October 2007

2nd Night Added To Menagerie Screenings

Due to the popular demand for the screenings of “The Menagerie” on 300 theaters around the country, Fathom Entertainment have added a second night. So in addition to the screenings on November 13th you can also see Kirk, Spock and Pike in HD on November 15th – with two showings (7:30pm and 10:30pm). More info at Fathom’s website. Fathom have also sent over a high res screen cap and a high res version of the poster. Plus there is a new video trailer. …check it out below.



More TOS Remastered On HD-DVD and iTunes

We are just one month away from the release of Season One of the remastered Star Trek The Original Series and now it looks like we will not have too long to wait for the rest. At a recent trade show Paramount Home Entertainment announced they will be shipping around 30 HD-DVD titles in 2008, but didn’t go into details. However sources have indicated to TrekMovie.com that both Season 2 and Season 3 TOS-R are on the list. Work has already started on the special features for the Season 2 box set and all the the VFX work has been completed as well. TV Shows on DVD is reporting that the Season 2 box may hit stores as early as mid-March, but this has not been confirmed.


Urban Signed For McCoy – New ‘Star Trek’ Crew Complete

JJ Abrams has his new crew for his vision of Star Trek. According to StarTrek.com and The Hollywood Reporter Karl Urban has signed a deal to play Dr. Leonard McCoy. TrekMovie.com first reported that the 35 year-old Kiwi actor was up for an unnamed part two weeks ago, and last week we reported Urban was ‘in talks’ for McCoy but they were working out details related to his busy schedule. Urban was the last recast member of the Original Series crew to sign on, although there are still other roles (such as Pike) to be cast. For a complete current cast list, check out our Star Trek (2008) CAST page. For more on Urban see the original story and follow-up story.


Chris Pine IS Kirk…Deal Signed Today

Well the Chris Pine as Kirk story has evolved over the last week from ‘may be’ to ‘apparently’ to ‘almost’ to now ‘done.’ As of this morning the deal wasn’t done, but TrekMovie.com just got sent an update saying the deal ‘is closed’ and Chris Pine is James T. Kirk for J.J. Abrams new Star Trek movie. Once Pine pulled out of the Joe Carnahan / George Clooney White Jazz film it was just a matter of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. Bear in mind that whenever any one of these actors signs on they are also signing on to sequel options, so the deals are certain to be complex. Pine should begin rehearsing with Zachary Quinto and his other co-stars this week.


TrekMovie.com Update On Latest Shatner and Enterprise Rumors

There are a few new Star Trek movie rumors floating around the interweb this week. The first one is in regards to William Shatner. In the talkback section for their article on Chris Pine as Kirk, AICN editor ‘Hercules’ made the comment “All publicity about Shatner not playing Old Kirk in the movie is lie.” Some have taken this to be confirmation that Shatner will indeed be in the film, however I am sure AICN would agree that if they were reporting that they would have made a special article about it. According to TrekMovie.com sources there is no final decision on Shatner either way. So Hercules is correct that it is a ‘lie’ to say Shatner definitely will not be in the film, but it would also be a lie to say that he definitely will be in the film.


The Reeves-Stevens Talk Books With TrekMovie.com

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens first started writing Star Trek books back in 1988 with "Memory Prime" and after that went on to write the two epics "Prime Directive" and "Federation." In 1995 they collaborated with William Shatner on his first Trek novel "The Ashes of Eden" and the trio went on to complete three trilogies – creating the so called "Shatnerverse" of Trek fiction. This month their latest opus, "Star Trek: The Academy–Collision Course" hits books stores. The novel chronicles the lives of young Kirk and Spock as they head to Starfleet Academy. In a new exclusive interview the Reeves-Stevens talk to TrekMovie.com about their Trek writing career and their latest collaboration with the original Captain Kirk. 




Pine Apparently Confirmed For Kirk [UPDATED]

Last week news broke that Chris Pine was weighing his options between the role as James T. Kirk in the new Star Trek and a role in Joe Carnahan’s White Jazz movie. Today on his official blog, Carnahan confirmed that Pine had chosen to go with Trek: The young man playing Junior Stemmons has opted to ‘go where no man has gone before’ and thus, had to bow out of WHITE JAZZ.




Nimoy Talks Trek, Spock and New Photography Book

After 40 years, Leonard Nimoy is still amazed and grateful for the popularity ‘Star Trek’ and his character, Mr. Spock. In an interview with The Jewish Chronicle, the actor says he is "flattered, amused and delighted" that ‘Star Trek’ has endured They were good stories, interesting stories, stories that are universal and stand up over time. Star Trek has never been a millstone. It has always given me opportunities to make choices about what to do with my work and my life.


Karl Urban In Talks For McCoy [UPDATED]

It looks like the JJ Abrams is looking to the south for his country doctor…and by south I mean south of the equator. Two weeks ago TrekMovie.com reported that New Zealand actor Karl Urban was being considered for an unnamed role in the new Star Trek film, but not (as reported elsewhere) the villain. Since then we have learned that Eric Bana will be playing the villain ‘Nero.’ And today TrekMovie.com has confirmed with a source that Urban is now in talks for the role of Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, the role originally played by DeForest Kelley. According to the source the deal is not certain and Urban’s schedule seems to be an issue with a film currently shooting and another in pre-production. 


Update On Production, Budget and Casting

Pre-production on the new Star Trek feature film is in full force right now. Most of the Bad Robot team including director J.J. Abrams have moved onto the Paramount lot in the last month and according to sources their little golf carts can be seen speeding all over the place. Most design work is complete and construction has been on going since September on a number of Paramount stages, including 4, 8, 9, 14 and 15…all of which have seen past Trek productions. Stages 8 and 9 have the most Trek history, having been in almost constant use for Trek films and TV from 1978 (Phase II/TMP) through 2005 (ENT). The production is also still expected to use some stages on the Universal lot as well.


