it was won by this one. Hands down.

    And on that note, I hope y’all have a Happy Thor’s Day!

  • Star Trek Captains Podcast (Ten Forward)

    This is a very sleep deprived HNG coming to you from New York City. I’m here visiting my nieces and having a great time with them. Unfortunately for me, I usually go to bed around midnight-2:00am California time. Combine my sleeping habits with the time zone change and my body wants to go to sleep between 3:00am-5:00am New York time. Since I’m typically waking up around 8:00am that’s not working out too well for me. 5-hour Energy has become my new best friend.

    It’s time for another podcast with the awesome guys over at World’s Best Podcast and their section dedicated to all things Star Trek – “Ten Forward.” This time around we discussed the Captains from Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. It made for a very entertaining discussion, let me tell you!

    Oh, and we recorded this a while ago when I was very sick so my voice is all scratchy and Janeway-sounding. I was also suffering a bit from sick brain so it was difficult for me to put my thoughts together at times.  But considering how awful I felt, I thought I did pretty good.

    Thanks to Mark and Isaac! It’s always fun to talk Trek with you! Listen to the podcast here:

    Or if, as per usual, if the above player takes too long to buffer, just click here to listen: http://tinmanfrisbie.podbean.com/2012/06/04/ten-forward-season-1-episode-2/

    Previous podcasts I’ve joined in on:

    Daredevil

    Star Trek Universe

    Marvel Cinematic Universe

  • “Ask a Foley Artist” – Interview with Dean Minnerly

    HNG and Dean on the Foley Stage at Universal

    As I mentioned on the HNG facebook page, I did an interview with Dean Minnerly, Foley Artist for Universal Studios. I also mentioned that he is my stepdad. Now, I should probably offer a quick explanation because I talk about my parents a lot and it can get a bit confusing because I have 6 of them. I know, right about now you’re thinking wtf? What is HNG smoking? I have been extremely fortunate to have a loving and supportive immediate and extended family that is chock full of some of the most fascinating people you will ever meet. We’re pretty much the definition of a Modern Family.

    There’s my mom (Mama Jedi who’s on here a lot and is the reason I moved to San Diego) and my dad (retired Navy, I talk about him a lot too, most recently in my review of Battleship). They are my rocks and the greatest parents on earth. No one could ever replace them. They divorced when I was in middle school.

    I was pretty young when I started acquiring step-parents (and with them, 9 step-siblings). My dad married a wonderful woman, my stepmom Jeanne, who I adore. My mom was in a decade-long relationship with my stepdad Don (airbrush artist and direct descendant of Davy Crockett) who is amazing and insanely knowledgable about Scottish history. She later married my stepdad Randall who was one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known. He passed away in October 2010 and was featured in my In Memoriam post that year. Then there’s Dean aka Popi. He’s been an incredibly close friend of the family since I was 6 years old. When my dad was gone on WestPacs he would step in as our father figure when we needed one. He has been to every play, graduation and major event in my life since I was very young so years ago I dubbed him “Popi.”

    These 6 wonderful people make up what I call my “parental units.” It’s more love and support than any one person deserves and I know exactly how lucky I am to have been brought up by this intelligent, funny, and eclectic group. I would not be who I am today were it not for them.

    Apparently it really does take a village

    Now that the explanation is out of the way, here’s a little background on Dean:

