JJ Abrams Responds To Fan Theories + Star Trek #1 At Wed. B.O. + more tidbits [UPDATED] May 21, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Abrams, Great Links, Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
Are there hidden messages in the new Star Trek movie, some fans think so and so JJ Abrams has actually replied to some in a new interview. See below for more, plus in our latest box office update, more Pine gossip, and links where some are taking some lessons from Star Trek. [UPDATE: Star Trek is adding more screens for third weekend]
Abrams responds to theories
In a new article at MTV, Star Trek director JJ Abrams responded to some theories and queries.
One theory involved the Beastie Boys song "Sabotage" and if that was some kind of dig at William Shatner (famous for pronunciation of Sabotage). Abrams says no:
"Yes, I have heard that theory," laughed Abrams. "It was so funny when I heard it. I wish I could say it was done on purpose, but it was not. I just dig the song."
Another more paranoid theory (that I haven’t even seen here at TrekMovie), is that the 60s era corvette diving into a ravine scene is some kind of mataphor for how they are ‘throwing old Trek off a cliff’. Again Abrams says no:
"I’m not sure if it was a ‘66," Abrams said of the Corvette. "But that was also the year that I was born, so I wouldn’t want to do that to the year, for personal reasons. No, the idea was to show the renegade, young Kirk and have a wildly anachronistic scene where you had an earthbound, almost back-looking scene combined with a forward-looking futuristic scene technologically. It had nothing to do with that kind of metaphor."
Abrams also talks about if the film breaks with canon with Federation members recognizing Romulans and also discusses if the new USS Enterprise design can be linked to the attack on the Kelvin. Go to MTV for more.
Sometimes a Corvette is just a Corvette
MORE ST09 TIDBITS
Box Office Update: Trek #1 on Wednesday
Yesterday Star Trek again bested Angels & Demons in domestic box office, taking the number one spot with $3.1M vs. $2.9M, which means Trek beat A&D in three of the six days since it opened last Friday. Star Trek continues to show legs in its second week, with 2nd week day to day performance better than last year’s long-legged hit Iron Man. With Terminator Salvation opening wide today and Night at the Museum 2 opening tomorrow, yesterday was certainly Trek’s last time at #1, but getting #3 over the Memorial Day weekend is possible. Star Trek’s total domestic gross now stands at $159M with a global gross of $231M.
UPDATE: More theaters adding Trek for its third weekend
In another sign that the film has legs, Star Trek is adding more theater screens. Even though two big movies are opening this weekend, Star Trek has upped its domestic theater count by 193 screens to 4,053 which is about the same or Night at the Museum 2 (4,096) and significantly more than Terminator 4 (3,530).
Pine Celeb Watch
The hookup between Chris Pine and The Hills star Audrina Partridge continues to be the obsession of the celebrity gossip set. Today US Magazine has an article all about it, quoting Hills co-star Lauren Conrad talking about how often Pine and Partridge are texting each other. And if you were wondering what kind of land vehicle captain Kirk gets around in, it is a Honda S2000, as can be seen in the latest Paparazzi images of Pine who can’t seem to go out for coffee without being followed by photographers.
Breaking news: Chris Pine drinks iced cappuccinos
Star Trek teaching lessons?
The success of the new Star Trek film is now being seen as an object lesson. Just today there are two examples:
- Twin Cities Daily Planet: Minnesota progressives can lean a lot from Star Trek fans
- DaniWeb: What businesses could learn from the new Star Trek movie
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Comments»
Yeah!! :D
I think this a great run as #1 for Trek. Only in it’s 12th or 13th day. It most certainly will stay a few more weeks (albeit on a few less screens) I can totally see it reaching 200m domestic in the next few weeks.
Should the (Supreme Court) consider producing an animated version of “Star Trek Countdown” in the style of: The Animatrix – Final Flight of the Osiris? >here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asbHiZtvMhc
With all of the actors available to lend their voices to the lead character in the graphic novel — it would seem that this new content (short film) could be marketed with a remastered and edited together blue ray version of STTNG: The Next Generation” Unification: Part 1 & 2 – This two disk set would not only be quickly snapped-up by the fan base but, to the New Audience JJ Abrams has created with “Star Trek”, become a very powerful marketing tool for Paramount / CBS for the marketing of all Star Trek franchise Disk / Blue Ray content to this brand new audience.- when Marketed next year with the Blue Ray release of Star Trek.
What do you think?
Rick
Lovin it!
It doesn’t really matter if JJ Abrams intended those metaphors, the intrepretation is just as valid as the intention. I find it peculiar that Mr. Abrams provides these kind of clear explanations considering he likes mysteries so much. I prefer Nicholas Meyer’s notion why we might think Khan wears the single glove is just as valid as what he intended and he never reveals why. Artists lose their say over what the art means when it is available to others.
Rick
please stop spamming the site with that same comment. Every day, every thread…enough!
gosh sakes… people get a life… Who cares about Chris Pines personal life ?
Beating Wolverine and Angels into a pulp!!!…Bring on the Terminator!!!
I love the fact that Trek has Fired it’s phasers and torpedoes and blasted All of the other Movies. Trek will have the longest legs of all movies this year. I think People are just trying to find things to nit pick about so now they just makeing things up just to try and stir some kind of Controversy when there is none. On Pine. If she is hot. I say go for it. I think she is Hot.
I read the MTV article and it doesn’t seem as if Abrams truly addresses the Romulan issue. But he so easily could have. Just say that the Kelvin incident is when Romulans were first seen in this timeline and so years later, the relationship with Vulcan had been revealed. You don’t have to just arbitrarily break with canon when you can please both camps. Expecially when you have such a cool reason the new Enterprise looks so different and wasn’t launched until years later.
Technically, it can’t be an iced cappucino, since cappucino are half milk, half foam (or 1/3rd espresso, 1/3rd milk, 1/3rd foam if you do it the Italian way). So he likes iced lattes. :)
(I maybe a coffee nerd.)
In another note, paparazzi are freaky and don’t lend much to reporting besides stalkerish celebrity gossip. I don’t think TrekMovie should really feed into the frenzy since it’s hardly Trek news, or news in general.
“You could say that it’s just a movie.” Excellent answer J.J.
