Creation Entertainment celebrated the 15th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation this weekend with a special convention in Pasadena, California, home of the ever-popular Grand Slam. Many TNG luminaries were on hand to reminisce about good times and look ahead to the upcoming "Star Trek Nemesis." While castmembers fielded questions from fans, the dealer's room buzzed — particularly regarding the special "Nemesis" museum, which featured costumes and props from the movie (see related story). And it seems that the stars are just as excited about the movie as the fans...

Patrick Stewart

Naturally, the highlight of this TNG-themed con was an appearance by Captain Picard himself — Patrick Stewart, who was greeted by enthusiastic cheers when he took to the stage Saturday afternoon. Dressed comfortably in jeans, Stewart was on the receiving end of many compliments from admirers ("The jeans are happenin'" and a simple "You look hot!" among them).

Stewart is in the midst of filming the sequel to X-Men, in which he reprises his role as Professor Xavier. Luckily, he managed to get the day off, much to the delight of fans in attendance. "The good mutants of the world can get along without me for one day!" he said.

Stewart kicked things off by singing the praises of another much-anticipated sequel: "Star Trek Nemesis." "It's terrific," he enthused. "I was excited by it, and pleased that it seems to represent The Next Generation. In the hands of [director] Stuard Baird, it has a lot of energy. The action is outstanding ... there are some very intense relationships. But the one thing it has, that perhaps we haven't quite had since 'Generations,' is emotion. It's emotionally a very, very intense movie, and the last half an hour is quite a roller coaster ride, I warn you. I might even suggest you bring one of those miniature packets of tissues with you."

Stewart also expressed excitement about screenwriter John Logan, who he refers to as "a terrific chap." "Because he's a fan, and a big fan, he has added into it some things that, as a fan, he wanted to see," Stewart said. "It was a little embarrassing when we were having script conferences two years ago — Rick Berman, Brent Spiner and myself — and it would be John Logan, the new boy, who would say things like, 'No, no, no, you can't do that, because in episode 28 ...'"

Commenting on the long wait between "Star Trek: Insurrection" and "Nemesis," Stewart said, "I feel it has been worth waiting for." As for those rumors that this may be the last Star Trek movie featuring the TNG cast, Stewart commented, "If it is a farewell to Next Generation, it's a lovely farewell. If it isn't, then there is a sequel just screaming to be made."

But getting down to the real issues of whether another TNG movie would follow, "It's a matter of [butts] in seats," he said. "We've got to have a fantastic opening weekend — Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We've got to be up there competing with 'James Bond,' 'Harry Potter' and 'Lord of the Rings,'" the other major films coming this holiday season with which "Nemesis" will have to share the box office pie.

Stewart also discussed upcoming projects for his production company, Flying Freehold Productions, which is currently enjoying the success of the TNT movie "King of Texas." Flying Freehold will next take on a remake of "The Lion in Winter" for Showtime. Stewart noted that this new version will shoot in Budapest and will use the same screenplay as the original film.

Stewart also mentioned that he hopes to return to the stage in May, and noted that people are always wondering when he's going to pen his memoirs. "My wife gave me my opening line for my autobiography, which would be: 'I was very young when I was born,'" he said. "But I don't see myself getting much further than that. So what I've started doing is writing essays about individual things, in the hope that maybe in five years time, all these essays will start to overlap and there will be a picture that is something to do with Patrick Stewart."

Towards the end of his appearance, Stewart was surprised onstage by TNG's good doctor, Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher). After sharing a warm hug, Stewart joked, "They were just asking about you and me: Why didn't we get it together? I said you didn't want to!" Countered McFadden, "You said that? You mean you misunderstood that last letter of mine?"

Gates McFadden

Right after Stewart's talk, McFadden got up onstage for her own Q&A session. The actress, who is busy starting a theater in France, mentioned that she very much enjoyed reuniting with her TNG castmates for "Nemesis." "It's like no time passes," she said. "Except when you see Wil Wheaton is suddenly a man ... He was only 14 when I first met him! They're great people. [Over the years], everyone gets wiser and nicer and our friendships get deeper."

One of McFadden's TNG pals, Brent Spiner (Data), recently welcomed a son into the world. "Brent's little boy is so beautiful," she said. "He was born in a space suit, and, yes ... gold. They're going to try to get some action figures out on him."

When asked about her onscreen son, Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher), McFadden noted that their current relationship is more peer/peer than parent/child. "He's a parent, I'm a parent, we have even more things in common," she said. "He's a dream. I love him."

As for her relationship with potential onscreen love interest Stewart, McFadden joked about Beverly's penchant for being interrupted every time she uttered the line, "Jean-Luc, there's something I have to tell you ..." "It had something to do with the money he owed her," joked McFadden. "Obviously, it had to do with very intimate matters. I know what I was going to say to him, but I really couldn't say it in front of you."

Towards the end of her session, a question was posed to McFadden regarding her character's growth over the years: If "Nemesis" Beverly Crusher could travel back in time and meet Season One Beverly Crusher, what would she say?

