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Fan Fiction, Humor, TNG | July 5, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 60 comments so far

Wil Wheaton’s Shatner and Stewart Impersonations

Things are progressing over at the Kirk v Picard Script Writing Contest. They are about half way through and just picked the round two scene. finalists. In a new video Wil Wheaton actually acts out some of the moments from the round one finalists, including part of a scene written by TrekMovie.com contributor James Heaney (wowbagger). Wheaton hams it up, but also pokes some good fun at Wesley.   Is Wil trying out to be the new Kirk? Keep track of the goings on at the Official Blog (run by yours truly)

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TOS-R Preview | July 3, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 133 comments so far

Image From Charlie X Remastered

StarTrek.com have put up a new image from next weekend’s "Charlie X." It shows a new design for the freighter USS Antares which was never shown in the original. CBS-D based the design on the USS Woden (although it looks a lot like a TAS cargo drone) This is another example of what is great about the Remastered project – putting a ship into the establishing shot that should have been there in the first place but wasn’t due to time and/or budget issues.

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Review, TOS Remastered | July 3, 2007 | By: Jeff Bond 51 comments so far

Review – “The Omega Glory” Remastered

Once again it befalls me to offer the defense of a not-very-well-thought-of episode of original Trek. When most people bring up “The Omega Glory,” it’s to do their impression of William Shatner’s inimitable (well, actually, VERY imitatable) delivery of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution at the episode’s infamous climax: “WE…THE PEOPLE…of the unitedstates…do ORDAIN and ESTABLISH this Constitution–!!” It’s a groaner of an ending that quantifies Gene Roddenberry’s somewhat flat-footed idea of a rampant biological war between parties on an alien planet that effectively throws them into the Stone Age. That in itself isn’t bad (if having already been done in a sense in episodes like “Miri”), but Roddenberry (who was supposedly inspired to write this episode after viewing the actual Constitution on a trip to Washington D.C.) turns “The Omega Glory” into a Cold War parable that’s strangely racist, with warring “Yankees” and “Commies” descended from yet another culture apparently identical to ours right down to language both spoken and written.

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Star Trek (2009 film) | July 2, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 203 comments so far

ILM To Provide Effects For ‘Star Trek’ – Enterprise To Appear In Film

TrekMovie.com has confirmed two things that should not come as a surprise with regards to the new ‘Star Trek’ film in pre-production. Firstly we have learned from a number of sources that George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has been selected to provide the special visual effects for Star Trek (2008). In keeping with the usual Star Trek secrecy neither Paramount nor ILM will officially confirm it, however sources say that some planning work on the effects has already started. Abrams has worked with ILM before and the choice is another example of Abrams sticking with his trusted Mission: Impossible III team. On the M:I:III DVD Abrams effuses about how excited he was to work with ILM and how happy he was with their work on the film. ILM also worked with the Star Trek writers/executive producers Orci & Kurtzman on Paramount/Dreamwork’s summer blockbuster Transformers. Although he wouldn’t confirm it, at the recent Transformers junket Orci told TrekMovie.com that he ‘certainly hoped’ that ILM would work on Star Trek. The choice of ILM shows that Paramount is giving Abrams and his team the budget and resources to achieve their goal to re-energizing the Trek franchise.

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Orci/Kurtzman, STXI Plot | July 1, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 75 comments so far

Orci: ‘Star Trek’ is two movies in one

In yet another interview (this time with Latino Review) screenwriter Roberto Orci talks about how the new Trek is being made to appeal to fans of the franchise as well as those unfamiliar with it. He also draws a distinction with Tranformers which had a smaller fanbase, saying:  ‘Transformers’ is gonna get us nice and ready for the fans on ‘Star Trek.’ We’ve learned a lot, actually, from that.  Again we, we’re diligent about, with J.J. Abrams, and with Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, agreeing what we all wanted to see first.  And then this one, on ‘Star Trek,’ for example we don’t have the advantage or the luxury of the fact no one has ever seen it.  People know what ‘Star Trek’ is. We don’t have the advantage of the fact (that Transformers has) the giant robots or something.

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TOS Remastered | July 1, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 12 comments so far

TOS-R Is Turning Japanese

The digitally remastered Star Trek The Original Series is about to take its first trip overseas. Starting July 21st TOS-R will be airing on the satellite channel BS2 (part of Japanese Broadcasting Corp. – NHK). The show will be using the same airing order used for USA syndication.   The announcement (translated from the Japanese) on the NHK site describes the show:

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TOS | June 30, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 24 comments so far

Star Trek (Again) Tops TV Guide List Of Top Cult Shows

For the second time TV Guide has put together a list of the top 30 ‘Cult Shows’ of all time…and Star Trek again tops the list. In fact the top 4 remained the same from the last time they did a list in 2004 (Trek, X-Files, Buffy and Farscape). J.J. Abrams’ Lost is a new entry at number 5, pushing Monty Python down to 6th. See TVGuide.com for the full list.  

