Several months ago we reported that the tiny town of Vulcan, Alberta was hoping to hold the world premiere of the new Star Trek movie. Paramount have yet to book the corporate jet for a trip to Canada next May, but that hasn’t stopped the Vulcanians who have now upped the ante by bringing in two more ‘Trek cities’ to bid on three global Star Trek premieres.
First off the Vulcans have now narrowed their scope and are now just vying to have the Canadian premiere for Star Trek. However, they are now working with Riverside, Iowa (aka ‘the future birthplace of James T. Kirk’) as the spot for the US (and presumably World) premiere. Plus they have brought in Linlithgow, Scotland (aka ‘the future birthplace of Montgomery Scott’) as the hopeful for the European premiere. Vulcan Tourism Coordinator Dayna Dickens tells TrekMovie.com that joining with other communities for a common cause seemed the proper thing to do since cooperation is very much in the spirit of Star Trek.
First contact with Paramount
So is there any hope for this quixotic quest for Star Trek fame? Just maybe. Someone at Paramount appears to have been paying attention since, on the morning of February 12th, Dickens was invited to participate in a conference call with executives from the Canadian arm of Paramount Pictures. Although Vulcan, Dickens is quite excited about it, telling TrekMovie.com:
I am thrilled to report that our proposal package was well received. Although it is too soon to say if the premiere will happen in Vulcan, they did indicate that they like the idea; that they will be contacting their offices in the US about it; and that our proposal is being discussed and considered!
According to Dickens the overall reaction has been both positive and supportive. "This concept is catching people’s imagination,” says the tourism advocate. Vulcan has even made some preliminary plans. The town’s Culture and Recreation Hall and a caterer have been booked just in case Paramount say yes. They have even lined up some Hollywood style skylights, not a common item in rural Alberta. And the recent change of timing for the premiere is only seen as good news by Dinkens who feels the Spring date removes any concerns over Canadian snowstorms keeping Paramount away.
Roddenberry headed to Vulcan
The next big event for Vulcan will be their 15th Annual Galaxy Fest on June 13th-15th. They will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station, the tourist information center designed as a landing spacecraft and the most popular destination in town. Rod Roddenberry, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, will be this year’s special guest at Galaxy Fest, where he will be unveiling a memorial garden dedicated to his father.
For more on this campaign for Trek cities to get premieres, check out their Facebook Page. (Where you can see the Proposal sent to Paramount)
I live close to Vulcan. Its a nice town. I would love them to get it!
Anything to help promote the movie and bring it to Star Trek fans is cool with me!
The question is: Are there places called Klingon, Romulus, etc? How many of the different races have cities or towns with the same name? Start googling! We can have premieres in appropriate cities around the world! haha
If I were supportive of the film, I’d vote for Riverside/Iowa…
Anyway, I don’t think Abrams & Co. would be content with such small towns, however important they might be within the scope of ST history. I think they’ll just consider it for a while to show that they incorporate the fans’ and locals’ interests, but in the end they’ll go for the big towns for the premiere.
NO way I think the world premiere should be held in San Fransisco, who else agrees?
And just for the record I’m not even American lol.
I live in London, England, and I believe the World Premiere SHOULD be San Fransisco, with the European Premiere at The Empire, Leicester Square. The only logical choice.
Perhaps the premiere should be held, at least in part, on board the US Navy’s USS Enterprise?
Why not include Atlanta, GA in that mix (birthplace of Dr. McCoy)? :)
I’m from Scotland, and concur that the logical choice for any World Premier should be San Fransisco.
or San FranCisco even…
Go Vulcan….I’m about an hour away from there :-)
There is a “Romulus” in Michigan; it’s where the Detroit Metro Airport is located . . .
Honestly, to be fair to the retentives:
Canon City, Colorado
I just did a mapquest of Riverside IA and there appears to be two of them. One in Washington County and another in Woodbury County. Which one is Kirk’s birthplace?
Although it would be way cool for the folks of Vulcan to have the Canadian premiere there, I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that it will actually happen.
However, good luck and God bless to the good folks of Vulcan!
Peace. Live long and prosper
The Vulcanista }:-|
Wasn’t the second cousin of Amanda’s sister-in-law born in Utrecht?
