As reported earlier, JJ Abrams attended the Saturn Awards on Wednesday night to honor Leonard Nimoy (where he was asked about Trek’s future). In a new video interview (below) JJ talks even more about the possibilities. We also have a great collection of photos of Abrams, Nimoy and other Trek celebrities from the event.
Abrams already ‘salivating’ over Star Trek sequel
Abrams told Collider that they are just starting talking stories, but that he is excited saying "as we are talking about stories you start to salivate — I can’t wait to do that." But he has not yet decided if he will direct or just be a producer. However he emphasized how much he has fallen in love with Star Trek and the characters and vowed "I wont be walking away from Trek in any way in the next film." Regarding going with a classic villain or with a ‘force of nature’ type of villain, Abrams again noted you have to be "open to everything" but seemed biased towards an actual villain, asking "how do you fight evil wind?"
You can watch the brief interview below.
More Photos from Saturns
Our Pal, and photographer extraordinaire, Al Ortega has sent over a whole bunch of photos of Star Trek celebrities from the Saturn Awards red carpet, press room and after-party.
Click on any photo to enlarge.
Arrivals
JJ Abrams
Leonard Nimoy and his wife
Gary Graham (ENT – Soval)
Garrett Wang (VOY – Ens. Kim)
Backstage press room
Nimoy and Abrams
Roberto Picardo (VOY – The Doctor)
After party:
Abrams with Rod Roddenberry
Abrams with Doug Jones
(L-R) Rod Roddenberry, Phil LeMarr, Garrett Wang, Casper Van Dien and Doug Jones
(L-R) Jeff Rector, Jeff Ross and JJ Abrams
(L-R) Jeff Ross, JJ Abrams and Len McLeod (CEO of Highlander Films)
Al photos by Albert L. Ortega. Al’s Photos are available at prphotos.com
Also the following photo was provided to TrekMovie by the Saturn Awards:
Leonard Nimoy (R) received the Lifetime Achievement Award,
presented by J. J. Abrams (L) at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films 35th annual Saturn Awards on Wednesday (24) at the Castaways in Burbank,
California. Abrams, who directed the recent “Star Trek” for Paramount, also accepted the Best Network Series Award for “Lost,” which he co-created.
(Photo: Carlos Muro)
Make another trilogy!
How do you fight evil wind?
Let the wisecracks begin.
NO KHAN! Oh wait wrong talkback…
Unknown between Rod Roddenberry and Garrett Wang is Phil LaMarr.
Yikes, what happened to Garrett Wong? lol
And I think it’s too much to ask for a simple “exploration of the unknown” plot in the next movie (something that would be better suited for a TV episode).
I’m perfectly fine with an actual villian– as long as it’s someone or something new. Perhaps an overwhelming, Borg-style villain.
The LAST thing I want to see is another Khan-wannabe though. We’ve seen more than enough of those.
Why would the wind even be evil? Struggles for survival are not always about good & evil…
Star Trek should stay true to its mission statement – EXPLORE STRANGE NEW WORLDS – BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE. I just don’t feel that any of the movies have ever really highlghted what that ship is out there to do… explore. I will be very interested, like everyone, to see how messers Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman decide to shape this exciting new trek. I loved the new movie and the re-invention that the new actors brought to the roles and look forward to more Scotty and seeing his reputation as a miracle worker in action… although perhaps minus the little alien sidekick… maybe Nick Frost instead?
Well done all round JJ Abrams, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
– I can’t wait to see a pre(se)quel to the new trek movie…without the new yellow uniform ofcourse….i hate yellow things..
Hasn’t somebody noticed that the Capt of the Enterprise wrestles a snarling villain on some kind of scaffolding with some kind of a weapon in contention at the end of just about every Star Trek movie? The villain is hurled down a chasm of flame of poison gas. Like Hello? A little more imagination, please.
You can battle an evil wind that perhaps is a quasi life form… A malevolent storm in space that has an intelligence it takes a couple of hours to figure out and outwit. Why not?
6.
“Why would the wind even be evil? Struggles for survival are not always about good & evil…”
Good counterpoint.
Why turn the reboot, reinvention, or whatever of this franchise into a remake factory from the origanal stories? Remakes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood right now. Let’s get creative here.
“how do you fight evil wind?”
The Jim Kirk I grew up with always found a way …
11:
RD:
Avoid the spicy bean burritos. Stick with the chicken sandwich and coffee. Doctor’s orders.
#6, #10 … You guys got it! The absolute best thing about Trek’s encounters is that there’s more to the villain than that it’s a monster. Cloverfield would never have made it as a Trek villain.
