next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

What the producers need to be able to do is to shoot themselves in the head if they think about making assloads of spinoffs in a row.

In the case of the Trek franchise it's not the producers who get to make this decision (presumably because they don't own Trek). The folks in charge of the studio tell them that it's time to develop another.

 

[ALF]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I think the general public had decided that they have had enough of star trek.

The general public doesn't think anything about Star Trek when they aren't actually watching it. Only we do.

Nope, he's right - the other time the general public thinks about Trek is when they see an ad for it...and the reaction that marketing has to get past at this point is "oh, that old shit again." Abrams has done a lot to rehabilitate it, but there's a long distance from a successful film to attracting a sizeable audience to a TV series week after week for years.

Who are you saying is right?? Dennis or Temis? I think they both make valid points - I also think TV series' which begin with a theatre feature are too risky for studios. It's a lot of bad exposure when they fail.

Anyway, take Abrams-Trek as a prime example. If it was so successful and made many Joe Six-Packs and Trekkers alike pine (pun intended) for more of the same, why didn't they turn that Trek into a new TV series?

And of course, not 24 episodes per season where the quality would suffer. I mean a budget-heavy 12 or even 6 episode miniseries, to air on a major network. Trek was always meant to have an episodic flavor. How many Abrams-Trek films are we expected to get? By the third the audiences will be dwindling no matter how good it is.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I mean a budget-heavy 12 or even 6 episode miniseries, to air on a major network.

How many big-budget miniseries have aired on major networks with any success in the last five years or so? The so-called "Big Three (and a half)" are moving away from expensive event programming - economically, they have to. Hell, NBC's just ceded five prime time hours a week to Jay Leno to cut costs.

Plus, of course, Trek doesn't have a particularly successful network track record. Broadcast networks aren't a good fit for space-opera/futuristic type sf/fantasy, so there's no good reason to shoot for that kind of venue other than a kind of misguided lustre of "making it big."

Limited or short-form TV series take root on cable - Showtime, USA, HBO...I don't know what kind of budgets those command, or what CBS Paramount's business position in cable is. Probably less money at USA than HBO, though.

The best place for Trek to flourish for a long time, quite honestly, would be a basic cable series based somewhere like Vancouver and produced along the same lines as the Stargates or Moore's Battlestar Galactica. Trek fans (and the studio) would need to be willing to accept the trade-off of flying economy class in return for a chance at long-term viability. They might have to do with a couple fewer funny foam forehead appliances or space battles.

 

[ALF]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

The best place for Trek to flourish for a long time, quite honestly, would be a basic cable series based somewhere like Vancouver and produced along the same lines as the Stargates or Moore's Battlestar Galactica. Trek fans (and the studio) would need to be willing to accept the trade-off of flying economy class in return for a chance at long-term viability. They might have to do with a couple fewer funny foam forehead appliances or space battles.

QFT.

Can you imagine Star Trek on HBO? That would be wild.

 

[ALF]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

The best place for Trek to flourish for a long time, quite honestly, would be a basic cable series based somewhere like Vancouver and produced along the same lines as the Stargates or Moore's Battlestar Galactica. Trek fans (and the studio) would need to be willing to accept the trade-off of flying economy class in return for a chance at long-term viability. They might have to do with a couple fewer funny foam forehead appliances or space battles.

QFT.

Can you imagine Star Trek on HBO? That would be wild. But they do have huge budgets.

The reason the much beloved Deadwood was canned a year early was because of the whopping pricetag - 4 million per episode (the giant cast, location shoots, horses, etc).

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I also think TV series' which begin with a theatre feature are too risky for studios. It's a lot of bad exposure when they fail.

I understand your point.

FYI
There has been an in-depth discussion on a Trek series 6 choice of TV channel over here: What channel should a new Trek TV series be on?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

The reason the much beloved Deadwood was canned a year early was because of the whopping pricetag - 4 million per episode

actually

At a cost of $5 million per episode, Deadwood couldn't justify its existence when it didn't become a ratings hit like HBO's The Sopranos.

SOURCE

Wow $5 million! if only Trek were allowed budgets like this...they could go on location more often.

 

[Stephen!]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I also think TV series' which begin with a theatre feature are too risky for studios. It's a lot of bad exposure when they fail.

Maybe. Although as the Ferengi say, "The riskier the road, the greater the profit"

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I also think TV series' which begin with a theatre feature are too risky for studios. It's a lot of bad exposure when they fail.

I wasn't thinking it would be a wide release but more of a promotional 2-day only release from the CBS Television marketing department. Yes maybe in 30 US states or just the top 25 cities. The Internet will take it from there. It is marketing not a product expected to reach the possible 300 million Americans.

with the proliferation of digital projection by 2011 that CBS Home video would try something with the pilot in advance like they did with TOS "The Menagerie" in 2007 in cinemas for 2 nights only to paying cinemagoeers.

