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Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.
Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."
Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com. One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers. The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother, and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company. J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children. The auction link is here.
Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter
Nov 08 | Unreality-SF.net has interviewed Star Trerk author James Swallow about some of his upcoming projects. He talks about Titan: Synthesis and Seven Deadly Sins: The Slow Knife, as well as some forthcoming Doctor Who and Stargate stories.
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(3)
PART ONE
First off, let me get this out of the way--I could care less about ENT. I think it’s only a matter of time before the show is pulled, and Rick Berman has to find something else to do. When that happens, you can forget about any more Star Trek on television (at least for a long while).
Now, with that out of the way, the future of the movie franchise is really what’s in question. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even think there was a future. As good as I thought NEM was, I thought Trek movies (like Trek episodes) were done; outdated, essentially finished.
But…
Then came Freddy vs. Jason. Who would have thought this film would be such a hit? It was the number one movie two weeks in a row and is most likely going to break the $100 million mark. How in the hell did this happen? Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th films haven’t been drawing crowds this big for over a decade. In fact, not even the original installments from either franchise enjoyed the number one slot at the box office. So what gives here? I think it’s really very simple--Freddy vs. Jason had a rock solid gimmick, novelty, that elusive “must see” quality Hollywood is always looking for.
I haven’t even seen it (and I have no desire to), but the marketing and TV spots alone explain the appeal. For the 20-somethings and 30-somethings in the United States, Freddy vs. Jason was a welcome twist on a series of nostalgic video rentals they'd been taking home every one or two years for the last decade or so. They grew up with Freddy and Jason. Over this time, while their adult taste would preclude the notion of actually shelling out $5 to $10 dollars to see each new Friday or Elm Street picture, they’ve been gladly screening every passing release in the secrecy of their own home. Conversely, most casual Trek fans haven’t seen a Trek flick in a theater since TVH, just on DVD or video.
But…
Freddy vs. Jason was such a good twist that those 20-somethings and 30-somethings were intrigued enough to go strait to the theaters. Which brings me to my next point—Trek has the same loaded weapon…a gimmick, a twist, something to make it “must see” (like TVH). Only one idea has that potential in my opinion. It’s not a “Q” story, it’s not a combined cast idea, it’s not a “bring back Kirk” picture, its none of those things.
You need a no-brainer like Freddy vs. Jason, something so simple and obvious that your grandmother would want to go see it, a story so appealing that the non-fans would be buzzing. I think the only idea like this currently on the table is Harve Bennett’s TOS-prequel concept.
What's that? You don’t think people want to see their pop-culture icons recast as young men or somebody telling their earlier stories? Get back to me after you’ve checked out the ratings for Smallville.
At face value, Bennett’s story is simply about how Kirk, Spock and McCoy met one another and where that relationship we’ve seen all these years came from. Again, like the unconventional TVH, there would be no action-violence, no mustache-twirling villian and no space-opera plotline.
However, as is Trek's tradition, the tale paralells a centemporary issue. Like the enviormental message of TVH, racism was the theme Bennett wanted to address in this film, since the story deals with what Spock endures as the first alien in Starfleet…and how Kirk, the hero, stands up for his rival (yes, he and Spock start off as rivals) in the face of his peers’ prejudice.
Someone might be thinking—Racism? In Roddenberry’s utopia of the future? Well yes actually. Anyone remember the way Spock was treated in Balance of Terror? Regardless, I think that when people hear the word “racism”, they immediately picture something very extreme, something visible and obvious. However, modern racism isn’t really like that (at least in the US it’s not). It’s subtler, understated—but it’s there none the less. I believe that this is what Harve was trying to get across in his story.
However, in light of today’s social climate (not the late 80’s when Harve came up with the idea), this story is more allegorical of the issue of gays in the military or gay marriage. Many people say they accept homosexuality, but they just don’t want it encroaching on their daily lives and social institutions, content in the notion that it’s an exotic alien culture far away from their community and traditions.
With that in mind, I think Harve's story is now more of a parallel to the gay issue (I see the potential for father/son themes in this picutre as well, but I'll get into that when I put up the second part of this post).
In the 23rd century, mankind is enlightened and accepting of other cultures, right? However, while they are comfortable with the idea of these other species, they’re also quite accustomed to that clear separation between “us and them”. At this point, Starfleet is Earth’s outer-space military…and only Earth’s. Nobody was expecting that an alien (much less a Vulcan) would actually want to be a part of it. Thus, the typical human reaction to the unusual (more common to youth) takes shape at Starfleet Academy when Spock enrolls.
If you're reading this, scoffing at the idea, I wish you would put aside your preconceptions and see the marvelous story this really is. The tiresome and transparent clichés of “Dawson’s Creek in space” or “Starfleet 90210” are simply not valid descriptions.
This movie would be so wonderful. Very serious, very nostalgic, a film with both substance and gimmickry, the all-important “it factor”. In order to explain why I find this story so appealing, I should probably go into more detail on why this isn’t some superficial teen romp.
to be concluded...
(in the second and final part, I will focus in more depth on the film's story as I see it panning out, the characters, and the best choice of actors to play the three central roles)
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The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
only hollow rhythms resounded from within.
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