AICN Has More Trek Rumors - Orci Responds January 5, 2008
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Rumor, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
This morning Aint It Cool News posted an article containing what they claim is a review of the script for Star Trek as well as a description of some of the footage from the film. The script review part seems mostly negative, but the footage review seems mostly positive and apparently they are from different sources. However, Star Trek co-writer Roberto Orci questions whether they have actually seen the script. More below (spoilers)
AICN on the Trek script
The ’script review’ from AICN’s source is short on details and long on recriminations. It appears to be mostly be a ‘hit piece’ against the Star Trek writers, here is an excerpt:
The problem with the script is all its blatant inconsistency with things in the TREK canon, not to be innovative… but because Kurtzman and Orci are lousy writers and have zero feel for Roddenberry’s universe, even when attempting to reboot it. The dialogue is about on par with their past works and some of the liberties they’ve taken are insanely sloppy. (Forgive me, wasn’t the Enterprise built in space and not Area 51?) It’s remarkably unintelligent writing.
Orci Responds
Links to the AICN story first went up this morning in the talkback section for the latest Nimoy story. In that talkback Star Trek co-writer Roberto Orci responded:
Yeah. AICN for some reason has never liked us. The best example was one of their review for Transformers. I forgot which one of those wannabes wrote it, but it basically said how much they loved the humor, the characters, the sequences, and the structure of the movie, but they hated the script. Classic.
If this movie works, these same folks will say that JJ “saved” a crappy script with his directing, just like Shia “saved’ our dialogue by “making” it funny.
Whoever wrote that piece HAS NOT read the script, and I would trust Nimoy to tell us if we know anything about the Trek universe over just about anybody else.
Orci also responded at AICN…seemingly dismissing the reference to Area 51
Let’s see. Area 51 is a place where we supposedly keep aliens and spacecraft A SECRET. In Star Trek, earth KNOWS there are spaceships and aliens. You might’ve even heard of one of them. His name is Mr. SPOCK. You do the math.
UPDATE: Orci keeps on commenting
TrekMovie.com has always been honored to have Mr. Orci drop by once in a while and interact with the fans. Today he has made a number of comments and and answered some questions. See the comments section below.
AICN on the Scale of the Enterprise
AICN’s second source claims to have seen footage from the film and comments on the scale of the production and how the you will get to feel the true size of the Enterprise. From the report:
If you watch the TV series and many of the movies than - if you are a Star Wars fan like me - you always have the feeling that there is a discrepancy between the size of the alien worlds / the space ship(s) of the Federation and the locations where most of the scenes have been shot. In other words, the Bridge is more like a living room and does not match the size nor style of gigantic size of the Enterprise at all. It is certainly unbelievable because it’s mostly the only place we get to see (and of course three or four other places, but all in all just 1 percent of the ship, I presume).
We’ll, this movie is gonna end all that for sure. The “stage play” and Disney like nature of the TV episodes is gone, the “we’ll only show you three locations but trust me, this really is a gigantic spaceship we’re flying around in”-feeling will also be gone.
CLICK HERE to read the full story (potentially contains spoilers)
Comments»
Let me be the first!
hasn’t this already been debunked by ‘a VERY good source’?
I am first!
I’ll second that.
look at me everybody!
Yeah, Orci himself already commented that whoever wrote that review as not read the script. He also commented on the same AICN thread about Area 51: “Let’s see. Area 51 is a place where we supposedly keep aliens and spacecraft A SECRET. In Star Trek, earth KNOWS there are spaceships and aliens. You might’ve even heard of one of them. His name is Mr. SPOCK. You do the math.”
I read the story when it was linked in the previous thread, I thought it was BS then, and it seems that way now.
Maybe a red herring - the question is who’s diverting who?
This is very concerning. I am a strong believer that Star Trek canon must be followed. The history is there, work around it. I am worried.
For God’s sake, AICN is filled with the most hateful and snooty people I have ever seen online. Harry seems OK, but I hardly go there anymore, and I especially stay away from their foul-mouthed talkbacks. Don’t lose too much sleep . . . I’d choose Orci and Nimoy over those losers anytime.
Hope its good.
I ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS ON A.I.C.N. …
And I think it bears repeating…
Source #1 CLAIMS to have read the script and that he hates it… but gives us NO real examples of WHY or ANY OTHER “spoilers” outside of the whole Kirk thing which has already been fed to the Internet masses and could have been slightly embellished by anyone with half a brain.
Source #2 CLAIMS to have seen the new Enterprise… but gives us NO real description, other than “it’s more detailed.” Yeah, right. Even I could have sent THAT one in.
And Source #3 makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I have no idea WHAT the hell he’s trying to describe. Is he saying Quinto can’t do a proper Vulcan salute, so they digitally inserted Nimoy’s hand? Maddeningly vague.
So, in the end: Bull, bull and bull. Use your brains, people… there’s absolutely NOTHING here.
#10 Harry seems to have turned into a large married pervert … nothing wrong with that but I know know how that helps him be an expert on movies
I am very proud of myself because I didn’t go to the AICN site (nor will I ever), and I didn’t even read the AICN snippet Anthony posted in his article above. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to resist reading spoilers all together pretty soon.
I have a really good feeling about Roberto, Alex and JJ, and I can’t stand hate mongers. Since they can’t produce anything productive, they try try to make a living by tearing others down. They have no integrity.
Also with AICN, there is a definate side that if they like you, you can do no wrong ( Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, the good Paul Anderson ), otherwise you are screwed ( Orci for example ). Of course, everyone can hate Uwe Bowle(?) and the OTHER Paul Anderson
For God’s sake Roberto don’t get into an exchange with that AICN crowd! At best your soul will burn away. You may even get VD. Don’t do it — that’s an order!
16
You’re right. First and only time. I’ll stop. Moment of weakness. Sorry.
If they wanna talk to me they can come here.
Roborto,
Just make a good movie, people are going to hate and say vile things no matter how bad or good the movie is. Just make a movie that feels right and lets the majority of fans feel satisfied.
Since this rumor from AICN has been debunked, does that mean that the creation of an alternate universe rumor that they had reported a few months back is also false (I personally actually liked that idea)?
As far as i’m concerned, their “sources” are bogus entertainment. They are in desperate need of attention, knowing this will rattle our cages. It’s so laughable, “lousy writers”…yeah that’s why Orci and Kurtzman have been entrusted with Trek XI and Nimoy backs it up 110% percent and calling it “gigantic”…please, let’s see these “sources” write a script and compare it to the one they’ve supposedly read. Too vague and too general. I’ll still be there in line 354 days from now…if anything this has only increased my excitement and interest in anticipation of the movie
Having read the story, it can be inferred that the writer of this so-called “review” doesn’t have any respect for Trek in general, and is using this as a forum to stir the shit against the new film. Nothing seems substantial or specific in the “review” and his source in regards to the new Enterprise is obviously colored by his “Star Wars” fan mentality. Regardless, nothing is told to us in details and in generalities that you or anyone else could make up and post on the internet. Another show of misinformation by those that only want hits and to appear to have knowledge others do not.
Roberto-
Glad to see you won’t go down to their level. Remember what the man said:
“There’s only one kind of man, or woman for that matter: You either believe in yourself or you don’t” (Kirk, “Mudd’s Women”).
Ignore “em.
if old spock pretends to be his own cousin like he did in yesteryear i shall be creaming!
and if the teaser trailer as reported shows the enterprise being built then according to aicn it would be undergrond hardly epic - eh!
and wasnt there a area 51 type place in transformers too!
i think the “source” seems to think all they can write is area 51 type places!
hang on a minute wasnt there one in xena!!!!!!
just kidding!!!
Wow, people are right when they say those AICN commenters are mean. There’s something about the virtual anonymity of the Internet that makes people throw any sense of civility out the window, which is too bad. I’m all for expressing your opinion, be it positive or negative, but there’s no reason to be an arse about it.
oh and the difference between posting here and posting on aicn is
people respect your opinions!!!!
kind of star trek like isnt it!
You can’t always trust some of the stuff that AICN (or any site for that matter) posts that comes from an anonymous source. As a webmaster myself, I would never post something about a script without having read it myself.
To say: “An anonymous source told us that they read it and it sucks…” means nothing.
Kudos to Mr. Orci for standing up for himself. He and Kurtzman are good shit. We should be so lucky to have them — otherwise a good many of our childhood favorites would get flushed down the toilet.
Besides, if there is anyone who is going to ruin Star Trek, it will be J.J. Abrams…
12. You’re totally right about a lack of specifics in describing how “bad” the script was. Thinking back, there was also a definite tone to the writing that came across as spiteful, for lack of a better word.
I must concur with #12. SPB. Most logical.
well done AICN you made yourself look right tibble poo there . First it sounds stupid , ………well it is stupid. But i am sure AICN great “sources ” have all had a good look at the script , its not like its the mostly tighly kepth and secert script in hollywood right now or anything XD
If the movie is half as good as fans are hoping it will easly be one of the hits of 2008 , and AICN will yet again just look like fools .
