Queen's wedding attire, gifts on display
LONDON, July 27 (UPI) -- Queen Elizabeth II stepped back to her wedding day 60 years ago in post-war Britain as she privately reviewed a new summer exhibit at Buckingham Palace.
"A Royal Wedding: 20 November 1947" includes her Norman Hartnell couturier wedding gown and many of the 2,500 wedding presents -- from tinned pineapple to hosiery and glove, a refrigerator to a diamond stomacher (a panel worn across the front of a dress) presented by her grandmother, Queen Mary, the Times of London reported Friday.
The exhibit is in Ball Supper Room, where the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's had their wedding breakfast after the Westminster Abbey service.
The ivory silk-satin wedding dress, with its fitted bodice and heart-shaped neckline, is embroidered in more than 10,000 seed pearls and crystals.
Hugh Roberts, director of the Royal Collection, escorted the monarch on her private tour before the display opens Friday.
"This one is very personal to her and must bring back many extraordinary memories of that day 60 years ago," Roberts told The Times.
The duke's wedding outfit is on display, as are the ensemble worn by the Queen Mother and the silk tulle bridesmaids' dresses.
Nimoy, Quinto meld minds for Spock
SAN DIEGO, July 27 (UPI) -- Two Spocks, one older and wiser and the other young and brash, seemed logical in the latest "Star Trek" movie, actor Leonard Nimoy told Trekkies in San Diego.
J.J. Abrams, creator of "Lost" and "Alias," will direct the latest "Star Trek" big-screen installment set to premiere in December 2008. The sci-fi classic casts both Nimoy and "Heroes" villain Zachary Quinto as the half Vulcan-half human Enterprise officer, E! News reported Thursday.
"People have been asking me why I'm doing this movie, and I think the answer is obvious -- we have a great director, a wonderful script, and a wonderful young actor playing Spock, so ... it was logical," Nimoy told fans during Comic-Con in San Diego.
When asked how much Quinto's role would be inspired by Nimoy, the younger actor said, "Well, as much as he'd like it to be, since he's working on the film, which is an honor."
But, he added, "I certainly intend to bring my own spin to it and working with these guys, I'm sure I'll find it."
Depp plumbs vampire depths
LOS ANGELES, July 27 (UPI) -- Johnny Depp said he hopes to trade pirate's garb for medieval clothing of undead Barnabas Collins in Hollywood's take on the campy serial "Dark Shadows."
Depp's Infinitum-Nihil company is teaming with Warner Bros. and Graham King's GK Films to develop a feature based on the daytime supernatural soap opera, Variety reported Friday.
In interviews Depp said he wanted to portray Collins, the series' vampire patriarch originated by Jonathan Frid.
A rights deal just closed with the estate of Dan Curtis, the producer-director who created the ABC daytime drama that aired 1966-1971. Depp and King will produce with David Kennedy, who ran Dan Curtis Prods. until Curtis died last year of a brain tumor.
"Dark Shadows" achieved cult status as an atmospheric gothic tale of vampires, monsters, witches, werewolves, ghosts -- and humans -- that featured time travel and parallel universes during its run. The storyline has been the basis for two movies filmed in the 1970s.
Princess' warm hands treated sister-in-law
OSLO, Norway, July 27 (UPI) -- Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit said her pelvic disorder was cured by the hands of her sister-in-law, Princess Martha Louis, who claims clairvoyance.
The crown princess' testimonial to the healing powers was included in the official biography of Princess Martha Louise by Erik Fosnes Hansen six years ago for her 30th birthday, Aftenposten reported Friday.
Princess Martha Louise made headlines this week after she opened a Web site for a new business venture called Astarte Education. On the site, the princess claimed she's had special powers since she was a child and wants to train others through "readings, crystals, healing and hands-on treatment."
In the biography, Crown Princess Mette-Marit said, "It may sound strange but she has a completely special warmth in her hands. There are, of course, many people who have warm and good hands, but she almost has a little sun inside her."
The crown princess told Fosnes Hansen she was "a bit nervous" the first time she was treated, "but it was a very relaxing and relieving treatment that helped me a lot."
