ST09 Tidbits (T-35 days): Bob & Alex On Fans & Books + Quinto Talks Sequels + New Images + more

The Tidbits are now a daily feature at TrekMovie (assuming we can find enough stuff to talk about). Today we have a video interview with the writers, another interview with Quinto, a couple new movie images, Star Trek celebrity casting news and more. Also there is a new Star Trek commercial, but we don’t have video yet.

 

 

Orci & Kurtzman
In a new video at THR, Bob and Alex talk about the origins of Trek, pleasing fans, and more. Subjects discussed by Bob seem to come from some of his interactions with fans here at TrekMovie.com.

The writing pair also talked to the LA Times about some of their favorite Star Trek novels.

Quinto on Sequels and Sylar v Spock
The Canadian Magazine Tribute has an interview with the new Spock, Zachary Quinto, talking about Star Trek and Heroes. In the interview Zach contrasted his two most famous roles and also confirmed that he is contracted for the sequel:

Tribute: While playing Spock did you ever any similarities between him and Sylar?
Quinto: I think the only similarity that can really be drawn is the fact that both of these characters are really dealing with and working with deep-rooted internal conflicts and dualities within themselves but they come from very different points of view and they process those dualities very differently, so I think the similarities sort of ends there, but for different reasons they’re both working to keep control over aspects of themselves and sort of understand the power of the different energies within them. But you know, when I was doing the movie I feel like the embodiment of Sylar in that character was very far away from me.

Tribute: Will we get to see more of you as Spock in other Star Trek films? Are you signed to sequels if this one takes off?
Quinto:
Yeah, I’m contracted for more.
Tribute:
So you won’t mind putting those infamous ears back on?
Quinto: ( laughs) No, the ears are cool; shaving the eyebrows is another story, ha ha. Yeah, right now for me the experience is all about this first movie and going through the process of promoting it all over the world, sharing it with people and seeing what else is generated from this experience. Other movies will come into place when they’re meant to, when they’re able to. If that happens I’ll be excited about that as well.

More at Tribute.ca.

Two new images
MSN has put up a Star Trek gallery on their Parallel Universe site, including some exclusive new photos. The two below, plus a close-up from a previously seen scene of Kirk on Delta Vega.


Kirk and Spock share a moment


Nero looks concerned

Zoe is a Loser
The new Uhura, Zoe Saldana, is in talks to join the cast of "The Losers" a new action film adaptation of the comic about a Special Forces team betrayed by its handler and left for dead. The "losers" regroup in the interest of revenge, the opportunity to remove their names from a secret CIA death list and to conduct covert operations against the CIA and its interests. Saldana will play Aisha, a cold-blooded loose cannon. More info at THR.


Zoe at NY Metropolitan Opera House 12th Anniversary on March 125th
– doesn’t look like a loser to me

Pine HAD Green Lantern meeting – NOT offered role or read script
Remember a couple of weeks ago there were competing reports on if or if not Chris Pine had been offered the title role in the upcoming Green Lantern movie? Well it turns out there is a little smoke to this rumor fire. Today Pine told MTV that he had a meeting, but that was it, noting "I have been offered squat. I do not have the part and haven’t read a script." Pine didn’t eliminate the possibility of being offered a role in the future, but noted that he isn’t a fan of comic books.


Green Kirk? (Tom Holtkamp)

New commercial airing – we aint got it yet
Lastly, there is a new 30 second Star Trek commercial which started airing on cable last night (confirmed spotting on MTV and Spike so far). It includes a few new shots, but no huge reveals (more iowa bar fight, sulus sword, a couple other things). Look for an update and analysis soon.

ST09 Bullets

145 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Cool video, looks like Nero in the background of that picture maybe there doing something akin to TWOK.

I waited all this time for ST :TFB only to find its going to start all over again for ST : ???

ha ha,, all I can say is,, “Sweeeet”

I wonder if Mr Shatner might be in the next trek,, ST : ???

*smiles*

“No one has gotten it exactly right”
Yay!