There have been loads of rumours on various major Movie and Trek sites regarding plot, script, cast, etc. lately. Why did Mr. Orci feel like immediately reacting to just this one?
Denial sometimes speaks louder than silence.
Area 51? Right. Sure.
Out of all the places in the Federation, that’s where they build starships.
AICN sucks. Their reviews are terrible, the critics/ whatever you want to call them have little to no taste and i agree with # 15, they have hard ons for same lame filmmakers.
I have faith.
30
Cuz it called me out personally. You see conspiracies in everything.
You’re a disgruntled Transformer’s fan, aren’t you? Did you go by any different names on the TF boards? Not attacking, just curious.
i go out with a girl from iowa shes well sexy and she got me a kirk shirt for xmas too!!!!
hey orci please hi five me!
oh well off to bed now dreaming of kate, my yellow sjirt and orci hi fiving me!!
later!
..way off topic here..isn’t remastered Trek’s Day of the Dove airing this weekend?? Since it’s a 3rd season episode, we son’t be seeing it on DVD for awhile….so how come no covereage? Or am I completely bats and it’s a repeat this week?
…and staying on topic…AICN’s hear-say, from someone who knows someone who read something…is a waste of everyone’s time. All I know is the trailer is coming in 13 days. Let’s just hope it shows a bit more than a starfield and some narration.
IMO If there was even the smallest problem with TREK canon. I would think Nimoy would and could over rule in a very big way. He didn’t come out of retirement just to make a fast few bucks after 15+ years. Nimoy is also more concerned about his own reputation then most people are in the business. His past track AKA TREK record speaks for its self.
I used to enjoy AICN and found it a great source of information. However it has lately been overrun by mean spirited, foul-mouthed people and has lost its appeal. At least for me anyway.
That’s why I prefer this site. This discussion is, mostly, civil in nature.
Dark Horizons is another site I discovered about the same time as AICN. It is not as famous as AICN, but at least has maintained a sense of dignity.
Take care, all.
It’s hard to fathom that all the advances of human civilization, not to mention many centuries of evolution of the English language, have transpired just so that something called a “disgruntled Transformers fan” could exist and be so described. But hell, pandas have thumbs.
Roberto Orci #30
“Disgruntled Transformers fan”
I just did a spit take onto my computer screen.
Leonard Simon Nimoy
Director
Vincent: Based on the play “Van Gogh” by Phillip Stephens (1978-1981)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Three Men and a Baby (1987)
The Good Mother (1988)
Funny About Love (1990)
Holy Matrimony (1994 film)
episodes of T.J. Hooker, The Powers of Matthew Star, and Deadly Games
[edit] Actor
Kid Monk Baroni (1951)
Rhubarb (1951)
Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)
Dragnet (1953 episode “The Big Boys” as Julius Carver)
Them! (1954) (uncredited)
Satan’s Satellites (1958)
The Brain Eaters (1958)
Harbor Command (1958 episode - Contraband Diamonds)
The Twilight Zone – “A Quality of Mercy” (1961)
General Hospital (1963)
Perry Mason (1963)
The Outer Limits (1964) “I, Robot” - Judson Ellis
Combat! (1965) Two Episodes
Deathwatch (1966)
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
Get Smart (1966)
Star Trek (1966-1969): Lieutenant Commander/Commander Spock
Mission: Impossible (1969-1971) The Indomitable Paris
The Alpha Caper (1973) (TV)
Columbo (1973) (TV)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
In Search of… (1976-1982)
Equus (1977) (Broadway Play) Dr. Martin Dysart
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Vincent: Based on the play “Van Gogh” by Phillip Stephens (1978-1981)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
A Woman Called Golda (1982) (TV)
Marco Polo (1982) (mini) TV Series
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
The Sun Also Rises (1984) (mini) TV Series
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (Faerie Tale Theatre episode) (1986)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Simpsons, “Marge vs. the Monorail” (1993)
Never Forget (1991) (TV)
Star Trek: The Next Generation – “Unification” (1991) (two-part episode): Ambassador Spock
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (computer game) (1992)
Star Trek: Judgment Rites (1993)
The Time Machine (1994) (audio drama) The Time Traveller
The Outer Limits (1995) I, Robot - Thurman Cutler
The Simpsons, “The Springfield Files” (1997)
Brave New World (1998)
Futurama, “Space Pilot 3000″ (1999)
Becker (2001)
Futurama, “Where No Fan Has Gone Before” (2002)
Star Trek (2008)
[edit] Voice
In Search of… (1976-1982): Narrator
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) Galvatron
Lights: The Miracle of Chanukah (1993)
The Halloween Tree (1993)
The Pagemaster (1994) Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Seaman (2000): Narrator
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001): King Kashekim Nedakh
Civilization IV (2005)
What’s going on up there? (2006)
[edit] Writer
I Am Not Spock (1977)
Vincent: Based on the play “Van Gogh” by Phillip Stephens (1978)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) (Contributions uncredited)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) (Contributions uncredited)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
I Am Spock (1995)
Shekhina (2002)
35
HIGH FIVE!
AICN isnt all bad. I visit daily. Their TV news and reviews are usually spot on. Film scoops sometimes spot on, sometimes they fall for the rumours. Harry’s reviews are always entertaining.
However, there’s nothing in that article that suggests the person writing it hasnt been following the latest newsbites and making stuff up.
Mr Orci, whatever you post on that site, half will call you an ass the other half will accuse you of being a lying ass — reistance is not futile! However there are more pressing matters, James T Kirk as played by Mr Shatner ;) Time is running out!
Hey, I appreciate Mr. Orci clearing up this matter.
He didn’t have to do it. That speaks volumes to me.
It seems to me that he cares about Trek, his own reputation, and the fans.
More than can be said about many others!
Mr. Orci’s participation in these forums is what is truly “Cool”. The more I hear from him, the better I feel about the movie.
We certainly don’t get riled up over false rumors and BS presented on this site as is the case with AICN and other sites. Thanks, Anthony, for all the work you do in verifying reports and sources. Obvioulsy, Orci and company respect you!
I will believe Trek is in good hands until proven otherwise!
Can’ t wait to see the movie!
#37
I’m wondering if the lack of advanced episode coverage is tied to the demise of StarTrek.com. I don’t think the official site posts the ST:Remastered trailers any longer. I’m guessing we’ll still see the usual clips and such once the episode has aired.
And yes, Mr. Orci, I am glad you are taking the advice presented in post #16.
#33
Mr. Orci - thanks for taking the time to answer my post.
No, I haven’t seen Transformers, nor am I planning to see it nor am I posting on any TF boards. Why are you asking - have you experienced that watching TF, seeing conspiracies and being disgruntled is somehow connected?
No, I don’t see conspiracies, but I tend to be curious myself and there have been quite a few things lately that have called me out personally, too - and some of them indeed have caused disgruntlement in me.
Roberto–let me just say you have got to be the coolest Mo’-Fo’ behind the scenes at Trek in a LONG time I hope the movie is a HUGE hit and you stick around a LONG time man.
This is just so cool…if Bob Orci really is the one he claims to be , I guess this is the greatest day of my live. I’m actually using the same commenting system as the man himself! Come on, this sounds to good to be true. Sounds like something that has never happened before! At least not to a geek like me.
I can well remember early 2002…The Nemesis script leaked and those AICN people shred it to pieces…the rest is history. However, and this is new, this time, one of the writers seems to fight back, trying to make a difference! I really like that…
But then, aren’t you on strike, Mr Orci? Well, I truly hope the movie will make enough money so that we can all laugh at these critics at AICN in about a year…these AICN critics aren’t making history tonight…YOU are the one changing the world with that script, Mr Orci!
Ok lets not get off topic….Regarding Day of the Dove Remastered. We will have our usual screenies and video up by Sunday. I am working on a way to get the trailers now that ST.com are no longer doing them. DOTD discussion will have to wait until that article goes up
you can now get back to high fiving
Roberto Orci,
While on the subject of TF’s for a sec.
Have you seen the following cover version of the 1986 TF movie theme? OMG it rocks. It makes the 1986 version sound like Marky Mark sang it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcQuXAf0cKc
Didn’t AICN also start the “FIRST” thing …… if not I could always type PLANT in uppercase to get my point over …
I’m afraid I’m not off to read AICN, since it’s been a long time past since I hit that sorry trail. In the early days of the web it was fine enough, but it became like a UK tabloid, always wanting the new gossip, the dirt, the spoiler to top the last spoiler.
They are called spoilers because they spoil things. I don’t want things spoiled so I don’t go there. (I am Captain Obvious tonight)
If only 1% of what they print is true, then they’ll be allowed their 99% fanboy fiction, but that’s a lot of mud to wallow in first.
One of the things about this site that is genuinely different is that we know that more than one of the crew reads this. Yet on the whole there has been a whole lot of good manners and very little of the purile personal attacks that AICN seems fit to print.
Or maybe that’s the point.
