Abrams On Shatner, Star Trek Sequel and Run Time + Exclusive Production Update October 14, 2008
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Abrams, Shatner, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
Today is what feels like round 78 in the ongoing Saga of JJ Abrams and William Shatner and the new Star Trek movie. In a new MTV interview Abrams talks about William Shatner’s response to his own comments in an interview about a potential scene…is this the last word? Plus Abrams talks about the run time of the film and TrekMovie has some additional info on the post-production.
Abrams v Shatner
Last month JJ Abrams told AMC that there was a scene written for Shatner and then a few weeks later William Shatner did a videoblog about how no one ever offered him a role. Although this appeared to be a contradiction, TrekMovie noted at the time that they could both be telling the truth. Today in a new interview with MTV Abrams clarifies that he felt the scene written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman was ‘good’ but was also a ‘contrivance’ to get Shatner into the movie and that it didn’t work, and so they never offered it to Shatner directly. The ‘effort’ to get him into the film was therefore inside the Trek team:
I think he or his people interpreted as we reached out to him and tried to get him in. I meant internally. I didn’t want to present him with something we didn’t believe in. We were trying to make this thing work and it didn’t happen.
Abrams open to directing the sequel
TrekMovie has previously reported that Paramount is working on signing the Star Trek team to a sequel. Abrams was asked about the sequel and said that he would "be open to it." This is reminiscent of the early 2007 buzz where there were regular stream of conflicting stories about if Abrams would sign on to this first Star Trek as the director or would only be the producer. So now we begin round two of ‘will he wont he’ with regards to the sequel. Word from inside Paramount is they want the entire Trek team back for the follow-up film.
VIDEO: Abrams on Shatner and directing
MTV
2 hour movie
Abrams talked to MTV about the run time
It will be a two-hour movie. I’m sick of these two hours and forty-five minute movies. Seriously, it’s like I don’t have enough time to stay two hours and forty-five minutes. I’m exhausted just saying that twice. I can’t stand it.
Although Abrams decries long movies, at 2 hours, Star Trek would actually be the second longest film in the Trek franchise. The longest is the last ‘epic’ Trek film, Star Trek The Motion Picture which clocks in at 132 minutes. Star Trek IV and Generations come in just shy of two hours at 119 and 118 minutes respectively. Although long for a Trek film, two hours is actually on the low end of summer tentpoles. This year’s big May movies (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Iron Man) were 122 and 126 minutes respectively. However many other recent big summer movies run longer: Batman Begins and Star Wars Episode III were both 140 minutes, Transformers clocked in at 144 minutes, and Dark Knight was 152 minutes.
Exclusive Production Update - on track to finish in two months
Because Trekkies like to be precise, TrekMovie checked with sources to see if there was an exact run time in minutes. A source said that the target was ‘around’ two hours, but that effects shots are still being dropped in and sometimes they change the overall length. As of now approximately 75% of the visual effects are completed, including ‘almost all’ of the titles work. There is also work being done on the sound effects and dubbing. However much of the post-production is considered finished. There is only minor tweaking going on with the edit of the film and Michael Giacchino has completed scoring the film. The goal is to have the film completed "by mid December" which would be right on the original schedule when the film was to be released this Christmas.
Comments»
2 hours is awesome. Most Trek movies are under 2 hours.
So this will be the last post on the Shat Abrams thing? Somehow I doubt it…
And maybe first?
as long as it lives up to the freakin’ hype!!
Good plan, my backside and bladder can’t last more than 2 hours!
Can’t wait to hear the new score..
Bring back Shatner as a Mirror Universe Older Kirk.
Meh… I still just want to see the Trailer and then we can talk shop… ;)
Agreed #5. I hope the score is reminiscent of the best of Goldsmith and Horner. Those 2 hours will be like watching a movie on Scalos!
Nice to see JJ is sick of hearing the same comments over and over too. ;)
I could sit through a 190 minute Star Trek. What are ya’ll talking about.
I’m eager to see what Giacchino has come up with score wise too!
….and the adventure continues…
This is nothing ‘new’ from Abrams on the Shat, IMO. It is exactly how I interpreted it the first time. He never even ‘implied’ that Bill had been offered a role. It’s ridiculous that he was even asked to defend or “clarify” that.
I like good movies. I don’t really mind if they are long. I seem to recall my favorite film (GFII) being rather long. If it is interesting, it will keep my attention. If it sucks, it won’t matter if it was 150 minutes or 120.
75% complete, huh? Personally, I like that Abrams has the luxury of taking his time (STV: Shatner’s Great Trek Turd Of ‘89 always had the ‘excuse’ of being rushed). Take your time. Do it right. If TMP had been released in its superior director’s cut format in 1979, I think it would have been better received. Whether it’s in editing or the addition of effects, treat it like art. Don’t rush it. Make it the best it can be.
That’s my take.
I want it at Christmas :(
@11!!!
ME TOOO!!!!!!
I love his work!
Great, im glad this is a two hour movie. i agree i ahet very long movies too. two hours is ample. good move JJ.
am i reading this right then that no offer was made formally to william shatner. so shat was right then?
when do we get to see this trailer in Britain.
Greg
UK
I had no idea ‘Transformers’ was that long. I guess this is a good thing as far as pacing is concerned, it just seemed like such an unsubstantial film by the end of it.
I felt every minute of ‘Dark Knight’, though.
Anthony, please please PLEASE tell me you’re working on an interview with Michael Giacchino !!!!!!!!!
I am both a Trek fan and a film music fan, and love this guy’s work on Lost, M:I:III and The Incredibles.
I would be stoked if you could get such an exclusive !!!!!
BTW, I think I can add to the chorus of Thank-Yous you should be getting for what you are doing on this site.
There should be contests to win an opportunity to pre-screen the movie in December. That would be quite the Christmas gift!
TDK was about a half hour too long.; The love subplot with Dent wasn’t needed.
Come one…someone’s got to be able to leak like two seconds of the score. I love Giachinno and I cant WAIT to hear what he’s done.
I hate long movies as well. I hope Trek is a fun ride that clocks in at 2 hours and feels like an hour and a half. Now, if it were to run a few minutes long due to a scene with Shatner being added…well…I think I could probably live with that…
And yes, it still stinks that we have to wait till summer. Just think, if it had been released as originally planned, they might be planning the sequel in May!
Bob Orci…if and when a sequel is hopefully announced, please try and use your mighty clout to get the studio to do a “back to the future” schedule, where you can film the next two movies at once. Or maybe bribe them with an nice pen/ pencil set. I know you can make it happen, you’re the man!
17
TrekMovie does plan to run interviews with many of the behind the scenes people over the next few months, including Giacchino. This is something we have discussed with Paramount. For that one in particular I really would rather we do it as a joint effort with Geek and FMS and let Jeff Bond do it as he knows more about scoring and especially Trek music than just about anyone.
16.> Couldn’t agree more. I honestly can’t understand the Dark Knight love.
10. Michael Adams
PERFECT!
21. star trackie
Your TREK navigational senses are spot on!
.
Is it me, or does JJ have Shatner mannerisms?
That would have made for an awkward dinner between the two.
Mr. Shatner, please sign on!
I want it to be just shy of four hours, with a ten minute intermission scored with a sweeping orchestral love theme.
Just kidding. I predict it will be 122 minutes long.
Scott B. out.
22 - Fantastic. While you’re speaking with <r. Bond, get him to update his Music of Star Trek book !!!!
There have been a couple of movies, with scores and soundtracks, that need his journalistic touch.
Two hours is good. Does that include pre and end credits? What’s the aspect ratio?
i told you guys that shatner was out.
never in.
happy 10-14 to you all; have the aliens parked over alabama yet? I need to get to a window.
BEST!!
=h=
C’mon, enough of this. What I really want is more information on the USS Spock’s Time Ship.
Star Trek IV is the second longest movie, at 119 minutes.
yeah, those long movies… Lawrence of Arabia, 2001: A space Odyssey, Seven Samurai…. they really suck….
seriously, make the movie good and let it be whatever length. As long as it doesn’t have 5 minutes of Kirk staring goo-goo-eyed at aship in drydock, it can be 3 hours for all I care..
Well, that clears up the whole Shatner debate for me, although I’m not sure why they couldn’t have just said that some months ago. Perhaps they were still holding out for a last minute rewrite/insertion that apparently didn’t happen or couldn’t be made to work. I can certainly respect the decision to put the story before any sort of plausability-stretching cameos. After all, a good movie is what EVERYBODY wants, right? Kudos to JJ and company for setting a high standard. And Kudos to Bill Shatner, just because he is….Bill Shatner!
Back to lurkerdom I go..
Do u know what I’d like to see, webdocs, especialy one of recording the score with the entire orchestra. Hopefully they’ll start putting one a month online or something.
BH
It’s interesting … there are many here - me included - who think (or hope) Shatner is in the new movie. Why is that? As for my part it seems so simply unbelievable with all denials (especially JJ and Shatner) that it seems very likely :-) wow … what do you think?
