Orci & Kurtman: Star Trek Is Epic September 18, 2008
by TrekMovie.com Staff , Filed under: Orci/Kurtzman, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
Earlier this week IESB released part of their Eagle Eye interview with Star Trek co-writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (where they talked about Wrath of Khan) and today they have released the full interview where the pair give an update about the current status of Star Trek in post production and also talked about the ‘epic’ scale of the film.
Excerpts from IESB interview
IESB: So how is Star Trek coming along?
Bob: Star Trek, the effects are coming in and we’re very close to having the movie locked, maybe in a been a couple of weeks.
Alex: Yeah, maybe in about a month or so. It’s really, really exciting, just insanely exciting to be on the brink of launching that out into the world and…
Bob: I can’t believe we are going to stick it in a vault or I don’t know what’s gonna happen.
Alex: Well, there are so many effects that they will probably be finishing it right up to the last possible second.
IESB: Obviously you guys love Star Trek, you love Star Wars, on the special effects, something that has always been said about the Star Wars movies you expect to see the big space battles. Star Trek, even though you get space battles, it was never known for that, it was never about that, it was mainly about the crew. Do we see a merger of both these themes, are there any big epic battles in the new film or what are we going to be seeing?
Bob: I think the scale of this Star Trek, not only because of the technology but because of the trust that the studio put in all of us in terms of the investment, is going to be bigger than you’ve ever seen in a Star Trek movie. So, it’s going to be both. Star Trek is where you primarily think about the family, the humanity, the interactions and that is no different in the Star Trek that we are working on but it definitely is going to have an epic action quality to it that is unique..
…read more from Orci and Kurtzman at IESB.
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This is just what Star Trek has needed…
I hope they’re right. Star Trek’s been missing that “epic” feel for the last couple of movies. Though I am one of the ones that actually liked Insurrection, the action centered around a little planet with 600 people on it. Not exactly epic. And Nemesis was just too poorly implemented to achieve epic status in my opinion. So, if they can pull that off, I think it’d help breathe some life into the franchise.
Cool… I can’t wait to see this film, I really hope it lives up to expectations!
Epic quality: Yes, bring it on!
Epic action … does this mean: more like Star Wars? No thanks, let Star Wars be Star Wars and let Trek be Trek. I love both for what they are. Trek went Star Wars in DS9: Way Of the Warrior. Did this do any good? I don’t think so.
Kind of depends on which Star Wars they’re are talking about. If it’s epic like the originals, great. If it’s epic like the prequels , I’ll pass.
But I have faith that they know the difference.
DS9 was brilliant in every move it did.
so to answer your question yes it was good
Okay. So they are close to locking it down. Now how about editing up a couple of trailers? PLEASE!!!
Its a ploy
7 Amen.
It hurts to think that everything is right on schedule for a Christmas release.
grrrrrrrrr
“Bob: Star Trek, the effects are coming in and we’re very close to having the movie locked, maybe in a been a couple of weeks.”
These transcripts are always so hard to read. Did he really say, “maybe in a been a couple of weeks.”? Really? Or are we having some issues in the translation?
blah blah blah…hyperbole….blah blah blah….TRAILER!!!!!!
Arghhhhh!
Enuff talk….its all Charlie Brown speak to me now with much noise and no info!
9.
Yeah, annoying, huh?
So, is it epic like LOTR, or is it epic as in cool-speak (”Dude, that is sooooo epic!”)
I faced similar confusion back in 1977 when I was told Star Wars was “bad”.
No Trailer?
OK…
How ’bout a nice shot of the new Enterprise?
Throw us a bone, man!
Mr. Orci – In a number of interviews lately, and particularly in reference to Transformers, you’ve talked about nostalgia for “the old Amblin days” and how you and Alex tried to bring back some of the humor from those Spielberg, Zemeckis, etc. films. Is this something you had in mind when considering the tone of Star Trek? Are there other movies to which you could compare the tone of the new Star Trek? Thanks!
Mr. Orci – at least you get to see it before we do. LOL That’s got to mean something, right? Means it is less annoying for you than for us. ;)
Fine, Bob. Release it next May. But, when it makes a trillion dollars, I think it’s only fair that you put everyone in this thread into STXII: The Federatoin Phone Book.
