Recently TrekMovie.com has been picking up rumblings of work on new DVD special features for previous Trek feature films. However, as of now Paramount still do not have a single new Star Trek title announced for 2008 or 2009 on either DVD or Blu-ray, but a new blog post from David Gerrold (writer: “Trouble with Tribbles”) has let the cat out of the bag. Gerrold writes about a recent trip to the Paramount lot to shoot special features for a new DVD box set…and while on the lot, Gerrold was also treated to a visit to the set of JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek.
New Box set
The Star Trek films have each been released as both a regular and a special edition (except TMP which was only released as a “director’s edition”). In addition they have been boxed together into a 10 movie set (pictured above right) as well as a TNG movies set and a TOS movies set. Those box sets had no additional special features. However, it sounds like Paramount is planning a new DVD box set with new special features (and likely a Blu-ray set as well).
From Gerrold’s blog:
Tim King Productions invited me down to the Paramount lot to be interviewed for a documentary. Paramount is planning to rerelease all ten Star Trek movies on DVD with a bonus disc of extra material, including an interview with folks who were in the crowd scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Most of those folks were Star Trek fans especially recruited for the privilege, so they gathered a few of us together and let us reminisce for awhile in front of a couple cameras. Among the attendees were Bjo Trimble (she and her husband John created the letter campaign that got the original series renewed in 68) and Chris Doohan, Jimmy Doohan’s son. It was a fun couple of hours.
Our friends at the Digital Bits are reporting on the possible Blu-ray angle:
Our own industry sources have recently hinted that several of the previous [Star Trek] feature films are currently receiving brand new high-def transfers and a good digital scrubbing to prepare them for future Blu-ray release.
Paramount recently announced releases for the three previous Indiana Jones movies with new special features to coincide with the release of their big movie for this May, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It appears likely that Paramount plan on doing the same for their big movie for next May, Star Trek. Hopefully any Blu-ray releases will be available both individually as well as in a box set (which is likely to be pricey).
Gerrold sees something big on Star Trek stages
While on the Paramount lot, the group being interviewed for the DVDs had the chance to visit the set of JJ Abrams new Star Trek movie….again from Gerrold’s blog:
After that, they walked us over to the soundstage where the new movie is being filmed so they could get a shot of us walking up to the door. Unfortunately, security around the film is so tight that the guards wouldn’t even let them shoot the outside of the soundstage. (Right!) While we were waiting, JJ Abrams drove up in one of those little electric golf carts. He recognized Chris (who has a small part in the picture) and Chris introduced me to him. JJ Abrams is a genuinely nice guy and he is extraordinarily respectful of the original series. (Of course, I made a point of telling him how much I enjoyed Lost, but shame on me, I forgot to say how much I liked Cloverfield too.)
JJ asked us what we were all doing there, then invited us into the soundstage to have a look at what they were shooting. But first we had to sign non-disclosure agreements and put on bright-colored wristbands that showed we were visitors. While we were doing that, Leonard Nimoy came by and said hello. He was there for a costume-fitting.
Once we got onto the soundstage, we saw … a whole bunch of really neat stuff. Stage 18 is one of the largest on the Paramount lot (it’s where they shot the big crew scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and the set that we saw totally filled it. We saw lots of computer screens, lasers, smoke, mirrors, machinery, bright lights, and big set thingies, plus a humongus thing that I’m not going to describe, but it took up a lot of space and must have been very heavy to hang from the rafters. We saw some very large cameras (they looked like 70mm cameras to me, but I could be wrong.) We saw a guy in what might have been a Starfleet uniform, it was very impressive and very very Star Trek. We also some some bad guys and they looked very good to me too, very much in keeping with the look and feel of classic Trek.
So when everyone involved with the film has been talking about it being ‘huge,’ apparently they were being literal.
David Gerrold’s next Trek adventure is the Star Trek Phase II episode “Blood and Fire” which he wrote and directed. That is due out this Summer, more info at the official Phase II site. The 2007 John Cusack film Martian Child, based on a novel by Gerrold, was recently released on DVD.
Why don’t they just call the box set…….Star Trek: Back To The Bank?
Talk about an amazing field trip! Where do i sign up?
So humongus? Perhaps the Cloverfield monster makes it’s “First” cameo?
Where did he “non disclose”? Seems like he said a lot.
70mm cameras? 70mm cameras? (1 point 21 gigawatts?!)
Pinch me that JJ might be actually FILMING this movie in 70mm. Keep your digitalhidefbluraywhosamawhatsis. 70mm is the shizzle, real deal Holyfield.
The question is…will it be cheaper to buy the good movies individually or the box set?
I would gladly sign an non disclosure agreement to sit and watch them film the while thing.
But that might spoil the excitement of seeing this movie the first time.
Roddenberry is a….
Your name is considered trolling…use a dif name
Has it been mentioned whether they are filming on digital or film? And has there been any talk of the film being released in IMAX theatres as has become common with a lot of major releases? Perhaps those large cameras were IMAX rather than 70mm (though either would be quite awesome…)?
