More Fan Q&A With Roberto Orci January 28, 2008
by Charles Trotter , Filed under: Orci/Kurtzman, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
EXCLUSIVE: Last Friday director/producer J.J. Abrams and many of his cast and crew on new Star Trek film dropped by TrekMovie.com from the set of the film to take questions from the fans. However, after the dust settled, Star Trek co-writer and executive producer Roberto Orci kept the discussion going over the weekend answering more fan questions in the TrekMovie.com talkback. The writer revealed more tidbits about the script and the writing process and more. For those that don’t haunt the discussion threads we have put this bonus chat into an easy to read Q&A format.
Firstly, in case you missed it, here are key tidbits from Friday’s chat with Abrams and his cast and crew (but do read the full transcript to get much more)
- First full trailer currently in the works, targeting early- to mid-summer release
- Principal photography is scheduled to wrap at the beginning of April [about 1-2 weeks more than originally planned]
- Documentaries on the film’s pre-production and production process can be expected on DVD release; Making of… book also discussed
- Greg Grunberg will not appear in Star Trek due to his commitment to another film
- About 1,000 effects shots are expected to be used in the film (more than any previous Trek film)
- Target MPAA rating: PG-13
- The two biggest challenges for Abrams were getting a handle on the vision of the future and casting the film
- Humor is a very important aspect in the film ("humor and humanity go hand-in-hand")
- Abrams’ goal is to make Trek ‘real’ and is thus utilizing sets and location shooting rather than green- or blue-screens wherever he can
- The Enterprise "will be a combo of the physical and the virtual"
- An image of the Enterprise is "coming soon"
- The doors on the Enterprise will go "SWOOSH!" when they open.
And here are some of the key findings in the follow-up weekend discussions with Roberto Orci:
- The set of the Enterprise bridge will be stored for future use;
- the movie’s script is about 128 pages long (indicating a roughly 2 hour movie)
- the script took about four months to write
- he and co-writer Alex Kurtzman will not be making cameos in the film
- James T. Kirk and the film’s villain (Nero) were the most difficult characters to write;
- the TOS episode "Balance of Terror" and the second, third, fourth and sixth films helped shape the writers’ takes on the characters, as did novels by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
- Script shoots for many memorable moments akin to the "Never forget the name of the ship…Enterprise" moment in TNG "Yesterday’s Enterprise"
- Film makers have kept with Trek tradition and brought in academic and scientific consultants (more info on this promised)
For more details, read the transcript below.
WEEKEND ROBERTO ORCI COMMENTS Q&A TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Image: To all Trek Purists out there, understand this: What we are getting with this movie is obviously meant to REPLACE the ‘66-’68 version of Trek, including the Cage and WNMHGB, in style and substance. In other words, IT NEVER HAPPENED THAT WAY- anymore, that is. And unlike with bumpy-headed Klingons, where there was an ATTEMPT to explain the condition in ENT, it ain’t gonna happen here. What we have seen very obviously bridges the gap from ENT to TMP in ship design, production design, etc. and NOT from the 60’s aesthetic! Why they won’t call it a re-imagining or rebooting of the show is beyond me, because the evidence shows otherwise. My guess is that this approach was decided on by the the studio. That’s FINE with me, but in the words of James Cawley, it’s not what I would have done. So, JJ, Roberto, am I not correct in this conclusion?
Brian: I’m not sure if the (zero) really means anything, but I’m really hoping that this isnt going to be the title. I would be fine with not going Star Trek XI, even if it’s just called Star Trek (no bloody numbers or colon), I feel that the Zero would give it too much of the “Star Wars” feel when they did the prequels.
Roberto Orci: Agreed. As we’ve said before, it will simply be Star Trek. We’ve used the term Star Trek Zero a few times to remind new audiences who have felt that Trek has passed them by that they can tune in and be introduced to the world anew.
Brian: You can count on me being for the first showing I can get to!
Roberto Orci: Thanks — this site proves the dedication of fan base, too. The last thing I want on my grave stone is that I helped kill Star Trek.
Red Shirt: How are you moving forward on Fringe with the strike ongoing? And where has Alex been hiding? I too went to UT, graduated in 1993 with a degree in Radio/TV and Film. I am a little younger than Rodriguez, but had film classes with Matt Mcconaughey. Refresh my memory, but did you spend any time at the communications building, or were you a student of another discipline?
Roberto Orci: Luckily, we finished the script for Fringe before the Strike hit, so FOX/WARNERS is going ahead with giving us the green light to shoot it. As for Alex — because Alex and I are the luckiest guys in the world, we are also in the middle of production on our first movie as producers under our KO shingle for our home studio, DreamWorks. The movie is called EAGLE EYE. Started shooting the same day as Trek, so he’s mostly handling that while I mostly handle Trek. And yeah, I went the RTF route, too and was there for a couple years… Hook ‘em horns!
Red Shirt: I don’t know how involved with Michael Giachinno you are gonna be, but please please PLEASE help JJ, et al to have a locked picture before he has to complete his score! For me locked would mean the beats and edits are precise and timed, even if temp FX, animatics, etc. are being used as place holders. I think the Star Wars prequels are a prime example of how a film score can be butchered when a film is poorly conceived during the shoot, i.e. trying to make a film come together in the editing suite, more so than on the printed screenplay page. I loathe how Luca$ cut and pasted Williams’ score in those movies, just like grabbing a wav file from an Avid bin, and slapping it in the timeline, even if the leitmotif didn’t fit the scene (like a sliver of Yoda’s theme in a scene bereft of Yoda!). Goldsmith’s music is pretty iconic with ST, from the features to TNG, and ST Voyager’s theme music. There is a lot of history there. Horner’s scores are great also. I do really like Giachinno, and for those of you out there who don’t know his work please check out the score to The Incredibles or the Pixar short “Lifted” to listen to his range. “Lifted” alone tells me he is gonna knock ST0’s score out of the park.
Roberto Orci: Interesting point about the score… will keep that in mind moving forward.
Rusty McCoy: Now that you have finished filming on the bridge set, what are the plans for them? Is Paramount planning on storing them for sequels or will they get tossed in file 13(the dumpster)? And again thanks for the interaction — its been great.
Roberto Orci: The bridge will be boxed or crated, but not destroyed… just in case we need it…
Red Shirt: Wow, Roberto! giving your pal Alex the first letter in your production shingle (The K before the O) Aren’t you generous! I guess it has a more powerful ring to have a knockout (KO) punch than to just be (OK) (Orci/Kurtzman) And yes, Hook ‘Em Horns! I fully expect a veiled Bevo, burnt orange, or 40 acres reference in your future works. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Roberto Orci: Tell me about it. Sadly, I couldn’t argue that KO was a better combo than OK productions! But we still switch our names on every screenplay, so I can take some comfort there.
Charles Trotter: I am a contributor and administrator at Memory Alpha (http://www.memory-alpha.org/). Did you guys use Memory Alpha when researching for the movie? And if so, can MA expect to receive a mention in the end credits?
Roberto Orci: We absolutely used Memory Alpha during the entire process, and still reference it occasionally during production. It was great to be able to refer the less educated members of the team to your great site. THANK YOU! Will see what I can do about credits. Not a bad idea at all.
Shawn: I just got a quick screenwriting question related to Star Trek. How many pages is the final shooting draft? and how long do you think the movie will be? Do you believe in the rule of one page of script equals one page of screen time? I read somewhere that Transformers was 106 pages and it ended up being two hours and twenty some odd minutes, can you clarify this in relation to Star Trek? Keep up the good work and thanks for talking with the fans.
Roberto Orci: The script is about 128 pages. Sometimes, production changes the margins slightly for formatting reasons, giving a 1-5 page variance. We’d love it to be as close to 2 hours as possible. Too early to tell until we really get into editing. Transformers was over 130 pages long, and Bay dragged the action out even longer. … the rule of thumb is that a page = a minute of screen time… in general.
Red Shirt: Also, on a serious note, do you speak Spanish? If so, I wonder if you plan on being part of the Spanish looping for Latin American release of this film. Did you ever respond as to whether you and/or Alex have any screen time in this movie?
Roberto Orci: I do speak Spanish. As far as a cameo, i really want to try and enjoy seeing Trek as a fan, and nothing would take me out of the movie more than to see my stupid face up there (or Alex’s).
Charles Trotter: How long did it take you and Alex to write the script? Can you tell us the exact day you started up through the last day you worked on it? Also… is David Witz the film’s UPM? If so, does that mean Chernov is no longer UPM? And do you think Stratton Leopold will still receive some type of credit in the film? Why did he leave, anyway? Obviously, you’re not obligated to answer all or any of these questions and I will understand if you don’t, lol! Still, whatever you can answer will be greatly appreciated.
Roberto Orci: Took us about 4 months to write the script. David Witz is indeed the UPM. Chernov is Exec Producer. don’t know the status is Leopold’s credit.
RoobyDoo: Which of the characters was most difficult to write?
Roberto Orci: The two characters that were the most difficult to write were the villain and Kirk himself. Kirk in particular can de deceptive because you can fall into the trap of making him 2 dimensional because you think you know him so well or because you think his behavior in any given situation is a foregone conclusion — rather than treating him as a true character who has free will and has to make decisions. Easy to get lazy when writing known characters.
SPB: If you’re still haunting these boards, I was just curious (don’t worry, I’m not looking for spoilers): Were there any particular episodes of The Original Series that helped shape your and Alex’s takes on Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et al, when writing their characters and trying to find their “voices?” And did you listen to any particular TREK soundtracks while writing, to help get you in the mood?
