Wondercon 09: Star Trek Panel Detailed Report & Pictures

After they showed the Star Trek trailer, the full Wondercon Star Trek panel comprised of JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk, Roberto Orci, Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, and Zoe Saldana held a Q&A session. See below for a detailed breakdown with partial transcript and images of all the ‘surprise guests.’

 

Trek panel addresses the fans and their issues
After showing off the new the trailer (see previous TrekMovie article), Abrams then introduced his panel, comprised of executive producer Bryan Burk, co-writer Roberto Orci and actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Zoe Saldana (Uhura). All got big rounds of applause, with the biggest probably going to Zachary Quinto, introduced as "one of our Heroes" followed closely by Chris Pine who was introduced as "one of our heart throbs of the future." They then went immediately to Q&A.

Below is a partial transcript, focusing on a couple of the more interesting exchanges, followed by a summary of more from the panel. Also note all images can be clicked on for larger versions

Question: I heard it said that a big part of this Star Trek was to open it up to a wider audience, how difficult was it to strike the balance between that and making it something that long-time fans can approach. How much are you staying with continuity of everything that has come before?

Abrams: It is a great question, and you are a fan of Star Trek? Huge Fan? [questioner replies ‘yes’] Then obviously, you are savvy enough to know that if we were just to make the movie for fans of Star Trek we would be limiting the audience enormously. And the truth is, because we love this, because we are beholden to you, because the fans of Star Trek are what allow us to make a version of Star Trek at all, I can assure you that we making this movie for you. It goes without saying, although it is important that we say it. I have taken some flack for saying in the press "we are making this for future fans of Star Trek" as if we don’t care about the existing fans. That could not be farther from the truth. We love and are beholden to the existing fans of Star Trek and one of the ways we made sure this movie is going to make you happy is we had this great range of points of view with the  producers, one of whom is Bryan, who had never seen an episode of Star Trek at all…then we have got Bob Orci who is an absolute avowed Trekker, so we have this great balance. So the answer to your question is that there are a million references and the story adheres to canon pretty much as well as The Original Series adheres to canon, the movie really does. I mean that.
You all know, even with The Original Series, there are some contradictions. But the truth is: we love it. And as someone who was not a fan to begin with, I’ve come to appreciate and understand and actually feel
jealous I didn’t get hooked earlier so I can understand how amazing the show was.

Orci: Everyone here respects and was inspired by what Trek was and this movie is in a unique situation where it is both a prequel, but a sequel. All of Trek that preceded this movie is necessary within canon for this movie to have happened. So if you are a fan, your knowledge of Star Trek is going to be rewarded. And if you are not, you are going to learn why we were all inspired by it.


Wondercon Star Trek panel (L-R) Zoe Saldana, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Roberto Orci, Bryan Burk, and JJ Abrams

Question: Especially for those of you who are new to the Star Trek phenomenon, what has it come to mean to you over the process of making the film and now promoting it and being in the middle of all of this?

Quinto: For me one of the most rewarding experiences throughout was getting to know Leonard [Nimoy], besides working with all the people on this process. Having his involvement so integral to the process was so illuminating. And not only that, but to see the impact it had his career and his life and the kind of man he is. And I think that is an extension of what Gene Roddenberry set out to create over forty years ago. I think the times that we live in necessitate that kind of point of view. And I think JJ is such a great great person to take it and move it forward, there is an optimism that lives in the heart of this film and the heart of the franchise that I think is a really great thing for us to share with the world right now. That was something that had a great impact for sure.

Pine: I think for me it was just a great opportunity to get to know people I now call my friends. JJ created such an unbelievable ability to create absolute equanimity on the sets. No one feels like there is a dictator shouting orders behind video village. It was a family on the set I was so lucky to have fun with every day. So that kind of family that we built on set will hopefully build into this bigger family out here that will accept this new version. And this is all credited to Bob, JJ and Alex [Kurtzman]…a good blend of great action sequences, like we saw on screen right there, and wonderful relationships between the characters and I was privileged and grateful to be a part of it.