I seriously doubt they would expect it to make serious money if only playing say 4 or 6 times at each theater. 2 or 3 times per day over 2 days. It would pay for any digital cinema distribution costs, a small marketing campaign for the 2-day event, and possibly defray some costs of the pilot itself. It would be a marketing choice for advertising the show directly to the fanbase instead of CBS Television or the TV network it eventually ends up on paying for print, radio, & TV advertising for months.

FYI Currently,

7,241 of nearly 39,000 screens in North America are digital

SOURCE Oct. 2009

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in 3-D for cinemas?

In another thread

Will James Cameron's Avatar change things for Trek TV in 2012-2014?

There's a lot of talk about Avatar changing things and I'm wondering how Trek may be affected in this way.

Surely with a handful of 3D TV channels launcing in the next few years it's quite doubtful that the next Trek TV series would be shot in 3D due to the limited home viewers who would be able to see it in 3-D.

What about shooting just the 2-hour pilot in 3-D that would get a limited release in digital 3D cinemas?

The rest of the series could be in 2D but if they do a pilot and possibly a season finale in 3-D it could be an event for Trek as well as some extra revenue for $12.-15./ticket.

With the now possibility that Paramount may want the next Star Trek feature film shot in 3-D for 2012 and the growing availability of digital cinemas could have a limited 3-day event in 2013 or 2014 for a series 6 Trek.

As far as Nielsen ratings for a season finale there could be a limited digital cinema release say 2 weeks later in 3-D.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

next Trek series pilot in cinemas - limited event

I heard Broken Bow costs about $8-$10 million to make. Double it for advertisement Your going to get return on that in the first week.

1. Do you have a source for the production budget for "Broken Bow"

2. Does anyone know how much the TOS "The Menagerie" in 2007 in cinemas brought in moneywise for CBS Television home video division?

3. With the fanbase of Trek will fans be willing to pay for this limited event after the next 1 or 2 Trek feature films? How much $ would be estimated for cinema ticket profits?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I think one-night or limited-engagements are going to be the new pay-per-view.
From concerts (in 2-D or 3-D) to sports games (in 3-D) people will pay for it.

Yes ESPN is launching the first all 3D sports TV network, ESPN 3D for at-home and in sports bar viewing this Spring. Even the X-Games this Summer will be in 3-D.

At the cinema though
Tickets are $15, $20, $25 (depending on theater). for tonight's game and Monday Monday April 5 for the Men’s Final Four Semi-Finals & Championship basketball games in about 50 movie theaters around the country and this is from CBS Sports and Cinedigm Digital Theaters.
http://www.cinedigm.com/sports3d/index.html
Yes THAT CBS which also owns the Star Trek TV series property!

I still believe there is room for scripted content to have the niche audiences willing to pay for it such as the next Trek 90 minute pilot. Not created with the sole intention of cinema release but as almost a Blu-ray/DVD release as well as a back door pilot to a 12 episode series? The cinema screening could be more promotional with a 2 or 3 day only screening.

At the moment there are two theater chains I know of that have digital screenings of one-night or limited-engagements :
Celebration Cinema
http://celebrationcinema.com/?pid=30559
Fathom
http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Upcoming/

and Celebration Cinema has older films they are screening such as....Star Trek The Motion Picture! 3/29 and 3/31 Damn. missed them.
http://celebrationcinema.com/?pid=184&id=1980

How much would you be willing to pay see new Trek pilot as a limited engagement? $12.?
in 3-D? $15-20.?

Unfortunately we won't see the cost of major cinema chains doing the $5. screenings. No they would be more of an event.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

ENT "Broken Bow" pilot costs

I heard Broken Bow costs about $8-$10 million to make.

1. Do you have a source for the production budget for "Broken Bow"

I have found a source and a new figure in 2001 dollars.

The 2 hour long pilot, "Broken Bow" cost $3.75 Million to produce.

http://www.crazyabouttv.com/startrekenterprise.html

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

No.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

This Spring the TV series Glee aired their pilot 4 months before the series started to build buzz.
TV week magazine mentioned it as a marketing trial by Fox network.

For the first time anyone in TV circles can recall, a network is using a pilot for a show not as the beginning of a series, but as the start of a marketing campaign.

This is similar to how a cinema in Austin, TX was going to show STII:TWOK with a preview of 10 minutes of the new Star Trek (2009) film but then actually Nimoy came out and they showed the entire Trek XI film to Trek fans that spread the buzz about 20 days before the film was released.

I wonder if the premiere episode will also have a limited event release in cinemas between CBS preview and the start on CBSAA of the new series?

 

[Mudd]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I'm sure that this could happen under current circumstances, yeah.

 

[eyeresist]

Re: next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount

I also think TV series' which begin with a theatre feature are too risky for studios. It's a lot of bad exposure when they fail.

I agree it's a risk, given how fans bleat. And if that bleating made it into mainstream media, it could have a negative effect.

But a limited theatrical screening the night before the TV debut would generate good buzz with minimal splashback, I think.

I think there would be enough interested fans to make it viable. It wouldn't be hugely profitable, of course, but I think fans would appreciate the event.