ST09 Tidbits: Grunberg Hints – Collins Backpedals – Jackson Pines + more polls

We are now officially in the final three months, awaiting the release of the new Star Trek movie. Today TrekMovie catches up on a few new tidbits coming from the Internets on Trek’s next feature, including Greg Grunberg talking about if he is in or out, Clifton Collins dialing back spoilers, Joshua Jackson revealing what role he didn’t get, and yet even more online polls.

 

Grunberg IS in
Like some kind of lucky charm, Greg Grunberg (aka Matt Parkman on Heroes) has worked his way into almost every one of his best friend JJ Abrams productions. However, due to scheduling conflicts he was not able to work on Star Trek, or at least not while principal photography was being completed in late 2007 and early 2008. But today while Abrams and Grungerg were shooting a PSA for the epilepsy foundation, TalkAboutIt.org, Greg tells E! that he has "something" in the new Star Trek movie, but that it is something "you’re going to have to find." Since this is something that appears to have been put in during post-production, we are going to bet it some kind of voice work for Greg…glad he worked his way in.


Listen closely for Greg

Collins: busted
Remember those Paramount guys that Simon Pegg joked followed him around to make sure he didn’t blab, well apparently the got to Clifton Collins. Back in the Summer of 2008, and before Paramount was opening the books in the new Star Trek movie, Clifton Collins (General Ayel, henchman to Eric Bana’s Nero), inadvertently became the first person officially associated with the film to confirm that Romulans were the bad guys in Star Trek…oops. Collins tells StarPulse that he got into some hot water, saying "I got into a lot of trouble last time talking." Even though the whole Romulan cat is out of the bag, Collins is now gun shy, only admitting he plays "somebody in outer space."


Collins seen exiting Paramount prison 

Joshua Jackson: Loses Kirk – GF not happy
Before he was cast as the lead in JJ Abrams new TV show Fringe, Joshua Jackson had his eye on another Abrams role, Captain James T. Kirk. In a new interview with MTV the actor reveals he unsuccessfully auditioned for two Trek roles, including Kirk. Jackson doesn’t think he was that close to landing the big chair, but apparently the the loss caused some issues on the home front, admitting "the only audition my darling girlfriend has ever been upset with me for not getting the role is Captain Kirk.”


Jackson eying the Captain’s chair longingly

More Trek at the polls: #1 in USA, #4 in UK + ST09 Stock rallies
Reporting on Star Trek these days is starting to feel like election season. Last week we reported that the new commercial came in 2nd in three post-Super Bowl polls. This week the film is coming out on top in a ‘most anticipated movie poll’ at MSNBC, with a whopping 29%. The accompanying article on 2009 had an interesting synopsis of Trek which gives an insight in to how this film is being viewed in the mainstream (and how Trek fan opinion factors in):

…J.J. Abrams version of “Star Trek,” which promises to boldly go where several installments of the franchise have gone before. OK, this take on “Trek” does veer away from the others in that it shows Trekkies (or Trekkers, let’s not quibble) a glimpse of the younger, hotter days of the original cast of characters. But there’s bound to be a been-there-done-that feel, albeit minus the veteran stars everyone already knows and loves. Whether it succeeds comes down to the new actors ability to make the old characters their own, as well the filmmakers ability to stay true to a story some consider sacred. There’s already debate on the latter point, as would-be watchers busy themselves dissecting the trailer (“Did that kid just say his name is ‘James Siberius Kirk!? It’s Tiberius!”).

And there is yet another poll of 2009 movies at the UK & Ireland Yahoo Movies page, where Star Trek is coming in fourth behind Harry Potter, Wolverine, and Terminator. Although a good showing, there may be some selling to do across the pond.

Lastly, the Wall Street Journal has a report on a whole different kind of poll, how the various movie ‘stocks’ are doing at the Hollywood Stock Exchange. The HSX is an online game where shares of movies are traded with virtual currency and apparently Star Trek is the big winner after the Super Bowl…from the WSJ report:

‘Star Trek’ |  Symbol: (TRK11)   |  Share price: H$162.51   |   Gain: Up H$7

Anticipation for the coming reboot of the sci-fi franchise was already running high before new glimpses were revealed last Sunday. Traders liked what they saw, including a young Captain Kirk in a bar brawl, and gave "Star Trek" the biggest rally in share price of any Bowl-advertised film.