Quinto: We all just saw the movie for the first time this week, the three of us. I just saw it last night and literally couldn’t speak for like twenty minutes, and I am not like that. It is such a ride. It is so exciting. I am really excited to share it with everyone, and I think we all are, but it was such a thrill and I am really proud to be part of it. It succeeds on a lot of levels.

Saldana: [after a pause] Sorry I was distracted…it is Spock and Kirk! I get distracted because I am so excited. For me I would definitely have to agree with Zach, the most exciting thing of this experience was originally meeting the original cast members–working with Leonard Nimoy and meeting Nichelle Nichols. That is one elegant and sexy Uhura, I will tell you that. To know how excited they were and how much they blessed this entire project. From JJ being the creator behind it and the writers and the direction in the way the story is going and the revamping and bringing it back for you guys and to make believers out of generations that were born in the 80s and 90s, it is an opportunity for them to be introduced to this world that existed for so many years. I am a believer now.

Abrams: They are very kind to call me and the writers ‘creators’ of the movie, but you should know that we were all so aware of Gene Roddenberry when we making this movie. We were so indebted to him and having Majel, who so sadly passed away recently, not only on the set, but getting her to be part of this movie. And having people who were there who worked with Gene, not the least of which is Mr. Nimoy, a more elegant, thoughtful, considerate and caring man does not exist. He is remarkable. I wanted to make sure you guys know how much we appreciate and bow to everything that comes before, because this movie would not remotely have a chance to exist at all had it not been for all that work. 


Zoe Saldana looking great at Wondercon Star Trek panel

Abrams on Trek inspiration and combining character and action
JJ was asked (by pre-teen fan) what inspired him to bring back Star Trek. He said that when he was first approached to produce it, even though he wasn’t the biggest fan, he was interested "by the idea of Kirk and Spock and what they came to be." Then after bringing in the other producers and the writers, he loved the script so much he would be "jealous" if anyone else directed it. Of the script he said it was "fun and full of characters and action and spectacle." At that point Bob reached over and handed JJ some cash. The crowd laughed and he said "no money needed, it really was a great script" and he then pocketed the money.

Abrams was also asked how he finds way to combine character stories and action in all of his work. The director noted that his favorite movies are those that "combine characters that are complex, that are broken in some way, but you believe them and they are real and they make you feel…and then they are thrown into the craziest s–t of all time." He noted that working with Bob, Alex and Damon [Lindelof] keeps pushing him to "find ways to feel more and deeper about characters in situations that are increasingly unbelievable." Abrams also said that he had to give credit to the actors for making it all believable.

More random Abrams comments

  • Abrams invited Kevin Smith to see the film early on because he is a friend and is "painfully honest"

  • Abrams admitted that he and Chris Pine would do ‘beat boxing’ between takes, and he and Chris demonstrated their skills with Pine riffing "Star Trek in da house"

  • Abrams noted the extras on the film were "spectacular" and they were "tireless"

  • Abrams on the work of ILM "they did some stuff this time that just blew my mind"

  • Working on "an idea" for Cloverfield sequel which is "pretty cool", but it should not be done "as a business decision" 


Abrams ponders a question at Wondercon Star Trek panel

Pine and Quinto on Classic Trek
Chris Pine was asked if he had a favorite episode and he immediately did a Shatneresque scream of "I’m Captain Kirk!" (from "The Enemy Within"), also noted that "I love it when he fights Finnegan" ("Shore Leave") which he thought was "hysterical", but Pine isn’t sure he would have done the one where he "wrestled the young boy" ("Charlie X"), but went on to say "I think what I love about The Original Series is that Mr. Shatner is incredibly funny. It is that humor he brought to Boston Legal. It is that twinkle in his eye that anything can happen. It is that something I couldn’t recreate for the life of me, but I tried to bring my own thing.

