A while back we squashed the Matt Damon will play Kirk rumor being trumpeted by IGN, and now (ironically) IGN has a video of Damon both denying the rumor and starting up a new one. Damon says that he talked to J.J. Abrams about the ‘internet rumor’ and recounts how Abrams told him they are looking ‘much younger,’ and that the film is ‘the early years’ of Kirk. Watch it…
Preview for this weekend’s remastered episode "Squire of Gothos" is finally up at STARTREK.com. Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. There is a also a new "Squire of Gothos" desktop (not a new digital shot) Preview courtesy of STARTREK.COM
Kirk v Picard script writing contest video bloggers George Takei and Wil Wheaton reflect on the presidential qualities Trek’s most famous captains. [Hollywood Media Elite Alert: the actors also opine on the current President]
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominees for the 59th annual Emmy Awards and there are a few Trek connections. William Shatner (TOS: Kirk) was again nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series (for Boston Legal). This is Shatner’s fourth year in a row being nominated (he now has a total of five nominations and two wins: 2004 & 2005). Shatner will be going up against Masi Oka who plays the Star Trek fan Hiro Nakamura on Heroes (Oku’s father is played by George Takei) as well as Lost’s Terry O’Quinn who had a guest spot on TNG. Heroes picked up a total of eight nominations(including Best Dramatic Series), but no nomations for Zachary Quinto (potential new Spock), George Takei (TOS: Sulu) or Greg Grunberg (J.J.Abrams best friend and almost certain Star Trek 2008 cameo). Although he is not nominated for it, the "The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner" was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special.
Star Trek: Year Four is the latest comic series from IDW. It is set in a notional ‘4th season’ of the "Star Trek The Original Series" (during "Star Trek The Animated Series"). The Enterprise encounters an immense planetary mass, capable of supporting 800 billion inhabitants, with only twenty life signs. Beaming down to investigate, Kirk finds Dr. Othello Beck, renowned medical researcher and Phlox prize winner [ENT ref alert!], working in a vast scientific laboratory left by a dead civilization. With Beck are the B’nai, creatures he created to assist in the lab. Kirk and McCoy discover that Beck’s ethics are questionable. He’s hiding a terrible secret which ends tragically.
We know Zachary Quinto wants to be Spock, and TrekMovie.com has reported that we have heard some buzz about the actor being in actual talks. Now it appears that the actor himself loves the attention. Quinto tells IGN "I love these rumors, I think anything we can do to keep these going is good." When asked straight out if he really was ‘in talks’ the actor wouldn’t give a straight answer, saying "I’m talking to you about it right now, my friend. I am talking to you about this role, right now." So there you have it…Quinto is relishing the Spock talk. This has some of the same feeling as the James McAvoy/Scottie rumors, which for a while seemed to be being perpetuated by the actor himself. Hopefully we will have this all cleared up next week. Remember that TrekMovie.com will be the only independent Star Trek site reporting from Comic-Con. COMIC CON UPDATE: Quinto Confirmed (w/ photos & video)
The Kirk v Picard script contest is almost over…all submissions are in for all 4 rounds and the last scene will be decided this week. Wil Wheaton now has an ‘Encore performance’ to his previous (and popular) Kirk & Picard impersonations using lines from the contest submissions. He also does some tongue in cheek Wesley for added fun. Keep track of the goings on at the Official Blog (run by yours truly)
Trouble brewingThe Enterprise takes aboard a passenger: Charlie Evans. He’s spent his life in isolation, never met a girl, and doesn’t know how to dress. So of course he’s one happy fanboy when he finds himself aboard the Starship Enterprise. He develops what’s politely called a “crush” on Janice Rand, snubbing all the other hotties on the ship. It must be her unpredictability that he finds so arresting; she’s offended when he slaps her butt yet when he somehow impossibly jams a playing card down her cleavage she’s charmed and impressed.