It’s easy enough to be mean to people you don’t know (oh, on the subject, may the board of Warner Brothers rot in Hell and be eaten alive by gumless tiberian bats - announcing the HD thingy mere days after I plumped for HD on the basis of TOS HD, but I digress and I’ll never meet them and they won’t read this) but AICN have enough mass to know that what they will say will be read.
Given the level of secrecy though, and the amount of pre-teaser anticipation we have, it’s not surprise that they aren’t letting the truth get in the way of a good story.
I do anticipate that they will be repeated verbatim in the News of the World tomorrow as a FACT (in caps mind you) by the Hollywood Star Reporter (who lives in a bedsit in Putney* but again, he’ll never read this so I can be snarky).
I think what debunks this (along with Roberto Orci rising to it (and we all do it)) is saying it disrespects canon. They might paint the Enterprise pink but I’m not expecting any ‘ray guns’ in the script, not Spock having a secret brother he never mentioned in 79 episodes and 4 films. Cuz that would be lame.
(* with his Mum).
47
Fair enough.
I just thought you sounded like someone I knew on the other boards.
Sorry for the confusion.
49.
I am on strike, which is probably why I’m letting myself get all riled up!’
NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, shold be allowed to work on this movie unless they have sen all 79 episodes of the original series (period.)
Am I being too hard on this issue?
51
Hadn’t seen that. good stuff.
#54
No worries. Now you know my distinctive voice.
Again, thanks for your time.
#50 Anthony
good stuff - I have to say that the TOS remastered reviews brought me to this site first via a Google search a few months ago.
So, back on topic, high five to you sir…
#42 - I knew it was a large body of work, but seeing it all there is quite the thing….
hail the orcster. AICN doesn’t deserve to lick the tribbleshit from my boots.
Mr. Orci are you in spin control mode now that AICN has called you out.
Just curious.
#56
I’d kind of agree with you (*cough* Stuart Baird *cough*) but to say NO ONE in caps does tend to conjure up images of canteen staff sitting in the auditorium all Clockwork Orange style with matchstick in their eyelids gently moaning about Muuugatooooo….
I’d let them off….
Mr. Orci,
Just read some of the conversations you are having at AICN.
Regarding the comment that YackBacker had about fans not wanting a simplistic storyline involving Romulans killing baby Kirk and your response that you couldn’t agree more: This statement makes me feel very confident about the story.
It is easy for many to speculate on the plot with the little we seem to know. You are the craftsman. I trust your opinions.
As a fan, I believe you know what would be horrendous in terms of the story. Appealing to a new fanbase and making “Star Trek 90210″ would kill the thing for sure.
I just have to believe that you will deliver a film that might not please everyone all the time, but will be the epic Trek movie we long to see.
Regarding all the naysayers, as a friend of mine once advised me, “DLTBGYD!” (DON’T LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN!).
Really, have fun before going back to work!
61
Sorta.
Kurtzman was the first to point out to me how effective Kevin Smith was in being open and dealing with questions, be they critical or supportive. It’s less spin control and more continuing what we began on Transformers — that is, respectfully dealing with people who care about these franchises and being open and not being snobs about anything just because we happen to be lucky enough to be working on these things.
Never taken myself for a spin on AICn and I’m just taking a test drive.
63
I am having fun.
Thanks for kind words.
#63 - Ditto.
I must say that the AICN thread has gotten quite humorous, especially with those fun SAT questions.
By the way, Mr. Orci, I seem to recall that you wrote on here some months back about working on a cast picture or something of that nature for the new year. It’s January 5th… :-) But I suppose a teaser trailer will have to be good enough!
High five!
I simply do not understand why a site like AICN would go ahead and post BS unless it’s simply seeking gratuitous hits. I read the thing and I was appalled.
If you saw the Enterprise, DESCRIBE it. If you saw the script, SUMMARIZE what you saw.
Roberto, we are all frustrated. Tell us that the teaser will help!
#56:”NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, shold be allowed to work on this movie unless they have sen all 79 episodes of the original series (period.)
Am I being too hard on this issue?”
Yes. You’re being completely unreasonable.
Watergate
Iran Contra
Whitewater
Clinton Sexcapades scandals
Orci-Gate!!!!!!!!!
Let’s set up a Trekmovie senate subcommittee so we can grill Robert under the hot lights
Ballzio can be the chairman to bring an air of dignaty to the procedings, I of course will be on the committee flanked by my mute Andorian and Tellerite, knife wielding henchmen, Bailey is a must for button pushing and not so thinly veiled sarcasm, Adam Cohen can be the voice of reason and kindness, Iowa Girl cause we need a chick can be on it and CmndrR can do the catering.
We’ll get to the bottom of this hell or high water!!!!! Orci prepare to squirm!!!
I was impressed with Transformers. I didnt think that an 80s anime movie could be successfully converted into a believable sci fi action movie. I was mistaken.
Can’t wait to see what happens with Trek!!
#64
Well it’s a brave thing to read your own press on what you’ve actually done but braver yet to plow headlong into the speculation.
Glad you’re having fun.
As for AICN, who cares what kind of Star Wars fanboy wrote it? No one has been able to see more than PART of a script at a time! This is just like the guy on startrek.com who claims to have read it..
…maybe they’re the same person.
roberto Orci,
hey check it out man! I’m gonna guess that this movie isn’t about space travel and it’s more like Titanic right? Nimoy is going to remember things throughout the whole movie.
Not that this has anything to do with it but Nimoy’s lawyer is my cousin Ronny Peacock is his name. My cousin is also the lawyer for my band. You can check out my group at http://www.myspace.com/theperfect3rd. - Good luck with your movie! I’m excited!
So… Mr. Orci, now that you are here… :)
Regarding that ridiculous “Area 51 Enterprise building” story, will we see the Enterprise beeing built in the upcomming teaser trailer, as it was previously rumored here? Any hints on that teaser, what can we expect? :)
Thank you for the answer Mr. Orci, and its nice that you are on strike if only to answer or at least respond to us info greedy fans.
74
You want teasers for a teaser?
Two weeks!
Gdamn :) Worth a try, though.
Oh, yeah, totally forgot, good luck with the movie, I really think you guys can turn Trek arround :)
God knows it needed some fresh new blood.
# 55 - To Mr. Orci regarding strike.
Just curious, the WGA seems to be approaching production companies independently now. The first results seemed to have come from Letterman’s Worldwide Pants striking a deal so that his and Craig Ferguson’s people could all come back to work.
If you don’t mind me asking, are you and the other writers technically writing for Paramount or Bad Robot or would it be jointly under both? Not sure exactly as that’s a little grey for me. And in that case, do you know if negotiations are being worked out or will be on that front independently so that possible you guys could go back to work as writers soon?
I know you guys (well let’s face it, ALL writers) would love to go back for work. I’m sure you’ve had some thoughts since the strike began that you’d love to add to the script, maybe even simple one liners. Seems J.J. has been bitten by this bug already.
Your thoughts/input would certainly be informative!
Thanks
Roberto - that advice to avoid AICN is very sage! Repeating my gratitude for you stepping in here and setting the record straight.
I would be a very, very bad Trek Fan, if I would take gossip for real. So I won’t even consider it. Sometimes one has to believe in something - in absence of knowing, but sometimes one simply wants to believe, because the fundament of knowledge is there.
I read the Names involved and am totally stuck with Nimoy, Adams, Orci, Quinto, and the whole other I have read and get to know over the years via their work.
Now I want to believe and I’m sure I can.
Thanks for giving us Trek back, thanks for taking this really enormous weigh of history, opinions, whishes, speculations and pickering fans on your shoulders an try to make it work.
I don’t know how to survive this year coming, but it will be one of the best in anticipation of Trek.
You’re so lucky to share time with these great personalities like Nimoy, just to share one continent or to share opinions and I envy this, but also am thankful that you do exactly this. Go on.
Please Mr. Orci, in case you’re able to, tell the whole crew - “Thanks for making a dream come true and relish to be in it.”
Stef*
from Germany, hoping dearly the film will start at the same time as in U.S.
Robert,
That crowd over at AICN is the most juvenile bunch on the web — I am convinced of that.
I am not brown-nosing, but I thoroughly enjoyed Transformers. I’m not sure what’s to bash there. Admittedly, because of the material itself I was leery at first of seeing it. Traditionally, films based on games and toys have had a dubious cinematic history.
I waited for DVD, but really enjoyed it — as I have most the films/TV that you have worked on.
I am sure most the ones bashing Transformers are those who were upset that Bumblebee wasn’t a VW…or some idiocy like that…
Can’t wait to see what you do with Trek!
Hey Bob,
Do you know if the teaser will also be airing in French theatres in front of Cloverfield ??
BTW, it’s really nice to have you here (if it’s really you), I’m reading your posts since a few minutes here and on AICN. Thank you !! And I’m sure your script is perfect :p
82
I don’t know if the Trailer will be in France. Good question. I’ll find out, but if not, I’m sure it’ll be online shortly thereafter.
#69 Lord Garth “Orci-Gate…Ballzio can be the chairman…”
Ooh, ooh….I get to be chair….I get to be chair……wheeeeee!
