Star Trek teaser w/Cloverfield -

[Sharr Khan]

True. But this, again, isn't the issue. All that matters to me, as a consumer, is that I find a film entertaining.

Couldn't agree more. if the film isn't entertaining and its concerns are other then being that its sunk.

Obviously if you find it boring I'd expect you not to like it the same applies to me. I do give you points for not harping on Abrams and actually giving it a chance - unlike a number of other people around this place... a few of which come across like Abrams ran over their cat or something.

Sharr

 

[Plum]

To stretch the metaphor, some people are blaming JJ Abrams for running over their cat a year from now.

 

[Kryton]

Sharr Khan said:

I wasn't that impressed with Transformers, the last blockbuster screen credit of Orci & Kurtzmann.

Ah but there's no denying it was a blockbuster-hit, something Trek has seldom been. This movie could only hope to do as well as Transformers has done and "fail" as badly.

It was the third highest-grossing movie of the year. Too bad it was utterly moronic and without any value of any sort. I would LOVE that time back, just like every other Michael Bay piece of shit I've wasted any amount of time in my life doing.

Hope the issue was all BAY (which is a safe assumption), but at the same time, it's not encouraging...especially without having the option for a script doctor to punch it up with the WGA strike and all.

 

[Sharr Khan]

It was the third highest-grossing movie of the year. Too bad it was utterly moronic and without any value of any sort.

Have to disagree, for what it was an adaption of it was hardly moronic or without value. But this is still beside the point it entertained alot of people and did what it needed to do. There's alot of supposedly "smart" stuff out there that to me is a complete waste of time since its trying to hard to be smart. Transformers was being exactly what it needed to be a Summer blockbuster film.

Trek could do with a little less pretension and a little more popcorn or say it another way not take itself so seriously.

*And yes Transformers was written (or rewritten) to conform to Bay's filmmaking style - still don't have an issue here.

Sharr

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Kryton Kryngle said:especially without having the option for a script doctor to punch it up with the WGA strike and all.

It would be a little late for that after they started shooting, anyway.

 

[Kryton]

You'd know better than I...haven't movies been known to get "punched up" right up until shortly before scenes go before the cameras? (Where are the PINK pages?!? I didn't get the PINK pages!) Or is that a Hollywood stereotype?

 

[Plum]

Weeell, when JJ Abrams once said he couldn't make a change in a scene due to the strike, the first thing I thought was; "pffft, yea right Mr. Director". I feel they are being just as creative as they should be, on set, etc. Still, it's interesting they feel constrained to the script. Who knows, certainly I don't. I'm not even sure if the writers are on set, as if that matters (email!). Will the Trek script have various colours in the end? Many do, but this situation is different. It's all interesting speculation... where were we?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I suppose dialogue sometimes is. Often uncredited screenwriters are also brought in to work on pacing problems or on scenes that aren't working.

BTW, here's part of what the director of "Cloverfield" said to MTV about the movie:

"I think people are going to be very excited," he said, offering a sneak preview. "It's a teaser, you know, it's a teaser trailer. But still, I was like 'Wow!' Just the scope of it, the scale of it, you just look at it and it's so elegantly done."

Having witnessed Abrams' mindset as he tries to re-assemble one of film's greatest franchises, Reeves said: "It's one of those things where J.J. has a lot of ideas come out of [the fact that] he has a very simple, forceful way to express himself while capturing people's imaginations. I think what [he and his producers] are doing with the trailer is fantastic; this is a great way to reboot the franchise, and get people excited about something new."

The teaser trailer is so thrilling, in fact, that Reeves admitted to having some difficulty stifling his inner fanboy. "That's what excited me about seeing the trailer, was that I thought 'Well, this does look completely different and new,'" he marveled. "But while having all the stuff that will make fans of 'Star Trek' still feel fulfilled."

As if that doesn't make us jealous enough, Reeves revealed that he has also seen entire, completed scenes from the assembled dailies. "I've seen little bits of the movie too, and I feel that way as well," the director said. "He's doing an amazing job; it's very exciting. It's not your grandfather's "Star Trek," that's for sure."

 

[Kegek]

"It's one of those things where J.J. has a lot of ideas come out of [the fact that] he has a very simple, forceful way to express himself while capturing people's imaginations. I think what [he and his producers] are doing with the trailer is fantastic; this is a great way to reboot the franchise, and get people excited about something new."