Heh, I like the part of the interview when he grins and says “it’s just a movie.” He gets caught up in the explanations and the universe for a minute and then seems to realize that he’s getting into it and stops himself. Nice. I’m glad to see he thinks about this stuff as well, and not just Bob and Alex.
-P
Tony,
Please don’t report on paparazzi stuff. Just don’t. Please.
Nero’s appearance in 2233 didn’t just lead to advancing starship design.
It also led to the introduction of the TMP-style penguin dress grey’s for use by the Admiralty so that Starfleet could have better uniforms than an advanced enemy from the future.
I think it is awesome that the papparazi is stalking “KirK’ . Star Trek has fiaally arrived into mainstream America. There is no better indicator then the celebrity gossip columns and blogs. If US Magaizine cares about who “Captain Kirk” is dating and what coffee he is drinking, then all of America will care.
Thank you Supreme Court for making Captain Kirk cool!
#7 No reason that we can’t give him a thumbs up, of course! :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrina_Partridge
If Chris Pine is seeing her… I can’t argue that there’s anything wrong. :)
She’d make a good young Romulan Commander, by the way… someone photoshop some uplifted eyebrows on her:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2895746048/nm2526306
#3 Your idea stinks just as much as the previous 47 times you’ve mentioned it! :)
#jj Wrecking a Corvette was simply predicting that gasoline vehicles will still be in use in 2243. After all, I’m still riding around in my 1701. ;)
Did we ever get a name on that officer that was chasing him? Could it have been an officer named Thomas Hooker? Sure, why not. :)
By posting paparazzi images you are only enabling them.
Stop helping to invade the poor guy’s private life.
Kirk is lactose intolerant! His drink isn’t canon!
Can we get a page on this site designated to list off all the hidden nods in the new film?
We all love that stuff, and it just occured to me that shuttle “37″ could be a nod to Voyager?
More likely than the two long shots mentioned above…
I’m still amazed at (and happy) that “Star Trek” is doing so well at the box office. The movie has a very realistic shot of going over $250 million domestic.
Hats off to everyone involved. You guys really hit it out of the park on all levels.
I think coverage of paparazzi coverage gives us all an insight to mainstream acceptance of the actors, and if it brings flocks of girls to Trek as new customers, it can only be a plus.
The site is not “Teen Beat,” but is simply reporting on the increased coverage.
Though Charles Trotter has been known to stalk Trek celebs once in a while
(runs to CHAT and hides) ;-)
#18 Agreed on pop-harass-y pictures… but I’d note Chris is in no way now “poor”….
Im not sure if it has been mentioned or not. But Chris has already gotten a new name from all of these gossip sites. A lot of the girls who comment on the sites are starting to call him Chris Fine. It is still very encouraging that Star Trek is doing very well at the box office. I am still hoping that Star Trek will be able to break the $100 million mark in foreign markets. That is a challenge for the next movie, besides coming up with a movie that tops this one. But some how find a way for Star Trek to really connect with more foreign countries that don’t seem to get Trek.
#3: Rick, we get it. You want to see an animated TREK. Give it a rest already.
As Anthony mentioned, you spammed it (more than) enough.
And since you asked what “we” think, I vote no. If I want to see the TNG crew again
Maybe the Supreme Court (though I do have to say that title is a bit annoying) will see it fitting to push Paramount to do one more Next Gen film, though I sincerely doubt that will *ever* happen…. heck, I’d even welcome a direct to DVD NG… or Titan… film (or two or three).
#13: “Heh, I like the part of the interview when he grins and says “it’s just a movie.” He gets caught up in the explanations and the universe for a minute and then seems to realize that he’s getting into it and stops himself. Nice. I’m glad to see he thinks about this stuff as well, and not just Bob and Alex.”
JJ Abrams doesn’t think ‘Star Trek’ is real???? oooooh, so NOT canon! NOT canon at all! What’s wrong with that man???
Fire that man now.
uh…
just KIDDING, folks!!!
#3 – Its a cool idea, Rick. Unfortunately now that its been posted in a public forum that the “supreme court” visits and reads it won’t have a shot at seeing the light of day in order to prevent law suits over the “theft” of an idea.
#25: “And since you asked what “we” think, I vote no. If I want to see the TNG crew again”
JINXIES!!!!
That was supposed to say…
And since you asked what “we” think, I vote no. If I want to see the TNG crew on the big screen again (and I do), I want a live action story that is a fitting, deserving ending for that crew. AND ‘Nemesis’ was NOT that film.
I have no idea how that sentence got botched up… there must be some
nan-ites in my computer. Somebody please call Wesley Crusher to come debug my computer (grin).
Terminator Salvation is getting savaged by the folks at Aintitcool.com
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41140
Plus it’s really kind of a downer plot. So it might not be as big a threat to Trek.
Here’s one. How Big is Vulcan? Or Where Is Delta Vega? is it in the Same System? It can’t be a Moon. Vulcan has no Moon, right? So That said, how can Spock be seeing Vulcan as big as we see Our own Moon if not Bigger in the sky, From Delta Vega if it’s in another Star System?
We need an Imax in ANCHORAGE, ALASKA so we can watch this!! (Boos and hoos).
Hey, Anthony, I always appreciate your clever photo captions. Just wanted to let you know! :)
#30 They moved Delta Vega. In the prime timeline it’s at the Edge of the Galaxy in the Episode “Where no Man has Gone before”
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Delta_Vega
But yes in the movie based on scale it would have to be in the same star system and would at that distance get ravaged the way Ceti Alpha V did in TWOK.
You guys-
Roberto Orci & Co. commented they “like to think” that the old timeline was still in effect up until the point the Narada arrives.
Hmmm….
It seems more “realistic” to think, based on what was shown- the type of ship the Kelvin is, the bridge window, the uniforms,etc.- that the Narada arrived in a not-quite-the-same pre-TOS universe, which it subsequently shifted into an even MORE different direction via its actions.
Perhaps that would make things even more complex for the average moviegoer than they already are though…
Thoughts?
=30 and of course you aren’t trying to nit pick…. move along now… move along… sorry to break it to you fella… but people LIKE this film, me included.
What about when Kirk (Pine) is eating an apple during the “no win scenario” test? Think back to Wrath of Khan, Kirk is eating an apple when they are in the Gensis cave, talking about how Kirk beat the “no win scenario”. Connection????? I think so!