U know a previous post mentions Shat being in it as a alternate universe Kirk. I know he isn’t in it and that’s no issue for me, but that is the best and only way I could see it being plausible. As I recall though Spocks alternate self was still logical and did bad acts because of the logic of his circumstance , But Kirks alternate was a real MoFo. Not sure that would be received well.
I think they are doing this right, I am also glad the running time is not too long and not too short. There is too much to tell here for a short flick. I sense the movie is going to move rather quickly along as to seem short even though 2+ hours passed.
can we get a special edition DVD that is 4hrs long please? I need that in my life.
I really like the overture in TMP.. gives the audience a chance to settle down and get their minds right for a good sci-fi romp.. really.. lovely theme right into the “BOOM BOOM” start of the title theme.. again adding to the epic theme of TMP.. theme.. can I say theme again?
I’m hoping Giacchino’s theme is bold and ambitious… like ROAR! was to Cloverfield..
I truly hope the movie’s aspect ratio is PANAVISION 2,35:1. No Super 35 and noooo 1,85:1 …
2 hours. Not long enough.
It must live up to the hype. The run time would only matter if it were “Jurassic Park 3″ short, aka 88 minutes (less than that if you take out the credits!). Two hours is fine, just make it good!
Suh-weet!
Sounds like a pretty tight ship they’re running, leaving little opportunity for outtakes and other schnizzle to put on a DVD.
Conventional marketing and merchandising aside, I sincerely hope they’re using these months to launch non-traditional, guerilla-style, viral marketing. They could get Ben Stiller to post “home made” videos from the Enterprise crew on youtube, set up games, recruiting films for Starfleet, tourism videos for Vulcan, the sky’s the limit.
Then again, these are the marketing geniuses that gave us the straight down the middle campaign for Indy IV–like Crystal Skull Vodka. Get ready for Romulan Ale Wine Coolers.
Megan Coligan is the Co-President of Marketing at Paramount, and she comes up from the Paramount Vantage label [think: BABEL and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH] and Fox Searchlight before that. It’s kind of amazing, actually, because all of Vantage’s movies failed due to poor marketing. She doesn’t seem to be a true believer or have any experience in something like this [then again, who does?].
It’s long past time for the TrekMovie Army to turn its attention to not just Production, but Marketing and Merchandising. JJ and KO can turn in a film that’s so great our heads explode [in a good way], but a crap marketing campaign can scuttle all of that. Frankly, I see a little BABEL-like preciousness, not to mention ignorance of the color symbolism, in the Teaser posters. The thing we all need to worry and be vocal about is CONDESCENSION. Marketing people tend to think that geeks will eat whatever’s put on their plates, so they’ll probably build a marketing campaign that goes out of its way to appeal to non-believers and the LCD… not unlike the way the Presidential Election has become all about appealing to the 10% who don’t see a difference between Obama and McCain.
Since it appears likely that Shatner will not be in the theatrical release, how about a special DVD version with the famous Shatner scene????
43. How about a short fade then the Shatner scene at the end of the film?
29 Ralph F.
From TrekMovie…
http://trekmovie.com/2008/05/27/spoilers-details-on-star-trek-movie-ships/
“Spock’s Time Ship
As reported before, the Star Trek film involves time travel and elder Spock (Leonard Nimoy) traveling through time. However (contrary to previous rumors about the Guardian of Forever) Spock uses a Vulcan ship specifically built for time travel. The ship is small and has a crew of one (Spock). The film will feature the bridge and also the ship’s ‘time core.’ It isn’t known what the name of the ship is, and it may be that the ship has no name.”
About the “problem” with the Time Ship.
1st off, and obviously, Why would’nt Spock just travel to Veridian III and help Kirk stop Soran? Or at least save his life there.
Sure it would be a shorter movie, but logically it makes more sense than going way back into the past to stop some kooky time traveling Romulan pirates, who are trying to assassinate a younger Kirk. Obviously that never happened.
But then it could go in any direction. It up to the writing. It’s got to be great!
Do the Romulan “space pirates” ; ) follow Spock into the past and see he has saved Kirk at Veridian III, and then decide to steal his Time Ship and go further into the past to destroy Kirk at a much earlier time?
I hope Orci and Kurtzman are very aware of the fanboy curse when it comes to re-imagining the classics. All aspects of this new Star Trek movie should have been thought out carefully and logically. I am expecting a “Lord of the Rings” style movie arc with this new production.
The Time Ship idea, if true, really puts this whole ship on Red Alert.
Hopefully all is planned out with a three picture scenario in mind.
Can’t wait to provide my critique on the trailer. What IS the running time on the trailer anyhow?
Good luck guys! I anxiouly wait hoping to be “pleasantly surprised.” with the new movie and trailer too.
I hope they put in all the extra scenes on the DVD / BD.
… hmm. That’s funny. I never made the connection that Shat and J.J. where waging a media war… and neither did J.J. apparently.
Gotta love those one sided things :D
The movie isn’t even out yet and they’re already planning a sequel?
Is anyone getting that little feeling that this movie will… suck?
47. Capt. Fred
I take it as a GOOD sign.
24. TrekMadeMeWonder - October 14, 2008
.
“Mr. Shatner, please sign on!”
You said this before. Sign onto what?
It wasn’t offered and that was clarified in the story above.
X
49. Xai
No way. Shatner IS Kirk, as much as Leonard is Spock.
One without the other is absurd. Read between the lines here Xai.
JJ loves surprises. Its supposed to be a surprise. It’s going to happen! Shatner will appear somewhere in this movie, or I’ll give up my Star Trek TOS Phaser remote control.
Watch Kirk show up in the sonic shower like the Ilia probe in TMP and like Patrick Duffy on that old series Dallas, declare that his death was all a dream.
From what I’ve heard from best-placed sources, Shatner was not intere$ted in a cameo. He was only interested in a $ignificant role and the check that comes with it.
If you’re holding out for the Kirk surprise on May 9, temper your expectations. Shatner is the spoiler in that scenario.
That said, if he shows up and it’s well done, I’m all for it.
Personally, I think it takes balls of Tritanium to step in to the roles of Kirk and Spock, and I look forward to seeing Pine and Quinto do their thing.
52. Jeffries Tuber
I agree wholeheartily!
Pine, Quinto and Urban… Engage!
Yeah, I get it and all, the “scene written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman was ‘good’ but was also a ‘contrivance’ to get Shatner into the movie and that it didn’t work, and so they never offered it to Shatner directly.” BUT, if the whole plot of this movie is for Spock to go back in time to stop Nero from somehow changing history and the direction of the Federation by killing off Kirk, wouldn’t Spock find it illogical to only save him in his youth and not ALSO in his his waning years?
I mean seriously, wouldn’t Spock also find Kirk’s death in Generations a bit of a waste. There could be other ways of warning others about the Nexus and McDowell’s character?( I want to say Soros but I know that’s not right. I try to forget this movie!}
Spock would find a way.
Shatner was great when he was young playing Kirk. Now, at 77, he would come across as a bloated, weaker version of his former self, only deserving a cameo, if that. Giving him a substantially larger role would have certainly ruined the movie. Nimoy’s Spock is not in that same category and obviously is an integral part of the storyline.
#48
I mean, what if this movie bombs? What if it’s a disappointment?
If the movie won’t be finished by mid-December, that’s not really following the original schedule, is it? Typically, a film is complete — post-production and everything — a month or two before its release. If the film is finished in mid-December, that would leave only about a week or two before its original release date. But wasn’t the movie, according to the original schedule, supposed to be done in late October or November? I seem to recall that for some reason… maybe that’s just me.
Damn, I really geeked out above. Sorry!
56. Capt. Fred
We are in thier hands now.
Orci and Kurzman were wought after as a solution for the Superman Returns disaster. I think they have demonstrated thier writing ability with Transformers - in making the rediculos seem plausible. I really liked Transformers. Mostly for its transformative effect on the viewer. Weird.
Too bad Star Trek now needs that type of talent now. But I am pleased that they are there. Hang in there for another 3 weeks, Capt. Fred. I’ll be the first to post my critque on how the Trailer looks. No Kirk holds barred.
I’ve always felt that movies have to be at or over 2 hours to be good…it’s awful when they cut a movie down to an hour and a half. That’s what I’M sick of, lol.
All the Star Wars movies were about two hours long, and that’s about as long as I think any good film should be. :)
Oh, I don’t know. Some things are better the longer they last.
If I am enjoying something, I want it to go on and on. There’s just something about anticipating the next surprise or thrill. When it’s over, you just want to reflect on the great experience you just had. Once you’re ready, you relive the whole thing. As many times as possible.
Hey, did you guys hear that there is going to be a Star Trek movie coming out in May? That’ll be cool, too.
I don’t believe a word Shatner or JJ are speaking. If you read or listen to them carefully you will note that their stories are not jelling together.
