Exclusive: Fanboys Director Kyle Newman Explains Why Trekkies Should See Fanboys February 5, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Fandom, Sci-Fi, Shatner , trackback
On Friday, after a long wait, the geeky comedy Fanboys finally hits theaters. The road trip film about Star Wars fans traveling across country to Skywalker Ranch also has some Star Trek elements, not the least of which is a cameo from William Shatner. So TrekMovie decided to check in with director Kyle Newman to find out why Trekkies should see Fanboys. We also have an exclusive image of the Trekkies in Fanboys.
Set in 1998, Fanboys tells the story of a group of Star Wars fans who travel across the country to break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace before its release. They are doing this to be the first ‘fanboys’ to see the film and because one of the friends is dying of cancer and wants to see it before he dies. During the road trip the gang have a number of encounters, including a couple of run-ins with Trekkies (featuring a fight scene complete with lirpas). The friends also eventually get some help from William Shatner, playing (of course) William Shatner.
William Shatner in clip from ‘Fanboys’
The film’s cast is mostly unknowns, but one of the core friends is played by Kristen Bell (aka Veronica Mars). There are also a number of big genre cameos including Bill Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Kevin Smith and the aforementioned William Shatner. Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Superbad) plays the leader of the Trekkies ‘Admiral Seasholtz’ who the Star Wars fanboys have to face down on their travels.
Exclusive Image: Seth Rogen leads a band of Trekkies in ‘Fanboys’
(Weinstein – John Estes)
Fanboys Director talks Trek
Fanboys was directed by indie film maker Kyle Newman, who is clearly Star Wars fan. The film pokes some good matured fun as it shows the ongoing ‘battle’ of Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans, but according to the director, it is all from love. TrekMovie spoke briefly with Newman about the Star Trek that is inside Fanboys.
TrekMovie: Obviously you are a Star Wars fanboy, but are you also a Trekkie?
Kyle Newman: I am a Trekkie, or Trekkier. I’ve seen all of the films and am a huge fan of the Original and Next Generation series. I was even a member of Starfleet growing up and loved watching the Star Trek marathons on TV. I collect the old Gold Key comics too. And I am immensely excited for JJ Abrams’ new Trek. The cast that he’s assembled is incredible! Zachary Quinto is a friend and I am so excited that he is playing Spock!
TrekMovie: So why should Trekkies see Fanboys?
Kyle Newman: Trekkies should see Fanboys because there is more William Shatner in our film than the new Star Trek movie! The man’s a legend and it was honor for him to grace our set. And Seth Rogen plays the world’s biggest Trekker. You can’t go wrong there. He’s also a fellow Trekker in real life along with cast-mate Jay Baruchel. It’s good clean sci-fi franchise banter!
Theatrical Trailer for ‘Fanboys’
Teaser Trailer (includes clip of confrontation with Trekkies)
In select theaters Friday
Fanboys opens on Friday February 6th at select theaters in the US. More info at the official site, and see the widget below for a list of cities and theaters.
UPDATE: Premiere photos
The official Star Wars Blog and Just Jared have photos from Beverly Hills and San Francisco premieres of Fanboys.
Kristen Bell is surrounded by Stormtroopers
Loading ...
Comments»
Oh what! My comment got removed…oh I see u fixed it thats why! Can I still be first though? Plllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!
Can’t wait till it comes out. Seth Rogen’s goin’ to be great!
That trailer actually looked pretty funny!
does the Jedi mind trick really work on chicks??
Village Voice has a review of it (Google it). It wasn’t enthusiastic about the movie, but perhaps other critical notices will be kinder.
Looks like fun! I’d really like to see one where some Trekkers go up against a convention of Galaxy Quest fans, and show how pathetic those Questarians really are.
Kyle, you;re desperate for attention. This movie’s gonna bomb.
Nice – this will help pass the time until May 9….
Best line:
“Dude, get out of here. It’s not a good time. The force is strong with me here.”
xD
Actually looks like a pretty fun movie. “Are you kidding? I’m William Shatner. I can score anything.” – Ain’t that the truth :P
I`m going to watch this. LoL
It will be a good diversion, but May can’t get here soon enough ;)
Warmed over Kevin Smith.
This kind of reminds me of those videos on YouTube with Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly etc. explaining why men should see “He’s Just Not That Into You.”
Looks better then the new Star Trek movie.
Very much looking forward to this movie. Kristen Bell? Steel Bikini? I’m sold.
@ Darkthunder
Thanks for the transcript, I always understood:
“Are you kidding? I’m William Shatner. I can SCREW anything.”
Made sense to me…
lol @ ” there is more William Shatner in our film than the new Star Trek movie”
trekkier omg Kaaaaaahnnnnnn
Poor Kyle. This thing was made like 3 years ago.