Very well, first question…..Mr. Orci, I see you are “dancing” around giving specific responses to the crap AICN is spewing…..your comments on Area 51 for example……vague, sir……yes or no…..is the Enterprise constructed at Area 51? Yes or no?
As Ted Knight said in Caddyshack, “WELL??? WE’RE WAITING!!” :)
Yeah, the Bumblebee thing was quite controversial among young and middle aged Geeks and Nerds. (just kidding!) But not to despair, I thought BB was the best handled character besides Optimus Prime!
83
Ok thanks for the answer. I know it’ll be online but I want to see it on the big screen. If you find out just leave a comment please.
Anyway, I’m going to sleep, it’s late in France(nearly 2am), thanks again Bob and good luck for the strike and the movie !
Perhaps in the future Area 51 is also known as the San Francisco Fleet Yards?
Flake, I don’t know what you’ve been smokin’, but I want in… :)
Chill out everybody. We have known AICN to be full of crap for a while now. No need to cater to them. Remember any publicity is good publicity. Secondly Mr. Orci don’t get wrapped up in online opinions you know better no matter what site they are on. I am an independent film writer and director and I don’t even think my opinion is good enough to tell you how to make the next Trek movie. If people online are so intelligent why are they not in your shoes instead of you and your partners? I know your movie will have great parts and parts that I don’t care for, but isn’t that just part of making any movie?
Aaron R.
68. Dennis Bailey
What would be reasonable. 40 episodes? 20? 10? or perhaps just a few minutes. What is the bar?
I hate to say it, but I did fall for the AICN post, hook, line, and sinker.
I guess it’s because I really object to whole “Kirk / Kobayashi Maru” plot point that’s been bandied about. Personal preference, sure, but there you go.
Glad to hear the Area 51 stuff is bunk. No, it didn’t make sense, but with so much crap coming out of that town on the left coast lately, it also wasn’t completely outside the realm of possibility, either.
If that’s not an indictment of the state of the film industry, nothing is.
Mr. Orci: Thanks for clearing this up. Speaking as a Technical Wtier, my thoughts are with you all of your Union members. Crossing my fingers that you guys get what you’re going after.
Amazing that some people actually still believe what they read on AICN. Given the number of times they’ve been fooled by antisocial thirteen year olds claiming to have read top-secret scripts, been invited to screenings, etc. it’s amazing they have even a shred of credibility amongst fans of any genre.
#23: You’ll be “creaming”? Do me a favor — let me know what theater you’ll be seeing the film in opening night so I can avoid it, okay?
I think it was good that Roberto Orci debunked these rumors. If a website was spreading blatantly false information on a project I was deeply involved in and that false information could potentially damage said project, I would certainly be speaking out. Here’s to hoping this movie proves the naysayers wrong!
The AICN article was extremely critical and spoke in near matter of fact terms. I don’t blame Orci for responding to it.
I thought the bridge was pretty neat. The small size increases the drama over what you could do on a Super Star Destroyer. I have to admit I thought they didn’t want Shatner because he would contrast with what they may have done to Kirk. But this could be untrue. But also fans have historically been unwilling to accept negative news.
“What would be reasonable. 40 episodes? 20? 10? or perhaps just a few minutes. What is the bar?”
What, you would really insist that a prospective Trek writer be forced to watch “And the Children Shall Lead”? Whatever on earth for?
I think that the best thing to do for the time being is to wait out the last two weeks and see what the teaser trailer is going to show us. Then we can start more speculation. If there is all this hype going on, it needs to star after we see the trailer. That’s the only way we’ll have any definite basis to back up any rumors that have come out thus far.
P.S. What do you think Mr. Orci?
See, here’s the thing about how I posed the question to Mr. Orci in #84…
If the Enterprise is NOT built in Area 51, then there’s no harm in Mr. Orci confirming that, as it doesn’t reveal ANYTHING other than the fact of the ship being built elsewhere e.g. Space, San Francisco, etc. which everyone is hoping for and can wait to see when the movie comes out……BUT, if the answer is yes, that the Enterprise WAS built in Area 51, then he may as well tell us now, as the entire movie is SPOILT ANYWAY WITH NO CHANCE OF REDEMPTION and any hope for this project has gone completely off the rails!
If that’s the case, then maybe a group of us fans SHOULD meet up in New York come December 2008 so we can all jump off the Brooklyn Bridge together!
It would be harmless for Mr. Orci to respond that the Area 51 idea is crap and put our fears to rest……but, it’s been a while and he’s not responding, is he? Yikes!!
#90: “What would be reasonable. 40 episodes? 20? 10? or perhaps just a few minutes. What is the bar?”
In order to work on a movie? Ideally, being very very good at what one does. So far, it seems as if everyone working on “Star Trek” qualifies.
Chairman Ballzio on fire and on target!!!!
The hearings now comence!!!!
Mr Orci, Star Trek sounds AMAZING, people, fans, the media and AICN are needing to make up stuff because they know NOTHING about the script or anything apart from the news that has been reported true - people love to blow things out of proportion or provoke people.
Transformers and MI:III were both very good films, why? because whilst they were new and exciting they kept to their roots, I personally think Star Trek was at its best when Wrath of Khan came out so if this movie is anything like that then you’ve done it!
Loving the casting, Simon Pegg especially to me, he’s a surprising choice but a fantastic one, he’s a Sci-Fi legend and can act very very well!
Lord Garth, are you as concerned as I am????
hmmm
did Roberto Orci , just high five someone and then accuse someone of being a little paranoid with conspiracies in everything………….
hmm thats two things i am sure Rick Berman never did
Roberto Orci = legend lol
#98
Chill a little.
So if Mr Orci responds in the negative to your question (thereby giving you peace of mind), will you leave it at that, or do you have other questions?
Even if YOU leave it at that, well others are likely to have questions…and if he doesn’t respond…hey….they MUST be true because after all he responded to you?
Perhaps you are trying to create Mr Orci’s personal version of the Kobayashi Maru?
Give the guy a break and appreciate the fact that he is contributing here…or run the risk of having him heading for the hills. Just a thought! :-)
90,
There should be NO bar, if you ask me (which you didn’t). You can quantify how many episodes of the show someone needs to see to hold a position on the film. Clearly, there are certain people who might want to do some research before starting work. That doesn’t mean seeing all 79. A costume designer has no reason to watch all 79 episodes of “Star Trek.” It’s enough that they have seen the old designs or maybe even pulled the old uniforms out of mothballs to get a look at them up close.
A set designer should obviously get a feel for the old sets and everything. Make-up, hair, gaffers, grips, PAs, etc. need to do their jobs, but do they REALLY need to sit down and watch “Spock’s Brain”, “Alternative Factor”, or “Patterns of Force” to do their job?! I truly don’t think any of that matters.
The people who I think should watch more than a few episodes are:
Orci and Kurtzman
JJ
Giacchino
Whomever is the DP
The actors playing the Enterprise crew
Even then, there is no bar. I think the writers and directors might want to watch more (since they are the primary creative forces), DP and composers would be less, with the actors somewhere in the middle. I don’t think any of us want the actors being TOO influenced by their predecessors and venturing into bald mimicry. I think Chris Pine doing a Shatner impression from overly studying the series would be the less desired result, rather than him interpreting the character of Kirk on his own. I think it’s similar to playing Hamlet. You want to see what Olivier or Branaugh did to take notes, but in the end, you have to bring something special to it in order to be successful.
You know it brother!!! See my post above #69
Before this topic was moved I asked Mr. Roberto the following
1. the very stupid Enterprise built at Area 51 thing is bogus??
2. The Kirk as a dumb jock O.C. Abercrombie student is false??
3. The Enterprise is now gigantic??? (not neccessarily opposed to a much larger E, Kirk should after have the biggest….ship)
As you say brother Ballzio, this can all end by denying each specific spoiler. A generial denial does nothing for me and until we get specifics I have a feeling there be some truth there.
Mr. Orci,
If I’ve gleaned one bit of insight from all this back ‘n’ forth, it’s a deeper respect for the challenging life of a full-time writer. I do some SF writing on the side, won a few awards, penned two episodes of a direct-to-video SF series, and in my heart of hearts I’d love to be writing full-time. But as with every dream, there’s the bad to go with the good.
You and Mr. Kurtzman have poured your heart and soul into Trek XI, trying to strike that balance between respect for canon and crafting a solid, dramatic, engaging tale … and while I’m sure your reward and satisfaction is great, you have to put up with self-appointed ‘experts’ like AICN and their ilk who think they can do it better.
As for me, I’ll wait to see it on the big screen. And like it or hate it, I’ll tip my hat respectfully and gratefully to you both for the effort.
Mr. Orci I think we all just need some things cleared up. How do you know that the reviewer hasn’t read the script? Please say it’s because he has his facts wrong, such as: Kirk getting command of the Enterprise right after the academy, and the Enterprise being built on the ground (although building a starship on the ground would make little sense, I don’t believe it was ever made canon as to what the San Francisco shipyards exactly were). Thank you for your comments and it’s a wonderful honor that you even take the time to talk to us fans!
