Re-releasing the movies to the big screen

[Crewman47]

Remember back when George Lucas re-released his new ep 4,5 and 6 SW films to the big screen in ,I think, early 2000's or was it 1999 (I forget), well I was just wondering what it would take for Paramount to bring all 10 Trek movies to the cinema for people like myself to watch in all there glory for the first time when they couldn't the first time round due to things like not being around at the time. I realise that there are places (in the US at least) that do do showings on projectors but I was thinking about if it could ever be done by the big film screens.

Any thoughts?

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I don't know what it would take, but it'd be neat, I think. I remember when the Star Wars OT was re-released in 1997, and I dragged my mom to the theaters because I'd never seen the movies on the big screen.

 

[Doomsday]

I definitely think it would be great for the younger fans who never had the chance to see them first run on the big screen.

I remember when the aforementioned Star Wars re-release happened, and likewise when Alien was re-released, I took my son to see them.

He had seen them on VHS and DVD many times, but he had missed the experience of Star Wars on the big screen, because he was not yet born when they originally came out. And for me, it was very nostalgic.

So, for the same reason, I think it would be great, and it would milk some more money for Paramount.

I know that TMP is much maligned these days, but I remember opening night in 1979, seeing the Grand Lady on the big screen for the FIRST time EVER, it was awe-inspiring in a way that modern fans, who didn't have to go without for 10 years have a hard time appreciating.

I know that long scene where Scotty gives Kirk a tour of the refit Enterpise seems boring to a lot of people now, especially on a small screen. And I know it wasn't really necessary, plot-wise, and we all knew it at the time.

But that scene was really a gift to the fans more than anything else, to really see her the way she was meant to be seen. And trust me, no one in that theater was bored or restless. A nuke could have gone off in the parking lot and we would have all been sitting there in rapt awe of that scene.

Maybe it would do the franchise some good to re-release them.

 

[SchwEnt]

I recall attending a re-release back in 1991.

It was the 25th anniversary and TUC was being released.
The local cinema has an airing of all TOS movies in a big marathon session.

It didn't end up as great as I expected.

The prints they used were really really bad.
Grammar school film projector quality.

So that's my story about that.

 

[RookieBatman]

I would love to see the films back in the theaters, especially TMP and TWoK. I am so jealous of all those people who have TWoK showing in their area.

 

[SmoothieX]

Peach Wookiee said:
I don't know what it would take, but it'd be neat, I think. I remember when the Star Wars OT was re-released in 1997, and I dragged my mom to the theaters because I'd never seen the movies on the big screen.

I was in the same boat as you.

My Mom brags to this day how many times she saw ANH on the big screen. She worked in a mall with a theater. So I'd head over after I got out of class and meet up when she got out and we'd go see it.

 

[blockaderunner]

By citing the example of Lucas and the theatrical re-release of the OT, you have pointed out the one fundemental problem with Star Trek not only in this situation, but several situations: There isn't that one guy or gal in charge of the whole shebang to call all the shots and, considering that a bunch of faceless suits have carved up Trek like a Christmas goose, it's highly unlikely that any potential showrunner, be it Abrams, Whedon, or Straczynski, will have that kind of Lucas-like power. Didn't Roddenberry had an oppurtunity to buy Trek from Desilu at one time? What happened to that?

 

[cardinal biggles]

I don't think he was ever able to come up with enough money to buy Paramount's stake in the property. In the end, they bought him out sometime after TMP but before hiring Harve Bennett to produce the second film.

 

[Jack Bauer]

I'd love to see the Trek movies on the big screen again but I don't see there being enough demand to do so in any big way at least.

 

[Computer]

Jack Bauer said:
I'd love to see the Trek movies on the big screen again but I don't see there being enough demand to do so in any big way at least.

It's all in the marketing. (Propoganda)

 

[Therin of Andor]

Computer said:
It's all in the marketing.

And it is still possible for individuals to approach a cinema and negotiate an "event", on a promise of a certain number of ticket sales, and help to promote the event.

If you want to see ST movies up on a large screen organize a ST Marathon day, and a month or so as a window for promoting ticket sales. Talk to your local cinema about them dedicating a day, or an overnight to a find-raising screening of STs 1 - 6, or STs 2 - 4, or STs 7 - 10, and see if you can crack a deal with them, a local ST club and perhaps a charity?