Besides the TOS-R HD DVDs, there will be two other Star Trek releases on DVD this year. The first release is another ‘Fan Collective’ called "Captains Log" with episodes chosen by each of Trek’s captains: Kirk (William Shatner), Picard (Patrick Stewart), Sisko (Avery Brooks), Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Archer (Scott Bakula). The set will include new special features from each of the actors as well (details below) and is released on July 24th. The second release is a new complete box set for Star Trek: The Next Generation coming out October 3rd (just in time for the 20th anniversary). That set will include new special features as well More details below
It was the best of comics, it was the worst of comics… The conclusion to IDW’s Star Trek The Next Generation "The Space Between" saga is both disappointing and enjoyable. IDW’s TNG comics have always been a mixture of good and problematic. Neither Issue 5 "Space Seeds" or issue 6 deviates from these expectations. IDW comics have a good sense of the characters. Each issues has presented characters that are familiar to their television versions. However, the situations they deal with and the narratives of the issues are problematic.
William Shatner may not be in the new Star Trek movie, but he does have yet another job. A&E announced a revamping of their Biography Channel including a rebranding to simply ‘Bio.’ They are introducing a slate of original reality programming with ‘the centerpiece’ being a new talk show tentatively titled "William Shatner’s Raw Nerve" hosted by The Shat himself. A&E senior VP of nonfiction and alternative programming Rob Sharenow describes the show: "It’s not going to be your typical celebrity junket show — he’s going to get the most interesting, unusual celebrities and notable people.” No information on when the show will premiere. More info at Multichannel News. [UPDATED: Variety is reporting A&E have ordered 13 episodes and the show will premiere in 2008.] More Shat: New Shatner video on how he can’t say no to adventurous projects
With all the recent news TrekMovie.com thought it would check in with the ‘Bring Back Kirk’ Campaign and see what they thought of JJ Abrams plans for bringing back Kirk (but maybe not William Shatner). The BBK campaign started in the aftermath of Star Trek Generarations in 1994 by some fans who were not happy with how the character of Kirk was uncerimonially killed off. The BBK claim over a million hits a year to their site, with growing trafic over recent months (for obvious reasons). Although they have never had any contact with Shatner or Parmount they have shown up in some documentaries as well as getting media coverage by various genre sites and mags as well as TV Guide. They may be best known for their elaborate CGI trailers trailers using audio clips from films, TV and audio books to weave together a story around Kirk’s return. Jason Turner (29, freelance web designer from the UK) spoke to TrekMovie.com on behalf of the BBK campign and gave their thoughts on the latest news.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The film is considered by many (including J.J. Abrams) to be the best of the 10 film series and the benchmark by which other films are compared. The film was directed (and written) by Nicholas Meyer, who went on to co-write Star Trek IV and VI (which he also directed. Meyer recently appeared at the screening of the film (part of Geek Magazine’s ‘1982 Geekiest Year Ever’ Series). I had a moment to talk to Mr. Meyer at the event about his views on the film so many years later, if he would make any CGI changes, why he isn’t credited as a writer and his views of the franchise going forward. (Interview below)
The Enterprise take on a teenage boy with bad social skills who develops a crush on Yeoman Rand…oh and he has superpowers. Preview | Episode Info | Show times
For our Friday Night Movie we bring you the lazy man’s version of of ST: TMP…but first a commercial break. …and now for our special feature…ST:TMP in 10 minutes (via the talking book)
A brand new audio commentary for the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s edition is now available at STARTREK.COM. The commentary features the production crew behind the DE: Daren R. Dochterman, David C. Fein and Michael Matessino. The commentary was recorded just last month and covers things not discussed in director Robert Wise’s commentary on the original disks. Go to STARTREK.COM to download it. If you don’t have it you will need to pick up Star Trek – The Motion Picture: The Director’s Cut (Two-Disc Special Collector’s Edition) at Amazon.
