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.
Fan film productions Hidden Frontier and Starship Intrepid have teamed up for a second co-production: Operation: Beta Shield. What started out as a sequel to their original crossover feature "The Orphans of War" has ballooned into a feature-length epic that will also serve as the launching pad for a third Hidden Frontier production.
TrekWeb talks to Hidden Frontier executive producer Rob Caves about this new fan film and the future of the fan series.
1- What can you tell us about the next Hidden Frontier / Intrepid movie Operation Beta Shield ? Any major spoiler you can reveal ?
Back in October 2007 Nick Cook and some of the cast of Intrepid came over and we filmed a short film called Orphans of War. We had so much fun we wanted to do it again, only bigger!
What is so exciting about Beta Shield is that it's not just a continuing adventure for Orphans, but a continuation of the storyline of Hidden Frontier, Intrepid, Odyssey, Helena Chronicles, and even the Section 31 Files. And we've got cast from all those shows participating in Beta Shield. It really makes for an exciting crossover for all those fan productions. And it's allowed us to tel stories that we otherwise might not be able to. One thing that is fun about Beta Shield is that the scope of it is so big. You've got a threat from an empire in another galaxy, you've got Romulans, Klingons, new aliens. And they are all thrown into the mix. And you've got three Federation starships that the action in the movie is split between, as well as Romulus and other locations. There are fleets, there are massive debris fields from past wars, A plots, B plots, C plots... it's incredibly ambitious from a storytelling perspective. But that's what makes it so much fun.
We'll get to see some aspects of the Federation that Trek hasn't explored much and there are a couple of surprise promotions as well as a shocking death.
One of the main ships was designed by U.S.S. Titan designer, Sean Tourangeau. We also have the honor of including one of Titan's sister ships in a minor role in the film.
2- Is Beta Shield a sequel to the first Intrepid crossover Orphans of War ?
Ooops, sorry, I answered this one above. lol
3- How would you describe the script and screenplay by you and Brian S. Matthews for Beta Shield ?
The film feels very epic, and is vaguely reminiscent of Star Trek VI in it's scope and themes. But we also wanted it to be a commentary on Iraq, the Bush Administration, and the War on Terror. As this is also a setup for another spinoff series that will further explore those themes, Beta Shield is really just the tip of the iceberg. Brain S. Matthews has brought a wealth of experience as a sci-fi novelist to the script and overall story.
4- What is your opinion on the controversy of the introduction of a gay character in the series ?
Hidden Frontier had Trek's first gay character, and I guess we knew we had done the right thing when there was so much controversy about it. We found something that was timely and represented the next social issue that Trek could tackle in a tactful way. The point was to show a gay character that was just another member of the crew. There wasn't anything really remarkable about their sexuality, and it was not a big deal to anybody on the ship. They just were, and went about their duties like any other crew member.
We had everything from hate mail, to genuine thanks from people who changed their minds about the topic from seeing it in a Trek context.
5- With the next Star Trek movie set in the TOS era and other fan films (New Voyages, Farragut, etc) also taking place in the 23th Century, Hidden Frontier is the only fan series to explore the post-Dominion War era. How would you describe this period in Star Trek saga ?
Hidden Frontier and Intrepid were definitely the earliest fanfilms to tackle the difficult production values required for the post Dominion War era. And I've always loved this period, because it's not this perfect utopia. Bad stuff has happened, and continues to happen. But through the work of our heroes, they can make it a better place. And that's a message that is very appealing. We live in a similar world, post-9-11. People have lost faith. Government is corrupt, but we can still make a difference by working with our former enemies, celebrating our diversity, and reflecting inward on what is right and what is wrong. Things aren't black and white like they sometimes were in the original series. And that's a lot more interesting, at least to me as a film maker.
6- There is no TV series on production right now. Do you think this makes the fan films more important to fans ?
There is always room for new adventures that give us new perspectives, fresh ideas, or even new takes on old ideas. I think it's going to be even more important to have all the fanfilms on the internet keeping Star Trek alive in people's hearts and minds while there is no official show. Depriving the fans of the additional collective avenues of sharing new Trek stories would really be a shame, and detrimental to the franchise as a whole.
7- What is in the future for Hidden Frontier beyond Operation Beta Shield ?
When Hidden Frontier wrapped it's 50th and final episode last year, it spun off two shows, Odyssey and Helena Chronicles. A third mini-series is what Beta Shield will eventually evolve into. Each one is a different, but hopefully complimentary continuation of the Hidden Frontier storyline. Odyssey for example is a fresh take on Homer's classic with a lot of classical references. Helena is another side to that story, but has it's own unique feel. Beta Shield and it's progeny will also have a totally different feel and direction as we explore Star Trek in other genres. Since we don't make any money from these productions, we're also exploring a non-Trek original show using some of the HF family of cast and crew so that we can at least try to support all these productions that we do as labors of love.
I agree. Fan productions are supposed to be fun. I am really excited about the next episodes of New Voyages and Of Gods and Men, which I think in some aspects are better and more exciting than anything Paramount produced in the past 10 years.
Hidden Frontier is a good fan series, set in the pos-Nemesis era, which I think its great and this upcoming movie sounds like fun.
I think if someone's going to do something, fan or pro, it should be done right. That title evokes zero response and tells me absolutely nothing about what to expect.
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