New Abrams interview about the next Trek movie...

[goran'agar]

Koloth, Kor, Kang.

No lunatics there. No madman there. No one baying for revenge. Just three cool, calm, collected, but most of honourable Klingons who'll do there duty for the empire....no matter the cost. The perfect adversaries for Kirk and Spock and...the Enterprise.

If you're looking for philosophical themes then the idea of clashing with other races based on cultural differences is one that is paramount in todays world.

Different cultures have a different way of life, and often cannot be understood by an outsider, which invariably leads to conflict....its how we resolve these differences by looking beyond our preconceived perceptions that matters.

It's kind of covered in the episode where Kang comes and they all laugh, also in TUC...
So i'd say u can have an awesome action based film like Trek 09, but run a deeper theme for those who'd care to look deep enough.

 

[SonicRanger]

I've posted this before, but I would laugh my ass of, if they actually cast someone as Khan, leak a lot of images from shooting his scenes, do official promotional photos and have a teaser trailer with him.
And then, when the movie finally arrives we get our dreaded Khan story...


... as the opening act of the whole thing. Just jump right into the climax of Space Seed, maybe with a twist. let Kirk an Khan finish their struggle for control of the ship. No introduction to it except the name Khan.
Kirk wins of course just as we saw in the TOS episode.
Then the Enterprise immediately receives orders for their next mission.
just before they go to warp we see them marooning Khan an co as before.
Only this time it's Ceti Alpha SIX instead. Khan stands on the planet's surface watches the sky and shakes his fists at a tiny warp flash.
He swears bloody revenge when the surface begins to tremble.
Khan: "What the f...!"

Then we get the title sequence and off we go boldly where no one has gone before with an original story.

That's not a bad idea. It's kind of like the near-end-of-the-mission start to most James Bond films.

 

[Silversmok3]

But then were left with one very loose end-Genesis

If the Enterprise is that much more advanced over it's prime universe counterpart,what,indeed,of Genesis?

This may be a very interesting sequel..........

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I understand that, but TWOK made less than TMP.

Not because the villain was Khan.

You know, ST:TWOK didn't get the kind of pre-release hype and bookings that ST:TMP did - largely because of TMP and a general disinterest on the part of exhibitors in being burned twice. TWOK opened during a season in which it competed with "E.T," "Blade Runner" and a host of other popular films. Nonetheless, it went on to have a bigger opening weekend and I believe made more money during its first-run domestic release than ST:TMP did.

 

[Borgminister]

I understand that, but TWOK made less than TMP.

Not because the villain was Khan.

You know, ST:TWOK didn't get the kind of pre-release hype and bookings that ST:TMP did - largely because of TMP and a general disinterest on the part of exhibitors in being burned twice. TWOK opened during a season in which it competed with "E.T," "Blade Runner" and a host of other popular films. Nonetheless, it went on to have a bigger opening weekend and I believe made more money during its first-run domestic release than ST:TMP did.

Interesting--thanks Dennis.

My only concern is that, if they do decide to use Khan, that the comparison be deemed universally favorable to the original TWOK, which is widely regarded as the "best" Trek movie.

If they fall short, that'll hurt, I think. It must be extremely badass...

 

[flemm]

Of course they do.

I don't think that's a given. Orci and Kurtzman certainly excel at repackaging existing material. However, to judge from Star Trek and Transformers 2, they don't seem to be very good at creating antagonists.

Both Nero and the Fallen have the similar problems. They are generic, given minimal screen time, surrounded by sycophantic underlings, and motivated by revenge for wrongdoing that is not seen on screen and only known to the audience via an awkward, convoluted exposition scene with an elderly relic-character (Spock Prime/Jetfire).

At the very least we can be sure that Orci/Kurtzman have a tendency to repeat themselves, though that is a tendency they may outgrow. Also, the involvement of other writers may help.

I think it's pretty likely, though, that we'll get a repackaged Khan or other TOS villain. That may very well work fine, of course, or even be awesome and extremely successful. But this writing team may simply be better at re-imagining existing material than creating something new. It is certainly a good talent to have in Hollywood today, as franchise reboots are all the rage.

 

[M'Sharak]

I've posted this before, but I would laugh my ass of, if they actually cast someone as Khan, leak a lot of images from shooting his scenes, do official promotional photos and have a teaser trailer with him.
And then, when the movie finally arrives we get our dreaded Khan story...