And brother Ballzio the level of sycophants here is rather disturbing. I support Roberto until proven otherwise but it doesn’t mean we can’t ask challanging questions and have to blindly eat everything shoveled our way just because he happens to contribute here.
Sorry, I just got back from having to scrub-down in the tshower, and inject a gallon of brain bleach into my skull, after reading the comments over at aicn..
Did I miss anything?
I agree, mon ami!
robert Orci,
I think it’s great you get to do this stuff for a living. At the moment, I’m at Fannie Mae trying to keep the Western economy from imploding because of MBEs and ten years of unbelievable, unmitigated greed run amok. Might even make a great movie plot one day — sort of a 21st C “Wall Street” (Call it, “Terror on Wisconsin Ave NW”).
Now to my point: I spend my life dealing with real disasters. The kinds that ruin lives, destroy families, and lose hundreds of millions of someone’s hard-won capital because of selfish greed on the part of executives hired to steward shareholder money and please customers.
Star Trek. I watch Star Trek, especially the original version, because it is the anti-reality. It is elevated and bold, noble and virtuous where real life is anything but.
Consequently, Trek is in essence my little shared vision of a world that doesn’t suck, where the good guys win and “anti-heros” don’t exist.
So please, while I won’t believe these rumors that you deny, please remember that I watch real bad guys cheat honest Americans out of hundreds of millions of dollars almost every day of my life.
I don’t want — and I certainly won’t support — a James T Kirk who cheats on tests, knocks up girls, and is otherwise a scoundrel. In fact, I rather my James T Kirk speak in complete phrases with a gentleman’s vocabulary (not a nerd’s!). In this fan’s opinion, ST II and the Bastard Mini-me was almost a heart breaker.
So… take the alarm expressed here at the possibility of “Star Trek 90210″ or “OC Trek” or the crappy, ADHD sugar-high writing of most modern “popular” movies and understand that to some of us,
Trek is not about a billion dollar “franchise” — it’s Shakespeare for our day.
So give me a movie I can watch, suspend disbelief, enjoy, and avoid the daily bad news that allows me to earn my (admittedly upper middle class) living.
Regards,
Not-90210
BTW, that supposed “script review” is the most vague thing I have ever read. If he HAS read it, he hasn’t read it in a long time, because he seems to have forgotten just about everything that happened. The only details he seems to have are ones that are easily gleaned from what we know about the movie so far.
I mean *I* know Kirk is at the Academy and people picket. *I* know time travel is a part of the story. I know that just from visiting THIS site! If you were able to get your grubby hands on a copy of one of the most secretive productions in Hollywood, wouldn’t you want to at least throw ONE or even TWO details into your “review”?
I don’t need Bob Orci to tell me that is clearly a BS story.
What’s amazing to me is that I used to work for a studio and had LEGIT scoops I sent to AICN but they never even bothered to post them.
I figured Orci wouldn’t answer a list of questions, so I picked the most absurd (or is that turd?) suggestion put forward and am asking him to categorically state that it’s not true…..if he can’t flat-out shoot down the stupidest, most inane idea that AICN is accusing him of, then I KNOW we’ve got trouble!
Roberto, any chance you’re taken? Dating? Interested?
This is just more spew from the “Ain’t It Crap people looking for more site visits.
Where’s Dennis Bailey in all of this? If any of US had posted such vague half-baked answers, Dennis would be on the guy like a Tribble on a piece of wheat! Where’s our resident Perry Mason to help dissect Mr. Orci’s responses so far??
It sounds like young Kirk could end up being the Jar-Jar Binks of this film.
Kirk was a man who worked hard and played hard. He cheated on the test not because he was a cheater but because he genuinely believed it was the way to win.
#114
I’m curious. Why? I think that it is great that he comes by here, but, imho, he has no obligation to dignify a some alleged story spoiler with either a denial or a confirmation.
It’s not as if he’s facing some Grand Inquisitor…
…or, maybe he is.
78
No, we can only write for companies that have made a deal with the WGA. No companies we work for currently fall under that status. And it’s difficult, because Alex and I always like to take a last look at a scene the days before it shoots, because improvement can always be made.
Brother Ballzio
Bailey’s on our subcommittee I hope they haven’t gotten to him
I heard that James Cawley has a quick cameo in this movie. I wonder which Kirk variant with Elvis hairdo he plays this time - Kirk’s uncle? Did Orci write him in? Did Abrams?
#109 - Lord Garth - “Sycophants”? Love the level of civility…
i think Orci left to tell them to make up a new teaser where the enterprise is being built at area 51 , just to mess with our heads , this of course will have nothing to do with the actually movie ………
Mr. Orci if you care to, would you tell us how you got involved in the new Trek film?
122,
Who said Cawley is in it? I haven’t heard that anywhere.
98
Okay, so here’s the problem. If we start denying everything that’s thrown up as a possible theory, then we get into a trap that if something finally does come along that’s right on the money and we don’t deny it, then we are, in essence, confirming it. I should’ve just let it go and not commented at all.
My bad.
Area 51, wouldn’t even exsist in a bFederation timeline.
^
Remember peace on earth was acheived by the time Starfleet was formed. (Area 51) is a blackbudget location that works on futuristic weapons and craft. This kind of group would be working above ground in a peacefull world ..
^
Beware of the underground, that’s where the bad aliens live.
#112 Carol Marcus, etc…
If you believe this isn’t true…. why the speech as if it IS?
You really think a writer, a professed FAN of Trek would give you what you described?
And no one here cares what your standard of living is.
127. roberto Orci - January 5, 2008
“My bad.”
Oh…. too DAMN funny……LOL
Ummmm, hello? Kirk was a bad boy… Cheated on the Kobayashi Maru test and knocked up.Carol Marcus.
It’s canon, bay-bee.
That was in mu opinion just an attempt to lock Mr Orci into a “no win” situation of his own. A challenge so he ends up confirming/and or denying something thereby earning wrath of the fans.
I have sympathy for you as a writer. Not only is this a huge project but you have to deal with nitpicky and sometimes paranoid “fans” who more often then not hold a myopic view of things.
128
Area 51 does exist in the Federation timeline. Remember DS9’s “Little Green Men”?
Plus, if you have seen Independance Day, you will notice that Data’s great great great great great grandfather was there….
#98 & 127 - Well, there you go, Harry. Your episode of paranoia can now cease, and you can do something else. You haven’t written a limerick yet on this thread.
#119 Flying Tigress “I’m curious. Why?”
Here’s why clarification is needed……if AICN had listed a host of reasonable plot points, then, of course, I would expect no response. Keep the intrigue going to Opening Day and all that…
However, if AICN reported that, oh, say Gary Coleman had been cast as Commodore Stone, then I would expect Orci et al to have fun with it as they shoot down such an absurd suggestion. Saying that the Enterprise was built in Area 51 is at THAT level of absurdity.
It would be NICE if TPTB “threw us a bone” and stated, “of course THAT’s not true!!”
Kirk had his way with women. Like the early Bond films they were objects to him. I wonder if Finnegan will be in this, and will we see him playing some amusing American Pie style pranks on Kirk? I just watched Shore Leave today.
i argee with 132 , lol wow its easy to tell Orci that you have alot of experience with paranoid fans and conspiracy theories. it must be hard.
oh 128 “area 51 wouldn’t even exsist in a bFederation timeline”
why not ? maybe section 31 are using it !
#135 Harry Ballz
It would be nice…. but the point is… they don’t have too. It’s like the demands of “why won’t they tell us if Shatner is in or out?”
They don’t have to.
#132 - Looks like Mr. Orci had his own little Kobayashi Maru!
#127 Roberto Orci
Roberto, thanks for responding to my posts. Sorry for #135….I wrote and posted it before I read your response.
To all others here who criticize my “nitpicking”, I make no apologies for my passion for Star Trek……..I just want them to get it right.
OH, GAWD, DO I HOPE THEY GET IT RIGHT!!!
“It would be NICE if TPTB “threw us a bone” and stated, “of course THAT’s not true!!””
They aren’t obligated to, ever at all. I understand why Mr Orci did respond to this, it seemed all rather personal on AICN’s part.
If you start getting into trying to make them confirm or deny things it in the end becomes a setup. Plus I don’t think Paramount nor JJ Abrams would be happy if the writers started going around doing that what in a very subtle way would spoil the movie by denying/confirming things.
Good for you Ballzio you have no reason to apologize. We have every right to ask questions and expect the very best from our beloved franchise !!!
#135
So, if a plausible spoiler (which may or may not be true) is posted, then you are entirely relaxed that no comment is made to confirm or deny it.
However, if something which seems absurd is posted, then you are going to panic that it IS true unless it is immediately refuted?
We appear to have lest Star Trek and entered The Twilight Zone.