#30 Bob Orci covered this the other night in the lengthy Q&A session–a couple of times at least. It was more symbolic than geographic–like Spock Prime could sense the deaths of all those Vulcans as that great of distance, “seeing” it in his mind’s eye.
30. Spocktimus Prime —
Here’s a thought… As a director I can tell you it is called creative license. Sure he could have just showed a tiny dot in the sky winking out but the way Mr. Abrams did it was way more symbolic and moving. I don’t blame him at all.
If you want some dumb-ass techno answer surely you could come up with one. As a science teacher the 1st that comes to my mind is the unique particles that make up the Delta Vega atmosphere combined with the very unique curvature of the planetoid cause an interesting and extreme magnification effect in the polar region.
Wazzam! Trek to 400 M and beyond!!!!
34 – Can we not take the word of the guys who wrote the story? This is what I don’t get… these guys wrote the story, they KNOW what they meant, and how it fits.. so who are we all to tell them they are wrong and that we know better than them… it’s their material. Plus… why are folks going soooooo far into pulling and picking and taking appart.. doesn’t it take away the ability to let it be what it is.. a fantastic bit of entertainment, that makes up part of our beloved franchise.
- 36.. Hate to break it to you.. but that was pointed out as a “nod” a long time back..
#37 Ah thanks I missed that session. Like the Spock doing the Obi Wan Kenobi thing when the USS Intrepid is destroyed in The Immunity Syndrome
That picture of Chris Pine really bothers me. I can’t imagine living life like that, having people following you around taking pictures of everything you do. The actors are people to and deserve some privacy.
I guess with Nero changing history and Starfleets development you could have a movie based on Doomsday Machine or Space Seed and have a entirely different outcome. I just hope if there is a Doomsday Machine movie Mr. Abrams doesn’t decide to have it destroy Andoria or Mars.
#30 – Here’s one: Who cares????? You know it’s all FICTION, right? Spoken as a Trek fan of 40 years! I feel sorry for those so OCD that they can’t enjoy a good Star Trek Film for what it is.
seriously what idiots thought that the Corvette was symbolic? With all those references it seemed they were declaring that Trek Prime is still very relevant.
Now what about the ship size? These are like the theories no one thought of until reading this
-43… Well said sir!
dont forget the First Contact theory thats been mentioned in previous threads – that the Ent E and the borgs arrival changed the timeline so everything from the 21st century onward looked abit different and more advanced to TOS (NX 01 and Kelvin and ultimatly the NCC 1701 – also changed by the arrival of the Narada and the kelvins destruction – wasnt George Kirk supposed to be one of the NCC 1701 designers too?)
#43 The script writers prided themselves over the effort they made in thinking through the mechanics of timelines and time travel. Now that I heard that the DV thing was “minds eye” it clicks but lacking that info it seems like a blunder when compared with the effort that was made in getting the time travel stuff right.
I too like this movie as well and I don’t have a problem with everyone nitpicking it to death, it’s their right. The ones that start to froth at the mouth with anger are the ones I tend to tune out though…no point in the anger.
@3: Like the idea, but once is enough.
#42 –
I feel pretty confident that after rebooting the franchise and giving it new, vibrant life that re-doing a tv episode won’t happen. Thank god!! The NEW adventures of the Starship Enterprise………
44- The theory I want addressed is how the “penguin” dress greys….the Admiral’s uniform (TMP-style) wound up in the new universe some 15 years or so before they should’ve been introduced.
It’s Ok though, because I’m just damn glad they brought those back
Yeah, too Bad George was’nt there for the E’s design.
But it was still OK.
13. ‘Trick
Just a movie?
A lot of people gave all they had for this $170,000,000 movie.
I think a responsible Director would take his craft a bit more seriously..
If this is planned to be a trilogy, I hope the third one fixes the timeline.
He’s definitely in the market for a new car.
#53 I suspect the Third one would have the promotion to Admiral at the end as a book end to the First. It was my understanding of Cannon that Kirk made Admiral as fast as he did was the fact that of the 12 Constitution ships that were sent out, the Enterprise was the only one that made it back with the ship in one piece(Relatively) and most of the Crew(Bones’s famed He/She/they’re dead Jim aside) alive
Bring on the penguin dress greys!
Hey Anthony
While we are waiting for Rick to bring up his Final Flight of the Osiris idea, could you start a page to list the Trek references in the new movie? I know it is very very geekish and takes one out of the fantasy, but I loved noting the easter eggs as they passed — “penguin greys” (awesome description) from TMP, the head bump from Final Frontier, “I’m a doctor,” the classic bridge sounds, the communicator chirp, etc.
Although one might not think so from some of the howling in here about canon violations, Abrams and co. seem, to this Trek fan, remarkably devoted to previous Treks and to bringing in these appreciated touches — it would honour them, I think, to collect them.
#44:” “seriously what idiots thought that the Corvette was symbolic?”
You mean the Corvette going over the cliff wasn’t symbolic of the death of General Motors?
(KIDDING!!! while I wouldn’t be caught dead driving a GM product [I'm a Ford man], I sure hope our “Big Three” weather this storm)
#52 – Yes, it is “just a movie” (ie: fiction, acting, storytelling, etc)
And a very good movie. And a very good Star Trek movie. And by all credible reports, he took his craft very seriously and directed a very good movie.
Perhaps what bothers you is what he didn’t say, but probably wanted too: He knew going into this that he could NEVER please the small OCD/geek/nerd/canon faction of Trek fans. But he wanted to make a movie that the rest of the Trek fans (the large majority) as well as the general public would love.
I think he succeeded, by all accounts, in directing “just a (very good ) movie” I for one (as a 40 yr Trek fan) think he took his craft very seroiusly, and I love the results.
57 – yes thats a good idea for TM.com to do – a list of all homages/easter eggs etc from all Trek = TOS/movies/TNG etc …plus other movies like Star Wars etc
itd have to be constantly updated as theres always something new discovered!
although they got something like that on memory Prime
regarding the Covette…didnt Shanter used to own one in the 60s? i seem to remember reading somewhere he used to get around in a Corvette at the time of TOS and always thought its inclusion in the movie was a nod to that (and the 60s in general)
LOL. Here were are, filling all the holes in this new canon by ourselves while saving J.J. from a bunch of headaches…
Fan: “Ahh I see! Soo it’s because the Kelvin being attacked that forced the Federation to build sleeker, faster ships and that’s why they look different…….. right?
