Information about Star Trek (film)

Star Trek
Star Trek teaser poster
Directed by	J. J. Abrams
Produced by	J. J. Abrams Damon Lindelof Bryan Burk Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman Stratton Leopold
Written by	Screenplay Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci Characters Gene Roddenberry
Starring	Chris Pine Zachary Quinto Karl Urban Simon Pegg Anton Yelchin Zoë Saldaña John Cho Eric Bana Leonard Nimoy
Music by	Michael Giacchino
Cinematography	Daniel Mindel
Editing by	Maryann Brandon Mary Jo Markey
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	December 25, 2008
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Star Trek Nemesis
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Star Trek (sometimes referred to as Star Trek XI) is an upcoming science fiction film, the eleventh entry in the Star Trek film series, based on the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. In April 2006, after several years of rumor and speculation, Paramount Pictures announced that the film would be produced by Lost co-creators J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. It was written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who are also executive producers with Bryan Burk and Stratton Leopold. Abrams is also the director. The film will simply be called Star Trek^[1] and will be released on Christmas Day 2008.

Premise

The story will focus on the earliest adventures of James T. Kirk and Spock,^[2] and will also feature appearances by the main characters from the .^[3]

Cast

• Chris Pine as James T. Kirk.^[4] For some time it was widely rumored that Matt Damon would play Kirk in the movie. Damon, upon hearing the rumors, including comments from William Shatner giving him a "seal of approval" for the role,^[5] contacted Abrams to ascertain the truth, only to be told that the Kirk in the film was a younger man and he was "too old" for the part.^[6][7] Damon commented that if they do the progression then he'd be interested in playing Kirk.^[5]
• Zachary Quinto as Spock.^[8] Adrien Brody discussed playing the part with director J. J. Abrams.^[9]
• Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy.^[10]
• Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott.^[11] Paul McGillion auditioned for the role.^[12]
• Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov.^[13]
• Zoë Saldaña as Uhura.^[14]
• John Cho as Hikaru Sulu.^[15]
• Eric Bana as Nero, the villain of the film.^[16]
• Leonard Nimoy as the older Spock.^[17]

While original Kirk William Shatner has indicated that he will not be appearing in the film,^[18][19] Abrams said in July 2007 that the production was "desperately trying to figure out a way to put him in" but that to "shove him in...would be a disaster."^[20] Original Sulu George Takei has also expressed hope he will be in the film.^[21]

Development

As early as 2003, Rick Berman, then-executive producer of the Star Trek franchise, began quietly discussing the possibility of an eleventh Star Trek feature film. However, because of the failures in 2002 and 2005 of the franchise, including the tenth film, Star Trek Nemesis and the cancellation of the television series , these statements were widely ignored. However, in February 2005, Berman finally backed up some of his statements with names, claiming in Variety that screenwriter Erik Jendresen, among others, were involved in production of a new film.^[22]

Despite being tangled up in rumors of other screenplays under consideration,^{[23][24][25][26]} the Jendresen script was widely believed to be in pre-production. It was believed that the story, titled Star Trek: The Beginning, would revolve around a new set of characters, led by a man named Tiberius Chase. It would take place in a time after Enterprise but before , possibly during the Earth-Romulan War. These rumors have since been verified in large part by Jendresen.^[27]

However, on February 25, 2006, Douglas Mirabello, a personal assistant to Rick Berman, made an extensive posting at the Something Awful forums in which he denied that production on The Beginning was going forward, and claimed that Star Trek was dead for the time being. "The franchise needs a totally new creative team, some time off, and a cool new approach", he said.^[28] In Jendresen's words, "Essentially, what's being said is true. This is 'dead' because it's not moving forward. It's like a shark. It has got to keep moving or it's dead."<ref name="syfy" />

Production

On April 20, 2006, the Associated Press reported that the eleventh Star Trek movie was officially in production. Citing sources at Paramount Pictures, the AP reported that the untitled new movie would be directed and produced by J. J. Abrams, best known as the creator and executive producer of the television shows Alias and Lost, and as the producer/director of . Most of this information was later confirmed by Paramount and other sources. Longtime Abrams collaborators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have since independently confirmed that they will be writing the movie, with fellow Abrams alumnus Damon Lindelof co-producing. Kurtzman, Orci, and the final member of Abrams' production company, Bryan Burk, are all executive producers.

