Screencaps of Rachel’s performances in Mr. Dramatic (short film featured on the Celebrity Mix DVD) and Star Trek (including extras) have been added to the gallery. Click on the thumbnails below to view them all. Enjoy!

Paramount Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Star Trek on 17th November 2009. From director J.J. Abrams, this modern reinvention of Star Trek features a young cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Simon Pegg alongside seasoned actors such as Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Winona Ryder and the original Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.

Augusta’s Rachel Nichols brings a dash of color to Star Trek and lights up the screen in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

This summer, local audiences enjoying the critically acclaimed Star Trek movie have the right to point at the screen and say, “She’s from Maine,” when they see Rachel Nichols, painted green in some wonderfully steamy scenes with Captain Kirk.

Not that it’s easy being green: “It took four hours to paint that on her,” Rachel’s mom, Alison Nichols, tells us from the same house in Augusta where Rachel grew up and pointedly did not dream of becoming an actress.

Of course, Nichols is only the second Maine-connected star to look green and fabulous. In the original Wizard of Oz (1938), Margaret Hamilton, who retired to Southport Island off Boothbay, was painted a lurid copper-based green while playing her unforgettable Wicked Witch of the West. When she scares the scarecrow, the pyrotechnic special effects set poor Margaret’s paint on fire, too. She was in the hospital for days.

J.J. Abrams’ franchise reboot boldly went where no Star Trek movie has gone before, grossing a stellar $72.5 mil from Friday through Sunday, according to early estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office.

That’s the second-best opening of 2009 (after X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘s $85.1 mil last weekend), and it includes a whopping $8.2 mil earned in IMAX showings, a new one-weekend record for the large format (beating The Dark Knight‘s $6.3 mil). What’s more, if you add in the $4 mil that the movie starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto earned in late-Thursday showings, Star Trek has banked an impressive $76.5 mil so far — well ahead of most expectations.

This result is highly logical. Considering all the hype and buzz and strong reviews that Star Trek has garnered, it’s no surprise that this film’s opening sum is by far the biggest of any Star Trek movie.

Star Trek, which has been getting splendid reviews, is now playing in cinemas worldwide. I hope you guys are enjoying Rachel’s role, which I hear is small but memorable.

I have updated the gallery with pictures of Rachel Nichols attending the Lollipop Theater Network’s Inaugural Game Day a few days back. She looked very cute and casual at the event.

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