What the ? Paramount, you suck!

Trek Moved To '09

Paramount on Feb. 13 pushed its highly anticipated Star Trek movie to May 8, 2009, from an original Christmas 2008 release, to take advantage of the summer box-office season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Star Trek is moving to summer because its has so much box-office potential," Paramount spokesman Michael Vollman told the trade paper. "It does not need any script tweaks. They're two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas."

Trek is one of several films the studio has shuffled to new dates now that the writers' strike has ended. Trek's shift is reportedly unrelated to script or cast considerations.

Replacing Trek on Paramount's holiday 2008 schedule is the Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett fantasy film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which moves to Dec. 19 from Nov. 26.

Case 39, meanwhile, moves to April 10, 2009, from Aug. 22 of this year. And Nowhereland, an Eddie Murphy fantasy comedy previously set for Sept. 26, now will bow June 12, 2009.

A Moviefone First Look at 'Star Trek'

Moviefone is pleased to boldly go where no website has gone before, providing you with an exclusive sneak peek of the all-new U.S.S. Enterprise. This is the first photo released from the eagerly anticipated 'Star Trek' film, directed by J.J. Abrams and due in theaters this December. Click here for a larger version of the image, then continue on to meet the new 'Star Trek' cast members.

Shatner Unveils Trek Tour

Original Star Trek star William Shatner waxed nostalgic about the franchise as he unveiled a multimedia touring exhibition of Trek memorabilia in Long Beach, Calif., on Jan. 17.

"I must tell you I walked in this morning and went to look at the bridge and felt this surge of nostalgia," Shatner told reporters in a news conference in the Queen Mary Dome, referring to a re-creation of the original bridge of the starship Enterprise. "It was quite incredible. I hadn't been on the bridge set ... since I made the last movie."

Shatner is the official ambassador for the exhibition, called Star Trek the Tour, which has its North American debut in the California city through Feb. 17 before moving to San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit.

It wasn't all a pleasurable trip down memory lane, Shatner joked. "I looked over at the uniform that I was supposed to have worn back 40 years ago, and I thought, 'That couldn't be me.' [It was] a little small," he said, evoking laughter from the crowd of journalists.

The tour, produced by SEE Touring Productions and presented by Metropolitan Talent, features re-creations of several Trek sets, including the bridges of the original Enterprise and The Next Generation's Enterprise D. The 50,000-square-foot exhibition includes costumes, props, ships and other items from all five Trek TV shows and 10 movies. The tour also features a multimedia theater and several flight-simulator rides.

Shatner was eventually asked about the upcoming 11th movie, a reboot of the franchise by director J.J. Abrams. Will he appear in it? "I think they're about halfway through shooting, something like that, or coming toward the end," Shatner said. "They've got another three weeks to hire me [laughs]. I don't think you'll be seeing me, unfortunately. I would love to have been in it. For some reason, I'm not. I don't know the reason why. But I'm sure it'll be a wonderful film, and I wish them all the best. I only hope that Star Trek continues." Star Trek the Tour opens Jan. 18.

Trek Trailer With Cloverfield

MTV.com reported that the first teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek film will be attached to Cloverfield, which Abrams is producing and which hits theaters on Jan. 18.

Cloverfield director Matt Reeves has seen the trailer and told MTV.com that "it's amazing, and it looks pretty incredible."

Reeves added: "I thought 'Well, this does look completely different and new.' But while having all the stuff that will make fans of Star Trek still feel fulfilled."

Reeves, a longtime associate of Abrams from their days on TV's Felicity, added that he has seen some footage from the top-secret Trek movie.

"I've seen little bits of the movie, too, and I feel that way as well," Reeves said. "He's doing an amazing job. It's very exciting. It's not your grandfather's Star Trek, that's for sure." Star Trek is slated for release on Christmas Day 2008.

Star Trek writer finally over the tribble-ations

David Gerrold sets aside anger and goes back to work on the Enterprise

By THOMAS VINCIGUERRA
New York Times

By any reasonable definition, David Gerrold is a major figure in science fiction. He has published some 50 books and won many of his genre's highest awards, including the Hugo and the Nebula. John Cusack and Amanda Peet starred in Martian Child, which was inspired by his novella The Martian Child and opened in November.

But Gerrold seems destined to be forever remembered as the guy who gave the world the alien race of cute, lovable, rapidly breeding fluff balls known as tribbles.

You know, tribbles — the star characters of The Trouble With Tribbles, probably the most famous episode of the original Star Trek. Initially broadcast 40 years ago (on Dec. 29, 1967), the segment was Gerrold's first professional sale. Most Trekkies love it.

