menuBarBack
Beam Up News | Join | Your Account
Home
Advanced Search
boxBottom
News Tribblets
boxBottom
Stardates Calendar
News Story

Features

J.J. Abrams Says the Biggest Challenge was to Make Star Trek Relevant Again

Features

By GustavoLeao / 12:54, 22 July 2008 / Star Trek: Nemesis

More excerpts of the interview conducted at last weeks TCA press tour in Los Angeles with Star Trek movie director J.J. Abrams are online at IGN. Here are few excerpts of their report.

Q: What was the biggest challenge of taking that franchise on?

Abrams: I think the biggest challenge was trying to make it relevant to now. Like to do it despite it being Star Trek. I don't think it's enough to say, "Oh, it's Star Trek, let's just...." I think it's a question of: How do you make it something that would be what it wants to be, even if it hadn't been a series before.

Q: How do you?

Abrams: Well, you invest completely in the characters. And you tell a story that is good, regardless of the setting, in a weird way. And I think that what we found -- with Alex [Kurtzman] and Bob [Orci]'s script and with the cast, who are so good -- is you love these people and so you go with them anywhere.

Q: In what areas do you want to maintain the spirit of the show, but also update it for today's audiences?

Abrams: Well, I think that... what's so funny is that these devices that everyone's holding [referring to recording devices] -- in the show would have been insane fantasy, you know? And now everyone's got them. We all have the iPhone that does more than the communicator. I feel like there's a certain thing that you can't really hold onto, which is the kind of, there's a kind of kitschy quality that must go if it's going to be something you believe is real. You know, our Star Trek is not parody. And so the idea of maintaining character relationships, the dynamic between the characters... I never saw how Kirk and Spock became so connected and that's what this movie does. It does it with the entire family of the Enterprise.

More from Abrams on Star Trek movie can be found at IGN.



More Top StoriesComments
Nov 23Chuck returns to NBC with a special two-hour show on Sunday, Jan 10, 2010, before returning to its regular time slot, Mondays at 8pm on the following night. It's return to prime time television can be attributed to a successful fan renewnal campaign last year. CHUCK is a one-hour, action-comedy series that follows Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. This upcoming season will include some special guest stars, including Brandon Routh of "Superman Returns" who will play CIA agent Daniel Shaw in an episode, and the addition of SUBWAY restaurant as a major advertiser to the show. Chuck averaged a 4.0/6 rating last season, about eight percent better than the recently cancelled "Trauma". Ratings-challenged Heroes moves back an hour when Chuck returns on Monday nights. STAR TREK VOYAGER's Robert Duncan McNeill serves Chuck as a supervising producer and director.0
Nov 235-Page Preview of Third Issue of Galactica 1980 Comic Book  0
Nov 22Quinto, Urban, Saldana, Cho and Greenwood on Their Hopes for Star Trek XII2
Nov 22Exclusive Digital Content Now Available With New Star Trek Movie on iTunes
1
Nov 22No J.J. Abrams Version of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the Star Trek Online MMORPG 0
Story Archives...Browse:   

Talkback

9 comments Post New | Help
View:

RE: Same ol' Same ol' | Report this post to moderator
By: sb2004 (Odo's file, contact) @ 20:51:14 on Jul 22, 2008

Quote:
J.J., come on. Talk about something new!

It's not a case of him not talking about anything new, it's the fact the media are only interested in this one question. That question is, after 40 years of diminishing returns, why should the general public give a damn for Star Trek in this world of BSGs and the like? It's a fair question. The same question was asked when Doctor Who came back and it was a huge success (at least in the UK and Australia).

I agree with the others, there's not much else Abrams can say without giving the game away. Face it people, this is film in which they're trying their damnedest to keep spoilers at bay. And Abrams is the guy who managed to sign up an entire cast and start filming Cloverfield without the people even knowing it was a monster movie, so he's a master at this.

Al

Reply
Reply
Quote
Quote
Parent
Parent
Talkback Top
Top

RE: Same ol' Same ol' | Report this post to moderator
By: Terry212 (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 06:57:23 on Jul 23, 2008

Quote:
J.J., come on. Talk about something new!

Hey, reporters ask the same questions over an over again because it's new to their publication and their readers.

--------

Click here to check out my band, ego tree , and the Ego Tree site at myspace. Listen to/buy the CD for $9.99! ALSO AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!!

Reply
Reply
Quote
Quote
Parent
Parent
Talkback Top
Top

RE: Same ol' Same ol' | Report this post to moderator
By: sb2004 (Odo's file, contact) @ 20:51:14 on Jul 22, 2008 | Edit History (1)

DELETED. For some reason my reply went up twice. Sorry.
Al

Reply
Reply
Quote
Quote
Parent
Parent
Talkback Top
Top

RE: Same ol' Same ol' | Report this post to moderator
By: OV-101 (Odo's file, contact) @ 14:53:31 on Jul 22, 2008

Quote:
J.J., come on. Talk about something new!

Are you saying his comments are not "relevant"? :)

Seriously, I am not sure what else he can talk about without giving out TMI.

--------

"Life's tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."
-- John Wayne

"Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
--Dr. Leonard McCoy

"I'm a politician, which means I am a cheat and a liar, and when I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollipops."
-- Jeffrey Pelt, The Hunt for Red October

"Liberals, Intellectuals, Peacemongers, IDIOTS!!!!"
- General Decker, Mars Attacks

"It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
- Q from Q Who

Reply
Reply
Quote
Quote
Parent
Parent
Talkback Top
Top
RE: Same ol' Same ol' by GustavoLeao @ 15:49:11 on Jul 22
    RE: Same ol' Same ol' by RJ79 @ 17:17:11 on Jul 22
       RE: Same ol' Same ol' by OV-101 @ 08:36:01 on Jul 23
Promenade










TrekWeb Merchants
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.de
Barnes & Noble

Get Firefox!
Privacy Policy | About Us | Legal Notice | Contact Us | | Get Firefox!
© 1996-2009 TrekWeb.com and Steve Krutzler. All rights reserved.