There is always a real motivation behind the wind– a purpose, that is never evil but rather a manifestation of human qualities that we take for granted. Khan, for example, (who I hope doesn’t come anywhere near the next movie) couldn’t have just been a fighter and couldn’t have just been angry about his family and about being marooned — that’s too simplistic for a living, breathing creature. Khan was about purpose — and if you breed soldiers, what do they do when the war is over? Sort of a Rambo idea. THAT makes it brilliant. That makes Star Trek fun.
Who can ever forget the little alien that was trying to suckle the Enterprise! It wasn’t evil…
Ok. How About Kirk fight the Gasious cloud creature. Since the Farraget did not Have the Big E fight it. it is still out there. Or Theres always the Doomsday machine.it’s still out there. or how about the court come up with some new villian and let there imagineation just go wild.
However it’s done, there has to be conflict, risk, a seemingly insurmountable hurdle to overcome. That’s drama, that’s what brings in an audience and makes the movie emotionally fun. Otherwise it’s a travelogue in space.
Theres always Charlie evens. He is still out there and of corse theres Tralane or the Squire of Gothos. Hey we could see the Horta. It can be a bit of a misunderstood villian. They could have a run in with the Melkotions and the Gunfight at the Ok Corral. Do not forget that Dr Janice Lester is on the loose. How about the Salt monster. Gorn anyone. How about the Q. One was on Earth in the 1800s. Theres always Guinan. But she can be a good guy. Would be great to see Whoopie Goldberg in Star Trek. How about Kang and Koloth and Kor be the Villians.As Spock is fond of saying. There are always possibilities. Khan is still in the S.S. Botney Bay. Just keep Gary Mitchell away from the barrier. Oh and no M5 computers they just arnt that good. Nomad is still on the loose. So is Veger. An early run in with the Whale probe. Theres the Kelvins wanting to get back to Andramada. Best to avoid the Nexus.Praxus could always blow up early. Well. We will just havt to see.
Hows this. Guinan is there and she makes the mistake of spilling the beans that Datas head is in the caveren and she gets Kirjk and Spock to help her and gets Dr Soong from that time frame to bring this Data to life.
Is it Garrett “Wong” or “Wang”? :S
18: It’s Garrett Wang :-D (though pronounced ‘Wong’)
Regards,
Chris
Right. Remember the crystalline entity? We never found out if it was “evil or feeding.”
However, I’m not suggesting the franchise return to morality plays with principles in balance. This crew is balls against the walls frenetic, courageous, creative. Not terribly “thoughtful” or “introspective.” And you know what? Even though I grew up with Star Trek, TOS, TNG and Voyager (you can have Ent & DS9 IMHO) I don’t miss that element at all. Treading lightly on that element of the Enterprise emergence is what broke this film away from the what the franchise was becoming: stodgy, precious, self-congratulatory, inbred and predictable.
Amazing how XI didn’t just refresh “classical” Star Trek, it eclipsed it, leaving the best intact and venturing away from dead weight.
Garrett Wang really, really needs a haircut.
Boy, JJ was talkin’ so much in that video, I couldn’t hear what the babe behind him was sayin’ at all. : (
Oh well, at least I could watch her the whole time! : D
All apologies I need to spellcheck here. Garret Wang, but it pronounced Wong and it’s Casper Van Diem.
Garret and Gary Graham, who were both in the recent fan/indie Trek production Of Gods And Men.
-cs™
If you go by the Indian saying (I’m sure most everyone has this kind of saying) is you use a greater evil that then becomes your friend. I do not know if they said that for real but I first read the line from a Auto biography I read in Grade School. (In 4th grade I read all 237 autobiographys my Kansas City school had that year, and earned many extra points, most were about our country’s founding fathers).
Great pictures!
Also, Gary Graham is proof that not all Hollywood actors, nor Trek actors, are of one political persuasion. (See, e.g., http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/04/actor-gary-graham-while-obamas-out-of.html )
While I am not conservative, IDIC, I always say.
They technically do not need a main villain per say. I think back to films like “Black Hawk Down” and “Master and Commander,” they really did not have a traditional main villain. In “Black Hawk Down,” the closes you got was the man with sunglasses who kept on reappearing. And if I remember correctly the captain of the French ship didn’t even make an appearance at all in “Master and Commander.” These 2 films were very entertaining, action packed, but you also had a sense of brotherhood from everything that happened in the film. That is something I would really like to see and experience in the next movie. The sense that this new crew is a family and they all need each other to make it through whatever danger they are in. The other thing I would really like to see is that the Enterprise is there home. She is just not another ship, something the Next Generation films never captured.
