Comments on: Abrams Still On For Star Trek XI – May Still Direct

By: Neil Radio » NewsBrief - 2.8.07 - Episode 4

Neil Radio » NewsBrief - 2.8.07 - Episode 4 — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:02:47 +0000

[...] Source: Abrams Still On For Star Trek XI – May Still Direct [...]

By: Craig

Craig — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 13:22:49 +0000

Just Scrap the Idea it’s illogical and stupid… To boldly go where we’ve been before … some must be on Acid if they think this is a good idea.

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 04:26:02 +0000

Hey, at least give me some of the credit (blame). I asked first in #25+#27 about who best to play a young Kirk, before you came along in #31. You’re not the only one who enjoys “throwing a cat in amongst the pigeons”! Yeeehaaaah!!

By: Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:55:38 +0000

Wow, I’m off for a day and people go hysterical over “who’ll play Kirk?” Sure opened a can of worms there, didn’t I?

By: Dennis Bailey

Dennis Bailey — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:24:52 +0000

#87:”I think it’s important for everyone (the fans, the studio, the producers, etc.) to be realistic here- this new movie is going to have to be some kind of perfect everything in order to bring back the mainstream audiences.”

And if it doesn’t bring them back in sufficient numbers to generate a big payday for Paramount – much bigger than the old Trek movies did – “Star Trek” is done.

#88:”Enterprise was not Star Trek.”

Yes, it was. Your not liking it doesn’t alter that.

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:37:40 +0000

#84 “all the goodwill generated….was unable to help Star Trek V”.
Ohmygawd! Star Trek V was one of the worst movies ever made! It makes Plan 9 From Outer Space look like Citizen Kane in comparison. This is what happens when actors get too much power! Nimoy came up with the whaleshit idea for #4 and then Shatner says, “My turn. In #5 let’s have us search for God!”. It came THIS close in #5, where the Three Stooges flavour was so flagrant, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see Kirk turn to Spock and say, “Hey, Spock! How many fingers am I holding up? whooo, whoo, whoo…nyuk,nyuk,nyuk…”.
See what it’s like when the lunatics run the asylum?

By: Still Kirok

Still Kirok — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:26:41 +0000

Enterprise was not Star Trek. It was a bastardization of a copy of a copy of a copy.

By: Adam Cohen

Adam Cohen — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:58:29 +0000

I think it’s important for everyone (the fans, the studio, the producers, etc.) to be realistic here- this new movie is going to have to be some kind of perfect everything in order to bring back the mainstream audiences. The casting, the story, the FX, the production design, everything needs to beextremely well-done AND THEN it has to be something most fans and a significant part of the mainstream are going to want to see in order for this movie to reverse the trend of the franchise. Casting name actors may help boost interest/buzz in a project, but that does not necessarily equate box office durability. The name “Star Trek” is its own celebrity (with all the trappings of fame that one could expect- baggage and nsotaliga all wrapped up into one). I think any strong desire to bring in A-listers may create a false sense of hope for the production with respect to its box office potential. First priority is to get the story done right. After that, get the right actors (if they happen to include A-listers, fine, but focus on quality in all aspects first). But reality is a nasty thing, and unless all of the stars align perfectly for this release, Trek XI is not going to blow the doors open with a $200 million take. It’s a worn-down property. Despite whatever one does with it at this point, one single movie is not going to escape the franchise’s own gravity. Maybe a couple of great movies later things will be different, but fences needed to be mended with the moviegoing audience before there’s going to be a full-fledged return to box office form. Well, that’s my opinion :)

By: John N.

John N. — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:44:39 +0000

#85 – Canonista

Again, I think that we can cordially disagree on this one.

You obviously have a great appetite for Trek, and from what I can gather, enjoyed it in its many forms, be they books, movies, series, etc.

I also have a great love for Trek. Like you, my first exposures to Trek was when I was a little kid, and my Dad would call me in from the other room, yelling “Captain Kirk’s on!” I love TOS. TNG excited me. I’ve read my fair share of books for each. I collected Peter David comic books. I blew some hard earned money at a few Trek conventions in the process.

DS9 lost me somewhat, and Voyager even more so. I tuned in for each premiere hoping to be excited again, but I just wasn’t. With Enterprise, I thought that they had a great idea going to a prequel, but it ultimately just felt the same, and (for me at least) kind of made TOS seem out of place in the timeline.

You apparantly loved all of it. I did not. Is one of our loves stronger or more valid? No. We just see the solution for moving forward differently.

Where we differ is in your comfort of fitting into this little niche. I would propose that Trek has tried to survive in that niche and ultimately that niche could no longer sustain the business to the level that they felt was profitable. Words like “franchise fatigue” come up… personally, I thought that it was more likely “creative fatigue”.

Hopefully, we’ll both be happy with what is yet to come.

By: Canonista the Cultist

Canonista the Cultist — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:20:27 +0000

#80….”I can tell you the exact moment that I tuned out of Trek:”

Here’s mine: I tuned out of Star Trek during the closing credits of the “Star Trek: Enterprise” finale. Twenty four years before that as a young child, I remember watching my first TOS rerun with my dad. In between I saw pretty much every single episode, read over one hundred novels, saw every film in the theatre, filled in the ones I missed with DVD’s, etc, etc.

I know, I know. The “mainstream” didn’t do that. One Corporation’s mainstream isn’t another’s. It’s all in who your target market is. I’ve been using Crest Toothpaste for years….P&G considers me a “mainstream” consumer. Why should Paramount dismiss me?

Anthony said Trek was on the verge of becoming a Niche player. In business, being a Niche player isn’t a bad game. Under promise, over deliver. Invest less, make a modest return, maintain a loyal customer base and grow it on the margins instead of trying to hit the long ball every single time.