IMDB tech specs don’t reveal what format they’re using. I doubt its 65mm but maybe, maybe its IMAX. How great would it be to experience a Trek movie in IMAX 3D? Have the Enterprise leap from the screen and onto your lap? :)
I’m glad the HD DVD format war is over and am looking forward to the ultimate editions for the films. Given the format, please put in any and all available material previously unreleased into these editions. Dropped scenes, bloopers, all production stills, etc., etc.
I won’t be buying the box set since I already own the special editions of them all ((except Generations and Nemesis, because those two are mean and I don’t even acknowledge them as canon)).
AGH. All this tantalizing stuff about the sets is making me crazy. When oh when will next May get here?!
Anthony, I noticed your note to #6. Is my reference OK? You’ve never mentioned it, so I assume it is kosher. Don’t want any trouble!
It’s a virtual no brainer that Paramount would release the movies again to coincide with the movie. While many will complain about forcing fans to buy them all over again, I think it is a welcome move if Paramount does release the movies in HD. I’ve recently just completed my movie collection on DVD, I already had two different volumes of the movies on VHS (One set in full-screen, the other in widescreen). So I am not adverse to forking out more money. I get a lot of use out of my DVD’s as it is. But the main reason I like the last set of DVD’s was the extras.
It would appear through Gerrolds account that whatever Paramount are planning for the new set will include new features. So it doesn’t seem all that annoying if fans are asked to go and buy the films again if they are in HD and with new extras. Kinda seems like supplementing the Special Edition DVD’s.
There are a few things I would like to see as extras on the movies. More commentaries, perhaps with the cast in attendence. A commentary by director David Carson on Generations. Likewise, one with Jonathan Frakes on Insurrection. His commentary on First Contact was a joy to listen to, it was sorely missed on Insurrection. He’s a funny guy.
At least with the whole HD format war effectively over we won’t have to deal with worrying about whether or not to wait or buy then and there.
“”””Our own industry sources have recently hinted that several of the previous [Star Trek] feature films are currently receiving brand new high-def transfers and a good digital scrubbing to prepare them for future Blu-ray release.”””
Good, Let them stick to scan and scrub. I wonder who’s in charge of the scanning scrubbing though.
If only I could get only the extra bonus disk!
If its on bluray though, I might pick it up (once i get an HDTV and bluray player)
This is great news!! ST:TMP needs the most attention as far as cleaning up the original negatives. I can’t wait for these to come out. However, I hope they can be purchased individually.
When these come out that is when I will buy a Blu Ray player.
#16:
The first 4 are the ones I want to see scrubbed the most. With the inevitable scan and remaster I hope good old Daren Dochterman gets to have his way with TMP’s visuals.
Or maybe they’re taking the Blade Runner route and rescanning the original FX film elements and then digitally recompositing them. That would be the best of both worlds; original model and “canon”, and a clean digital recomposite. That would be great!!
First Contact with a PCM soundtrack! Hell yeah!!!!!!!
Anthony, have you had a tour of the Star Trek movie set yet?
If not, I think “They” should invite you along as you do a great job on this site and I think “They” owe you one….
The picture in the article is actually of a 15 disc box set, as Treks 1-5 are two disc collector’s editions.
DTS Digital Images (formerly Lowry Digital Images — they did the Bond films, Indy Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy) would be the premier place to go for film restoration.
And Star Trek XI is probably being shot in 35mm Anamorphic, as that was how the trailer was shot (the non-VFX shots). The VFX-shots were probably VistaVision which is 8-perf horizontally run 35mm film which has roughly the same physical image size of 65mm (70mm).
Great news on the movies !!!!!! Dying to see TMP in Hi-Def Blu-Ray glory !!!!! Hope they will sell the individual fimls though anyone know if that’s the case???? No offence to my Next Gen fan Bros but I only want to buy the first 6 .
“”DTS Digital Images (formerly Lowry Digital Images — they did the Bond films, Indy Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy) would be the premier place to go for film restoration.””
Yes! Their work on GoldFinger blew me out of the water. Remember, Paramount is not the most generous when it comes to budget so an inhouse restore job is likely. But considdering that these are Paramount’s gems, they better give them the best job possible.
Matt Wright, Matt Wright, Matt Wright.
Appear and share your insight. lol. I figured I would try the Beetle Juice method of summons.
Spockmem#18- I second that.
Sean4000- If Matt appears, you think he’ll try to marry Winona Ryder?
Let’s just hope this means we’ll be getting The Director’s Edition of Star Trek – The Motion Picture in high-definition! That would look great!
“plus a humongous thing” Humm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Shatner is in the movie!
LMFAO
“She meant nothing to me baby NOTHING at all”
Matt is the grand daddy of tech knowledge pertaining to Trek.
My favorit Winona Ryder role wil always be Lydia Deets!
Hey, Anthony:
“The Star Trek films have each been released as both a regular and a special edition (except TMP which was only released as a ‘directors edition’).”