According to comments by Roberto Orci, the treatment for XI is done, and he and Kurtzman have begun writing the script. In an August interview, he hoped that they would complete a first draft by the end of October and a final version by Christmas 2006, and said that, "if all goes perfectly", shooting might begin as early as summer 2007.^[29] However, unnamed sources speaking to The Trek Movie Report indicated in October that shooting may begin in the spring, partly to alleviate Abrams' overscheduling as executive producer for Lost, Six Degrees, and What About Brian, in addition to producing Trek XI. Sources have also claimed that informal auditions had already begun in early October.^[30] Despite Orci's hopes of an October script, however, J. J. Abrams said in a November 2 interview that, "they are in the midst of it and it's in progress".^[31] Despite some news agencies taking this as a sign of possible delay for Trek XI,^[32][33] Abrams appears to still believe in an accelerated schedule, saying in the interview that shooting next spring is "realistic", and that, in fact, they are "otherwise ... not going to make the date that we have".

For many months after the film was announced, Abrams declined to make a decision about whether or not he would accept the directorship offered him by Paramount. On February 23 2007, Abrams had finally accepted Paramount's offer to direct Star Trek XI.^[34] Afterward, Paramount Pictures announced a release date of December 25, 2008.^[35] On January 7, 2007, J.J. Abrams announced that the first draft script for the movie was complete and awaiting what he referred to as "tweaking". He remarked that it will satisfy "non-Trekkers" and those who love Star Trek, "the fix that they get will be very satisfying". He has said that it will begin filming in 2007, with a release date of 2008. Contrary to some reports, Abrams pointedly did not confirm details of the film or its plot.^[36][37]

Filming will begin on November 5, 2007. The shoot will last eighty-five days, and will take place on eleven sets built at the Paramount backlot, and there will be two weeks of location shooting in Iceland.^[38] The shoot will finish in March.^[39]

Michael Giacchino, the composer for several other Abrams projects, including MI:3, Lost, and Alias has confirmed that he will score Star Trek.^[40] The design work for the film will be primarily done by Transformers designer Ryan Church and Trek veteran John Eaves.^[41]

Reaction

The prequel concept raises questions of whether the movie might modify continuity, as either a retcon or a reboot. In particular, the prequel concept was opposed by Star Trek's creator Gene Roddenberry when it first was proposed by Harve Bennett in 1991 after the completion of .

In interviews, Abrams has saluted both the fans and the continuity several times. "Being involved with a series that has a passionate and vocal following makes me incredibly sympathetic. They have put up with so many incarnations along the way. These fans, they are a smart bunch. They are an intelligent group. We are very respectful and we have no intention of subverting the material," he told Donald Clarke of The Irish Times.^[42] Later, to Empire, he said, "As someone who works on a show that has a very loyal and vocal fanbase, I do understand the need to be respectful ... I think we can do the fans proud."^[43]

Abrams has not seen Star Trek Nemesis, and claims that the franchise eventually "disconnected" for him. However, Roberto Orci claims "immediate recall" of all things Trek, and has made comments indicating that he considers even the line of Star Trek novels to have canon value, although Gene Roddenberry never considered the novels to be canon.^[44] Abrams has labeled Bryan Burk as being "relatively fresh" to the Star Trek universe. Abrams labeled himself as a "big fan", but not a "Trekker" nor a "Trekkie".^[45]

References

External links

• Star Trek at Rotten Tomatoes
• Star Trek at Box Office Mojo
• article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• The Trek Movie Report: Independent website dedicated to XI news coverage and commentary.

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