In Empire Magazine’s ‘25 Most Exciting Movies of 2008‘ feature, Star Trek director JJ Abrams speaks briefly about the film he is currently shooting. Abrams tells Empire “I’m completely respectful of the Star Trek canon and I feel that there’s a great movie to be made.” And is Abrams worried about us famously persnickety fans?…nope….
Abrams tells Empire
Is it really worth living in fear of fans of a television show? That seems a little silly to me. I’m embracing them and I love the people who care about that series, as they should. I think that we can do them proud.
I think Abrams recent chat with fans here at TrekMovie.com shows that he is willing to engage the fans.
Empire Budget and box office prediction
Empire estimate the budget for Star Trek at $150 Million, but TrekMovie.com has been told this is a bit high, by 10 mil or so. They also have a box office prediction of “$115 million (US gross), $250 million (worldwide)”. This would translate into about 55% of sales coming from outside the US when all Trek films have done the 40% or less. It is hard to see the new Star Trek totally reversing this trend, especially without any A-List stars. TrekMovie.com thinks that Empire’s prediction is low, especially the US part. The optimistic target is for Star Trek to do Batman Begins money or about $200 million domestic and $370 Worldwide..
Can’t wait….make something of the Millions…
First?
I am so totally convinced that this film will be a HUGE hit and will only serve to revitalize a nearly dead franchise. Skeptical fans need to be willing to take a few risks… playing it safe according to formula is what made the last two trek films real snoozers AND flops.
I think the movie will rock. I think it will be phenomenal.
That being said, I’ll give it $80 mil domestically, tops.
If this Trek movie can bring a little bit of “grit” and “reality” into Star Trek the way the new Battlestar Galactica TV series did then we have nothing to worry about.
I think people over-estimate how many scifi fans are out there. I hope Star Trek does VERY well, but $200 mil domestic sounds very high to me. The best example we have to gauge is Star Trek: First Contact. It brought in many non-fans as well. It make about $92 mil domestic, which adjusted for inflation puts it at about $124 mil in today’s dollars.
But who can say? Star Trek might be one of the highest grossing films of 2008. I certainly hope so. We’ll just have to see how the audience responds to this new re-boot, or whatever you call it.
That being said, if this movie is good, I will do my part by seeing it at least 3-4 times. I have faith in JJ, Roberto, and Alex. Good luck, gents.
This movie doesn’t come out for another year?
Holy crap. I don’t know if I can wait that long.
Must have more info. More interviews. Pics.
Something.
I think that $200 million ( or so ) is doable for this movie…it’s going to be seen as a fresh start for the series ( whether it’s canon or not, it will be seen as reboot like Batman Begins or Casino Royale by the general audience, especially since it’s simply called “Star Trek”. ) With the bigger budget, this will no doubt be viewed as a spectacle/blockbuster type film, which is a way that this film series has not been for a long time, and that’s another added bonus for the general audience. And unlike when Nemesis came out, it’s not going up against Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings this time. The buzz surrounding the re-casting of the Iconic roles ( not to mention the return of Leonard Nimoy ) will create LOTS of mainstream press for this movie in a way that no Trek film has had in forever. The curiousity factor will be way higher for this one compared to the past 6 films. Will it make the $200 million domestic that is no doubt the target number? Who knows, but even if it makes only $140-150, it will still be the highest grossing Trek film and will no doubt insure a new series of films.
#7 “The buzz surrounding the re-casting of the Iconic roles ( not to mention the return of Leonard Nimoy ) will create LOTS of mainstream press for this movie in a way that no Trek film has had in forever”
Agreed. Plus, this is the first post-TNG production without Berman and Co. at helm. This will bring some more press attention.
There’s a review of the new movie’s toys over at Ain’t It Cool!
Seems Uhura’s got a miniskirt and there’s more cleavage shown! Yay!!!
His complete reboot of the franchise, which traces it back 40 years to the Enterprise’s original crew with an entirely new cast, could well upset die-hard Trekkers. Not that Abrams is worried.
i dont want a ‘complete reboot’
#4
not in my trek. beside like or not that grit and reality, will most likely not be here next film or tv show to follow. sow how will the next production be handeled?
#5
i ony see a movie once. only again id im with some one who hasnt seen ot yet and theyr paying.
#6
calm yourself :D
#5 – I see what you mean, but depending on how it’s marketed it doesn’t have to be exclusive to sci-fi fans, which I believe is probably part of the creative staff’s agenda. I mean the likes of Spider-Man, Star Wars, and Transformers were certainly “Sci-Fi Action” and this movie could potentially be a cross over as well. But you are right, this movie could certainly break the mold.
