And, I kid you not, the relevant Reuters article says that the movie will be directed by... J.J. Abrams. The man who 'gifted' us with "Alias" and "Lost", two shows that started out quite promising and soon descended into unbelievable crap that made no sense at all - and then simply refused to die.
Since I expect the article won't remain online forever, you can find it here:
"Star Trek" franchise set for 2008Fri Apr 21, 3:13 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than three years after the last "Star Trek" movie crashed at the box office, the venerable sci-fi franchise is being revived by the director of the upcoming "Mission: Impossible" sequel, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.
The as-yet-untitled "Star Trek" feature, the 11th since 1979, is aiming for a fall 2008 release through Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit looking to restore its box-office luster under new management, the trade paper said.
The project will be directed by J.J. Abrams, whose Tom Cruise vehicle "Mission: Impossible III" will be released by Paramount on May 5. Abrams, famed for producing the TV shows "Alias" and "Lost," will also help write and produce.
Daily Variety said the action would center on the early days of "Star Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer-space mission.
The paper described "Star Trek" as Hollywood's most durable performer after James Bond, spawning 10 features that have grossed more than $1 billion and 726 TV episodes from six series.
The 10th film, "Star Trek: Nemesis," bombed at the box office on its December 2002 release, earning just $43 million in North America. Last year, Viacom-owned broadcast network UPN pulled the plug on the low-rated series "Star Trek: Enterprise" following a four-season run.
Someone on [KirkSpockCentral] said that the upcoming movie would "suck tribbles in swampwater", and that's the most fitting description anyone can ever come up with.
Any series set pre-TOS will (or rather: would) have to take into account the canon established in Classic Trek, and that's an amount of research and faithfulness to the original series no one today is even capable of. TPTB will ignore whatever doesn't go "boom" spectacularly, demote Kirk to a hot-headed action hero with as much depth as a bowl of soup, and screw up Spock's character as much as they did with Vulcans as a whole in "Star Trek: Voyager", "Enterprise" and the TNG movies. I shudder when I even attempt to imagine whoever they'll cast as Kirk and Spock.
If we are unbelievably lucky, the project will die before it reaches the screen. One can always hope.
Excuse me while I look for a few pounds of chocolate in my kitchen now. And wash out my brain.
- Mood:
horrified
Profile
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
allaire- allaire
- storyteller's campsite
favorites
- PERSONAL LINKS
- DW-RELATED LINKS
- LJ-RELATED LINKS
- LJ COMMUNITIES
- DW COMMUNITIES
e-mail me
update DW
previous 20 entries
my lj
update my lj
friends' birthdays
lj comment stats*
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
connor_wright*southland_ficnowweretwo*
darkknightfic*kyle_foss**crossover_newsncis_newsletteranomaly_newsmafiabanterskull_boy_lovedresdenslashdresdenficmarshal_science*eureka_slashnick_n_nora*hard4brainschuck_slash*life_fic*deancastiel*spnnewslettersga_newsletternumb3rs_slashsawyer_sayidcox_and_cohh_slash![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
gorgidasfandom_wank![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sn_updatesncis_newsletternewbieguidechasethestars
Comments
LOL. I just read "...that have grossed out more than $1 billion people...".
Any series set pre-TOS will (or rather: would) have to take into account the canon established in Classic Trek, and that's an amount of research and faithfulness to the original series no one today is even capable of.
...or - as we know from experience (with "Enterprise" being the most recent and best example) - would bother to try. They don´t want to make their fans happy by writing something that even remotely fits the canon. They just want another stupid action series that happens to have people in it whose names you recognize - ´cause that makes this kind of show successful.
If we are unbelievably lucky, the project will die before it reaches the screen. One can always hope.
I doubt it. Star Trek has always been a cash cow. If there´s even a remote possibility to cash in some more they´re gonna take it. :-(
...or - as we know from experience (with "Enterprise" being the most recent and best example) - would bother to try. They don´t want to make their fans happy by writing something that even remotely fits the canon. They just want another stupid action series that happens to have people in it whose names you recognize - ´cause that makes this kind of show successful.
I know. :::sigh:::
The truly tragic thing is that their gamble will most likely even pay off. Gene Roddenberry's legacy has been perverted so much the man must truly be spinning in his grave at the thought that all a 14-year-old will associate with Star Trek will be creepy alien enemies, space battles, shapeshifters, the Borg and Jeri Ryan's breasts. :::headdesk:::
I doubt it. Star Trek has always been a cash cow. If there´s even a remote possibility to cash in some more they´re gonna take it. :-(
I think I'll have to live in my little world of denial until reality forces me to face the issue in 2008. Waaah.