For Gerrold, that's been a mixed blessing.

"I wouldn't call it frustration," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Northridge, Calif. "But I kind of like people to notice that I've done other things. You have a billion people who know Tribbles and only half a million who know my novel The Man Who Folded Himself, which is one of my better-known books."

Tribbles are as much a part of Star Trek lore as Klingons, phasers and the transporter room. One reason is that Gerrold wrote his episode when he was 23 years old and unknown.

His example inspired myriad fans who hoped that they, too, could become part of the show.

Another reason is that Tribbles was the first comic episode of Star Trek. One of the series' best-remembered moments occurs when William Shatner as Captain Kirk is buried in an avalanche of the mewing, puffy title critters (which were actually sealed pouches of synthetic fur stuffed with bits of foam rubber).

"I think the episode worked because it was so coy," Gerrold said.

And yet he has been conflicted about Star Trek since the 1970s, when he appeared at numerous conventions and wrote two nonfiction books about the show, as well as two episodes of the Star Trek animated series (including a Tribbles sequel).

"Doesn't anybody ever want to talk about anything else besides Star Trek?" he complained in a 1978 interview he conducted with himself for Science Fiction Film Classics magazine. "There were 79 episodes of the series; there were 55 different writers. I was only one of them."

He said his disillusion grew when Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator and executive producer, asked him to compose the writers' and directors' guide for Star Trek: The Next Generation, which had its premiere in 1987.

"I wrote the first-draft bible," Gerrold said. "I did a lot of the heavy lifting. And then Gene, because he had to have his name on it, wrote the second guide, which was effectively mine, shortened."

The tension worsened, Gerrold said, when in 1987 he came up with an episode called Blood and Fire, about a deadly disease that he envisioned as an allegory for the AIDS crisis. The script was purchased and then shelved.

Following a series of skirmishes, Gerrold quit the show and sued for his share of earnings from its bible. "Gene, when he rewrote history, said the settlement was $25,000," he said. "I won't say what it was, but the taxes on it were more than that."

Roddenberry died in 1991, and Gerrold was sour on his legacy for years. In 1996, in an afterword to a paperback edition of his friend Harlan Ellison's original Star Trek teleplay, The City on the Edge of Forever, Gerrold wrote: "'Star Trek is the McDonald's of science fiction; it's fast food storytelling. Every problem is like every other problem. They all get solved in an hour. Nobody ever gets hurt, and nobody needs to care. You give up an hour of your time, and you don't really have to get involved. It's all plastic."

Around that time, though, the producers of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine created Trials and Tribble-ations, a sequel that incorporated and enhanced much of the original footage. Gerrold makes a cameo appearance as a red-shirted USS Enterprise crewman in that episode.

At that point, Gerrold says, he decided to change his attitude toward Trek.

"There was a moment — I don't remember when it was — where I finally got bored with being angry and just stopped," he said. Since then he has offered enthusiastic commentary about Star Trek on the Sci Fi Channel and on various DVDs.

Things came full circle this summer when he was in Ticonderoga, N.Y., directing Blood and Fire for the fan-produced Internet-based series Star Trek: New Voyages. Set in the original Star Trek universe, the segment features new actors playing the parts made famous by Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and other members of the original cast. Blood and Fire is scheduled to appear early next year at startreknewvoyages.com.

"It was the most happy, joyous, passionate group of people I'd ever worked with," Gerrold said. "I said: Rule No. 1, let's have fun, and rule No. 2, let's have a great Star Trek movie."

For the record Gerrold is the proud owner of about half a dozen tribbles. And no, they're not breeding.

Shatner Trek Cameo Possible?

Roberto Orci, co-writer of director J.J. Abrams' highly anticipated Star Trek movie, told SCI FI Wire that there's still a possibility that original star William Shatner may appear in the movie, though that's less of a possibility than before. The film is currently in production.

"There are two things," Orci said in an interview in November. "One, from our point of view, we are still hoping to find a way. Secondly, one of the difficulties that was brought up and discussed with Shatner when we all met him and pitched him ideas is that Trek fans are sticklers for their canon. [And,] unfortunately, Shatner's Capt. Kirk was killed in Star Trek VII [1994's Generations]."

There was no such problem bringing back Shatner's co-star, Leonard Nimoy, as an older Spock, joining a cast of new actors to inhabit the roles of the Star Trek crew. But Kirk's death complicates the matter of bringing Shatner back, said Orci, who wrote the screenplay for Star Trek with his Transformers partner Alex Kurtzman.