Hey let’s have the world premier here!
Watch for a rush of communities claiming to be the ‘future birthplace’ of one character or another and angling for their piece of the premiere.
So how about: Kalamazoo, Michigan, the future birthplace of Crewman Green from “Mantrap.” (It’s a great town, JJ!)
#8 David — that would be kinda nifty :)
#9 Fansince9 — that birthplace for McCoy is either non-canon or fanon. None of the episodes or movies ever revealed where he was born.
#13 Cobra Commander — They are aware of Romulus and I think they said they considered contacting them, as well, but felt Riverside was a more iconic town. I’m not quoting them on that, though, and you shouldn’t quote me on it, either. ;)
#15 Tango–Pikes Horse — The one in Washington County. I’ve never heard of a Riverside in Woodbury County.
Looks around cautiously
<>
Shields charged and ready…
HOW ABOUT BROKEN BOW, OKLAHOMA!!
#15… It’s the Riverside, Iowa on US 218/IA 27 just south of Iowa City…
arrr… what about Pinesville? Scottsdale? and me personal favorite flea-bittent hamlet known as Dylithium way down under… did I furget Rotten Berry in France?
harrrr… I was born in a small orchid village called Remus… eplains my vampire-like appearance I suppose…
arrrr…
I can’t imagine giving a crap where the “world” or “North American” premier of the movie is…as long as it opens on opening day (whenever that is) in a theater no more than 10 miles away from my house. This shouldn’t be too difficult, given the number of theaters in that range.
Trek to Canada, baby. We did give you guys William Shatner and James Doohan after all.
Given that it’s the 11th film in a franchise, I think it would be a little pretentious to treat the premiere as any more special than any of the rest of the cavalcade of other movie sequels, prequels, reboots and re-dresses being produced these days.
That said, I think #14’s suggestion was brilliant :)
Amusing, but absurd. Hardly anyone would show up in Vulcan, Alberta! It’s more than an hour outside of Calgary (the nearest big city), and there are no direct flights from LA to Calgary. Vulcan has no modern hotels. And check out Vulcan on google maps — it’s smaller than a typical college campus!
This is a cute proposal, but hardly serious.
Why not?
Fox held a full-blown contest to see which of the ump-teen Springfields would host a premiere of “The Simpsons Movie.” (Springfield, Vermont won, by the way.)
Now, I don’t think Vulcan, Riverside, etc., should be the one and only premiere spot, but holding a premiere there would be cool.
#14 LOL
#25. You must be canon. The Menagerie is considered a film therefore this is the 12th
…of course that isn’t really a canon issue.
I like the idea of what the town of Vulcan is trying to do, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. If Paramount picks the place where Trek will have its’ premiere, it will be here in L.A. I will say I do like the idea of sending it to San Francisco, though.
How about Toronto Canada???
How about Plymouth, Devon, England, the birthplace of Lieutenant William Bligh, commander of the HMS Bounty, the inspiration for the renamed Klingon Bird-of-Prey in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?
I think that’s a cool town to live in. I mean how many people get to say, “Hello, I’m from the city Vulcan.”
You’re all wrong. It should be held in Alameda, where they have the nuclear wessels!
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15. Tango–Pikes Horse – February 21, 2008
I just did a mapquest of Riverside IA and there appears to be two of them. One in Washington County and another in Woodbury County. Which one is Kirk’s birthplace?
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Another example of fractures in the timeline! Darn that Kirk!!
What about Curzon, France? It’s just north of Dax, France (seriously). There’s also towns in France called Vic and Fontaine.
Ooh.. how about the French premier to be in the Picardy region? *lol*
There’s just so many towns with trek related names. Heck in India they could easily have their premier at the Curzon Palace. :P
Or how about the US premier be in Breen Acres, Missouri? Or in Louisiana (there the Sisko’s are from)
http://www.town.vulcan.ab.ca/
Great stuff here.
Riverside is south of Iowa City, Iowa.
Go to Google maps, look on the photo view of the town at the corner of 1st St. (AKA Railroad St.) and Ella St.
Could it be…?
Yes, it’s the USS Riverside!