#9 – You mean what was mentioned on this site just within the past day or so?
https://trekmovie.com/2008/02/10/more-design-clues-from-germanys-toy-fair/
;)
I think Empire’s domestic prediction is probably close, and maybe even a bit optimistic. As for the worldwide gross, I’d probably expect more like $100 million if lucky.
As excited as I am about the film, I still can’t see many non-fans being interested enough to go see it.
I wonder if it’s at all possible or anyone to compliment the current producers of Star Trek without criticising “Beman and Co” ?
Almost every blog on here inevitably goes down this path. I for one am excited about this movie, but can also acknowldge that there have been some wonderful moments brought to life on both the silver and small screens courtesy of Berman, Meyer, Bennett, Pillar etc.
– I’m completely respectful of the Star Trek canon –
I think it’s an unquestionable achievement to be completely respectful of something which doesn’t exist as such.
#13 “I for one am excited about this movie, but can also acknowldge that there have been some wonderful moments brought to life on both the silver and small screens courtesy of Berman, Meyer, Bennett, Pillar etc.”
Yes, I agree with you. I loved TNG (not all the rest and not the movies), but it’s an undeniable fact that the helm had to pass to another crew. What is happening now, the rising interest, the rumors, the excitement, is telling us that Paramount made the right choice in pressing for a change.
Berman was afraid of change..and that changed Star Trek into what it became with Nemesis..boring mediocre SF Stuff.
I guess, Abbrams has the chance to be hugely successful with Star Trek if he dares to make changes. Mostly changes, I hope, that bring Star Trek close to the original, the one and only TOS !! TOS as they would have done it in the sixties if they had had the technical means of today.
JJ and Orci have me so happy I’m almost in a state of disbelief!
THEY GET IT! I CAN RELAX!
…the only problem is I have to wit until they get done making the movie before I can see it! :)
#16 “I hope, that bring Star Trek close to the original, the one and only TOS !! TOS as they would have done it in the sixties if they had had the technical means of today.”
And on this point you are right. We have to extend our scope beyond the fandom boundaries. Yesterday I talked about Trek with some friends of mine. They are sci-fi fans but don’t know anything (neither they care) about Trills, Dominion, Maquis, klingon viruses and so on. 40 years of canon are very heavy and hard to understand by a non-trekker point of view. Trek has to be brought back to its origins: good stories and good characters. Call it reboot, call it revival, but something has to be done.
#15.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I am excited about the curnt changes and believe Star Trek is in good hands. I am merely referring to the constant nagging about what Berman could have done or didn’t do and so on, …
Lets look forward, not back. It’s really easy to sit back and ctiticise others for what might have been. We now have the opportunty to look forward to something new. That’s what should excite us.
Reboot, re-imagining, or whatever, bring Christmas couldn’t come fast enough for rme.
You can’t really call it change if its just another prequel though can you?
I know its not just another prequel. *sigh*
#18. Do you think If TOS ran for more than 3 seasons, they too would have covered more material than they did? i.e. expanded on some f the aliens peviously encountered etc.
Don’t you think DS9, Voy and TNG woul have been rather dull without the variety of alien species or story arcs/threads or characters they covered?
It’s a question of material / or lack thereof forthe amount of televsion hours they had to produce.
#21
TOS episodes had the tendency to be self contained, with some internal reference here and there. IMO, that stories were more accessible and fresh. Modern Trek, in my opinion, tended to be more and more canon oriented, alienating non-trekkies.
I mean no disrespect Anthony, but how come it’s taken so long to report this?
This wasn’t even in the latest Empire. This interview was in LAST months Empire.
Do you guys get the magazine a month later in the US? If so apologies.
#23
why didn’t you give a tip? :-)
I never sat all the way through a Godzilla film. Saw Cloverfield twice. I never watched Transformers on TV. Saw it twice in the theater. If Abrams can broaden the appeal by making this film more like TOS, this could be big.
#25
I have always been bored to death by 007. Saw Casino Royale twice. Reboots, if done well and faithful to the original spirit, may be a good thing :-)
What Trek doesn’t do in box office it will do in toys ,video games,cross merchandising etc.
That may justify it’s 140 mil budget.
I hope it breaks that ceiling of people who won’t see it because it’s another Star Trek film.there’s alot of mainstream people who are very dismissive of Trek because they’ve come to know what to expect (trekkie fanboy films with too many inside jokes0
I never have thought much of big ship sinking disaster, star crossed lover movies, but I saw Titanic 5 times. >;>} Hopefully Star Trek will be good.
$200 million is to high.
Casino Royale made $167 million and Bond has been hot of hate. I don’t see Star Trek being able to hit that number.
I think about $135 million is about right in the U.S.
#17 Commodore Redshirt “…the only problem is I have to wit until they get done making the movie”
Your mispelling of “wait” says it all!