I just…blah. I’m a big fan of Wars and Trek, but this just looks embarrassing.
…again and again…
I…almost….half-smiled.
Would have been funny 10 years ago when SW was cool.
This looks kind of dumb. Plus, it’s not a great show of faith on the part of the studio if the movie takes this long to be released. I mean, I first heard about Fanboys coming out about two years ago, at least. Fanboys comes out this Friday, and I haven’t seen a single ad for it. I predict a short run in theaters and another checkmark on Kristen Bell’s ever-growing list of bad movies she’s starred in. Great actress, seems like a very nice, approachable person, but can’t pick a good movie to save her life.
haha this movie looks hilarious. I might have to check it out!
Yeah, that Bell can’t catch a break. She needs to call Whedon.
Enterprise:
If you have a problem with the film’s director, it’s irritating to have it taken out on this site, especially given that Anthony interviewed him for this thread.
It’s like being invited to a party where one guy keeps slapping you. Mr, Newman has not posted here, but I’m sure he’s reading. If you know him personally, take the fight outside of the public interwebs so we can all have access. I think the trailers are hilarious.
looks very very funny for people who don’t take themselves too seriously. Wish it were playing here.
Are you kidding me? Wikipedia tells me the closest place I can see this movie is New York! If it ever comes to Ottawa, I will check it out. Fingers crossed.
So, I can’t hate the movie? Jeez, new to the site, eh?
PS I am not Kyle Newman
Definitely something I’ll watch when it hits cable.
I think the “We never met” may be a cute in-joke on the director’s part – at least, the set-up of this scene suggests that Shatner’s scenes were not necessarily shot at the same time as the two fans, and therefore they *literally* never met in that arcade. LOL
I will see this.
Oh, and #7 – whether Kyle is “desperate for attention” or not, he’s clearly done a great deal more to earn it than posting anonymously on the Internet. ;)
Eh, I’ll be laughing on Monday.
#4 Robert Tiberius M, “does the Jedi mind trick really work on chicks??”
Just tried it on my wife. Nope.
Enterprise that is enough warning for spamming & trolling. 7 out 35 posts being your unpleasantness and attacks on someone who was nice enough to give us a brief interview is totally unnecessary…and in general your constant snarks are not appreciated
Okay, who squeeled?
I’m looking forward to it. It can’t be worse than the actual “Phantom Menace”
Enterprise/30:
I’ve been here for two years, and I do my best to be opinionated and not insult celebrity guests who may actually come on the site to get fan feedback on projects they have worked on.
The “Phase II” guys are all over this site, and we have Mr.Orci and others who come on to chat with us and take part in active fandom.
I just think courtesy is a good rule to live by. Kyle Newman would be a great guy to have popping up here.
YEAH !! GO FANBOYS and FANGIRLS !!!!
Did I really insult anyone? I was just giving an opinion. This place is too heated up anyway.
I would love to see this movie but I live in this little town called Las Vegas. We didnt get Outlander last week which by the way is a pretty descent movie check it out. Well hopefully Fanboys will get a wider release soon.
Looks interesting. Might watch it if people tell me its good :)
Go Fanboys! Remember, fandom is stronger when we work (and have fun) together. I hope it plays somewhere near me.
On that last photo Kristen Bell must be asking: Aren’t you short for a Stormtrooper?
Looks fun to me. Shatner is everywhere!
I was trying to place where I’ve seen the skinny kid who seems to be in the lead role. Was he the kid who made sculptures from trashed items in “Joan of Arcadia”?
35 – Very funny comment! You gave me a good laugh just before bedtime! Thanks!
Err… I’m hoping you didn’t do the same for her…? ;-D
I am a huge fan of “Free Enterprise:”
May this film rock as hard!
23 – Enterprise, you don’t get out of your mom’s house that often do you. 10 years since Star Wars was cool! Come on. When was the last time you saw children excited to watch a weekly dose of Star Trek or see all the Star Trek toys sold out at a toy’s r us? Because you haven’t. It’s all STAR WARS that is catching the interest of the next generation (no pun intended) of fandom. If JJ’s film reinvents and revitalizes trek, then great. If not you can cry yourself to sleep wearing your starfleet pajamas and hugging your 12 inch Spock doll. You are the reason that mainstream society looks upon fan boys (trek, wars or whatever your passion is) as people to be ridiculed.
Wow dude, did you get that humanitarian awayd yet?
Star Wars is still very relevant and “cool” with todays kids due to the Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon that is on now every week.
The kid in me secretly likes it, too!
i grew up a star wars fan.
and i’m not interested.
This looks like it could be moderately amusing, and I could very well see it on DVD for kicks. It’s a matter of the style of humor — I prefer the more deadpan & sardonic approach of the Coen brothers in “Burn After Reading” to this more splashy lampoon style. But, to each his own….
