Showbits

Remember the scene in Star Trek XI when the Enterprise hides within the atmosphere Saturn's largest moon, only to majestically emerge out of its cloudy skies like a breaching submarine?

Okay, so some artistic license was taken with those visuals, as astronomer Phil Plait (a self-professed Trekkie) describes — but it was still immensely cool. Now, Diamond Sky Productions, a "small company devoted … to the scientific, as well as artful, use of planetary imagery and computer graphics", has made available for download some extremely high-resolution images depicting that scene:

To boldly rise out of implausible starscapes ...

These pictures, originally courtesy Cinefex magazine, are just a few of the gorgeous intergalactic images to arise from Gene Roddenberry's universe. For others, check out the "Ships of the Line" 2010 wall calendar, or even the latest Star Trek trade paperbacks, like Open Secrets.

FatFreeFilm, a podcast by and for directors, has an interview with Leonard Nimoy. Topics include his transition from acting to directing to photography; experiences behind the camera of Star Trek III and Three Men and a Baby; the hardship of independent film; the digital revolution; and the benefits of being typecast as a Vulcan.

I am not a filmmaker, nor do I have any aspirations to be — but I nonetheless found Mr. Nimoy's insider perspective engaging.