Quinto and Burk Talk Future Of Trek Film Franchise

The upcoming issue of the UK’s SFX has a Star Trek cover story and the fine folks at the magazine have shared with TrekMovie some exclusive excerpts from interviews with Zachary Quinto (the new Spock) and executive producer Bryan Burk, and one item of particular interest is both speaking about the future of the franchise after the new Star Trek movie.

Quinto finds a new ‘re’ word
Many ‘re’ words have been bandied about in relation to the new Star Trek: restart, reboot, remake, re-imagination, reinterpretation, re-introduction, and re-invigoration. Leave it to the always articulate Zach Quinto to find a new one when talking about where we go after the new movie

SFX: Is the ultimate objective here to reinvigorate Star Trek and start a whole new franchise?

Quinto: I think it is. I think it’s to reframe a franchise whose genesis had incredible foresight – it was a very prescient series, ahead of its time, and it had so much social relevance when it first came on the air. It’s about taking the integrity of that and reframing it for today’s world, which is obviously vastly different from the world of 40 years ago. But we turned up to work every day to make the best movie we could make, and to invest ourselves in it creatively and be a part of it as best we could, with all of ourselves and all of our integrity. That’s all we can do. Once it’s released into the Zeitgeist, then it’s not up to us! I hope people respond in a way that gives these characters and this story some more life but that’s something that will only reveal itself once the movie is released.

Burk: Ready for the Sequel
SFX also interviewed Star Trek exec producer Bryan Burk, and he ended up also talking about what is next as well:

SFX: Is a sequel a strong possibility?

Burk: God, we hope so! It’s funny because when we broke this story at the same time we said, ‘And here’s what the sequel is!’ If enough people go and see the movie, hopefully the franchise will continue. That’s the plan and that’s the hope. Having seen the movie, everyone here says this feels like a big summer movie.


First look at cover of SFX Star Trek issue

Much more from Quinto and Burk as well as other features on the new movie in SFX issue 175, which goes on sale in the UK on Wednesday September 24th, and should soon be available in the US at Borders, Barnes & Noble and Virgin Megastores. More info at SFX.co.uk.
 

 


 

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I’m picking this up today!

All well and good. How about a picture of the big “E”.

does anyone know if this is available outside de US?

Sorry, my mistake. It is available in Europe.

50 things you need to know about the 2009 movie? Must get!

Wow, if only I could marry Quinto’s brain…*sighs*…

reframing the zeitgeist, well said Zach…

Will there be a sequel? That depends on another re- word… box office re-ceipts.

@8 yep and on movie audience re-actions and movie re-views etc, etc,

….and the adventure continues…

Here is another magic re-word: re-enfranchisement!
That’s exactly what has to happen after so many people became disenfranchised by B&B-Trek over the years…

Zachary Quinto= Huge man crush! :D

God I hope this movie succeeds, but with all the problems in the fandom why do I feel like we have a Speed Racer on my hands. Plus its never a good sign to push a movie back from its orginal date. Next thing you know the movie isnt screened for critics, and then its five dollars in the wal mart dvd bin *sigh*

In the preview show for the premiere of “Heroes,” they did a segment on all the Star Trek connections; it was pretty cool. I hadn’t realized Mama Petrelli was Gi’lar from “Birthright!”

What makes you think it will be another Speed Racer…? Because the film got its release date pushed?

I don’t think this is going to be another Speed Racer, I would be shocked if that were the case. Not after all of the love and care these people have put into it.

Other than the film being great of course, the one thing I’m I’m hoping for is that they don’t change the “…where no man has gone before” line… God, that “…where no ONE has gone before” always bugged the hell outta me. So PC it’s sickening.

#12… it might be helpful to get some medication for that depression… cause all that the news I’m hearing about the movie is making me excited and happy!

Quinto: “Once it’s released into the Zeitgeist, then it’s not up to us! I hope people respond in a way that gives these characters and this story some more life but that’s something that will only reveal itself once the movie is released.”

I like Quinto’s honesty and sense of reality. That’s a refreshing contrast against the usual “our movie is so amazing and we are so great” Hollywood talk.

What I positively like the most about the new movie so far is its convincing Reinspockment.

I bet QuintoKurtzmanOrciAbrams will pull it off and we all will be
refascinated…

As long as they’re not just regurgitating it.

What’s wrong with Speed Racer?

I’m a strong advocate of Abrams & crew doing whatever they have to so this movie will succeed. I don’t care about strict adherence to canon nor do they need to stick closely with Enterprise. If they’re updating Trek for the modern era, it simply will be a little less hopeful, because that’s the way society is today. TNG seems so corny at times with all the preaching about a perfect world, because it barely seems possible anymore. I think Gene Roddenberry would understand, at least I hope so.