    Dean P. Minnerly of Sleepy Hollow, NY (yup, that one, from the stories and movies) descended from the first Dutch families that settled what was to become New York.  Let’s skip a few hundred years.  He enlisted in the United States Army in late 1969.  He excelled in training… went Airborne… recruited out of Airborne for Special Forces Qualification Course.  Served in Viet Nam with 5th Special Forces (Airborne), with 5th Mike Force, II Corps and Recon Team Louisiana (details classified).  He came home and started teaching Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan with the Norris brothers (as in Chuck).  He was educated at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA in engineering and music.  He then returned to active duty with 7th Special Forces in El Salvador/Honduras/Nicaragua and was posted in Panama at the “Banana Boat School” also know as the Jungle Expert Course among other things.  Look up “Green Monster” and you’ll understand.  He separated from the service and moved to California to continue teaching for Chuck Norris in ’83.  His Studio City, CA school had many well known students and their families including the son and grandson of then president, Ronald Reagan.  One of his many students in the film industry introduced him to Foley and that’s how this facet of his life began.  Another of his students was a senior story editor for Star Trek: The Next Generation and got him involved with contributing story, writing and martial arts skills to the show.  He has been at Universal Studios for 18 years and loves it there.

    Originally we were just supposed to get together for dinner and I was going to head back next week to conduct this interview but one thing lead to another and we ended up at Universal driving around the backlot in a golf cart and crashing people’s private tours (they were on Dean’s stage afterall). The next thing I know I’m conducting an interview that I totally wasn’t prepared for. Note to self: write down some good questions and keep them in your wallet. Needless to say, this was very good practice and I’m über glad that my first interview was with someone who won’t hold it against me.

    Here is the bulk of our interview:

    [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxFyyQVGEpg]

    Since I wasn’t prepared, I only had my camera on me and had limited memory card space so I emailed him some additional questions a few days later:

    HNG: What is it about Foley that keeps you coming back for more?

    DM: Few jobs allow such creativity and allow a person to share with such a wide and diverse audience.

    HNG: How did you meet the Foley family and become involved with the program at Paramount Ranch? 

    DM: Cathi Foley Clark grew up at Universal with her uncle, Jack Foley, and has been his chronicler and biographer her whole life.  She visited me on the stage and we began a friendship.  I had been doing demos at Paramount Ranch for the National Park Service and she brought the whole family out to meet me.

    One of Dean’s many Foley demonstrations at Paramount Ranch

    HNG: You also worked for Larson Studios, how long did you work there and why did you move to Universal? 

    DM: I was with Rick Larson for about 6 years.  I started taking night work on the original Law & Order at Universal and eventually was offered more and more steady work.

    HNG: What is your favorite TV show and movie to have worked on? 

    DM: Presently, my favorite TV show is Grimm.  I did the pilot and all the episodes since.  It’s quite a challenge but great fun!  The most recent movie I completed was Ted for Seth MacFarlane starring Seth as the voice of Ted and Mark Wahlberg as Ted’s real life-buddy with Mila Kunis as Mark’s girlfriend.

    HNG: What is your favorite movie in general? 

    DM: I have so many but Saving Private Ryan has to be close to the top.

    HNG: Favorite TV show? 

    DM: Again, it’s hard to pin down a single show but I’d say shows on History/Discovery/Military/NatGeo channels get the most of my viewing time.

    HNG: You are currently keyboardist for The McGrath Project. How did you meet Gary McGrath and how did that lead to becoming a band mate? 

    DM: Gary needed someone to track on a new album and I was introduced to him by a mutual friend.  The band included Tim Bogert, virtuoso bassist of Vanilla Fudge/Cactus/Beck,Bogert and Appice and Bryan Head, drummer of Foreigner and others.  Gary is a two time Grammy winner.  They liked my studio work and invited me to play live with them and I joined the band. A year and a half later, Ann-Marita Garsed, a solo singer-songwriter sang with us a few times and joined as well.  Many people have been in the band at one time or another including many Hall of Fame players and Grammy winners.

    [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqmbLCaAQ0E]

    HNG: How did you meet Chuck Norris? 

    DM: I took Pai Lum Gung Fu (not Kung Fu)  when I was around 13 and stayed with it.  I’d just returned from VN and went to the CNKS in Virginia Beach where I was living.  Chuck and his brother Aaron were there and I started over but with past experience, rose through the ranks quickly.  I became an assistant instructor and after testing for black belt, a full instructor.  Continued teaching for them when I moved to CA in ’83.