We will all have to show WIT on this site until they bring it home! :)
A few points. They’ve been made before by smarter people, but they bear repeating:
1) Star Trek: The Motion Picture reimagined, even rebooted, a heck of a lot. Then The Wrath of Khan reimagined, even rebooted, a heck of a lot. Costumes alone were completely revamped TWICE. Canon was expanded, if not adjusted, to give Kirk an illegitimate son; am I the only one here to recall fandom’s shock & awe at that development?
2) Speaking of shock and awe — there was no internet back then. So the fans had to shut up and take it. I’ll never forget seeing those first photos of TMP in Starlog and thinking, “What the WHAT did they do to those uniforms? What the HEY did they do to the ship?” Imagine what madness might have overtaken fandom were we given an outlet back then.
3) Finally, it’s important to remember that plenty of new fans hopped on board with the first movies. Wrath of Khan alone probably sucked in Abrams (didn’t he mention something like that in an interview?) and others of his generation. A terrific new film can and probably will produce a whole new crop of fans.
My three cents.
#30- . I don’t think you know what the word “reboot” means- what happened in TMP and TWOK was not a reboot.
A reboot is where the writer goes back to a previous time in the story and changes things that are already established. Like making Starbuck a woman rather than a man on BSG- that’s a reboot. What happened in TMP was that it took place 5 years after the last time we saw them on the final episode of the original series. That’s called a continuation of the story- not a reboot. When you show something later on in the timeline of a story, changing uniforms, the ship or even Shatner’s toupe color is allowed- it means things changed in the trek universe while you were off doing your business.
Abram’s Trek isn’t a reboot because he’s setting the story during a time we haven’t seen before- there’s no way to know what the Enterprise looked like before “the Cage” episode, or what Kirk and Spock were up to- or what their uniforms were like. That’s not a reboot- that’s a hidden part of the history of the characters that is being revealed.
We’ll see. Those pictures of the Enterprise corridors certainly didn’t look like something from someone who gets it.
#28 I agree with VOODOO. No way will Trek top Bond.
#31. Point taken. But I think we’re getting into semantics. Call them what you will — those were all startling changes.
I don’t think it makes 200, but does not enough to warrant sequels. You have to remember that a lot of the money went into building brand new sets, etc…I expect some money to be saved through re-use. The fact that there are no clear A-list stars probably makes actor’s salaries not very “balloonable” for sequels.
Manny Coto is the only one in the past 20 years who knew how to truly helm Star Trek & honor canon. It’s becoming frightfully clear Abrams just doesn’t get it.
arrr… what’s old is new again and what’s new is really old…
Will Paramount market tha flick toting in its trailer “It’s a new captain and a new crew for a new Star Trek…”
Then show explosions and sex and high-end CGI… arrr… That’ll work to bring some new folks inta tha cinemas…
Maybe a studio should try their hand at a truly new sci-fi… maybe Sci-Fi channel could consilidate all their spending on ten o’ those monster beastie flicks and make one real good sci-fi film…
Maybe I would never make it a s a producer… arrr…I’d greenlight anythin’ w/ “boobs” in tha title…
Aw well, here’s hoping for a lively self-contained Trek in December…
And for when it do come out then I say
“I’ll see all of you at the rendezvous. Oh, and all my hopes…”
$200 million domestic!?
I see a gross of no more than $125 million domestic and $65 million foreign. Of course, I could be wrong, but I haven’t seen or heard anything about this movie that would lead me to believe anything else. From a time travel story to basically the same design and look of the TV series, what is so different about this production? Seems like the same ole TREK to me. And, after 10 films where the movies domestically, and especially internationally, have shown poor performance, why all of a sudden now expect hugh returns? Because they are spending around $50 million more than they spent on NEMESIS? I wish this production all the luck in the world, but I just don’t see much that has changed, except TREK is less popular now and is expected to make more money at the box office? Where is the logic?
#32
They looked like Enterprise corridors to me. I’m not sure what some of you are seeing.
Something a lot darker than on TOS.
Brannon Braga used to say that he honored canon. Like that really happened. As for $200 million in gross, given that Nemesis pulled in $42 million domestically, it seems pretty ambitious to think that this movie will do 5 times better.
Granted, there are ways to add to the grosses, but Abrams chose not to do that.
#36–Why? How has that become “quite clear”?
#38–Same old Trek? This movie is a return to the TOS era. I never paid a single dollar to see any TNG movie in a theater, but I guarantee you I will see this one. There are plenty of people like me who will pay to see this film BECAUSE it is TOS-era. Not everyone who was a TOS fan became a TNG fan of the same caliber. Many people I know who gave up on Trek in the mid-80’s are intrigued when I tell them about this project. You are underestimating the worth of the TOS characters.
“Is it really worth living in fear of fans of a television show?”
