Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!
This ONLY for the Austin, TX Alamo Drafthouse, but if anyone is in the area or wants to take a roadtrip, there it is. I believe a number of cast and crew members will be in attendance.
I stopped reviewing years ago. I was waiting for a period wtih little in releases and a lot of traffic to designate TTI an official, "Quick Pick Treasure... among the greatest Star Trek Fan Films of All Time." I could instead do that in the next week if, as I anticipate, nothing major is released. I don't make films "Quick Picks" when they are released... films that good get two headlines a few months apart. In a perfect world, it would have been just before, say, Thanksgiving, when a lot of people are looking for something to watch other than football. I was doing something else with this slow period, (German Language films for Octoberfest) but I can move up the coronation.
The truth is STR has experienced a 50% increase in traffic since last year, so even my normal daily traffic is much more meaningful than it used to be. Spikes are now typically over 100 visitors a day, whereas before Dec. 31, 2013, I had only one day that I ever had 100 visitors. The bottom line is, I wouldn't feel like I was shortchanging you if I didn't wait for a special day which I expect a lot of traffic for the designation.
So, I can move it up.
*****
Added a few minutes later:
I added the designation of "Quick Pick Treasure" to TTI on both my Quick Pick page and on the Exeter page. That way, anyone reading either page will get referred to it whether or not I get it into the Headline in the next week. (Sometimes, somebody just drops a film on me I didn't expect... OK, OFTEN somebody drops a film I didn't expect!). I also removed a couple of dead links. I beg people to tell me when a link goes dead, but I have only one reader who does that.
Ok, this sounds great. I wish Scott would do a interview and showing in the Portland area. Our local AM Nothewest would be a good promo outlet. I hope to see this in the Pacific Northwest soon.
So long as there's also an interview with the fantastic hand-model for B'Fuselek in the last act and his makeup artist.
Kidding aside, I'd really love to see that — there's so much that went into that last act and it'd be nice to hear everyone's perspective on it, from the Johnson brothers, Scott, Dennis, and yourself.
Well, it actually feels like it's over. Although it's been out for six months, seeing the show on the big screen with an audience really nailed the "it's done"ness. Lots of photos already posted to the Facebook page for Exeter, but I'll post some here after I fly home tomorrow. Great to finally meet face to face Jimm Johnson (Garrovick), Liz Wheat (Richards) Joe Azzato (Dr. Azato), Holly Guess (Harris), and other cast and crew whom I will name later after a few hours of sleep and a flight back to San Francisco.
Well, it's all over and I got back home in less than 48 hours after stepping out the door!
The screening was a lot of fun. Scott Cummins and I got there early while Joel Sarchet set up the media wall banner, and then we greeted and met cast, crew and fans alike. a short loop of video about the building of the bridge set ran before the show. Finally, when everyone was settled in, Jimm Johnson and Joel Sarchet went to the front to introduce the hour long excerpt from Joel's "Behind the Scenes" documentary, and we were off to the races. The audience seemed tickled to see how the sets were built, the struggles the cast and crew went through, such as shooting in an unairconditioned stage in July in Texas, where many worked all day at their day jobs and then came to the set and worked all night. We were and amused at how much of the sets was salvaged from the Mike Judge film Idiocracy which as shooting next door. Yes, virtually all the carpeting and half of the cargo bay set are cast-offs and hand-me-down from that Hollywood production.
This version of the documentary ran about an hour, so when done there was a short intermission whereby people could place more food and drink orders (it's an Alamo Drafthouse theater), schmooze, and get photos. Once everyone was back, Jimm and Joel called Josh Johnson (aka Joshua Caleb), who played B'fuselek, who introduced the film via speakerphone to microphone.
Now, seeing a Standard Definition video on a big screen is never a terrific picture, but this looked surprisingly good, except for the redshirt reds, which tended to display a lot more compression artifacts than the other colors, but it wasn't too distracting. There were some good natured comments from a few members of the cast and crew, tossed at the screen and each other, but it was more amusing than anything.
The only SNAFU was a bizarre technical glitch where the theater audio got stuck in a loop at the end of Act 2 and they had to skip forward a bit because every time they restarted that part, it repeated. Ah, the perils of digital media where picture and sound are separate data streams. Anyway, that glitch and the need to skip forward a minute did have the impact of sort of throwing people out of the story, but within a few minutes everyone was back into it again. When the show finally hit Act 4 the audience got quieter than it had throughout the rest of the show, and there were fewer funny comments. But there wasn't any need to worry, when the "money shot happened" there was the biggest whooping in the show and we knew we'd done good.
the Tressaurian and Prototype materializing in space off the Exeter's nose
After the show we did a Q&A, which started with Jimm, Dennis, Scott and myself, but we started calling cast members down to join us. The funniest moment was when the question was posed to the effect of "what advice do you have for people wanting to make their own fanfilm?" and Scott took a mic and replied, "Don't."
After more photos we packed out and many of us moved to the Black Sheep Pub & Lodge for beer and food and where we hobnobbed for many hours.
From my end I had never met anyone from the production other than Dennis, Scott, and post production people Ben Jasmine (music) and Michael Struck (VFX), so it was a treat to actually get to chat up the actors and crew and find out what they're really like. A few surprised me, but Jimm didn't. We'd spoken so many times over the phone over a decade that he was exactly like I expected.
The actual attendees list included: Talent
Jimm Johnson, Executive Producer/Capt. Garrovick
Holly Guess, Cmdr. Harris
Elizabeth Wheat, Ensign Richards
Joe Azzato, Dr. Azato
Cody Hammock, Helmsman
Curtis Staller, Navigator
Crew
Scott Cummins, Director
Dennis Bailey, Screenwriter
Joel Sarchet, Producer
Me, Post Production Producer
Kenneth Thomson, Tressaurian CGI
Ronnie Steadman, Michael Azzato, Steffan Manor, Set Construction Assistants
All crew and cast in attendance (except for Ronnie Steadman, who was not in this shot). From L to R:
Jeff Webb, Cody Hammock, Joe Azzato, Joel Sarchet, Dennis Bailey, Maurice Molyneaux, Holly Guess, Jimm Johnson, Scott Cummins, Kenneth Thomson, Elizabeth Wheat (in front of Kenneth), Curtis Staller, Michael Azzato, Steffan Manor.
Cody Hammock, Joel Sarchet, Maurice Molyneaux, Jimm Johnson, Dennis Bailey, Elizabeth Wheat, Scott Cummins, Joe Azzato
Audience POV of the Q&A
Joe Azzato gets back in character.
Director and Producer together again.
Giving kudos to Joel Sarchet (taking the photo) and not singing, despite the fact it looks like I am
Dennis and Jimm
Dennis and I
Liz gets her redskirt as a souvenir whilst I wear B'fuselek's screen-used shirt
