Latest news with #WilliamShatner
Geek Wire
3 days ago
- Science
- Geek Wire
‘We did it!' Globe-spanning travelers take a quick space trip on Blue Origin rocket ship
Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket ship rises spaceward from its Texas launch pad, as seen from a drone hovering above. (Blue Origin via YouTube) Six well-traveled adventurers rode Blue Origin's suborbital rocket ship to go where they've never gone before: the edge of space. The 10-minute mission lifted off from the Kent, Wash.-based company's Launch Site One in West Texas at 8:39 a.m. CT (6:39 a.m. PT) today. This was Blue Origin's 32nd New Shepard suborbital launch and its 12th crewed mission. New Shepard's booster sent the crew capsule to a height of about 104 kilometers (64.4 miles, or 339,800 feet) — just beyond the 100-kilometer (62-mile) altitude that marks the internationally accepted boundary of space. After separation, the reusable booster descended to a landing pad under autonomous control. Meanwhile, the spacefliers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and got an astronaut's-eye view of Earth beneath a black sky. At the end of the ride, the capsule made a parachute-aided descent to the rangeland surrounding the launch site. Since 2021, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture has flown 64 suborbital space travelers, including 'Star Trek' captain William Shatner and Bezos himself. A previous New Shepard flight in April sent up an all-female crew including pop superstar Katy Perry, CBS morning-show host Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and journalist who is Bezos' fiancée. That mission generated celebrity buzz as well as backlash. The lineup for the NS-32 mission included: Jaime Alemán , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. , a Panamanian attorney, business executive and former ambassador to the U.S. Blue Origin says this flight will make Alemán the first person to travel to all 193 U.N.-recognized member states, the North and South Poles and outer space. Gretchen Green , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. , a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She's an alumna of Space Camp and now serves on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. Paul Jeris , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. 'You guys, we did it!' he said after touchdown. , a real estate developer and entrepreneur based in Ohio. He has visited more than 149 countries so far and says he aims to see every nation. 'You guys, we did it!' he said after touchdown. Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. , a high-school and middle-school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas. She has led more than 60 space experiments and zero-gravity projects. She was born in Puerto Rico, and her seat is sponsored by Farmacias Similares, a Mexican company that's committed to social impact and accessible health care across Latin America. Mark Rocket , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. , an entrepreneur and tech leader from New Zealand. He's the CEO of Kea Aerospace and the president of Aerospace New Zealand. He was a seed investor in Rocket Lab, where he served as co-director from 2007 to 2011. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer who has reached the summits of six of the seven highest peaks on Earth, including Mount Everest and Antarctica's Mount Vinson. In addition to the travelers, Blue Origin's crew capsule carried more than 1,000 postcards that were sent in by students as part of an educational campaign organized by the Club for the Future, the company's nonprofit foundation.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
John Cena to appear at the 2025 Fan Expo in Denver, along with other celebrities
Every year the Fan Expo in Denver brings in big names to the Mile High City, and this year is no different. The annual convention announced on Tuesday that the professional wrestler and actor John Cena will be among those making appearances. John Cena celebrates after his victory over Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller / Getty Images Cena is in the middle of his final year of professional wrestling in the WWE. He'll retire from the profession that made him famous at the end of the year, and told CBS News last year that he's open to new possibilities. Last month, Cena became the most decorated champion in WWE history. He won the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. The 2025 Fan Expo takes place at the Colorado Convention Center July 3 through July 6. Cena's Q&A session will take place on July 5. Tickets for his session will go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. at Actors Brendan Fraser and William Shatner will also be at the convention, along with dozens of other actors who have had roles popular sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV shows. There will also be a special appearance by dog actress Peggy, also known as Dogpool. The dog appeared in the hit movie "Deadpool & Wolverine." The convention brings in nearly 1 million fans each year.
