So Justin Lin is a Star Trek fan.....

[Mage]

Now, I don't like being cynical. I really don't.

But I remember some fans being very critical about JJ not being a Trek fan, but a Star Wars fan. And now the new director turns out to be a Trekkie.

And part of me just can't help but wonder if that's some kind of PR stunt, with JJ now doing Star Wars 7. Do the studios think it will look good to have a fan direct the new Star Trek? And have Lin claim to be a Trekkie?

Damn, I gues I am that cynical....

 

[BillJ]

This is what we've come to? Conspiracy theories about whether or not the man liking Star Trek is some type of cover story by the studio.

I really don't care if the man likes Trek or not as long as he makes a good movie.

 

[Mage]

This is what we've come to? Conspiracy theories about whether or not the man liking Star Trek is some type of cover story by the studio.

I really don't care if the man likes Trek or not as long as he makes a good movie.

Just a curious thought really. Not a consipracy theory. Never even said it was. I like the way you leap to conclusions though, very nice.

 

[ComicGuy89]

Do you mean you think they hired Lin as a PR stunt? If so, I doubt it, if they wanted to make an impression on fans, they might have gone with someone that was more associated with geek or sci-fi movies like Edgar Wright or Duncan jones. Lin seemed to be an unlikely choice in this regard, as evidenced by the slightly cooler reception his directing announcement received. So I think him being a fan is merely a coincidence.

 

[Beguiled]

I think it's likely JJ heard some of the criticism over him not being a fan, and wanted to put it in the hands of someone who was and who cared about and understood the material. Same with him asking Simon to help write it, or the consideration of Orci as both writer and director. Give the "fans" more power over it and maybe the "fans" will be happier. I don't know what was in JJ's head obviously but that is how I take all of that. He cares enough about Star Trek now to want to put it in the hands of people who care about Star Trek. And that makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Mage]

Do you mean you think they hired Lin as a PR stunt? If so, I doubt it, if they wanted to make an impression on fans, they might have gone with someone that was more associated with geek or sci-fi movies like Edgar Wright or Duncan jones. Lin seemed to be an unlikely choice in this regard, as evidenced by the slightly cooler reception his directing announcement received. So I think him being a fan is merely a coincidence.

No, I ment having him claim to be a Star Trek fan as a PR stunt. And again, it's nothing something I actually believe, it's just a random thought I had. Weirder stuff has been done for publicity/PR.

 

[ComicGuy89]

Do you mean you think they hired Lin as a PR stunt? If so, I doubt it, if they wanted to make an impression on fans, they might have gone with someone that was more associated with geek or sci-fi movies like Edgar Wright or Duncan jones. Lin seemed to be an unlikely choice in this regard, as evidenced by the slightly cooler reception his directing announcement received. So I think him being a fan is merely a coincidence.

No, I ment having him claim to be a Star Trek fan as a PR stunt. And again, it's nothing something I actually believe, it's just a random thought I had. Weirder stuff has been done for publicity/PR.

Oh in that case, well it could be. But he seems genuine enough, and I'm more inclined to believe he's really a fan of it.

 

[beamMe]

Now, I don't like being cynical. I really don't.

But I remember some fans being very critical about JJ not being a Trek fan, but a Star Wars fan. And now the new director turns out to be a Trekkie.

And part of me just can't help but wonder if that's some kind of PR stunt, with JJ now doing Star Wars 7. Do the studios think it will look good to have a fan direct the new Star Trek? And have Lin claim to be a Trekkie?

Damn, I gues I am that cynical....

Who cares if he's a fan or not? The directors (Wise and Meyer) on the helm of the two good old films (good as in good films not as in good Star Trek films) weren't fans of or previously involved in Trek.

 

[Mage]

Now, I don't like being cynical. I really don't.

But I remember some fans being very critical about JJ not being a Trek fan, but a Star Wars fan. And now the new director turns out to be a Trekkie.

And part of me just can't help but wonder if that's some kind of PR stunt, with JJ now doing Star Wars 7. Do the studios think it will look good to have a fan direct the new Star Trek? And have Lin claim to be a Trekkie?

Damn, I gues I am that cynical....

Who cares if he's a fan or not? The directors (Wise and Meyer) on the helm of the two good old films (good as in good films not as in good Star Trek films) weren't fans of or previously involved in Trek.

I never said he would be a bad director if he wasn't a fan.


Ok, honestly... I think people are misunderstanding what I was saying my first post. Heck, JJ's not a fan, and I love what he did with Trek. So Lin being a fan or not doesn't matter to me.

All I wondered was, if it might be a PR stunt because OTHER PEOPLE complained about JJ not being a fan.

 

[Kruezerman]

As long as I have good Star Trek playing, I am happy as a clam.

 

[Christopher]

It doesn't matter who's a fan and who isn't. It's a nonsense standard. There are tons of fanfic writers and fan filmmakers who do terrible work, although there are some who do quite well. Love for a property does not equal skill at writing or filmmaking. Nicholas Meyer wasn't a Trek fan -- in fact, he was rather contemptuous of Roddenberry's optimistic view of the future -- and yet most people think highly of his Trek movies.

Besides, it's well-known that the "Supreme Court" behind the Bad Robot films includes two devoted Trek fans, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof, as well as outsiders like Abrams and Bryan Burk. Among them, they provided a balance of both fan and non-fan perspectives, which is exactly what you need for a project like this, that needs to appeal to broader audiences as well as established fans.