Abrams: “…..Uhhhhh, yeah! That’s exactly right! How did you know?
Shatner did have a Corvette. There’s a photo of him next to it in the book, Shatner: Where No Man….The Authorized Biography by Shonda Marshak, Myrna Culbreath and Shatner from 1979.
You know, they can end the movie series with a visit to the Guardian of Forever. Just go through the GoF and fix the timeline all the way back to First Contact. Sort of like the shower scene in Dallas, it really didn’t happen!
Cliff Ball
author of Don’t Mess With Earth, a sci-fi novel
#62 LOL
to homage an unused line from the movie
It may represent the Time stream’s way of repairing itself
regarding the engine room:
“The engine room of the Enterprise was filmed in a Budweiser factory in Van Nuys, California. The engine room of the Kelvin was shot in an old power plant in Long Beach, California” from imdb.com
LOL
So wait, Federation members wouldn’t recognize Romulans? Well, I was under the impression that would have.. consider there was.. you know, a war.. a Earth war I think? One with Romulans? You know, the Earth-Romulan War? I didn’t know the entire war nothing but them playing Battleship via Subspace radio.
I’ll have to agree with some of the posters on this site who have pointed out the innapropriate display of Paparazzi spy pics of Chris Pine. A complete and utter intrusion of someone’s personal life. We can surely appreciate the enthusiasm surrounding Pine’s growing fame in light of Star Trek’s success, but that sort of reference to Paparazzi’s scum activities should be removed from the site IMO, for the dignity of Mr Pine and this site especially.
#39 Geoffers-
WELL. So much for reasonable discussion!
Not TOO reactionary, are we??
By the way- “the guys who wrote the story” have learned a lot, and are STILL learning, from productive discussion on Trek- and not from those who slam other people.
Buh-bye!
69: What? Have you not seen ‘Balance of Terror’? Or are you being facetious?
The whole Romulan thing really isn’t a break with canon. Even in Balance of Terror, we know about the Earth/Romulan war, so it’s reasonable to assume the Kelvin knows something of the Romulan language and culture, even if they don’t know what Romulans look like. And it’s also reasonable to assume that, in the altered timeline, humans learned a lot more over the next 25 years, so that they could prepare for what they likely thought was a second Romulan war. Hence, Spock’s knowledge of their shared ancestry at a point in his life prior to BoT. It’s also likely that the Fed knew a lot more about the Roms even in the Prime timeline, and kept it under wraps. BoT shows that the Fed isn’t above cloak-and-dagger stuff. Who knows what was kept top secret in Prime, but is public in the new timeline.
30/37/38
Spock’s ‘viewing’ the destruction of Vulcan has been compared to his psychic reaction to the destruction of the Intrepid (a full Vulcan ship) in “The Immunity Syndrome, which was not within visual range. Perhaps this was an insight into his mind’s eye at the time.
I too feel that there shouldn’t be any Paparazzinphotos posted. Neither should any gossip about dating or other personal issues about the actors be posted. They are not Star Trek.
#73
it’s trek-related. and this site covers non-trek items occassionally, so your logic… is flawed.
that said, i honestly don’t feel that bad for pine. he’s a superstar now… and the paparazzi comes along with the package. it’s the price you pay… and i seriously doubt he’d trade it for anything.
Pine & Partridge? MEh. She’s more plastic than the new Enterprise bridge. He could do better.
#74 Also, it’s not a sex tape, a picture taken of him exiting a car with no underwear; a picture of him with his children; a picture of him on private property…. he’s in a public parking lot walking back to his car. It’s not exactly an intrusive picture. It’s the middle of the day. I understand the disgust with many specific pop-harassers, but this one could have been taken by a passing fan with a cell phone….
#62 You’re Exactly Right [tm]. I think now I understand completely when boborci said that they’d wait to see what we all thought before writing the next script. Makes perfect sense: we’ll work out all the plot holes from the current film, and they can benefit from that.
#62
Agree completely with you. I think the hardcore fans are putting far more thought into the new “canon” than did the writers and director.
I’m not saying that as a negative toward the writers… they needed to concentrate on writing and producing a good movie (which they did, IMO), and not unimportant minutiae about a fictional universe.
Nooo to Paparazzi! we should give these poor guys, and gals some privacy after all their hard work and willingness to communicate with us- the fans.
I liked the Beastie Boys in the film…and I vote for Star Trek 2 to have “Intergalactic” as its end credits song!
Your knees will start shaking and your fingers pop / Like a pinch on the neck from Mr. Spock!
Why does anyone care what Chris Pine does? Seriously.
Abrams’ “answers” don’t sound very convincing. I think he’s just making things up as he goes along to cover for the fact that the film has a very unstable internal chronology.
- 40. Oh well. At least I got it. Hope to go see it again this weekend.
#53 says: “If this is planned to be a trilogy, I hope the third one fixes the timeline.”
My personal hope for the ending of the third movie involves Pike rising from his wheelchair on new cyber-legs, picking up a bloodied sword, and shoving it through an ornamental globe to rising cheers from a gathered assembly.
And then we find out what universe we’ve been watching all along :)
(Mind you, it would still be an _alternate_ … um, mirror … oh, nevermind) :)
Forget the R2 reference………Star Wars is very present in the film. Anyone notice the “oval Death Star” lights in the Kelvin elevator or shuttle paint? Nice touch that was and, I’m sure………done on purpose.
It’s an Iced Latte. Cappuccino’s are hot drinks made mostly of milk foam and espresso. Looks like Chris likes his Starbucks tho…
The review of T4 at AICN is BRUTAL. Harry did not hold back at all.
Shawn P
glad someone likes my captions…since i try and keep the articles ‘just the facts’ and not bloggy, the captions are where i have my fun
#35. Geoffers and others
I didn’t think it was all that great.
I thought It was all a bit silly.
and for The Psychic answer, couldn’t he have just Stayed inside the Ice cave then?
I don’t really Care that much, I just Think it’s Funny
#53. eagle219406
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Same here.
Oh Jeez… who the hell cares what Chris drinks. God the Paparazzi suck. That’s not news folks.
” Star Trek has upped its domestic theater count by 193 screens to 4,053 which is about the same or Night at the Museum 2 (4,096) and significantly more than Terminator 4 (3,530).”