ST09 gets the SB bump

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Good stuff….

Less than three months to go! WOO HOO!!!

Voice over? It’s possible…

I wouldn’t count my chickens before they are hatched though.

Hollywood Stock Ex……???

Are they asking for a bail out too?

I wouldn’t rule out 2nd unit, necessarily, although VO is much more likely.

i recall Josh Jackson also auditioned for Anakin Skywalker (young darth vader) in the star wars prequels.

I participate in the HSX!

Greg Grungerg??? Typo or inside joke?

trek really needs to get its act together over the pond in blighty.

I like this feature A.P.

Good Stuff. A nice look into how Trek is playing in the markets.

Anthony, can we particpate in the WSJ exchange (without subscribing?)

Siberius!

This is a cool article. Thanks, Anthony. I like the WSJ story on the HSX index.

As for the lukewarm MSNBC article, I actually take it as a good sign. From the snarky hipster tone (and the erroneous insinuation that there is some debate over Kirk’s middle name), this seems to have been written by someone who would not ordinarily be covering Trek. Which is great!

#6 – Joshua Jackson would have better than what we ended up with!

#15 – With all due respect, I find it highly unlikely that you have the slightest clue what you’re talking about. See the movie first, please.

#15 – Oh you’re talking about Star Wars. Ok, I’m an ass. You did see it. And it sucked, and I totally agree with you.

>;>}

Greg certainly did a good job at piloting 815…

Not that I’m overly anal…but you might want to qualify the MSNBC list as SCI-FI movies. I wonder how Star Trek would rank if it included Angels & Demons, Harry Potter, etc.

Its true, in Europe we don’t hear a lot about the new Star Trek movie!

Time to start the marketing!

14. aries127 – “This is a cool article. … From the snarky hipster tone (and the erroneous insinuation that there is some debate over Kirk’s middle name)…”

I have to stand up for the MSNBC writer and point out that his “erroneous insinuation” was, in fact, not erroneous. After the car-chase trailer first aired, there were debates here and on other sites over whether young Jim says, “Siberius” instead of Tiberius. Lots of fans swore they heard “Siberius;” thus, the debate the writer mentioned.

I am impressed that an MSNBC writer followed the online Trek talk enough to make mention of the Siberius/Tiberius argument–and without any stupid “beaming” puns in the story!

There is virtually NOTHING happening about Star Trek in the UK. It’s not in the mainstream media, I’ve seen the trailer at the cinema a couple of times, I’ve not seen ANY TV spots, and there are no billboard posters up anywhere.

It’s had brief flashes (like the Empire cover a few months ago, and 1 article on BBC), but not much is happening. Are they planning to take us by surprise?

@23…

James, there are another 85 days till the movie opens with a big party on Leicester Square… in the final days before the opening there will be more Quinto on TV than Gordon!

Has anyone been listed as the voice of that cg bridgecrew alien on pikes ship yet, could be grunberg.

@25…

Greg is not openly credited yet, but I found George Samuel Kirk Junior played by 16 year old Spencer Daniels…
So Kirks brother will be in the movie, in the Iowa era…

And then there is Taylor McCluskey as Kelvin Alien #9…
So there is more than one alien on the Kelvin…

Tony Guma, who was in Abrams Alias and MI3 plays himself as Tony, the Bartender. In that bar in Iowa, you know, where Pike hires Kirk for that Peacekeeping Force called Starfleet…

” 25. Gen – February 10, 2009

Has anyone been listed as the voice of that cg bridgecrew alien on pikes ship yet, could be grunberg.’

Gen,

Thats a really good guess! Im guessing that might be the case, its not horribly complicated to do, although im guessing there will be some modulation so it may not sound like him.

Grunberg is a hoot. I’m not sure if he’s the best loved guy in Hollywood or the biggest pain in the ass but he’s everywhere.

Heroes is making him a tough guy again, which is great. No more wimping out in the desert . Can’t wait to see him and Sylar together again. Would they try to kill each other or work together?

The young Kirk doesn’t say Siberius. He just drags the S from James saying what almost sounds like, “Jame Stiberius Kirk.” I have to laugh at those who took this so seriously.

Jackson kinda reminds me of Ewan MeGregeor as Obi Wan. Jackson’s voice is similars to McGregeors’s IMO.