    HNG: Who is your favorite Director you’ve worked with? 

    DM: I have three… Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks.   I haven’t worked with Clint Eastwood but I have great respect for him… F. F. Coppola as well.

    HNG: What kinds of awards have you won for Foley? 

    DM: Emmys and Golden Reels.

    HNG: Who is your favorite superhero? 

    DM: I have to go back to my first… Superman.

    HNG: Your favorite Star Trek Captain? 

    DM: Patrick Stewart for ST:TNG as a single show but William Shatner for Star Trek overall.

    HNG: Your favorite band/musician? 

    DM: Too many but I always loved The Beatles.

    HNG: How many black belts do you have? 

    DM: Depends on the style.  5 in Tang Soo Do, 3 in Hapkido, 2 in Hwa Rang Do, and 1 in Judo.

    HNG: How many ways can you kill a person using pressure points? 

    DM: Pressure points can help healing, can cause great pain, can mediate blood flow but don’t by themselves kill through pressure.  Impacts or impalement at these points may as many are arterial points or central nervous system (nerve bundles) points.

    HNG: How many times has your nose been broken due to martial arts? 

    DM: Three or four.

    HNG: What was your first impression of Gene Roddenberry? Patrick Stewart? The rest of the cast? 

    DM: Gene… a true visionary.  Majel… the ultimate in support and a true comedic actress.  Patrick… an unshakeable Shakesperian mind and demeanor with a musical comedy heart.  Jonathan … powerful and funny.  Michael… intense and the only real pilot of the bunch.  LeVar… studied but impatient.  Marina… meticulous.   Gates… careful and mothering.   Brent… a true performance chameleon worthy of Vaudeville.  Wil… headstrong with an attitude but willing to learn.  Colm… eager to excel.  Denise… demure cowgirl.  Whoopi… outrageous!

    HNG: Who was the most awesome TNG cast member?  The most awful? 

    DM: They were all great but everybody knew who was boss.  Some of the guests could be difficult.

    HNG: You’ve taught self-defense courses before, what’s the single most important thing for someone to remember if they are being attacked? 

    DM: Keep your head and be aware of everything and everyone around you.   Look for opportunity.  Yeah, I know you said one… oh well.

    HNG: You were featured in a Tonight Show sketch with Conan O’Brien. What was he like? 

    DM: The tallest Energizer Bunny on the planet with a very edgy side and sense of humor.

    * * * * *

    I thought it would be fun to let you guys ask him some questions as well since I know from experience that y’all ask some GREAT questions. Hopefully I collected them all, I apologize if I missed any!

    Jake R: What’s a Foley Artist? 

    DM: A performer of sound.  We recreate live sound EFX to picture and sync them to the event portrayed.  The effect may be what you see, more than what you see or different depending on the needs of the client or project. It is named after creator Jack Foley.

    Jack Foley perfecting the art

    David F: How do you get to be a Foley Artist? 

    DM: Apprenticeship.  You must find another artist(s) who will take you on and begin to train you.  If you don’t have the base skills already in you, you won’t make it.  You need precise hearing, athletic skills and timing, the ability to anticipate movement and a working knowledge of the gear used.  Most of us have a background in music, athletics or dance and audio engineering.

    Kevin C: How does one get a job as a Foley Artist (other than being awesome)? Do you just have to be in the know with people in Hollywood? 

    DM: It doesn’t hurt to be connected but your skill as an artist and ability to work with demanding clients at a demanding pace is what keeps you working.

    Stevey M: What is the most fun noise to make? 

    DM: Depends on who’s listening.  If we can make people cringe at the sound, make them laugh or make them sick… we’re happy.

    Craig S: Is it true that the sound of love is a boot stuck in mud, only wetter? 

    DM: Trade secret but if you are familiar with that sound you may not need the answer.

    Paul M: Mick Foley!? 😀 

    DM: No… Jack Foley.  I don’t think Jack ever wrestled.

    Robert N: Axel Foley? 