All I have to say is “Hell Ya” !!!!
My only nitpick really after viewing the film for a 3rd time….was when Robau was taking the elevator to the shuttle bay….why was the elevator coming down instead of coming up ???? My theory is that he took the elevator to the top of the engineering deck/shuttle section above the bridge and had to take a second elevator to the actual shuttles…..
Yet the Kelvin could have been upside down the whole time from our prespective…….so flip the kelvin over right side up and have the nacelle being on top…. Thus coming down the elevator….
I love JJ’s mysteries :)
53, 89 – How can they change the Timeline….and why would they….we would then lead into Berman and Braga and their little buddy Moore’s Crap !!!!
To quote Scotty ” Iove this new timeline/reality – It’s Exciting!!!”
I love this new timeline/reality – It’s Exciting !!!! :)
82….That would be AWESOME !!!! What shock value that would create….what a twist that would be….my jaw would drop in disbelief…and that would be a good thing !!!
82…
Do remember one of the teaser posters……black starfleet logo and white backgroud…..kinda like the universe shift at the beginning of Mirror, Mirror……hmmmmmm….I like JJ’s hints….maybe that was also telling us that we would be in an alternate reality too…or even in the mirror universe….
Because of Nero, earth becomes more militaristic…leading to the Terran Empire…naaaaaa
However I do love this new universe….and I honestly think its not Mirror
I find it interesting that there are so many theories and a lot of wondering what the heck things might mean — these are the guys behind Lost and Fringe, after all.
OMG I bet that they destroyed Vulcan as a sign that they’re ignoring logic by making the Enterprise engine room look like a brewery?!?!11 ROFL!!
Seriously, they made an awesome movie. They’re not slipping divisive messages into this movie.
Anybody see Stephen Colbert dressed as a Romulan from the movie? Pretty funny. :)
Don’t fix the timeline. I like it just how it is. No remaking episodes and movies. I want new adventures.
69 – Erm.. I think you mean “Bye Bye” (that’s how we spell it in this reality, rather than hicksville).. ;-)
88 – Good to see a knocker with a sense of humor.
End of the day, some folks liked it, some loved it (like me), and some didn’t like it… and I expect no film would make EVERYONE happy.. but at least this one seems to hit the mark for more people, than miss it.. but if it aint your thing.. never mind… if it is… just enjoy it.. like a newly decorated room.. better to concentrate on the good and be pleased, than try and go around and find every spot on the wall you missed when cutting in..
The next generation dosent need a jj abrams film, the tng had seven years plus a few movies.
and by the way, spock has forgotten that he needs to fix the timeline and get back to his own time. :)
I could only imagine the vitriol on this board had this movie bombed/been terrible. There must be a genetic need for Trekkers to complain..
I kid, because i love.
Also, it feels to me like they are replacing the Imax screens with regular ones basically, That is awesome, the studios/theaters have confidence in this film.
$159m/$231m and counting!
Anthony,
FYI: It looks like Star Trek will continue playing on IMAX screens for midnight showings through this weekend – at least that’s the case here in Orlando, with Night at the Museum 2 running up until 9:00 or 9:30 and Star Trek as the final show of the evening.
102… LOL… very true
Anthony I disagree with you paranoid comment to some extent:
“Another more paranoid theory, is that the 60s era corvette diving into a ravine scene is some kind of mataphor for how they are ‘throwing old Trek off a cliff’”
True, on the surface the idea that this scene represents throwing classic TOS off a cliff, discarding and destroying it is paranoia, but there are other valid interpretations.
Even the MTV article offers this:
“..it represents a statement about the new film throwing away the trappings of the classic show.”
My interpretation is that the metaphor is discarding the 1960’s aspect of the show, some of the visual style, the more cheese moments, some of the dialogue and fight scenes, some of the costumes and other aspects that were influenced by the cultural model and production qualities of the time. Take away that 1960’s aspect, focus on the core aesthetics and idealogy of Trek. That’s my theory, and far from paranoid.
Anthony, please be careful with your broad generalizations.
I think anthony was being very Tongue-In-Cheek. I do not think paranoia has anything to do with it
52.
I don’t think you got what I was saying.
He geeks out for most of the interview, showing that he had very serious thoughts about all of the Trek fan issues and theories–it shows that he considered quite a bit of the stuff that fans have brought up. I think that shows that he respects Star Trek, at least to the degree that he knows a LOT of people care about it–some more than him, some less–and that he has to maintain a certain level of detail and Star Trek-ness (and you can debate whether or not he succeeded, I’m not going into that–I am satisfied) in order for his movie to even begin to work (if he couldn’t capture that, he wouldn’t have captured us, and the movie would have flopped). I took the “It’s just a movie” as a self-conscious response to the fact that he just geeked out in an interview.
I wasn’t THERE though, so he could have been being a careless d*ck. Doesn’t seem that way, but who knows?
I have that reaction after I’ve realized I’ve gone off (again) on a rant about how awesome ST is to one of my friends. I’ll be like “uh, but I know it’s just a movie.”
I doubt he has no respect for this film.
-P
It was a quarry, not a ravine.
Anthony
One of my big points of interest as everyone else is currently coming to the site to get daily box office reports. I was wondering, if there is any way to track merchandise sales for the movie, for example how well the toys are doing?
Thank you for all your hard work
Yeah, I’m guessing they mined for minerals/metals that were used in starship construction.
Dear god.. Please don’t “fix” the timeline.
One of the things that I loved about this movie (and that made my jaw hit the floor) was that they had the balls to take out Vulcan. I was stunned.
…it would have completely removed all the gravitas from that moment if they “fixed” it at the end… (or do so in the future)
I love Trek. Always have, since TOS. I’m a passionate fan. However, one of the things that drove me nuts (especially with the Utopian TNG & VOY) was hitting the “reset button” after damn near every episode. No consequences. Therefore, no drama. No growth. No development. Our characters were never in jeopardy, because you knew…KNEW… everything would be “fixed”.
So… no… don’t “fix” anything in the new timeline. It’s great the way it is.
#82 – That made me LOL. :D
112 exactly – think of the stories (without Khan, what a terrible idea that would be) you could tell about the Vulcan diaspora. What a challenge to their ideals of logic. What did it get them? You can envision a certain freedom fighting streak to emerge….