JJ is saying that the effort to get Shatner into the movie was an inside effort. This is not what we have heard from Shatner previously in his videos.
Come May ‘09 we’ll all see Shatner as Kirk again…
Well the quality of the story is the most important, so it should take as long as it should take. Yet, since we haven’t had any new Star Trek (remastered not withstanding) since 2005, I expect this movie to be over ONE DAY LONG!!
Shatner is not in this movie. But there was a second gunman on the grassy knoll.
56# if the movie sucks, it would be a huge backward for the trek franchise, and paramount wont’ invest another buck in a product that cant sell to anyone. would that make you happy? go troll somewhere else please.
64. THX-1138 The Fandom Menace
Wrong on both accounts. That was the third gunman.
DEATH TO THE 2 HR.+ SUMMER MOVIE!!!
I, for one, applaud J.J. on this one… absolutely NO ONE in Hollywood seems capable of making a lean, mean summer movie anymore. I remember when a 2 hr. & 10 minute EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was considered a little too long… now we have 2 1/2 hr. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN?!?!?! Now THOSE are films that should have been 90 minutes!
STAR TREK II was one of the greatest examples of economy and pacing. Anything between 1 hr. 50 min. and 2 hrs. is a-okay in my book.
this movie will suck
I like long movies, sometime even just an additional 20m is the difference between a fable and a myth.
But they cut in to box office by limiting the number of showings. In the interest of the relaunch and the franchise, this movie should be like a highly evolved tree frog that is a perfect money-making machine. If JJ brings the money in, we’ll all be in geek bliss for another decade or so. If they fail, we’ll sell JJ toilet paper and create a Santorum-like definition for Kurtzman-Orci.
Bring the money.
#62 “Come May ‘09 we’ll all see Shatner as Kirk again…”
Dude, really? Their stories are pretty consistant at this point. I was a Shatner holdout for quite a while when Abrams, Orci and co. seemed to dance around the issue, never actually coming out and saying, “No, he’s not in the movie”, but a few months ago, they actually said it. The only problem for me at that point was Shatner’s story, that they talked about him doing the movie in 2006 and then never spoke again. This last statement from Abrams pretty much explains_why_ he was never offered a role, because there wasn’t one to be had. The only thing that nags at me is why Bob Orci mentioned in an earlier Trekmovie article that Shatner publicly stated that he doesn’t do cameos. If there was no role, why include that? But I think that’s inconsequential; all parties are saying that he’s not involved and everyone agrees that there was _never_ an offer on the table.
TrekMadeMeWonder, I’ll take that phaser remote once the movie opens! Can never have too many phasers.
As far as running time goes, it’s all about pacing. I’ve seen movies that dragged at 88 minutes, while LOTR The Two Towers had me captivated from start to finish. I suspect that, if it’s good, two hours will be too short for many of us, but I think we’ll all survive. Who was it that said, “always leave ‘em wanting more…”?
68. SInce you have not seen the movie, that is not a logical statement. Therefore, you are not Spock’s Brain.
No one is picking up my post above. See 42. It’s time to stop debating what’s in and what’s out. Even if Closettrekker posts the single greatest idea in the history of science fiction and Anthony reminds everyone of some obscure point of TREK history–it aint gonna change a thing.
The only thing that matters is that we get audiences to sign on the line which is dotted. It’s time to start fighting for aggressive, multi-level, non-condescending marketing.
@ 71 Agreed. If this movie doesn’t do big box office numbers, that will probably be the end of Star Trek in the movies. If it’s any good at all, I’ll see it several times, at least. (unless I’m unemployed, standing in a bread-line and wearing a barrel for clothes!)
Nick Meyer once said in an interview that editing is where movies really get made. Shame that Stuart Baird, a former editor himself, didn’t learn that on Nemesis. I think that around 2 hours is a good length for the film.
Shatner? Looks grim but I will not give up even the faintest hope until I see the film.
why spock WOULDN’T go to veridian 3 to save kirk…
reason #1:
as far as records at the time showed kirk died on the maiden voyage of the enterprise B. his mind meld with picard in ‘unification’ happened before the events of ‘generations’ so you can’t say that’s how he would have known the truth of kirk’s demise. I would also propose that as spock is living on romulus after ‘unification’ and not in the federation he would not be aware of the final outcome of kirk’s life, assuming picard even reported the truth of it to his superiors.
reason #2 (i also posted similarly when the time ship story originally broke):
it seems clear to me that spock’s goal in this movie is to prevent/repair an alteration to the time line caused by the antagonists. With this in mind, allied to the fact that in works of fiction where time travel is used as a plot device, alteration of timelines is generally considered to be “A BAD THING” , why would spock deliberately seek to change the past?
reason #3:
spock doesn’t need to save the retired officer at the end of his career - the romulans are obviously targeting kirk at a younger age so as to remove his influence during the prime of his career where his actions had some influence over the romulan empire (enterprise incident maybe? either that, or a previously unmentioned incident which will be explained during the course of the film)
as for the missing scene my guess is it was along the lines of spock stopping off on his time ship to say one last goodbye to kirk before the Ent B maiden voyage, but for the reasons stated above and spock’s logicality (is that even a word?) this sort of scene would quite rightly not make sense.
Bob Orci - if i got any or all of that right i think you should lobby to have the UK premier in Scotland, specifically Edinburgh (or Linlithgow, Scotty’s birth place. that’s cool - it’s only about a half hour away), and that i should win tickets, of course ;)
70. nscates
“TrekMadeMeWonder, I’ll take that phaser remote once the movie opens! Can never have too many phasers.”
What are you, crazy, nscates? You will have to offer me something in return. Consider it a wager on whether Shatner will be in the film or not.
I say he will and I’ll back it up with my Phaser remote offer.
What do you offer in return if I am right, nscates?
ps. 20 posts and I finally recieve that response. hmmm.
Either everyone here has a Phaser TOS remote, or its not as cool as I once thought.
But it is.
#44—”Why would’nt Spock just travel to Veridian III and help Kirk stop Soran? Or at least save his life there. ”
Would Spock even be aware of the events on Veridian III? Presumably, Spock is still on Romulus, where he was last seen. I seriously doubt that the Romulans would allow subspace chats between Picard and Spock.
For all he knows, Kirk died aboard the Enterprise-B.
“…it makes more sense than going way back into the past to stop some kooky time traveling Romulan pirates, who are trying to assassinate a younger Kirk. ”
Who said ‘that’ was the plot of the film? Anyone speculating that Romulans are out to kill James Kirk hasn’t thought it through. Why would they travel back in time to assasinate someone who has been dead (to their knowledge) for nearly a century?
If “personal” revenge is a motive (and I’m not convinced of that either), it would certainly make more sense for that revenge to be directed at Spock…not Kirk. It was Spock who seduced and betrayed the Romulan commander in “TEI”, allowing the Enterprise to complete a clandestine mission to steal the new and improved cloaking device. It is Spock who is aiding and facilitating the faction on Romulus in favor of political change.
#50—” Shatner will appear somewhere in this movie, or I’ll give up my Star Trek TOS Phaser remote control.”
You’d better get it polished up, because that’s not going to happen.
“JJ loves surprises…”
True. But “surprises” and outright “lies” are two different things.
#67 I agree completely. Rare is the fiilm that needs to run over 2 hours. The original King Kong was 100 minutes long.
#69 - “But they cut in to box office by limiting the number of showings.”
Didn’t hurt The Dark Knight much!
56. Capt. Fred - October 14, 2008
I mean, what if this movie bombs? What if it’s a disappointment?”
It means the sun will rise the following morning and we go on to the next thing in our lives.
If i remember correctly the script for XI was 128 pages so i am hoping for 128 minutes. I think it is a good number(not too long or too short)
76. Closettrekker
Well then this just won’t be the Star Trek I am expecting. Mostly because of the (so called) “lies” : (
DId you not see my TrekMovie link?
http://trekmovie.com/2008/05/27/spoilers-details-on-star-trek-movie-ships/
“The Romulan Ship
TrekMovie.com previously reported that the primary villains of JJ Abrams Star Trek are the Romulans, who come from the 24th century. They travel through time in a ship, but the ship is not necessarily built for time travel. The ship is commanded by Nero (Eric Bana). The design of the interior of the ship is apparently different than traditional TNG era Romulan design and said to be ’surreal.’ It is not yet known what the name of this ship is.”
Bad. IMO.
50. TrekMadeMeWonder - October 14, 2008
“No way. Shatner IS Kirk, as much as Leonard is Spock.
One without the other is absurd. Read between the lines here Xai.”
You need to read the lines as they are, not the space between. Shatner and JJ both have said it’s not happening.
“JJ loves surprises. Its supposed to be a surprise. It’s going to happen! Shatner will appear somewhere in this movie, or I’ll give up my Star Trek TOS Phaser remote control.”
I’ll give you my shipping address for the remote. Very generous of you.