Roberto Orci: Many episodes — Balance of Terror stands out, as do ST2,3,4,and 6, and a couple of the Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens novels. And the James Horner sound tracks are to this day some of my favorite scores of any movie ever. Absolutely listened to them for inspiration during the writing process
Harry Ballz: I know you were inundated with 600 queries the other day, but I’d love to hear your take on my “tingle” question….. Namely, in Yesterday’s Enterprise when Picard says, “let’s make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise”, the hair on the back of my neck stood up…..a real “tingle” moment. With that in mind, how many “tingle” moments are there like that in the new Star Trek film…..best guess?
Roberto Orci: First, I too am on record, i believe on this very site, that the moment you mentioned choked me up as well. Every time. So I completely know what you mean. Never know what moments will work at the end of the day, but we were shooting for that exact feeling several times. Let’s see… my best guess… hopefully… between 6 and 10… I pray.
Regular Joe: I know your focus is on this movie and after it, hopefully, a couple sequels. Beyond that, do you believe Trek will be returning as a TV series at some point? If so, would you and the rest of KABLO [Kurtzman, Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Orci] hope to be involved?
Roberto Orci: I honestly don’t know. I can’t speak for the others, but for me, I don’t want to be involved unless we really have a genuine vision for what a series should be. If I — for one minute — feel myself going stale or jumping on something Trek based on no other reason than past success or whatever, than I will resign my commission. It may be that someone else will have a better, more passionate idea about how to do a series, and I would hope none of our egos get in their way.
Having said all that, I would [love] to see a series…
AM THX-1138: Out of all the cast members, the one that I am most curious about at this point is Simon Pegg. I think that JJ said that he was out of the country (England?) while the chat was going on at strength. I was wondering if there was something secret or hush, hush about his portrayal of Scotty and that’s why we haven’t seen him. I was skeptical at first of his casting but admit to warming up to the idea recently. I guess I was such a McGillion fan that I was blinded to other choices. Back to Pegg; it seems that he hasn’t been as publicly available as the other cast members. Any reasoning behind this? How about a photo of him with black hair? A bone tosed in this direction?
Roberto Orci: Nothing particularly more secretive about his involvement than anyone else. Many have expressed concern that his interpretation would somehow be a joke given his background, but I can assure you that his performance will be tonally in line with the film.
Caltech: Haven’t asked a question yet, so though I’d give it a shot! The two things I’ve always loved about Star Trek are: 1) it’s humanity and 2) it’s portrayal of our technological future. In terms of the second, one thing that has kept me a fan all these years is its keeping with established physics and it’s postulation for where our physics and engineering might eventually go! As a physicist, I can’t tell you how close we actually are to making a breakthrough that would lead to the kind of star travel we see in ST. So my question is, have you kept with past tradition and had academic consultants on the film from science and engineering, to make it as realistic as possible?
Roberto Orci: The short answer is yes. The more fun answer is coming soon.
reptileboy:I would love to know how much they understand that many Star Trek fans are scared by this endeavour. At least with Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor etc, they had worked under people close to Gene Roddenberry or directly under.
It’s hard not to see them as invaders of our realm. It’s easy to say that Star Trek should appeal to the broader audience, but when so many fans have lived and breathed the franchise, to see even such a talented group come in, it begs the question; Can they be trusted.
I don’t often say this, but JJ and co. if you have read my comment please understand that some fans are standing on the edge not fully sure of what to make of things. We’d love to see Star Trek renew itself and grow, but really out worst fear is that the entire franchise would be dealt a death blow should the movie fail and fans not like it.
It’s hard to describe that as a fan of pretty much the entire series so far, that until now I had never felt such discontent over the direction and abilities of the franchise that I’ve had to wonder how much Star Trek meant to me.
Roberto Orci: We feel your fear. When you say that it’s easy to see us as invaders of your realm, we know what you mean. We prefer to think of ourselves as having been recruited into Starfleet in an emergency. We don’t particularly feel we deserve to be here over anyone else, and we know we don’t have the benefit of Gene Roddenberry or the amazing crews who have been stewards of this dream before us. It just turned out that we were ready for duty and our number came up, and we could either refuse the call or take a swing. Don’t let our enthusiasm or confidence lead you to believe that we aren’t also standing on the edge, trying not to look down.
Luckily, we’ve had a little help. Nimoy’s blessing is a beacon of light that we have tried to follow like a ship in the night. And the good wishes and blessings of the original crew members or their children has been equally valuable.We know that Star Trek, more than any other cultural treasure (with the exception, perhaps, of Star Wars), belongs to the the most savvy and forward looking fans in history. We believe many on our team came from within your ranks. That is the reason why we have asked the impossible from you — for your input or criticism even as we seek to keep the story a secret, but the process an open book.
It doesn’t mean we will make the right decisions, or that we won’t make mistakes But if we fail, let it never be said that our failure came through ignorance or disrespect of Star Trek. Let not our failure ever tarnish the name… ENTERPRISE.
… though we have no intention of failing.
Sign off message from "Cast and Crew of the Enterprise"
And as we close out the weekend, we are going to go radio silent for a bit. We don’t want to outstay our welcome and we need a bit of time to plan the rest of the year and we need to repay our friends at the studio for trusting us and giving us the freedom to communicate with you in such an open way. It’s their turn again.
We still read everything though, so don’t stop posting.
Talk soon.
TrekMovie.com would again like to thank Roberto Orci, JJ Abrams and the entire cast and crew of the new Star Trek movie for reaching out to the fan community in this way.
Comments»
Cool. ^___^
Mr. Orci, it is so nice to have you here. Makes us feel like we are part of the process of making this movie. (I know you would tell us we are). But you have to admit that this is still a very unique thing, and most true Trek fans are so incredibly grateful.
I was wondering if you have pondered any thoughts as to a second story line.
Probably a good idea to store the bridge set, along side all the others.
Pizza (and others)
As noted above, Bob is going ‘radio silent’ for a little while. It is really nice to have live and almost live Q&A going with the team, but these are busy men who have to make a new Star Trek movie (as well as make some other projects happen). So if you ask a question…do not be disappointed if it isn’t answered today or any time soon
It is easy to get used to having them here answering questions, but we cant expect every week to be like the last one
Fantastic - yet again…. thanks Mr. Orci!! :D
fantastic!
OH 5. already said that
It was a nice gesture on their part, but It’s too bad they only accepted softball questions.
Softball = “the doors go swoosh”
Fantastic article… thanks Roberto and the rest of the Trek crew!
Thanks Mr Orci, always great to hear from you and the rest of the cast and crew, keep up the good work! :)
After seeing posts by Roberto and The Gang that followed, my confidence in them delivering has increased considerably.
I hope they prove my theory wrong!
I’m now a “moderate purist,” so, bring it on! Eager to see how it all fits.
More pix, please, u guys!
(Hey- I was REALLY first!)
This is awesome. It reminds me of when RDM would do his “Ask RDM” messages, “back in the day” on DS9. I look forward to more of these (whenever they may happen) to help get us all through to December 25th!
Cheers…
Roberto Orci is hela cool!
Thanks to JJ, Roberto, et. al. And to you, Anthony! A lot of work went into this, it’s much appreciated!
Excelente!
BLESS YOU, WRITER’S STRIKE!
Makes me wonder if Roberto Orci would have spent as much time on these boards if there wasn’t a writer’s strike going on!
Glad he did it, regardless! He’s certainly earned his fair share of goodwill from the fans, this one included!
What I found not only interesting but very encouraging is that they had to work on Kirk’s character so that he ws not predictable. It’s easy to look at things he does in the new movie and say “Kirk wouldn’t do that,” but that’s what makes him human, and the thrill comes from seeing his humanity expressed in surprises. After all, if some of the series episodes had been lost and only new recovered and aired, many woud likely say “but Kirk wouldn’t do that!” when in fact he did. There were many points in the series where Kirk surprises us with unpredicability. (His enemies learned that as well.) Shatner himself brought a realism to the character by inbueing him with small character traits that were unexpected and probably improvised. Kirk was never predictable in the series and his younger self, just working out the man he will be, is even more like that.
I also would Like to thank Mr. Abrams, Mr. Orci and the rest of the crew and cast for taking the time to answer the questions. I think they all did a fine job of walking that thin line between secrecy and informing the fans. Obviously not an easy task.
And thank you, Anthony for providing such a wonderful venue for us fans. Yhis site is without a doubt the most frequented by me since its inception.
It may be premature for me to say…but this seems like it’s going to be a wonderful retelling of Mr. Rodenberry’s vision. “A wagontrain to the stars” for the young and old. I truly cannot wait for the final product. And I will enjoy every tidbit I can get here between now and December.
Again, great job, Anthony…thanks for helping this old guy feel young again.
woo!
finally, definate proof that my precious door SWOOSH will not be forgotten!
and maybe they would build a replica of the new bridge at ST: The Experiance. The TNG bridge is already awesome! But maybe having an XI themed attraction will attract wayyy more buisness to the Hilton.
:D
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
Definitely a class act of film artisans. Good luck to them.
Agree about the trademarked door “swoosh/squeek.” That sound is more than any other Trek effect is recognizable and used on other movies and shows as a nod to TOS. Even Futurama uses it!
I though it was sad through that on the shows re-creating the TOS period, “A Mirror Darkly,” and others, the swoosh was never synced right or they digitally stretched it out in a “stutter” to match the slow doors.
Hope they get it right in the new movie.
I hope the cast decides to do a chat when they have a few hours of free time. It’d be fragalastic! :p
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
lol
the “swoosh” on In a Mirror, Darkly (if you can call it that) made me frown. The fact that it was Cawley’s set made me sure they’d get it right, considering he makes STNV there.
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
#24
I had no idea they used Cawley’s set for that episode. Thanks for the new tidbit.
Interesting talk about Kirk’s predictability. I remember a similar argument between Roddenberry and Ellison about what Kirk would have done at the end of “City on the Edge of Forever”. Some would argue that Roddenbery took the predictable route. What do the rest of you think?