Who is the other young man walking along the road whilst young Kirk is being chased in the corvette? I’ve seen the movie 5 times and I’m still trying to work out why there is so much screen time given to him.
Does anybody know who he is?
113. Yammer
My hubby and I were discussing this the other day. Would a rebellious faction of the remaining Vulcan population emerge, rejecting Surak’s teachings? Or would the 10,000 become even more isolated and strict in their beliefs?
Would the Klingons (not understanding the subtlety of Nero’s independence from the Romulan Empire) declare war on Romulus to avenge the attack on their prison planet? The Federation, not wanting to confront either the Klingons or Romulans, would be stuck between a rock and a hard place, diplomatically. Would the Vulcans come to Romulus’ defence, knowing their cousins are not to blame for the actions of a renegade? And good lord, how would poor Spock fit into all of this? I can’t imagine the crushing guilt he must feel. :(
JJ Abrams says:
“”I’m not sure if it was a ‘66,” Abrams said of the Corvette. “But that was also the year that I was born, so I wouldn’t want to do that to the year, for personal reasons. ”
So was I and I wouldn’t want to do that to the year or things pertaining to it – not just for personal reasons.
I’ve always felt it was a special year.
A lot of good things out that year. Star Trek, The Monkees, Batman. All favorites of mine to this day.
I can’t even believe all these conspiracy therories floating around. The “Sabotage” bit in the movie is a dig at Shatner? The car off the cliff is a metaphor for old Trek being thrown off a cliff?
As Mr. Shatner himself said, “Get a life, will you people?”
Who gives a s***! Just enjoy the movie! That’s all you have to do. Stop looking for ghosts and just enjoy the movie!
114. KevinA Melbourne Australia – May 22, 2009
That was originally supposed to be George Kirk Jr…
From Memory Alpha…
“George Samuel Kirk was to appear in 2009’s Star Trek, where he would have been played by Spencer Daniels. Scenes featuring Daniels as Sam Kirk were filmed, but the character was entirely cut from the final release. The one remaining scene of Daniels playing Sam Kirk, in which Jim Kirk calls out to him as he’s driving past him in their step-father’s corvette, was altered to change the name of Daniels’ character to “Johnny”, apparently a friend of Jim’s. “
112.
I agree–no more reset buttons. I think VOY did it more than TNG. I still remember the BoBW episode and thinking, oh sh*t they’ve got Picard! How are they going to get him out of there? Are they going to get him out of there? Man, I missed that sort of suspense in VOY (especially since they magically fixed the ship all of the time and there were no REAL consequences). DS9 was better, but VOY…man. I’m excited by the anything is fair game attitude of this new continuity. Still love the old stuff too, reset buttons and all but different is nice.
-P
@119 -
(Man, I love HTML code.)
I totally agree – I think reset buttons are totally unrealistic (like science-fiction isn’t) and they’re a crutch for lazy writers.
It was somewhat disappointing to me that the seventh season of 24 didn’t end with Jack Bauer bounding up out of bed and feeling all better, but that’s real life – at least there’s an inkling he’ll be back (that, and the fact the show’s already been renewed for season 8). But that’s the kind of action/consequence cycle that drama needs. Do something, and something else happens. No “Year of Hell” episodes, no going back to restore the timeline – this is the way it is. Move forward – “boldly go,” as the opening narration suggests, not “boldly go back”.
#33:
Would a parallel universe have a whole REAL history behind it? If parallel universes are created by certain quantum and/or temporal actions, do they have a history that matches the other ‘original’ universe? Or do they have their own unique history, one that maybe has another planet in the Vulcan system?
The Delta Vega we know ought not be anywhere near Vulcan. But then, this begs the question of whether such a (Latin-derived, used endlessly) designation is used more than once, and perhaps is a shorthand for identifying a place in a particular star system or sector where one might find him or herself. If I live in New York City and a passerby wants to know where 43rd Street is (is there a 43rd Street in New York?), I’m not going to give them the name of the city with the directions… that’s already established by the context.
But just because one star system lost a planet and this event had repercussions all throughout the system does not mean that ALL star systems with planets blowing up will end up the same way. Such differences would likely depend on number of planets, how far away from each other and the parent star they might be – or might be at the time – and I’m pretty sure a list of other factors that could be involved. Besides, by the end of the movie they had picked up Scotty’s little alien friend, so that pretty much takes the wind out of that sail.
#119:
I agree. VOY was a botched job, setting the tone for the real crime that was ENT. Perhaps crime is a strong word, but ENT went the STARGATE route and had transporters and cloaking devices and all this other junk that they supposedly should never have had to deal with. The Voyager should have had a BSG whammy on it by the time it got back to Starfleet; they could maybe have covered up their glaring production design in ENT by pulling off the story arc of story arcs, given the time period: Archer being responsible for instigating the Romulan Wars (and his subsequent downfall), and it was his actions that led to the cementing of the Prime Directive concept used to this day in Starfleet. THAT would have made a series.
#101 I couldn’t agree more. The TNG cast had their time in the limelight and what did they do with it, nothing. They spent the last few years badmouthing their last movie, which is why no fan will admit to liking it. ITS TIME TO MOVE ON FOLKS, NEW TIMELINE, NEW MOVIE, NEW CAST, time for us Trekkers/Trekkies to get with the program.
#112 & others, TNG did not always fix the timeline. Tasha Yar had a half Romulan daughter to appear later in the series, a direct result of Picard’s actions in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” season 3.
#115. SaphronGirl
“My hubby and I were discussing this the other day. Would a rebellious faction of the remaining Vulcan population emerge, rejecting Surak’s teachings? Or would the 10,000 become even more isolated and strict in their beliefs?”
Actually, history already has shown us the answer and it would be both. I have relatives that survived the Holocaust. Some believed god abandoned them and rejected religion, some converted to Christianity and some become orthodox Jews. They felt god let them live for a reason and they needed to honor the gift of life by practicing strict Judiasm.
My guess is, that each Vulcan will react differently to the destruction of their world just like real life survivors of genocide react differently. You might see some abandon the Vulcan teaching; those who want revenge and others that settle on a new planet and want to ensure all the teachings and beliefs survive. I think this could be a very good plot point for either the new movie or a novel. Would be very interesting to explore this storyline.