Know why you never hear of Nichelle Nichols being in the new movie? Because she isn’t. Know why you never hear of George Takai being in the movie? Because he ain’t. Know why you never hear of Walter Koenig being in the movie? Because he’s not.
Know why you never hear of William Shat…. nevermind…
#75 “You will have to offer me something in return. Consider it a wager on whether Shatner will be in the film or not.”
You make a valid point. Unfortunately, I don’t have much of anything to offer. I mistakenly assumed that you were planning to get rid of your trek stuff if Shatner’s not in the movie, so why not give it to me? lol
How about this: I will post every day on TrekMovie.com that you were right and I was wrong for 20 days in a row. (Tho for me, that would be win-win because I’d get a phaser remote AND Shatner in the movie and all I’d have to do was post 20 times) I don’t really expect you to accept, but I figured I’d throw it out there.
@82
Hey, Xai I asked first!
#85 nscates,
He was responding to MY response to his faulty thesis about Shatner. Read #49 and #50.
Mine.
Very well.
{sulks off}
2 hours is ok. In context, it sounds like he could be saying it’s around 2 hours, but never the dreaded 2:45. I disagree on length being a set decider on whether a film is coma inducing to the buttocks. All three LOTR flicks edge towards 3 hours, but none feels long. (I know, some ADD folk were groaning through the compound endings of ROTK. I like that that movie finished the trilogy in grand fashion, then had a sweet coda.) Dark Knigh has not a wasted minute in it, unless it’s one of the minutes that Maggie Gylenthal was trying to look sexy. OOOH! SNAP! Seriously, great movie, long or not. My main concern is that an epic Trek story not feel rushed. Anyway… just seven months to go.
Hmmm… The “Kill Kirk plot.”
Well it was shown here in reference to TrekMovie article.
“Romulan Ship, unknown name
- Ship of the movies villain Nero (Eric Bana) that is used to travel in time to
. eliminate Kirk and change Star Trek history. Not sure if time travel
. capability is built in or some other method used for the plot device.
- Ship design, described as “surreal” is different then the current
. Romulan design seen in the recent movies and Next Generation series.
http://startrek11.blogspot.com/2008/05/star-trek-cast-of-ships.html
84. nscates
“…Tho for me, that would be win-win because I’d get a phaser remote AND Shatner in the movie”
Care to rephrase that line?
You were betting on Shatner not appearing in the new movie, Right?
I’d only give up my TOS remote “If Shatner is not in the new film.”
He will be.
Come-on anti up! You did mention that you had a few Phasers!
#74—I agree with all of your reasons except #3.
I would have a hard time being convinced that 24th Century Romulans are targeting James Kirk for assasination at any age, unless it is Nero’s way of punishing Spock for his own bastardization and the humiliation of his mother (which, IMO, would require too much prior knowledge of TOS—specifically, “The Enterprise Incident”). As much as I like the absentee father/estranged bastard son angle, I don’t think the writers went there.
This is, IMO, much more likely. Nero and his cohorts are members of a rogue faction of the Romulan military or Tal-Shiar. They are disenchanted with the political change on Romulus that Spock has been helping to facilitate, and hope to do something about it. Their goal is to alter the past, tipping the balance of power in favor of the RSE. The TOS-era is a likely destination for them because that is when the UFP/RSE make contact again for the first time since their war 100 years earlier.
If assasination is a part of that goal, then a young Spock is a more fruitful target. The Romulans would have much more to gain by killing him than his friend who, for all they know, died nearly a century before aboard the Enterprise-B.
In order for mainstream audiences to follow the story, I think it is necessary for the goal to be “political”, not personal, since we are talking about a far more complex backstory in “TEI” than Khan simply blaming Kirk for the death of his wife.
I just don’t think some fans have yet embraced the notion that this is most likely a “Spock-centric” story, when most of the time, the story tends to revolve around JTK.
But that’s just my opinion.
#81—”Bad. IMO.”
Why?
(buying polish for my new Phaser remote control with the Kung Fu grip)
#89—To my knowledge, the notion that Nero’s goal was to eliminate Kirk was never more than speculative rumor, the premise of which really makes little sense.
91. Closettrekker
Why???
If time travel is to be taken seriously, then the events would have to be shown to happen in the actual movies timeline. It would be seemless.
If this movie takes from Balance of Terror, or the Enterprise Incident, then there would have to be some evidence of thier arrival in either of those two series plotlines. There never was, obviously.
I take a very linear approach to time travel plotlines. If you are going to travel to the past to visit your younger self, would you not already have a memory of that meeting? Time travel introduces too many frivoulos plot inconsistencies for my tastes. It rarely works, unless its been intimated, in some way, to already have happened within the movie’s timeline.
A good example of this type of story telling acutally working (here goes)
is the Lost in Space movie. That movie had a sucessfull timetravel plotline (IMO) because it was set up succesfully within the story.
STXI’s Vulcan-Time-Ship + Romulan Ship (that does, or does not ? time travel) is already starting to smell like Trek’s loathsome Treknobabble.
92. Xai
Your on. If you care to wager. And NO QUATLOOS!
I appreciate the link, but it just goes to a blogspot which cites trekmovie’s article about the ships.
I don’t recall Anthony making any claim that his sources said definitively that Kirk was a target for assasination, nor do I recall any interview with any other outlet which revealed that as the plot.
Am I mistaken?
No your right.
Looks like the authors on that site added that little assasination detail.
I hate disinfo.
I really do.
I try everyone.
But the Time Ship does still suck. Sorry.
#90
you’re quite right - young spock being the target would make much more sense.
it wasn’t maybe clear in my original post that i was operating under the assumption of kirk being the target of the bad guys as i had recalled seeing it mentioned that way here previously, but i guess that aspect of the story is still speculative
Bit disappointed to hear it’ll only be at the 2 hour mark. I’m at least hoping that it just goes over a bit to something like 125 or 130 minutes after credits. Let’s hope it doesn’t out to be like what Forster did with Bond, where he said he was aiming for two hours, then came short at like 98 minutes (sans credits).
#94—”If this movie takes from Balance of Terror, or the Enterprise Incident, then there would have to be some evidence of thier arrival in either of those two series plotlines. There never was, obviously.”
That makes no sense. Surely you aren’t suggesting that nothing can possibly take place in the TOS era which wasn’t depicted on screen. You never once see any character use a restroom, but I just assumed they did anyway…
“If you are going to travel to the past to visit your younger self, would you not already have a memory of that meeting?”
Not if it did not happen in the timeline with which we are most familiar, and instead, only occurs in a slightly altered timeline established by the potential events of STXI. Moreover, could Spock not use his “forget” technique on his younger self anyway? It seems to me that there is nothing to suggest that it only works on full-blooded humans. Surely the younger Spock would see the logic in consenting.
It appears you are basing your opinion upon your own preconceived notions about things that are not yet even proven to exist scientifically, and a very limited scope of what can become ‘canon’.
Just because Chekov was never seen in the episode, “Space Seed”, doesn’t mean he wasn’t aboard. He apparently was, since Khan never forgets a face, and recognized him in TWOK. Is it not ‘canon’ that he was aboard? I say it has been since 1982, no matter that we never saw Walter Koenig until season two.
95. TrekMadeMeWonder - October 14, 2008
92. Xai
“Your on. If you care to wager. And NO QUATLOOS!”
Wager?
There was no mention of a bet or wager on your part. You OFFERED.
#50
“Shatner will appear somewhere in this movie, or I’ll give up my Star Trek TOS Phaser remote control”
…So, does it come with batteries and a stand?
100. Closettrekker
My point was that Time Travel story lines are rarley logical.
As your last post asserts…
“and instead, only occurs in a slightly altered timeline established by the potential events of STXI. ”
Do we have to create an entirely new universe for this movie’s plotline to work? That to me is just lazy writing.
oh aye…my take on shatner secretly being in the movie - absolutely no way…..please give it up folks!?!?
although i have always thought they should get him to re-record the ’space…the final frontier’ monologue
2 hours or so is fine with me, but I would like a directors cut longer, with deleted scenes included on the blu ray / DVD, I hate deleted sences in a seperate section with no way on watching the whole movie with the deleted scenes. 2 choices on the DVD , theatre release and a longer version with more detail, much like BSG Razor. It gives the movie more watchability, many times to see more detail.
#97—” …the Time Ship does still suck. Sorry.”
It does have the potential to come off rather contrived, but I prefer to reserve judgement.
Spock has been making time travel computations for 125 years or so before the post-Nemesis era. It certainly isn’t beyond the realm of believability (within the ST Universe anyway) that he could modify a one man shuttle to make the trip “more efficient”.
Sounds very “Spock-like” to me.
And it certainly wouldn’t be any more contrived than the old, “slingshot around the sun” technique itself. That was fine for “Tommorow Is Yesterday”, “Assignment: Earth”, and TVH, yet if you think about it—it’s actually as silly as any TNG technobabble (which I cannot stand either, btw).