Two words – Kristen Bell.
#4–of course the jedi mind-trick works on girls–how else do ya think shatners version of kirk got all the chicks? with his amazing growing potbelly? or his even-in-the-60s-receding hairline? LMAO!
p.s.–in real life the jedi mind trick is called hypnosis…look it up LOL
man i love kristen bell
Jedi Mind Tricks work, I use them at work all the time…
but I had no Idea that Ms. Bell is in Fanboys… Good Job, Kyle,
I’ll watch it.
I thought William shatner didn’t do cameos? :-)
32nd?
I don’t believe it…
No posts visible when I make mine and I come in at 58? Wow!
Yeah, It’s too bad Shatner doesn’t do cameos, otherwise he might have scene in…
Where did all the posts go?
There is more Shatner in this film than in the new Star Trek movie. That’s pretty funny.
…after all this trouble of the getting the mainstream to accept Trek as something besides some crazy cult, movies like this don’t really help. But, dang Rogen is funny as hell in that role. I’ll be checking it out for sure, looks fun.
And Shatner, being, well, the coolness that IS William Shatner, demands that I see it. And I’m still not writing Shat out of JJ’s Trek. We won’t know until May for sure…but I just have this feeling….
Produced by Kevin Spacey?
Actually the “skinny guy” has been in Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder, and Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist since then.
Barf. Another “road movie.”
“Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” anyone?
58 & 60 – Perhaps it’s case that Mr. Shatner didn’t want to do merely a cameo in a STAR TREK movie, and why should he? He had an enormous part in making Trek the franchise and legacy that it is.
62 – To a lot of fans, it’s not.
Wow, I’m glad to hear this movie is finally coming out! I remember seeing the trailer for the first time when I went to see Clerks 2 in the theater! This movie looks hilarious and I will definitely be checking it out.
I can’t wait for this to come out! I’ve been waiting on it for bloody ages! It’s about time it’s released!
Wait – Admiral Seasholtz said Picard was English?
He’s French!!
This is going to be a disaster!!!
JK
;p
Looks like a copy of “Free Enterprise”, only a little bit funnier. I didn´t want to laugh, but i did….hehehe
Yeah, it does look like a funnier version of Free Enterprise, which isn’t a bad thing. I liked Free Enterprise. Yeah it looks like a “road”picture as well, but if the formula works, I say go with it. Hope this gets a wider release.
Everyone’s missing the coolest thing about that trailer – the credits where we see that Mark frikin’ Mothersbaugh is doing the soundtrack!
The Shat is there…so have to see it. Seems like fun :-)
Not a theater trip for me, but I’m sure I’ll eventually watch it.
It’s probably funny.
Well, it certainly is refreshing to hear a director say something about Trek fans that doesn’t involve a variation on, “They hate everything!”
Cool, I can’t wait for the DVD… Are people really going to get all mad and complaining? Naw, no way. The thought of men, women and kids ‘warring’ over Trek or Wars, Kirk or Picard or whatever is just so nuts. *BAH* I say!! *BAH*
#63—-”…after all this trouble of the getting the mainstream to accept Trek as something besides some crazy cult, movies like this don’t really help. ”
That’s probably true to some extent. However, this movie actually seems to be about Star Wars fans, and the general public’s view of extremist SW fans hasn’t prevented them from accepting those movies as more “mainstream”.
And I’m not so sure that mainstream America has always viewed Trek that way. There have always been people like Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, etc. who are publicly-professed Star Trek fans. Not all of us go to conventions or dress up in costume (not that there is anything wrong with that). Some of us just really (really) like Star Trek!
I think that—for the most part—people know that. But “stereotypes” are often based upon the most extreme cases and examples.
But you’re right that movies like this probably won’t do much to curb those stereotypes for Star Trek fans.
#76—”Well, it certainly is refreshing to hear a director say something about Trek fans that doesn’t involve a variation on, ‘They hate everything!’ ”
What director said that?
If that’s a shot at Abrams, I believe what he said was basically that no matter what direction they go in, some portion of fans is not going to like it, and that’s hardly saying, “they hate everything”.
That’s not exactly a revelation. I’ve often said that the only thing Star Trek fans are in universal agreement upon is the fact that they all like Star Trek in some form or another.
I’m surprised not one comment has been levied at the incorrect Trek costumes…
I’m not that interested in the movie, but we’ll see.
It was alright. Had some laughs some parts were brought down by crummy acting that could have been brilliant.
I loved Jay Baruchel in it but if you are a trekky this movie wasn’t very kind. They portrayed almost every trekky as a nerdy basement dweller but everyone that likes starwars is somehow better than them (looks, social standing etc)
I recommend downloading it. b-torrent ftw.