24. I dont think that was Cawley’s Set. IIRC they rebuilt the original set (I saw the set building pictures) from the original blue prints. Something like that may be expensive for Cawley, but on a multi-million dollar budget its just a spit in the bucket. Remember also that Cawley’s set is like 98% of the real size due to space constraints. They did use some of Cawley’s props they could not find/build.
#25… sorry to say, but that set was not Cawley’s. It was built on the Paramount lot for that episode. The ydid use Sulu’s targeting scanner and something else, I think.
Sulu’s scanner from Cawley’s set, I meant to say.
These two episodes mark the first time since the Original Series that the entire Constitution class bridge was rebuilt for a Star Trek episode. In previous episodes where it was depicted, for example the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Relics and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble-ations, only small sections of the bridge were rebuilt. Visual effects were used to fill in the gaps. — FROM WIKIPEDIA - I know not the most reliable, but i saw the set building pics on trekweb
I’m almost completely sure that they used Cawley’s set??
oh well. time for some research :P
Memory Alpha, i come to thee
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
Anthony, thank you for having this site. I am not sure if you ever thought it would act as the “window” onto STXI to the extent that it has these past months.
I often wonder what it would have been like if Stewart Baird or (heaven forbid) Berman/Braga would have had such unfettered access to the mass lunatic fringe. In the case of the former, he probably wouldn’t have cared. Berman/Braga, however, could have taken their eyes off of Nielsen ratings to understand why it all got stale.
For the near term, I hope Trekmovie.com remains as valid after STXI as it is now. After box-office, DVD and merchandise all die down, I hope there will still be stories to tell and people to meet on this site. If the franchise is alive and well in 2009, I’m sure there wíll be.
Do we know what the next shoots will be?
#25 Ro- I don’t think that was Cawley’s set- I don’t think they were that far along or well-known when that ep was made. The only thing from NV was Sulu’s viewer, as I recall.
It bugged me that the Defiant bridge screens didn’t have the blue border.
Just something I had noticed…
Anthony Pascale
Are you planning to hold series of Q/A sessions between actors/actresses and fans here?
Thanks!
#27
Well, thanks to you also for clearing that up. I thought it was a Paramount set…but the Cawley comment cast some doubt for me. As a geeky sidenote…if I ever own my own home, I plan on constructing a home theater based on a compilation of bridge designs that were my favorites, i.e. The TOS Bridge, The TMP Bridge, and ST-VI Bridge. I think the design flows nicely. It’s a pity it will probably never become more than anything other than a dream design of mine. Oh well, guess I’ll have to settle for walking on the bridges at The Tour when it comes to my area. lol
yeppers
it was a rebuilt set, aside from the few props they borrowed from STNV and the AA Phaser Archer used.
oh well. :P
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
#31….
From http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/9438.html
That ship, we learn, is the U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1764, the Constitution-class starship which disappeared into a spatial interphase in Tholian space (almost taking Captain Kirk with it) in “The Tholian Web.” That gave the set designers, art directors and construction crew the exciting opportunity to reproduce the Original Series bridge, down to the most intricate detail — though with subtle differences to make it the Defiant, such as the gold plaque next to the turbolift. This is the third time the TOS bridge has been depicted in a post-TOS show, but this is the first time it has been reproduced this completely, with a full three-quarter-round set. In “Relics” (Star Trek: The Next Generation) only about half of the full bridge set was built and shown on screen. In “Trials and Tribble-ations” (DS9) only small segments were used as background for the contemporary characters, the rest of the Enterprise bridge seen in repurposed TOS clips (though corridors and other sets were fully reproduced). This new set starts with the science station at the far left and goes all the way around to the viewscreen, with the captain’s chair and the helm in the center.
But I think Cawley asked them if he could have the new bridge set when they were through with it… since they were just going to tear it down anyway…. ;)
I like Berman’s style for the 4 movies he made, but they just didn’t cater to the young audiance (like meh) and therefore sent Star Trek into a deep, dark slumber. Finally, a man that many people might say “Who’s that” too, yes, JJ Abrams, walks in and re-vamps our beloved Trek.
So good job, JJ. :)
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
I’m having fun being part of this, and look forward to the next appearance of Roberto and gang! Stay tuned….
Did they let Cawley keep the set?
I havn’t watched but the first 2 episodes and the Vigginite of STNV, back when I had DSL. Then we moved….. spent a year without internet, then returned to the land of bytes and bits with a dial-up connection
:)
Crank Dat Starship Boy
My Cornyness
:D -Will.I.Am
24, 25:
I think they did not use Cawley’s set. Just Sulu’s tactical viewer was from NV.
“And here are some of the key findings in the follow-up weekend discussions with Roberto Orci:
The set of the Enterprise bridge will be stored for future use; ”
Does this mean another movie? If so, then yay!!! :) :) :)
Roberto and Anthony once again thank you.
Some great tidbits in there!
The adventure continues…
it’s great the cast and crew of Trek are huge fans of Trek like all of us. I can’t wait for the movie.
lol
#45
imagine if they wern’t
Spock (Quinto): **robotic voice** Kirk, I beleive that the plasme has been severed from the dopinhinger.
Kirk (Pine): **Voice like Trembley from Star Track** Spock… I beleive…. That maybe the….. Plasme must….. Be reassemmmmmmbled to the…… dingle……hopp….er…… What say you…….. old spock
Spock (Nimoy): You all suck.
It was a fun thing this weekend. Though I didn’t get a question answered it was fun reading everything, excluding one or two things here and there. Great job to all who threw this together.
I am very CURIOUS to know some details about Pike or rather how is that character coming along in the movie?? This other unnamed captain, Garth or Garrovick, who knows?? It is already canon that Garth is one of kirk’s heroes. are we going to see any of his exploits. Are we going to see any of kirk’s expoits that made him captain so soon.
And of course, NImoy are all of his parts finished yet??!
I hope someone can answer this??
Whether or not this movie succeeds or not, it’s clear that everyone is giving it their best shot. All of the best stewards of the Trek name (Nicholas Meyer, Harve Bennett, Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr, etc, etc) have not just captured what had already been done before, but have brought something new to the franchise. It’s my hope that J.J. Abrams and co. will be able to do the same…
We’ll see, but the prospects certainly look good!
Star Trek (zero).How about Start Trek?
Roberto
just to clarify…..
I don’t consider the turbolift doors going “swoosh” as a “tingle” moment! :)
#48
“And of course, NImoy are all of his parts finished yet??!”
I imagine Nimoy’s parts were finished, oh, about 60 years ago. ;)
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. I’ll shut up and go back to work now.
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
One of the main things that I hope people are doing is keeping a toe to the ground. With all the minutia, hype, rumors and such floating about, it’s not hard to see how some might get a little too much of the appetizer before the main course arrives. ;-) I avoided the new BattleStar Galactica for a loooong time because I was skeptical and all the hype seemed a little overblown. In the end, I was sorry it took so long for me to come around, and I think, I hope that by the time Star Trek comes to town, I’ll be anticipating it, not dreading it. :-)
Mr. Orci:
You’ll be pleased to know that your application for godhood is going well. We’ve run into a bit of a snag, as the temple on Pollux IV appears to have been destroyed by phaser fire, but I suspect the gods have merely gone fishing, and that this can all be sorted out by the end of the week.
If all goes well, you and KABOL/BALOK should ascend into the heavens sometime on December 26. I’ll keep you posted.
The turbo-lift doors go “swoosh,” since WD-40 technology was lost during the Eugenics wars of the mid-1990’s.
YES, Trek is back, baby!
If there is such a thing as a geek overload, we probably had it this week… amazing amount of detail which gave away… rather little actually… :-)
330 days doesn’t seem so long, I’m sure it’ll fly in…… (not!)
Hey Anthony- What happened to all the coverage of TOS remastered? No more previews of upcoming episodes? (not trailers, just threads on what’s ahead). No more guest reviews? No preview image stills from CBS-D?. And then the FX reels coming in way late.
I noticed AICN has dropped the coverage as well. Did CBS-D cut you guys off? Has the project already wrapped everything up, tweaking all three seasons?
Love your site Anthony, but I’ really miss revisiting these old classics through your reamstered coverage, that’’s what brought me here to begin with.
..and yeah…the chat with the cast and crew was unbelievably cool. .
57 - ^
Yeah, and it was The Enemy Within!
Where’s tha- brandyyyy?!?!?
To 43:
“Future Use” could probably mean anything: A future movie, a TV series (doubtful), a mini-series (only slightly more likely), auctioning off the parts if the movie is a bust, using the set in a museum or traveling show… a ton of things.
Sometimes they just keep sets in storage or in the open simply because it would be just too damn hard to completely get rid of them. The War of the Worlds airplane crash set is still up at Universal Studios partly for this reason (and also because it is a awesome set that may well be one of the best ones built… ever.)
Judging by Orci’s final comments shown above, he seems to be a very skilled writer. ” That is the reason why we have asked the impossible from you — for your input or criticism even as we seek to keep the story a secret, but the process an open book. It doesn’t mean we will make the right decisions, or that we won’t make mistakes But if we fail, let it never be said that our failure came through ignorance or disrespect of Star Trek. Let not our failure ever tarnish the name… ENTERPRISE.”
Reading that, I had my own “tingle” moment. I have little doubt that the script must me very well written.
#58
Man, I didn’t set the timer right on the DVD-R! Stupid, stupid technology! }:-(
(At least it wasn’t “Mirror Mirror”!)
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
V- Which one was it?? I missed it too!!
This whole excercise in having these e conversations between us the fans and the guys driving Trek’s future especially Roberto has been totally successfull, enjoyable and fulfilling. It has for me, with many doubts and worries previously, given me much faith in them to carry the torch, and created an anticipation only equal to that in 1978 waiting for TMP. The team have spoken with heart and have said exactly the right words without ever sounding like they are trying to sell the film to us. So, like James Cawley, I have been taken aboard and look forward to what will be without doubt the best future Trek could possibly have had! And thank you for reading what we have to say.