I’m glad Quinto sees little parallel between Sylar and Spock. If he did, then I would be very worried. Also, that shot of Kirk and Spock is very cool! I like the blue and the red.

Zoe YAY!!

I much rather see Chris Pine has another comic book character then Green Lantern. I would love to see Chris Pine be Steve Rogers aka Captain America.

I WISH I HAD A IPOD TOUCH/IPHONE !!!!!!!!!

Haha good clip, I would so love to be Bob Orci reading all that rabid speculation, that has got to be not only daunting but damn fun…

The pot shots must be tough to read but there is also a heck of a lot of general excitement to go around. It seems to have gotten much more positive as more of the film has been seen.

I hope with all the angst and anger between K and S that we see them begin to click and the friendship actually take root, rather than a completely adversarial relationship that we have seen so far. I want to see them respect each other by the end.

Very good interview.

Found the new trek tv spot. It’s in horrible quality, but it’s something…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riyEZ5saNpc

I’ve noticed a theme of sorts. Bob says they needed to find a way to have the older Spock interact with their younger selves and in the preview Nero says, “James T. Kirk was a great man, but that was another life”. I’m very interested to see how this all plays out on May 8th! (I’m attempting to keep my speculation to a minimum. I want to be surprised. )

The new film is not called ST:TFB. Just ST.

12. Captaint Charbles

That’s already been found in another thread. It was posted by SChaos1701, a fellow trekmovie commenter.

Nice to hear more from Bob and Alex, they seem to be the right writers for the right project at the right time. But nice to know that a lot of the puzzle pieces we’re trying to figure out haven’t been solved. Can’t wait for May 8!

It was ST-TMP’s poster in which McCoy was omitted that really bothered me.

14
Just a way to differentiate it from other offerings; fandom did the same thing to ST:TOS, which of course was just called Star Trek.

I was hoping they would say Bizarro Trek. Maybe next time.

I read Countdown #4 today. Pretty cool.

RTF!

It is interesting to note how Nero’s ears are intact in the footage where he is interacting with Kirk, et al, and yet in a prison shot (Rura Penthe’ ?) his ears look to have been mutilated or something? Maybe there is a lot of time shifting and things are really awry in this more than we have been led to know so far.

Re #14

guess you havent seen the posters,or traliers yet for ST : TFB

comment image

21. SirMartman

Its a tagline, not a subtitle.

22 – He’s a troll, not a real poster

sorry if some may not like it, but this film just is looking more and more horrible. I am still waiting to see something to make want to see this film. There are all types of trailers and spots for Non-trek fans, but how about a Star Trek Trailer which feels like Star Trek for trek fans.
Shown the same dumb looking scenes over and over is just not selling this film for me.
It is time to stop showing the dumb action of the movie and start to show the film’s intelligence because right now, it is looking like the film has none.

Good little video, always like to hear the writers, producers, directors talk about their work and inspiration. I have faith and confidence in what Alex and Bob have written. I can see early on fans complaining, but I don’t hear many fans complaining now.

24. darrksan

Have we been looking at the same footage?

And what? Trailer three didn’t show you enough intelligence? You are a perplexing individual. Have I seen you here before?

I’ve got nothing but respect for Kurtzman and Orci taking up the challenge of writing TREK knowing the kind of fan response (much of it idiotic) that they’d have to deal with.

That said, I question this notion of there being a Top Ten list of story points or images and ideas that fans universally want to see in the movie (personally, I think tribbles are great and that episode and the DS9 sequel are among my favorites but it’s not something that’s make or break for me in terms of the movie) — as suggested by comments on this site, fans are more interested in seeing the likes of pre-established characters from the leads’ past — Mitchell, Finnegan, Carol Marcus, etc.

I’m more interested in the notion of why they needed to make it a story set in an “alternate” reality — whether this choice was as much driven by narrative, character and thematic concerns as much as by the studio’s desire to reinvent a good thing. This isn’t a criticism, exactly (though I think a strict “canon” — a term I despise for its dogmatic implications — prequel about the early years of Kirk and Spock would have been equally great).