AICN is full of crap…on a routine basis…or at least that’s how it was when I gave up reading it years ago. The ‘reviews’ posted there were generally less concerned about plot/story than about promoting its already self-inportant reviewer. AICN is to the internet era what Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons were to an earlier age.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was the writing or the directing that spoiled Transformers– but that movie WAS a disappointment for a Transformers fan like myself.
If Star Trek XI makes me feel the same was as Transformers did, then I have to blame the writers. Because there’s a new director. But I have faith in these writers and in the entire production crew for STXI. Just .. if you’re reading this JJ, or Roberto or Kurtzman– I’m glad the Enterprise is grand and detailed, but please make sure that she fits into the camera frame (unlike the transformers) and isn’t a sloppy mess of unnecessary details (like the transformers).
Thanks.
Some of us fans get bent out of shape
My own face went as purple as a grape
Orci told me straight
I guess I’ll wait for fate
This egg on my face, I must scrape!
#140 “OH, GAWD, DO I HOPE THEY GET IT RIGHT!!! .”
It sounds ok to me, but the ”lousy student” angle of Kirk would be a mockery of the character if true(A mockery of Starfleet as well). Apart from being a fairly bad reading of Kirk, it’s a terrible cliche.
144 yippee!
Lord Garth, I appreciate your support during this trying campaign!
While everyone else is out getting laid, we’re here defending the fort! :)
” … but the ‘’lousy student’’ angle of Kirk would be a mockery of the character if true(A mockery of Starfleet as well). Apart from being a fairly bad reading of Kirk, it’s a terrible cliche.”
Very astute and well said.
#146 - I agree. Kirk, according to Gary Mitchell, was a “stack of books with legs”. Doesn’t quite mesh, does it? I hope this and the Area 51 stuff are garbage.
#140 - Nitpicking is essential to being a Star Trek fan. POWER TO THE NITPICKERS!!
All the AICN fans/believers…
reread what they posted as “truth” and ask yourself… would someone be that dumb?
Engage brain, folks.
Mr. Orci,
I have recently been re-reading “The Making of Star Trek”, which was the behind the scenes book of the original series written by Stephen Whitfield and co-written by Gene Roddenberry.
I was wondering if you have ever read that before and if the problems and solutions they found in producing the series colored your interpretation of the script if it did?
It’s great that you are here representing the production and I hope you can convince more of your cohorts to join in the conversation here. Come on in, the water’s fine!
No problem brotha
And as much as I appreciate Mr. Roberto engaging us we still don’t have any denial to the key , most concerning, burning questons.
Keep fighting the good fight !!!!
let me start a NEW rumor/truth…
“Kirk picks his nose on camera.”
This HAS to be true…I saw it on the internet, just like the AICN report.
I totally cannot believe what some people will entertain as truth just because they “saw it on the internet”.
152. Tony Whitehead - January 5, 2008
THIS is a good post.
“Nitpicking is essential to being a Star Trek fan. POWER TO THE NITPICKERS!!”
No its not, it only proves how myopic one is and the lines between reality tend to be blurred by taking this stuff to seriously. Its also one of many reasons “General Audiences” laugh at this stuff.
There’s being a fan, and then there’s being obsessed with the dye used to color the fabric of the shirts.
On topic–Mr. Orci, I hope you and your compatriots get everything you want in this strike–and soon. ST deserves the extra touches which the strike is preventing you all from applying.
Slightly off topic–
For Harry Ballz a big accolade
For the fun loving poems he’s made
I’d sure like to help
And give him a big yelp
But I have to leave and get laid!
“All the AICN fans/believers…
reread what they posted as “truth” and ask yourself… would someone be that dumb?”
Have you been to the movies much in the last 15 years? Some appallingly dumb movies have been released by the major studios. “Pluto Nash” and “The Avengers” immediately spring to mind. So I have no reason not to believe “that dumb” or worse are possibilities.
Sharr………..the dye for shirts is one thing……………where they built the friggin’ Enterprise, quite another……..I don’t care if they make big mistakes on little things, as long as they don’t make ANY mistakes on the big things!
M’yeah, so there! :)
oh, and “Catwoman” :-)
With everything we’ve heard from the Orci and Kurtzman, Abrams, and Nimoy, I have a hard time believing any of the stuff AICN posted.
Trek is still nearly a year off, and very very tight on security. How some assclowns could’ve read the script, let alone seen footage, seems highly unlikely.
Trek will be great, but there’s a movie coming sooner that I’m equally stoked about!
http://www.atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm
Bring it on!
and “Wild Wild West” :)
Some of you were keen enough to see that I came….this close….to having Mr. Orci take his own Kobayashi Maru test……….but, DAMMIT, the little bugger figured it out and wriggled loose………….
We’ll meet again, Mr. Orci……………….. :)
#156 - It just a blog about a movie based on a TV show. Get a life! >;>}
I think nitpicking is essential to it, at least to fans who lived in a certain era, but different strokes for different folks. It was said (typed) with a certain amount of irony and a certain amount of truth, like many of the things I write here, so no reason to get upset about it. There are more important things in this world to get upset about. ( Believe me when I say I DO know what is real and what is not.)
And I think we have had these nitpicking discussions before. Basically, be true to Star Trek: be true to the characters, be true to what we know. Like Harry said, just get it right.
And I hardly got upset when the sleeves in the spy pictures were the wrong dye lot. >;>}
#159 - High five! (wow, did I just type that?)
I think the personal attack on the screenwriters was entirely unecessary, but overall I don’t agree that the AICN piece - nonsense or not - is dripping with venom and bile the way some folks here are characterizing it. The author says some positive things, too, about this script that he may or may not have seen (even though he seems determined to deflect any credit from the actual writers and leave them only with blame).
Certainly, the personal slam sets a very negative tone, but the tone isn’t maintained throughout the piece. It may well be a bitter complaint, and it may well be utter fiction, but it isn’t _entirely_ negative and it isn’t entirely mean (it just starts out that way).
AICN, embarassing as it often is and riddled with bitter fanboys as it _inevitably_ is, does have a history of sometimes providing genuine spoilers, for better or worse, and while I don’t like seeing any writer(s) attacked personally in that way, I don’t see the childish nature of the piece’s opening tone as sufficient grounds to dismiss the entire report. Time will tell.
I _hope_ the AICN piece is nonsense, and I hope Kurtzman and Orci’s work on the film provide them with a triumphant last word. But them’s just the hopes ;)
“Sharr………..the dye for shirts is one thing……………where they built the friggin’ Enterprise, quite another……..I don’t care if they make big mistakes on little things, as long as they don’t make ANY mistakes on the big things!”
Well if you seriously thought for a moment anyone would consider constructing such a thing on the surface I sure didn’t and neither does Mr Orci I think since he actually did deny this Area 51 bull but in a way that requires reading between the lines.
Hi Chris 161.It’s funny how Heath seemed to be channeling Jack N. in the preview when he said “I like that”.Makes me wonder if Pine will try to mimic Shatner.I hope not.
Mr. Orci, I know this has been mentioned bits and pieces. Mr. Abrams I believe has said he would require the writers to be back to work in order to facilitate any changes to the script. WHY? (Dumb question?) I recall reading somewhere that a scene or two tickled his thoughts about just this.
Also, is there some drop dead date that would make adding changes to the movie not possible. Actors have been called back for reshoot of scenes for script changes, continuity issues, sound, lighting and so on. The writers strike certainly complicates the afterthought stuff. Assuming of course this strike will be over long before Dec 25 2008
I’ve been watching “Star Trek” since 1966. God, I hate nitpicking.
Mr. Orci,
I’ve grown up in a small town and i have written a script (Not Trek). If I wanted it to get looked at what would I have to do??? I hope you can help me. The script is called Bernie Goes North and it’s a little rough but it has a lot of good ideas in it. I just wish my dream could have a small ray of hope. -Thanks
Area 51?
Perhaps that’s just a metaphor for the Enterprise having been being built in secret to beat the Romulans?
Sometimes we fans are a little too literal.
I’m interested in the portion of the AICN spoliers that refers to the grand nature of the Starship- yes that would be a good thing.
A BIG ship of the line- I think Roddenberry tried some of this in ‘”The Motion Picture”
Probert designs:
http://probertdesigns.com/Folder_DESIGN/landingBay-1.html
http://probertdesigns.com/Folder_DESIGN/CargoBay-1.html
http://probertdesigns.com/Folder_DESIGN/TMP.ENT-RecDeck.html
158. steve623 - January 5, 2008
Have I been to the movies in the last 15 years? Yes.
Are they all good? No.
Because bad movies are made does that mean to you that all movies will bad?
And have you been to the movies in the past 45 years? I have, and guess what… they made bad movies then too and before that as well.
And now we have been given far-fetched tidbits about Trek and you are willing to believe them? Area 51? C’mon…
I don’t know what threads you read here… but Abrams, Orci and others are professed fans of Trek and have said they feel proud to work on this project. I can’t imagine them making something they care about look bad or hokey. If anything, I suspect they sweated some details with this story that might not have happened with others. And they are proud and protective of their work.