"The difficulty there is not just ignoring that or explaining it in an unsatisfactory way merely to get him back in," Orci said. "So that is the struggle: the rigors of canon and not phoning it in just to have a cameo." Still, it could happen, he said. "From my point of view, it's a very long shoot, and things change. It's just whether we can figure it out." Another possible problem: The ongoing writers' strike prohibits members of the Writers Guild of America--which includes Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams--from making any changes to the script until the strike is settled.

For his part, Shatner has not been shy in expressing his disappointment at not being cast in Star Trek. "How could you not put one of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected?" he told TV's Extra last month. "That doesn't make good business sense to me!"

In any case, Orci had nothing but praise for Chris Pine, the actor who will play the young version of Kirk.

"Chris Pine has two things which are very difficult to find simultaneously," Orci said. "He has the maverick nature of an extremely motivated, cocky guy who doesn't play by the rules, who is intelligent enough and can command sufficient respect to be an astronaut. Remember, these people are all astronauts!"

But Pine conveys the intelligence of a starship captain, Orci added. "It's difficult to find a good-looking guy who you would believe can fill the old Kirk shoes of getting into a fistfight while also having a Ph.D. in astrophysics," he said. "That's a tough one, because you need that, as he has to face the intelligence of Mr. Spock [played in his younger years by Zachary Quinto]. Chris has a great sense of humor but is also able to get serious on a dime, to step in and out of leadership while being fun." Star Trek is slated for release on Christmas Day 2008.

Writer Reveals Trek Details

Roberto Orci, co-writer of director J.J. Abram's highly anticipated Star Trek movie, told SCI FI Wire that the tightly guarded story for the upcoming franchise reboot depends heavily on the appearance of original series star Leonard Nimoy.

Orci (Transformers) added that the movie will explore Trek history that hasn't been mined before and confirmed that the story will take place before the events of the original series.

"There were many, many elements of the story that we had talked about just theoretically if ever Star Trek were to come back," Orci said in an interview in November. "There was lots of stuff we wanted to do, and that was a blessing. Normally you don't have that much investment and research for a project you get hired to do. If you are a fan of [classic] Star Trek, there is a lot of unexplored history. With the original series, there was so much that could have come before it. It felt like it has been The Next Generation and The Next, Next Generation for so long, it seemed like a fresh thing to go back to the source and to go back to what happened before it."

The crux of the screenplay involves the appearance of Nimoy in his iconic role as Spock. "I think a lot of people were speculating that we must have had multiple ideas [for the script]," Orci said. "The truth is that we took a gigantic gamble in terms of the movie we wanted to do, and it was essential that we had Nimoy. Frankly, I didn't understand any other way to do it. We didn't have a Plan B. I think that would have shown that we didn't have a true, singular vision of what we wanted to do, so it was essential for us to get Nimoy. It was a gigantic gamble, and I can't even believe that J.J. supported that kind of a gamble, but I think he understood it was the way to do it and a way to get the blessing for Star Trek, to show there is continuity for the spirit of what it was before. So when Nimoy said yes, not only as a fan was it a relief--if that didn't work, I don't know where we would be!"

Orci, who previously tackled a beloved franchise with Transformers (which he co-wrote with partner Alex Kurtzman), said that adapting Trek was even harder because of the dedicated fan base watching every move.

"The dangers are that now you are opening up yourself to the fact that the fans know what you know about the characters," Orci said. "They have their own ideas about what should be done and what is right for the franchise. So the goal with this movie is twofold. One is to make sure that the fans--who have been the stewards of the continuity and who are some of the most savvy and intelligent fans of any franchise ever--that they be satisfied with anything that has the name Star Trek on it. But, more importantly, the goal is really to introduce casual fans and people who don't know Star Trek at all to this universe and to connect it to today. ... The goal of Star Trek ... is that if you don't like sci-fi or know Star Trek, this will bring you into the world." Star Trek opens on Christmas Day 2008.

Star Trek Online (working title)

This massively multiplayer online game immerses you in the world of Star Trek. Now you can explore the galaxy, defend your bases and ships, and play as your...

Star Trek Online dev beamed up by mystery buyer

House's Morrison Joins Trek

J.J. Abrams, director of Star Trek, told TV Guide that he has hired Jennifer Morrison (TV's House) for the cast of the reboot movie.

"She is indeed in the movie," Abrams told columnist Michael Ausiello. "And she is most excellent!"

