It is true, he has spoken. While he didn't say much more than Simon Pegg or John Cho did, it was possibly enough to infuriate loyal Trekkies. In an interview with the Associated Press (via Empire), director J.J. Abrams swore he would reinvent Star Trek."I feel like this is so unlike what you expect, so unlike the Star Trek you've seen. At the same time, it's being true to what's come before, honoring it. I can say the effects for Star Trek have never, ever been done like this. ... I can only tell you the idea of the universe of Star Trek has never been given this kind of treatment." (That is a lot of Star Treks in one paragraph. Don't blame me, he said it.)
Abrams has been adamant that he wants to capture new Trek fans, as well as please old ones. He pretty much has to -- the Trek fanbase has shrunk more with each series, the conventions a faint memory in most cities, the market of Spock ears all but gone. (I can say that, I went to my local Trek convention in the days of Enterprise, and it was just sad.) He repeated his goal to the AP, and while I see nothing to upset even the diehard fans ... well, you never know.
"One of the writers who's a devout Trekker. And we're serving the people who are completely enamored with Star Trek. But we are not making the movie for that contingent alone. It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world -- to sound crass, a franchise -- and treat it in a way that made it something that I wanted to see. To take the characters, the thoughtfulness, the personalities, the sense of adventure, the idea of humanity working together, the sense of social commentary and innovation, all that stuff. To take it and apply it in a way that felt genuinely thrilling."
I hope it turns out well. Something has to keep those Trek conventions going -- even if it is just pure anger that Abrams sullied the legacy of Captain Kirk. I'm picturing conventions, fueled by hate, determined to preserve the purity of Trek. (Don't flame me Trekkers -- I went three times!)
Star Trek is due to be released May 8th, 2009.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2008 @ 11:33AM
Cincinnati Mike said...
I speak only for myself, but Star Trek proves that you can be absolutely in love with something, and at the same time be utterly sick of it. Fans have a right to their opinions, but the people writing the checks have spoken: grow and change, or die.
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5-02-2008 @ 12:00PM
RC said...
"Star Trek proves that you can be absolutely in love with something, and at the same time be utterly sick of it."
See also: Star Wars
Geeks are so contradicting. They want every movie they experience to give them the same feeling of when they were 10, then they are disappointed when it doesn't. However, I liked Voltron when I was 10, and that show sucked, so maybe we shouldn't use that age as our benchmark.
5-02-2008 @ 12:20PM
Gordon Werner said...
all that really matters is ... will it be a good movie?
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5-02-2008 @ 1:13PM
Dan said...
I gotta say... the moment I saw the trailer for it... and I see a bunch of blue collar welders gluing pieces of the ship together... where there is obviously gravity and oxygen.... I wrote off the movie as a total piece of crap.
So... a big ass starship... is assembled on the ground... by a bunch of grungy high-school dropouts...
I'm no trek fan... but that's just stupid.
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5-05-2008 @ 8:32AM
Dave said...
Ummm... Actually, the teaser is the most accurate representation of the construction of the Enterprise yet. The saucer section of the ship was assembled on Earth, in the San Francisco Shipyards. Then, it was attached to the rest of the ship in orbit.
5-02-2008 @ 1:13PM
Dan said...
very stupid
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5-02-2008 @ 1:41PM
ML said...
Keeping an open mind ... keeping an open mind ... forget Mission Impossible III ...
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5-02-2008 @ 1:52PM
ocardaugh said...
The Star Trek universe incompasses several centuries of time, thousands of parsecs of space, and hundreds of diverse characters from hundreds of known species.Fan fiction has shown that this universe is rich with story lines that are ripe for the picking by skilled story tellers. Limiting one's self to the tiny Kirk/Spock/McCoy or Picard/Riker/Crusher story lines is, frankly, illogical. It is like going to a vast banquet and only having a cheeseburger and fries.
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5-02-2008 @ 1:53PM
epstein said...
The script leaks show Abrams has Kirk as a swaggering, immature and DUMB (for real) George W. Bush type. When he beats the Kobayashi Maru test, people protest outside the Academy. That is about as opposite of GOOD Trek as you can get. Abrams is a hack, the world is about to find out. They gave Schumacher two Batman movies before they found out; Abrams is getting a bit more slack, but he cannot deliver on his promises. Just wait.
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5-02-2008 @ 1:55PM
james said...
I love it when people write stuff off when they see a teaser.
Don't forget, JJ reinvented Godzilla and I think he did an alright job, so I can't wait to see what he does with this.
I've been a fan my whole life and I got pretty disgusted with what Rick Berman did to Star Trek, JJ can't possibly do any worse than Nemesis.
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5-02-2008 @ 2:28PM
Dante said...
Lest we forget....
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=13350
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5-02-2008 @ 2:59PM
Mike said...
He'll be fine.
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5-02-2008 @ 3:51PM
Ant said...
Abrams is an absolute hack - all most all of his work is hype without substance. His genius is his ability to make stupid people think they are intelligent by watching and analyzing the convoluted garbage he produces.
I am not a Star Trek fan but I feel bad for those who are. He's going to destroy (though it could be argued that it was already dead) a sci fi heavy weight.
Maybe Spock will pick up a handycam so that the audience will get so sick they wont realize how bad the movie is.
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5-05-2008 @ 1:24AM
kasdfjksad said...
haha hack...what blockbusters have you directed lately?
I love the fact that this stupid person makes himself feel intelligent by posting garbage on a forum about something he or she doesnt have interest in (not a fan of abrams, cloverfield or star trek)