Quinto was asked if he looked to TOS for inspiration and he noted that he watched the show in his trailer while they were shooting Trek but looked directly to Nimoy as a resource instead of looking to episodes for his inspiration. He also noted that he did a lot of research "reading a lot about the world and about character." But he
emphasized that they were doing something new and that "the words that Bob and Alex gave us and the situations that the characters found themselves in were really the most important thing."

When asked about taking over the roles of Kirk and Spock, Chris Pine said "it was not pretty daunting, it was totally daunting" to which Quinto jumped in joking "I was not daunted," again showing the rapport and chemistry that this new team have. Pine then said when he took the role he was conscious of not letting down the Trek fans, which he called "the best fans of all of fandom" (nice pandering Chris, but appreciated. But Pine noted that while respecting what had come before, their job was to tell "this story and this particular journey." 


Zachary Quinto shows some emotion at Wondercon Star Trek panel


Chris Pine talks to the crowd at Wondercon Star Trek panel

Bob shows off new card
During the panel when I went up to take some photos, Bob Orci saw me with the other press and waved. He then pulled out one of the cards from the Rittenhouse Star Trek set announced this week (see TrekMovie story) and displayed it for me.


Bob flashes his card for the TrekMovie fans

After the panel Orci jumped off the stage and started handing cards out to those in the front rows. But by the time Bob walked by me again he didn’t have any left, but Tamar at Paramount publicity caught up with me on the show floor after the panel and gave me one. She also showed off her Trek cred, see below.


(Left image) Crowd rushes Orci for Cards
(right image) Paramount’s Tamar Teifeld (L) and her sister Shelly

And here is the card


The card

Final thoughts
This was the first time to see so many of the cast and producers together, and it was the Star Trek panel that everyone wanted to happen last year at Comic Con. All were refreshingly candid and yet showed their immense passion for the project. It was a delight to see the rapport they all had, especially the actors and that is a good sign for good chemistry in the film. The crowd applauded often and laughed at many of the jokes and seemed far more enthusiastic than at other panels earlier in the day. 

It was interesting that Abrams brought up how he had got ‘flack’ for some of his comments in the press, and faced that issue head on. He has always had the challenge to make the film for multiple audiences, and now he has the new challenge of promoting the film to those multiple audiences. Today he was certainly shaping his message for the fans. However his comments about respecting the past and Roddenberry seemed heartfelt and were appreciated.

Overall I imagine Paramount considers this a success and it should help build buzz, along with the new trailer coming out with Watchmen next Friday.

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first? the card looks sweet.

Looking good, Zachary!

Well, it’s just marketing right? If we not supposed to believe the “it’s not for fans” comment, then why should we believe “it’s for the fans”?

It’s weird, really. A movie I should be dying to see but I just don’t feel it.

After this, still wait and see…I’m thining 2nd or 3rd weekend (maybe iTunes).

If you’re one of those people that can’t or won’t take a producer’s word, then all we can ask is to give this movie a chance and watch it. Make your own conclusions from first hand experience.

great picture of JJ and the E.

#3

I don’t feel it either, McCoy. I’ll wait for the DVD.

7. Well said, AP.

… and love that Quinto shout-out for the Extras! Classy stuff.

Uh, oops. Had ZQ on the brain. That should have been a salute to Abrams for the classy plug for the Extras.

Anthony:

What a great report.

Roberto, especially, knows how close you are to the heart of Trek fandom, and JJ’s comments stabbed right at the concerns many Trek fans have about the film and its marketing campaign.

I, for one, am waiting for the real fun to begin in May.

Bring it on.

I think it would be ridiculous to pass on seeing this film on a big screen, or even an Imax screen for that matter. Some gripers just don’t deserve the movies that can be made today. Worry not, your lawn is safe from me.

There’s a wide spectrum of approaches to “offer up money to the holy logo of Star Trek like a bunch of sheep” and “stamp the little tantrum-feet and boycott the film because of a still of a character’s shoelaces.”