“as we are talking about stories you start to salivate — I can’t wait to do that.”
God, I know. Nothing like a bit of salivation after a long spell of dry mouth.
Interesting twist that the sequel will have a story. It’s good to know they’ll be doing something new.
how do you fight evil wind?”
The Jim Kirk I grew up with always found a way …
#11, I agree
Why must there be a villain?
Sequel Mark#2
At the end of STAR TREK 09 are we now not some years ahead of ourselves? In the original timeline, straight after the Academy, Kirk was assigned to the Farragut and Spock to the Enterprise with Captain Pike.
Due to circumstances in the new timeline Kirk and the team are bought onto the Enterprise years before the TOS “5year mission”.
Unless JJ takes a massive leap forward, shouldn’t we explore this new period between the end of ST09 and “Where No Mans Gone Before”?
If anything Kirk should now take the Enterprise into the events of “The Cage” – How about a story of “Number One” (that female on the bridge) coming into the story for a short time displacing Spock after a temporary “Grade Reduction to Science Officer” for some misdemeanor?
I always though the Theologians story could have been much bigger, sort of “Forbidden Planet” style except this time we find some survivors. Kirk becomes the “caged animal”, he get’s the girl thrown at him BUT THIS TIME we visit Kirks memories with Vina, not Pikes.
As with so many Star Trek stories a B Plot could be constructed to more usefully deploy Spock, the crew, and the Enterprise until they ultimately rescue Jimmie boy.
After this story is told we now move closer to the original timeline where Kirk would have taken the Enterprise after his few years on the Farragut.
Then and only then when we’ve moved along the alternate time line far enough should we start to talk about Kahn, Kingons and other TOS episodes.
How do you fight evil wind?With BEANO.
Lets move on to a real villain;& not just some mad hatter-type villain.It should be a massive,systemic villain(like the Romulans & Klingons were),who have a set of ideals & organizing principles,repugnant to, & in opposition to,us.Who must be constantly given the”push-back”,while we set out to explore the Galaxy around us.
In addition to the gaseous cloud from Obsession (an underated episode in my view), there’s the giant amoeba from the Immunity Syndrome that the Big E might have to contend with
Let’s see. Only the first and fourth Star Trek movies can be said to NOT have a “villain” (although #6 and #8 are more about conspiracy than a central “bad guy” character). They were both financially successful, and I may be in the minority when I say that I like “The Motion Picture” more than “The Voyage Home” (especially TMP Director’s Edition). On the TV shows, there were many great stories with no defined villain; so I think we are due for a non-villain Trek movie.
For the love of god don’t make another villain for a movie just to have them die at the end of the film. That’s one thing that drives me nuts about the super hero movies, most of the time the villain is dead by the end. How about the enterprise vs your dumb cloverfield bat monster? There you go! You can have your lensesflair and uber shaky cam all in one!
@20 Yeah who cares about meaningful insight huh? You just need to see more stuff blow up?
This movie needs exploration no matter what, no the whole movie doesn’t need to be about it, but that is one of the main things that sets it apart from the other sci fi etc.
remake Star Trek 4… only this time Kirk and crew go back to 2010/11 and instead of Gillian Taylor at a fictional Ceteacean Institute we have actress Hayden Panettiere playing an alternate version of herself working with Greenpeace and The Whaleman Foundation…and along the way Kirk and crew meet up with Gary Seven who is a temporal agent from Daniels’ time and is trying to ensure the birth of Zefram Cochrane occurs as it needs to…we find out that Gary arranged for Star Trek to be created as part of a plan to ensure history goes the way it should…Kirk and crew get the whales (here named Gene and Majel; not George and Gracie) but along the way knocks up alternaHayden and alternaHayden is revealed to be the mother of Zefram Cochrane with Kirk being daddy to him…we also find out that Gary Seven plans to seed the appropriate parents, come tbe 23rd Century, with the DNA of the actors who play the crew in the films now…making Kirk and crew clones of the actors who play them here…we even get a reference to Trek 09 in the next film…and alternaHayden names her baby after a character in Star Trek First Contact…;) Kirk and crew return to the 23rd Century, and Earth is saved…
“How do you fight evil wind?”
JJ displays “two-dimensional thinking” if he can’t readily come up with some space anomaly to threaten the new crew! Sheesh!!