The teaser trailer is so thrilling, in fact, that Reeves admitted to having some difficulty stifling his inner fanboy.

Well, they're certainly good at hyping this trailer. Which I suppose is useful, we'll see how something related to the film measures to its hype pretty soon.

 

[Plum]

He said it's not your GRANDFATHER'S Trek? That's funny.

 

[trevanian]

Kryton Kryngle said:

Sharr Khan said:

I wasn't that impressed with Transformers, the last blockbuster screen credit of Orci & Kurtzmann.

Ah but there's no denying it was a blockbuster-hit, something Trek has seldom been. This movie could only hope to do as well as Transformers has done and "fail" as badly.

It was the third highest-grossing movie of the year. Too bad it was utterly moronic and without any value of any sort. I would LOVE that time back, just like every other Michael Bay piece of shit I've wasted any amount of time in my life doing.

Hope the issue was all BAY (which is a safe assumption), but at the same time, it's not encouraging...especially without having the option for a script doctor to punch it up with the WGA strike and all.

I just tried to watch TRANSFORMERS and was mesmerized by how bad it was. My wife said it looked like somebody had watched THE ROCK too many times and tried to emulate it without success, which is maybe the worst thing you can say, given that Bay actually did a decent job with that one (would have been great with Cusack instead of Cage.)

I don't know the other credits for these writers, but this pic seemed so intent on being paced fast and throwing jokes in all directions while clinging to Syd Field's script rules, that there was nothing exciting or unexpected (or interesting.) Is that why I hate most event movies? Because they're so uneventful?

Not your grandfather's Trek? That's the saddest thing I could imagine coming from Reeves' mouth. Perhaps in 2030 he will be horrified to see his FELICITY reimagined as a crack whore ("not your grandpa's Felicity.")

 

[Balthier the Great]

trevanian said:

Kryton Kryngle said:

Sharr Khan said:

I wasn't that impressed with Transformers, the last blockbuster screen credit of Orci & Kurtzmann.

Ah but there's no denying it was a blockbuster-hit, something Trek has seldom been. This movie could only hope to do as well as Transformers has done and "fail" as badly.

It was the third highest-grossing movie of the year. Too bad it was utterly moronic and without any value of any sort. I would LOVE that time back, just like every other Michael Bay piece of shit I've wasted any amount of time in my life doing.

Hope the issue was all BAY (which is a safe assumption), but at the same time, it's not encouraging...especially without having the option for a script doctor to punch it up with the WGA strike and all.

I just tried to watch TRANSFORMERS and was mesmerized by how bad it was. My wife said it looked like somebody had watched THE ROCK too many times and tried to emulate it without success, which is maybe the worst thing you can say, given that Bay actually did a decent job with that one (would have been great with Cusack instead of Cage.)

I don't know the other credits for these writers, but this pic seemed so intent on being paced fast and throwing jokes in all directions while clinging to Syd Field's script rules, that there was nothing exciting or unexpected (or interesting.) Is that why I hate most event movies? Because they're so uneventful?

Not your grandfather's Trek? That's the saddest thing I could imagine coming from Reeves' mouth. Perhaps in 2030 he will be horrified to see his FELICITY reimagined as a crack whore ("not your grandpa's Felicity.")

Honestly, I think it's pretty much a demographic reality. If you're referring to people 14-18 in the TOS years, most of them quite frankly ARE grandparents. They'd be in their mid-50's to early-60's, so it's not insulting to suggest that TOS is your grandpa's Trek. It *is* grandpa's Trek.

And Wizard of OZ is my great-grandparent's Oz for that matter -- it was made in 1939. That doesn't mean that the directors or modern filmakers don't like it or they're going to screw around with it to make it "Hip and Edgy (TM)" just that both have stood the test of time. The fact that the grandkids can still get into something made for grandpa shows how well made it was. Most TV shows and movies just don't last -- in 5 years nobody remembers them.

 

[Kegek]

Plum said:
He said it's not your GRANDFATHER'S Trek? That's funny.

But accurate. This project is for the next next generation.