I call it: wait for the reviews by reviewers who have proven in the past to have similar tastes to my own, wait for the personal word of friends I trust who know my tastes well (and who are more eager than I am and will see it first), and _then_ decide: see it on the big screen at night? see it on the big screen as a matinee? wait to see it in a second-run theater? wait to rent it on DVD? wait to catch it years down the road at random in a con suite?

It’s not like there are just two options, here. It’s not like we’re required to choose right now.

Nothing about the promotions have yet sold me on an opening-night-with-cash-in-hand approach. Nothing about the promotions have yet turned me away entirely (as Insurrection and Nemesis did).

Still just not sure. That’s allowed, surely? :)

Personally, I will see it in a theater, just not on opening day. I’m sick of people talking or babies crying in the middle of my movie going experience, so I usually wait a few weeks when the herd thins out. I don’t know if I have the will power to wait a few weeks this time though.

@#4 I rarely take producer’s words for things. I remember the panel like this for Doom. All kinds of fluffy crap and lies to get people into seats. I want to believe, i’ve been a fan of Star Trek since I was four years old. But we simply won’t know until we finally sit down to watch this. They need to show us something that actually says to the Star Trek fans “This is truly Star Trek.”Not Star Wars with a cowl that somewhat resembles Star Trek. @#7 Yeah, unless you’re like some of us who are feeling the pain of the economy, and the only reason we have things like the internet is generally nessacity. Some of us have to pick what we spend our money on for recreation very carefully. Don’t get me wrong there. I want this film to succeed. I just read here a lot and it seems time after time anyone who has even a little criticism gets hit hard by people who are absolutely dead set on loving it no matter what it is. Even if it honestly doesnt look or feel anything like Star Trek. Which really quite saddens me. They’re pitching this as an action movie to the general audience. So either they’re lying to the general audience, and this is actually just a ploy to get them in seats, or they’re lying to us and it really is just an ultimately hollow action movie, with just a enough sprinkling of nostagia in it to get Trekkers pacified to a renewed franchise. I hope it turns out to be somewhere between those two, but the way these things go is so by the numbers anymore I really have no hope for that. Especially these Comic Con type of panels, its always the same uninformed questions being answered in a fluffy soft kind of way and nothing really gets covered. I’d be very interested to know if the writers and JJ watched the original series all the way through before taking this project up. That, I think was the ultimate failing of Berman and Braga, The man who prided himself on not having watched TOS. Kind of stupid when you’re WRITING THE PREQUEL. That level of hands on research is usually what develops the solid stories we have had since TOS. The Wrath Of Khan being the prime example of a story that really got the Star Trek family and of course The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home which really came in strong on getting the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship. Those are also my two favorites of the original six. Really though, I will absolutely give the writers and the creative minds credit. They have established a brilliant loop hole that does physically allow them to abandon all the crutches of the last 40 years of Trek by simply saying “This is an alternate universe.” Where everything can ultimately be different because of a few events transpiring. It IS a reboot, they just aren’t calling it that. They have basically given themselves the capacity to get around the entire original canon of these characters. They call this an origin story… But it really isn’t. It cant be considered an origin story in the sense that these aren’t the same people that we met on the original series…. An example, take “Yesterday’s Enterprise” from TNG, now go back in time to just as the crew of the Enterprise D are coming together in that time line. The events that lead up to that are wholly different, because Starfleet was at war with the Klingons for years, changing the Enterprise’s very design, changing what planets the Federation had control of, changing the location of persons and the number of ships in active service, and even the behavior of the characters as seen in the episode. These aren’t the same characters, and they most likely never will be the “same” again. Change isn’t always bad, but that doens’t mean its good either. In fact, thats really not my point. My point is lets just be honest with what the writers have done with the canon here. They “Moved it over” so that they could just write something brand new freely. It’s a ploy to keep hard core canon nazies off of them… Though with as drastic as the art design has been deviating from the original I think they would have done themselves a big favor to just absolutely let go of the original 40 years and call this the “Batman Begins” of Star Trek. That’s really what it is… and if it turns out to be that good I certainly won’t complain one bit. I think if Trek ever does go back to Television, doing a “pure bred” reboot of the original series, and giving… Read more »

I found the comments, especially about continuity, to be intriguing. It’s interesting to note the contrasting approaches to marketing the film to a fan audience vs a non-fan audience.