I agree with #32……look at The Immunity Syndrome with the giant amoeba! Great stuff!
Just imagine a hybrid of that story coupled with The Doomsday Machine!
With today’s special effects and great acting from our new cast, what a blockbuster!!
C’mon, Bob and gang…..do we have to connect ALL the dots for you??!!
Please Direct again, JJ. You did a great job. I even came to love the lens flares!
He doesn’t look blown away by the ‘nature of the universe’ suggestion though, does he.
evil wind=nexus, lots of cam shaking and last second beaming and firing of the deflector dish, this is why JJ is the man, he calls it as it is and is smart to know a lame plot of exploration and fighting evil wind will not work. If no Khan then at least explain how the Federation and Klingons discover each other/go to war/Kirk’s first time meeting a Klingon battle cruiser in this alternate universe.
#29 “Why must there be a villain?”
You know the reason. Big, blockbuster movies need some kind of villain to appeal the masses. It’s a rule.
That’s why we have (and I want!) TV series: to explore the universe of Star Trek in a much deeper way.
I’ve always liked Garrett with longer hair!
#9 Zanzibar- Yeah!
It’s been, “stop the guy/ prevent the countdown/ wrestle on scaffold/ prevent the disaster, etc” for WAY too many movies.
What ever HAPPENED to where no man has gone before??
Garrett looks sorta like a very healthy Michael Jackson.
#42
This is before the “Where no man has gone before” five-year mission thing.
It’s Robert Picardo, not Roberto Picardo.
Thing is, in a movie, you need a face to the opposition. If the opponent has no face, the characters eventually turn on each other. Think of how much the appreciation of the film relies on a strong antagonist:
ST:TMP – Kirk is arguably turned into the bad guy. V’ger is merely a maguffin to set a bunch of ex-friends at each other’s throats. as a result the film can’t focus on one thing.
TWOK – KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! The perfect villain in a scary makeover of Balance of Terror.
TSFS – Kruge/Starfleet intransigence/David’s hubris. Again, a lack of focus weakens the movie.
TVH – a ‘holiday film’ in which 20th Century human attitudes are ‘the enemy’. A culture clash comedy and a sidestep for the series, so the same rules don’t need to apply as to the other films.
TFF – in the absence of a strong ‘villain’, the crew turns on each other again. Miserable.
TUC – a slightly ill-focused conspiracy including a number of ‘faces’ from past films. Christopher Plummer’s wonderfully OTT Klingon gives us a baddie to latch on to, though!
GEN – the lack of one decent villain means the film lacks any focus at all. Is the threat the Nexus, Soran, Lursa and B’Etor or the terrible screenplay?
FC – the Borg Queen provides a focal point for the Borg threat. The third best villain of the TOS/TNG films. The Borg Queen is what V’Ger should have been.
INS – another attempt at a ‘holiday film’ with a couple of blokes snarling a bit to be ‘bad guys’ but really just arguing over a patch of real estate. The threat is negligible though. An acceptable ‘fun’ TNG 2-parter, and a waste of a theatrical movie! I’d have considered INS a perfectly acceptable TVM or straight to DVD film.
NEM – a weak villain, weak sidekick, complete lack of focus.
ST09 – a ‘pilot’ movie with an ill-defined baddie, but the focus is more of an origin story, so it can get away some of the other issues. That said, the sequel’s plot needs to be watertight.
So, to my mind, you need a strong antagonist to focus on to make a Trek movie work. You can still have a morality tale or even a ‘mighty wind’ threat, but you need a ‘human’ face to the film’s antagonist.
I say go with a Gorn as villain or Kang or some other Klingon or what about Tholins?
