I strongly feel Star Trek 2009 will be better than Star Wars 7

[Smellmet]

I think you can clearly see the Abrams style coming through in the trailer, the falcon scenes have a bit of lens flare in but it's not intrusive.

And do you know what? I'm glad - whatever beef I may have with certain aspects of Star Trek and Star Trek into Darkness, (mainly with the writing), I think that Abrams visual style is up there with the very best in the industry right now, and I think he will be perfect for Star Wars.

From what I can see from this trailer, it looks both slick and gritty at the same time, which is exactly how a Star Wars movie should look.

I'm looking forward to it as much as I am ST3 to be honest.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Am I the only one strongly reminded of the first Into Darkness teasers? Scene/black/scene/black/scene/black and an ominous British voiceover?

 

[Smellmet]

Am I the only one strongly reminded of the first Into Darkness teasers? Scene/black/scene/black/scene/black and an ominous British voiceover?

I can see what you're saying. Also some of the footage has that similar grey, slightly washed out (but still visually pleasing) feel that Into Darkness had. By contrast - the scene with the guy in the stormtrooper in the desert, and the hover-bike thingy looked like they'd fit in with the original films. I'm looking forward to seeing more trailers as this progresses.

 

[NuFan]

I think JJ will be a very powerful man if he succeeds in saving another franchise.

 

[BillJ]

I think JJ will be a very powerful man if he succeeds in saving another franchise.

I'm not sure Star Wars needed 'saving'.

 

[eyeresist]

According to Time, rather than just showing it before a feature, a theater in Austin, Texas is screening the SW teaser in a separate theater of its own where it will run seventeen times in a row. Each screening is followed by a two minute panel discussion consisting of SW experts who will dissect and analyze what they just saw. Wow. I don't think there was anything like that done by Trek fans for "Under Construction".

That is insane. Are your expectations high enough? Raise them - higher! Higher! There is no way you will be disappointed!!!

Darth Vader is "awesome"; Spock is "nerdy." That's the general impression.

Yep. We need a Klingon on the bridge, ASAP.

 

[fireproof78]

I think JJ will be a very powerful man if he succeeds in saving another franchise.

I'm not sure Star Wars needed 'saving'.

Yeah, Star Wars keeps expanding and adjusting its market, especially gearing towards the younger demographic with Clone Wars and Rebels, as well as the merchandising and novels. Star Wars is a juggernaut of a franchise, that hardly needs the reintroduction that Star Trek benefited from.

Even with the rebranding of the EU and books, there is still a vibrant market for Star Wars, and across many age groups.

 

[bbailey861]

I think JJ will be a very powerful man if he succeeds in saving another franchise.

I'm not sure Star Wars needed 'saving'.

Yeah, Star Wars keeps expanding and adjusting its market, especially gearing towards the younger demographic with Clone Wars and Rebels, as well as the merchandising and novels. Star Wars is a juggernaut of a franchise, that hardly needs the reintroduction that Star Trek benefited from.

Even with the rebranding of the EU and books, there is still a vibrant market for Star Wars, and across many age groups.

This is something that Star Trek has failed on, on so many levels - and for a long time. It could be because of the legal layers associated with Trek, I don't really know, but on the whole I have complained about Star trek's marketing for years. I am continually impressed with the amount of merchandise available for Star Wars and the 'shelf space' that is devoted to it - in either books or toys. The appetite is still very much there and I believe their marketing style must have something to do with it.

 

[eyeresist]

^ I think a lot of this is to do with design. SW deliberately created (and is still creating) a varied range of spaceships and characters to set that "cool" itch scratching. In the public's view, Trek has one ship and a bunch of uniforms, few of which have the wow factor. And I don't know that JJ has done much to change that. But this is a way to expand Trek popularity without simply descending into pew-pew-pew territory - have a "Marvel committee" kind of group to oversee an expansion of Trek's visual appeal. And it doesn't have to be a gritty "used future" - one clever thing JJ did was make the Enterprise interior look like it was designed by Apple. How about commissioning Apple's designers to come up with new Trek designs?

 

[fireproof78]

There really needs to be someone who is responsible for the franchise as a whole, and Abrams is not that guy. He came in and directed his film, and did a second because the first did so well. He is not stepping in to Berman's shoes, or an executive role at Paramount to oversee the franchise.

Having someone in there, similar in the way that Kathleen Kennedy took over for Lucasfilm, can give the franchise more direction. However, licensing also is a factor to keep in mind.

 

[The Wormhole]

There really needs to be someone who is responsible for the franchise as a whole, and Abrams is not that guy. He came in and directed his film, and did a second because the first did so well. He is not stepping in to Berman's shoes, or an executive role at Paramount to oversee the franchise.

Having someone in there, similar in the way that Kathleen Kennedy took over for Lucasfilm, can give the franchise more direction. However, licensing also is a factor to keep in mind.

People are always saying this, but I don't understand why it's necessary to have someone in charge of the franchise to give it direction. Trek never really had such a person. Yes, during the 90s Berman was the top dog, essentially the guy in charge of Trek, but the scope of his job was pretty much just Trek's CEO while the other producers like Ira Behr, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga were responsible for all the day to day work on the shows. They were the ones giving direction to the franchise by calling the shots for their shows. Berman was just the public mouthpiece, a symbolic figure at the top of the pyramid.