BobOrci,
I know you can’t tell us what the movie is all about and I respect the secrecy involved in all aspects of the film… but, can you tll us tell the last two spoken words of dialogue on page 47 of the shooting script? Thanks!
@12 Mr. Orci – ‘annoying’ is a word and a half.
…and the adventure continues…
15
Star Trek is its own thing, and I didn’t particularly look to anything outside of Star Trek for inspiration, tonally or otherwise. I don’t speak for the others on the court, though. They might have different answers.
Yes! Can live without the trailer…just give me a shot of one of the Enterprises!
These guys must be serious about this “Star Trek” being that big a deal.
Aarrrggghhhh come on!!! So much talk and STILL only some lame posters and very, very short teaser!! GIVE US THE TRAILER!!!!!!!
TRAILER!!
TRAILER!!
TRAILER!!
TRAILER!! TRAILER!! TRAILER!! TRAILER!! TRAILER!! TRAILER!!
Come on people we can will them to give us something!!!!!!!
:)
Mr. Orci — can you tell us whether plans call for a running time of over two hours — which I prefer. I know theatres want the cattle in and out, but this is a film I intend to watch many times. No need to cram the story into a brief frame.
Long time reader, first-time poster. *ding, ding, ding*
I agree with the opinion that Star Wars should be Star Wars, and Star Trek be star trek. However, I’d relish seeing a wonderfully-crafted human story that has an epic scope and feel to it. I’ve always felt, especially in the SW prequels, that the battle scenes were cartoonish and over-the-top. I want to see strategy and tactics, not chaos and randomness.
I’m eagerly awaiting May 2009, and I’m getting the growing feeling that it’ll be worth the wait.
#23
grow up
Bob, I’m sure that you’ve seen some of the effects by now. Do they live up to your expectations? Has ILM been able to produce work that matches what was in your mind’s eye when you wrote the script?
I never, EVER meant to put Star Trek in lower case. My apologies to all. :-)
The idea of Star Trek being on the scale of Star Wars is exciting! I think it’ll be something very surreal to see. Star Trek has always been the Queen of Sci-Fi and Star Wars the King, maybe there will be a changing of the guard!
ILM’s work in Transformers shows they finally can create hardware digitally that looks “real.” (Not so much for the SW prequels.)
Since “real” has been an operative word with JJ & Co., I think we’re in for a treat unlike any Trek ever seen.
(Now throw us a bone… a nacelle cap! Anything!!)
I’d be cautious of writers who pronounce their own work epic. I don’t think even Homer did that. Sadly, there’s no shortage of self-proclaimed geniuses in this world .
Brett… Bob’s not being immodest, he’s ‘doing Hollywood.’ It’s called promotion.
I’d love to see something epic. There are several scenes in The Dark Knight without Batman or The Joker in them. They add to the film’s scope. Let’s see a little of the below decks action, the outlands of the Federation, etc. Could be cool.
31 – Brett Campbell
I don’t think they called their work epic.. they said that the action was epic. And the epic scale of the film.
Ok. I like Epic in Star Trek. I love family and great Story in Star trek. It All sounds so wonderfull. BUT WE NEED A TRAILER!!!!!!!! Something,anything,must have a look. Ok. I feel better. Long Live The Terran Empire.
Mr. Orci, as you might recall I’ve been a bit skeptical about the new creative crew: (ie. fears that the script is being dumbed down for the mass audience).
I humbly sit corrected and beseech your forgiveness.
I’m floored by FRINGE and I haven’t watched TV in over five years. You guys are obviously the perfect visionaries for the next era of Trek. FRINGE is how I would write a TV show and how I would infuse the same dramatic intelligence into new Trek.
Anna Torv is a superb casting decision.
John Noble doubly so.
I’m sold; I’m all in; for the first time since you were greenlighted for Trek I’m aquiver with anticapation.
Just don’t let the suits give away the plot with the title like they did with Wrath of Kahn.
Even though it’s still eight months away, I’ll go ahead and thank you now for saving our beloved Trek.