... as the opening act of the whole thing. Just jump right into the climax of Space Seed, maybe with a twist. let Kirk an Khan finish their struggle for control of the ship. No introduction to it except the name Khan.
Kirk wins of course just as we saw in the TOS episode.
Then the Enterprise immediately receives orders for their next mission.
just before they go to warp we see them marooning Khan an co as before.
Only this time it's Ceti Alpha SIX instead. Khan stands on the planet's surface watches the sky and shakes his fists at a tiny warp flash.
He swears bloody revenge when the surface begins to tremble.
Khan: "What the f...!"

Then we get the title sequence and off we go boldly where no one has gone before with an original story.

I like this. It's a little bit evil, yet whimsical in the same way as a Police Squad teaser.

 

[Praetor]

Yeah, I would actually be okay with that, so long as it took up, say, no more than twenty minutes of the film.

 

[Cyrus]

Nonetheless, it went on to have a bigger opening weekend and I believe made more money during its first-run domestic release than ST:TMP did.

TWOK didn't make more money during it's original run. These numbers that are currently reported are from that initial run, Paramount never updated them. The 2 movies were later re-released as a double feature but the boxoffice totals weren't updated at all. I think all the early Trek movies have made several million dollars more than what's reported. And the bigger opening weekend of TWOK was due to being in almost twice the number of theaters that TMP opened with. Both movies set records with their opening weekends (each breaking the record set by a Superman movie).

Paramount definitely got better terms from theaters owners for TMP. Their share of TMP boxoffice was $56 million (over 60%) vs $40 million for TWOK (around 50%).

 

[Finnegan]

I wrote this in another thread, for those who did not see it:

My STXII Idea:

Title: Strange New Worlds

Two (non Federation) planets at prolonged war attack each other with biological weapons. A horrible new disease spreads throughout both their populations, decimating them. Soon, the disease cannot be contained and is spread to other worlds via refugees and commerce, etc, and begins to effect Federation planets.

Starfleet medical believes that a cure can be found, but that it can only be synthesized from rare plants found in a largely unexplored sector of the galaxy, due to the unusual property of some stars in that region (plot device double-talk). The Enterprise is tasked with travelling to these "stange new worlds" and finding the exotic plant matter with this incredibly rare form of DNA, with which to make the cure/vaccine.

The disease is horrible, and can wipe out all sentient life in the universe, not just the Federation or Earth. Time is of the essense, and the cure MUST be found in time!

This is really only the Maguffin to get the new Enterprise crew onto some VERY exotic and yes, STRANGE new worlds, worlds like we have NEVER seen before in Star Trek, or anywhere else, for that matter. It is crucial that the Strange New Worlds are just that--STRANGE. Plant and animal types that have never been imagined before, planet atmospheres so unique and shockingly different that they boggle the mind, physical laws that possibly operate differently than anything we have seen up until now on any science-fiction planet. You name it, these worlds MUST have it to keep the audience spellbound and on the edges of their seats as the brave crew explores these weird planets and finds danger and surprises at every turn.

This could be--and must be--like nothing ever seen in any sci-fi film, much less a Trek film. The nature of the threat (bioweapons/pandemic) is ripped from todays newspaper headlines and could not be more topical or realistic. The audience will understand the threat and identify with the urgency of the crews mission, and we can have some continued character development and nice "moments" for each cast member as we move along in the story telling.

The art direction, visual effects and CGI must be convincing and as flawless as they are strange and shocking. "Realistically" genuinely alien is what they should go for. Make the audience gasp for breath in shock, awe, wonder and fear....................
Do it right, and you have a HUGE winner here....

Are you listening, JJ, Orci, Kurtzman, et al? Do it right! And do it big or go home.....

 

[Cheapjack]

I'm sure Abram's and Orci and Kurtzman will be reading all this very carefully and hopefully taking it on board.

Then going their own way and doing something completely new and different, with maybe one thread originating, but evolving, from here.

 

[skep155]

I wrote this in another thread, for those who did not see it:

My STXII Idea:

Title: Strange New Worlds

Two (non Federation) planets at prolonged war attack each other with biological weapons. A horrible new disease spreads throughout both their populations, decimating them. Soon, the disease cannot be contained and is spread to other worlds via refugees and commerce, etc, and begins to effect Federation planets.

Starfleet medical believes that a cure can be found, but that it can only be synthesized from rare plants found in a largely unexplored sector of the galaxy, due to the unusual property of some stars in that region (plot device double-talk). The Enterprise is tasked with travelling to these "stange new worlds" and finding the exotic plant matter with this incredibly rare form of DNA, with which to make the cure/vaccine.

The disease is horrible, and can wipe out all sentient life in the universe, not just the Federation or Earth. Time is of the essense, and the cure MUST be found in time!

