Trek XI Script Is Done

Sy Fy Portal has recently reported that the writing duo of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orchi have finished the Trek XI script. This film will dramatize Kirk's earliest missions.

Those who've read my other posts on this subject are aware that I feel it's a mistake to reinvent Kirk and the rest of the original series gang rather than to press ahead with new characters in a new century.

Also, I'm skeptical of director JJ Abrams. When I review his work to date, he starts out with some interesting premises, then jumps to another project rather than stays to develop what he started and take it to another level.

Alias fizzled after the first two seasons and I feel that Lost is losing it. Six Degrees and What About Brian both got cancelled.

And if this one Trek film turns out to be half-way decent, what will Paramount do with the franchise? Rehash Kirk's adventures?

IMHO, Star Trek, unlike Batman, James Bond and other franchises is about the future, which offers a wider tapestry for stories than franchises, which are set in the present.

I'll be curious to see how the films turns out when it's released in Christmas 2008.

Battlestar Galactica Tidbits

Sy Fy Portal recently reported on how actor Michael Hogan is unhappy with the decision of the Galactica producers to turn him and other characters in the Final Five. The Cylon gods.

I share Hogan's view of the direction his character was taken.

I feel that the device of revealing people to be cylons on the show has been over and misused.

That stemmed in part from the writing staff's inability to generate enough dramatic episodes in Season 3 because they had only the humans of the Colonial fleet and the cylons to work with. The ratings in the second half of the third season dropped with the filler episodes.

If aliens were introduced, actor James Olmos (Admiral Adama) would leave.

To work around this, I feel that the Colonial fleet could run into other humans over the course of their quest for Earth. That's a device the original series used with great success in its second season--before it got axed for being too expensive to produce.

I'd love to see what happen if the democratic Colonials, who were searching for another clue to Earth's location, were to wander into a sector of space controlled by an advanced human totalitarian empire that wanted to enslave them.

We'll never know since the fourth season will be the last, and I don't believe that the show's producers will go that route.

Nichevo.

Not Seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean 3"

Coming into the Memorial Day weekend, I was planning on seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End."

But I'd been hearing some bad buzz about the latest Cap'n Jack Sparrow adventure. And a nonwriter friend of a nonwriter acquaintance who stayed up late to see the film on Thursday night said it was "stupid."

IMHO, Hollywood has entered a phase where story quality is even less imortant than in the past, while squeezing as much money as possible out of a film franchise has become an even higher priority. I believe that when a story is well done, other things, like box office success will come as a consequence.

Disney and the other studios seem to believe that all they need to do nowadays is slap together some special effects, a fast-paced music score, action set pieces galore, offer it to the masses who're starving for entertainment, then sit back and rake in the dough.

I for one want to save my $$$ and time. I've got DVDs of "Heroes," some other good TV shows, and any number of good films I can watch over the weekend--when I'm not working, writing, doing chores, etc.

I know millions of people in the US and around the world will flock to theatres and set new box office records (till the next big blockbuster gets released).

It'd be interesting to see what'd happen if the masses didn't see POTC 3 and other blockbuster flops. I'd imagine that the studios would start caring more about the quality of the films they're greenlighting then.

BSG Season 4 Extended to 22 Episodes--and Cancelled?

On March 21, 2007, SyFy Portal reported that SciFi Channel extended its order for BattleStar Galactica's (BSG) 4th season from 13 to 22 episodes.

Normally, this would be a good thing--except a "source" close to SciFi says the extra episodes are for letting Ron Moore and his brain trust wrap up the series.

Can't say I'm surprised. Ratings have been low during BSG's third season even though the show is critically acclaimed and won the Peabody award for an awesome second season.

This season, the main storyline of finding Earth has been sidelined, especially during the second half.

Several weeks have been devoted to filler episodes on secondary characters with Earth still as far away as ever and no contacts with the Cylons.