The remaining Vulcans conspiring to bring a full war to the present Romulus would be an interesting premise. And although their numbers are small, the Vulcan refugees would probably receive the full technological and resource support of the Federation and become quite a powerful force again. The need for the Vulcans to preserve their culture via breeding back into the Romulan bloodline could even be a factor in an attempt to reunify with Romulus, either through diplomacy or military conquest.
#126 et al. Actually, the Romulans shown in TOS… Lenard’s Commander, Centurion, the female Commander, and Tal, on the surface showed honorable traits and character.
In this universe, I’d expect Spock Prime to continue his mission to Romulus… and that many Vulcans would reach out to Romulus now, rather than 100 years from now when something might improve.
Remember, Spock Prime knows the date in advance of the Lenard’s Commander’s attack in BoT. Now the Earth Outposts can be prepared… and even a message can be sent to Romulus: do not attack. If Romulus is “converted” before BoT… this whole universe can end up with the Romulans in alliance with the Federation rather than the Klingons…
That could be *very* interesting.
Plus, in this universe, when Hobus doesn’t blow up and take Romulus and Remus with it… does that mean Nero won’t go back in time… and thus the original universe is restored?
Omigosh.. it’s a Ouroboros… :) That’s how the original timeline is restored. ;)
120 & 122.
For real–I would love to have seen some REAL “coping with the fact we are screwed” on VOY. I think it would’ve made the show so much better. I wish the VOY hadn’t given Ron Moore the cold shoulder when he wanted to come in and shake things up. Would he have done better though? I don’t know–one would like to think so. Oh well…
A reset button is OK if you use it VERY sparingly. A nice “what if” episode is OK, if you’re only going to do it once, maybe twice over a seven year run. Two or three times a season though, that is just too much.
There was almost no suspense on VOY.
-P
Showbizdata just reported Terminator made $13.3 million with it’s Wednesday midnight shows and all day Thursday. Trek & A&D are holding steady at $2.9 & $2.6 million respectively! Since Trek made $4M on it’s 7PM opening Thursday and $26M on its first full day, this is good news indeed.
Star Trek made another $3M yesterday (thursday). So it is now at $161.6M domestically. For week 3 I am foreseeing $190~$195M.
Okay, you beat me, RD. :)
#130: … “I am foreseeing”… should read “I am predicting”… Sorry guys, I’m still learning the language… :)
Re: #127 Yes, the Romulan Commanders did show honor, but they also followed orders – even those they did not agree with. The Romulans had aspirations of conquest and expansion to the extent that they would obliterate defenseless outposts on the Neutral Zone, so Spock getting his words and philosophy through the considerable barrier of Romulus’ paranoid culture and isolation would probably be just as hard as it was in the 24th century. He would effectively be starting from scratch, except that he’s old as hell.
It’s clear in the new film that the Fed already has contact with Romulus. It makes sense, as Romulans destroyed the Kelvin, and were not identified as civilians. Robau had never seen a Romulan before.
But Pike offered to contact the Romulan government during his captivity. I would think the events of BoT never occur in the new timeline.
Thursdays box office is out BOM
T4 13,372,491
ST 2,980,049…total 161,634,019..pretty dang good on T4 premier day!
no #’s on AD yet
Wolverine @800,000…doa!
Update :
AD 2.6 million…Trek beats Angels again!!
The way I am looking at this movie, and the only way I can enjoy it without the problems bothering me, is to see it not as an alternate timeline, but AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE that is not like the one we knew. I am convinced that due to the pre-Nero changes, there were too many things different even then to say it was our character’s past. The black hole took Spock and Nero to another universe, and changed the timeline there, but we don;’t know what it should have been, only similar.
That’s the only way it works for me and I can be fine with it.
137. frederick: I never thought there was any difference between the two. They are two ways of saying the same thing.
#138..
To me it’s a big difference… if the time had been the same BEFORE Nero’s incursion, then I would say: same time, different future/alternate timeline. BUT, the things are too different to be the same Trek universe before he arrived. To me, it’s not Spock Prime’s past.
It’s just my way of saying “OK, I buy what’s happening here.”
#137. In fact that’s how Bob Orci explained it on this very site. The “prime” universe still exists somewhere, parallel to the new one.
I’m not exactly sure why a few people are still freaking over canon changes. Just explain them away through the parallel-reality created by Nero’s arrival. From a storytelling standpoint, it’s the ultimate deus ex machina.
Not that it even matters all that much, at least for me. The new “Star Trek” is a re-imagination of the old. Why must it adhere to the original note-for-note? It’s a hugely entertaining movie just as it is — and a good start to a new Trek universe. Anytime I want to watch the original series, I CAN. And I DO. But I’m thrilled that Abrams re-animated long-dormant characters. That’s a good thing.
Right??
#140 Actually there is nothing in on-screen canon that confirms this one way or the other. There are only three ways to see the movie and all are valid from a canon point of view:
1) Same universe we’ve known for 40 years, wiped clean after Nero goes back in time and changes everything. Some aspects of canon have to be rectoned in order to fit, but the past 40 years of canon otherwise shoe-horn right in. This is the way most general audiences of non-Trekkers will see it as they are blissfully unaware of the problems of 40 years of pre-existing canon that Spock brings with him.
2) Alternate parallel universe which operates under new physical laws (multiverse interpretation). Spock arrives from the Prime universe, but the new quantum theory conceit voids large sections of canon from the last 40 years, in particular the Guardian of Forever and all the time travel stories and requires some serious rectoning to make it fit!
3) Complete Reboot with respectful nod to Prime Spock as representative of the Trek universe of the past 40 years, and not literally the Spock connected by actual canon to those episodes and films, many of which are void in this universe.
All are equally valid ways to see it as none is confirmed or discounted on screen. As Abram’s said when he started making the film, he’s not going to please everyone.
That said, I’m not entirely sure why he felt compelled to change anything prior to the Narada’s incursion, given the stated plotline and behind-the-scenes motivations for the parallel universe. Never mind that certain things from the Prime universe could never exist in this one. He seems actually defiant about it in that article, like he pulled a fast one after his elaborate setup. It just gets harder and harder to see this as anything but a straight reboot, though with a lot of work and the proper rectoning, it can easily be anything one wants it to be. But then isn’t that the beauty of ST?