In a new video for the Kirk v Picard Script Writing Contest George Takei and Wil Wheaton talk about their favorite episodes. Takei’s pick is "The Naked Time" and Wheaton’s favorite is (as an actor) "The First Duty," but said "Inner Light" was his favorite as a fan. In a second video Wheaton answers some fan questions showing off his true nerdiness, and also acts out some classic Wesley dialog from the KvP script writing contest. Video courtesy of Fanlib, Clips form CBS
The next episode of Star Trek New Voyages "World Enough And Time" starring George Takei finally has a premiere date: August 23rd. It will be seen in a live streaming event timed to coincide with the gala premiere at a theater in Beverly Hills to be attended by Takei, director Marc Zicree as well as show creator/star James Cawley. This will be the first STNV episode that will use live streaming (the episode will be streamed again, but will not be available for download like previous episodes). George Takei & Grace Lee Whitney in STNV "World Enough and Time"
Preview for this weekend’s remastered episode "Charlie X" is now up at STARTREK.com. Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. Preview for "Charlie X" courtesy of STARTREK.COM
Heroes star Zachary Quinto (IMDB page) has made it well known that he is interested in being the new Spock, as we reported in May and in Decmeber. However it appears there may be more to the story. TrekMovie.com has heard a few times that there have been some talks between Quinto and the film’s producers, but that no deal is done. It is of course almost impossible to nail anything down with regards to casting so this is just rumor at this point, however it seems that CHUD have been picking up on the same thing. They report Quinto is "in negotiations" to be Trek’s new Vulcan science officer. As we learn more we will bring it to you. Quinto’s work as the villain Sylar on Heroes (where he co-stars with JJ Abrams best friend Greg Grunberg) has been quite impressive and created a buzz about the 30 year old actor. TrekMovie.com has been hearing that the producers are leaning away from ‘big stars’ for the staring roles of Kirk and Spock, and if so then Quinto would be an excellent choice. Hopefully by Comic-Con we will know more.
In his latest videoblog on Shatnervision, William Shatner discusses the recent rumors about tension between himself and Leonard Nimoy over roles in the new ‘Star Trek’ movie. The Shat makes a joke about the tensions, but also says that Nimoy has a part and he does not.
It seems that JJ Abrams is frustrated that people haven’t found the hidden websites for the monster movie he is producing. He tells AICN that all this ethanhaas stuff is actually not his movie. This is a bit strange because it was Paramount that was taking down videos from that site posted on YouTube…so I guess they are for some other new mysterious Paramount movie. JJ’s message… Regarding the online stuff you posted: yeah, we’re doing some fun stuff on the web. But, obviously, if the movie doesn’t kick some massive ASS, who gives a rat’s about what’s online? So as you can imagine, we’re focusing mostly on THAT. For what it’s worth, the only site of ours that people have even FOUND is the 1-18-08.com site. The others (like the Ethan Haas sites) have nothing to do with us. OK TrekMovie.com readers…I want you to go out there and find those website and send them in via the tipline…your country needs you!
No more need for crappy pirated video of the new Abrams movie trailer, Paramount have officially released the trailer and it is up at Apple (click image)
Included on the new Comic-Con schedule for later this month is a panel just for Star Trek Remastered on HD DVD. The schedule does not list any of the TOS-R producers, and TrekMovie.com has confirmed that the Okudas and Dave Rossi cannot make it. However the panel does include Billy Blackburn [pictured] who appeared in 61 TOS episodes without any lines (as Mr. Hadley). Why? Because Blackburn carried a camera and got a lot of great shots around the TOS set. Some of this footage was seen in the ITV "After They Were Famous" episode on Trek (available on YouTube). The panel info for the TOS-R DVD says the disks will contain this "never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes 8mm footage."
Sam Rockwell, who played the quintesential ‘red shirt’ Guy Fleegman in the Trek parody "Galaxy Quest" wants to have a big upgrade. The actor tells MTV "I would love to play Captain Kirk. That’s a great part,…Great costumes! I would love to be a William Shatner reincarnation,” [But] I don’t know if I could copy Bill Shatner. I mean, he’s just too genius. I don’t know if I could copy that cadence.” That doesn’t stop him. MTV also have a video where Rockwell shows off his best Shatner Impersonation. He also has some suggestions for who should play Sulu, Spock, and Uhura. Go to MTV to see it.
Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have already declined to write a sequel to their monster hit Transformers (in theaters now), but in a new interview they seem a bit more open to it for Star Trek. When asked if the film is a ‘one off’ they had this to say… Orci: I think maybe on this one more than even on Transformers, we were imagining possibly a bigger universe. Kurtzman: I think that’s part of the responsibility of taking on this franchise. It’s going to continue. That’s part of the whole theme of Star Trek. There is always going to be a future. The pair also talked about the vetting process for the script and what it was like to meet Shatner and Nimoy, saying "it was totally insane." Read the whole interview at GeekMonthly.com.
Since everyone else is doing it… ( LiveVideo | MOV | WMV )
Three survivors from a race that died half a million years ago "borrow" the bodies of Enterprise crew members so they can build android bodies for themselves…what could go wrong? Preview | Episode Info | Show times