News

Star Trek: Voyager is a noble misfire.

Twenty-five years ago today, Voyager aired its two-hour pilot, “Caretaker.” It gave us Captain Janeway and her crew — stranded 75,000 light-years from home in the uncharted Delta Quadrant — and made TV history by being the first Star Trek series to have a female captain (this was a centerpiece of the series’ marketing launch on then-new network Upn). The series would spend seven seasons (the first two very bumpy) trying to get Janeway and a diverse group of Starfleet personnel and former officers known as the Maquis back to Earth....

In today’s film news roundup, “Green Book” gets a festival honor, the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild names lifetime achievement winners, and indies “Tyger Tyger” and “Sons of the Cross” are heading into production.

Honors

The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present the drama “Green Book” with the Vanguard Award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 3.

The Vanguard Award is a group honor for a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project. Actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali as well as director Peter Farrelly are expected to attend.

“Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are an on-camera dream team in the crowd-pleasing film ‘Green Book,’ inspired by a true friendship, about a New York City bouncer hired to drive and protect pianist Dr. Don Shirley on a concert tour in the Deep South,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner.

A few details have emerged for the mysterious thriller Caretaker. This film is being developed by production house Radioactive Giant and their subsidiary RG360. In the film, a son returns to his childhood home and his mother is struggling with dementia. A caretaker is hired to look after the family grounds, but no one is as they appear to be. This horror title is expected to complete in 2015. A concept poster is available here, with more crew details below. The poster shows the film's central setting, an ancient mansion. The darkness on the grounds alludes to the film's inner mysteries, which involve identity. Strange clouds are brewing in this early graphic. As well, a second graphic at the Radioactive Giant website focuses on this remote setting, but the mansion looks even more menacing. Perhaps, Caretaker will be a haunted house feature. More details on the film will be posted as they become available.