I don’t know about JJ, but I would definitely be scared of me…after all, I’m quite the “rabid fanboy”!
I spend hours examining screencaps with a microscope to find all the “errors” in them, and then pound out coffee-inspired rants against everyone involved in this movie, as well as their family members, friends, and everyone they have ever come into close contact with, ALL CAPS OF COURSE!!!!! I wait down deserted alleyways for production members to walk through; then I capture them, and torture plot spoilers out of them, which I promptly post on my blog… In addition, I am currently building a personal cloaking device in my parent’s basement, which I hope to use to assasinate JJ Abrams before he can cause any more damage to my precious canon…
Okay, just joking…but not about the cloaking device. That thing is SWEET!
#40–Actually, he IS adding to the grosses by revisiting the TOS era. And let’s not underestimate what HIS NAME brings to the table. His work has an enormous following. He is an A-list director right now. I’m not sure that this many resources have ever been put into a Star Trek project.
Ambitious? Certainly. Unrealistic? I’m not so sure.
You forgot something which would help making the new Star Trek movie more profitable.
Sales from merchandises like DVDs, Hallmark ornaments, Playmate dolls and etc.
It is important for the Paramount to do right and smart marketing strategies to audience in time.
JJ definitely sounds like the right man to be behind the helm of this new enterprise.
Steady as she goes, JJ!
The adventure continues…
I don’t know about bringing $200K, but I sure hope it has that kind of success. I too believe that marketing will be the key. If the film is just marketed towards Trekkies it will not pull in that kind of return. But according to everything I’m reading JJ and team want people to see that this movie is made for everyone, but not leaving fans behind. Without seeing any real marketing (we only have one teaser trailer so far) the only thing I see bringing non-trekkies in will be JJ. He is BIG in hollywood and I actually believe that his name will do so much for this film.
The reason I HAVE to see this film and believe it will work is by everything I’ve read here straight from Roberto Orci. Reading his comments and chats I know he has made sure this movie will be for the fans. JJ will bring in everyone else. I wish the whole thing the best.
If you watch the “bonus” materials that come with the DVD versions of TMP (Director’s Cut), WOK or any of the others, you really get a sense for just how much thought went into making sure the production “fit” with everything that had gone before. Joe Jennings, the production designer, who is interviewed in the bonus materials, talks about how even though it was a “new” movie, the visual sense of the ships, costumes and props all had to “fit” with what had been previously established as the ST universe.
Meyer did make many changes, most notably to give Starfleet more of the feel of a military organization (something Roddenberry detested BTW). One of the things that people tend to forget, however, is that before he was a director, he had achieved success as a writer with another set of fictional characters that are almost as heavily as encumbered with “canon” as ST. In 1974, he wrote the incredibly popular novel “The 7 Percent Solution” featuring none other than Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Hardcore Holmes fans are as rabid as what have come to be called in this forum ST purists. Anyone familiar with the novel knows Meyer skillfully violates the Holmes canon as he proceeds to create a story worthy of Doyle himself. He repeated this again in ’76 with “The West End Horror” in which Holmes takes on Jack The Ripper. So he was well-suited to take on these kinds of issues in the ST universe in WOK.
Abrams and company are rationing “hard” info on the film but have spent a lot of time talking in only the most general terms about their approach. It’s hard to tell from their comments what’s been changed and what hasn’t. At this point, though, I am cautiously optomistic that the end result will satisfy both long-term and brand new Trekfans alike.
#34-
I guess what I’m getting at is that the drastic changes in those movies were evolutions. An evolution has a progression from point A to point B in time. In TMP they explained it’s been a few years- kirk was head of Starfleet Operations for 2 and half years. The new ENT was a refit- almost totally new as Capt Decker put it.
So changing ships or uniforms made sense there. Just as it does in Abram’s movie- it’s a prequel, it shows the time frame before the Cage. They are justified in changing the uniforms and the ship- even drastic changes are okay because nothing about that time is established.
#4 – If this Trek movie can bring a little bit of “grit” and “reality” into Star Trek the way the new Battlestar Galactica TV series did then we have nothing to worry about.
If it has some of that blasted “grit” and “reality” like the new BSG, then that really means nothing other than shoving sex scenes into the movie every two minutes and having the characters use projectile weapons (because apparently interstellar travel is feasable, but there’s something “unrealistic” about energy weapons…). Bottom line, I REALLY hope they don’t go for a New BSG style of movie. The new BSG is horribly over-hyped and is, at it’s core, an overdramatic melodrama with sub-par acting from those involved.
I’m actually feeling a little optimistic about this movie, now that I hear that the uniforms and gadgetry are going to be (allegedly) identical to those used in the old show. We may never get to see the TOS Enterprise on the big screen, but at least we’ll get to see part of TOS up there. That’s a step in the right direction.