101. Xai
“There was no mention of a bet or wager on your part. You OFFERED. #50″
Don’t be such a Ferengi, Xai!
See my post #75.
It’s a fare offer, and it looks like the deal is between myself and nscates (in whos name I cannot find any Trek relevance).
I’ll make the bet with you Xai, but you have to anti up!
105. Closettrekker
“…rather contrived….”
I agree of course.
I still reserve judgement for the writing team and production in general. But, this movie should have been VERY easy to write.
Wasn’t the Bird of Prey in Trek IV, basically a time ship? All he has to do is slingshot around the sun.
Biff
108 Enterprise
Yes, but as 105. Closettrekker already mentioned, Spock was onboard.
IT WAS Spock that had originally figured that out. But why must Star Trek XI rely on time travel for a sucessfull story?
If its a good film and keeps me on the edge of my seat, emotionally charged and unsettled, intellectually stimulated and mesmerized - 2 hours will be too short.
I think Nero is going back in time simply to stop the historic 5 year mission from occurring. This can happen at several times during the movies setting and Spock is following him around as he tries to stop the mission at various points in time. Only a small change and the mission might get altered. No Kirk and they might not defeat the Romulans in “BOT”. No Spock and “TEI” fails. No McCoy to save Spock in “Amok Time” and we have no Spock. How about altering things so that Kirk fails the Korbiachi Maru and doesn’t get that command. Lots of situations for action throughout the film, lots of food for thought and lots of potential for emotional impact.
#38- I think it will be 2:35 to 1 Panavision. Almost all Trek movies used anamorphic widescreen origination. The only exception was ST6. What I’d love to see if they’d shoot it on either IMAX film with cropped reductions for smaller theaters, or shoot it on Super Panavision 70 to begin with. IMAX has the most potential to wow people, so my vote goes there. But really what studio would ever fund origination in IMAX? They’d rather pay 20 million for the head stars then spend less then that on film for 70mm.
#89 “Care to rephrase that line?”
Sure… I was saying that even if I lost the bet, I would win because I’d have Shatner in the movie which I would like, although I consider that to be extremely unlikely. If he wasn’t, I’d get a shiny new phaser remote. Either way, I’d have something to be happy about (unless the movie was awful).
I actually don’t have any phasers to bargain with. Therefore no ante.
It won’t be as good w/out Shatner.
#102—”Do we have to create an entirely new universe for this movie’s plotline to work? That to me is just lazy writing.”
I think that part of the story will be Nimoy’s Spock’s attempt to “prevent” an alternate timeline. I don’t think it’s about “have to”.
#110—”But why must Star Trek XI rely on time travel for a sucessfull story?”
I don’t think it necessarily does, but given the objective of reintroducing the TOS-era characters in their youth ‘and’ tying the story together with where the TNG-era films left off, I’m not sure there is a better way of accomplishing that goal. In fact, the only other viable avenue I could think of would be a “flashback” type secondary story compiled from the recollections of Spock.
One thing that this type of storytelling gives us as fans is a perfect scenario in which we are allowed to enjoy new stories set in the most romantic period in Star Trek history, with its most romantic characters. The potential for an ‘alternate timeline’ allows for the characters to be put in actual jeopardy, as opposed to suffering from the “Lucas Prequel Syndrome”, where we already know the ending for them and there is no “jeopardy”. We also do not necessarily have to accept that every event we know to have occured is no longer relevant. It all depends upon how successful Spock is in preventing major changes to the timeline. It could be that Spock is largely successful, and only subtle asthetic changes occur as a result of Nero’s interference.
My personal wish is that the outcomes of major events are largely unaffected, and new stories are told in between the third season and the end of the five year mission, in between TMP and TWOK, and eventually—between TFF and TUC.
Maybe— if we’re lucky, Nero will sneak into Sarek’s house and smother baby Sybok with a pillow…
#114—How on Earth would you know that?
Shatner was geat as Kirk for abbout twenty years, IMO.
Then (again, IMO) he began phoning it in and pandering to the SNL crowd.
TOS-TVH= great Shat
TFF-GEN= bad Shat
But that’s just my opinion.
I have no reason to believe that a Shat sighting in STXI would be any different.
There’s just been way too much secrecy and talk. Two hours may be enough but you know there’s tons being left out. But now it’s almost upon us. And you some people just won’t be satisfied,regardless.
Compared to the last year this month will go by steadily for me.
115. Closettrekker
We will all see soon.
But I do like your Sybok suggestion.
TOS-TVH= great Shat
TFF-GEN= bad Shat
For the most part I agree with you. But “Undiscovered Country” was the last Hooray for the old gang.
IMO IMO IMO
what other kind of opinion is there a dishonest one? STOP SAYING IMO
88: You don’t bring me flowers anymore….seriously, we Niners miss you. Is all ok with you?
I cannot imagine any references whatsoever to Nemesis, STV, or Generations will encumber this film.
It’d be nice for “Unification” to have a few seconds of recognition at the start to explain old Spock’s current situation in the 24th Century, and “wink” at TNG, but references to crap Trek should be avoided at all costs
#110
In the latest SFX magazine interview with Quinto he says :
“It’s going to really straddle the two worlds that exist in the sci-fi community - people who have been long-time die-hard Star Trek fans since the late ’60s and also people who might not have experienced the original series but may have seen the later series. And I think this is really going to unify those people: and on top of that, invite a whole new audience to be a part of the journey of these characters!”
To enable this to happen it kind of HAS to involve a time travel. Perhaps the problem arose years ago when they TNG’d things and jumped 100 years into the future. If want to unite things now, there is no other option.
123. AJ
Absolutely!
#121—Prefacing or clarifying a statement with “in my opinion”, is a polite way of acknowledging that yours is not the only ‘valid’ opinion, and that you respect the fact that others will likely disagree. It has nothing to do with “honesty” or “dishonesty”. I’m not quite sure where you got that idea.
Making a demand in all caps, however, is quite the opposite of polite. If it bothers you so much (although I cannot imagine why it would), I’m afraid that’s hardly my problem…
#31 “As long as it doesn’t have 5 minutes of Kirk staring goo-goo-eyed at aship in drydock…”
5 minutes of Kirk staring - that was a problem for ST:TMP. 10 minutes to stare at THE SHIP wouldn’t have been. I’ll say now what I said in ‘77, “She’s g o r g e o u s…!”
Does anyone think that if there is a sequel to this movie that the master- John Williams- should be asked to score it?
I realize that Abrams has his own little ‘circle’ that he likes to work within, but jeez, wouldn’t that be great?
As usual, I agree with AJ. There is no reason to remind anyone of past Trek turds (horrible movies like those he mentioned) and/or farts (bad television episodes).
My “Sybok” suggestion was pure sarcasm, of course…
Mark my words. Shat is in this movie. How could he not be? This is the biggest PR stunt for Trek ever.
#130—Forgive me if I’m far beyond skepical of that. I don’t think that Abrams is outright lying to dozens of reporters who’ve asked him about it, just to “surprise” established fans with William Shatner. That ship sailed quite some time ago…
JJ may be fond of unexpected plot twists and surprises, but it has never involved lying. I don’t believe that is his particular brand of “surprise”. Not to mention it would involve Nimoy, Shatner, and everyone else lying as well.
You’re reaching, IMO.
106. TrekMadeMeWonder - October 14, 2008
“There was no mention of a bet or wager on your part. You OFFERED. #50″
“Don’t be such a Ferengi, Xai!”
I saw your “after-the-fact” pseudo-deal with nscates. Read your original offer . I’ve already quoted you earlier, and you know what you wrote.
Ferengi make “deals” in their favor.. whereas I am just taking you up on an offer you made.
Now you have no faith in your original statement? No faith in Shat? Oh…my…
I found an excellent spot to place your Phaser next to my chair come May.
130. JimmyMac - October 14, 2008
“Mark my words. Shat is in this movie. How could he not be? This is the biggest PR stunt for Trek ever.”
Ok, words marked. Although I’ve not seen you post here before, we’ll accept your “word”.
Speaking of….
TrekMadeMeWonder offered a TOS Phaser if Shatner’s not in the film. You willing to put something up in case your “words” fail?
;-)
To those currently in contention for TrekMadeMeWonder’s phaser TV remote:
A warning. I’ve seen the condition of said remote. Trust me, it’s no bargain.
TMMW: Just making sure the playing field is level here! ;-)
I think they’ll pull a Ferris Bueler with this…
After the closing Credits, we’ll see Shat as ship’’s janitor sweeping off the shuttledeck…. “What, you still here? Go home!”
i think they should kill off one of the main characters and redo TOS without him/her in a new television series
133 “You willing to put something up in case your “words” fail?”
Okay, Xai, now you’re getting greedy. I was willing to offer TrekMadeMeWonder a meaningless gesture just so he wouldn’t feel screwed when I took his phaser remote, but you’re looking to collect stuff from two people without offering anything at all! That’s genus- err, I mean reprehensible! Seriously, I wont cause any trouble if you give me a cut of the loot…
C’MON MAN!