And trevanian, past screenwriting credits of Orci & Kurtzmann include Bay's last film, The Island (which was an unofficial remake of Parts: The Clonus Horror) and they were showrunners on Xena. As far as the Bay connection goes, J.J. Abrams is one of the eight credited screenwriters of Armageddon. He's best known for TV shows like Alias and Lost, or so I understand.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

BalthierTheGreat said:And Wizard of OZ is my great-grandparent's Oz for that matter -- it was made in 1939. That doesn't mean that the directors or modern filmakers don't like it or they're going to screw around with it to make it "Hip and Edgy (TM)" just that both have stood the test of time. The fact that the grandkids can still get into something made for grandpa shows how well made it was. Most TV shows and movies just don't last -- in 5 years nobody remembers them.

I take it, from that posting, that you didn't catch Sci-Fi's "Reimagining" of "The Wizard of Oz" recently?

It was OOOOOOOo so "hip and edgy." Now, I'm not a huge fan of the musical "Wizard of Oz" from my great-grandparent's time... never really appealed to me. But having the characters calling things "cool" just didn't work for me... even if the term was most often repeated by someone without a brain.

It wasn't a bad take... but it was DEFINITELY revised "for today's audiences" and as such, has NOTHING to do with the original flick. In that case, they at least had the decency to give it another name, as well...

 

[Franklin]

It's all about the packaging. My kids eat the same cereals I ate at there age 40 years ago. Only the packaging and marketing has changed to appeal to someone who's 8 in 2008 and not in 1968.

Same with "Star Trek". Redoing the FX for TOS was one form of repackaging. XI is another. Frosted Flakes are Frosted Flakes no matter how Tony changes on the box over the years. Lucky Charms are Lucky Charms even if my girls get eight or so different marshmallows now while I was grateful for the original four.
If we can get by the stylistic changes, my guess is we will find the "cereal" inside the movie -- or its substance and feel -- to be the same as 1960s TOS. To go from cereal to soda, no one has said this movie is New Coke. Just a new can.

 

[nutsnbolts]

Whatya mean Lucky Charms has 8 mallow bits in it now?! That sir is a reboot of my favorite series , er , cereal :0

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Kegek Kringle said:
...past screenwriting credits of Orci & Kurtzmann include Bay's last film, The Island (which was an unofficial remake of Parts: The Clonus Horror) ...

Oooooh...I LOVED 'Parts: The Clonus Horror' (well, to be completely accurate, I loved the 'MST3K' presentation of Clonus, NOT the actual movie itself.)

Seriously though, I thought The Island was well written and had a lot of potential. I give fault to Michael Bay for turning an interesting story into a clichéd action flick. That film (and also Transformers to a lesser extent) would have been much better without the overblown action scenes.

Speaking of The Transformers, I actually enjoyed the parts of the film that contained dialogue. The scenes with Shai Labouf at his parents house were especially "fun". I was terribly bored, however, by the inane action. More dialogue and less action would have made for a better film, in my opinion.

I do find some confidence in the fact that Kurtzman and Orci do know how to write good dialogue. However I do worry about the balance between dialogue and action they put in their screenplay.

Let's hope that the overdone action in Transformers was the fault of Michael Bay and not the screenwriters, and that Abrams will promote dialogue and story more than pointless action (although some action is important.)

 

[Sharr Khan]

It wasn't a bad take... but it was DEFINITELY revised "for today's audiences" and as such, has NOTHING to do with the original flick.

Considering the musical version also is removed from the source material, they even dared change the slipper color....

But more over the scifi version isn't the only other time someone's redid "Wizard of Oz" its also gonna be redone again by Todd McFarlene and of course there is "The Wiz".

Sharr

 

[Kegek]

Jackson Roykirk said:
Speaking of The Transformers, I actually enjoyed the parts of the film that contained dialogue. The scenes with Shai Labouf at his parents house were especially "fun". I was terribly bored, however, by the inane action. More dialogue and less action would have made for a better film, in my opinion.

I didn't like the dialogue; and I felt the script placed too much emphasis on a sea of cliched and uninteresting characters. At least part of the blame for the characters and dialogue being boring must be put at the feet of the writers; Orci & Kurtzmann were particularly proud in interviews of the film's focus on the boy and his car, which I thought was one of the weakest threads in the film. As jerkily incoherent as the action was, it was a step up.

I'll give them credit for writing Optimus Prime very well, however.

 

[cooleddie74]

M:I III blew. It was only moderately better than the second movie. I didn't get much out of it, even with some really good acting in the cast.