Happy Birthday JJ
Live long and make more Star Trek
My thoughts on a possible sequel movie The film opens with the science vessel USS Edison, under the command of Lt Cmdr Markel, on a surveying mission, scouting for potential terraforming planets. On board the vessel is Dr Carol Marcus, a leading molecular biologist, who has created a devise which can instantaneously alter environmental and climatic conditions of a planet for terraforming. The devise was successfully used on creating the exact environmental conditions needed for terraforming New Vulcan. The Edison is in orbit of an ice planet, launching a series of robotic probes, testing whether the planet has stable land mass under the sheets of ice. If successful the Edison will launch the “Marcus” Device into orbit and alter the climatic conditions of the planet for settlement for a future colony. Without warning a magnetic space storm engulfs the ship. The storm begins to cause serious electrical damage to the Edison, databanks are accessed and severe power fluctuations follow. The magnetic disruption is making the warp core appear unstable and critical. Markel orders all hands to abandon ship. A distress signal is activated and life pods are ejected. The pods enter the atmosphere of the ice world The magnetic storm immediately disappears and the Edison is left intact. Federation Council The Federation is in crisis, the destruction of Vulcan, one of the foremost founding worlds of the United Federation of Planets has created tensions and uncertainty. There are genuine fears that a traditional enemy make try and take advantage of the situation or indeed that the Federation may splitter and break. Admiral Pike is addressing the council requesting resource funding for new classes of starships and increases to existing shipyard production to protect and parole boarders Ambassador Sarek updates the council on the progress of the Vulcan resettlement. Meeting is concluded that the colonization of the new Vulcan World will have a stabilizing affect Starfleet disagrees with this assessment Vulcan Refugee Fleet Mass Fleet formed of a vast variety of Vulcan vessels and Vulcan’s who were not on the Planet following the destruction of the Vulcan homeworld heading towards the new colony. Spock Prime is on the leading command vessel coordinating the relocation New Vulcan – “Vulcania” Shown are various settlements and construction works. In orbit new Space Dock is under construction Formal Opening Ceremony of the new Vulcan Home World – New Vulcan is formally welcomed and inducted into the Federation – Moving Speech referring to this new world as a second “new awakening”. USS Enterprise The crew of the Starship Enterprise are enjoying the hospitality of a new world However, McCoy is having an ethical debate with the planets chancellor on the state of the planets healthcare policy of having to pay for medical care Spock is having emotional turmoil over his feelings for Uhura and his duty to help rebuild the Vulcan people and take a Vulcan wife and produce Vulcan offspring. Kirk receives a communication from Admiral Pike, vital Federation defence plans and technological data have been stolen and is on the open market for the highest bidder The Enterprise is in pursuit of a craft, and is firing to disable, Enterprise locks on a tractor beam and beams the sole occupant onto the Enterprise. The Enterprise has been trying to find a notorious con-artist Harry Mudd suspected of smuggling and selling Federation technology and secrets and even trying to sell the Enterprise for the highest bidder. Mudd informs Capt Kirk that he was to sell his information to Cyrano Jones on Deep Space Station K-7, near the Klingon Boarder. K-7 Enterprise arrives at newly commissioned trading outpost of K-7 and finds out the Klingon’s are the bidders purchasing the stolen information. They are aware of the new Terraforming device and view it as a part of wider offensive strategy for fast expansion along the Klingon/Federation boarder and see potential for using the technology to alter climatic condition where Federation worlds currently exist. Federation Colony Scene then cuts to a Federation Colony and space station in orbit. The mysterious magnetic storm appears and makes its way towards the Space Station. Within moments, the entire Space Station is rendered powerless and inactive and its orbit begins to decay. The magnetic storm suddenly disappears and a massive fleet of Klingon ships emerges from warp and decloaks. The Klingon General is informed that the Colony has successfully managed to establish its infantry trenches and powered up its energy shield to protect them from the Klingon orbital bombardment. The Klingon General orders a surface attack, but is furious that the Klingon Fleet decloaked too soon and gave away their element of surprise. He kills the messenger for dishonor. The Klingon forces land their ground forces and assault vehicles. A fierce battle ensues, however the superior Klingon forces eventually overpower the… Read more »
As far as I’m concerned, either a “classic villain” or “force of nature villain” is fine so long as the story is good and creates a dynamic tension that will be compelling to watch for two hours. What I most want to see in the next film are:
1.) That the Enterprise’s mission of exploration be the catalyst for its encounter with the adversary. The ST movies, even the best ones, have tended to rely on our heroes’ reacting to the actions of the bad guy — machine, alien, or superhuman. I would like to see the events of the next film spring from Kirk, Spock and company finding new worlds or running into life while sailing out into the cosmos. What I loved about the original series, especially the earliest episodes, is how it made the galaxy feel big, mysterious and full of wonder. I want to get that feeling back.
2.) The continued exploration of the human condition. This is the backbone of Star Trek. Whatever adversary the crew encounters, the story should show how their humanity helps them solve the dilemma. To this end, McCoy’s role needs to be boosted (as much as I like that Uhura got more screen time in the current film). He’s the conscience of the triumverate, and I want to see that relationship between him, Kirk and Spock get back to what it was.
Respectfully submitted,
Payne
Seriously though, start thinking outside the box for a moment. All these ‘good guys / bad guys’ films are blueprints of one another. (and yes, all blockbuster movies are too, really)
Guess he’s never seen 2001…