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Orci/Kurtzman, STXI Plot | June 29, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 103 comments so far

Kurtzman Sees Parallels Between New ‘Star Trek’ and Wrath of Khan

Adam Wills of the Jewish Journal recently interviewed Star Trek 2008 writer Alex Kurtzman and has put up part an interesting Star Trek tidbit from that interview on their GeekHeeb Blog. Kurtzman says that for their new Star Trek  they drew inspiration and hoped to replicate the experience the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. For the “Trek” script a lot of it was what “Trek” meant to us as kids. We’ve been enormous fans of “Trek” since we were little kids. And what it felt like to be in the theater and watch “Wrath of Khan” for the first time was what we wanted people to experience … [want to recapture] that kind of an emotional ride. An incredibly great bad guy against an incredibly high-stakes story that’s just emotional. “Trek” for us is about family and friendship.

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1-18-08/Cloverfield, Abrams | June 29, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 79 comments so far

Cloverfield Teaser Update

We have another follow-up on the rumors of a JJ Abrams teaser trailer running with Transformers (opening wide July 2). It is confirmed that there is a trailer, but it is definately not for his new Star Trek movie. In actuality it is for the mysterious JJ Abrams horror/monster movie project called ‘Cloverfield’ (possibly just a codename) which we reported on in February. People at Paramount still will not talk on the record but sources tell TrekMovie.com that the buzz about the film is all part of a kind of viral marketing push. Cloverfieldmovie.com was redirecting to Paramount, but now it is not anymore (the domain was purchased earlier this year shortly before word of the project was first leaked). [UPDATE: Abrams will produce the film along with Bryan Burk. Drew Goddard (Buffy, Angel, Alias, Lost) is writing and Matt Reeves (Felicity) is directing).] Here is a description of the trailer[UPDATE plus a link to a leaked version]:

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Star Trek (2009 film) | June 28, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 39 comments so far

[UPDATE] Iceland Production Companies Fighting Over ‘Star Trek’ – Production Said To Be ‘Big’

It appears that there is more to the recent story that the new ‘Star Trek’ film will be doing some shooting in Iceland. Today in an article titled ‘Two Production Companies fight over Star Trek‘ the Reykjavik newspaper Frettabladid is reporting that a company called called Pegasus is competing with the previously reported firm (Saga Film) to work with Paramount on ‘Star Trek.’ Both companies are currently scouting multiple locations in Iceland along with people from the studio. Neither film would provide a comment and Frettabladid noted "the Hollywood men are very cautious and want the staff at the production companies to keep this quiet and so the travel plans are top secret." It also looks like there might be a substantial amount of shooting in Iceland. The article states it could be ‘bigger than Flags of our Fathers,’ the recent Clint Eastwood film that did much of its shooting in Iceland. The black sand beaches (pictured right) of Iceland stood in for Iwo Jima (Japan would not allow the shooting of battle scenes on the island).

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1-18-08/Cloverfield, Abrams | June 28, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 20 comments so far

There Is NOT A ‘Star Trek’ Teaser Showing With Transformers

There is another one of those rumors on the internets that there is a ‘Star Trek’ teaser trailer attached to the Transformers film, premiering next week. I can categorically say that this is 100% not true. There is however a possible kernal of JJ Abrams truth to the rumor. Apparently there is a teaser trailer for the JJ Abrams produced horror movie ‘Cloverfield’ that is out there and apparently will be shown with Transformers [see previous story]. Although it has been confirmed by sources that Cloverfield is a real JJ Abrams project, Paramount are still not even acknowledging that the film exists and apparently this whole hubbub is all by design (it is still not even certain if ‘Cloverfield’ is a real titled). It seems they are trying to build some sort of buzz for this ‘secret’ project. Anyway…no more need to send in any more tips about this ‘JJ Abrams’ trailer…mystery solved. Once the film is officially released next week we will hopefully have more information on the trailer and the project. The first ‘Star Trek’ teaser’ is a long way off.   MORE: Click for ALL Cloverfield coverage

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Orci/Kurtzman, Shatner, ST09 Cast | June 28, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 59 comments so far

‘Star Trek’ Writers Talk Shatner, Kirk, Spock & Terrorism

In a new interview with MTV, ‘Star Trek’ writers (and executive producers) Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman respond to the recent rumors that William Shatner is upset that he will not appear in the film. "We were very surprised about that" said Kurtzman. Orci followed up saying "We’re certainly hoping to include him in the shoot, because we have nothing but reverence and awe for the man." If true and if ‘in the shoot’ means ‘in front of the camera,’ then it could be inferred that the final draft of the script has a part for Shatner (although that does not mean it would be playing Kirk necessarily). With regards to the casting of the new Kirk and if he should….speak….like…..Shatner, Orci replied: It’s tough, because so many of the people that portrayed the characters in ‘Star Trek’ were distinctive. A lot of the writing created Shakespearean-type characters, such that you could imagine it going both ways. You could imagine it being open to interpretation, or you can imagine it being really faithful. We’re trying to figure out how to do it.