Admittedly, my first reaction to Bob Orci’s comment, “All of Trek that preceded this movie is necessary within canon for this movie to have happened, if you are a fan”, is to want to follow up and ask, “Okay, very cool. Now, will all of Trek that preceded this movie still be relevant, going forward, after the movie is done?”

More than almost anything else, it’s the answer to that question that’ll be a make-or-break between me seeing this film 20+ times in the theater, and seeing it once. It gets the once as a gimme. The other 19+, it has to earn. ;)

#14 good lord man. That is a long post. I’m just wondering how you read those comments then typed all that up.
That being said I’m super pumped about this movie.

Well, that make me feel more peacefull about JJ’s comments from Asia.
But if Star Trek 09 will please me as a hardcore-fan, I can’t say at this time. I have to see it first.

I really hope there is a bonus feature of Pine and Abrahms beat boxing.

Did anyone else notice how familiar Chris Pine’s shirt looked?
http://tinyurl.com/dzxjmq
: )

#14 – “Really though, I will absolutely give the writers and the creative minds credit. They have established a brilliant loop hole that does physically allow them to abandon all the crutches of the last 40 years of Trek by simply saying “This is an alternate universe.” Where everything can ultimately be different because of a few events transpiring. It IS a reboot, they just aren’t calling it that. They have basically given themselves the capacity to get around the entire original canon of these characters.”

I’m biased, of course, but that’s exactly the attitude they hopefully are *not* taking. Trying to “get around” an established world is a really good justification for not letting someone play anywhere near it.

“They call this an origin story… But it really isn’t. It cant be considered an origin story in the sense that these aren’t the same people that we met on the original series….”

But is that the case? They’ve said at various times that the intent is that they *are* supposed to be the essentially the same people. So, somewhere, we may not be getting a truthful (or at least complete) picture, but it’s hard to say where.

“My point is lets just be honest with what the writers have done with the canon here. They “Moved it over” so that they could just write something brand new freely. It’s a ploy to keep hard core canon nazies off of them…”

I doubt it’ll work, if that was the goal. The hardcore folks like that would just criticize the ploy as well as any differences, instead of just criticizing the differences. It’s a lose-lose with those folks.

“I think if Trek ever does go back to Television, doing a “pure bred” reboot of the original series, and giving it a continuity in the veign of shows like “House” would be the way to go. In essence what Joe Straczinski pitched. (I have that pitch open right now in fact.)”

I think they should get away from reboots of any kind as quickly and completely as possible. Ideally, if they want to plan ahead for TV, what they should consider is having the Enterprise crew work with another ship/station and crew during a film, and then, if audience response is good, spin *those folks* off to a TV show, and leave Kirk and co. for films.

I found JMS’s pitch interesting, but not as a TOS reboot. He and Zabel lost me about at the point where they started trying to come up with external justifications for an exploration mission, as if the exploration weren’t justification enough. OTOH, a different ship doing what they described as its primary mission might be intriguing…though it’s already quite similar to ST: Vanguard, and if they really want to do that sort of story, they might as well just put Vanguard on the screen and have done with it.

All the hype will be put to the test very soon.

As a long time TOS fan who has doubts about this project I will say that has settled my nerves. I WANT this film to be for ME as well as new fans but I also (maybe selfishly) want it to be my Kirk, my Spock etc.
I’ll go and see it with an open mind and hope to fall in love with these characters anew.

#21: Well said.

#20
“I’m biased, of course, but that’s exactly the attitude they hopefully are *not* taking. Trying to “get around” an established world is a really good justification for not letting someone play anywhere near it.”