    DM: Only in Beverly Hills.

    Aaron A: For your “ask a foley artist” interview…. if you want to ask him, what’s the most fun he’s had on a project, or movie or whatever. God I wish I knew a Foley Artist. It just seems like such a cool job to have on a movie or whatever. So random and different.  I’m just ever so slightly jealous you know one. 

    DM: Know one?  She has BEEN one.  She lived with me after SFSU and apprenticed at Universal.  She has contributed to many projects I worked on.

    Andy L: What sound that he has generated was the most different from what the sound was supposed to portray? 

    DM: Depends on the client.  If the real sound is insufficient or the client wants an entirely different sound, we build it.  If it’s sci-fi or fantasy and the visual was newly created a sound will need to be created as well.

    Larry L: How do you get the best recordings of your sounds? What equipment/techniques? 

    DM: Our own skills and abilities and each of us is different.  Different mics and mic-pre’s… absorption and reflective surfaces to create ambience, depth and size.  We’ll use three mics at once… two directional and one elsewhere in the stage to cross-fade and develop the perspective necessary.  Our primary mics are Neumann KMR-81’s with other Neumanns, Sennheisers, AKGs, etc. in the mix.  Our mic-pre’s are GMLs, Focusrites, Avalons, etc.  We record to ProTools and have several sets of near field monitors to choose from with our largest being JBL’s.

    Lisa C: What was the most complex sound he ever created and of what was it composed? 

    DM: Don’t think I can pick just one.  We do a lot of layering and sweetening.  The effect may only last for a few seconds but we many be out a dozen tracks creating all the different sonic facets that alone may be nothing but together make the event live.

    Shannon H: Why do car tires sequel on dirt roads in the movies? 

    DM: People have preconceptions of what things SHOULD sound like regardless of reality.  That group of people includes very well known leaders in our industry.  Even if it’s wrong we will do what’s expected but we will also give alternate tracks of what we think would better serve the event.  That way, on the dub (re-recording/final mix) stage the choices are available.

    Bruce P: What was the most unusual method you’ve used to create the most common sound? 

    DM: A recent one comes to mind..  I did a documentary called The Movement about paraplegics, blind and otherwise disabled people learning or relearning to downhill ski.  One of the effects I created for the clatter of skis on a fast run involved my crushing ice and shaping it into a one by two foot mound… mic’ing it close and overhead and using an empty plastic mustard squeeze bottle to create the clatter, moving toward the mic capsule as the skis closed on the camera and off-angle as the skis moved away.

    Lair of the Nerd: In your opinion, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve used to make a noise, and what noise was it. 

    DM: There are a few.  Here are two:  In slasher flicks we rip lots of guts out.  Take a large watermelon, cut one end off, violently shove your hand in it and twist as you pull it out.  The suction and texture of the melon flesh combined with all the wet works great… it’s absolutely disgusting.  I mentioned snow.  Snow has many textures and sounds.  Squeaky powder is very distinctive.  Garden supply stores have Perlite, often used in potted plants.  Cornstarch is also used.  Pour it into a pillowcase and start walking on it to grind it down.  The squeaks will be there and you won’t freeze your nerd off in the process.

    AK G: Who decides what a fictional sound should be? The director? A writer? The foley artist? 

    DM: ‘D’… All of the above.  In spotting sessions, when everybody sits around reviewing the reels, these things are discussed and the creative people hash out what best serves the scene.  When agreed upon, we have our direction and we go make it happen.

    Todd F: How much celery do you waste on a daily basis? 

    DM: Celery is part of only one food group we abuse regularly.  No fruit, veggie or uncooked critter is safe on a Foley stage.

    Salem P: What’s the foley effect you’re most proud of that you thought up? 

    DM: Whichever one the client wasn’t expecting that gave him/her more than he could have imagined… and that only lasts until I come up with the next one.

    José H: How awesome do you have to be to be HNG’s stepfather? 