#12

“but with all the problems in the fandom why do I feel like we have a Speed Racer on my hands.”

The fandom are not the ones who will determine if this movie will be another Speed Racer or not — it will be the general main stream audience. The fandom has been having less and less influence over the years as reflected in Trek’s declining BO numbers and TV ratings. The pouting fan-boys ranting that they will boycott the movie because of ___________ need to realize they aren’t that important anymore.

#2 – Will this picture of the big E do?

http://pbskids.org/sesame/coloring/e.html

#2 – You can color it to kill some time until May 2009. Hope you can wipe crayon off your computer monitor. That will kill even more time.

May The Big Bird of the Galaxy Smile on You.

How freaking hard is it, really, for him to do the Vulcan salute with his right hand? Seriously, how hard is that?

i wanna see the trailer!
not the star trek trailer though, i can wait for that. i wanna see the trailer for “college sluts go wild part VIII”.

but maybe that’s off topic a little.
sorry.

26 – “… maybe that’s off topic a little.”

Not to mention puerile.

Volite li vi jebat žene velikih guzica? Ja da.

Lets call it what it is….a re-vision.

Does anyone have any theories on where a sequel might take us?
Let’s assume they use the original series crew, will they make a trilogy until we connect with “where no man has gone before”? I’m almost (forgive me) sad that we such a canon behind it. In my mind I cannot picture where they can go from there?

But with regards to the new movie, I am so very excited. The writers are brilliant, the director is excellent and the new crew is wonderful. I have gone out of my way to see every possible thing that I could that they worked on and was really impressed.

The ship looks to be a faithful representation. Even Cawley complimented on the bridge, even if he did not agree entirely with the direction, but he is a purist. The uniforms appear faithful, the crew definitely fit the profiles of the original cast.

I have to say I have seen nothing negative about this movie at all.
It was compared to the Dark Knight recently in an interview with Kevin Smith for crying out load.

I read a Dark Knight review in which one critic said that the Dark Knight is “the first comic book adaptation to qualify as a superior artistic achievement in its own right” and another “It’s not just a stunning super hero movie; it’s a stunning film, period”. I mean imagine that, if this film take whatever came before it and Re-Exciterize it, makes us love it again. I lost interest in Batman after the 1997 movie, because I felt ashamed to be a fan of something that had become so ridiculous.

Enterprise was like that for me and I was unhappy but not surprised when it was cancelled. This movie is high profile and I love that. Trek deserves that attention. How many millions did the US economy lose on opening date of SW Episode 3?
Trek deserves 100 x that, and I hope this movie puts the franchise back in its proper place, nr. 1.

28 – At-whay e-thay uck-fay are-yay ou-yay aying-say? ;)

i hope this movie will be success so we we can have several sequels despite i dont like some plots elements in XI f.e. time travel & Nimoy

..Once it’s released into the Zeitgeist, then it’s not up to us! ..
i would have use different word then Zeitgeist because that word remind me of bullshit Zeitgeist movie too much.

#30 – “Does anyone have any theories on where a sequel might take us?
Let’s assume they use the original series crew, will they make a trilogy until we connect with “where no man has gone before”? I’m almost (forgive me) sad that we such a canon behind it. In my mind I cannot picture where they can go from there?”

Totally easy. :) This film is the origin story and brings the crew together. The next one takes place somewhere in the midst of the 5-year mission, and might not have to connect directly to any of the other episodes of TOS. And the third film in the trilogy could be the end of the 5-year mission and the circumstances that lead up to the Enterprise coming home. That could be a nice encapsulation of TOS, with a defined beginning, middle, and end, and doesn’t disrupt what we’ve already been shown at all.

And after *that*, if all has gone well, there could be further stories of the Enterprise crew in the post-TMP era, spinoffs following other ships and crews that might be introduced during the trilogy, or perhaps something going back to one of the other parts of the Trekverse.

I think figuring out where it’s possible to go is easy. Telling a specific, suitably-rewarding story…that’s harder. :)

#25

That’s mirror universe Spock doing the Vulcan salute.

“If they’re updating Trek for the modern era, it simply will be a little less hopeful, because that’s the way society is today.”

The world wasn’t exactly sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere in 1966 either, what with the cold war, the potential for nuclear annihilation, the Vietnam war, deep divisions over racial justice, the generational conflict with the counterculture. The original Star Trek came out of very hard times. The ’60s weren’t some kind of paisley painted funfest.

14-What makes you think it will be another Speed Racer…? Because the film got its release date pushed?

More like WarpSpeed Racer.

Pretty much. That’s never a good sign, getting a release date pushed up. The fewer competitors that movie has, the better, and summer is anything but non-competitive

Quinto’s the only one who’ll come out of this a star, and rightly so.

