JjAbrams Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Whenever J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are pinned down, the talk inevitabley turns to the Star Trek sequel. They're only just beginning to toss around story ideas, but Hero Complex managed to pry a little more news out of Abrams & Crew, who hinted that Trek might start tackling contemporary issues.

"In many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. It needs to do what [Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory," says Abrams. "It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story. There needs to be relevance, yes, and that doesn't mean it should be pretentious."

Orci echoed Abrams, noting that it had been one of the biggest criticisms of the new Trek. "One of the things we heard was, 'Make sure the next one deals with modern-day issues.' We're trying to keep it as up-to-date and as reflective of what's going on today as possible. So that's one thing, to make it reflect the things that we are all dealing with today." When asked if "modern day issues" meant war, terrorism, and torture, Orci agreed that was "an approach" they were taking.

Continued below the jump

The lovely Zoe Saldana is quickly becoming a name to contend with after managing to land plum parts in not one, but two of the biggest sci-fi films of the decade: Star Trek and Avatar. One is a bonafide hit, the other remains shrouded in a lot of mystery, but it's a mark of Saldana's star power that she's making a name outside of their huge hype. Plus, she's becoming an action heroine in her own right, and just might be our generation's Sigourney Weaver or Linda Hamilton.

We had the chance to catch up with Saldana this week, and she was game to talk about both projects. Of course with the Star Trek sequel still in a misty writing stage, she didn't have any big secrets to spill, but she shared the opinion of a lot of female Trek fans in hoping Uhura gets to do a little butt-kicking later on. "In Star Trek, I had so much fun, but the boys got all the action! J.J. [Abrams] promised me that I'm going to -- [that] in the sequel, she will have at least one little fight. I mean, just [let me] kick a guy in the groin or something!" Laughing, she revealed that there was an enormous ongoing e-mail list among the cast, Abrams, and the Trek producers where they regularly chat and joke back and forth. From the sound of it, that's also where the groin-kicking requests are made.

Go below the jump for Saldana talking all about Avatar!

When there was a rumor last year that Mission Impossible could live on without Tom Cruise, most of you were primed to say adios, but it looks like you might not get your wish. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Cruise has agreed to produce a fourth installment of the franchise with JJ Abrams, and they're looking at a potential 2011 release date.

The idea of having Cruise step away to make room for a younger star, and the meetings to discuss the idea, have been denied by those (allegedly) involved. But as THR rightly points out -- this news is sparse on the details, or rather the most important: Is Cruise going to star as Ethan Hunt once again? Or, are those rumors right-on about a new spin on the franchise?

With all the effort Cruise has been putting into his career over the last few years, I can't imagine that he'd agree to step down, or to act as some sort of Mr. Miyagi or Ra's Al Ghul. However, why doesn't this news include Cruise's casting announcement if he was going to star? One would imagine that the producing and starring agreements would go hand in hand. Could Cruise actually be willing to step down, and what, do you think, is the motive if he is?

When it comes to a franchise as beloved as Star Trek, I suppose it's important to let people know where you stand, right at the beginning: I never was able to get into the original Star Trek series (probably because I'd already been indoctrinated into the Star Wars religion), but I knew enough to become a big fan of the first three cinematic adaptations. I think The Motion Picture is a fine (if slightly overlong) re-awakening of the franchise, and I'm a big fan of both The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock. The rest of the features are slight and forgettable (at best) or drearily familiar, which is slightly annoying because I absolutely adore The Next Generation on the small screen. On the big one? Not so much.

But beyond the impact and popularity of a lone franchise, I'm just a huge science fiction fan. Anything that can delve deep into the future and dazzle me with something flashy or fascinating is a good thing indeed. But what makes Star Trek such a long-lasting and rabidly adored franchise is that it goes beyond simple "alien adventures" and touches upon ideas, questions, and issues that we always contend with in the "real" world. If you have to travel 100,000 miles and deal with purple aliens to make a clever point about, say, racism, then let's hear it for basic-yet-admirable subtext. So yes, Star Trek has always been a smart, insightful, and topical space adventure, but this time out ... it's mostly just fun.

Yes, it's an all-new reboot of one of the most beloved series of all time. Which means director J.J. Abrams and his filmmaking crew are walking on very thin ice. True, it's not like the Star Trek series has never seen a bad film, but when you're retro-fitting a mega-franchise in very loud and expensive fashion ... the fans take notice. And they're not afraid to call bullshit at the drop of a hat or a crack in the canon, which is part of what makes the new Star Trek such a pleasant surprise. Not only did they "pull it off," but they've done so in rather grand fashion: This is the best Trek since Khan got all wrathful and such.

Curious about what's been happening at WonderCon in San Francisco this weekend? Me too! Let's see what the Internet says.

Cloverfield Sequel? J.J. Abrams acknowledged that ideas for a sequel "or at least a follow-up" to last year's big-grossing, doc-style monster movie Cloverfield are being kicked around. Insisting that a sequel "better not be a business decision," Abrams said: "We have an idea for something that's pretty cool ... It's something that would be related to Cloverfield and hopefully we'll do something sooner than later, because the idea's pretty sweet." Abrams appeared at WonderCon to premiere a new trailer for some space movie thingy. [Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.]

Terminator for Teens? Director McG continued to play the guessing game about the rating for Terminator: Salvation. Are they aiming for PG-13 or R? At a panel, he teased the audience with the prospect of a topless scene by Moon Bloodgood. (Alas, the new trailer does not include that scene.) Later, McG claimed that T:S was made without giving a thought to rating, while also referencing the Kate Winslet posing scene in the PG-13 rated Titanic. For her part, Ms. Bloodgood said: "I'm a woman, I have boobs, it's a beautiful shot." [Edward Douglas at Coming Soon.]

Green Lantern Goes Russian? Anton Yelchin, the Russian-born actor who has prominent supporting roles in both Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation, denied a rumor that he was being considered to play Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. "No one has said anything to me. I imagine I'm just too young. I mean, it's a great character but I don't know anything about it." Yelchin will turn 20 next week. [IESB.net]

After the jump: News on Disney's hand-drawn The Princess and the Frog.

Not long ago it was rumored that when J.J. Abrams' Star Trek hits theaters this May 8, it will do so by arriving in both conventional theaters and on IMAX screens. While nothing official has been announced yet, it appears the folks in charge are waiting till The Day the Earth Stood Still hits theaters. Why? Well, according to our peeps, a Star Trek trailer will be attached to IMAX prints of that film. Here's what a source told us: "We got our print-info sheet for Day the Earth Stood Still in IMAX and attached is a trailer for Star Trek. So it appears that JJ Abrams Trek Reboot/Remake is coming to IMAX in May."

Not for nothing, but it seems like a fairly obvious choice to bring Star Trek to IMAX theaters since, as proven by The Dark Knight, the fanboy-ish stuff thrives in that environment. Unfortunately, unlike Dark Knight, Abrams did not shoot any of the film with IMAX cameras; instead, the flick will be converted to fit the format. What say you? How will you watch Star Trek -- in regular theaters or on IMAX screens?