FRINGE clearly demonstrates Trek is going to be AWESOME!
Like my friend and fellow writer CmdrR, I find that waiting Dec. to May is going to be excruciatingly interminable.
Dear Bob Orci,
In Star Trek 12, please include the best aliens of all time. this will lead to a crossover universe, but, i think it is worth it. after all, these are the best aliens of all time.
the Yip-Yips
-Sci-Fi Bri
Ok. For all those who Want a Star Trek Trailer GIVE ME A HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#20 – Bob Orci wrote: “Star Trek is its own thing, and I didn’t particularly look to anything outside of Star Trek for inspiration, tonally or otherwise. I don’t speak for the others on the court, though. They might have different answers.”
I certainly hope so. Your view is the opposite of Nick Meyer’s approach in Star Trek II, to give an example. In my opinion, It would only serve to strengthen the story you were telling if you or your collaborators looked to other outside sources of inspiration, be it other classic films or literature. Star Trek always seemed to be at its most dramatically uninteresting when its writers and directors practiced a sort of Trek-Only tunnel vision.
Mr. Orci, thanks for answering (in #20). It’s interesting, because I wonder if someone took a TOS script and updated it with the current ILM effects and JJ Abrams’ “real”-feeling direction, would modern audiences relate to it? Many of the “court” have said they think that TOS told stories that were relatable to today’s society, and I’m excited to see what this new team has come up with.
I mean, how much does the way you tell a Star Trek story have to change if the performances and technical aspects are state-of-the-art?
May can’t get here quick enough.
Although a new trailer would be greatly appreciated by all. *hint-hint*
I’ve noticed that Messrs. Orci and Kurtzman keep saying that the film is all about the characters and their journey, while at the same time saying that it’s a massive action spectacle. I am very interested to see if they have struck a balance between these two ideas.
Arrrrrr… Epic, he says? Like love’s labour lost?
KIRK: Spock… Spock… if you go traveling through time, won’t you upset the natuarl balance of the universe… where shall I go? What shall I do?
SPOCK: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.
or mayhaps more o’ a heart o’ darkness epic…
SPOCK: Could we, uh… talk to Captain Kirk?
YOEMAN: Hey, man, you don’t talk to the Captain. You listen to him. The man’s enlarged my mind. He’s a poet-warrior in the classic sense.
KIRK: I’ve seen hortas… hortas that you’ve seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that… but you have no right to judge me. The horta… (gasping) … the horta…
‘course tha’ Muppet Movie wuz also epic… just like Mr. Yellowskin Simpson’s mini-van that he drove ta’ Ithaca in…
Arrrrr…
Re: #6 Can someone explain DS9 to me? It’s not that I am closed off to enjoying it, but I just don’t see how it was the best series out there. It always seemed so damned depressing to me, and the Dominion was a big yawn. Can someone convince me to rediscover this series? For example, I rediscovered Voyager after hating it for years, and I absolutely love it, and I think the writing is much better than TNG. What am I missing?
43: I recently gone through this my self. The trick is to start DS9 at the beginning of Season 3, 4 at the latest. 95% of the best eps. were produced Seasons 3 -> 7.
Everyone here has spent months trying to out-analyze each other as to what XI is about.
We have a fan on the inside, R. Orci, who not only co-wrote the darned thing, but is chuffed to be in on the project, and wants to write something he himself would happily watch.
I think Mr. Orci will care about our feedback regardless of the box-office. Nick Meyer’s look ‘outside’ of Trek is just one of the contributions to Trek’s richness for which we’re all grateful. Trek is a different egg these days than it was in 1982, and Roberto Orci is into it. Wonderful, IMHO.
Mr Orci can you even indicate as to when we are going to get to see a trailer. I did here a rumour that one was going to be put with your Eagle Eye movie.
Mr. Orci I think you guys have done a great job on Fringe and I am looking foward to trek. I am just wondering will we see Andorians?
Excellent. This is the news I have wanted to hear. (I was, now, going to quote Kruge; but I thought better of it). It is about time that someone beautified Star Trek. With a budget reportedly around the $150 million mark, I expect great things. I am relieved, also, to hear that Trek’s essence will be respected. I never really doubted this; but I can be a paranoid fan…..