And you know what, that worked fine, and whatever problems Berman's era might have had, how the franchise was organized wasn't one of them. Even if Trek somehow went back to having a couple of shows on TV and a steady run of movie every few years, they could operate just fine independently of each other with maybe the occasional crossover because crossovers are cool. There's no need to have a committee running overseeing running triple checks to make sure everything fits together and that each component of the franchise contributes to a greater whole or whatever such nonsense Disney had going on with the MCU and plans for Star Wars.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

To be fair, the plots of the prime trek movies are not what you'd call substantial, the hook is the characters we've grown to love and seen grow old together. I'm sure these films would have more closely resembled JJTrek if they'd have had the money thrown at them. The budgets these films had were a fraction of their contemporaries at the time. The likes of The Abyss had seventy million dollars lavished on it in 1989 whilst The Final Frontier had to make do with less than half of that.

wonder what Shatner would've cooked up had TFF been blessed with The Abyss' budget? Rockmen, Gargoyles, DevilGod, epic battles, FX of the finest quality etc

That alone would have lifted the movie no end, the dreadful FX are what kills TFF stone dead for me.

From what I understand Shatner was given a pretty healthy budget for a tentpole film but wasted it. He wasn't money wise, if his insistence on shooting on location at Yosemite says something.

Also, The Wormhole, I get what you mean about the beginning. What struck me about it was not how they were playing George Kirk's death, it was Michael Giacchino's score that sounded exactly like something I've heard in LOST ad nauseam. It was very distracting how obvious it was that they were trying to go for those emotions but without earning it.

 

[eyeresist]

I think TFF had a couple of set disasters which ate the budget. Can't remember the details.
Also, the prototype rockman was expensive and unusable.

 

[JWPlatt]

I don't understand why it's necessary to have someone in charge of the franchise to give it direction.

Because one person with a vision is superior and worth the risk when doing it by committee usually sucks. The studio suits - TV and films - still refuse to learn this lesson.

The key word in your sentence may be 'direction.' Films have one director for a reason. How often do you hear of studio interference mucking things up? And how often do you hear that it makes things better? Kathleen Kennedy's position (as franchise director) is a macrocosm of this.

 

[fireproof78]

There really needs to be someone who is responsible for the franchise as a whole, and Abrams is not that guy. He came in and directed his film, and did a second because the first did so well. He is not stepping in to Berman's shoes, or an executive role at Paramount to oversee the franchise.

Having someone in there, similar in the way that Kathleen Kennedy took over for Lucasfilm, can give the franchise more direction. However, licensing also is a factor to keep in mind.

People are always saying this, but I don't understand why it's necessary to have someone in charge of the franchise to give it direction. Trek never really had such a person. Yes, during the 90s Berman was the top dog, essentially the guy in charge of Trek, but the scope of his job was pretty much just Trek's CEO while the other producers like Ira Behr, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga were responsible for all the day to day work on the shows. They were the ones giving direction to the franchise by calling the shots for their shows. Berman was just the public mouthpiece, a symbolic figure at the top of the pyramid.

And you know what, that worked fine, and whatever problems Berman's era might have had, how the franchise was organized wasn't one of them. Even if Trek somehow went back to having a couple of shows on TV and a steady run of movie every few years, they could operate just fine independently of each other with maybe the occasional crossover because crossovers are cool. There's no need to have a committee running overseeing running triple checks to make sure everything fits together and that each component of the franchise contributes to a greater whole or whatever such nonsense Disney had going on with the MCU and plans for Star Wars.

I don't think it is necessary, but it would help. Trek, for me, has felt very low key, until Abrams, and many opinions I read were fine with that.

I agree about Berman's run (and Harve Bennett's before him), and maybe that would be something that give more certainty (for want of a better descriptor) of where the franchise was headed. Because, beyond Abrams Trek and the novels, both of which are strong parts, what else is a part of Trek that is moving forward in to the future? There is no clarity from the actual executives, and so that leads me to wanting someone, such as Berman, to provide that mouthpiece and provide that clarity. It's a little thing, but something that I would appreciate.

 

[The Wormhole]

^^We have the movies, novels, and online game all doing their thing without one person coordinating things and being a mouthpiece declaring himself very pleased. That's fine, it's working for Trek, we don't need anything more. Suddenly adding such a person accomplishes nothing other than adding another high-salary paycheck Paramount or CBS would have to pay.

 

[BillJ]

^^We have the movies, novels, and online game all doing their thing without one person coordinating things and being a mouthpiece declaring himself very pleased. That's fine, it's working for Trek, we don't need anything more. Suddenly adding such a person accomplishes nothing other than adding another high-salary paycheck Paramount or CBS would have to pay.

I'm pretty sure there is a person at CBS that does approve all the tie-in material. Used to be Paula Block, not sure who it is now.

 

[fireproof78]

^^We have the movies, novels, and online game all doing their thing without one person coordinating things and being a mouthpiece declaring himself very pleased. That's fine, it's working for Trek, we don't need anything more. Suddenly adding such a person accomplishes nothing other than adding another high-salary paycheck Paramount or CBS would have to pay.

It is not enough for me, nor does it make me feel like the franchise is moving forward. That's my opinion, but I won't mince words about it.

I personally would prefer if Abrams was that person but that was not why he was hired. He directed two successful films and continued on his way. So, it just leaves me wanting a little more direction for the franchise, but, as I said, that is my opinion.

Also, the movies, at least from the way this conversation was started, will be done after the next one, so what is the direction then? Novels and online games?

 

[JWPlatt]

Broadway.

 

[The Wormhole]

Also, the movies, at least from the way this conversation was started, will be done after the next one, so what is the direction then? Novels and online games?

Pretty much. Not really sure how much more "direction" the franchise needs. Sure, we'd all love another TV series or even more movies, but all it would take for that to happen is for someone to pitch such a thing and if approved then they and their production staffs would develop that show or movie. All that can be accomplished without a ceremonial Leader of the Franchise Overall.