And then there’s Nimoy. He’s proven that he will stay out of Trek films he doesn’t like or doesn’t feel comfortable with (Generations)and has directed Trek before. He’s quoted several times as loving it and enjoying himself and complimenting the production team.
I will take this site’s Trek news any time. Anthony checks his sources and does it right. This isn’t TMZ or Ain’t It Crap.
I guess Orci thinks he is a star trek fan because he heard the theme once. lol
If any of these story points are true, I won’t bother to go see the film.
#170 - all right, all right. How about “appropriate attention to detail”? Is that OK? (BTW, read the notes by Probert referenced in #172: is that nitpicking or AATD?) >;>}
#167 Sharr “and neither does Mr. Orci I think since he actually did deny this Area 51 bull but in a way that requires reading between the lines”
No, that’s where we disagree. Mr. Orci suggested that it would be nonsensical for Area 51 to be the site for building the Enterprise, not that it COULDN’T happen there….
There’s enough room “between the lines” of that reply to fly a Bird Of Prey through, if one wanted to…………no definitive answer there….and thus, back to my original questions which have since been addressed, but still not answered……c’est la vie!
158. steve623 - January 5, 2008
try
Lord of the Rings, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Children of Men, Schindler’s List, Fargo
I am not going to compile a whole list for you. Dumb and bad films have been made… excellent films as well.
No Sale.
#174 :I guess Orci thinks he is a star trek fan because he heard the theme once.”
I guess you think you’re smart or clever because you’re lippy, too. You’re neither, nor are you right. :)
” I guess Orci thinks he is a star trek fan because he heard the theme once. lol If any of these story points are true, I won’t bother to go see the film.”
I love the Trekcops, they’re so filled with Roddeberry’s utopian love for everyone… NOT! Remarks like this make me despise fandom.
“No, that’s where we disagree. Mr. Orci suggested that it would be nonsensical for Area 51 to be the site for building the Enterprise, not that it COULDN’T happen there….”
I’d take Occam’s Razor and take the more likely assumption that this was simply a creative way of dening it. Trust me - Writers like giving creative answers like that… they prefer it since it leaves room for debate among the “fans”. Ever read RDM’s responses to BSG questions? He often gives answers without actually giving a solid YES/NO.
“There’s enough room “between the lines” of that reply to fly a Bird Of Prey through, if one wanted to…………no definitive answer there….and thus, back to my original questions which have since been addressed, but still not answered……c’est la vie!”
Only if you want to live in some land of paranoia.
Sharr
Roberto - I have been a fan since 1966, (were you even born) and as long as you tell a good story and keep Genes vision in mind, I will be happy. I am holding off on having an opinion until I see the movie. I don’t understand why people have to speculate on something that is based on rumors and gossip. People ragged Battlestar…Starbuck a girl…that is travasty and it turned out to be a brilliant show.
Hang in there…just 11 1/2 months until it is released! I can’t wait.
“Have I been to the movies in the last 15 years? Yes.
Are they all good? No.
Because bad movies are made does that mean to you that all movies will bad?
And have you been to the movies in the past 45 years? I have, and guess what… they made bad movies then too and before that as well.
And now we have been given far-fetched tidbits about Trek and you are willing to believe them? Area 51? C’mon…
I don’t know what threads you read here… but Abrams, Orci and others are professed fans of Trek and have said they feel proud to work on this project. I can’t imagine them making something they care about look bad or hokey. If anything, I suspect they sweated some details with this story that might not have happened with others. And they are proud and protective of their work.
And then there’s Nimoy. He’s proven that he will stay out of Trek films he doesn’t like or doesn’t feel comfortable with (Generations)and has directed Trek before. He’s quoted several times as loving it and enjoying himself and complimenting the production team.
I will take this site’s Trek news any time. Anthony checks his sources and does it right. This isn’t TMZ or Ain’t It Crap. ”
I don’t doubt that Mr. Orci is a swell guy, and Anthony too for that matter. I also know that good movies are made as well as bad ones. But if a writer of a movie comes to a message board that promotes that movie and says “hey, I’m a fan and I’ve written a great movie, go see it”, it does not follow that I have to take his word for it - what else is he going to say? He wants his movie to be successful, he wants to give it as much positive spin and press as he can, pre-release, so that it will have the biggest opening weekend possible, since that’s the biggest single weekend his movie is probably going to get and a big opening weekend will allow the studio to run all those “The Number One Movie in America!” ads that will help it keep its percentages up over the next couple of weekends until the next big release hits theaters. That’s how it works, and I know that. So the fact that a writer says he’s a real fan and his movie is gonna be great doesn’t mean its gospel truth. Everybody says that. Nobody sets out to make a bad movie, but it happens all the time, despite the best talent and intentions. I hope “Star Trek” is not a bad film, but I am not content to take Robert Orci or Anthony Pascale or anybody else’s word for it. Far-fetched tidbits? Area 51? I ask again, have you been to the movies in the last 15 years? Far more lunkheaded stuff than that has made it into 100 million dollar budgeted studio films. I’m not going to believe anything just because its on TMZ or AICN … but I’m also not going to disbelieve it based on the vague or general denials of somebody who has a vested interested in getting my 9 dollars that first weekend either.
Hello Mr. Orci,
As college professors who get evaluated by hundreds of students each year, we have learned one thing. We are never as good as they say we are, and we are never as bad as they we are. That applies to the AICN article.
For us, we’d like to thank you and Alex Kurztman. Thanks for the entertainment of your previous films. Thanks for writing Star Trek, knowing how serious a fan you are makes the year a great anticipation for us. Our five year old son Nicky is already excited about Christmas 2008. Mary Jo is especially pleased to hear that female characters are represented in your version. Thanks for caring about characters.
Leonard Nimoy’s confidence is about all we need. When we heard he signed to be Spock, we knew the script must have been very good.
For every student evaluation that challenges our teaching, for every AICN article that spreads gossip about you, there are those who thank us, and we thank you.
174. cbspock - January 5, 2008
“I guess Orci thinks he is a star trek fan because he heard the theme once. lol
Can you get more insulting?.. What did he do to you?
Sharr, it’s fun to debate with you…..at least you take the time to write a reasonable answer!
@174
If any of these story points are true, I won’t bother to go see the film. ”
that was harsh , and its o.k. about you not going to see the film i was planning on going to see it at least twice so thats enough for both of us .
174. cbspock - January 5, 2008
“I guess Orci thinks he is a star trek fan because he heard the theme once. lol
If any of these story points are true, I won’t bother to go see the film.”
Totally without class
Wow… this is EASILY the most people have flown up about something in one day. I’m just passing by, but aren’t there more important things like the New Hampshire Debates? You’re all acting like the Republicans (for those of you who saw it)!
Yes, this whole ordeal seems bad, but the movie is coming out in less than a year. We’ll all just hold our breath until it comes out, then crap out pants when it finally does and it’s so fantastically good that we lose all bowel control and begin sobbing and clapping at the end because we LERVED IT!
I don’t know about you, but that’s the way I’m going to be treating it.
183. Harry
I try my best. I try to bring some common sense back to all this, regarding Star Trek I find fans often fly off of the handle and lose perspective more so then any other franchise.
Look I want answers as much as the rest. But I’ve learned sometimes chilling out it better then slamming headlong into things as well. In a few more days we’ll really be at with the “teaser trailer” which the Director of “Cloverfield” makes sound rather “big”. Scope isn’t a word I normally link to a films teaser trailer.
Sharr
If any of these story points are true, I won’t bother to go see the film either!
There, now we’re even!
Thank you Sharr Khan for reinforcing my idea at virtually the same time. Our minds are as one.
*Nod of approval*
Or better yet, does anybody remember Red Hour? Beta III? No? Aye, that would be good…
Boy, we’ve got quite the heated discussion going for a Saturday night, don’t we? :)
p.s. sorry Sharr, my #189 post was for #185!
I am a big Star Trek fan. I think what’s happening is awesome. We are lucky to be here right now, and see the re-invention of the series with actual actors.
If this had waited another five or ten years, Paramount would have been in negotiations with the families of all the original cast - and every character would be animated - as in Beowulf. Except if their voices were used they’d all be pretty old. Or other voices would have to replicate them.
I haven’t ever seen a full episode of Lost, so I don’t know if JJ is magic or not. I didn’t see his MI3 either. But I did see TRANSFORMERS because i hate Michael Bay but I thought the trailers were cool. The trailers made me say: this is the movie Michael Bay was born to make. OK. And I liked it. I thought it was fun. It was really well written, and the first hour moved. The end was a little confusing and technical, and the robots were hard to differentiate. But right now, I’m cuddled up with my girlfriend and I think I’m going to try to have a bottle of wine and watch it again. Why? Because we just saw THERE WILL BE BLOOD and that was the best movie of the year. And before that, we rented AMARCORD, and before that we saw NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. And that? That sucks. NCFOM is ALL hype. Does any of this make sense? No. But I know one thing. TRANSFORMERS was fun, well, made, always suprising, and in addition to it’s star, the entire cast was spot on.