The Phaser could use restoring. The tip is broken off, but still lights up.
All the buttons do work. And the battery pack still snaps shut by itself.
The phaser has been with me for six years already.
Don’t sell the remote short everyone. It still has the classic TOS design and despite some worn paint and a broken tip, my living room and TV watching would never be the same.
Buckaroohawk, you have used the remote many times. And if I recall correctly, you dropped it a few of those times too! You should be ashamed of yourself! ; )
Buckaroohawk is just mad because his light saber can’t change the channels. PLUS, Buckaroo oowned a Next Gen remote and gave it up years ago! (to me, but Next Gen is not my favorite - I gave it to a kid down the street)
I’ll hold up to my end of the bargain everyone. My word is true, and the TOS Phaser is still a good device for any TRUE TREK fan.
Too Funny, Buckaroo! Too Funny. ;: D . ;: O . ;: ) .
————–
132. Xai
Ok Xai. Your on. My TOS Phaser is yours, but only if Shatners not in ST XI.
But let me say here and now….
STAR TREK XI (whatever) without Shatner is a mistake.
Shatner has to be at the end of the pic or Leonard’s/Spock’s journey will be without true heroic merit. That’s what I would expect, That’s what the general public would expect, and it’s the right thing to do.
The Women!!!
@138 WHAT?????? You’re not even gonna make him ante up? So for me it’s all “what’s in it for me, nscates?” but for Xai it’s like “whatever, you can have it”. Lame-o-rama.
OK, Just to show you all how much I mean business.
TWO PHASERS ARE UP FOR GRABS!! One for Xai and one for nscates.
I guess its up to me alone to keep the dream alive for now.
Bill, Liz, are you listening???
Two hours is good. Going much over that can get tedious with most movies. Except The Dark Knight. That could have been four hours long and I wouldn’t have gotten tired of it.
I’m dying to see some of these effects shots they keep going on about. And to hear some of the score. Here’s hoping the trailer will have actual music from the score and not some song from something else like most trailers seem to.
141. tribble farmer
I am surprised that you are not eager to see a tribble in the trailer! ; )
#139 you gotta talk faster
Like a Ferengi.
Xai would make a good Ferengi name.
What does Xai mean, Xai?
- I didn’t want to present him with something we didn’t believe in. -
JJ’s sensibility, sensitivity, foresight, and decency are matchless.
Here’s my working theory on the movie, call it the Rosebud theory:
Spock is engaged in some unfathomable time-traveling shit in his Time Core-equipped personal craft, going where no Vulcan has gone before. He returns to his timeline and discovers that his timeline has been changed. The UFP is deeply militarized, perhaps colonized by Romulans, whatever. Spock knows something is wrong, but he would not immediately know the source.
So the only logical approach is to travel backwards incrementally until Spock gets reliable information on the branchpoint in the timeline. Spock’s tour through time is like a cross between “Mirror, Mirror” and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, especially if Nero’s initial attack is on the young Kirk.
Why do I think the attack is on Kirk, if it’s never been directly stated? Well, why else would we need to see Kirk at all of the confirmed stages of his life: childhood, in the Corvette, at graduation, on his brother’s ship, on the Farragut, Pike’s Enterprise and Kirk’s Enterprise. I think the goal of the tour through Kirk’s life must be information. The information leads to a series of showdowns with Nero, culminating in young Kirk’s defeat of a 24/25th century enemy with the 2260s Enterprise.
But I think part of it is a Rosebud search through Kirk’s life.
So unless Spock just mindmelds with Kirk at some point, giving us a tour of their memories…
The movie is
> Spock moves backward through alternate timelines to identify the branchpoint.
> Spock then moves through Kirk’s life, until he ‘nabs’ Nero in the 2260s, disabling Nero’s Time Core.
> Spock and The Crew defeat a 25th Century enemy with their 2260s Enterprise.
I look forward to your thoughts, and hopefully being wrong.
2 hours? Shit, give me 3. That’s how confident I am in this forthcoming movie.
MAN Thanks AGAIN ANTHONY for yet more great up to the second Trek News! Ive thanked you before, mostly for your great THE EXPERIENCE closing articles….but man this is the best Trek Website ever! Thanks again Anthony! You are awesome! And also everyone who reads and posts here! You guys are just as entertaining as the great news articles! The diversity of opinions, conjectures and biases are great as are how they all merge, clash and explode/implode all over the place! HAHA!
I doubt seriously the Shat will be in the film…no reason if not called for in the story…I believe JJ! Time Travel! You know they did not even have to have time travel. They could have just REBOOTED…Started over with how the crew got together in their younger days….would have been simpler but not satisfying to us fans probably….I don’t know if the whole Star Wars Prequel thing would even have any effect. After all….knowing that the major characters would not die was not much of a reason why the prequel films were not very good. Was that the reason?? I thought there were many others…starting with..JAR JAR ….
I hope that the plot does NOT involve going back in time to kill Kirk…..Wasnt that plot just done, using the Guardian of Forever in STAR TREK OF GODS AND MEN??? I certainly hope JJ ORCI and all would not reuse a major plot device like that after it was just done….hmmm then again….TMP….and VOYAGE HOME share a similar major plot point….but are still very different films….and yes FAN FILMS are not canon….but still….
TMMW (#138),
I have never, repeated NEVER, let that remote hit the floor! I would be offended, but the accusations of my clumsiness are coming from someone who keeps losing the darned thing between his couch cushions every 10 minutes.
But if you really want to go toe-to-toe here, TMMW…let’s see how many of your phaser beams I can block with my light saber before I move in close enough to cut you in twain.
I’m calling you out, son. Showdown at noon. My lightsaber vs. your phaser. After you lose, I’ll send the phaser to whomever wins this contest you started. Of course, your disembodied hand will still be clutching it (heh, heh), but I’m sure the winner won’t mind…
50. TrekMadeMeWonder
>JJ loves surprises. Its supposed to be a surprise. It’s going to happen! >Shatner will appear somewhere in this movie,
No he won’t. They don’t have a place for an old Shatner in the story for this movie. Please accept it and enjoy the movie as it is, not making your enjoyment depend on if they have something which they have said a thousand times that they won’t.
Jeffries Tuber
Sounds good to me as far as time travel goes. The time ship and time travel plot line are still a devices that takes away from the Enterprise. But your plotline does seem to provide some space in the third act for all the principals to all appear together for a final battle.
Plus the (unamed) Time Ship and possibly other ships sound way cooler than the TOS Enterprise. I guess the Time ship will have a cloaking device too? Shades of STIV’s cloaked Bird of Prey in the Park idea.
Hmmm…
Your post brings alot of other thoughts to mind about how miltaristic the new Trek may become. Were the Romulans ever a big threat to the Federation? I guess so. Hey did’nt they have a 100 year war too?
I hate to complain about where this movie may going, but Star Trek WAS supposed to be about peaceful, wonderous exploration.
*sigh* another is he / isn’t he article? ;)
Nice homage to the number of Enterprise decks mentioned in ST5, Anthony! I thought 78 sounded familiar..
As long as plot is not sacrificed to keep it two hours then its fine.
If JJ Abrams does a great job and honours Trek I will want him back but itf he retcons the timeline to fit his own vision then I won’t be wanting him back.
I’m glad it’ll be two hours (or a little over). A shorter run-time has been part (*part*) of the reason some Trek movies felt like just slightly long-running two parters.
For a Trek movie to earn its right to be a movie it needs to be (i) telling a story that couldn’t be told on TV and (ii) be eeeeppiiic.
Abrams - “It will be a two-hour movie. I’m sick of these two hours and forty-five minute movies”
Does this translate into there is enough usable footage for a 2hr45min movie? If so, hopefully some of it will be included in the DVD.
I also hope that the editors don’t count the opening/closing credits into the total run time of 120mins - that could take up to 10mins of valuable screen time.
Very good musing, Tuber… and from LOST we know that Damon and JJ love their TT as a central plot device… And while I like your idea of Spock probing for the right spot of the changing timelines, that appears too complicated for the movie, which is supposed to restart the franchise. That feels more like the concept of a Miniseries on HBO ;))
I still believe that Nero kills Jims father, which becomes the main reason for Kirk to work in outer space, and not in Iowa with his evil uncle.
So Shatner was right the whole time and told truth. It’s good to know. I believed him.
We are going to need a timeline to figure out all the quotes from these two. Who said what? When? Where?
[…] will be a two-hour movie. Im sick of these two hours and forty-five minute movies. Abrams On Shatner, Star Trek Sequel and Run Time + Exclusive Production Update | TrekMovie.com Nun mit einem 165 Minuten Film wie ihn Abrams hier anspricht, hat wohl eh keiner gerechnet. […]
Shat is in the last few min of film with spock
I’d personally have settled for a bit of a ‘contrivance’ in this for a Bill appearance, if the scene was considered ‘good’….