I don’t know if anyone’s caught wind of this yet, but Yelchin’s been doing some interviews as of late on Star Trek. Like, this particular one is an interesting interview about how, like, Chekov is the “weirdest” guy, but, like, you’ll see that, like, his manner of speaking, like, gives away his age. Enjoyable nonetheless. Check it out:
http://movies.ign.com/articles/847/847936p1.html
P.S. Plugging “Star Trek” in to Google News always pulls up some fun news stories.
why just come up and say its a reboot?
From the pics it obvious it wont fit into canon, the bridge station on JJ Abrams iterview is wrong looking. It looks cool but looks nothing like the bridge we know and love.
I understand it has to look more updated but does it have to be totally different.
I feel JJ is making this for the non fans and tossing hard core fans to the waste side. He has stated a stronger emphasis on making it for non fans
did you know that in the episode”in a mirror darkly” I was very impressed by the sets, but the contemporary beeps mixed in with the original style audio FX, bothered me alot. the beeps sound like TNG, on a ship that it supposed to be in TOS timeline. also the same thing happened on the NX-01 Bridge, which annoyed me to no end. I am a huge trek fan to those who think I’m mean.
-Todd
#64 Shawn P.
Like, no, no, no, no. Like, Yeltsin didn’t really say “perfectly cheesy and B-like”?
Like, did he?
Like, he musta been watching season 3. Anton! Anton! Like go back and watch season 1! No cheese there!
Sorry. Nice fella, that Yeltsin. Excellent actor, too. I just cringe whenever anyone short-changes Star Trek by callng it cheesy or campy or “B-like,” ’cause that diminishes it. IMO.
I think it’s absolutely awesome that JJ and Co. have been so engaged with the Trek fan base in this way. It’s really a smart move as it helps ease the fears that Trek is in the wrong hands - and is going in a bad direction. Of course, it’s impossible to see a year from now what the film will finally portray, but my concerns are certainly eased. It’s clear the Orci respects the vision and that’s very encouraging.
I have the same fears that Dr. Image mentioned in the first question of the transcript up there. Notice that in answering Roberto did not refute the contention that this new film is meant to replace the look of “The Cage,” “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and really the rest of TOS. I wonder sometimes if the whole thing isn’t going to be one giant exercise in retconning.
I don’t think everything had to be or should have been exactly the same. I’ve always thought that the interiors of the ship especially were ripe for some sort of tweaking to bring them more in line with a more futuristic feel and to fit into a more fluid design lineage between ENT and TMP. After all, I don’t think they’d be using analog gauges and that ubiquitous 1960’s font in the 2260’s and let’s not forget that Pike;s Enterprise spit out reports on paper! What happens if you get a paper jam during a Klingon attack or forgot to order new toner?! :)
It’s the exterior changes to the Enterprise that bother me most, though. They’ve said that they’re respecting canon and that there’s a canon inspired reason for any changes, but without retconning how can there be a reason for an original configuration Constitution, which has had a look and specific dimensions that have been accepted canon for over 40 years, no longer fitting that look and those dimensions? I don’t think the notion that this is pre-TOS, and so okay, fits the bill unless we’re prepared to believe, as Bernd Scneider pointed out, that the class was constructed with one look, then refitted prior to “The Cage” with a more “primitive” look, wchihc remained until the 2270’s refit bringing the ship back to a look similar to its original construction.
Anywho, I know I’m being hypocritical advocating for interior, but not necessarily exterior changes, but that’s just my two cents. I’m a big Trekkie, and apparently quite a nerd when it comes to starships :). I have no doubt that JJ et. al love Star Trek and want to be conscientious stewards and will probably make a great film. But everything I see points to reboot and I sometimes wish that someone in production would just say that this is their Star Trek and not necessarily bound by what came before?
Am I crazy? :P
On a calmer note, I am ever more reassured by Orci & Co’s commitment to the Star Trek vision. And I must say, they have all bent over backward trying to be respectful toward the fans, some of us very cranky.
Nero = son of the romulan commander from “balance of terror”???
Balance of Terror was the best episode of all time IMHO, as was Khan the best movie ever. I hope these guys capture that spirit. The fate of the galaxy rests in their hands. One thing that bothers me a bit is that the movie appears DARK. The corridor looks like one to a Klingon ship. Star Trek was about enlightenment; the human adventure just beginning; the Federation being the light in the galaxy. I hope this basic theme does not get lost in the darkness. “Behold the marvel in the darkness.”
Mr. Orci, thank you so much, for taking the time to answer these questions! It can mean a lot to us as Trekkies to hear from you and see how you’re respecting Trek lore and canon. As someone said in one of the questions, it can be worrying to think of new people “taking over” and trying to revive the franchise. But I really don’t think it could be in better hands, and appreciate all you’re putting into this!
The international teasers are online on the homepage…
CRISIS!!! The ones for Italy and Spain say 2009…
Does this mean we europeans will see the movie in 2009?????!!!!! while the US (and UK, Australia, NZ) will have it on X-mas / boxing day?
It has been fantastic getting their insight. However, the question about keeping the sets for future use came from me, Crusty McCoy not Rusty. Rusty is the one in the family we don’t talk about.
A little late, maybe, but I wonder if there will be more ships than Enterprise and, presumably, Nero’s ship.
Great to have them here interacting with us, not treating us like inferior beings. I think Trek is in safe hands, considering that they’re fans themselves, not some yahoos commandeering our fandom.
So its “Star Trek 0″ now!
Nice!
To some it may sound better then Star Trek 11.
Great Q & A!
Thanks for the opportunity to have some input.
The biggest thing Star Trek seems to represent is: HOPE. I don’t know how to add to that, so I’ll just present it and let you all do what you think best.
One thing that would be awesome - an acceptance of the religion and humanism that doesn’t patronize either. That could be subtly used to make a very relevant and powerful statement.
As for effects, I’d like to see the following, if possible:
* A shot of USS Reliant, before it underwent a TMP style refit.
* Enough different ship types to actually give the impression the Federation has a fleet. Substantial fleets don’t just have one cruiser or battleship design, and the don’t just have cruisers. They have an ongoing series of developing designs. (I never really got the feeling there was a Federation fleet during TOS, since we only see one kind of ship, and no space docks - not to diminish what they achieved with 1960’s SFX technology).
I look forward to this movie with great anticipation.
I hope they just gloss over the interior furnishings and emphasize some oversaturated astronomical photography. The surface trappings are far less important than the exterior scenery as it relates to matters of philosophical exposition.
Now I am completely shocked. Not only do the teasers say 2009 for Spain and Italy, but IMDB says that the release dates in France, the Netherlands and Norway are sceduled for FEB 2009!!!
February!! 1.5 months after the US release… Still, the German date is DEC 25. I hope that stays.
But for the other europeans… they set the phasers to kill :(
#62
The Enemy Within.
Damn!
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
79:
* A shot of USS Reliant, before it underwent a TMP style refit.
* Enough different ship types to actually give the impression the Federation has a fleet. Substantial fleets don’t just have one cruiser or battleship design, and the don’t just have cruisers. They have an ongoing series of developing designs. (I never really got the feeling there was a Federation fleet during TOS, since we only see one kind of ship, and no space docks - not to diminish what they achieved with 1960’s SFX technology).
There’s no evidence that the Miranda class ever went through the type of refit/upgrade that the Constitution did. For all we know the Reliant’s configuration in TWOK, as well as other Mirandas, was the original design of the ship. I tend to believe that the Miranda class was a newer design than the Constitution, which might go a little way towards explaining its exceptionally long service life through TNG and onwards.
As to second point, I completely agree. From the start I’ve been hoping we’d get a glimpse of some new ship classes. :)
I personally have no problem with the set and even the look of the ship being retconned. I don’t want to go see Star Trek 2008 and feel like I’ve just spent a night in 1969. That works for Cawley’s production, but it isn’t what will sell tickets. Besides, I want to go there and be wowed by the newly invigorated vision, not feel like I’ve seen it all before. Of course for years I’ve been hoping they would digitally enhance the original series - and by digitally enhance it, I don’t just mean replace some matte paintings and make the exterior shots of the Enterprise look better, I wanted to see the ship look like it did post-refit, I wanted to see the crimson uniforms and the enterprise bridge look more like it does in Star Trek II. In short, I’m talking about a Lucasfilm style retrofit of the entire original series, just as long as i doesn’t come out looking like a video game with Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley’s heads pasted in. Maybe the technology to do this quickly and cheaply will be there in another 20 years and they can give it another try when they adapt the series for our super-crystal clear ultra-HD entertainment walls that we’ll all have by then.
So I’m cool with the changes they’re making here. Sure it won’t line up perfectly with established styles, but that’s OK. We can just look at the TV series as a great start, but the new movie designs are what things “really” looked like.
The J.J. Universe of star trek is going to bite.
It’s going to be non-cannon wrapped in a ball of lies.
J.J. with use “a shaken camera” look to hide how bad he is.
The Writers will use T.O.S. lines to hide how bad they are.
The actors will say “It is the character before the character you know from the T.O.S.” to hide their bad acting.
The reboot look will be called “an Updated look” to hide that it is just J.J. wanting to make Star Trek his own and not Gene’s.
Copy this, save this and watch how all of what i am saying will come true.
Do not be fooled by J.J.’s Star Trek.