This is really only the Maguffin to get the new Enterprise crew onto some VERY exotic and yes, STRANGE new worlds, worlds like we have NEVER seen before in Star Trek, or anywhere else, for that matter. It is crucial that the Strange New Worlds are just that--STRANGE. Plant and animal types that have never been imagined before, planet atmospheres so unique and shockingly different that they boggle the mind, physical laws that possibly operate differently than anything we have seen up until now on any science-fiction planet. You name it, these worlds MUST have it to keep the audience spellbound and on the edges of their seats as the brave crew explores these weird planets and finds danger and surprises at every turn.

This could be--and must be--like nothing ever seen in any sci-fi film, much less a Trek film. The nature of the threat (bioweapons/pandemic) is ripped from todays newspaper headlines and could not be more topical or realistic. The audience will understand the threat and identify with the urgency of the crews mission, and we can have some continued character development and nice "moments" for each cast member as we move along in the story telling.

The art direction, visual effects and CGI must be convincing and as flawless as they are strange and shocking. "Realistically" genuinely alien is what they should go for. Make the audience gasp for breath in shock, awe, wonder and fear....................
Do it right, and you have a HUGE winner here....

Are you listening, JJ, Orci, Kurtzman, et al? Do it right! And do it big or go home.....

You'd have to come up with an explanation as to why the disease can infect and seemingly kill a variety of alien species. I can't see the silicon based Tholians being infected by a carbon based disease or the cold blooded Gorn succumbing to a parasitic infection when their physiology would likely be unattractive to any viruses.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Paramount definitely got better terms from theaters owners for TMP. Their share of TMP boxoffice was $56 million (over 60%) vs $40 million for TWOK (around 50%).

That's interesting. I remember the domestic take for TMP being reported in 1980 as about 60 million dollars, and TWOK in '82 as about 80 million dollars. I guess TMP continued to earn out.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

You name it, these worlds MUST have it to keep the audience spellbound and on the edges of their seats as the brave crew explores these weird planets and finds danger and surprises at every turn.

"Worlds" - studio created environments - aren't going to keep much of anyone "spellbound" at this point.

What's the story?

Are you listening, JJ, Orci, Kurtzman, et al? Do it right! And do it big or go home.....

They did it right, they did it big, they're being rewarded for that and moving forward.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

...just before they go to warp we see them marooning Khan an co as before.
Only this time it's Ceti Alpha SIX instead. Khan stands on the planet's surface watches the sky and shakes his fists at a tiny warp flash...

...as Khan screams out at the top of his lungs, "KIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKK"

 

[Bertie]

As far as shades of gray not working in a "summer blockbuster" I would say that TDK has many shades of gray, with an interesting well organized story. Shades of gray don't mean no compelling story, or lack of conflict. This could be a smart, yet entertaining summer film.

I'm sure that some will see this as "too complex" to fly and too much detail the new fan won't want. I still think it could work.

Right. The Dark Knight establishes a minimum baseline of moral complexity that you can put into a blockbuster and still make a mint. But complexity need not mean only darkness and shades and grey. Optimistic, humanist values can be complex, too, if properly tested against their opposites in a dramatic story.

Pike says that the Federation is a "humanitarian and peace keeping armada". Let's put that to the test, maybe with a Klingon plot as suggested by the quoted poster, maybe with something else. (And if you want your moral complexity in the villain himself, well, let's just say of the four main Trek villain races: Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, and Borg, it isn't even remotely close which of those is the most morally complicated....)

 

[Benjamin Miner]

I've thought about this way too much honestly, I keep coming back to this:

There is no treaty at this point between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Organians would be at this point thought to be a developmentally stunted race living peacefully on a planet adjacent to both Klingon and Federation space. What if the conflict was the spectre of galactic warfare, the 22nd century equivalent of WWI...and the events leading to a peace treaty solidifying the political structure of the this area of the galaxy. It could be huge in scope, and put James Kirk in the hotseat as the flashpoint for Galactic peace.

This could draw parallels with our own world situation, but in a way which would be again uniquely ST. Done right, it could still be an entertaining popcorn movie, with the shades of gray some people seem to desire.

As far as shades of gray not working in a "summer blockbuster" I would say that TDK has many shades of gray, with an interesting well organized story. Shades of gray don't mean no compelling story, or lack of conflict. This could be a smart, yet entertaining summer film.

I'm sure that some will see this as "too complex" to fly and too much detail the new fan won't want. I still think it could work.

MRE

PUT THIS MAN ON THE WRITING STAFF, STAT!