Buzz Feed
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
People Share Best And Worst Celebrity Experiences
There's often a huge gap between who celebrities appear to be onscreen and who they really are in person, and unfortunately, that reality can sometimes be more disappointing than we'd like to admit. Over the years, the internet has been flooded with firsthand accounts from people who've crossed paths with stars, revealing just how different those encounters can be. Some celebrities sound incredibly kind, humble, and down-to-earth. Others? Not so much. Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their best and worst experiences working with celebrities. Here's what they had to say: "I was working a flight from LA, and on walked William Shatner." I've been a Star Trek fan from the beginning, in part because my dad was an airline pilot with the last name Kirk, therefore Captain Kirk. I'd hoped to have William on a flight someday so I could relay this story to him. Unfortunately, when I asked him if I could get him anything prior to takeoff, all I got was, in a very angry voice, 'Don't want anything to eat or drink, just leave me alone.'" —goldenjaguar92 "I just recently worked with Joan Jett! She was AMAZING! I've been a fan of hers for as long as I've been alive, and I collect Funko Pops. I happened to have one of her, so I asked if she could sign it because we worked together!" "'Worked with' is pushing it, but Keanu Reeves practiced his horse stunts for a movie at my barn." "I'm not a huge fan, but every time he came, he was genuinely nice to the fans and said hi to me every time we crossed paths and even laughed when my coworker fan girled haaaard and signed stuff for her. This was at the end of what he said was a long and hard day, so kudos to him."—progiant876 "I worked with Keith from the Try Guys last summer and his band, Lewberger. Of course, the same day that they were performing and we were working with them was the one day Houston decided to have a derecho, and a literal tornado took the roof off of the venue he was performing at." "The first movie I ever worked on starred Patrick Swayze, amongst others. One day on set, they realized they didn't have legal approval to reference an actual place in LA, so the producers were trying to think of a made-up alternative." "I was standing nearby and heard them and blurted out a fictional name. It was so good, they asked Patrick if he wanted to use that line. He loved it so much he asked me to come help him come up with more ideas to improv his dialogue. We became good friends after that. It broke my heart when he lost his battle with cancer. He was truly one of the kindest, talented, and funniest people I've ever met."—Anonymous, 46, Los Angeles I was an extra in the show Portlandia. Fred Armisen was the sweetest! They were filming a skit as their book owner characters that I wasn't in, so I was waiting around the set and there was a couch, so I sat there with a couple of other extras." "Once Fred was done with his part, he came and sat with us. He was asking everyone their names, and he remembered me! He asked how I was liking being an extra. He was still dressed as his character, which made him feel like a loving auntie. Carrie Brownstein was aloof; she didn't talk to the extras, and she didn't hang out on set. In one of the skits, I had a part as 'Carrie's Annoying Friend', and she was either acting or I truly annoyed her because she would glare at me and not talk to me in between takes. At one point, she kept saying 'go away' as we were filming, and she looked and sounded so angry, I wasn't sure if she was even acting anymore. I looked at the crew, and they just stared back, so I walked off the set and no one said anything."—Anonymous, 31, Oregon "I volunteered to work at the National Civil Rights Museum for the Freedom Awards. Usher was one of the celebrities invited. I opened the door to let him in. He didn't have an entourage, which was very surprising. He shook hands and was very friendly." "Our job was to shield him from excessive contact with those who might want to get too close. We told him we would follow him around to kind of shield him from the crowd. He politely asked us if we would stand back so that he could walk around and be a part of the crowd. We gave him the space he asked for, and it worked perfectly for him and his young admirers. They didn't overwhelm him, and he was friendly and personable with everyone. I was truly impressed with his friendliness and humility."—Anonymous, Memphis, Tennessee "Worked for Jerry Bruckheimer as a receptionist in the 2010s. There was a huge fountain in the middle of the office that was always off since we were in the midst of one of California's many droughts." "But whenever we heard Jerry was coming, we had to run to turn it on to make sure the fountain was going when he entered the lobby, even if he was only there for a few minutes. As soon as he left the building, back off it went."