Interesting comments about writing Kirk, and I’m glad they’ve tried to avoid the trap of making him too predictable. “Balance of Terror” is definitely a good guide to follow. The Captain in that script is a CO you’d follow anywhere. The Reeves-Stevens’ novels, not so much. Roberto, if you’re reading, I’d be interested in hearing what you thought they got right, because my recollection when I first read “Prime Directive” was that they fell into the very trap you indicate you tried to avoid. And I recently took a peek at “Academy Collision Course,” and it was just awful.
#85 - Yeah, that’s optimism. You know, it isn’t like Uwe Boll is making this film. You might be right if he were, but I have faith that JJ Abrams and Roberto Orci can turn out a good Trek movie. Have some faith!
TOS–
I have no more of a clue than anyone as to whether this film will work or not. Either as Star Trek, science fiction, good drama. . .or even as a fun popcorn flick. For most of us, the movie we see onscreen December 25th will tell the tale, until which time we’re willing to suspend judgement. In the meantime, do you have any idea how childish your dire prognostications and predictions of gloom and doom and failure make you sound? No disrespect intended, but AICN is really a more appropriate venue for such stuff.
Chill out, guy. (And for the upteenth time, it’s ‘canon’, not ‘cannon’.)
#79: * A shot of USS Reliant, before it underwent a TMP style refit.
Here’s a test shot of the USS Copernicus, which will be making an appearance in New Voyages’ next episode, Blood and Fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT43f2p5b0A
Tingle moments? Well for my money I’m going with “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one” for starters, and I think the film would finish (OK so I want it to finish) with “Space, the final frontier, these are the voyages…………….”
Like the idea the doors go “swoosh”, wonder if we’ll see Sulus targetting scanner and Spocks scanner?
That Copernicus ship looks terrific! Somehow the fan designed crafts have looked so much better than the ones done in the later TNG era or Trek video games, which always look way overdone and fake.
I think RedShirt’s comment on picture lock and scoring was interesting. I’m a film composer myself, and people usually don’t talk about that, even the filmmakers themselves often don’t. But nowadays, in the digital era, there is seldomly such a thing as a “picture lock”. A film is never finished, and this also goes for the editing. Any good composer today has to deal with that, and Giachino surely can. What Giachino should do however, is not use the main “Star Trek” theme by Goldsmith, the one from the first film, the last few films and the TNG series. He should come up with something new and iconic that can stand for itself. I never really liked Goldsmith’s StarTrek-themes, which - although catchy - are composed rather poorly (although I know that people love them for some reasons)… unlike the rest of Goldsmith’s StarTrek-scores, which were always fabulously crafted — anyone remember “Ilia’s Theme” from the first film? You can’t do much better than that! In terms of themes I always preferred the original TOS and DS9. But Giachino should definitely include the suspended horn fanfare… that’s the Star Trek trademark, not Goldsmith’s theme, which is merely a later addition to the franchise. I could also envision a dramatic, more serious variation of the complete TOS main theme by Alexander Courage. That could be quite intriguing.
Wow, Mr. Watson, you built that? Nice.
barrydancer said “It’s the exterior changes to the Enterprise that bother me most, though. They’ve said that they’re respecting canon and that there’s a canon inspired reason for any changes, but without retconning how can there be a reason for an original configuration Constitution, which has had a look and specific dimensions that have been accepted canon for over 40 years, no longer fitting that look and those dimensions?” The answer is simple. Somehow history is changed so that all we have seen previously is slightly different. In my mind that would be the only “canon” way that would be acceptable to me. It would also explain why there never was a Eugenics War in the 1990’s, , why there never was a Voyager VI mission etc. This type of an explanation would not negate all that happened before (since we all know that according to canon it did), it would simply imply that history has changed from how it happened before.
I think it’s odd that NO ONE is focusing on how the new engineering spaces are going to look. I thought star trek the motion picture was done pretty well but i’m pretty damned tired of all the plexiglass.
I hope they really put some though into the engineering decks and don’t just have a bunch of mechanical looking devices slapped on the walls.
Also, I didn’t like how “enterprise” had 756 monitors glued all over the place. It should all be functional and authentic, engineering spaces are not supposed to be “clean room” squeaky clean and perfect, not even in the 23rd century
#94: Wow, Mr. Watson, you built that? Nice.
No, wasn’t me. :D I was just reminded of it from Jess Stuart’s comment. Daren Dochterman contributed the nacelle bulbs and deflector; the nacelle tubes and front of the saucer were taken from DAVE School’s model of the Enterprise, and NV Visual Effects guy Joel Bellucci created the rest, put it all together, retextured, lit and animated it.
New Voyages’ eMagazine #3 (http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/emagazine.html) has more details on the ship.
#94 (or rather: #barrydancer)
The original Constitution configuration is the way it is because they didn’t have our VFX capabilities back in the days. Something like this should never qualify for canonization. You have to watch the new “Star Trek” film and rely on your imagination when looking at TOS after that. I mean, the NX-01 was in many ways far advanced in design, dimensioning and configuration than the TOS Enterprise. How do you explain that? ENT is canon, too. And that’s the problem with canon, any canon for that matter (incl. the religious Christian Bible canon): canon by definition is dogma and arbitrariness. Where does canon end? Sure, we know. But why? Only because some ruling entity tells us so. Why should it not be allowed to expand the status quo or use allegedly non-canonical sources? The rulers defining the canon are the filmmakers, and we have to accept and respect, if the new filmmakers expand or even alter canon. That’s the nature of things.
85
I hope you are wrong. If you aren’t we won’t see any new Trek, and the franchise is dead. The shake worked for me in Cloverfield. I think most people want to give JJ a chance. I almost didn’t want to see Star Trek II after the mind numbing, sleep provoking TMP. Khan saved the franchise then even though it really was not the look of TOS. Even Gene Roddenberry was kicked upstairs after he dehumanized the cast in TMP. I would reserve judgment.
94: I agree that somehow changing the timeline so things are slightly different would probably be the only way to do things, but then how far back would people have to go to change things? The Eugenics Wars and WWIII were referenced as having happened in ENT. Real history and Star Trek history have never totally meshed.
Plus, to possibly change the timeline in order to tell the story of the new film, to explain why things are different, is, at least to me, potentially totally disrespectful of everything we’ve previously seen coming later. Do the events of the movies, TNG, DS9, etc. now become circumspect because the past has changed? I don’t think Roberto and the others would go that far. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. :) I actually think they’re doing a very good job and doing their best to stay respectful to what has come before. But naturally, until we get more concrete info, we’re all gonna speculate and criticize. :P
I’ve never really liked the time travel stories. :P I actually enjoyed ENT, but that temporal cold war thing went on way too long.
I hope they take every throw away line or character from the past 6 series, & make a cohesive story out of those. ie: all of the stuff that every main character ever said that they learned at Starfleet Academy.
Thank you, Roberto, JJ, Alex and everybody else in the cast and crew, for opening the book a wee bit for us to have a quick peek.
And thanks most of all to Anthony…
The other thing I hope they do is take every throw away knowing glance, every inside joke, & every line of dialogue that didn’t make sense in the context of the story, & rework these concepts into the fabric of what made these characters who they are. ie: The first time Kirk ever was fooled himself by the corbomite manuver, or the creepy line about Kirk’s double having “interesting qualities” to Yeoman Rand in The Enemy Within. These unintentional reactions, lines, glances, smiles, nods, & comments could all be woven in tightly to the Trek timeline, & fabric. These are other ideas that would make me “get” these characters, & love them even more!
It is indeed so nice of him to take time to post here. Thank you Roberto Orci for answering our questions. :)
The best solution would be to construct a true canon and not to try to stuff everything and anything in there. Which means that only those parts of the franchise, in which Roddenberry was actively involved, qualify as canon. Everything else is nice or weird or nonsensical, but in any case apocryphal, like the new “Star Trek”. What’s wrong with that? It can still have many many ties with canon, but a failure to meet canon would be anything but tragical. Why go to such great lengths only to twist and warp anything Star Trek into a framework that’s so heterogenous and inconsistent in the first place? And the last resort is always time travel and a change of history? What history? Yeah, the “history of the future”. Come on. You have to be bold and honest here: true canon can only come from fundamentalism. And what’s the fundament? Roddenberry. Everything else: you may enjoy or ignore or dismiss it, but not take it seriously for canonization.
well i always found the TOS doors to make more of a “swish” than a “swoosh”, therefore one has to deduce the filmmakers are deliberately ignoring canon. i will not be seeing the film unless they at least provide a “sweesh”. if they go to “shwoop” i’ll pickett, and if i hear “shworp” i’ll torch paramount.
they’re throwing my childhood into prison full of rapists on meth with the sound turned up real loud.
Crap! I had not idea that Roberto Orci had replied to any message or post I’d put up until Anthony posted this transcipt. I certainly had not hope he would recognise that as a fan I felt very nervous about the entire film. I am literaly glad that he and the movie crew are not attacking or blaming those who went before them for the percieved failings of Star Trek.
If this movie turns out to be utterly brilliant I will therefore hunt down Roberto and Co. and hug them all. One at a time.
Man, I love this site. Anthony, if you lived in a Commonwealth country I would be calling for your Knighthood.
For all of you nay sayers, rather that turn this into a pissing contest how about this. Let’s say for example, and this is purely hypothetical, that JJ and Mr. Orci and everyone else “NEW” to this project have no clue what the hell they are doing. Then we can assume they are going to really screw this up and this is the end of Star Trek.
I also believe a lot of the negative perhaps is partly based on too many new people with no direct connection to Roddenberry making this movie. The resumes are not long enough yet. Well, if you have read all the posts submitted by Mr. Orci, the guy has done some serious homework. If I am to pick just one person on this planet and trust them, it is Leonard Nimoy hands down. I would like to add this, I sincerely trust Mr. Nimoy’s comments regarding the script and recents comments regarding what he can share about the movie. For all the things Mr. Nimoy has done or not done, said and not said since the very first Star Trek Movie and they been mentioned here many times over. I believe Mr. Nimoy does understand Star Trek, he gets it, he knew and worked directly with Roddenberry, his endorsment speaks volumes and this movie will be GIGANTIC! His words not mine.
