ACTION! Cameras Roll on "Star Trek" Movie Rebirth
Production officially starts today on the eleventh movie in the Star Trek franchise, but the first to be directed by J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production team. This is also the first movie to "re-imagine" a prior Star Trek, casting new people in roles defined by actors from the Original Series. In many ways, this Star Trek gives birth to a new era, one not defined completely by past production teams, sensibilities or casts (save Leonard Nimoy, of course!). The film is in new hands, ones trusted by the studio and, judging by the buzz, the fans.
So what do we know about the movie? Behind the scenes, we know that the budget is the biggest yet for a Star Trek film. That's partly due to the way movies are made these days, with special effects often pushing costs well above the $100 million range. (Paramount has not published a movie budget.) At least the special effects will be state-of-the-art, not last-minute add-ons. We also know that the new cast members have been tasked with putting their own personal touches on iconic characters, which may or may not be a tricky transition for some fans. As for the business aspect, we should point out that the market is much different than it was 28 years ago when the first Star Trek movie was released, as witnessed by the emphasis for a movie's success placed squarely at the feet of its opening weekend box office.
A little over one year ago when the movie was first announced, there was no script, no cast and no real conception in the minds of the fans as to what would be forthcoming from J.J. and his team. Slowly the blanks are being filled in, as the cast is now almost complete, and other small details start to filter down. The movie has no official title yet, but we wouldn't be surprised if it remained as it first appeared on the original teaser art that debuted at Comic-Con 2006, and the follow up poster that was unveiled at this year's event – simply, "Star Trek." The name alone speaks volumes. If you happen to be unaware of the terms "Star Trek," the "U.S.S. Enterprise," "phasers" or "Beam me up" by now, then you probably were born yesterday. (And if you were, congratulations for learning to read so quickly!)
What we also know for certain is that Kirk, Spock (young and old), McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov will appear, along with the much-talked-about Christopher Pike character. There is an antagonist, "Nero" (Eric Bana), but his place in the overall story is unconfirmed at this time. Although the plot is under wraps, the characters seem younger, presumably not long out of Starfleet Academy, and the story may be about one of their early missions. It all remains to be seen. Literally.
Perhaps not by design, but by cosmic coincidence, the month of November also sees the first season of the Original Series released on HD DVD/DVD in its newly remastered form. This will be the first look for the mass market at how these uncut, remastered episodes look on our own TV screens, and in HD. If nothing else, these "new" old episodes will keep us going into the next year as we await the new movie. One other item to tide us over and serve as a forerunner for the movie is the big-screen debut of the remastered episode "The Menagerie" in theatres around the globe. Such an event has never been attempted before on this scale, with showings in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, and Australia.
Any pre-production shoots aside — for trailers, test footage, etc. — we should also mention that the filming of the new Star Trek movie on Wednesday comes amidst a time of great strife in Hollywood as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike Monday morning when they could not come to an agreement with the studios on revenue sharing, particularly on DVDs and internet downloads. J.J. Abrams, what they call in the business a "multihyphenate" due to his producer-director-writer credits, is standing tall for his writers union; already, J.J. has been seen hoisting picket signs in solidarity with his union. He is reportedly set to go to work on Wednesday, in keeping with his contractual obligations as a director, but he will not be performing any writing duties.
"If I didn't stand with my fellow writers, I'd feel it in my gut," said Abrams in the Tuesday Daily Variety.
You can now add strike action to the list of potential movie and TV production inhibitors, along with fires, riots, earthquakes, floods, heatwaves and mudslides. Los Angeles may be the home of entertainment, but it can also come at a price. Right now, the price is right to pay the writers what they deserve so we can keep enjoying the wide variety of entertainment produced here. And that includes Star Trek, of course.