Last week, Morrison was spotted outside one of Trek's Hollywood soundstages, sparking rumors that she had quietly come aboard the ensemble alongside Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban and Heroes' Zachary Quinto.

Abrams won't say what role Morrisson will play but denied rumors that she would be Yeoman Rand, the role originated by Grace Lee Whitney.

Mmmmmm Jennifer Morrison. :-)

Shatner's Kirk Not Aboard for New 'Star Trek'

Oct. 26, 2007, 1:27 PM EST

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- The original Capt. Kirk is disheartened he won't get to boldly go anywhere with his old pal Spock in the new "Star Trek" movie.

While Leonard Nimoy is reprising his role as the pointy-eared Vulcan in next year's science-fiction flick, William Shatner is not on board as Kirk.

"I couldn't believe it. I'm not in the movie at all. Leonard, God bless his heart, is in, but not me," Shatner, 76, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "I thought, what a decision to make, since it obviously is a decision not to make use of the popularity I have to ensure the movie has good box office. It didn't seem to be a wise business decision."

Director J.J. Abrams announced last summer that Nimoy would reprise the role he originated opposite Shatner in the 1960s television show and played again in six big-screen adventures.

Abrams said Shatner probably would have a part in the film, which is due in theaters in December 2008. But while Shatner said he had a couple of meetings with Abrams, nothing came of it.

Abrams' "Trek" film, whose plot is being kept under wraps by distributor Paramount, recounts an early adventure for the crew of the starship Enterprise, with Chris Pines as the young Kirk and Zachary Quinto as the young Spock.

The cast includes Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, Simon Pegg as engineer Scott, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov, roles respectively originated by DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig.

Past "Trek" films presented an obstacle to the revival of Shatner's Kirk, who died at the end of 1994's "Star Trek: Generations."

But in science fiction, you can never truly say die.

Spock was killed off in 1982's "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" then resurrected in 1984's "Star Trek: The Search for Spock," with Nimoy's Vulcan living on to co-star in three more films, two episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and now Abrams' new movie.

"I've got a lot to do," said Shatner, whose current work includes the TV show "Boston Legal," narration for the Christmas spoof "Stalking Santa" due on DVD on Nov. 6, and the prequel "Star Trek: Academy — Collision Course," a novel chronicling Kirk and Spock's first meeting.

Shatner says of "Star Trek": "Having been in on the creation of it, I was hoping to be in on the re-creation."

Pine As Kirk, Bana In Trek?

The Hollywood Reporter speculated that newcomer Chris Pine is in talks to star as Capt. James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek movie, joining Eric Bana, who was cast on Oct. 9 as the principal villain, Nero.

It is unknown whether Bana will play a human or a member of an alien race, like a Klingon.

Pine's biggest gig to date has been the male lead in the 2006 Lindsay Lohan movie Just My Luck. He also played a neo-Nazi assassin in Smokin' Aces.

Sources told the trade paper that Star Trek will shoot from November through March.

The cast already includes Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Zoe Saldana as Uhura.

Trek Film Details Confirmed

Roberto Orci, who with partner Alex Kurtzman is writing J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie, confirmed to TrekMovie.com that the movie will focus on the core characters of Capt. Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy.

"That is a big part of what we are doing," Orci told the site. "You are correct that their interaction and how they face the impossible is what Trek is about, and that is no different in our movie."

Orci declined to comment on casting rumors for the movie. "We have ideas, and some of those rumored out there we are considering [for Kirk]," he said. "We are not hiding anything as some people on your site are speculating. It is not uncommon and we are trying to come up with the best cast as possible, and as long as we get them by shooting, that is all we care about."

So far, the only officially confirmed cast members are Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Anton Yelchin as Chekov. But Orci hinted that other minor characters from the original series, such as Yeoman Rand or Nurse Chapel, may appear as well.

"Yes," Orci said, adding: "I can't say which. We are aware of all of them, but we are mindful that you can't just try and stuff everything into a first movie just to stuff it in. Our hope is that this is 'movie one' of several, and so anyone who gets omitted is immediately on the list for movie two. It is a factor of what can one movie tolerate and how well can a character be serviced, and if they can't be serviced correctly, we would rather do it well later than do it poorly now."

Orci said he and Kurtzman have completed a new draft of the script for the film. "It is better," he said. "It is tighter. The villain is much better; in a first draft you tend to focus on your heroes. And I got to say that a lot of the things we read on TrekMovie.com contributed to the second rewrite."