141 – “But then isn’t that the beauty of ST?”
Zactly. . . Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.
When Kirk is born, it is 2233.04. Wrong from Kirk’s birthdate (according to canon) at 2231. Nero had nothing to do with that! Also, when the enterprise has its first mission, it is 2258, making Kirk just 15 years old. Chekov is 17! that makes Chekov two years older than kirk. So are you telling me that the kirk we see in the film is just 15 years old? So Star fleet is full of just TEENAGERS? Not since WW2 has anyone enlisted at a falsified age and that was just 16 years old! BULLSHIT MAN. BAD, BAD, STORY WRITING!
Crap, I made a mistake. Kirk would be 25. THat’s what i get for drinking and typing! sorry, folks,
jerk out
Starships with lots of shuttles in special bays are awesome.
That is all.
On a random note, I just got a message that I won a Star Trek trivia contest at my local theater that was running for the new movie! They had some neat looking prizes and I’m going to claim mine right now!
146 – can i have them?
Yes – Kirk was 25 when he became the captian of the Enterprise…that is realistic…. Picard in the Prime timeline was only 28 when he became captain of the Stargazer… And Tryla Scott from TNG Conspiracy was younger than Picard when she became the captian of the USS Renegade (prob mid 20’s)…the youngest in history up until 4th year Cadet Tim Watters became captain of the Valiant at the age of 22 !!!! (DS9 Valiant) So Kirk going from 3rd year Cadet to Captian in the same year is not a total stretch….he saved the earth and the federation from Nero…a battlefield commission that was permanent…He earned it !!!
BS Detector – the producers and writers of the film got kirks year of birth right anyways – check your info before spewing out bs….
From Memory Alpha, taken from TOS episode and movie info -
“James Tiberius (”Jim”) Kirk was a Human born on March 22nd, 2233 -”
Sources: (TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”, “The Deadly Years”; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; ENT: “In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II”; Star Trek)
I understand that 2233 is the year….and reading memory alpha regarding new star dates, the number following the decimal is the numbered day of the year… So 2233.04 is the 4th day of 2233 – so essentially Kirk in the new timeline was born on the 4th of January, 2233… Same with 2258.42 – 42 is the 42nd day of the year or Feb. 11, 2258….
They did however mention star date 2387….instead of using the TNG system of stardates however…yet it makes sense to make it consistent and clear for general audiences for the purposes of this film…plus it follows the ENT system of using gregorian callendar years as star dates….
BS Detector…
So ya – Kirk was born in 2233…not 2231….they got it right…
So I can see the last day of this year for 2009 being Stardate 2009.365 or Dec. 31, 2009
Even the writers and producers used Memory Alpha when researching for this film – I remember them mentioning it too….they left no stone left unturned….
Cadet Watters received a battlefield commission to the rank of full captain for the Valiant….just like Cadet Kirk in this film….makes perfect sense and not a stretch at all…..
59. Brian Kirsch
Brian, I think you read into what I was sayng, just a bit .
By the way, after two viewings, I really the enjoyed the movie too.
I am even going back a third time with family.
And, most importantly, I am a TOS die-hard. A true Trekker. I’ll even take the OCD/geek/nerd/canon faction of Trek fan description, if you have to see it that way.
Kirk’s big promotion was similar to his demotion in STIV, where, after stealing and destroying Starfleet property, and 8 other violations, he saves the earth, and gets demoted to Captain, which is just where he should be. Orci/Kurtzmann seem more to be nodding to that as a “Star Trek” precedent than anything in canon.
#152 -
If I misunderstood your post, I apologize. The impression I got from your post was that you doubted his commitment to the craft of film, and to the craft of Star Trek. Perhaps you were being sarcastic? That didn’t come across, to me at least.
The “OCD/geek/nerd/canon” reference was not aimed at you personally, just a general response to those that can’t get beyond that BS and enjoy a good Trek film.
I’m glad you and your family have enjoyed it as much as I have. I’m going for # 3 tomorrow night.
147 – A Spock used theater poster and a 1980 Marvel Star Trek comic book? Not in Vulcan lifetime!
I find it kind of Ironic. Right now you are saying for them not to do the “reset Button.” But If I remember correctly, you were practically begging for one before the move came out. And you guys are really exagerating. I only remember them doing it once in VOY, “Year of Hell.” and once in ENT, (”Twilight.”) I also find it weird that you are complaining that In TNG they would just talk and not fight. But isn’t that the message Gene Roddenberry was trying to tell? That Humanity had evolved past their savage ways, and tries to find a peaceful solution BEFORE resorting to violence?
Another thing that I find Ironic. How you’re complaining about all the stuff the spinnoffs had or don’t have or once had but then didn’t. Because the only reason they did all the stuff that you are complaining about and bashing, was because PEOPLE COMPLAINED.
Sweet ride in the S2000 Chris!
#143 also note that when kirk made his closing staement at his competancy hearing in “the deadly years” kirk claimed that he was 34 years old. just a thought..
Hey at least we got to see the TMP Admiral’s uniform (penguin dress greys) back on on screen. That uniform rocked. That was worth the ticket price right there.
154. Brian
Yes, I was being a bit sarcastic. JJ Did a great job and after a hundred interviews I am sure it is easy to become a bit cavilier about his production.
Blah! Blah! Blah! You guys just don’t want to admit that JJ Abrams screwed up. Oh he made some money, but that’s because most fans were fooled, as well as the MTV crowd that watched the movie out of mere curiosity.
If you liked it, then go to his conventions, by his toys, and wear Chris Pine shirts. As for the rest of us who enjoy intellectual Star Trek movies, where humanity is better than the MTV crowd, I’ll stick with that. It’s easy to pull off absurd science with street kids. I’ve always said that if JJ Abrams really wanted to attract the “Hip” crowd, simply hang some dice on the bridge, slap on some chrome nacelles, and a 10 million Gigawatt Amplifier, and PRESTO! You’ve got yourself a pimped out Enterprise. Then all you would need is a glass table, and a jar of prescription pain pills for their pleasure.
On a side note, it would have been entertaining to watch JJ Abrams perform the stunt scene with the 1966 Corvette driving off the cliff…only his seat belt gets stuck. *Laughs* Man, that would be worth buying a ticket to see.
Besides, JJ Abrams is a Geek!
Joe