Responded McFadden, "Other than saying, 'Oh, baby, you have got a lot of wigs in your future' or 'Sleep with him now, because you won't get the chance to later,' I think I would probably embrace her and say, 'You've got a lot to learn, but it's gonna be a fun ride.'"

Wil Wheaton

As McFadden noted, Wesley Crusher is all grown up. "I'm 30 years old," exclaimed Wil Wheaton, taking to the stage earlier in the day. "We're celebrating 15 years of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is half of my life! I have spent half of my life involved in this incredible phenomenon and part of this huge family."

Wheaton had the crowd in stitches throughout his appearance, thanks to an amusing array of anecdotes. One such story revolved around the moment wherein he finally got to switch from Wesley's gray outfit, which he refers to as the "iron maiden," to the standard Starfleet uniform. "That was such an amazing moment for me," he said.

However, Wheaton would soon learn the difficulties inherent to sporting the real deal. He discovered that the top of the suit had a peculiar way of riding up, and when he tried adjusting it on-camera, he was approached by one of the show's producers. "[The producer] says, 'Look, you can't pull your spacesuit down like that.' And I say, 'You want me to leave it like this?' And he says, 'No, you can't pull it down like that, that's the Picard Maneuver. That's Patrick's move.'"

Though perplexed by such a mandate, Wheaton joked that this sort of thing is a reflection of his castmate's sheer charisma. "God knows, Patrick Stewart can't do anything and just throw it away!" he said. "Every single thing that he does has to be like a big dramatic thing, he's just that kind of guy! I've had dinner at Patrick's house and just taking the lid off the butter dish, you expect there to be a crash of symbols and violins, because everything is so deliberate and planned out."

Wheaton also mentioned that his small part in "Nemesis" was cut. "The scene was really inconsequential to the main spine of the story, and they cut it out," he said. "I really wasn't that upset about being cut out of the film, because all of the really awesome, really wonderful, really positive aspects of being involved in the movie are not affected in any way by me not being in the final cut of the movie. I got to go and hang out with my surrogate family again, I got to wear the spacesuit again, I got to be part of the Star Trek family again. The check cleared. It was all good!"

Luckily, Wheaton is keeping busy with other projects — he's writing for the gaming show Arena and recently finished the manuscript for a book, and of course, he is constantly updating his popular Web site, wilwheaton.net.

James Cromwell

Bringing the prestige of Academy Award and Emmy nominations to the stage on Sunday was actor James Cromwell, revered by the audience not just for his illustrious role as Zefram Cochrane in "Star Trek: First Contact," but for his overall eminent body of work. In fact, during this, his first convention appearance, only a small portion of his time was spent talking about Star Trek, as the fans were just as interested in his experiences working on "Babe," "Space Cowboys," "The General's Daughter" and All in the Family, among other things.

But regarding his experience playing the most prominent historical figure in the Star Trek universe, he said, "I had a lot of fun doing that role, because they actually wrote it for me. It's nice to know that if you don't really screw up, you're gonna get it!" On top of that, Cromwell was already familiar with the Star Trek environment because he had played three parts previously, in episodes of TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. "I had known them all before. And because they know each other so well, there's not the same sort of jockeying that goes on when everybody is just beginning a project and has to figure out what the pecking order is. They all know where they fit in and they're all comfortable with each other, so it's just a great, great family. Plus Jonathan [Frakes] makes everything fun," he said of the "First Contact" cast and director.

Cromwell was aware that the part of Zefram Cochrane was originated by Glenn Corbett in "Metamorphosis," but he didn't try to view the Original Series episode in preparation. "I never actually saw his performance, and I didn't bother to look, because I was going to do something different anyway. I figured, since they wrote it for me, they probably had something else in mind — whatever I bring, they wanted." He expressed concern that Corbett might be unhappy with not getting to reprise the part, but then learned the actor had already passed away (in 1993).

He also enjoyed playing Cochrane again in a cameo role during the Enterprise premiere "Broken Bow," and was glad to lend the show some continuity. "It's always very nice to be asked, and especially at the beginning of the show, try to be helpful."

Cromwell laughed when asked how many times he's been the President of the United States on film. "I have the market cornered at this particular point," he remarked. He pointed out he's actually only been president twice, in "The Sum of All Fears" and HBO's "RFK" as Lyndon Johnson. He added, "Now that I've done a senator and two presidents, I think the Pope is next."

Very congenial and personable, Cromwell touched the audience most while describing his experience playing "Farmer Hoggett" in "Babe" (for which he was nominated for an Oscar). He was to say his famous line, "That'll do pig, that'll do," directly into the camera lens, and found he was confronting his own reflection. "What I saw was my father — because in my makeup with my sideburns, it looked like my father. And when I said the line, what I heard was, 'That'll do Jamie, that'll do.'"

Story and Photos by Sarah Kuhn, Paul Plunkett & Sandy Stone

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