Star Trek is slated to be released on Christmas Day 2008.

Saldana Is Trek's Uhura

Zoe Saldana (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) has signed on to play Uhura in J.J. Abrams' big-screen adaptation of Star Trek for Paramount Pictures, Variety reported. The casting was rumored on the TrekMovie.com Web site.

In the original Star Trek TV series, Uhura—whose name means freedom in Swahili—was a member of the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise who rose to the rank of commander. Nichelle Nichols played the Starfleet Academy alumna in the series.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci wrote the screenplay and will executive-produce alongside Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof. The film is set for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

Saldana recently wrapped the Sony thriller Vantage Point. She is filming James Cameron's SF epic film Avatar.

New Trek movie news

TrekMovie.com reported a rumor that Industrial Light & Magic will provide the visual effects for J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek movie and that the starship Enterprise will appear in the film in some form.

Of Gods and Men

Interesting.

An independent Star Trek movie - Of Gods and Men.

Trek's 'Doomsday' Reborn

A digitally remastered and enhanced version of the original Star Trek series episode "The Doomsday Machine" will debut in syndication on Feb. 10, marking a milestone: It features more than 100 all-new digital visual effects shots, the most of any episode in the original series, CBS Paramount Television announced.

The centerpiece of the new visual effects for "The Doomsday Machine" is a digital rendering of the alien "planet killer," a miles-long robot spaceship that destroys worlds. CBS Digital created the new version of the massive weapon, based closely on the one seen in the original episode, but gave it a battered, more realistic appearance.

Another highlight of the episode is the depiction of the U.S.S. Constellation, a sister ship to the U.S.S. Enterprise, as a shattered hulk nearly destroyed by the doomsday machine. The hull of the damaged Constellation has been torn open, revealing details of a mangled and charred interior.

The episode features guest star William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker, commander of the wrecked Constellation. The classic episode was written by SF writer Norman Spinrad and was honored with a Hugo Award nomination by the 1968 World Science Fiction Convention. The original episode was first aired in October 1967 and was directed by Marc Daniels.

Nimoy Hosts Trek Special

Original Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy will host Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier, a History Channel documentary special that will take a look at the 40-year history of the venerable SF franchise. The special airs Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will feature interviews with actors from the various incarnations of Trek, including Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew and Avery Brooks.

The documentary will also include footage from the Christie's auction of Trek costumes, props, set pieces and models last October. Executive producer for The History Channel is Beth Dietrich Segarra.

How to Make a Starship Enterprise Out of a Floppy Disk

Floppy disks are a thing of the past. However, that doesn't mean you have to toss them in a garbage can. Pay a tribute to another thing of the past (or, the future?)--The Starship Enterprise--and you can reminisce and recycle at the same time!

Shatner Leaks Trek XI Details

William Shatner revealed to SCI FI Wire that the upcoming 11th Star Trek movie will indeed, as rumored, deal with the early years of Capt. James T. Kirk and Spock—and that he will definitely appear in the movie if director J.J. Abrams can find a place to use him. Shatner, who originated the role of Kirk in the original Trek series and several subsequent films, said in an interview that he was invited to meet with Abrams (Mission: Impossible III), who is also co-writing the movie.

"I met with J.J., and they told me they would like me to be part of their film, but they have to write the role," Shatner said in an interview.

As for the many rumors concerning the sequel's story, Shatner said that Abrams will explore Kirk and Spock during their Starfleet Academy years. "Yes, we know the story is based on young Kirk," Shatner said. Up until now, everyone connected with the film has maintained strict silence about the storyline, though rumors have run rampant that they concern Kirk and Spock's first missions.

As for Shatner's place in that storyline? "They need to figure out how to put the dead captain in with the young captain," he said. "It's a very complex, technical problem of how to write the character in, and I'm not sure how they will solve it." It sounds as if Shatner may play an older version of Kirk.

Coincidentally, the Starfleet storyline is one Shatner is already working on for his latest Trek-based novels. "I'm writing with Gar and Judy Reeves-Stevens two books on the academy, with the young Kirk and the young Spock," Shatner revealed. "We've submitted the first book to the publishers, and I think it will be out in the beginning of 2008. It's got a working title of The Academy, but I don't think that will stick."

Meanwhile, Abrams told Entertainment Weekly that a draft of the Trek XI script is done and will be trimmed sometime soon. The sequel will be targeted, "on the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying," Abrams told the magazine. "For people who've never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don't know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind." —Tara DiLullo Bennett

Star Trek Wallpaper

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