I think its wishful thinking to think that isnt what they’re doing unfortunately. If you change a persons life experiences, are they truly the same person? This was ironically a question Star Trek asked quite a few times. (From the oft hated Trek V “I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!” as an example). I mean really, I think my analogy pretty much fits. Would you say the crew of the Enterprise D in the alternate timeline was inherently a different,darker, more militaristic. Sure they were still in many ways the same people, but the entire thing was very much a different take all together. You cant have “Different take” and “The same” it doesnt work that way.

“But is that the case? They’ve said at various times that the intent is that they *are* supposed to be the essentially the same people. So, somewhere, we may not be getting a truthful (or at least complete) picture, but it’s hard to say where.”

Sure, but there are already a great many signs that many of the people that would have been crucial to this point of Kirk and Spocks’ development are being shifted around or negated completely. There is simply no way they can cover what we know about Kirk and Spock from the original series within the amount of time they have to work with. Pike’s command is going to be different. Kirk is likely not going to go off and command the farrugat. Thats simple screen writing 101, you cant have a coming of age story, and an origins story, and then break it all apart at the end… Doesn’t work like that. This story in essence usurps the TOS timeline as it stands for a different one.

“I doubt it’ll work, if that was the goal. The hardcore folks like that would just criticize the ploy as well as any differences, instead of just criticizing the differences. It’s a lose-lose with those folks.”

Yeah, thats basically why I think it would have been better for them to “just drop it.”

“I think they should get away from reboots of any kind as quickly and completely as possible. Ideally, if they want to plan ahead for TV, what they should consider is having the Enterprise crew work with another ship/station and crew during a film, and then, if audience response is good, spin *those folks* off to a TV show, and leave Kirk and co. for films”

That is certainly not a bad idea, it’s a cost effecient one, thats for sure.

“I found JMS’s pitch interesting, but not as a TOS reboot. He and Zabel lost me about at the point where they started trying to come up with external justifications for an exploration mission, as if the exploration weren’t justification enough. OTOH, a different ship doing what they described as its primary mission might be intriguing…though it’s already quite similar to ST: Vanguard, and if they really want to do that sort of story, they might as well just put Vanguard on the screen and have done with it.”

Yeah. I just found the strength of his producing a show to be so appealing after the narrative success that Babylon 5 was, and his genuine love of the original Star Trek. That is not to say it would be “perfect” but I think it deserved more of a chance than it got.

can’t believe there are people on here (no doubt everyday ) pretending that they can’t wait to see the film. yeah right about the “oh i’ll wait for the dvd” pathetic. go back to highschoolmusicalmovie.com website.

Bring on May!!!!! can’t wait
Oh no sorry i’m gonna wait til it’s on cable in 3 years cos’ i’m really not bothered

Hello Shelly Teifeld, rawrrrrr…!!

#14 – I think the reason that people jump all over people who are criticizing this film is that it hasn’t opened yet. How a fan or an individual in general can make some of the sweeping statements about the quality or lack thereof in this film without having seen anything more than a two minute trailer or some random still images is probably the thing that enrages people the most.

Its okay to express doubts, but there are way too many forums online for this film where people have said things like…

“That looks nothing like a Starfleet shuttle… they’ve ruined this film for me…”
“Shatner’s not in it so there must be something seriously wrong with this picture.”
“OMG! What have they done to the Enterprise? I’m boycotting this film.”

It’s great that the fans hold the original so near and dear to their hearts. Its really impressive after all these years to see the affection that drives these statements. With having said that… this film hasn’t hit theaters. Talk of boycotts or refusing to see it becasue they don’t like the design of this or that doesn’t set well with the individuals who are trying to keep an open mind about the film until they’ve seen it in a theater.

Everyone is certainly going to have an opinion good or bad. I just think (IMHO) that the boycott talk and statements about how Trek has been destroyed by this creative team need to be put on the back burner until the film has actually opened and people have seen it. At that point, the gloves can come off and the arguments for and against can be made legitimately.

#25 – What a waste of a post.

