Why was the budget for The Final Frontier reduced?

[Maurice]

According to Captain's Log, the Rockman suit worked fine during rehearsals but when it came time to actually shoot, it started malfunctioning -- it was supposed to blow smoke, for example.

Yeah, but things always go wrong on a film shoot. There are a dozen ways they could have handled this, but when something malfunctions sometimes people forget the spit-n-bailing-wire approach and... panic. I've seen it happen on shoots. Sometimes all it takes is a calm voice to say, "Wait, wait, let's think about what we CAN do rather than what we CAN'T."

 

[Spock's Barber]

Bran Ferren couldn't be trusted to add smoke in post, no doubt. They blew nearly every other effect. The only one they did that I liked without reservation was the size difference between the Enterprise and the BOP.

That's a good point. If the in-studio effects didn't work out, why not add special visual effects in post production?

 

[Maurice]

^^^Contrary to popular belief, a single effects house is not de rigueur for all optical effects. They could have had someone else do such smoke overlays, I suppose.

 

[FormerLurker]

Well, cousin Charlie with that powder blue primer-coated wall in his garage is probably not the best choice for a backup effects house. And the way that Bran Ferren's effects looked, that's who they would have been using.

 

[drt]

This is the first time I've seen it, and I think the Rockman suit actually looks pretty good, shot in the dark and with smoke effects it seems like it would have worked better than having the god attacking Kirk as Spock's Barber noted . Too bad they gave up on it.

 

[Romo Lampkin]

I watched this last night and I think it's mostly rubbish but it kicks into gear towards the end, where it essentially conveys the essential of Star Trek, the weirdness and absolute alien aspect of exploring the unknown. The planet is Arizona granted, but isn't that really unnerviing? It's meant to be paradise but it's a barren planet, something off is with this place but there's no explanation so they have to explore it. Then you have the rock penises and the smoke rising off the ground, it's just surreal which a lot of TOS was like and that again emphasises the weird/exploring the unknown factor.Part of where it falls down is 1. the Shakaree myth should have been the framing element of the film from the start, not just introduced 3/4 of the way into the film and 2. the whole God thing should have been explored in a much more nuanced and intellectual fashion, not just Kirk fighting him on a planet for a few minutes. It had all the elements of a truly great film but it was ruined by poor execution. Also at what point did anyone on the production think James Brown ahs and ows cycled over and over for the crazy cat woman was a good idea? I mean it's hilarious and only in the 80s but still...

 

[JRS]

I think the budget for Generations was also cut, for special FX that is..or so I remember reading. That Would explain the re-used shots from the series and previous movie, making the film look cheap at times.
As for Final Frontier some effects were very dogg..but I think couple of them were okay, like the shots of the BoP hovering over Kirk in the planet and so on. But I agree that the major faults of the movie for sure are somewhere else than in the FX.

 

[Corran Horn]

How soon we forget "marsh-melons."

Honestly, those campfire scenes make me cringe. Thank God (or "God") that we got THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY so that Star Trek's proud history didn't end with a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

As an author I'm sure you appreciate the lengths to which the novelization went in order to make Spock's 'marsh-melons' error make sense.

 

[jaime]

As an author I'm sure you appreciate the lengths to which the novelization went in order to make Spock's 'marsh-melons' error make sense.

Wasn't it already in the script though?

 

[Corran Horn]

Wasn't it already in the script though?

The book had McCoy changing the library computer record and introducing the 'melon' bit. I don't know if that was in the script.

 

[jaime]

The book had McCoy changing the library computer record and introducing the 'melon' bit. I don't know if that was in the script.

I can't imagine something as basic as marsh-melons would have got in there by accident.

 

[Nebusj]

As an author I'm sure you appreciate the lengths to which the novelization went in order to make Spock's 'marsh-melons' error make sense.

That would be the same novelization that attempted to explain how a person could possibly have the name ``St John'', by means other than that being his name, wasn't it?

 

[jaime]

That would be the same novelization that attempted to explain how a person could possibly have the name ``St John'', by means other than that being his name, wasn't it?

Oh man it didn't did it? I mean I grant you I found that name as confusing as the next 10 year old, and it's pronunciation even wierder, but maybe I shouldn't have been reading Jane Eyre.

 

[RAMA]

In reading ST:Movie Memories, Shatner expresses frustration and disappointment that the budget was slashed and that his vision for the film's finale was compromised.

Why was the budget for The Final Frontier reduced?

 

[jaime]

Why was the budget for The Final Frontier reduced?

Is this a hint that we are going a tad, a smidgen, a smidge, an iota, off topic?

I personally think it was sabotage.

Edit: as in why the budget was cut.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I personally think it was sabotage.

That's "sab-AH-tage."

 

[Corran Horn]

I imagine this is in Star Trek Movie Memories - likely a tainted source, though.

 

[Longinus]

Thanks to this thread, I re-watched the film. Must have been almost a decade since I last saw it. I really liked it, certainly better than any Trek film after First Contact. The God scenes would certainly have benefited from a bigger special effects budget and use of TNG sets was painfully obvious in some scenes*. Overall, a decent film and certainly much better than its reputation suggests.

One odd thing I noticed was that the torpedo Enterprise fired at the God was green. But maybe it actually wasn't a photon torpedo, as it didn't kill everyone in a hundred mile radius...

* It would be really nice if they made a special edition of this film with updated effects.

 

[publiusr]

A heaven planet deserves nice effects after all.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

The TNG sets were noticeable in TUC...