Whoa, whoa, whoa - did Robert Orci just confirm that this film is going to attempt to retcon TOS?
Holy cow! Is Redshirt related to Roberto Orci? Guess Roberto was taking pity on a poor soul about to die. (Y’a know, sacrificial redshirts? Ha Ha?)
Here is my mantra or comparison or simile or whatever for the next year concerning how Star Trek is going to be different:
We have all seen Shakespearean productions. Probably more than one. Or an opera. Point being that for Shakespeare’s works or the classic operas to exist today, they would inevitably have to be recast, with new technical crew and production. If not, we may not have known their beauty. Star Trek is no different. If you are content to let Trek stay at where it is right now, pay no attention to the new movie. But for those of us who wish to see Trek continue, this is our only hope. There will be no other Star Trek, at least not on the big screen and certainly nothing sanctioned by those who own the rights to it. It is not, for some of us, too much to accept the changes as long as we feel confident in the abilities of the new stewards. And I feel from the weekends fun, many, many of us do.
This is a heady time to be a Star Trek fan. I am enjoying this thoroughly.
#26. I don’t think Kirk was predictable in that episode, he had to follow the timeline.
#110. Thats not true. He could have decided to ignore the timeline and save Edith Keeler whom he loved, thus sacrificing the future as he knew it. Thats what Harlen Ellison wanted, but Roddenberry said that Kirk would not act like that and that he would sacrifice his true love to save the future as he knew it. Had he followed Ellisons suggestion, it might have made Kirk just a little more human.
Just thought I’d give a hearty dose of appreciation to Anthony for being the ONLY reason why Trek fans have such a good dialogue with the director/producers/cast of this upcoming film. If not for your vision and dedication, Anthony, this could very well have devolved into “yet another Trek fan site”, yet it’s come to a point where it is currently the most official and definitive fan-made site for Star Trek.
Will there be Klingons in the new Star Trek Movie ?
In regard to Dr. Image’s comment — “What we are getting with this movie is obviously meant to REPLACE the ‘66-’68 version of Trek, including the Cage and WNMHGB, in style and substance. In other words, IT NEVER HAPPENED THAT WAY- anymore, that is.” — this is an overstatement.
An actual reboot or reimagining could go so far as to change the gender of characters (e.g. Kirk as a woman, in the manner of Starbuck in BSG of 2003 on) or rewrite canon “history” (e.g. the established events of conflict with the Romulans). However, Orci and Abrams have stated that they are respecting canon with regard to these well established “facts”. Superficial redressing of interior and exterior details to the ships, while keeping their overall look and feel, do not count as reboot or reimagining, to say nothing of “replacement” or “it never happened that way”. As I am reading statements by KABLO, it’s more of an overlay than a replacement, more like TOS-R is to TOS than 2003 BSG is to 1978 BSG.
#108. Orci said “We have been careful not to put too much stock in terms like re-boot or re-imagining because these terms do not sufficiently describe, in my opinion, the way in which Star Trek (Zero) will fit into the continuum.” So perhaps it is a retcon of sorts. Perhaps like DC comics we are being presented with a Crisis on Infinite Federations.
Super-Size Ice-Cold Slushos for all of the BALOK gang. :D
I know they’ve retreated to the mountain now… but thank you roberto so much for grokking everything so superbly. Clearly, you folks have quite the team effort in the production, that even if Holy Canon is slightly tweaked… I know I have no problems forgiving that.
And instead of Star Trek Zero, how about “Star Trek, Oh!” (or a more canonesque “O Star Trek”, hah.)
Here’s hoping the writers’ strike ends soon so that you and K-man can make tweaks and the like for pickup shots and such to catch any nitpicks and insert any new ideas. And even if there’s no logical way to have Nimoy ride off into the sunset with Shatner, we’ll be sure not to send the Priceline Negotiator and Nofee after you…
#109 THX-1138 “this is a heady time”
That remark reminds me of the time, back in high school, when I went parking with Debbie Simms………..gives new meaning to the phrase, “head over heels” for someone! Hooo haw!! :)
#69 Barrydancer- No, you’re not crazy. It’s normal.
To put it simply, I merely pointed out a few conclusions enevitibly reached by evidence presented SO FAR. However, we cannot ignore what is NOT being said- by JJ, Roberto, et al.
This leads to drawing possibly flawed- immensely flawed- conclusions, but sometimes a “gut” feeling is all one has to go on.
I now sense, by what’s been said, that Roberto is a very aware writer, that he’s no fool, and that he’s figured a way to make all these discrepancies, ultimately, work- by having them make sense within the given contexts of, yes, canon.
By my estimation, the givens of canon could be worked around, IF one has the skill, creativity, and willingness to do so.
I mean, look at DS9’s brilliant, “Trials and Tribbelations.” There are an infinite number of holes waiting to be filled in Trek future history.
Now though, all we can do is wait, and hope to not be disappointed YET AGAIN.
What wonderful answers to such great questions! I have tremendous faith in Robert Orci/ Alex Kurtzman, J.J. and crew. This is going to be a tremendous success.
Harry, you are incorrigible. Completely Irreverent. And a funny dude.
With all of their dilligent work at keeping canon, I have to ask Mr. Orci about Spock’s line in Balance of Terror: “No human, Romulan or ally has ever seen the other.” How can this movie have a clash between Kirk and Nero and still be faithful to the very first Romulan concept introduced in TOS? And won’t such a lack of face to face be even more disappointing than the Kirk/Khan viewscreen faceoff in TWOK?
Or can that answer not be revealed to protect a major plot point?
Darn! Just when I thought of the question I wanted to ask most:
How soon after the DVD release will Paramount double-dip with an even better edition?
Oh well, thanks Mr. Orci.
Will anyone be eating any Chili Dogs in the movie?
Once again these Q&A’s are awesome.
Also I went to see Cloverfield on the weekend which I thought was pretty good.
Better than that though was that I got to see the Star Trek teaser on the big screen for the first time which was absolutely amazing!!!!!!
#111 Gary, I totally disagree..
Sure Kirk could have gone for a cheesy relationship but there’s more to being human than satisfying your mojo bro…
Don’t forget Gary that the Enterprise vanished due to the error in the timeline.
The Enterprise, Gary is Kirk’s true love.
^
Predictable or true to Starfleet,IMO true to Starfleet.
^
That was cool, thanks :)
BTW, Orci also answered “all signs show yes” when asked about a cameo, maybe ENT’s.
One comment on JJ’s
extra dialog that can’t be written in due to the strike.
^
JJ could allways feed the actors dialog off script, film it as additional slush and then later when the strike is resolved take the best footage and re-write the final draft with that footage.
^
No prob
I have never seen such a great connection between creative & the critical audience.
Coming from a related industry I can only endorse the openess of the modern Star Trek team. I can also (in a very small way) understand the pressure and expectation they place upon themselves for this movie. That is especially so, as they carry the weight of our combined 40 years of experience and expectation … but especially, it is clear, their own.
We expect a great deal.
I hope for a continuation and enhancement of the great vision of Star Trek. We do not seek perfection … we seek adventure, knowledge, courage and humour … love and connection - the true and central ideals of Star Trek and humanity!
Do not let the weight of expectation drag you down. Like any new baby, do not expect too much in its first year … but enjoy every moment as it will never be the same again!
Given my “reading” of comments on this page, I can see we are of reasonable “like and open-mindedness”. …I like that, alot … feels like Star Trek.
I Love NZorak, Michael Hall, Timncc1701 and Pizza
You guys have to look at how Star Trek is and not think about how it could be.
If J.J.’s Star Trek Bombs, Star Trek itself will not die. Star Trek can never die because someone will pick it up and do somethings good with it. I faith in Star Trek and it is sad to see how many fans do not. Many think that they have to like this J.J.’s version Star Trek or Star Trek itself will die. Look at Hulk (2004), It Sucked and was not like the comics or old 70’s show. The studio which made Hulk (2004) did not said Hulk is dead and now they have made a recon Hulk movie (2008) which is more true to the comics and old 70’s show. The same can be true about Star Trek in the future if Star Trek Fans do not like J.J.’s version Star Trek. Star Trek makes way to much money and the fan-base is too strong for “the True Star Trek” to die. Star Trek: TMP Sucked and was not like the TOS. Than the recon Star Trek movie (The Wrath of Khan) which is more true to the TOS. Star Trek did not die in 1979 and If Fans hate J.J.’s version Star Trek, “the True Star Trek” will not die now.
In 2002, Star Trek: Nemesis did not become the Final TNG movie because it bombed. Nemesis “was made to be the Final TNG movie”.
In 2005, The Studio canceled Star Trek: Enterprise and said Star Trek is dead.
Then In 2006, The Studio started work on J.J.’s version Star Trek and said Star Trek lives.
Now, people think Nemesis and Enterprise killed Star Trek and J.J. is saving old dead Star Trek with his new vision.
Nemesis and Enterprise did not killed Star Trek and J.J. is not saving Star Trek with his new vision.
J.J. and The Studio made this “Star Trek is Dead Hype” to force fans into seeing “The Hollywood version of Star Trek” by making fans think Star Trek will die if you do not see J.J.’s version Star Trek.
I am Here to say:
“THE TRUE CANNON VERSION STAR TREK IS NEVER GOING TO DIE”
The J.J. Universe of star trek is going to bite.
It’s going to be non-cannon wrapped in a ball of lies.
J.J. will use “a shaken camera” look to hide how bad he is.
The Writers will use T.O.S. lines to hide how bad they are.
The actors will say “It is the character before the character you know from the T.O.S.” to hide their bad acting.