Anyway, I will be there on May 8 at the Imax :))))

Glad to see the panel was a success and went down really well for everyone. Hoping to see more fan reviews like Anthony’s and different thoughts from people who were there.

I don’t care anymore. That is to say that for all of the Canon Nonsense, it’s just too much tribble, but I digest. After so many tidbits being Shown and all the tie in stuff, I feel A: like I’ve already seen it, and B: Like I know what direction it’s headed in. I really do think this will feel just like “Transformers.” I’ll watch it to see if it’s any good. (Can’t tell unless I see it, right?) Yeah I’ll probably like the FX, Will totally howl when Uhura Pulls her clothes off, but It still Feels like it’s just another, Starsky and Hutch, or Dukes of Hazard, or Whatever they’ve Remade in the past 20 years. Nimoy’s Spock isn’t there so the story will make sense, He’s Charlton Heston in an Ape Suit.

Nothing but Respect for Mr. Nimoy, but you know what I’m Talking about.

#29

I totally Agree.

JJ and co. are trying to resurrect Trek and make it cool and exciting once again. I remember how embarassing was bringing friends to the theatre for the last two movies (in my region Nemesis was cancelled after just a week).
Even if this new movie fails, I will be forever grateful to the new Trek crew.
About the “movie not for fans” thing… come on, this is simply ridiculous. A Trek fan not wanting to see a new Trek incarnation after years is something out of my imagination. Trek is Trek.

RE: 29. The Last somethin’ or other……..
You Said :
” I don’t care anymore. That is to say that for all of the Canon Nonsense… …Spock isn’t there so the story will make sense, He’s Charlton Heston in an Ape Suit. ”

LOL as hell …but I think you are so wrong…
Nimoy has said time and time again that he “…loved the story!”
…and this is a new story. Whereas POA was more or less the same story in both films.

29 – “Spock isn’t there so the story will make sense,”

Tell us why not.

In my opinion, the Transformers comparison is totally out of place. Transformers was a movie for *kids* based on characters from *toys*. What did we expect, hard sci-fi? From an adult point of view, it was even too deep and mature!

The illusion of movement??
Don Hertzfeldt comes to mind ;)

26, Dan;

Seconded.

#7: Anthony, I agree with you competeley. I cannot fathom *not* going… not going that first weekend knowing full well that I (and my son and friends) are going to have to fend off huge crowds.

As you said, this will be the first epic TREK since ST:TMP (stll my fav of all the movies) and think this one is going to knock our socks off.

Each of the films has had its own inherent strengths and weaknesses (even ST: V, which fans have to agree had some of the best moments defining the KSM triad committed to film). Yes, it is the probably my least favorite of all the adventures, but it has some moments that are truly inspiring.

That, to me, is the fun of TREK movies. After leaving the thater, there is always plenty to talk about, discuss, debate, etc., afterwards. How many other films actually do we find viewers doing that?

I recall after V one of my friends saying, “so that is Shatner’s take on Star Trek.” We talked about that for hours. This movie will be no different.

(BTW, while walking the streets of San Diego today I found a comic book shop and bought the prequel comic books… very nice, says me!)

For the canon Nazis, I suspect you will find you like the movie far better than you expected you would… I also think (without having any strong evidence to support this belief) that while some canon-conflicts are going to be seen in the flick, I suspect that this will all be explained away because of the disruption of the timeline.

Question is, will all be rectfied by film’s end?

I, for one, cannot wait for 09 May 09!

– It is that twinkle in his eye that anything can happen. It is that something I couldn’t recreate for the life of me, but I tried to bring my own thing. –

The first time Pine’s making some sense. ;)

Beat box? Yeeuckgh! “Star trek in da house”? Barf. Tupac is fingering his glock in his grave.

