StarTrek11 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If I didn't know better, I'd swear God Himself has an active interest in preventing Star Trek XI from ever making it into cinemas. Perhaps God is nothing more than a Trek hater; but I'd bet He heard rumors of the "Spock and Kirk in Starfleet Academy" plot and just doesn't want to see further injustice visited upon the once-proud franchise. After ages of debate, plot changes, script treatments, and corporate infighting, it seemed as though for better or worse we were finally destined to see a new movie. Heck, even old William Shatner was suggesting he might pop in for a brief cameo. We were told wheels were turning, and to expect a script by October, with filming in the spring and a Summer 2008 release.

Well in case you didn't notice, October came and went with no finished Trek script. Raise your hand if you are surprised by this ... anyone? Yeah, me neither. However, despite Shatner now claiming he won't be involved, director J.J. Abrams promises the light is still green. They still hope to be able to begin filming in spring, and meet the summer release date, although Abrams is now hedging his bets and saying he wouldn't mind a winter release. Naturally, summer is the season of the blockbuster, and Star Trek desperately needs a good box office return if they want to breath life back into the dying franchise, so all due haste should be made.

So are we finally staring down the barrel of the next Trek film, or are we destined for another string of delays and cancellations? It seems as though Abrams and company are rather serious about this project, so this is probably the best shot the franchise will get at another major motion picture in the near future. If this team can't pull it off, I don't know who can. I'm not saying they'll do a great job, I'm just saying they've got the most potential for actually making a film happen. Excited or scared, fanboys and girls?

Marina Sirtis, who played Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has hit the nail precisely on the head when it comes to all the craziness surrounding the eleventh Star Trek flick. Sirtis sums up all the problems, debate, and hoo-hah by saying "I just don't think anyone at Paramount gets Star Trek anymore." Bingo, Marina Sirtis for the win! Sirtis (agreeing with fellow TNG cast member Michael Dorn) has serious concerns regarding a prequel movie. Both actors agree there is something wrong with moving backwards in the time line, and Sirtis went far enough to invoke the name of the great Gene Roddenberry, saying Gene always wanted the show to move forward, not backwards. The failure of the most recent Trek television series would certainly support the point being made by Sirtis and Dorn, as it was a "prequel" series in relation to the rest of the universe.

What do you think, Trekkies? Is there something inherently un-Roddenberry about moving backwards in the time line for new material? Or would it be a perfectly okay move to make, if you could find the right people to put it together? Regardless, until Paramount puts the franchise in the hands of people who both love and understand the Trek universe, it probably isn't going anywhere but down.

Well fans, it looks like the Star Trek XI stories are legitimate this time. We've heard so many rumors lately it made this latest round tough to believe at first, but so many actual people (not nameless insiders and tipsters) have affirmed the news it may be safe to start getting cautiously excited. Bust out the pointy ears and phasers, kids, we're going back to space!

Today we learn the executive producer of television's Lost has officially come on board the creative team behind Trek XI, joining Lost creators Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams. While refusing to discuss details, Burk does admit the project is fantastic in his opinion, saying "to say I'm excited is the understatement of the [year]. ... It's going to be pretty great." Burk also denies the early rumors of a young Spock/Kirk Academy movie -- sort of denies, anyway. He calls the leak "premature" and indicates the story has yet to be fully developed, so any leaked plots are nothing more than speculation.

No surprise on this news, as Burk and company have been part of the same team for quite a while now. However, they frequently put together a pretty tight project, so I suppose we have reason for some hope. I'm not even a huge Trekkie, and even I desperately want to see the franchise back on its feet. It is a legend -- an icon -- after all.

The last time an Enterprise crew paid a visit to the multiplexes, the result was 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, which was the fourth (and final) sojourn of the Next Generation gang. Prior to that we had Robert Wise's The Motion Picture in 1979, the Holy Trilogy of The Wrath of Khan ('82), The Search for Spock ('84), and The Voyage Home ('86), and then ... The Final Frontier ('89) and The Undiscovered Country ('91) before Picard's crew (thankfully) took over. Their efforts yielded Generations ('94), First Contact ('96), Insurrection ('98), and the aforementioned Nemesis. And for a while it looked like that was it, at least as far as the silver screen was concerned. Yeah, right.

Today's Variety indicates that not only has a Star Trek 11 earned a green light, but also that J.J. Abrams will be the one behind the helm. (Abrams, as you most likely know, wrote and/or directed such entertainments as Alias, Lost, the upcoming Mission Impossible 3, the underrated Joy Ride, the certifiably insane Armageddon, and the woefully atrocious Gone Fishin'. Yes, J.J. Abrams wrote Gone Fishin'.)

And that's not all. Seems that Mr. Abrams will be joining the Federation with his MI3 writing team of Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci. (These guys also wrote The Legend of Zorro, The Island, the upcoming Transformers adaptation and, if the IMDb is to be believed, an old Nintendo game called The Goonies II.)

According to the Variety report, the new flick "will center on the early days of seminal "Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission," and hopes to be complete in time for a 2008 release. Talk about living long and prospering, eh?