Screenhead

After hearing the various rumors flying around the Star Trek remake, which was still one of the all time greats as far as the Star Trek series specifically goes, and probably as science fiction in general goes, it was a surprise to catch up to this new chunklet of news.

Apparently, there’s talk that no less than William Shatner will be coming back to the second installment of the remade Star Trek.

J.J. Abrams himself is apparently looking at bringing Shatner on Board, saying that he “would love to work with him (Shatner)”, but the big problem was that “his character died on screen in one of his (Shatner’s) Trek films and we that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon”.  So let that be a lesson to you, kids…Shatner cares more about Shatner than he does established canon.

It’s pretty much shameful how Shatner’s been handling this pretty much since the inception of the Trek remake got started, so frankly, I’d sooner not see him back at all.  But if Abrams can work out a way, I’m willing to work with it.

Although I have seen better bloopers, I did find this interesting.  The tight quarters of how J.J. Abrams shot the film is clearly seen in this blooper film.   Abrams ability to keep the ensemble cast upbeat is also revealed.  Star Trek DVD will be out soon, which I am sure includes bloopers. Enjoy!

Now here’s a strange puzzle for you, o my readership.

Riddle me this:

In the midst of a deep recession, the studios somehow manage to take in fully five percent more than last year.  But three of the top eleven worst all time box office openings were released in this very same summer.

You may be as baffled as I am right now…but no worries.  Here are a couple points to help you clear things up:

1. Some of the biggest releases ever landed this summer.  A rapid succession of high-dollar earners kicked off the summer movie season.  Stuff like Angels and Demons, Night at the Museum 2, Up, and Star Trek turned the box office into a money machine.

2. Summer movie season is longer this year.  It’s commonly agreed that the summer movie season officially kicked off with Wolverine back in April, and though summer’s really only wishful thinking at that point, the studios had already launched their biggies.  It’s not hard to have a big-earning summer when your summer takes up almost half a year.

3. Ticket prices went up, especially for IMAX /3-D productions.  When you have to wear special glasses to see a movie, or it can only be shown in certain massive installations, you can generally get away with charging more per ticket.  This helped pump up the grosses.

So that shows you how weird things have been this summer–huge earners coupled with huge losses and a whole bunch of strange things that no one saw coming, like the sheer number of movies that tanked,  and the lackluster performance of big earner G.I. Joe.

It’s been one wild summer…and it’s not over yet.

Angels & Demons stayed in the heavens by winning the box office score by only $3 million with Star Trek not too far behind.   I am happy to see Earth still in the top ten despite the documentary’s limited theater release.

I like these numbers and have a strong feeling that Star Trek will continue to soar this weekend even though there might be heavy competition from Angels & Demons.  The reason I am speculating Star Trek will hold its position is because it’s turning out to be a family movie where Angels & Demons, although is a very good movie,  is not a family movie, which limits the audience numbers.

Star Trek soared to the top of the box office and what a ride it is.  I am sure that the movie’s momentum will continue and build a whole new flaming nova. This movie is pure Trekkie.  Everyone new and old to the franchise will be entertained.

J.J. Abrams lassoed the stars yesterday with an obvious reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Here are the stats: Star Trek is the second highest opening for a Paramount live-action film. Star Trek is the top opener for J.J. Abrams and the film is an all-time opening day record for any Star Trek film. Go see it folks – it’s spectacular.

With Star Trek in the theaters and already drawing $7 million earlier today, I doubt Wolverine will dominate the box office much longer.  Feedback and reviews favor Star Trek over Wolverine, I guarantee the box office will be as high as Arcturus with Star Trek  in the stars come Sunday.

I begin today’s piece with a confession, folks.  When I first heard there was going to be a Star Trek movie, rather, ANOTHER Star Trek movie, I cringed.  And then I got angry–how desperate was Hollywood that they would drag the carcass of Star Trek, a series whose quality had been steadily plummeting for years with the lone exception of Star Trek: First Contact, and only because it was so Borg-heavy that you couldn’t help but pay attention.  That and Patrick Stewart is sixteen levels of awesome.  But I digress.

Young Kirk?  I muttered derisively.  Young Spock?  How desperate is THIS?

And then I saw it.

Well, savor the flavor, folks, because I’m about to admit I was WRONG.  This movie was just plain fantastic.

The plot is, basically, what it says on the box–it’s Star Trek.  Specifically, a strange sort of prequel / alternate history featuring the Star Trek cast before they were the Star Trek cast.  This time, they’re taking the original Enterprise out on a grand tour to destroy an enemy that’s far more fearsome than anything they’ve taken on yet.  This isn’t hard because, technically, it’ll be their first enemy.  Technically.

See, this sucker is going to fracture the canon six ways from Sunday and it’s going to have the single best explanation ever.  While I was watching it, I gave a small cluck of disapproval and thought, they shouldn’t have called this Star Trek.  They should’ve given it some fig leaf to differentiate itself–Star Trek: Origins or Star Trek: Beginnings or some such.  But then, when I realized what they were doing–which I actually can’t tell you without spoilering–it made absolutely perfect sense.

I’ll tell you this much: this IS Star Trek.  Or…at the very least…A Star Trek.

Yeah.

This is why I love this movie so much.  Instead of just walking up and slapping established canon in the face and saying “Run along grandpa, this is OUR show now and this is how it all REALLY happened”, they actually created a perfect explanation for how they spawned their own Star Trek universe.  They could do sequels now, and I’d probably be there to watch, because they have made their own Star Trek out of it.  This IS Star Trek, and it coexists perfectly with the original.  In fact, it’s actually impossible to compare it to any other Star Trek installation because it is its own entity.

However, if you WERE to make that comparison, you’d find that this is the new best Star Trek movie ever.  Seriously, this beats First Contact, and for me, that’s saying a lot.  Why?  Because there’s everything here.  There’s space opera, ship battles, comedy, great performances (getting Simon Pegg to do Scotty was an absolute stroke of GENIUS) and the kind of great rip-roaring adventure that makes science fiction SCIENCE FICTION.

It’s. Just. THAT. GOOD.

It is an adrenaline rush unlike many movies I’ve seen recently.  I can’t remember the last time I left a theatre still buzzing fully an hour later.  I am STILL feeling my Trekkie, an hour later.  I may not sleep tonight.  I am writing this sucker at one in the morning Eastern Daylight Time and I am STILL feeling it.

I don’t issue wholesale blanket recommendations very often, but seriously, if you can stand science fiction even vaguely, and you want to see a really shining example of really shining science fiction, then go.  Boldly go, in fact.  Go out and see this.  It’s really too good to miss.

It’s a long interview but J.J. Abrams talks at our level, very intelligent and simple, worth the watch.