Won’t be the same ‘handover’ to a new TOS cast without him.
oh I just peed 3 drops…..movin’ out of mom and dad’s basement real soon now
…the last ‘epic’ Trek film, Star Trek The Motion Picture which clocks in at 132 minutes.
That would make it the only epic film.
“Epic” has little to do with run time and everything to do with scope, scale, ideas and plot. No Trek movies really measure up to being epic, although First Contact had some of the correct elements if it had gone in that direction.
Trek-on-screen has always avoided the epic route, sadly. On the few occasions that it has nibbled around the edges, it jas quickly veered away and refocused tightly on character relationships.
Two hours is perfect. No average filmgoer is going to sit through a three-hour Trek.
That being said, I would love a longer director’s cut (if it seems warranted).
I am so looking forward to Giacchino’s score. The man is brilliant; right up there with Goldsmith, Williams, Elfman…he’s great.
And currently, ‘The Dark Knight’ is my favorite movie of all time….
I seem to be in the minority but i for one love long movies. It seems that too many movies these days are “forced” to fit into a fats paced cookie cutter storytelling mold. Longer movies have more time to develop at their own pace and tell a richer story, and it seems to me that any movie telling how the crew of the original enterprise first got together and had their first adventure is worthy of an “epic” treatment–however Abrams has said it wont be so that settles that.
Maybe a longer director’s cut when it comes out on dvd?
And currently, ‘The Dark Knight’ is my favorite movie of all time….
You have beeb blinded by the dark blight.
How about a 122-minute trailer, JJ? ;)
Seriously, though. If the Supreme Court is listening, how about working with TrekMovie.com and have a private screening contest, with or without some of the actors of the film, months in advance of the release date?
We’ve got some time to burn and it’s already a virtual torture for most when all we’re geting from here to May 2009 are snippets from the actors and you guys on how great of an experience it was and not much else.
89
why on Earth are you linking to another site which is stealing my content and then putting words into my mouth?
RE: Director’s cut
I have seen some talk about a ‘Directors Cut’ of ST09. But the film you will see in May will be the Directors Cut. Abrams deal with Paramount gives him final cut. If there are deleted scenes, they could be on the DVD, but what we see next May will be what Abrams wants and not some watered down studio version.
OK, here is how they can still get Shatner into the film: Nimoy-Spock has a quickie mind meld with Pine-Kirk and places a deep hidden subliminal message into his mind on how to avoid his future death (think “remember” from ST3).
When Nimoy-Spock returns to his proper time he is then met by Shatner-Kirk who then proclaims “And you thought I was dead!”. They then have their tender Kirk/Spock moment and walk off into the sunset.
End titles.
I hope the score is Goldsmith-esque. Really thematic stuff. Without his music, TMP, The Final Frontier, and Nemesis would have been much more painful to watch. And Goldsmith made First Contact even better than it already was.
Come to think of it, Jerry Goldsmith scored half the Star Trek movies, and yet he only scored one of the best ones…
Anyway, hope the score is something I can really get pumped on!
A good movie couldn’t be long enogh (lord of the rings, the last two Batman-movies, King Kong, Indiana Jones, Star Wars III etc.). But a bad movie couldn’t be short enough (Cloverfield for example.) I just hope, Abrams’ decission not to expand beyond 120 min. has nothing to do with the quality of the story.
About the story: I don’t see the reason, why Spock should have to use a timeshipe and Nero does not. Timetravels should be a way easier in the 25th century as it was back in 2266 or 2286. The slingshot-manouver is not a hidden secret, or?
And about changes in the timeline: I guess, Spock could keep a secret (about visiting his older self) and never tells anyone how the old Vulcan was, that visited the Crew of the Enterprise. And I guess old Spock will never give out his real identiy to anyone else as himself (not even young Kirk).
About the maybe-battle between the Enterprise and Nero’s ship: I hope, the writers (Orci and Kurtzman) will come up with some very, very, very clever plot twists, because I don’t see how the Enterprise could ever win such a battle. It’s something like Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory against USS Iowa BB-61.
But perhaps Romulans of the 25th century are not known for their production qualitiy :)
If there are any space battles with Romulans, I hope they’re not as plodding and lackluster as the one in Nemesis. And Digital Domain handled it! I saw it again recently, and it was even worse than I remember.
Must have been a Berman thing…
JJ is a big Hollywood phony & a liar!
He said at COMIC CON 2007,
the producers of the film are trying to fit Shat in.
Not even a phone call.
Flakey stuff if you ask me.
I love how he kisses Shat’s ass to the camera,
but behind the scenes no respect!
By the way name one SCI-FI movie or tv show
that JJ has done thats any good?
Crappy stuff with bad alternative rock & pretty people.
Lets throw the keys to Star Trek to this guy.
Just another example of why Hollywood sucks.
George Lucas predicts someday that the movie
business will become decentralized.
One can only hope.
Burn Hollywood BURN!
169:
Anthony, that’s good news. But does that preclude JJ making/saving some good stuff for an extended cut a la LOTR?
CaptainRickover: Star Wars III? I hope you mean ROTJ. ROTS was a bloated disaster.
174 - As he explained, he meant at the Script stage.
If they can’t make it work in the Script, a phone call is pretty pointless.
Another steamin’ hot, ever-expanding Shatner thread!!! Ahhhhhh, does the soul good to see all the old faces and read all the old comments……
:-)
Yes, ROTS was a horrible ending to the first trilogy. They should have just ended the movie after the rescue of Solo from Jabba’s barge.
172 - I agree about the Timeship issue. The Romulans will have their own ship.
At this point, we still don’t know what exactly the Romulans are up to, so we can not speak to these plot points.
My (probably incorrect) theory is that this has to do with preventing Spock’s Unification movement from succeeding on Romulus in the 24th Century, so the Romulans want to stop it at it’s source: Spock.
It could also be that they might want to get Kirk as well, and to do that, they would need to go back to Starfleet Academy, or the original USS Enterprise, since that would place them both at a known location together, and the capabilities of the Enterprise would theoretically be insufficient to stop them.
Also, Kirk and Spock have thrwarted Romulan plans in the Original Series timeframe, so this would prevent the Cloaking Device from being stolen, as well as Kirk’s intercept of the Romulans in Balance of Terror.
I also agree with you on the quality of the film making having nothing to do with the film’s length.
The length of the movie should be what is necessary to tell the story, and no movie should overstay it’s welcome, or rush through to a short length to the detriment of the story.
I happened to enjoy Cloverfield, BTW, and the creature was actually quite unsettling in the last scenes.
174 - Lost. M:I:III. Fringe.
148.
As #111 mentioned, and I agree, this film will be an all out assault against all TOS characters to stop the historic 5 mission, so yes, it will include assassination attempts on young Kirk, Spock and other TOS crew members, and any important individuals involved.
Ultimately, I think this film is a combination of 3 TREK TV episodes, one TREK movie, and one TREK TV series pilot.
They are:
YESTERDAYs ENTERPRISE–changed, altered history
ALL GOOD THINGS–multiple timeframes
BALANCE OF TERROR–strategic, thoughtful space battles
THE WRATH OF KHAN–revenge
ENTERPRISE pilot–prequel; time travel; maiden ship’s voyage with a NASA sensibility.
I do remember someone from the production team mentioning we would see the beginnings of the TOS characters and I took that to mean, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty as well; possibly, Sulu and Chekov. It seems to me the best way to keep the suspense flowing in their stories is to have them targets in Nero’s assassination attempts as well.
Plus, and I’m trying my best not to be insulting here, but looking at the work of those involved, I find they seem to enjoy, how shall we say, paying homage?
Regarding Timeship and Veridian III.
Kirk died. For better or worse, that is the timeline. By travelling to the past, Spock is protecting the timeline from being destroyed by Nero and his cohorts. Travelling to Veridian III would simply be an emotional and illogically selfish act on Spock’s part to save a friend he had believed died 78 years earlier.
As for Giacchino, he mentioned that he was listening to a lot of Trek music and might incorporate TOS cues into his theme. That would be cool, but whether he incorporates those actual themes or not (I would be very willing to bet that Spock’s theme may be included since this movie will recreate Spock’s being bullied as a child), I hope his music has the power and feel of the music of the original series.
179:
Unification politics would be quite a boring reason for Nero to go back in time to get Kirk.
Spock did not create the movement. He was lured in by Pardek to lead what was an already burgeoning grass-roots movement.
I think the reasons will be quite personal. It seems Nero wants to get Kirk so that Spock will evolve without his influence, and that the legendary Enterprise crew will never gel together.
Of course, “Of Gods and Men” already covered the “Kill Kirk in the Past for revenge” angle. Hopefully, JJ and Co. can make a more compelling story.
#181, et al:
If knowledge of previous Trek shows and films is necessary to understand what is going on in the new film, then most of the audience will sit there going “Huh?”