Remember the old Chinese proverb: ‘If you want to attract the first-time viewer and causal fan, you need have great special effects..great action sequences’.
I am hoping the “epic” does mean a feel of realism and scale. TMP gave us that…the flybys and orbital stations (notwithstanding the less than steller effects of Kirk and Scotty in the Pod and some Starfleet-SF Mattes) and that was missing in the other movies….just as in Star Wars, it was almost like the effects became less believable in the prequels….I think if they hit the mark on that aspect alone, the movie will have more of an epic feeling then what we have been accustomed to….If you review the trailer of the construction, the scale and realism of the Enterprise is massive and actual….I really think this is going to translate well and I trust our Fanboys to write a great story.
Exciting!
Hopeful.
I have full confidence in JJ, Bob & Alex. I, for one, am not worried about this movie. i look forward to in with all the enthusiasm I had when i first went to see TWOK. Trek is in good hands with these guys.
I loved Transformers.. even though I am biased (my last name is Witwicki).. I thought the writing was great it really translated well from cartoon to live action.
I love Fringe… GREAT writing and I love the concept. Gives me that Twilight Zone/X-Files/Outer Limits feeling.
Bob, I know you read these. I am glad that you worked on this movie. I wish you all the success!
I know this is off topic but will Fringe be shown in the UK.
Sounds good to me – like a return to TOS. Every episode of TOS felt epic and dramatic.
Its like Bryan Fuller said on the other thread “… the ones from the ‘60s, which were so dynamic and passionate.” Thats because the characters were emotional (even Spock underneath that stoic surface) passionate and larger than life. This is the feel Old Trek had that worked.
So I have a feeling we’re gonna know all the details, ie. run times, ratings, all that fun technical stuff in the near future. Then just have to sit and wait.
Blah blah blah. This is getting old.
I hate the pushed back release. What a Christmas present it would have made! Be our luck, we wait all that time, then the US economy finally collapses, businesses closed, no money, rioting, looters, and we don’t ever get to see it. If only it holds off til after the movie!!!
Sure, we’re all bummed that we have to wait for the release, but keep in mind that we’re also gettin off on the anticipation, like when you can smell the dinner and can’t wait to have a bite. I can honestly say that TREKMOVIE.COM has been a big part of my renewed interest (and excitement) in Star Trek, and having members of the Supreme Court actually participate in these conversations is a bonus I know we would never see anywhere else. It’s been a long time since I felt like a kid, so thank you to all for reminding me…
ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
TRAILERRRRRRRRRR
I remember watching the movie “Master and Commander” for the first time and when it was done I looked at my wife and said that was a great Star Trek movie. She looked at me like I was nuts. I told her that was the main thing I liked about Star Trek was that it was mostly about the crew and they reacted with each other and how they dealt with what they came up against. If this movie comes close to “Master and Commander” I will be pleased!
Epic? Perhaps the new flick has the feel of the Wrath of Khan, but the only Trek movie that would come close to qualifying as epic would be Star Trek–The Motion Picture. Of course, these guys will never reference that as it is seen as a giant turkey despite its enormous success I, for one, love STTMP even though it is a bit stiff in places and they could have laid off the post-Star Wars special effects orgy and stuck more to characters and story. Wow, that last sentence is rife with double entendre! Maybe STTMP was “sexy” after all.
I’ve always been waiting for the scale of a Star Trek movie to rival that of Star Wars, god bless J.J. and the 150 million $ budget!
May the movie be HUGEEEEEEEEEE!
hehe I´m brazilian and i found funny when we saw “Master and Commander” going to the distant alien land of …Brazil, right. ;P I felt like a Klingon. :P
But you´re right, a pure STAR TREK should be about colonization, something like “1492: Conquest of Paradise” in space. There should be peaceful, exploring people VS greedy violent people, both in argument and action.
Will we get any sneak preview screenings this year?
Glad to hear everything is going on nicely.
NOW SHOW US THE DAMN SHIP ALREADY!!
I like everything they are saying, epic, the character values, spending some real $ to do it right (shame on Paramount for being so cheap/low budget in the past).
