Articles by Anthony Pascale

No Picture

Abrams, STXI Status | February 5, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 105 comments so far

Big Decision Week For Star Trek XI?

TrekMovie.com has already reported that February is the point where Trek XI could move from ‘development’ to getting a green light (or not) and going into pre-production. In the last few weeks we have been getting various reports from sources around the studio that things are progressing and preperations are already being made to start some preliminary work the coming weeks. Now comes this from today’s Hollywood Reporter: Over at Paramount Pictures, for example, there is now a question whether J.J. Abrams will direct "Star Trek XI." …Although Paramount is hopeful that Abrams will captain the Starship Enterprise, sources said the director likely will make his decision later this week.

No Picture

TrekMovie.com | February 4, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 123 comments so far

The Future of TrekMovie.com

Later this month TrekMovie.com will reach its 6 month anniversary. In its short life TrekMovie.com has quickly become the leading site for news and information for the world Star Trek. It has also attracted an active community of dedicated fans who can discuss their favorite franchise in an open minded and thoughtful way. The success of the site is due to a focus on exclusive content and the diversity and quality of our writer contributors. As we move towards the second half of our first year it is now time to start thinking about where to go from here. Below is some of the current thinking presented as both a ‘heads up’ as well as an opportunity for feedback. I know some Trekkies are often resistant to change, but there is always room for improvement. 

No Picture

TOS Remastered | February 3, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 52 comments so far

Remastered “Journey to Babel” Airs Today

Kirk takes ill and Spock takes command, but he has to deal wtih bickering diplomats, attacking Orions and a nagging mother. Preview | Ep. Info | Show times This history-laden episode introduces Sarek, Andorians and Tellarites to the Trek universe. There are a good number of effects shots, expect new effects for… Planet Vulcan Shuttles and Shuttle bay A brand new design for the Orion ship Many shots of the Enterprise, including firing phasers and photons

No Picture

TOS Remastered | February 2, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 67 comments so far

TOS-R Producers Talk Doomsday and More

StarTrek.com have put up a new interview with the Trek Remastered producers Dave Rossi, Denise Okuda and Mike Okuda. Here are some highlights   The "Doomsday" planet killer will ‘honor the original concept’, but have a new ‘cool animation effect’ The Machine doesn’t have "bristling weapons” (desired by original writer that didn’t end up in original design) because they don’t want to "stray too far from the familiar elements" Many changes in the project can’t be made due to time, such as ( Kirk’s tombstone ‘T’ and Gary Mitchell’s screens) Hope to change all chronometer shots to match new one in "The Naked Time” Impulse engines not always glowing is due to only showing them glow them when Enterprise is ‘stepping on the gas’ Think Gene Roddenberry and Matt Jeffries would like the project The Ent may fire red phasers if they have to match live action shots (like in "Who Mourns For Adonais?”)

No Picture

ST09 Cast | February 2, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 58 comments so far

Interview: Chris Doohan Wants To Fill His Father’s Space Boots

When Chris Doohan, the son of the original Scotty James Doohan, saw reports that Paramount is looking for a new Scotty he decided he should throw his hat into the ring. To that end Chris has started a grassroots campaign asking fans to write Paramount and suggest a Doohan for the iconic engineer. Chris tells TrekMovie.com that the idea actually came from fans: "In the back of my mind I thought this would be kind of neat to be in the movie, but never thought as the role of Scotty. Then a lot people on MySpace kept saying I should try it, and so I thought what the heck I will give it a try." Even though he has just started the campaign he says that he has got hundreds of responses from people saying they have written to Paramount on his behalf. Doohan has been surprised at how much interest his campaign has garnered, but is still realistic about his chances, saying "it is probably a shot in the dark and I know my chances aren’t good, but it is something you throw out there into the universe and see what comes back"

No Picture

Rumor, ST09 Cast | February 2, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 11 comments so far

McAvoy NOT Approached For Scotty

Just a quick follow-up to last week’s article on James McAvoy playing Scotty in Star Trek XI. TrekMovie.com has spoken to McAvoy’s publicist Rupert Fowler and he says there is no truth to the original story in the Sunday Mail. "He has not been approached there have been no meetings or conversations," says Fowler. He suggested that the rumor may stem from McAvoy being a "massive Star Trek fan" and since he is Scottish someone just put those things together and voila…a good rumor. It is of course still possible that someone at Paramount is considering McAvoy but has yet to contact him. However TrekMovie has also not been able to get any confirmation of this rumor from the Paramount side, and are told that no one is being signed until after the film gets a budget.