I write this looking forward to the movie almost as much or than any other movie in recent memory except, maybe, Revenge of the Sith and, as an Anderson fan, There Will Be Blood. I figure the writers will get around to addressing these particular over arching decisions directly once the film comes out.

In the Kirk/Spock picture, I think Quinto looks more Nimoy-ish than usual. Very nice.

“sorry if some may not like it, but this film just is looking more and more horrible.”

Actually it is looking just fine ;) There is nothing that makes it look “horrible.”

“There are all types of trailers and spots for Non-trek fans, but how about a Star Trek Trailer which feels like Star Trek for trek fans.”

Considering the fact that most Trek fans loved the recent trailer, we already got it :)

“Shown the same dumb looking scenes over and over is just not selling this film for me.”

Which they aren’t.

“It is time to stop showing the dumb action of the movie and start to show the film’s intelligence because right now, it is looking like the film has none.”

That’s just something you came up with.

26. The Governator – April 2, 2009
Have we been looking at the same footage?
And what? Trailer three didn’t show you enough intelligence? You are a perplexing individual. Have I seen you here before?
————
All I have seen from the three Trailers is action scenes, kirk and spock’s birth, running around, one liners and so on….
Where is the intelligence in the three past trailers?

This new film is a Star Trek film… this is not, so where is the Trailer showing some intelligence .

P.S-
Yes, you have seen me here before…. it was last week and the week before that. I started writing on here about a month or so ago.

Devon and The Governator
Come on you two and tell me what was intelligence in the Trailers or clips.

Watching that interview gives me even more faith in this film. Honestly, I truly believe that Star Trek is going to blow people away. Oh man I’m so pumped!! haha

30. darrksan

Well, trailers serve a certain purpose. If they haven’t satisfied you, them I hope the film will, if you choose to go see it. For me, the more emotion, story, and “intelligence” they save for the film, the better effect the film will have on me. You must realize that this is a big summer tentpole film. With any film of that kind, the marketing emphasis is usually the visual effects and scale, otherwise known as the “coolness” factor, something many fans don’t understand or don’t want to.

Did anyone catch “24” on Monday when the President and her daughter discuss replacements for her Chief of Staff? The President prefers “Bob Justman,” but her daughter wants to suggest “Rick Berman.”

Thanks, Manny and Brannon!

Evidence that a film can be edited to look like ANYTHING in a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCuPmcNRUko

#31 – Tell me what intelligence was in any Trek trailers? Hardly was any. Might be worth if you look back at those and try to evaluate you those on the same standards you have made up for the new movie.

35. SaphronGirl

that was awesome!

have you seen this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gJapxbfEiE&feature=related

I think this [in the video clip] is the first time that they’ve mentioned that they consulted with _both_ Shatner and Nimoy _before_ beginning the project, and they they moved forward because they had the “blessing” of both actors???

That’s an odd bit of news relative to other things we’ve heard. Not sure what to make of it.

Hey, #24, 31 -Darrksan

You’re right!

There has not been a glimmer of intellect in any of the trailers at all. I’m talking about a complete lack of philosophy, intrigue, wisdom, curiosity — “your daddy was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. Do better” just pales, absolutely dies in comparison to: “Enterprise travels to the outer limits of space to challenge a vast, living machine ” or “beyond the darkness, beyond the human evolution is Khan… banished to a distant planet… left for dead, he has survived” (along with the barrage of literary quotes) or “All that they’ve loved, all that they fought for, all that they stood for will now be put to the test” or “on a desolate planet a renegade Vulcan seeks ultimate knowledge… on the planet.. Eden.. at the center of the galaxy” or “they’re animals! … Jim, they’re dying”

My God! The list goes on. The discussions that can be had from these little snippets of trailers just clobber any sense of intellect the new ST thinks it has. Star Trek was about taking an idea and exploring it. This one seems to be a completely different animal altogether. Sorry. Darrksan is right.

One thing that these Orci/Kurtzman interview DEFINITELY convince me of (and I know that’s part of the point, and I’m grateful for it) is that while I may or may not like what they write (jury’s still out!), I can rest assured that everything they’re doing is a creative choice, a real decision on their part, done with sincere attention to Trek lore and a desire (and, here’s hoping, the skill) to live up to it.