But seriously, great stuff. I get more and more thrilled about Pine. He really looks the part. I like what he said about Shatner’s ‘twinkle’. That’s a good way to put it. And with TMZ trashing him this week, it’s easy to forget just how good-looking Bill was in 1966. I really wanted to be Kirk when I was a kid because he was so confident and skilled. He was so young and beautiful, but his grasp of command was unparalleled. I still wish Bill were showing up in this film, but I think Pine, even from the tiny bit I’ve seen, is a worthy successor. I hope he can find his own pace to making this legendary character even more mythical.

Great report AP. I too have seen every movie at the theater. And I agree with you, they are best seen on the big screen. I remember knowing which theater had the best audio with the loudest bass. That was important. Thanks for making all this a fine experiance AP. I look forward to more news by you and your staff.

19. Scary thing about that shirt is, a few months back I saw a publicity shot and Pine had a red shirt like Shatner’s!

“That, to me, is the fun of TREK movies. After leaving the thater, there is always plenty to talk about, discuss, debate, etc., afterwards. How many other films actually do we find viewers doing that?”

Plenty of other films are talked about after people leave the theatre. I agree with you though Trek movies are debated, rehashed, critiqued ad nauseam days, weeks, months, even decades after they are made. I love Trek too but jeez. Trek fans have mind numbing discourse on trailers or even a photo. Lunacy

And to those who claim they will wait for the DVD – yeah right. You know you will be there in the first week or so regardless of your post here.

I know I will be.

Welcome from the land of the living. This has got to be one helluva statement about Star Trek fans but I just went through open heart surgery and one of the first things I did is read TrekMovie.com. So take that, fanboyz!

Anthony, boborci made a personal refund guarantee if the movie requires me to exit before the screening has finished. Obviously, he is a gentleman and I take him at his word – so I will see it, with my family, at the King of Prussia Imax. In fac, the timing out to be about right so that I will be able to laugh and grimace without feeling the equivalent of a karate punch to my sternum!

Sincerely grateful for my Maker and his servants at Penn Presbyterian Hospital,
C.S. Lewis

7. Anthony Pascale – February 28, 2009

I went to see every single trek film since the 80s on the big screen, even V. I cannot comprehend why any Trek fan wouldnt, film tickets are not that much money. We can debate them later, but it is what we do. I knew some of them were going to be dissapointments, but I went because it was Trek and there is always something good in all Trek films.

In the pic of JJ “pondering”, it looks like the right side of his glasses are taped! He always looks like an uber-nerd! So I am sure he has all the tech stuff down pat.

It’s so funny to read people feigning impartial stoicism when it comes to seeing it in the theater. Anthony’s comments really ring true when you look at the poll on the right, where (currently) 71% of responders saw NEM in theaters, and it’s generally regarded as one of the worst, if not the worst Trek movie ever. (I actually didn’t see it or Insurrection in theaters, but that was because I was out of the country and didn’t know they had come out. When I finally did see it I surprisingly liked NEM).

So regardless of how much commenters invoke the blind eye of justice and objectivity, precedent dictates that most Trek fans will see this movie in theaters. I hope a lot of non-fans do too.

Sorry I should have said 71% saw NEM in theater, and are planning to do so again, irrespective of NEM’s quality.

The more I hear, the more excited I get for this movie. Being a lifelong trekker (well, almost since Trek is a lil younger than I am), I was already going to go to the movie. My excitement for the movie has gone from “okay there is a new Star Trek movie out this week” to “I think this is my movie event of the year”.

This movie had alot of strikes against it, I don’t like JJ’s work, I dont like the new E, and doing an origin story without Gene or the original actors soured me, and the cast didn’t impress me (with a couple of exceptions), but now it’s really getting me excited.

“the wait is almost over”

This waiting for May 8 is becoming agonizing!

“I went to see every single trek film since the 80s on the big screen, even V. I cannot comprehend why any Trek fan wouldnt, film tickets are not that much money. We can debate them later, but it is what we do. I knew some of them were going to be dissapointments, but I went because it was Trek and there is always something good in all Trek films.”

Opening night for me – every one since ’79.

I already feel like I have to wait 20 minutes to respond. I can only imagine how I’m going to feel on May 8th.