No Picture

Rumor, Star Trek (2009 film) | February 1, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 18 comments so far

Trouble Between JJ and Paramount Rumor Debunked [UPDATED]

There is a disturbing rumor going around that there has been some falling out between JJ Abrams and Paramount regarding Star Trek XI, and that JJ Abrams may no longer be involved in the project. TrekMovie.com heard this rumor earlier today, then Latino Review ran a story on it and some other sites followed. After looking into it, multiple sources close to the production tell TrekMovie the rumor is not true. In addition JJ Abrams has personally debunked the rumor as ‘false’ via a Blackberry message to Harry Knowles of AICN. UPDATE: IGN also say it is BS …so thats that.

No Picture

Shatner | January 30, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 42 comments so far

William Shatner: The Ballet…Not Kidding

TV Star, Movie Star, Singer, Pitchman, and now inspiration for Ballet…William Shatner does it all. The Milwaukee Ballet has announced it will premiere "Common People" a ballet choreographed to the Shatner’s recent album ‘Has Been’. The dance will be one of three parts of “Premieres of Passionate Dance" being performed this Valentines Day weekend (February 15–18). In a WKTI radio interview Shatner was quite enthusiastic about the event, saying "I have a life long devotion – more than an interest, less than an obsession, with the ballet and to have this happen to me is so exciting." Shatner said that he would try to make it to Milwaukee to see the ballet if he can fit it between shootings of his show Boston Legal.

No Picture

ST09 Cast, TOS | January 29, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 83 comments so far

Takei Feels ‘Hot’…Wants In On Star Trek XI

George Takei seems to be getting more and more work lately; tonight he will be guest starring in NBC Heroes. This bit of stunt casting is getting the show and Takei a lot of publicity. In a TV Guide Interview Takei talked about what it was like to be in demand again Oooooh, and it’s sooooo wonderful!  Who knew this would be happening 40 years after Star Trek? It’s good to feel hot. In another interview with the Philadelphia Daily News Takei was asked about Star Trek XI, and he responded in classic fashion:

No Picture

TOS Remastered | January 27, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 66 comments so far

Remastered “For The World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” Airs Today

The Enterprise finds a giant asteroid generation ship headed towards a planet…and McCoy finds a girlfriend. Preview | Ep. Info | Show times This McCoy centric 3rd Season episode is probably not Trek’s best effort, but it does have the longest title. For the Remastered team there isn’t a lot to work with, but you can look forward to… New missiles A big new Yonada Asteroid Various shots of the Enterprise, including one firing phasers Possibly some new effects for the Oracle Zap

No Picture

TOS Remastered | January 26, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 54 comments so far

Trek Remastered on DVD Update: Season 1 on Combo Disk By Q4

TrekMovie.com has finally got a copy of the offiical release for TOS-R coming to HD DVD, announced recently at CES. It states that season one of the ‘Remastered’ Star Trek: The Original Series will be released on combo DVD/HD-DVD disks by the fourth quarter of 2007 in the USA and Japan. Note that this is the actual 29 episodes of the first season of TOS and not the first season of Trek Remastered in syndication which is airing out of order. This release is sooner than originally planned and TrekMovie.com has been told that CBS are ‘accelerating’ their production schedule to ensure they have completed all of season 1 this year. However even though they will be producing these extra season one shows this year, the 2007 syndicated airing schedule will remain unchanged. In the official release Ken Ross, EVP of CBS Home Entertainment states "as we take this initial step into the high definition DVD market, it is only fitting that Star Trek is the first property that we chose to release.”

No Picture

ST09 Cast | January 26, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 137 comments so far

Shatner: Including Old Cast In Trek XI Will Bring Audience ‘In Droves’

While the brain trust behind Trek XI remain mum, William Shatner keeps on talking. This week The Shat talks to Time magazine, where he reveals a tiny bit more about his thoughts on Star Trek XI. Time: Lost producer J.J. Abrams is working on a Star Trek movie for 2008 about a young Kirk and Spock, and there are rumors you will make an appearance. Shatner: I did have a talk with J.J., and he outlined what he wanted to do. Getting a character who is supposed to be dead to talk to his younger self is a storytelling problem. But if you want to guarantee the audience will come in droves, one of the things you might do is include some members of the old cast.

No Picture

Fan Productions | January 25, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 138 comments so far

Dochterman To Complete His “Enhanced Doomsday Machine”

Daren Dochterman, the Visual Effects Supervisor on the Directors’ Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, has been working on a CGI-enhanced version of "The Doomsday Machine" for many years. He even presented a version of his work to Paramount TV over 2 years before they decided to give Star Trek Remastered the go ahead. That version has been available at his site (TrekEnhanced.com) and on YouTube for over a year, but Dochterman has been quietly working on a ‘final version’ which he announced at his site today.  

No Picture

ST09 Cast, STXI Status | January 24, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 57 comments so far

Grunberg Wants To Be Vulcan – Says Trek XI Script Almost Done

Greg Grunberg (the only semi-confirmed cast member for Star Trek XI) has decided what kind of alien he would like to play in his best friend’s new Trek feature. "I’d love to be a Vulcan, it’d be great. That would be incredible," Grunberg tells Rotten Tomatoes. This may be due to his repeated concerns about sitting in a make-up chair for too long, assuming ears are easy to do. More interestingly Grunberg reveals that the script for Trek XI is almost complete, saying: He [JJ Abrams] is finalizing the script right now so I just talked to him today and he said, ‘I’ll send it to you as soon as it’s done’ so hopefully it’ll be very soon.