And arguably it was Lindelof's fanboy insistence on including Wrath of Khan homages that damaged Into Darkness. It can be a bad idea for a filmmaker to be too much of a fan of a property. Good writing or filmmaking requires the ability to kill your darlings -- to step back from sentiment and self-indulgence and take a hard, critical look at what works and what doesn't. It's good to be able to consider your property with an objective eye. (By analogy, I've always found that some of the most insightful and understanding portrayals of religion in fiction have come from atheist or agnostic writers. They have the ability to step back and get perspective on the subject rather than being mired in a single viewpoint.)

Anyway, this whole insistence on whether directors are fans or not is just another obnoxious exercise in gatekeeping, an attempt to mark territory and claim that only fans should be allowed to participate. Which is an odious and harmful attitude. It's not bad to let outsiders into the clubhouse. We should want to share the things we enjoy with other people. Fandom is supposed to be about liking things. It should be more about "Hey, guys, look at how cool this is, you wanna play too?" rather than "Stay away, the precious is mineses!"

 

[Mage]

Ok......


ONCE MORE...................


I never stated that I felt the director needed to be fan, nor was that the purpose of this topic. I was merely curious if people thought it possible it was a PR stunt. That's it. Nothing more. End o' story.

Suddenly, people are discussing wether or not it's important the director is fan. Personally, I don't care either. I love what JJ did was Star Trek and with STiD.

I was merely curious about the PR side of all this.

 

[Franklin]

No more a stunt than Urban or Pegg saying they were fans when they were originally cast for ST09.

He is what he is. It's good PR from a human interest point of view, but not a stunt. Calling it a stunt suggests the reveal had a deliberate purpose, or message to send.

Then again, let's find out how much of a fan he really is. Let's ask him the last time he actually sat down and watched a TOS episode. Let's ask him if he knows what quadrotriticale is. Let's ask him his opinion about if Fred Freiberger gets too much blame for the diminished quality of the third year episodes.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I believe he watched and enjoyed Trek, like he says. They're going for casual moviegoers not existing Trekkie die-hards with these movies, so have nothing much to gain from lying about it.

 

[BillJ]

No more a stunt than Urban or Pegg saying they were fans when they were originally cast for ST09.

He is what he is. It's good PR from a human interest point of view, but not a stunt. Calling it a stunt suggests the reveal had a deliberate purpose, or message to send.

Then again, let's find out how much of a fan he really is. Let's ask him the last time he actually sat down and watched a TOS episode. Let's ask him if he knows what quadrotriticale is. Let's ask him his opinion about if Fred Freiberger gets too much blame for the diminished quality of the third year episodes.

Ask him where the bathroom is at on the Enterprise. A trick question will always flush out the non believer!

 

[Christopher]

I never stated that I felt the director needed to be fan, nor was that the purpose of this topic. I was merely curious if people thought it possible it was a PR stunt. That's it. Nothing more. End o' story.

And the answer is no, because nobody involved with the production would buy into the nonsensical notion that a director has to be a fan of the property. Only someone deeply mired within the echo chamber of an exclusionistic fandom would imagine that anyone else would consider that important. The fact is, in order for these movies to succeed, their primary target audience has to be non-fans. The fans alone just aren't numerous enough to pay for the enormous budget of a modern tentpole blockbuster. So the studio's top priority is not appealing to fans, it's appealing to everyone else. After all, the fans are going to see the movie anyway. Even the ones who hate the movies are going to see it so they'll have more to complain about. The fans are already a locked-in audience, so the studio doesn't have to worry about pandering to them. Their concern is with drawing in the broader moviegoing audience.

Justin Lin was chosen because he directed several successful installments of the Fast and the Furious franchise and because Paramount knows he's a reliable director who can get a movie done on schedule. Those are the things that matter to them. To us, this is a Star Trek movie, but to Paramount, it's simply a movie, like any other. Its Trek-ness is a secondary consideration to them. They're in the business of making a profit by making movies that appeal to mass audiences and that come in on budget and on schedule. They believe Justin Lin can give them those things. That's all there is to it.

 

[Greg Cox]

Ok......


ONCE MORE...................


I never stated that I felt the director needed to be fan, nor was that the purpose of this topic. I was merely curious if people thought it possible it was a PR stunt. That's it. Nothing more. End o' story.

Suddenly, people are discussing wether or not it's important the director is fan. Personally, I don't care either. I love what JJ did was Star Trek and with STiD.

I was merely curious about the PR side of all this.

Nothing personal. I think people are jumping all over this because, in the past, some fans have gotten worked up over whether so-and-so is a fan or not--and most of us have suffered through that silliness way too many times before.

And it didn't start with Abrams. Bannon Braga also took flack for daring to admit that he wasn't a huge fan of TOS back in the day . ...

 

[Christopher]

And I just bet that the Starlog and Cinefantastique letter columns back in the '80s were full of comments about how Nicholas Meyer was ruining Star Trek because he wasn't a fan.

Honestly, it is often hard to be a fan of fandom.

 

[F. King Daniel]

^Try Interstat. This thread takes some old Interstat letters and switches some names about to create some uncanny current day STID fan complaints.

 

[fireproof78]

As a PR stunt, it would be poor form to announce the director, and then, later on, provide proof of his Star Trek fandom.

If the studio heads were that worried of presenting Lin as a fan, that would have been the line from the beginning, not that he is a successful action-adventure director.