Simon Pegg Pegged For Scotty [UPDATE: Doohan Responds] [UDPATE 2: McGillion Responds]

The search for a Scot is over… and it’s an Englishman! Variety is reporting that British actor, writer and comedian Simon Pegg has won the role of Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. The 37-year-old beat out a number of others who were up for role of Trek’s most famous engineer, including Stargate’s Paul McGillion.  Pegg, who is best known for starring in the hit British comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, had previously worked with Abrams and many members of his ‘Trek’ team on last year’s Mission: Impossible: III, in which Pegg played IMF technician Benji Dunn (essentially the ‘Scotty’ of M:I:III).


John Cho Is The New Sulu [UPDATE: A Takei Endorsement]

TrekMovie.com has another exclusive scoop for JJ Abrams’ new crew. According to sources Korean born actor John Cho has been tipped to be the new Hikaru Sulu for the new Star Trek. Cho is probably best known as a comedy actor for his roles in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and American Pie. At 35, Cho is older than the character calls for (and older than George Takei was when he originated the role), but Cho tends to ‘play younger’ as they say in Hollywood. Cho was not available for comment, but at an event last year he told TrekMovie.com he would jump at the chance to play Trek’s original helmsman saying "are you kidding? to drive the Enterprise, that would be so cool!"



Star Trek ‘Getting Real’ For Quinto – Endorses Pine For Kirk

It has been about a year since Zachary Quinto first started talking about Spock in the new Star Trek film and now it is really sinking in. In a new TV Guide interview the actor admits that he campaigned for the role by telling everyone he knew or would listen "I want to be Spock." But it appears some prosthetic pointy ears finally made the part real, saying: I just had my first fitting for my Vulcan ears. It felt incredible, and in that moment there was a huge shift for me. Suddenly it was real, and I was like "OK! Let’s get this thing going!


Perpetual Puts Launch Title On Hold To Focus On Star Trek Online

Looks like there is a bit of trouble over at Perpetual Entertainment, the young company that is building the "Star Trek Online" MMORPG slated for early 2009. Their launch title, the Roman-themed "Gods & Heroes" game, was to premiere sometime this year but has suffered from various delays and now it appears it is being put on indefinite hold. According to an official announcement the move was to allow the company to focus on Star Trek Online, and TrekMovie.com has been told that STO is still on track and will actually benefit from the move.


Chris Pine May Be New Kirk

This is the big one folks — 27 year-old actor Chris Pine is in talks to play James T. Kirk in the new Star Trek movie. TrekMovie.com was tipped off on the Pine talks earlier, but before it could be confirmed the story showed up at the Hollywood Reporter (which is pretty good confirmation). Pine is a relative unknown, but right now a bit of a hot commodity in Hollywood. In fact the actor is mulling over two roles (playing Kirk and a part in a new Joe Carnahan / George Clooney film) with negotiations focusing on the overlapping shooting schedules. Pine may have to choose one over the other and if he picks Clooney over Kirk, Paramount and Abrams are reported to have a number of backup options (this seems to back up our earlier report that Mike Vogel was not the leading candidate for Kirk, but was being looked at).


Eric Bana To Be ‘Star Trek’ Villain

The villain in the new Star Trek film will be played by an Australian, but not (as rumored) Russell Crowe. Trek’s new bad guy will be played by Eric Bana, star of the 2005 Steven Spielberg film Munich . According to Variety the 39 year-old Aussie has signed on to play a character called ‘Nero,’ but no other details have been provided. In a strange coincidence Bana co-starred with Tom Hardy (Shinzon – Star Trek Nemesis) in the 2001 Ridley Scott film Black Hawk Down – making two Trek movie villains in a row from that movie.


Abrams On His New Chekov and Uhura

Beyond the Spocks (Quinto and Nimoy), the only confirmed cast members for the new Star Trek film are Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Anton Yelchin as Chekov. In the latest official Star Trek magazine director J.J. Abrams spoke for the first time (briefly) on his latest stars. Abrams on Saldana Zoe’s strength, intelligence, humor and beauty will help bring Uhura to life in a way that will thrill viewers and honor the estimable talents of Nichelle Nichols


First Look At Star Trek Funeral Products [Updated]

A month ago TrekMovie.com reported that CBS issued a licence to a funeral products company to help send Trekkies into the afterlife. Today at the Funeral Directors Expo in Vegas (complete with costumed characters from Star Trek The Experience) Eternal Images revealed these new products.  They have an approved prototype of the urn and a sketch of the casket. See below for higher res image.


Interview – Orci Talks Casting, Characters, Canon…and Kirks

In the first part of the TrekMovie.com exclusive interview with Star Trek co-writer and executive producer Roberto Orci we learned the scribe is a true Trek fan right down to his USS Enterprise phone and phaser collection. In the second part presented below Orci talks in more detail about the 2008 feature film including a status report on casting, more detail on their approach to canon, discussing what characters we may see in this film (and the next), how the film will appeal Trekkies and non Trekkies….oh and a little bit on that Shatner guy too.





See Remastered “The Menagerie” On The Big Screen!

A year before J.J. Abrams brings his vision of The Original Series to the big screen, the original Original Series is going to get a go. CBS just announced a special presentation of the remastered "The Menagerie" on November 13th at almost 300 theaters nationwide. Both parts of "The Menagerie" will be shown in HD and cinema surround sound. The presentation includes a 30 minute behind-the-scenes featurette about the remastering. You can find theaters and buy tickets  at Fathom Events ($12.50). More info at STARTREK.com Of course it is no coincidence that these screenings are being held one week before the release of  Star Trek: TOS – The Complete First Season [on HD DVD]