FYI, the 2-disc set for Wrath of Khan was also a Director’s Edition, not a Special Edition. Just nitpicking. :) For what it’s worth, none of the re-releases involved improved transfers or anything. Even so, I doubt I’d pick up the new set unless it comes out on Blu-Ray and involves new transfers.
–chris
#25: TMP would need more than a new transfer — it’s almost certain that the replacement fx were SD res, so they’d basically have to re-do them entirely.
Sean#27- You might change your mind after you see the movie – it’s nice to hope she aces Amanda.
Blue ray is going to breath new life into all the trek films, it will be interesting to see theses films in that format. Especially Star Trek The Motion Picture, picture it V’ger in all his glory in Blue Ray, Awesome.
I broke the news on Blu-ray.com
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=686220#post686220
Anthony, it would be interesting to find out if they are upgrading TMP-DE to HD. The new visual effects for that version were reportedly created for 480p resolution (a rather shortsighted decision if true), so they need to be regenerated for 1080p to go to HD.
Yes they were in 480P. We’ll have to get new visuals for the HD release. Daren Dochterman is probably on the horn with Paramount right now. :)
Maybe Dirty Daren knows what’s going on???? Be rather sh*tty if he were not brought in to redue his effects in HD for the transfer. I also read some where that the DE CG effects were given an embetted grain to match the rest of the film’s heavy grain.
I hope the do soemthing to reduce the grain so it’s not so striking yet still looks like a film.
Chris H… “FYI, the 2-disc set for Wrath of Khan was also a Director’s Edition, not a Special Edition. Just nitpicking.”
There was a single-disc edition of the theatrical version of TWOK in 2000. The 2-disc Special Edition came out in 2002.
Why are they re-releasing the movies on standard DVD? Unless they are doing a massive restoration of the negative prints of each film, it’d be worthless. The Director’s Edition/Special Editions were more than sufficient on the features side. I think all but Insurrection featured audio commentaries. Each film had a text commentary from the Okudas as well. Now, a big release on blu-ray makes sense, but what could they possibly add to a “bonus disc”? I don’t see how you can top the already great and fairly inexpensive 2-disc editions available….seems like a money maker. Between this and the BS re-release of Indiana Jones on dvd prior to Indy 4’s release, it certainly seems Paramount is double or triple dipping (in the case of Trek) this year….I guess anything for the almighty dollar.
I certainly won’t be buying this. I own TMP-Insurrection special editions and the standard edition of Nemesis, which included its fair share of special features on a one disc set.
One thing to add….sounds like by filming the shoot of the new movie they are simply going to use that as a ruse to purchase the new set. Big sticker on the packaging, “Features an exclusive look at the new STAR TREK film!!”
Probably won’t be more than 3-5 minutes per movie of behind the scenes footage…..MAYBE.
Daren didn’t redo all the FX for TMP. Would it be too striking a difference if only his CG work were brought up to 1080p? Would they have to replace ALL of the miniature work? I admit not having a great deal of knowledge in this area, but am genuinely curious as to how this all would work out.
#40, the original FX were on film so they can be converted to 1080p (as film resolution is even better than 1080p). And I think it has been done already, I believe the theatrical version of TMP has already aired in HD on some cable channels. Only the new TMP-DE FX need to be upgraded to 1080p.
So TMP has been remastered in 1080p? This I did not know. Thanks for the explanation, and pardon my ignorance.
I am excited to see how the original VFX in TMP look after they are cleaned up. Right now they are extremely grainy because of all the elements layered on top pf each other to complete each shot. The other movies suffer from this degradation, but TMP is by far the worst.
I am trying to imagine how kick ass the Klingon D7’s, the E in drydock and the scenes inside V’Ger will look in HD after removing the grain, dust and recompositing the shots. I should be stunning!!
BTW, TWOK will look fantastic too.
Sidenote: Why are the Indiana Jones movies being released on DVD only????
I wish they’d let the Shat have a couple of VFX people to work w/ on a director’s edition of TFF. It might as well be done now before they bother to remaster it for Blu-Ray.
On TMP, Trumbull’s shop shot fx in 65mm. Dykstra’s shot in Vistavision, which essentially the same 24x36mm format as a still frame of 35mm. BOTH formats are larger than what they shot the live action footage with. So, even taking into account the layers of compositing, there’s ample room for using the original fx as is, with cleanup, of course. It’s basically the opposite of the fx problem with TOS, where the fx were WORSE than the original footage.
Lucas had to remaster from a first-generation positive for the re-release of A New Hope ’cause the negs were falling apart and it looked ok… sort of. But that was a while back.
Now, if they go back and re-composite the original fx negs from TMP… well that would be mindblowing.
#45: just like Blade Runner Blu-ray! Mindblowing would be an understatement.
Lowry could do wonders with those films I swear.
I have 1-5 and that will be the end of that.
And I really look forward to the reports by people who can’t report anything. ;}
They are hanging the Shat from the ceiling for a special stunt.
Another suspicious chain of events, right at the main stage’s front door.
HA, HA!!!