The reboot look will be called “an Updated look” to hide that it is just J.J. wanting to make Star Trek his own and not Gene’s.
Copy this, save this and watch how all of what i am saying will come true.
Do not be fooled by J.J.’s Star Trek.
All these great questions and it still has me scratching my head why they have censored answering any question pertaining to Shatner and why he will not be in the film.
J.J. more likey did not want Shatner Because Some People see Shatner as a joke. Shatner is not Joke and I hate that J.J. is rebooting Kirk .
Chris Pine does not look like Shatner.
Very excited about this movie…very!!!
I think JJ is going to pull off a great Spock/Pike centric Star Trek story that at the end launches the
Enterprise under Kirk. It could be worse #129.
Yet it could be better,? Will never know.
I don’t know, because more information i get from the producer, screenwriters e.c.c. i am not sure that Star Trek is in a right hand.
This movie seems very fan-boyish and some comments from f.e. (Orci— Balance of Terror stands out, as do ST2,3,4,and 6, and a couple of the Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens novels.)
WTF Why isn’t Star Trek 1 in this too, don’t forget it is most successful Star Trek film ever so that formula wasn’t that catastrophic as many think..
Also Orci said they want this film to be as close to 2 hours. I ask ,,why,, because if they are giving us a brand new Star Trek vision you need time to introduce that new vision. You will not get this within 2 hours movie.
I was very opened minded about this movie but know i am not sure. I wil make my final judgment(on what direction this movie is going) when i see the new Enterprise.
#129 “THE TRUE CANNON VERSION STAR TREK IS NEVER GOING TO DIE”
Could you please write CANON correctly? Otherwise, people might not take you serious…
“I don’t know, because more information i get from the producer, screenwriters e.c.c. i am not sure that Star Trek is in a right hand.
This movie seems very fan-boyish and some comments from f.e. (Orci— Balance of Terror stands out, as do ST2,3,4,and 6, and a couple of the Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens novels.)”
134.Decillia - January 29, 2008
Decillia Is right!!!
This is movie is showing fan-boy signs like the Rick Berman’s Enterprise did. Fans hated Berman, but if J.J. and his crew say things and act the same way as Berman did, the fans put up with J.J. So Why was Star Trek: Enterprise hated by Star Trek fans.
The NX-01 turned off alot of fans, but the Reboot NCC-1701 does not?
Corrected Version:
NZorak, Michael Hall, Timncc1701 and Pizza
You guys have to look at how Star Trek is and not think about how it could be.
If J.J.’s Star Trek Bombs, Star Trek itself will not die. Star Trek can never die because someone will pick it up and do somethings good with it. I faith in Star Trek and it is sad to see how many fans do not. Many think that they have to like this J.J.’s version Star Trek or Star Trek itself will die. Look at Hulk (2004), It Sucked and was not like the comics or old 70’s show. The studio which made Hulk (2004) did not said Hulk is dead and now they have made a recon Hulk movie (2008) which is more true to the comics and old 70’s show. The same can be true about Star Trek in the future if Star Trek Fans do not like J.J.’s version Star Trek. Star Trek makes way to much money and the fan-base is too strong for “the True Star Trek” to die. Star Trek: TMP Sucked and was not like the TOS. Than the recon Star Trek movie (The Wrath of Khan) which is more true to the TOS. Star Trek did not die in 1979 and If Fans hate J.J.’s version Star Trek, “the True Star Trek” will not die now.
In 2002, Star Trek: Nemesis did not become the Final TNG movie because it bombed. Nemesis “was made to be the Final TNG movie”.
In 2005, The Studio canceled Star Trek: Enterprise and said Star Trek is dead.
Then In 2006, The Studio started work on J.J.’s version Star Trek and said Star Trek lives.
Now, people think Nemesis and Enterprise killed Star Trek and J.J. is saving old dead Star Trek with his new vision.
Nemesis and Enterprise did not killed Star Trek and J.J. is not saving Star Trek with his new vision.
J.J. and The Studio made this “Star Trek is Dead Hype” to force fans into seeing “The Hollywood version of Star Trek” by making fans think Star Trek will die if you do not see J.J.’s version Star Trek.
I am Here to say:
“THE TRUE CANON VERSION STAR TREK IS NEVER GOING TO DIE”
The J.J. Universe of star trek is going to bite.
It’s going to be non-canon wrapped in a ball of lies.
J.J. will use “a shaken camera” look to hide how bad he is.
The Writers will use T.O.S. lines to hide how bad they are.
The actors will say “It is the character before the character you know from the T.O.S.” to hide their bad acting.
The reboot look will be called “an Updated look” to hide that it is just J.J. wanting to make Star Trek his own and not Gene’s.
Copy this, save this and watch how all of what i am saying will come true.
Do not be fooled by J.J.’s Star Trek.
Corrected Version:
NZorak, Michael Hall, Timncc1701 and Pizza
You guys have to look at how Star Trek is and not think about how it could be.
If J.J.’s Star Trek Bombs, Star Trek itself will not die. Star Trek can never die because someone will pick it up and do somethings good with it. I faith in Star Trek and it is sad to see how many fans do not. Many think that they have to like this J.J.’s version Star Trek or Star Trek itself will die. Look at Hulk (2004), It Sucked and was not like the comics or old 70’s show. The studio which made Hulk (2004) did not said Hulk is dead and now they have made a recon Hulk movie (2008) which is more true to the comics and old 70’s show. The same can be true about Star Trek in the future if Star Trek Fans do not like J.J.’s version Star Trek. Star Trek makes way to much money and the fan-base is too strong for “the True Star Trek” to die. Star Trek: TMP Sucked and was not like the TOS. Than the recon Star Trek movie (The Wrath of Khan) which is more true to the TOS. Star Trek did not die in 1979 and If Fans hate J.J.’s version Star Trek, “the True Star Trek” will not die now.
In 2002, Star Trek: Nemesis did not become the Final TNG movie because it bombed. Nemesis “was made to be the Final TNG movie”.
In 2005, The Studio canceled Star Trek: Enterprise and said Star Trek is dead.
Then In 2006, The Studio started work on J.J.’s version Star Trek and said Star Trek lives.
Now, people think Nemesis and Enterprise killed Star Trek and J.J. is saving old dead Star Trek with his new vision.
Nemesis and Enterprise did not killed Star Trek and J.J. is not saving Star Trek with his new vision.
J.J. and The Studio made this “Star Trek is Dead Hype” to force fans into seeing “The Hollywood version of Star Trek” by making fans think Star Trek will die if you do not see J.J.’s version Star Trek.
I am Here to say:
“THE TRUE CANON VERSION STAR TREK IS NEVER GOING TO DIE”
The J.J. Universe of star trek is going to bite.
It’s going to be non-canon wrapped in a ball of lies.
J.J. will use “a shaken camera” look to hide how bad he is.
The Writers will use T.O.S. lines to hide how bad they are.
The actors will say “It is the character before the character you know from the T.O.S.” to hide their bad acting.
The reboot look will be called “an Updated look” to hide that it is just J.J. wanting to make Star Trek his own and not Gene’s.
Copy this, save this and watch how all of what i am saying will come true.
Do not be fooled by J.J.’s Star Trek.
129 138 TOS you bring up some valid points. Star Trek was pronounced dead in 1969. Nevertheless, I hope you are wrong about JJ’s version. There are some things I take exception to, like the darkness of the sets seen thus far. I say at least give him enough rope to hang himself and let’s see what is produced by Christmas. Everyone who has come into contact with JJ seems to have been absorbed–Nimoy and Cawley to name a couple. To me the biggest question is will Pine be credible as Kirk??? We will see, or I should say I will see because I don’t think you will give it a chance.
#128 Very well put!
I believe this movie will be awesome and we will look back in years to come as this movie being a remarkable part of Star Trek history!
It’s about the journey as much as it is about the destination. While I am lookng forward to the movie and can’t wait to walk into he theatre, I can’t help but think of how I will feel when the end credits roll and this faboulous journey will comes to an end.
It’s been a wild ride since September of 2006 (the 40th anniversary of Star Trek) when we first saw the teaser poster for this movie and we learnt that Star Trek would live on in a new feature film. A fantastic gift for all Star Trek fans on the 40th anniversary!
What we are in the middle of right now is something that I will look back on with fondness in the coming years. So as much as I am counting down the days, I am going to enjoy every moment that comes with this faboulous journey!
When I first saw the teaser poster I couldn’t contain my excitement and had it as my desktop on my work computer for almost a year. And then I saw the teaser trailer on the big screen the the hairs on the back of my neck stood up!
Let’s all try and enjoy the journey we’re on!
I have a feeling this film will be heavily influenced by TNG’s “Yesterdays Enterprise”. For some reason history is changed (perhaps due to Romulan interference) which would explain all he differences between Star Trek 0 and TOS. And like Guinan, only Spock will be aware of the changes, but unlike “Yesterdays Enterprise”, history will not revert back to the way things were, because if that were to happen it would mean the end of the Federation (similar to what happened during TOS’s “City on the Edge of Forever”.
Thanks for catching us up with the weekend Q&A, Anthony. I was glad to see Roberto respond to the question about the score. John Williams’ beautiful music was butchered beyond belief in SW Episodes 1 and 2 (although episode 3 was MUCH better - Williams must have slapped Lucas around beforehand). Attack of the Clones’ hacked up music was an abomination, and actually pulled me out of the movie several times. I’m sure Michael Giacchino is going to do an awesome job with Trek.
It is curious, but characters, all we know so well today, are the result of a progressive evolution that we could see in TOS. Every episode gave us new details on the personal life or personality of some character (but it was a constructive work). Even so every week story was enough audacious and complete to keep the audience alive. The story, the missions, the discovery of an unexplored universe also was important. And maybe now we have so much restrictions on the story ,due to the acumulation of details along years, that we can have freedom to imagine …(star trek used to be an open door to show very diverse ideas).
