New JJ Abrams interview

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by SalvorHardin, Dec 12, 2012.

  1. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Post-Nemesis, new crew and new ship. Prometheus-esque big budget sci-fi blockbuster that was driven by ideas, exploration and science-fiction concepts instead of being only action driven.

    With enough celebrities in it and enough marketing, it would have done really well.
     
  2. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yes, Trek needs to return to the highbrow of Data making spastic noises on the holodeck with Joe Piscopo.
     
  3. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Pretty sure using the word "spastic" is a bit non-kosher these days but still, you missed my point entirely. I hated it when Data was given trailer lines like "Saddle up, lock and load" too.
     
  4. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I'm honestly not so sure.

    While the movie could've been "different", there were things it needed to do in order to get people into theaters. It needed big explosions, it needed the rebel hero and it needed the raw emotional hooks that were present.
     
  5. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Sci-fi action films like Inception and Looper have proven that mainstream audiences WILL flock to see sci-fi action movies that aren't as dumb as possible. I really don't see why we have to settle for Nero blowing up planets for no reason with his magical "black hole" device. Which would have been more tolerable if the writers spent 5 minutes on Wikipedia researching what a black hole was and how it works :rommie:.
     
  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    People simply won't buy tickets for a sci-fi space movie driven by ideas. Plus, people have no emotional investment in a new crew and ship. I don't think Star Trek 2009 does nearly as well without Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise being involved.
     
  7. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Could you give us an example of the kind of exploration-based plot you have in mind for this hypothetical movie? As a theme, exploration often enough doesn't lend itself to a wide variety of plots, which may be the reason why it has so rarely been used in Star Trek. Do you have something specific in mind, or just an example of the kind of thing you'd have enjoyed?
     
  8. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Prometheus was a box office success this year.


    It doesn't have to be as dry as The Motion Picture. Just have the crew go to a strange new, mysterious world and get involved in the kind of dangerous rollercoaster thrills that would please a mass audience. To me that would be more Star Trek than ANOTHER vengeance-filled villain threatening the Federation.
     
  9. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Because it was billed as an Alien prequel and had lots of blood and guts being spilled.
     
  10. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm sorry, I'm not sure I'm following you: are you really offering Prometheus as an example of smart science-fiction while mocking Star Trek?
     
  11. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yes, I think Prometheus clearly resembles the type of film I'd rather Jar Jar Abrams be making despite it's many flaws. Unlike the 2009 JJ-Trek reboot, it deals with themes of exploration, mysterious alien life, new civilisations, what it means to be human and all that stuff I like in Trek.

    All of these were absent in 2009 JJ-Trek and it looks like we're getting more of the same in the next movie. Which fans are apparently cool with as long as it makes money.
     
  12. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Really?

    It actually has less in common with Star Trek: The Motion Picture than Star Trek 2009 does.
     
  13. SalvorHardin

    SalvorHardin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No need to worry then.
    Lindelof wrote that and he also co-wrote STID. Enjoy.
     
  14. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Disagree. Prometheus is from that DNA of sci-fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Alien which I greatly enjoy.

    "BUCKLE UP! FIRE EVERYTHING!" sexy adventures with lots of explosions and lens flare is less my thing.
     
  15. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Actually, quite a lot of people would say that Prometheus' main flaw is that it didn't deal with any theme except in the broadest sense, giving the impression that the filmmakers thought that simply mentioning those themes in passing and wrapping them in mystery was enough to deal with them. It wasn't.

    On the other hand, Star Trek didn't aim as high, but it actually dealt with its themes and included them in the narrative in an organic way.
     
  16. Will Riker

    Will Riker Ensign Newbie

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    Star Trek won't be Star Trek again until Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and especially Damon Lindelof are not writing the movies...or involved at all. I don't blame JJ Abrams, the man can make good movies when he's passionate about it and is in charge of it (see Super 8). That team of writers, who each have some gawdawful movies under their writing credits, don't make the kind of intellectual, thought provoking films you speak of DalekJim. Orci/Kurtzman make popcorn movies that will appeal to a broader audience, Lindelof makes pseudo-intellectual crap that some people think is deep and meaningful because for some reason he has a reputation for writing such things, and then you have the name recognition of JJ Abrams. None of the people involved are passionate about Star Trek and I think that showed in the 2009 movie and in the teasers for the upcoming movie. Did I enjoy the 2009 movie? Yeah I enjoyed the style and the look of the movie, but when you get into what's being said and the logic, it's a total mess. As stand-alone space adventure films, they're perfectly fine. As pure Sci-Fi and especially as Trek, they are not even close. Does anyone really think Roddenberry would have been satisfied with the 2009 movie?
     
  17. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I do, yes. Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek was much more "space adventure" than "pure Sci-Fi" anyway.
     
  18. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well then, you got it. It doesn't need the words "Star Trek" tacked on to the credits.
     
  19. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    It depends how much money he was making off of it and how many of the starlets he got to bed...
     
  20. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Star Trek
    is Star Trek right now, thanks.

    Roddenberry was dissatisfied with most of what made Star Trek worthwhile after 1969. So what?