TIME FOR MORE “RE-” WORDS TO DESCRIBE “STAR TREK XI”…

“Re-jiggerization”

“Re-Trekkering”

“Re-franchising”

“Re-crewing”

“Re-do-over-a-thon”

“Re-makaging”

“Re-imaginake”

“Re-introboot”

“Re-Shatnerize”

#20—Star Trek is, IMO, as simple as a message:

Humanity does not destroy itself in the future. Instead, it unites to conquer the social ills which torment our species today, and to explore the final frontier.

I don’t think that message has become outdated in the more than four decades since TOS first aired.

“TNG seems so corny at times with all the preaching about a perfect world, because it barely seems possible anymore.”

I agree that TNG’s “utopian” message does not stand the test of time quite as well. That message was the direct result of Roddenberry’s ‘revisionism’ in reintroducing the Star Trek universe in 1987.

The message in TOS was “this is what we could be”, whereas the message in TNG was “this is what we should be”.

I think the former is the more durable and palatable message today…

#38 –

Excellent post! Wholeheartedly agree.

What I really want to see after this film, is sticking rigidly to the look and feel, the cast, the timeframe and so forth. So that we don’t end up with yet more versions coming out with different uniforms, ships, cast, characters and timeframes. There’s every indication that this is heading for great success, lets not diffuse that and start going in all different directions, which, in the end, is what killed Bermatrek.

To add:

I’d rather take Kirk’s stance of “We choose not to kill… today!” over Picard’s “We’ve learned to conquer every conceivable human malady forever!” (ironic paraphrasing)

I thought this movie was going to be released in ’09?
So, what is the Box Office take so far this year?

What?… They’re not charging anyone?

The wOMEN!!!

19-

Wait until ST XI’s released…

43. King Anthony – September 23, 2008

Preconcieved notions based on nothing… again.
The filmed was pushed BACK because of the writers strike according to TPTB. Unless you can point to something more factual…?

43.

It’s not Star Trek XI. It’s Star Trek Zero. Oh, and BTW, there is only one “King Anthony” on this site. And that would be Anthony Pascale.

I sure hope tha’ sequel goes even further back…

I wanna know what “in utero” Kirkie and Spockie were like… and how tha’ blueprints fur tha’ Enterprize saved tha’ galaxy…

In fact, just toss all that! Let’s make us a film aboot Gene Roddenberry’s cop days. Wait… they did that already? Well then… onward I suppose!

I canna wait unti 2012 then fur Starry Trek 2: Tha’ Swath o’ Constellation Class… Kirk and crew go kobiashi- maru all o’er tha’ place…
and more robot woman then…

Arrrrrr…

#36—-“Pretty much. That’s never a good sign, getting a release date pushed up. The fewer competitors that movie has, the better…”

If it were such a bad thing to release movies in the Summer, why would anyone do it at all. And name one movie scheduled to be released near May 8th that will cut into Star Trek’s potential base…Do you think that next May, people will only pay to see Hannah Montana?

“… and summer is anything but non-competitive.”

And Paramount believes that Bad Robot’s take on Star Trek will be competitive…Again, what is its competition? Star Trek will rule the box-office for at least its opening weekend. That’s all which is expected of a Summer blockbuster.
While it’s true that there are always alot of Summer movies, there is also so much more money spent on going to the movies in that time.

Your conclusions are baseless.

It is a vote of confidence to give Star Trek the coveted May release.

#25 – I’m super-right-handed. I can DO the salute with my left hand, but it just doesn’t feel right. If Quinto’s as much of a leftie as I am a rightie, I can see where it would be difficult to consistently do it right-handed.

Re: “Plus its never a good sign to push a movie back from its original date.”

That is often true — Midnight Meat Train being a prime example — i.e. ads were already on television and trailers in the theaters when everything was pulled. Though PART of MMT’s theatrical demise was due to a change in studio leadership, I worked on it and can tell you that the script was unimpressive (OK, some parts were quite fun).

In Star Trek’s case there is more to consider. A) Changing from a Thanksgiving/Christmas release to the much more prestigious Summer release is not something studio heads would approve if they thought the movie was a dog. The reverse, however, would be a bad sign. (Star Trek VI was a Christmas release because STV was a turkey and momentum-stopper) B) The main reason for the change is exactly the same reason the next Harry Potter made the same move — the writer’s strike and the slow down created by the non-negotiations with the actors has created a lack of product for next summer so the studios are moving what they perceive to be their strongest titles in the hopes that they can regain some of their recent losses. Finally, Paramount sorely needs ST to be a hit as the present financial mess has eaten their production capital and killed at least 5 movies which were in pre-production. Indiana Jones helped, but not enough. Rumor has it that some of the money that was earmarked for other films will be going into ST’s marketing campaign.

There you have it, kids and kidders, I hope they don’t blow it.

The future of the franchise will be very very bright

:-D