A Garden Party Not in a Garden

Yesterday we went to BAFTA's Annual Garden Party -- the 20th, I've been told. Instead of being in the British Consulate's garden, it was held at the prestigious Greystone Mansion, where movies have been made and celebrities have gotten married.

It is a beautiful huge estate in Beverly Hills built by oil-tycoon Edward Doheny in 1928 for his son. And it is a short drive off of surprise, surprise! Doheny Road. From the hilltop parking, we meandered down winding stone staircases, past beautiful flora and a gorgeous overview of the imposing Tudor mansion. To American eyes, it looks like a castle. But once when I was visiting England, I learned the difference: Castles have moats and towers because they are first and foremost fortresses for military purposes.

The actual Garden Party was held in the courtyard of the mansion, which is in itself quite lovely. The decorations for the event made it even handsomer. And the food was excellent. Still, there's something that doesn't seem quite right about having a garden party on stone, lovely as the stone might be, with nary any grass beneath your feet.

We aren't allowed to bring cameras to these events, but I couldn't resist using this picture from BAFTA done by Adrian Carr because I'm in it. Or at least my back is. I'm the blonde wrapped in the black and red shawl talking to literary agent Michael Lewis. He was good enough to send out my spec scripts a couple years back, but unfortunately, it didn't end up in a staff writing job like I hoped it would at the time. Still, one of these days...

One of the highlights of the evening was chatting with the legendary JOHN MAYALL and his singer wife, MAGGIE. The man is an icon from '60s and '70s British blues music and so many of our favorite musicians played with him. Like ERIC CLAPTON and RON WOOD. Until this day, the only place I've seen Mayall is from the audience with him up on stage. It is really nice to meet the man and chat with him.

Everyone had a good time and most expressed their delight in having the party in this beautiful and prestigious setting.

Full Circle - Shooting Star Trek Becomes a Reality

In a little over a week, we embark on a journey that seems to bring me back full circle -- to one of the important influences of my youth and my journey to here -- my love for the TV series STAR TREK -- now deemed STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL, although this time it's for the Internet, not the TV screens. On both coasts, we have been working hard prepping the episode that will start shooting in less than two weeks. This will be the fourth episode of the 'second five-year mission' and you'll be able to see it on www.newvoyages.com as you can now see the earlier episodes and what the young cast looks like. My friend and colleague, MARC SCOTT ZICREE, has cowritten with another friend and colleague, MICHAEL REAVES, a brilliant Sulu-oriented script, which will star GEORGE TAKEI, reprising his role. Marc is gearing up to direct this remarkable script. It's his directorial debut so he has been busy seeking advice from many veteran directors he knows.

I have been helping out as script coordinator and am currently awaiting Marc's final touches so I can issue the yellow draft of the script.

However, this is also the beginning of another remarkable undertaking. We have now shot the very first footage of the Behind-the-Scenes/Making of... Documentary which I am producing along with Marc and TASHA HARDY. Today our videographer, WINSTON ENGLE, filmed Optic Nerve's JOHN VULICH putting on prosthetics to make actor JOHN LIM who plays young Sulu, look more like George Takei. Pictured above are these remarkable men at work.

Vulich has worked on such notable series as Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Crusade as well as many others. By the time he was done with the face sculpting and the eyebrows, John Lim did look like a young George Takei. It was amazing to watch the process unfold.

While Winston was filming, I peeked inside the inner workroom and saw a sculpted body lying on a gurney. At first glance, it looked so real, it could have been a real body on a gurney. It was an odd visual to say the least. And foolishly I couldn't help but think, they should cover him up and give him his dignity.