LOS ANGELES - Actor Zachary Quinto has transitioned swiftly from a television villain into an unlikely action film star in J.J Abrams’ rebooted “Star Trek” franchise, playing the series’ most recognizable half-Vulcan, Spock.
The 35-year-old actor, who gained fame as super-villain Sylar in sci-fi television series “Heroes,” will reprise his role as the pointy-eared first officer of the starship Enterprise in “Star Trek Into Darkness,” which will be released in theaters on Friday.
The actor spoke about the challenges of playing Spock and why he chose to go public about being gay.
Q: “Star Trek Into Darkness” has more action, set pieces and destinations than the 2009 reboot. Is that right?
A: You’re right. It’s a larger scale version of the “Star Trek” story. The first one was about re-conceiving people’s perceptions of “Star Trek,” and trying to infuse it with new energy. The self-contained and more intimate nature of that film made sense. Now, people are more familiar with us as these characters so this movie builds on that and expands on it.
Q: What is Spock struggling with in this film?
A: I think he’s learning how to be accountable and responsible to the people he loves and cares about. He is learning to embody and live the qualities of what it means to be a friend and what it means to be responsible to other people emotionally, because that’s not the place from which he leads. He needs to learn how to integrate that part of himself and honor the feelings he has for the people he loves.
Q: What do you learn from Spock on a personal level?
A: I have an inherent understanding to his nature, which is one of duality - the head versus the heart. That is certainly something I can relate to. As someone who has been considered pretty intellectual and wordy, I also have a deep well of emotional life. I understand what it means to be in constant relationship to both of those aspects of myself.
Q: Which of Spock’s qualities do you aspire for yourself?
A: The equanimity with which he deals with every situation in front of him, and the thoughtfulness and care he gives to measure his reactions. Sometimes I can be a little extreme in my reaction to something. I respect his reservedness and pensive consideration, which is an aspect of me but outweighed by my instinctual or impulsive reactions to things sometimes.
Grindr, the popular gay mobile app, has announced that it will be donating 100% of all revenue from new subscribers to Grindr Extra this week to Israeli couple Yuval and Liran, as part of their Grindr for Equality world campaign.
“I read about Yuval and Liran’s emotional personal story and was impressed by their creativity in pursuing their dream of fatherhood, and their persistence, recruiting international celebrities such as Joan Rivers, to help raise awareness that in so many parts of the world the joy of parenthood and other aspects of family are still not available to gays who are not equals in the eye of the law.” Joel Simkhai, Israeli-born CEO and founder of Grindr said in a statement.
“We at Grindr believe in giving back to the gay community that’s been so loyal to us and made us the #1 dating app for gays. With our ability to reach millions of users, Grindr is in a unique position to provide real and meaningful assistance within the community and advance the cause of our community worldwide.”
The story of Yuval and Liran, an Israeli couple who have been trying to have a kid via surrogacy for the past two years and lost most of their money, in the process went viral after the couple filmed themselves holding up signs criticizing Israeli surrogacy laws, which they see as discriminatory against gay couples. A number of Israeli celebrities supported their cause by photographing themselves holding up similar signs, stating “We want them to have a baby too,”
What is it with Mila Kunis and loving propositions from fans?
Apparently Mila wasn’t the only one charmed by BBC Radio 1 reporter, Chris Stark, whose debut interview garnered over 10.5 million views on Youtube after the clip went viral. Kirsten Ariel Bledsoe, a senior at Hollins University in Virginia, was so inspired by Stark’s performance that she decided to ask the actress out herself — to her college cotillion.
In a video put together by Bledsoe and a friend, she says:
“I would really like to go out with a bang - or I would really like to go out with you. It’s my senior year in college; it’s my last school dance, so I figured I’d ask someone who’s never been to a school dance with a willing date before. So, just let me know, and I’ll bring the Blue Moon, and you just bring yourself,” Bledsoe told her celebrity crush in the video.
“I am gay. Any attention the video gets is a great way to highlight LGBTQ awareness in a rural Southern state,Bledsoe explained in an interview with The Daily Beast.
“I don’t know if Mila will say yes if the video reaches her. I do think that if she chooses to acknowledge it she will be kind and funny if not willing to go. The biggest conflict, I think, would be her busy schedule,”
So, why Mila?
“She is very grounded, and she is always herself. She is private, but she is real. She has a great sense of humor, and, you know, she isn’t bad looking either,” Bledsoe gushed.
Will she? Won’t she? We can’t wait to find out!
In the meantime, watch the video below (and take some notes — this is golden dating advice):
The Jewish Press, a Brooklyn-based weekly tabloid with a strong religious focus, is standing its ground after its advertisers were “threatened” by unnamed groups who objected to a recent op-ed by a gay ex-Hasid.
That story, by a young man named Chaim Levin, revealed “bullying, silencing, and torment for being gay in the frum community”, forced therapy sessions aimed at changing his sexual orientation – and pressure in his Orthodox milieu that nearly led Levin to suicide.
In an op-ed this week headlined “The Jewish Press Won’t Be Silenced,” the paper’s editorial board thanked “our advertisers who have notified us that they plan to continue with us despite the threatening letters and that they won’t give into threats either, particularly when an article like this one may very well have saved a Jewish life.
Looks like there will be no follow up to “Wowshwitz,” this year’s season finale of “The Sarah Silverman Program,” which just got axed from Comedy Central.
Deadline Hollywood reports that Comedy Central did not renew the show for a fourth season despite a Twitter campaign to keep it alive.
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