The threat posed by Nero and any other bad guy in this film will be explained and contained within this film. Viewers will not need to have seen any Trek show or film to understand the plot or the context.
If not, it will fail.
if the scene was good it would not come off as contrived. if it wasn’t working how can it be good???
I never understood why everyone assumed Romulans were going back in time to kill ANYONE, specifically. No one has ever said it that is involved with the movie, and none of the leaks have mentioned it. It seems to be something a lot of fanboys have written as fact without any verification.
The only thing we know for sure is Romulans are going back in time to do something awful. That’s it. And that Spock will go back in an attempt to stop them. The fact that he knows what they’re up to tells me he personally knows the Romulans involved or he’s near them when they leave or something similar, because otherwise he’d be altered along with everything/everyone else when the changes are made in the past. But honestly, that’s about all we know.
We also know we’ll be seeing some of the crew in various stages of their lives (like little Jimmy Kirk), but nothing says those events are seen by the eyes of a time travelling Romulan. Part of the basic purpose of this movie is to reintroduce the TOS characters to a general audience, and give long time Trek fans a chance to see the events which led to all these heroes coming together. How do we know that the image of a young James Kirk driving a corvette isn’t simply TOS-era Kirk remembering a life-altering event that somehow relates to the person he is at that time? Eric Bana said his role amounted to ‘a cameo’, so there’s no reason to think the Romulan characters will be present in all the timeframes mentioned. I’d be more inclined to think they’re back in time making precision strikes, like the rumored ‘blow up Vulcan’ plot we heard a while back. That makes more sense, to me. And fits with what we know.
186. You’re right about one thing. We don’t know anything at this point. Everything is conjecture.
175
It does not preclude Abrams doing some kind of extended DVD. But the notion of a ‘directors cut’ implies that this is the directors ‘real’ vision. So people think of the Donner cut of Superman II or the Robert Wise Directors cut of STTMP or the Ridley Scott directors cut of Blade Runner. In each of those cases the director had an issue with the theatrical version and issued their own version. Shatner would also like a crack at STV and ‘fix’ that film as well. In the case of ST09, Abrams has more control over the theatrical version. Of course he may ‘pull a Lucas’ and want to make changes later.
174. Scott - October 15, 2008
No one lied. Get over it.
#168—lol.
Got you covered in #96.
#183—”Unification politics would be quite a boring reason for Nero to go back in time to get Kirk. ”
I think that depends upon how it is presented. The notion that a group of military officers and/or intelligence operatives would react poorly to a movement toward peace and harmony with a former enemy, and take matters (rather drastically) into their own hands in an effort to further their agenda might be one that audiences can identify with.
I think that the TOS-era is a very good place for their interference to take place, given that it is the period in which Romulans make contact with their Federation counterparts for the first time since their initial conflict 100 years before.
#186—” never understood why everyone assumed Romulans were going back in time to kill ANYONE, specifically. No one has ever said it that is involved with the movie, and none of the leaks have mentioned it. It seems to be something a lot of fanboys have written as fact without any verification.”
That’s a perfect example of a situation where “rumor” and speculation leads to many people making assumptions they cannot support with fact. It’s fun to speculate, but sometimes people run with that speculation and assume it is fact.
“The only thing we know for sure is Romulans are going back in time to do something awful. That’s it. ”
That’s about right.
“The fact that he knows what they’re up to tells me he personally knows the Romulans involved or he’s near them when they leave or something similar, because otherwise he’d be altered along with everything/everyone else when the changes are made in the past. But honestly, that’s about all we know.”
I think that is where his presence on Romulus can come into play. It would be very easy to believe that, through some of his contacts and allies within the Romulan dissident movement, he learns of whatever plot is hatched by Nero. This would allow him to react pre-emptively or at the least–simultaneously. That can explain why he is not altered by the potential changes to the timeline.
The ultimate plot would, to me, be some “personal “connection between Nero and Spock (son/father). However, that would obviously require knowledge of “The Enterprise Incident” to work for general audiences.
144. TrekMadeMeWonder - October 14, 2008
Like a Ferengi.
Xai would make a good Ferengi name.
What does Xai mean, Xai?
It means “I own your Phaser this May” in the original Klingonese.
190 Closettrekker: All good analysis. Killing, destroying, blowing up are all unnecessary
There’s also no reason to believe that Spock’s Timeship moves in linear space, like a starship doing the boomerang, when it travels in time. We’re supposed to see Spock’s youth [though it may be by mindmeld], so it may also move in linear space, but the Time Core could just as easily engage like HG Wells Time Machine.
But there was mention of a battle-dressed Enterprise or interiors somewhere on this site. And what fun is being a time terrorist if you don’t successfully change the timeline?
And though I think a personal connection is a bit fromageois for my taste, knowledge of “The Enterprise Incident” is no different from knowledge of “The Space Seed.”
#192—”knowledge of “The Enterprise Incident” is no different from knowledge of (“Space Seed”).”
Perhaps, but I think a backstory involving knowledge of Kirk/Spock’s mission to steal the new and improved cloaking device, Spock’s seduction and betrayal of the Romulan commander, and an estranged bastard son seeking revenge would be a bit more complicated than one line like, “He blames you for the death of his wife”. But that’s just my opinion.
I don’t think that is a likely storyline, and probably is a bit fanboyish for general audiences.
Closettrekker/193:
But, oh what a story it is!
Don’t forget, the film assumes no-one knows who Roms and Vulcans are, and why Spock would be on Romulus, etc.
Perhaps JJ will have a Star Wars-style crawl at the start which will explain everything (hopefully, in readable English as a point of difference).
Guess this is his way of saying SORRY, I TOLD A LITTLE WHITE LIE.
I may have missed this tidbit if it was posted earlier - rumour that film writers will pen a “Countdown” IDW comic that would provide the backstory for Nero.
With all the secrecy in place now, wouldn’t that be a major plot device to reveal prior to movie premier?
A movie only seems long if its a bad movie. 1.5 hours can be to long if the movie stinks.
Maybe we will see Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru test.
I like how they say it would be contrieved for Kirk to be there. This is Star Trek no one ever remains dead. Lets not forget Spock died in one and was a new man in the next one.
#195—Nope… If you think he ever suggested that a role had been offered, then you either need to polish up on your reading comprehension skills, or you never read the article in question in the first place. He never said, suggested, or implied that at any point.
Go back and read it again, and then maybe you should withdraw your accusation in the same fervor with which you made it.
Let’s see if you have that kind of integrity.
“Shatner would also like a crack at STV and ‘fix’ that film as well…”
Well, in lieu of appearing in the new Trek film, wouldn’t it be nice (if not miraculous) if Paramount finally gave Mr. Shatner the opportunity to fix that film? I realize this will probably never happen, but it’s alright to dream, eh? Why they wouldn’t let him do this (even when he offered to put up some of his own $$), apparently has more to do with insider politics than giving the public a better product…
Your parsing words INTHECLOSETTREKKER.
JJ just got caught up in his own Flip-Flop.
Dunno… I’m liking this more and more.
I used to love the longer than 2 hours films, but when you look at TMP for instance, the better cut is the shorter cut. Too much “padding” - too many extra scenes that at best seem to pander to those in the audience that the studio think need a whole scene of explanation of the first two acts before heading into the final act that the studio or the writer or the director think the audience “won’t get” without that whole ramming it down your throat act 2.5.
I can cite Casino Royal (since we’re in a Bond group hug mood), Dark Knight, and crap, everything I’ve seen this year as films that just chucked in the extra half hour of unneccessary exposition just before they all blow the crap out each other.
I’d say that surely audiences are more intelligent? But I’d also have to concede that for studios, focus groups don’t lie.
Let’s hope the 2009 Summer Tentpole can redefine the Summer Blockbuster too….
@199
He wanted to add better rock monsters though. While a big old CGI-fest would fix the SFX, it wouldn’t change the fart gags or the contrivance of the “green in the face” groanfests. How would better SFX fix the “I know this ship like the back of my hand - CLONG!!!” gag?
I do like the film, but frankly, it is what it is, better SFX would be like, emmm, polishing a highly prized, emmm…. look - I don’t like where this analogy is going but you know what I mean.
Better SFX won’t change it. It’s like a bad puppy that you still wanna hug. Or something.
C’mon people! I mean we survived the Eugenics Wars, for crying out loud!!! We can certainly wait for May to roll around!! I’m surprised we even have a movie industry at all! And its a good thing that we moved the industry to Vancouver, after LA was destroyed!! And some of you hate the fact that the movie was pushed to May 8th. But I think it was a good move because its only 2 days after the 10th anniversary. If Khan won, we’d all be slaves!!! Thank god we’ll never see him again!!! 35 million people died for your freedoms! Remember that!
199/203:
Paramount wouldn’t finance an upgraded Trek V, because it simply sucks wind. There is no place to even begin improving the film.
#200/201—”Your parsing words…”
Oh really?
“We actually had written a scene with hi