Thank you for having these chats with JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and the Enterprise cast. I’m definitely going to see this movie. Also I’m glad to see the comments about not making Kirk a 2 dimensional character.
#138 TOS- Hmmm…
Even though I’m a jaded cynic, I tend to disagree.
Though I guess I’m the diabolical architect of the TOS-RW (TOS-ReWritten) theory, I’m now giving The Gang some slack, and I’m HOPING they are not, in fact, re-writing history in their own image.
If they are, oh well… but if they’re not, great!
(See my posts at #12 and #118 for related ruminations.)
#108–No, he did not.
#111–Not to mention, in direlection of his duty.
#138–Gene’s Star Trek hasn’t been made in a long time. He never approved of David Marcus’ referral of Star Fleet as the military, he hated STVI’s militarism and the very notion that there could ever be corruption in Star Fleet at that level (his vision was of a utopian future for humanity manifested in the Federation and the exploration arm of Star Fleet). Do you think he would have approved of the later series’ (DS9/ENT) use of Section 31, or more specifically, the civilian leadership of his benevolent Federation’s complacency about its actions? Would Gene have stood by and allowed the writers to depict that complacency to such a degree that they would stand by and allow the perpetuation of genocide, even against an enemy? Mr. Roddenberry’s Star Trek died a long time ago. Who knows? Maybe JJ is here to ressurrect it. Forget the printers on the bridge, the cheap props, the 1960’s color schemes, the go-go boots and miniskirts (although it would not disappoint me to see those–and it appears we will), the communicators that appear less sophisticated than my phone, and even the bland exterior of the TOS Enterprise. That wasn’t Star Trek. That was the result of NBC’s allotted budget to Star Trek TOS. Star Trek was the manifestation of one man’s post- war vision of humanity’s future. Gene saw, firsthand, the horrors which mankind was capable of, and wanted to imagine and present to us a time when man had moved beyond it. There is nothing to suggest that JJ’s film will not capture that, and if it doesn’t, it will simply fall into the category of the Star Trek we have all been watching for 25 years. Perhaps there is another reason (beyond marketing alone) that JJ and co. wish to “revisit” (not reboot) the TOS era. Doing so will have little to do with replicating (or not) the sets built in the 1960’s, but doing justice to what made Star Trek great in the first place.
You have every right to your pessimism, but my opinion is that it is unjustified at every turn.
#145–I am glad to hear that another fan is warming up to the new team, even if just a little bit. I have often pointed out that that this film (or hopefully, series of films) could very well leave evry voyage depicted in TOS intact. They could tell stories of voyages prior to TOS, and even pick up where the show left off (as there is no clear indication that the 79 TOS episodes represent the entire 5 year mission), in the time period between TOS and TMP, TMP and TWOK, STVI and Generations, etc. there is absolutely no reason to believe that JJ and co. will obliterate ST canon as we know it. There is no reason for them to do so. There is plenty of unexplored ST history to show us, and I hope they do so well.
#147- Then again there is the alternate-timeline scenario, but would they risk confusing a commercial audience with this type of thing?
So far: Insufficient data to draw conclusion.
This is phenomanle. I am glad that there has been so much interaction with the fans. This says to me that JJ and the group at least believe that they have the best product they could produce, and the right product to jump start the franchize. I think this movie will be fantastic. It may take me twenty minutes or so into the film to get use to the new look. but once I have done that, I think that it will be a good show. JJ hasn’t let anyone down yet with anything he has produced.
Opinion. I was looking at one of the official pictures from the Teaser trailer today, the one that shows the saucer and the engines…. what do you guys think? Are those engines the finishes produced, or still being worked on. Because if what I’m looking at is the finished product, then they are going to be vastly diffrent from the old engines were are use to…What do you guys think?
#134 - DECILLIA -
“i don’t know, because more information i get from the producer, screenwriters e.c.c. i am not sure that Star Trek is in a right hand.
This movie seems very fan-boyish and some comments from f.e. (Orci— Balance of Terror stands out, as do ST2,3,4,and 6, and a couple of the Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens novels.)
WTF Why isn’t Star Trek 1 in this too, don’t forget it is most successful Star Trek film ever so that formula wasn’t that catastrophic as many think.”
I suggest you go back and re-read the original question that I posed to Roberto Orci. All I was asking was, in particular, where there any episodes (or movies) that helped him and Kurtzman get a better, solid handle on the characters of Kirk, Spock & Co. I’m assuming he mentioned “Balance of Terror” and those other films as some of the best examples of WRITTEN CHARACTERIZATION. Nowhere does he state that STAR TREK XI will be filled with references to those examples. So where exactly does this “fanboy-ishness” come in, pray tell? Jumping the gun a little bit, are we?
149 - I think they are in the midst of being worked on… no?
#134–I believe that TMP plays a huge role in the evolution of the spock character, but remember that Orci and co. said that the aforementioned episode and films “stand out”. That, in no way, suggests that the others were ignored (although I admit hoping that they ignore STV altogether).
#148–Agreed. But I do not think that they would. If part of the story does take place in an altered timeline, then I am inclined (by gut feeling) to believe that Mr. Nimoy’s Spock will be there to correct it (the timeline)as part of that story. Who knows what will make the best story at this point? I just hope that it is a good one.
#150–Exactly. If anything, they have indicated that they are trying NOT to make a “fanboy” movie and instead, attempting to appeal to new fans, yet giving US just enough to satisfy our nostalgic cravings.
#150
BOT — Relationships coming to fruition. The tragedy of losing loved ones. Discovering new truths. Overcoming personal prejudices. Honor and personal respect/admiration even between long-term enemies. Taking unpleasant actions to try to prevent a larger catastrophic war. Self-sacrifice — and risk of the loss of one’s own life to save “the needs of the many”…
-146. Closettrekker
1. The communicators that appear in TOS are beyond your Phone. The TOS communicators did not need millions of Satellites or phonelines. The TOS communicators range is far wider (Planet to Planet) than Cellphones or landlines of today. The TOS communicators had open bands, but Cellphones and landline have an close band. Also The TOS communicators did more than work as a communicator. The TOS communicators are still years ahead from us today.
2. Star Trek TOS is Gene’s true Vision and that is what J.J. is walking on. TNG,DS9,VOY, ENT and All the movies are The Spin-offs. If J.J. was working on a New Spin-Off of Star Trek, I could support that (Like an Captain Robert April Movie!!!). But He is Mess-up with TOS (Gene’s true Vision).
3. Offices and Government departments still use Dot-Matrix printers 40 years later. Dot-Matrix printers are used by The US Government and laser printers are used by you and me.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-matrix_printers: Some companies, such as WeP Peripherals, Epson, Okidata, Olivetti, Lexmark, and TallyGenicom, still produce serial and line printers. Today, a new dot matrix printer actually costs more than most inkjet printers and some entry level laser printers. The main use of Dot-Matrix Printers are in areas of intensive transaction-processing systems that churn out quite a lot of printing. Many companies who might have started off with dot-matrix printers are not so easily convinced to go for printers based on other technologies because of the speed advantage that they have with dot-matrix printers.
4. The TOS Props and Sets are cheap, but the designs are true to Gene’s true Vision. The Props and Sets build better is good, but Re-Designs (like J.J.’s ncc-1701) which are more Industrial looking (like Star wars) are Bad.
5. A revisit should not be a Re-Designs (like J.J.’s ncc-1701). A revisit should be true to Gene’s true Vision. The Truth is J.J.’s Film is a Reboot. JJ and co.Talking a “revisit” TOS era to hide the Truth becuase They know that Most Star Trek Fans do not want a Reboot of TOS. J.J. and the Studio want to make “The Hollywood version of Star Trek” and not what some call “a Star Trek Nerd Movie or a Trekkie movie”. The truth is most of the world are Closet-Trekkies (TOS-FANS) or Closet-Trekkers (TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT-FANS).
6. In a post 9/11 world, J.J. will sadly be the most militarism Version of star trek to date.
Here is proof: http://showmescifi.com/2008/01/24/new-star-trek-xi-starfleet-uniform/
#154–I said “…appear less sophisticated…”. Not quite the same thing.
You seemed to have confused Gene’s vision with the appearance of set design and 1960’s Trek-tech. That has nothing to do with it. That was simply the tools Gene had in the 60’s at his disposal with which to show us his vision. Again, his vision was a post-war driven hope for mankind’s future. Revisiting TOS has nothing to do with props, effects, or even uniforms (which Mr. Cawley has confirmed for us are fantastic) and the Enterprise exterior. It has to do with the wonderful characters, stories, and themes we expect from TOS-era Star Trek. As for your 9/11 reference, this makes waking up Gene’s vision even more relevant. But again, do not confuse that vision with what Sulu’s helm looks like. One has nothing to do with the other. Your “closet” comments baffle me, as if you completely miss the meaning. As for your contention that JJ’s movie will be the most militaristic, I don’t see any evidence of that. The site you referred me to is apparently wrong, if Mr. Cawley’s word is to be taken. He claims to have seen the uniforms and they are true. I love TOS above all, and feel I think, as you do, that it is the only Star Trek true to Gene’s vision. Yet why you feel as though that vision is being trampelled on, without even knowing what the story is or how well the new actors will portray the characters which we know and love, is a mystery to me. I guess your idea of Gene’s vision differs from what he said it was.
To 154:
On your 6th point of “military trek”:
No.1: Now this could just be me, but how do we know that that is the standard uni and not, say, a specialized uniform (cadet or instructor, perhaps?).
No. 2: Maybe Abrams is doing what I said would be cool and homaging Forbidden Planet with that look: http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1297/Mptv/1297/5089_0053.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0049223