Trekkies in Dubai queue up to be part of the next Hollywood blockbuster.

When casting agency Miranda Davidson Studios announced that they were holding a three day, open casting call for the BIGGEST Hollywood movie to be shot in Dubai in the last five years - people turned up in droves.

Never officially announced, but the timings, research and whisperings seemed to suggest that this was for the latest installment of the Star Trek franchise: Star Trek Beyond.

JJ Abrams sadly isn't directing this one, as he's too busy with a certain other franchise set in a 'Galaxy far far away'. But at the helm is seasoned director Justin Lin, who directed many of the Fast and the Furious movies. Also worth noting is that brilliant British actor, writer, producer Simon Pegg, who also plays Chief Engineer 'Scotty' has co-written this latest trekfest.

Anyway, I digress.....

When myself and a few work mates saw this - yup the 'nerds and geeks' of the office, we thought, why the heck not? And trotted off for the casting sessions. These were held in the sound stages (where movie companies build giant indoor sets to shoot their films on), of Dubai's Studio City.

We got there early!

After filling out all our details, showing some ID's, we then had our photos taken. These are the standard head shot, full body shot from the front and side. The we had all our measurements taken, which was all very thorough. After this we were on our merry way again and all you do is sit and wait to see if you get a call.

The cool thing about being an extra is, whether it's for TV, film, commercials or corporate, agencies need people of all shapes, sizes, nationalities and backgrounds - it just depends what they're looking for for each individual project. With this in mind, there's no reason why anyone can't go and register themselves.

Working as an extra is a whole lot of fun! I used to do a lot of it for various TV shows in the UK. 

It's brilliant to see so many big budget Hollywood movies being shot in the UAE now and giving people in the locality the chance to get involved and be part of this incredible industry.

Good luck to everyone who went. If you get picked, I'm sure you'll be fabulous.

Hunting - A totally unnecessary bloodsport.

I have no words to describe people who go hunting. Actually that's not true at all, I have lots of words to describe them, but none that do justice to their abhorrent attitude towards the beautiful creatures that we have on this earth.

Why a seemingly intelligent person would feel the need to track and kill a creature for fun is beyond me. Hunting for a purpose - for food, clothing, I get that. But hunting for sport? Totally unnecessary and serves no purpose than to fuel some peoples needs for blood lust.

The killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe has made people raise their voices against this practice, and rightly so. I've seen people ask, 'Why such an outcry over ONE lion?' - clearly these people don't seem to understand, that in the whole of Africa there are less than 30,000 lions left. Plus it's not just ONE lion, when you kill the Alpha male, the other males vying to be the next Alpha, inherently kill all the cubs belonging to the fallen King - therefore an entire group can be wiped out.

 When does the killing stop? When there are none left in the world, but those poor creatures languishing in zoos and safari parks, guarded day and night by armed soldiers?

Sadly man's 'need' to shoot things has created greedy people and given rise to canned hunting - a vile practice where animals are raised in captivity, then let loose in a restricted area for hunters to shoot them. I don't call that fair, do you?

I've also seen people making thin arguments for shooting lions and other animals, citing attacks on people - well sorry but this happens when man decides to encroach on the territories of other beings. What gives some humans the right to think they are the only ones allowed to live on this planet, with everything else at their disposal, to be used how they see fit. You have NO right. We 'share' this earth with other creatures, who have just as much right to an existence as we do, but the way we are going, we will have wiped out the majority of species in no time and in just a few decades lions, tigers, elephants and rhinos will only be found in history books, documentaries on Animal Planet and stuffed in museums. Is this really what we want?

We are supposed to be caretakers, but instead humans are the most violent, destructive, infective species that there is. When are we going to wake up? Cecil the lions death has highlighted this problem and the people that are the problem. I applaud the authorities in Zimbabwe for taking action, for banning hunting of large game and wanting those responsible to be brought to justice, and rightly so. However, governments and organisations in African countries and indeed others around the world are also to blame for allowing these things to happen in the first place. For putting a price on the heads of animals that they are famous for.

These animals should be viewed in awe and amazement and revered for how incredibly beautiful they are. If you want a souvenir - Take a picture, NOT a trophy.

Review - MedColl Collagen Supplement.

A while a go I was asked if I would like to try a new anti-aging supplement, and of course I jumped at the chance.

MedColl's new collagen supplements are a nutraceutical - basically a product made from natural ingredients, that have medicinal purposes. Great! As natural is definitely the way to go. So the product claims to boost collagen production, keep the skin hydrated and fight off free radicals using anti-oxidants.

This isn't a quick fix, as the supplements are working from the inside and take time to come into full effect and can start to be seen in future skin cycles, with the turnover of new skin cells being approximately every 30 days.

I was given a 45 day supply and had to take 2 of the supplement tablets everyday. Obviously this was going to take a little while for any visible results and I wasn't sure if I'd notice anything at all after just 45 days. However, my skin definitely feels more hydrated and plumper than it did before, this in turn had a reducing effect on finer lines. I have combination skin, with the typical oily T-zone, which seems to have evened out as well. My skin feels smoother and softer overall, which I'm very happy about and I'm sure that over time and continued use of the supplement, there would only be more positive and visible results.

MedColl is available at leading UAE pharmacies and retails for approx: 299Dhs for a months supply - which is cost effective if you want to go a natural route and avoid things like Botox and Fillers.