Seriously folks - one doesn't have to hire Harlan Ellison and Stephen Hawking just to make for a plot with some tooth to it, but there really ought to be some substance - people expect it from Trek at this point, and I think from sci-fi in general (look at how well-recieved the relatively high-concept BG was). If you're writing for TV and you try something out, the stakes are low - if it didn't work, you can try something else next week. But when you've got 1 film every 2 years, it really ought to be a fresh experience, and it needs to have something of an epic feel. Leaning on a movie villain vehicle that worked well in the past seems like somebody's not really trying.

(On the other hand, what a great laugh it would be to have some background conversation about current events where two officers discuss the discovery of a sleeper ship from an old earth penal-colony...)

If the writers decided to reboot so that they could start with a clean slate for story ideas, they should take advantage of it and work from the premise that they have as open a canvas as the writers did in 1967. Recycling old ideas is unappealing to me when you have the ENTIRE GALAXY as the backdrop for your story!

 

[Cakes488]

I think to do Khan they combine "Space Seed" with elements of "The Wrath Of Khan" - with the understanding that they may never revisit the character as the TOS version did.

Specifically, it's a different Federation ship that finds Khan and his people on the "Botany Bay," he successfully takes that ship over and the Enterprise crew have to fight it out with him in space, ship to ship.

Reading between the lines, they're talking a lot - not a little - about Khan. It's the defining debate - not so much "should we do this or something else instead" as "can we use Khan successfully, and how do we do it?"

I think they may seriously go this way...as Dennis outlined it above it doesn't sound half bad. Maybe Dennis should write the script. Going w/ Khan would be easy for the writers...most of the real thinking is already done. I have mixed feelings about them using Khan....

The turmoil, or antagonist, for the new film could be something simple. It can be the struggle that a fledgling captain has with his new command, himself, and the animosity from other officers around him, in the fleet. I am sure that his lightning fast promotion stirred the proverbial "pot" in and amongst the fleet. It could be written as some sort of hatred amongst a group of officers that wish to see him fail and set him, and the crew, as well as Admiral Pike up.

A sort of sub plot could be thrown in that involves an alien plot to take advantage of the situation. No major named villain but a group type action. Who knows, they can even throw in the Section 31 angle as a bad guy group.

This could work too.......

Why remake "Space Seed"/TWOK? If you're going to remake something, remake "The Doomsday Machine."

This could really work.....I agree I think they could do this easier and perhaps better with a Doomsday type device....

I wrote this in another thread, for those who did not see it:

My STXII Idea:

Title: Strange New Worlds

Two (non Federation) planets at prolonged war attack each other with biological weapons. A horrible new disease spreads throughout both their populations, decimating them. Soon, the disease cannot be contained and is spread to other worlds via refugees and commerce, etc, and begins to effect Federation planets.

Starfleet medical believes that a cure can be found, but that it can only be synthesized from rare plants found in a largely unexplored sector of the galaxy, due to the unusual property of some stars in that region (plot device double-talk). The Enterprise is tasked with travelling to these "stange new worlds" and finding the exotic plant matter with this incredibly rare form of DNA, with which to make the cure/vaccine.

The disease is horrible, and can wipe out all sentient life in the universe, not just the Federation or Earth. Time is of the essense, and the cure MUST be found in time!

This is really only the Maguffin to get the new Enterprise crew onto some VERY exotic and yes, STRANGE new worlds, worlds like we have NEVER seen before in Star Trek, or anywhere else, for that matter. It is crucial that the Strange New Worlds are just that--STRANGE. .

This has some interesting aspects to it as well....and it would be appropriate to visit strange and new worlds since that's what Trek is supposed to be all about.....

 

[Silversmok3]

While were on ths subject of new plots , heres what Id make the sequel if I had Abrams' job.

The new Enterprise sufferes a mechanical problem-one that will leave the ship stranded if the dont find the material to make parts from, and fast. Because the part is radiation related, it must be replaced quickly,or the vessel will be unsafe to inhabit.

They search for the raw material, but discover that the only reachable planet with the raw ore is a civilization that has questionable customs that disrespect the value of life-does Kirk and crew reject the only viable solution, or do they compromise their principles to survive?

CaissonDelta's idea of crew resentment could be employed here as a sub-plot:maybe a lietenant commmander uses the ethical dilemma to expose Kirk as unfit for duty and lead a mutiny based on an interpretation of Starfleet law.

Oh-and have Khan scene from earlier be the intro lol....

 

[indranee]

so when are we getting spoilers for the new movie? I'm waaaaating.... come on, JJ, get with it!!