Now, if we get a great story and the original E on the outside, I’ll be really impressed.
If the movie is locked in, perhaps Paramount will change its mind and release it in December, afterall. They had been tracking to be the #1 studio this year until Batman broke all records, perhaps they could regain that crown if Trek is released in Dec or Thanksgiving. :) Wishful thinking..I know.
And if this movie is so “epic” how about an epic release in 70mm and/or IMAX? If you are going to release it in May ‘09, then you’ve got enough time to do the work for IMAX prints in time for a simultaneous release.
23. The Insider – September 18, 2008
Aarrrggghhhh come on!!! So much talk and STILL only some lame posters and very, very short teaser!! GIVE US THE TRAILER!!!!!!!”…… etc.
Thought you were the “insider”. Why do you need a trailer?
Bob – Thanks for dropping by. Tells me you are a fan and that you genuinely care about how Star Trek is treated. I really like all the casting decisons and that must have been a monumental task. All the great writing is for naught if you don’t have great actors to deliver the lines.
232 days and counting.
59
I love M&C and I would much rather this movie be like that than be like Pirates of the Caribbean.
62
Brazilians have bumpy foreheads? I never knew that…
i can’t wait until this movie is released.
I hope that they have managed to get that real feeling of weight to the Enterprise that she had in the original movies- I hate all this nonsense darting around that the ships did in the later shows and movies.
Epic = STTMP
STTMP= Boring. :(
STTMP maybe boring (not to me), but still the only epic Star Trek movie.
And with Star Trek IV only movie where no “super” villain was needed.
Just my thoughts.
TMP was the movie that reset the entire Trek saga. With that movie Trek was treated more seriously than it had ever been.
I will have to agree with people: let the CBS-owned “Star Trek” be the CBS-owned “Star Trek” and let the Lucasfilm-owned “Star Wars” be the Lucasfilm-owned “Star Wars”.
Then why not bring it out at Christmas?
F*CKING TRAILER!
*Presses self destruct button*
STMP was cool, liked WOK, Serch for Spock,IV,VI,First Contact and Nemsis.
#77 Not out at Christmas because Parmount wants it relased in May, What is so bad about the change?
Can’t wait for this, first we get told it’s got a WOK feel to it, now they are talking about epic space battles! Fantastic, exactly what I want from this film!!!
On a seperate note, can people please stop moaning about wanting to see a pic of the ‘New Enterprise’. Seriously, what are you expecting, 3 necelles or something? I can tell you for sure that it will look extremely similar to the TOS Enterprise, which everyone has seen.
Oh, and the idiot who thinks Way Of The Warrior is poor needs there head examined, Way Of The Warrior is a brilliant episode, DS9 for that matter was a brilliant show. The last great Trek show in my eyes.
80: “Oh, and the idiot who thinks Way Of The Warrior is poor needs there head examined”
Thank you, man, that’s very nice of you. By the way, I didn’t even say that WOTW was poor. I said it was like Star Wars and that it didn’t do any good for the show to go Star Wars.
@ British Naval Dude: This is completely off topic, but anyway, do you know that your new acronym BND is also the acronym of German Intelligence, “Bundesnachrichtendienst”?
it’s kurtzman, not kurtman :).
I’m with that group of people who liked TMP, even more so when the Director’s Cut came out. I agree, TMP has been the most epic, cinematic of all the Trek movies, so far. I would give Robert Wise a lot of the credit for this, simply because of his experience as a film director (and a pretty good one at that, eh?)
Both TMP and TVH showed that Star Trek need not contain a “super villain,” as someone mentioned above. Both of these films are true science-fiction, something I have found lacking in a lot of Star Trek, both films and tv series.
#70, #71, #75, etc. I agree with everyone who says TMP is epic, everyone who says it’s boring, and everyone who says they liked it anyway. I also agree that it “re-set” ST as a franchise to be taken seriously.
For myself, I’m fond of the movie because I’d waited so damned long for it, and I remember sitting in the theater on opening night in something close to rapture. It was odd, seeing the beloved old characters in different clothing — on a different bridge, with a different, monochromal design scheme. I missed the original show, but at the same time I was thrilled to see it reinvented for the screen.
