Shatner Grooming "Lake" Release

According to his Fan Club Web site, William Shatner's independent directorial effort "Groom Lake" is being released today on video and DVD by Shadow Entertainment. "Groom Lake" is the project Shatner has spoken about in many of his talk show appearances over the last couple of years, calling it a "labor of love" with very tight budgetary constraints, which he shot on digital video (with no real intention of showing it theatrically) in Arizona near the Mexican border. The Fan Club site describes it as a science fiction story set in a small desert town centering around a young woman (played by Amy Acker of Angel fame) who has a terminal illness and sets out to prove the existence of extraterrestrials, thereby reaffirming that life does not end with the death of our physical bodies. The story was conceived by Shatner, but the screenplay was written by Maurice Hurley, the one-time Star Trek: The Next Generation co-executive producer who created the Borg with the script "Q Who?" and wrote several other TNG episodes. The movie also stars Dan Gauthier ("Ensign Lavelle" in TNG's "Lower Decks") and Tom Towles ("Hon'Tihl" in DS9's "Dramatis Personae" and "Dr. Vatm" in Voyager's "Rise") along with Dick Van Patten and Shatner himself. DVD copies are available online from this link, but will also be sold through WilliamShatner.com later in the week. (For VHS copies, inquire at your local video store.)

Horner Has "Mind" in Grammys

Academy Award-winning composer James Horner, who created the moving themes for "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," earned a place in this year's Grammy nominations, which were announced this morning. His Oscar-nominated music for "A Beautiful Mind" is contending in the category "Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media." This is his fourth Grammy nomination, and he has won the trophy all three previous times. The 45th Annual Grammy Awards will be handed out February 23 in New York, broadcast on CBS. The full nominee list can be found at Grammy.com.

Outrageous "Okona" Casting

From roguish space captain to infamous serial killer... Billy Campbell has been cast as Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious criminals of modern times who was executed in 1989, in a new USA Network movie entitled "Ann Rule Presents: The Stranger Beside Me." Barbara Hershey will play the title character, a best-selling author whose book by the same name chronicles her investigation of a series of murders that eventually led to Bundy. Campbell played the title role in TNG's "The Outrageous Okona." The made-for-cable film is scheduled to air March 21, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In a related story, also from the Reporter, one of Campbell's co-guest stars in "Okona," Teri Hatcher ("Lt. B.G. Robinson"), is on track to star in a new TV comedy next fall. Hatcher has signed a deal with ABC — the network that made her famous with Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman — and Touchstone Television to develop a vehicle for her to star in. The idea for the show is still being tweaked, but it is said to be a romantic comedy in the vein of the 2001 feature "Serendipity," the trade paper reports.

The Women of 24

At TV Guide Online, columnist Matt Roush comments on two actresses from the ticking-clock show 24 who happen to be Star Trek veterans — Penny Johnson Jerald ("Kasidy Yates" on DS9) and Michelle Forbes ("Ro Laren" on TNG). There is a suggestion that Johnson could deserve an Emmy nomination for her role as the First Lady in the Fox drama. That column can be found at this link.

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