CULTURE VULTURE
Patrick Stewart delights fans with return to ‘Star Trek’
Actor Patrick Stewart has announced that he is boldly going back to his role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he said he will reprise in a new Star Trek series. The British actor, 78, revealed he would return to the role as the captain during his surprise appearance at the annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, stating: “It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions with him.” The new series is to centre on Picard’s life post
Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994 with 178 episodes, and spawned several films, the last in 2002. “I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The
Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” Stewart said. “It has been humbling to hear stories about how Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives, or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership,” he continued. “I feel I’m ready to return to him for the same reason – to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often dark times.” Star Trek is a multibillion-dollar cultural phenomenon beloved by fans worldwide. Details on the new series, including title or release date, remain under wraps.
Ai Weiwei says Chinese authorities have begun demolishing his Beijing studio
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says authorities have begun razing his Beijing studio. The frequent government critic wrote on his Instagram account that the demolition began without notice on Friday, and he posted videos of an excavator smashing the windows of his “Zuoyou” studio. The studio in the north east Beijing suburbs has been Weiwei’s primary work space since 2006, although he has mostly been based in Europe in recent years. It’s unclear whether the demolition is targeting Weiwei. Beijing authorities have demolished large swathes of the suburbs in the past year in a building safety campaign, typically giving at least several days’ notice. Weiwei, who has called attention to human rights violations and government corruption in China, was held for more than two months in 2011 for alleged tax evasion.
Chris Rock to star in new season of popular crime drama ‘Fargo’
Four-time Emmy winner and stand-up comedian Chris Rock, below, will star in a fourth season of FX Networks’ Emmywinning crime drama Fargo. The season will tell the story of two 1950s crime families who have traded their eldest sons, the network announced. Production on the new instalment will start in 2019, FX Networks chief executive John Landgraf said at a Television Critics Association event, where networks promote upcoming shows. The season will be set in Kansas City, Missouri, at a time when the Midwest was dealing with clashes between Europeans who had emigrated to the United States and African Americans who had left the US South to escape discrimination, Landgraf said. Rock will play the head of an AfricanAmerican family who surrenders his oldest boy to his enemy – an Italian – to keep an uneasy peace, Landgraf said. The Fargo television series was adapted from Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 Oscar-winning film of the same name and it won the Emmy award for best limited series in 2014.