If they effed it up, they effed it up meaning well, and without sidestepping the many questions involved. If, by chance, I don’t like the movie (and I’m holding out hopes that I’ll truly love it), I will do my best, in turn, to rip it a new one with consideration and kindness, in acknowledgement of their sincere efforts. That or I’ll just lay it all on the director and leave them blameless. That’s certainly my approach with The Island, MI3, and Transformers :)

My little secret hope is that Kirk and crew don’t defeat the cheesy Romulan villain dude, but rather end up working alongside him somehow, to avert disaster and get everyone home safe (or at least, everyone that lives) … AFAIC, one of the core axioms of Star Trek is that the “villain” is always more than a mere “bad guy”* … and that much of the time, the trick to winning the day is understanding and communicating with, rather than “beating,” the opposition.

I think one of the terrible legacies of Wrath of Khan (a movie I love dearly … lots of great movies are responsible, through no fault of their own, for bad imitative trends) is that it really introduced the idea of a “big villain” being the centerpiece of a Trek film. I think that’s bad juju, and I’d love to see this film undermine that and bring us back to a more central ideal.

=====
* Armus doesn’t count. I hope. Becuase … yeesh.

#38 S. John Ross

That meeting was widely reported at the time. If I remember Shatner went on “The Tonight Show” and spoke openly about it.

#41: Oh, okay; fair enough. I must be tangling it up with other, later things (Shatner at one point saying on the radio that Leonard was in the movie but that he knew “nothing about it,” which seems at odds with the assertion in this video that the writers described what they intended and sought a blessing) … but I’m also remembering things in the order that I encountered them, which may have little to do with the order they actually happened in.

Great interview. I can’t wait to see the explanation for the time travel.
:-)

in the early days of this film and the days b4 we fans wondered what kind of film it should be iue how would we do it. what do we want. and learning this may be what they did. but during those fan talks what came up was what the majority thinks ver the minority. hoping that some dumb idea thought by the minority dosent make it into the film cause some writer (or whoever) thought that is what fans want. seperating those two is the trick.
Now they say they listened (and im glad they did) but did they deal with this issue.
now i dont know who these guys are or where they come from and right now i dont care. But god it must be fun to be in their position right now. to listen to the fan speculation and be the only ones who know the truth.

I’m getting the sense that some people are attacking this movie out of some form of bias.

darrksan / cagmar + others:

Anyone who says this lacks intellect and intrigue and philosophy and all such and such haven’t seen the film to go by. I’m not saying it will have these elements, but you can’t rule it out already. And have any of you naysayers ever seen a Star Trek movie? The only one that truly fits your desired description was the Motion Picture, which ended up failing in many, many ways. It wasn’t a bad film, per say, but the studio realized that the formula they had used in the original series did not work in movie format. So began Star Trek films of film-like proportion, beginning with The Wrath of Kahn, which as I recall, is still considered the best of them all. This one is no different, and I would argue, more so within the spirit of the original than any other incarnation has proven to be. As I said, I don’t know for sure, but this is what I’ve gotten from what I have heard and seen.

I never realized these guys really cared about the things people post. I feel like a heel.

Guys, best of luck. I hope it’s a huge success.

“Soon all will be revealed…….”

(ooh, I should do voice-overs for movie trailers!)

“Two men go back in time…..only one prevails”

#45 The Governator

I think that by and Large most people have been very positive… How can anyone judge a film on the couple of minutes we have seen thus far?

Just imagine what the reaction is going to be like the day the film hits.

48. VOODOO

Oh, I agree. I was referring only to the naysayers. And yes, this site is going to be flooded on opening day with people debating this, that, and the other thing. I can’t wait. :)

Nice to see the human faces behind the quotes and occassional posts. It wasn’t easy for me to watch because I’ve been less than generous about them on here at times. Guys, I will be seeing your movie and you can be sure that if you haven’t monumentaly screwed with these characters I will happily come on here and admit I was wrong to ever doubt you.
I have the humble pie in the fridge ready!!