The question about the new Star Trek will only amount to one thing. DO WE BELIEVE IT?
On the TV Dr. Phil is telling the world that Britney Spears is “In Serious Need of Psychological Help.”
And that is what the Star Trek Trailers will be competing with next Christmas.
So. I am excited. Nimoy is a humanitarian. (Shatner is too).
Transformers (which I didn’t care about before now) DELIVERED.
Star Trek will have excellent trailers, Star Trek will be unexpected because it really will be far and away the most technically complicated advanced and well shot film the series has ever seen. We know this. This is not the kind of action film where the stars are getting huge fees out of proportion with the rest of the budget.
I realized that a few years ago what I hoped for was a Star Trek with let’s say a Totally New crew - actors and ship and actually “Exploring Strange New Worlds” using the greatest actors of our time. Like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon.
I do have a fear. That by finding out “who these people are” - we will not be exploring Strange New Worlds.
And that is our Mission.
181. steve623 - January 5, 2008
“But if a writer of a movie comes to a message board that promotes that movie and says “hey, I’m a fan and I’ve written a great movie, go see it”, it does not follow that I have to take his word for it - what else is he going to say? ”
He doesn’t HAVE to say a thing, most writers don’t come on boards to talk with fans… at least none I know.
Nimoy has money, interests and accolades… He jumped on this wagon from retirement… I guess that’s unimpressive too because he’s in the film and actively looking to steal your $9.
So if you believe no one else’s opinion and believe every negative script point online… I guess you haven’t seen many movies in the past 15 years.
@187 “Wow… this is EASILY the most people have flown up about something in one day. I’m just passing by, but aren’t there more important things like the New Hampshire Debates? You’re all acting like the Republicans (for those of you who saw it)!”
more importants things ?
new hampshire debates wtf ?
i am not an american , so even if i am interested in your new president which i am , i cant vote or anything , does that mean i can keep talking about star trek
……….i guess so
kirk and spock for white house ?
I gotta be honest here, and I know Mr. Orci is reading these… I don’t give a crap for continuity, I don’t care if the bridge size is proportional to the rest of the ship, I could care less if they digitally make a hand for Quinto, and I could piss on canon. No crap, and I’m a Star Wars/Star Trek fan. I love sci-fi and I go see nearly every sci-fi movie that hits the theater for my sheer love of the genre and the fact that there aren’t a whole lot that come out every year. That said, what I really am looking forward to is a great sci-fi movie first, and in the tradition of Star Trek second. I understand it’s a reboot so we are getting a new interpretation of a classic icon to science fiction TV/Cinema. I expect changes, from a slight deviation to way the f**k out there, therefore I go to watch with a very open mind. I intend to judge the film on it’s own merit, and not by comparison. I will judge each individual actor on his or her own ability to draw me into their respective parts and to a small degree, portray a classic part in their own fashion, as all actors employ a different methodology to convey a character. I look forward to seeing the Enterprise as envisioned by the new artists of the film, not (with respect) Gene Roddenberry. The ship and sets of the classic TV are direct reflections of the attitudes and fashions of the 60’s, and this is a modern film being made by people of the modern age, so I expect their life experiences and tastes to be reflected in the look and feel of the film. anyone who goes into this movie expecting to see Star Trek in all it’s 60’s glory is going to be in for a bit of a disappointment to some degree. With all the crap that’s been coming out of Hollywood lately and the high expectations fans of sci-fi and comics have been putting on film interpretations only to walk out of theaters feeling sad and $9 short, I’m not going to do that to myself. When I sit down in the theater in late December, I am going to take the attitude that I am looking not at a revamp or remake of something I watched as a kid, rather, the birth of something new and exciting kids today can make a part of their lives, and remind the adults amongst us how it felt to stare wide-eyed at the small screen in awe of something that allowed our imaginations to take us away from reality, even if just for an hour a week. I’m not looking forward to a good Star Trek movie, I’m looking forward to a fantastic science fiction movie in the tradition of Star Trek.
“I do have a fear. That by finding out “who these people are” - we will not be exploring Strange New Worlds. And that is our Mission.”
Star Trek has really never been about the external “Mission”, at its heart when it had one before GR revamped it for TNG, it was about the people and the bond between Kirk/Spock/McCoy the external stuff was a means to an end. And remember people go to movies to learn about the *people in them* not some threat or the week kind of thing.
That’s what the “Human adventure” was all about not what particular star system the Enterprise might wander across each week.
Guys, you could debunk a lot of this just using pervious statements by the writers & producers. Lindelof made a big deal about Kirk having to be both the hero and a brilliant ‘astronaut’. Does that really gel with this whole ‘Kirk cheats because he’s too stupid’ angle? Come on. Plus, even if Kirk does romance some ‘little blonde lab technician’ to help him reprogram the computer, does that really make him a lazy student? Hardly. It just means he used an opportunity that presented itself. Sounds pretty Kirk-like to me!
And what Roberto said in #127 makes perfect sense. Can we honestly expect a successful Hollywood writer with a project in production to log on here every day just to debunk every moronic theory someone decides to put up on the internet? Come on now.
133
“Iittle green men” was a episode about quarks ship going back in time to Roswell NM…
Oh yeah I saw independance day and I thought it was horrible…
If you want to really see grand pa Data check out the 3 part episode that deals with that story arc. Its very very good. As were all season 4 Star Trek Enterprise episodes, (except for that crap final episode with Riker and Troi) love Riker and Troi but that one really bit!
^
Great movie quote Mr Ballz, WELL!!!!!!!!!WERE WAITING!!!
I sure miss Ted Knight he was a ledgend!!!
@196
it has to be a great star trek movie , i mean star trek has a proud history , we should not piss all over that , i mean no we dont have to be cannon hogs , and thats not the point i am making . but if they make a fantastic science fiction movie , it will be good but it wont be star trek . its important its a star trek movie .
star trek means alot to people , its like the work of jrr tolkien, or star wars . its a cult show for a reason .
if its just going to be a fantastic science fiction movie then why even need the name star trek , it would be a hold alot easyer to do without it , no need to worry about old fans or cannon and all the baggage ,
the people behind this movie has given themself one of the hardest tasks i can think of in taking on star trek . i really hope they did not do it to make just a fantastic science fiction movie in the tradition of Star Trek.
, but instead make a fantastic star trek movie it will be harder . But star trek more then any show or movie in my opinion lends itself to great sci fi , so with a good script and actors they can easly pull it off
yea i know i went on a rant , sorry everyone , just like to say that they people making the movie should not worry about making a fantastic science fiction movie in the tradition of Star Trek but worry about making a fanastic Star Trek movie , which of course by default will be great sci fi ,. bet this makes no sense oh well .
198. sean - January 5, 2008
well said
Mr Orci, was the final battle in Transformers supposed to take place in Las Vegas?
Wtf?
^
Sorry I’m way off topic but I just had to ask?
What a load of hooey…
Kudos to Mr. Orci for responding quickly, and I have to say it’s cool to have you on here…you da man!
Of course, while you’re here, you couldn’t like…send me a copy of the script or something, could you? I promise not to tell anyone…
#171, don’t mean to step on Mr Orci but “nobody” if you contact the Directors Guild and the Screen Actors guild in Los Angeles (wilshire bvld) they can answer some of your questions. You basically need to register yor script for a fee and then attempt to pitch it to studios and production companies.
It helps if you have friends in the bix, obviously but that dosnt mean anything. With a little luck and timing anything is within reach. I hope you get your chance !!
I will be completely honest. I hope this does not offend you Mr. Orci. While I mostly enjoyed Transformers, there were some parts that could have been a bit more reserved. My problem with Transformers is that it tried to go in too many directions and please too many tastes. Sometimes, it really hit all the right notes and felt semi-serious in tone…but still light enough to avoid sterility. Like many titles in the present video game industry, Transformers felt like a movie trying to be a bit too user friendly…but I understand that is the purpose of the summer blockbuster movie.
My biggest complaint with Transformers was not the script though, but rather the directing. Michael Bay’s style is great if you can’t pay attention to something for more than two seconds, but to be honest…it annoys the hell out of me. Flash, cut, zoom, whiz, bang. I felt his style did nothing to support the script you wrote. The folks I saw it with had the same thoughts about the direction…and have had similar experiences with past Bay movies…The Island is a good example. What can I say, i don’t enjoy Bay’s work.
That being said…Star Trek is a different beast completely…it has more in common with Mission Impossible than Transformers…so I don’t think people should look to Transformers as an example of what this new Trek film will be like. I loved MI3 Mr. Orci…and JJ’s direction only complimented your great script for that film. :)
As far as “Transformers” goes I couldn’t get past the first 20 minutes from a writing standpoint. The idea that a giant transforming robot from outer space suddenly took a passionate interest in helping some teen-aged guy
(our hero) in getting laid/impressing a girl, was asinine beyond belief.
The effects were spectacular however.
: )
Just got back from AICN. I get it! The author of that post wrote his draft of a Trek XI parody for Cracked magazine. And