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Comics, Review, TOS | June 26, 2007 | By: Mark Martinez 5 comments so far

Review: Star Trek: Klingons — Blood Will Tell #3

Klingon High Council member Kahnrah and his granddaughter, K’Ahlynn, continue their discussion of Klingon experiences with the Federation. When espionage fails miserably as a tool for expanding the Empire (Blood Will Tell #2), the Klingons begin a campaign of conquest by subterfuge on the planet Neural (TOS, A Private Little War). Kinsman Krell, commander of the IKS Korthos, visits Neural on a regular basis and plants the seeds of conquest firmly in the hearts and minds of the village people after selecting Apella, a hapless villager, to be his liasion. In spite of Earther interference with the hill people, Krell is successful. K’Ahlynn finds little to admire in the Federation’s response to Krell’s efforts, but Kahnrah needs to know if humans can be trusted, and still hasn’t made a decision about Gorkon’s plan. Stardate: After 9521.6, following the explosion of Praxis, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country with a flashback to 4211.4, Commander Krell’s Log Entry #3854, IKS Korthos

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Star Trek (2009 film) | June 26, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 50 comments so far

‘Star Trek’ Scouting Iceland For Location Shooting

According to the Reykavik-based newspaper DV (via Trek Today), Paramount are scouting locations in Iceland for their upcoming new ‘Star Trek’ movie. No further details on what kind of location they are looking for, but it is reasonable to assume it would be some kind of alien landscape. Iceland is often used for commercials and films (such as Batman Begins pictured right) for it’s desolation and beautiful vistas.  Apparently Paramount are using a company called Sagafilm to assist them, check out their ‘showreels’ to get an idea of what Iceland offers. TrekMovie.com has already reported that the producers plan on using a large stage at Universal for alien planet shots so it is possible that the location shooting would be ‘2nd unit’ establishing shots (like the Alaskan glacier standing in for Rura Penthe shots in Star Trek VI). If it isn’t second unit, then JJ Abrams is already familiar with location shooting. Lost is shot almost entirely on location (especially the pilot which Abrams directed). On Mission: Impossible III Abrams shot all around the world, including China and Italy.

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Orci/Kurtzman, Star Trek (2009 film) | June 25, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 56 comments so far

Kurtzman Talks About His Respect For Trek’s Past – ‘Star Trek’ Not a BSG-style Reboot

In the last week we have heard a lot from Star Trek co-writer Roberto Orci, but now in a new audio interview at Voices From Krypton we hear from Orci’s other half Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman noted that over the years many writers have contributed to the character of Trek but that the show was "very much Roddenberry’s and it always has maintained a optimistic and hopeful universe about exploration and ultimately also about friendship and family." He spoke about how much he and Roberto have been influenced by the many people involved in Trek’s past… It is an honor to be part of it now and to inherit that mantle, but I feel like we couldn’t have really been doing that without the instruction that everyone else has given us and the road map that has been laid out for us.

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Orci/Kurtzman, STXI Plot | June 24, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 52 comments so far

Orci & Kurtzman: Balancing geekery and nongeekery

Yes…even more on Orci and Kurtzman. Today the pair of Star Trek (2008) writers are profiled in the New York Times in an article titled ‘Character-Driven Films (but Keep the Kaboom).’ The piece covers their biography and discusses how they are just a couple of fanboys who made it big (interesting fact…Orci had a phone shaped like the USS Enterprise). Orci talks about what it is like balancing fandom with business: You can never be just a fanboy in the eyes of other fanboys, because you’re also, in a way, the establishment. You’re like, ‘No, but I’m you.’ But you’re accountable for all your decisions, and inevitably you can’t please everybody.

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Orci/Kurtzman | June 22, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 66 comments so far

Writers Talk About Process for ‘Star Trek’ Screenplay

At a writer’s workshop in Santa Monica on Thursday, Star Trek co-writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman talked about the craft of writing. Most of the discussion and Q&A topics were very ‘inside Hollywood’ discussions about making pitches, drawing characters, doing research, etc. However the subject of Trek came up every once in a while while describing how things work for them. For example they said while making the Star Trek script there came a point when they were falling behind and the studio was saying ‘we need the script – we need the script’…so Kurtzman says "we locked ourselves away for a good two months actually and didn’t take calls and finished it. And they got the script and it was greenlit the next day…which was most satisfying."

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1-18-08/Cloverfield, Abrams, Orci/Kurtzman | June 22, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 22 comments so far

Orci & Kurtzman Working On New TV Pilot w/ Abrams + ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Movie + New Info on Abrams ‘Cloverfield’

At a writers workshop held in Santa Monica on Thursday, Star Trek co-writer Alex Kurtzman said that he and writing partner Roberto Orci are writing on a new TV pilot with JJ Abrams. The three worked together in TV before on the show Alias and it would be the writers first time back on TV since that show ended. Abrams has a multi-million dollar TV production deal with Warner Brothers, but so far has only announced one show for HBO (a medical drama). After the event Roberto Orci told TrekMovie that it was not a Star Trek show and that they still don’t know if the show is for network TV, HBO or cable. He did say it will probably have some sci-fi/genre elements (kind of like Lost and Alias have some genre elements but are not ‘spaceship scifi’), but they are still working out the details. If the show follows the usual pilot season schedule then it wouldn’t really kick into production until Spring of 2008, which would be after Star Trek enters its post production phase.