Sit long and prosper.

 

[defconprime]

I would love to see TMP or TSFS on the big screen. They're the only two I've never seen, and I really feel like watching all those V'Ger crawls in TMP would be awesome with the Goldsmith music blasting over a decent sound system.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

cardinal biggles said:
I don't think he was ever able to come up with enough money to buy Paramount's stake in the property. In the end, they bought him out sometime after TMP but before hiring Harve Bennett to produce the second film.

It was actually before TMP that Paramount bought out Roddenberry. Either '72 or '73. Roddenberry needed the money, so he sold his ownership stake in the franchise and Paramount was free to do with Star Trek what they wanted. It was about that time that Paramount began developing "Planet of the Titans" as a film without Roddenberry's involvement. Then Paramount approached Roddenberry about producing a new television series, which morphed into the film, and that's how Roddenberry became involved in that. Not because he had to be involved, but because the studio wanted him involved.

 

[Jack Bauer]

I'd love to see number 4 on the big screen since that's the only one I haven't seen in the theater.

 

[Tomalak]

Allyn Gibson said:
Not because he had to be involved, but because the studio wanted him involved.

That's why he was brought on to TNG. Paramount could easily have done it without him, but they didn't feel anyone but him really understood why Star Trek was a success, and felt they needed him to make it work.

 

[trevanian]

Allyn Gibson said:

cardinal biggles said:
I don't think he was ever able to come up with enough money to buy Paramount's stake in the property. In the end, they bought him out sometime after TMP but before hiring Harve Bennett to produce the second film.

It was actually before TMP that Paramount bought out Roddenberry. Either '72 or '73. Roddenberry needed the money, so he sold his ownership stake in the franchise and Paramount was free to do with Star Trek what they wanted. It was about that time that Paramount began developing "Planet of the Titans" as a film without Roddenberry's involvement. Then Paramount approached Roddenberry about producing a new television series, which morphed into the film, and that's how Roddenberry became involved in that. Not because he had to be involved, but because the studio wanted him involved.

Uh-uh. GR was the primary assdragger on PLANET OF THE TITANS, probably the best reason it didn't (unfortunately) get made. Kaufmann and the screenwriters have already given interviews about this a few times.

Jerry Eisenberg was being touted as the xprod but I think it was more of a line producer role, as he was the one who got the production squared away to shoot in the UK to save money (though to be fair GR was probably aware of the UK savings, since SPECTRE was done over there, and I think maybe that predated POTT.) Eisenberg and/or Kaufmann secured the superb production team including Derek Meddings and Ken Adam and Jordan Belson. What might have been ... (sigh)

 

[Charlie Kelly]

I remember reading somewhere that Paramount seriously considered re-releasing TMP after the Director's Cut was released on DVD.

Charlie

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Tomalak said:
That's why he was brought on to TNG. Paramount could easily have done it without him, but they didn't feel anyone but him really understood why Star Trek was a success, and felt they needed him to make it work.

Not really. Roddenberry was actually Paramount's third choice to produce TNG. Nimoy turned them down, then Greg Stragnis (later of War of the Worlds) developed a series that was based, in part, on the Star Trek II premise. At that point Roddenberry realized that Paramount was going to make another Star Trek series with or without him, and when he said, "Okay, fine, I'll do it," Strangis was shuffled out and Roddenberry's TNG was born. I do find it interesting that Strangis is credited as a producer for TNG's first season, as I'm not certain that he actually did anything for TNG's first season--maybe some of his original ideas carried over.

 

[Joker]

Charlie Kelly said:
I remember reading somewhere that Paramount seriously considered re-releasing TMP after the Director's Cut was released on DVD.

As TGT has noted in the past, the ST:TMP-TDE's new effects shots were rendered for television presentation, not for cinema.

There was no chance of a cinema presentation.

 

[trevanian]

Well, you can still project the finished product, it just will look lousy.

The 4k remasters they have done for the Connery Bond films and for DR STRANGELOVE are so good that they can strike new film prints from the digital product, as well as doing the dlp thing. I can't imagine Paramount ever ponying up money to do that for trek, but if they did, and if (bigger if) they could find decent film elements, you'd have a possibility for the young-uns to REALLY see what the refit looked like when we saw it in 79.