I wonder if Star Trek is truly "back" in the old sense? Having movies do well during seasons when fans will pay to see any good scifi--or not good, is one thing. After all, Wolverine X-Men Origins was crap and it made major bank. But Star Trek's appeal is more than box office--which was never its strength anyway. It was the series, the books, the fans, the scientists who worked on it, loved it, and were inspired by it. It is a cultural phenomenon that lasted long past the lights coming up in a theatre, and its influence predates Star Wars by a decade. So while I'm encouraged the movie did well, I don't know how many of the audience were true fans of Trek, how many were new fans of Trek and how many are just movie goers. The money generated by the film can't be denied, and that power would give impetus to another series. But, if that series is a more Star Wars flavored thing designed to appeal to the mainstream, I both wonder if it will build a new enduring fan base and engage the old fan base as well.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tracey de Morsella" <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 6:50:46 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up I agree about the fan demographics. More hardcores would have supported it. I liked it but did not love it because of how they played fast and loose with the canon.. However, the power plays he made were ridiculous. You idea for bringing him back were good ones From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mr. Worf Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 12:38 PM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up I don't think that the audience that went to see the movie was trek fans but a mixture. Some of the hardcore people didn't go see the movie. Others hated what they did to the timeline. One way that they could write Kirk back in is by using the vortex thing that he fell into. On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 11:34 AM, Tracey de Morsella < tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com > wrote: I like Shatner, but trying to force someone or embarrass them into doing something you want is not a good move, particularly when you have a reputation for needing to dominate on the set. Trying the turn the public against the producers is not a great way to get hired. It may have been a bad move, but the ticket sales tell a different story. I wanted him in, but after he did that, I felt if I were the producers, there would be no way I’d want him in the picture after that. I would view him as unable to control or stay on message when doing publicity. I bet they planned to put him in the sequel to humble him a little after the stunts he pulled From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of Keith Johnson Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:21 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up I'll be succinct. One. It was a mistake not to include Shatner in a Trek movie. Unlike many who either don't like him, or see him as not essential to Treklore, I like Shatner fine. Star Trek was more about Shatner, I'd argue, in terms of the human quest for knowledge and enlightenment, than Spock, despite Spock's popularity. Really, they need each other, so to have one without the other? Bad move. Two. I wonder how they'll bring in Shatner in this new timeline? Makes me frustrated again at the whole alternate reality angle, which I fear I shall never fully embrace. ----- Original Message ----- From: "brent wodehouse" < brent_wodeho...@thefence.us > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 2:09:21 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/2986590/William-Shatner-set-to-be-beamed-up William Shatner set to be beamed up Last updated 13:32 21/10/2009 Hollywood director JJ Abrams appears set to beam William Shatner up to the Star Trek sequel. Abrams suffered plenty of criticism from Star Trek fans when he opted not to cast Shatner, the original Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise, in this year's big screen update of the iconic sci-fi film and TV series. Abrams did cast the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. Star Trek was one of the most successful films of 2009, earning almost US$400 million (NZ$542.81m) at the worldwide box office, and with a sequel set for release in theatres in 2011, Abrams confirmed Shatner may be offered a role. "I would love to work with him," Abrams told reporters in Los Angeles at a press conference to promote the release of the Star Trek DVD. "We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned." Abrams opted to make Star Trek a prequel, winding the clock back to the early years of the Star Trek crew with young actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott) filling the lead roles. While Abrams and screenwriters Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman managed to find a way to bring Nimoy back, they opted against offering Shatner a role. The dilemma they faced is examined in The Shatner Conundrum, one of the extra features on the Star Trek DVD. "It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the movie," Abrams explained. "The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could ... the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with. "It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting." The success of Abrams' Star Trek and the welcome Pine, Quinto, Pegg and other new actors received from Trekkies will make it easier to introduce Shatner into the sequel, Abrams said. "In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything," Abrams added. "I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner)." The Star Trek DVD, set for release in Australia on October 29, is filled with extras, including gag reels, three hours of bonus footage, commentary, secrets behind th e costumes and sets and deleted scenes that reveal a side story involving Eric Bana's villainous character Nero. The DVD also includes what is billed as "ground-breaking augmented reality technology" which, through a webcam, allows a 3D holographic tour of the Enterprise. Abrams said the decision to hold the world premiere for Star Trek at the Sydney Opera House in April was the perfect launch pad for the movie. "I have been to Sydney before and I loved it the first time," Abrams told AAP in a video interview. "This last time it was so surreal. First of all I had never been to the Opera House which could not have been more beautiful. "The reception was off the charts. The people were so kind. It was beautiful, maybe not atypical Sydney weather, but I called my wife and said 'We might have to move here'. "I am serious. I want to go back not just for professional reasons. I just want to go back because it is f antastic." -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