    DM: I love her… she loves me.  Nothing else matters.

    One of my high school senior portraits

    Dan G: Do studios have massive Foley libraries that you get to pull from as needed or do they prefer you always start from scratch (keeping it fresh and each movie slightly different)? 

    DM: There are no Foley libraries.  There are libraries we create for EFX editors for them to draw from but we start fresh every time.  It is the inconsistency and imperfection of human and animal movement that make it real.  No two of anything are every exactly alike as are our performances.  Each time we create a sound it will have some variation.  Think of each or our creations as a snowflake.

    Scott D: Universal as in Orlando? 

    DM: Nope… Universal Studios Hollywood.  There is a Universal in Orlando but this is home, first opened in 1913.

    Jay A: He didn’t know Keillor’s effects guy, did he? 

    DM: If you refer to Garrison Keillor’s radio shows, then no.  What they do and what we do is quite different.  They add simple sound components to add color to those programs.  We develop a complete sound package integral to the final product you see and hear in theaters and on TV.

    John G: Does he realize he’s standing next to “HNG”? 😉 

    DM: I do occasionally notice that.

    Marlon B: Can I marry your step-daughter?

    DM: I think some would have a problem with that but thanks for asking.

    José H: Do movie or TV studios force Foley artists to generate a wet-sucking sound for scenes involving the removal of objects from a body part? It seems like that sound is inserted whenever the hero/coroner removes an object from a dead body part… 

    DM: It does come up.  I refer you to my responses to Shannon H. and Lair of the Nerd.

    José H: Serious question: What’s the weirdest sound effect you were asked to create that has absolutely no equivalent in the “real” world?

    DM: I guess the sound of a maggot crawling on a sweater from 15 feet away.  As you may guess it was a head-scratcher.  Since no sound exists in that instance, there’s no reference point and how do you make it distinct enough to get it played?  There are others but that one was a challenge.

    Dee O: What’s the most memorable and or unique sound you were asked to make/record? 

    DM: This is what is known as an “imponderable.”  Each had a quality of it’s own.  Memorable would have me recall the event or circumstance and people involved more than the sound(s) itself.

    Kyle S: Why was there was no Chuck Norris in the Next Generation. That would have been epic……

    DM: Several characters exhibited talents and abilities similar to those of Chuck’s.  At the time, Chuck was so well known he would never be accepted as another character.  Think about it… Chuck has, regardless of the portrayal, always played himself.  His show, Walker, Texas Ranger, also competed with TNG for audience.

    Miki K: What do you think is your most creative sound? 

    DM: The one I haven’t yet thought of.  You are always creating and each is a new challenge.

    * * * * *

    Thanks for your questions everyone! Thanks to Mama Jedi for her superb camera and interview assisting skills. And a huge thanks to Dean for taking the time out to let me bumble my way through this interview and for being such a rad Popi.

    Previous blogs that were mentioned in the video portion of the interview:

    Visiting the set of Serenity

    All of the Star Trek: The Next Generation stuff Dean gave me

  • Star Trek Podcast (Ten Forward)

    I’m sick for the second time in a week and I have a gopher that is destroying my yard and my life.  So lame.  Just before I got sick the first time I participated in a Star Trek discussion with Isaac and Mark over at World’s Best Podcast for a new section of the podcast they are calling “Ten Forward.”

    If this all rings a bell it’s because I participated in a Daredevil discussion with them about a month ago.

    For the first episode of Ten Forward we discussed our favorite episodes from Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.  I LOVE talking about Star Trek so this was a really fun one for me.  Hope you like it!

    [audio http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerlightsmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://tinmanfrisbie.podbean.com/mf/play/vmgszk/tenforwardseason1episode1.mp3]

    Just like before, WordPress has issues with the above audio player and it can take a while to buffer.  If you’re having problems just click here to listen to the podcast.  Sorry about that, I’m trying to figure out how to fix it.

    Look for more stimulating Star Trek conversations in the future!