I’ve got no problem with Pine, but I think Joshua Jackson would have been awesome as Kirk. I love his character on “Fringe”.

And to think….30 years ago, when ST:TMP came out, the only thing we had to predict that there were problems with the movie was when rumors came out that “wet prints” without a final edit were being rushed to the theaters to prevent lawsuits on the “blind bidding” distributors were forced to make on the movie….

Now we’ve got it dissected to polls, computers, and SuperBowl ads…

I think I’m just ready for the movie now.

Well, if this is the story of how James SIBERIUS Kirk achieves command of the UNTERPRISE, I guess I don’t have to get upset about how the backstory is being screwed with…
;-)

Hmm Grunberg as ROMULAN computer voice ?

Greg Grunberg is in, but Shatner isn’t?

I think Joshua Jackson is a better visual fit for Kirk, but we’ll have to see how Pine does to know who would have been the better fit overall.

I’ve been looking over ST page at imdb — and what I wanna know is, what the heck is “Vulcan Bully #3”?

Dang. Three of ’em? I didn’t know Vulcans were even *capable* of bullying. Can’t wait to see that. . .

Joshua Jackson is the anti-Kirk. I’m glad Chris Pine got the role. If fact, I’m happy with the entire cast.

People love to laugh and make fun of Trekkers and their supposed obsession with details. With this movie it’s not the details people are complaining about, it’s the big ones, like the totally re-designed Enterprise interiors AND re-writing the entire backstory of one of the franchise’s biggest characters. I wouldn’t call that petty details.

@39…

of course you have three bullies…
why should Spock suffer a better fate on the schoolyard than Bart Simpson?

39… “I’ve been looking over ST page at imdb — and what I wanna know is, what the heck is “Vulcan Bully #3″?”

Canon. As described by Amanda in “Journey to Babel”.

Good on ya Grunny! We’ll keep our eyes and/or ears peeled for you!

Trek Nerd Central – “I’ve been looking over ST page at imdb — and what I wanna know is, what the heck is “Vulcan Bully #3″?”

I’m guessing that the pudgy Vulcan kid in the Barbarella outfit from the TAS episode where Spock goes back in time to meet himself will finally be immortalized in Live-Action glory….

heh. I just got to say “pudgy Vulcan kid in the Barbarella outfit”…

43. Whoa, Thorny, you have some awesome powers of recall. I forgot all about that.

Does this mean we’ll see a sehlat, too? That’d be pretty nifty.

Meanwhile, I would like to report that I need a life.

I KNEW that my marketing advice to Paramount would pay off! : )

#41—“… re-writing the entire backstory of one of the franchise’s biggest characters. I wouldn’t call that petty details.”

The backstory which you claim is “rewritten” is still very much a part of the timeline that produces two of the major characters in this story. In order for the story to progress to this point, James Kirk must still:

–experience the events on Taursus involving Kodos The Executioner (“The Conscience Of The King”)

–be harassed by an upperclassman cadet at SFA by the name of Finnegan (“Shore Leave”)

–cheat on a command test and father a child with Carol Marcus (TWOK)

–serve as a young officer aboard the USS Republic with his friend Ben Finney (“Court-Martial”)

— serve as an instructor at SFA where he meets a cadet named Gary Mitchell (“WNMHGB”)

–serve under Captain Garrovick aboard the USS Farragut (“Obsession”)

–command his first planetary mission on Neural where he meets and befriends a hunter named Tyree (“A Private Little War”)

All of this takes place within the timeline in which the story begins. It is therefore not “rewritten”, but in fact an integral part of what forms that timeline. It does, however, appear to be supplemented by an alternate timeline in which some of those events may unfold differently (although much of it may not be precluded by what is depicted in STXI, and therefore be common to both timelines).

Regardless of the status of the timeline (or timelines) at the story’s end, the character’s backstory—as suggested by tidbits of information and dialogue in TOS–is still very much a part of the broader Star Trek mythology.

Nothing changes that, and Nero’s interference will not cause your dvd’s to suddenly stop working either.

So the anticipation in UK and Ireland isn’t great for the TREK film. What else is new? TREK has mostly been an American phenomenon and this is not good news for the film in the international market. Still would have liked to have seen a low, manageably budgeted DS9 film.

we’re due for a few more promotional pics, clips and trailers….