No Picture

Rumor, ST09 Cast | January 21, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 70 comments so far

Another Rumor: James McAvoy To Be New Scotty?

Here is yet another recasting rumor for you to mull over, this time for Scotty. The Scottish tabloid The Sunday Mail is reporting that Last King Of Scotland star James McAvoy is the leading candidate to play the iconic engineer in Star Trek XI. The paper cites a ‘studio insider’ saying that "the producers are keen to have a Scot play Scotty." It is hard to judge the validity of this report, but it isn’t a good sign that the paper takes it as a given that Matt Damon has been signed on to play Kirk, quoting their source as saying "they (the producers) think he could form a brilliant double act with Matt (Damon)". For the record, Matt Damon has previously stated that he has yet to be approached by the studio. In addition, negotiations for any roles will not happen until after Trek XI gets an approved budget (with the possible exception of the leads and possibly Shatner and Nimoy).

No Picture

Games | January 20, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 15 comments so far

Perpetual Launch Teaser Site For Star Trek Online

Well it is almost a year late, but Perpatual have finally launched the official site for their MMORPG Star Trek Online. StarTrekOnline.com does not have a lot of content (in fact it has less content then the subsite that was previously hosted a Perpetual.com), but it is sporting a whole new Starfleet emblem. Although games may not count as ‘canon’, the game is set a couple decades after Star Trek Nemesis so changes in uniforms and the emblem are to be expected. Although there isnt much to look at on the site, Executive Producer Daron Stinnett talked to WarCry Network this week and answered some questions about STO.

No Picture

TOS Remastered | January 20, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 56 comments so far

Remastered “Where No Man Has Gone Before” Airs Today

The Enterprise is endangered by Captain Kirk’s best friend when he is turned into a powerful being…and you know what they say about power corrupting. PreviewLocal Station & ShowtimesMore at Memory Alpha This is Star Trek’s second pilot (after the Cage) and the one that convinced NBC to pick up the show. This is the reason there are some differences between this episode and the rest of the series (both visually and with the cast). There are a number of effect shots for CBS to update with CGI…

No Picture

Feature Films (TMP-NEM), TNG | January 19, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 104 comments so far

Spiner On Nemesis Failure: The fans were done with us

In the latest issue of Star Trek Magazine, Brent Spiner (Data) talks about the last Trek movie, Star Trek Nemesis. Not only did Spiner star in Nemesis, but he co-wrote the story (along with screenwriter John Logan). Spiner on why the film failed We worked on the story with the intention of making it for the fans. With every Star Trek movie prior to that we tried to find a way to bridge the gap between the fans and the general public. Even reading the latest quotes from J.J. Abrams about the next movie, it makes sense for the movie to be as inclusive as possible. With Nemesis we said, ‘Forget that! Lets make a movie for the fans, because that’s the people who actually go to see the films.’ And what happened? They didn’t go! Usually the films opened big, even if they had a lot of competition, but Nemesis didn’t even do that. This was a message from the fans that they were done with us.

No Picture

STXI Status | January 17, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 29 comments so far

Trek XI Release Still (Probably) Winter 2008

On Monday we ran a story from iF Magazine seemingly quoting Trek XI producer Damon Lindelof revealing an ‘official’ release date of July 2, 2008 for Star Trek XI. This was surprising as our Paramount sources have been telling us (off the record) that the date had moved from the summer to a winter release. We have reconfirmed that it still appears to be winter, but that officially Paramount are still not being more specific than ‘2008’. We contacted iF Magazine and apparently the release date in their article was not actually from Lindelof; they have now removed the date. So it was a false alarm, not the first related to Trek XI (remember the Tom Cruise thing) and we do not expect it to be the last.    

No Picture

ST09 Creative, STXI Status | January 15, 2007 | By: Anthony Pascale 171 comments so far

Lindelof Says Trek XI Will Focus On Character – Possibly Revealed Summer 08 Release Date? [UPDATE: did not reveal date]

Damon Lindelof (pictured with Abrams winning Emmys for Lost) is Star Trek XI’s ‘other producer’. We don’t hear much from Damon who is still busy working on Lost day to day, but iF magazine caught up with him and got him to talk a little Trek XI. Although Lindelof gave the usual company line, he did repeat Abrams comments about a wide audience and a focus on character…and he may have inadvertently announced a release date. "We’re not giving out any information about Trek at all,…J.J. and I are producing it and Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci are writing it.Paramount has announced a release date of [July 2] 2008. That’s all that’s official."