—Anonymous, 32, Los Angeles "A few years ago, I was working on a production team of more than 30 people shooting a big-budget ad campaign for a prominent eyewear brand that was collaborating with Zayn Malik." "This was around the time he was dating Gigi Hadid, and shortly after they had their child. It was a three-day shoot, and Zayn, the 'talent,' was arriving to shoot his scenes at the end of the last day for four hours. Day one was set up and preparation, day two was shooting ancillary content needed for the campaign, and day three was dedicated to setting up for the 'talent' to arrive and shoot his scenes. On day three, buzz around the set was that Zayn is extremely difficult to work with, and only essential production was to be on set when he was on set. Well, when Zayn arrived, it became apparent very quickly that he was living up to his reputation. Zayn was unhappy with the number of wardrobe changes he was asked to do between scenes, had a temper tantrum, and stormed off set like a child. We all sat there astonished at the actions of a grown adult professional until the director called it a wrap early, with barely any of the 'talent's' content shot. An entire production team worked for 2.5 days in preparation for Zayn's four hours on set, and after less than two hours, he stormed off like a child because he was asked to do wardrobe changes between scenes. The post-production team cobbled together what they could and was able to deliver an abridged campaign to the kicker is that the campaign was scheduled to launch shortly after the shoot. The launch was delayed because a week after he stormed off set, Zayn received a slew of bad press for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend's mother, Yolanda Hadid. This all tracks with what I witnessed on set the week prior. The campaign eventually launched almost a year later, after things had cooled down. "—Anonymous, 43, New York City "Years ago, I was working at a very exclusive salon in Beverly Hills. We had a great client named 'Bob' who was funny and totally cool. After a haircut and blow dry, he invited my boss and me to a preview of his friend 'Rob's' new movie." "My boss took a pass, but I said sure, thinking, 'Yeah, everyone has a movie in Hollywood.' I went with my roommate, not expecting much. To my surprise, everybody who was anybody in comedy was there! It turns out his friend 'Rob' was Rob Steiner, and the movie was When Harry Met Sally! I was floored! Turns out 'Bob' was Bob Zmuda, who created Comic Relief! He was the coolest guy! I never forgot it!"—Anonymous, 60, Novato, CA "I once worked with James Earl Jones. I hired him to do the audio for a small multimedia show I was directing and producing." "He was in a studio in New York City, and I was in a studio in my hometown. I had sent his agent the script, which he passed along to Mr. Jones, and he would read it into the telephone, and I would critique his performance.I answered the initial phone call, 'Hello, Mr Jones!' He immediately said, 'Call me Jim.' He must have detected some nervousness in my voice and said, 'Relax, Jeri, let's just have some fun here. I like doing small, innovative projects like this, and you just tell me how you want it and if I'm doing it right.' After several readings, I got EXACTLY what I wanted, and we spent the next 20 minutes talking small talk about his life in Michigan and answering many of his questions about my life. What a fantastic time we had just 'chewin' the fat.' A SELFLESS AND WONDERFUL GENTLEMAN!!"—Anonymous, 81, Grand Rapids Michigan "Christina Aguilera screamed for her assistant to come running (from across the room) because, 'My coffee is hot. Take the lid off!'" "Mind you, I was a) doing her makeup and could have done it for her, and b) SHE COULD HAVE USED HER OWN LEFT HAND. Needless to say, I never took a job with her again. We do not reward bad behavior."—Anonymous, 45, Los Angeles "G-Eazy. He's rude to minimum-wage staff. Gets real nasty when he doesn't get his way. Will utilize his fan base to inflict hate on someone he doesn't like. Dude is WAY too old to be acting the way he does." "On the opposite end, Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why) is an absolute sweetheart who allows the venue to buy extra water bottles for his fans at shows when he's on tour with his band Wallows. He talks with the staff and thanks them for their contributions, everyone from janitorial to security. "—Anonymous, 30, CA "Worked at a theatre with Piper Laurie many years ago. She was the nicest person, just a sweetheart. Near the end of the run, she took everyone involved with her show, all of us backstage people, to one of the most expensive restaurants in town and bought all of us a fabulous dinner. Great memory. Wonderful, talented lady." —Anonymous "I worked as a tour guide and would take celebrities out to see the animals at a famous zoo. I did tours for A-list actors, athletes, and musicians. My favorite was a private tour for Mariah Carey, who insisted on bringing her hair and makeup team on the tour. They touched her up mid-tour. She was nice enough, but was very late for her scheduled tour, I'm talking two hours late for a one-hour tour." —Anonymous, 42 California "Worked with and for Paul Simon, nothing like his and rude individual." —Anonymous, 67, New Canaan, Conn. "My sister was a designer for one of Timothée Chalamet's minor movies. She told me they had one interaction in which she dropped a pile of papers. Timothée helped her pick them all up, even though he was in a rush, and thought it was his fault! It wasn't though, my sister has always been really clumsy, lol." —Anonymous "Used to work for the band Foster the People. They were nice to me and always had a big party after their concerts. Sometimes, Jacob Fink and I would hang out at the party and get a drink." —Anonymous, 24, Fredrick Maryland "I was working security for Guns N' Roses when they were just starting out in the late '80s. Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear came to a concert in Pasadena, and I was assigned to escort them." "I approached and introduced myself. Heather Locklear immediately puts out her hand and says, 'Hello, I'm Heather, nice to meet you.' So genuine, especially since I knew exactly who she was, and she was even more attractive in person."—Anonymous, 60, Los Angeles "Worst celebrity: Mario Andretti. He flew into where I worked and demanded instant service, got pissed and started poking me in the chest with his finger." "The boss came out and told him if he poked me again that I had his (my boss') permission to break his arm and shove it up his ass. Then the boss told Mario to get the f*ck out of his usiness. The best celebrity was Keanu Reeves, saw his band live, and when they took a break, he sat on the edge of the stage BS'ing with us like he knew us."—Anonymous, 62, Portland, OR "Back in the late '90s, I worked on Dharma and Greg starring Jenna Elfman. The set was filled with wonderful actors, but none shone as bright as Jenna." "She was the consummate professional, always on time and brought the magic every time. It was a pleasure dealing with her, no matter the situation. Jenna was very kind to everyone on the set and knew all of our names and engaged with us when she had the time. I'm sure there are plenty of negative interactions people are submitting, take the worst of them, and that is the opposite of Jenna Elfman."—Anonymous, 61, Los Angeles Do you have a story about a celebrity you'd like to share? Drop it in the comments.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
William Shatner is coming to the Bay Area. Here's how to get tickets
William Shatner once went to space. Now he's beaming to Northern California as part of a national tour scheduled for later this year. The 10-city ' William Shatner: Live on Stage ' tour, which begins in Dallas on July 30, ends with stops at the Golden State Theatre in Monterey on Nov. 15 and the Uptown Theatre in Napa on Nov. 16. The evenings are scheduled to begin with a screening of the 1982 classic ' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.' Afterward, Shatner, 94, takes the stage to discuss his seven-decade career, including a behind-the-scenes look at playing his signature role, Captain James T. Kirk, the star of 'Star Trek' television series and movies. Shatner might even discuss his trip aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in 2021, during which he became the oldest person to visit space (90 years, 253 days). He'll also take audience questions. Widely considered the best 'Star Trek' film ever made, 'The Wrath of Khan' co-stars series regulars Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols, as well as a great performance by Ricardo Montalbán as the title villain. Tickets for the Monterey stop run from $66.60-$82.57; in Napa, they are $79.30-$116.80. Each show includes two levels of VIP add-ons for an extra fee. For $137.93, fans will have a post-show photo opportunity with Shatner. Premium VIP tickets at $261.36 include an exclusive signed poster in addition to the photo opportunity. Orpheum Theatre in 2012 and the Warfield in 2016 as well as an appearance at Fan Expo at Moscone Center in 2023. 'Because life is so temporary, I'm living as hard as I can,' Shatner told the Chronicle in 2016.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
The Top Moments From Season 6 of Family Feud Canada
What were the best moments from last season of Family Feud Canada? Survey says: Too many to count. But that doesn't mean we can't try! In a season full of great families, hilarious answers, ridiculous questions and more, we did our best to pick a few of our favourite moments. Gerry For Mayor "Let's Keep Dildo Canadian, eh?" What started as a joke became a reality as the residents of Dildo, Newfoundland (Yes, that's the town's real name) petitioned to oust honorary mayor Jimmy Kimmel and replace him with Canada's own Gerry Dee. Jimmy, why aren't you returning our calls? Redemption Week We've had countless incredible families compete on the show over the years, and we kicked off the season with a shot at a redemption tournament with a few of our favourites. Sadly, there were no more on-air proposals, but we were pleased to find out that the Woodman family have expanded their love for gummies beyond a viral moment and into a business! Meet Gerry's Replacement Canada's Make-a-Wish Canada made a 13-year-old superfans dream of becoming a gameshow host a reality when Christos took over hosting duties for Gerry Dee for a special taping of Family Feud Canada. And what did Gerry have to say about his replacement? "I can't believe CBC would do that to me. Bring in my replacement, right before my eyes. The scary thing is, he was actually really good. I'm glad he's not old enough to have the job. Otherwise, I think I would be in big trouble." William Shatner Puts A Debate to Rest Is the sun a planet? Apparently so according to one of our favourite viral moments that has caused much debate. Well, we finally decided to consult an expert to answer the question. And who better to weigh in on the subject than Captain Kirk himself. Canadian legend William Shatner had some insightful (and hilarious) thoughts to help finally put the debate to rest.