You know what that movie did, come to think of it? It acknowledged Trek as something that *could* be reinvented — that *was* something more than a fondly remembered artifact from the 60s. With that movie it became a viable, adaptable piece of modern pop literature. It also acknowledged the show’s fan base in a really tangible way. These days we take for granted the power of fandom, what with the internet and everything, but back then, the idea that “Trekkies” could successfully resurrect their show — first in the 3rd season, later as a theatrical release? Wow. Unheard of.
Then TOS was reinvented *again* (and more successfully) with Wrath of Khan. Now, with the Abrams-Orci-Kurtzman (A-OK?) Trek. I’m thrilled at the prospect of hoofing to the theater and seeing yet one more creative reinvention of a show I’ve loved for decades.
Honestly, I never quite understood the reluctance of some at this site to embrace the idea of a new Trek movie, because *we* of all people should be primed to accept new adaptations of it — “strange new worlds,” as it were. I.D.I.C., right?
Oh, and one more thing:
#81 Excellent non sequitur.
#83:
I agree. TMP was slow-paced and did not offer much character development or interaction; but it was truly epic. It brought Star Trek back; and it looked exponentially better than it ever had before; and not just in terms of special effects. The story has also grown on me: it had more substance than many of the subsequent stories, especially those of the TNG cast.
I really hope that, in many ways, Trek XI is different from the previous films. Star Trek films can be somewhat repetitive, in terms of both dialogue and action. Focusing on the action, we have seen myriad communicators, transporters, shields, photons, phasers, etc. This is not the 1960s; and their usage is, IN ITSELF, no longer novel or exciting. However, these are core elements of Star Trek: they are going to feature in Trek XI. Let’s hope that they are utilised in a different, less mundane way. Star Trek space battles, for example, need spicing up. They always follow the same blueprint: one or several ships, never a truly impressive number. Phasers and/or photons are fired. Shields begin to fail, etc. In short, we need less repetitive action. We need more ships, preferably of new design and much, much smaller than the big heavy cruisers: greater mobility; greater variety of combat. We need more drama. We need new, different, and interesting camera angles. The transporter needs to be less of an A-B device and more of a plot device.
In short, the action needs a major revamp.
Oops! When I said ‘Star Trek space battles, for example, need spicing up. They always follow the same blueprint: one or several ships, never a truly impressive number’ (#85). I meant ‘two’ instead of ‘one’! You cannot, really, have a space battle with one ship! And, by ‘several’, I mean ‘a handful’….
[Hangs his head in shame.]
81
Dast ist sehr gut?
Meinen kugelschreiber ist klein… but full o’ mighty wordies…
Freude shoner Gotterfunken…
Das Arrrrrrrrrr…
and speakin’ o’ epics:
SPOCK: We’ve been trapped in the darkness, drifting along silently for far too long, Captain.
KIRK: Well, Spock, let’s just follow JJ’s lead and do a “Das Re-Boot.”
Arrrrrrr…
#87. “Das Re-Boot”?
Shoen!
I rarely ask questions on here so here it goes:
May i ask if this movie is going to go down the same route as the newest Star Wars films did with regards to special effects? In my opinion they over did it (saturated them more like) in those movies and as a result ruined the story as it just turned into one of those ”look at all the cool stuff we can do” movies.
Will ILM be using models aswell as computerised images for the special effects? Sure they cost more but they beat any computer effects for realism hands down.
Cant wait to see the final product
Lawrence of Arabia epic or Epic Movie epic?
87: Glad you enjoy the coincidence :-)
YES, YES YESSSSSS. Epic battles like Star Wars. I’ve been saying this for a long time now. Star Trek has needed a Return of the Jedi epic space battle sequence for a long time now. For me, ROTJ is the benchmark for all sci-fi films on how to do space battles.
If Star Trek can be half as good as that, then mission accomplished :D
Let’s hope they’re not just spewing PR S**T
TMP is always one of my top 5 ST movies. It’s even better after the special edition. I do hope this new film is big in scale. The others seemed small, apart from dare I say ST V. The camera work on Nimbus III was really good i think