IMHO, this is due in part to the limited number of story arcs available within the Colonial fleet without outside elements brought in, like the Battlestar Pegasus in the second season (some of the best TV ever produced).

The producers/writers are hampered in part by the fact that they can't bring in bumpy-headed aliens without actor James Olmos (Admiral Adama) leaving the show.

To sidestep this, I feel that the Colonial Fleet can come across settlements of humans left behind by the 13th tribe on its trek to Earth. This is a device used with great success by Glenn Larson on the original series. These humans can possess markers which help point the way to Earth for the Colonials--after putting them through hell, of course.

I for one would like to see what'd happen if the fleet comes across a Class-M world populated by a technologically advanced society, which can hold off the Cylons, only it's not our Earth.

Or what would happen if the democratic Colonials ran into a sector of space controlled by a space-faring totalitarian human society that wanted to enslave them?

It also didn't help that the show became a soap opera rather than a drama when the producers decided to start up a romantic triangle between the characters Apollo, Starbuck, and Dualla. The triangle became increasingly unpopular among fans as Season 3 went on. And Starbuck was taken on a character journey that made her increasingly dysfunctional with no rhyme or reason.

If BSG ends in the fourth season, Moore and company have themselves to blame for running out of ideas and feeding their audience lackluster filler episodes and unsatisfying character developments.

I kinda half-wish I'd asked about intern spots when I attended a writers meeting where BSG writer/producers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson talked about their show. It was fun spitballing with 'em about BSG and DS9.

But I made the decision to focus on fiction and film, and I'm content. Really. I am. :-)

Abrams May Not Direct Trek XI

A few days ago, SyFy Portal reported that Abrams may jump from Trek XI to direct an adaptation of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" horror series.

The Trek XI production has been the most circus-like of all films to date.

When Abrams was brought on, he at first denied that it would be about TOS. Then he and his collaborators said Kirk deserves to live again and they can't believe they're the ones hired to do the film.

Then Abrams said he may not be the right person to direct depending on the script--which he and his collaborators are hyping as being stellar. I seem to recall that was the early word on "Nemesis" too.

And then Abrams "confirms" that he'll direct the film after getting a nice contract. Didn't he already have one when he was brought on in the first place?

Now Abrams may bolt Trek XI for Stephen King's latest horror story adaptation.

If Abrams loves Trek so much, I can't help but wonder why he won't commit to it?

Why is he always jumping from one project to another, neither here nor there? The best Hollywood producers/directors stick with their projects from beginning to end: Ron Moore, Joss Whedon, Steven Spielberg, etc.

I felt from the beginning that a reinvented TOS film is the wrong direction for Trek long term and that Abrams is the wrong person to helm it for a variety of reasons.

But as long as Abrams' Bad Robot production company is on the job, it'll likely go ahead with the young Kirk and Spock story. Abrams may just delegate someone else to do it (like he did with "Alias" and "Lost"), while he plays with Stephen King's brain child--until something else catches his attention span for a few months.

I'll be curious to see if Trek XI will stay on its schedule.

I'm sad to see Trek in such a rudderless state of limbo nowadays.

SIT REP

Busy, busy, busy...

The New Year's kinda flew by for me in a daze.

I'm tweaking my WOTF space opera sub "The Way of the Peacemaker" for some pro readers, and getting good comments from other fledgling writers.

I'm getting comments on my Stephen Decatur script "Stars and Stripes Forever."

I'm working on my rom com script "Twice In A Lifetime." I'm roughly halfway through the beat sheet. Then I'll do character profiles. Then I'll start rewriting...

Ugh...

And I'm organizing a group read for a drama script penned by a person on the WeHo (West Hollywood) online screenwriters group that I'm trying out. As the manager, I'm committed to this event, but I doubt I'll stay long term with them since that group isn't very lively and it can be a fair amount of work managing it if you want to do the job right. :-)

I'd also committed myself to reading the featured script and perhaps entering in an online workshop with the other writer to work on other scripts. Must be careful that I don't overload myself when I'm not working.

Oh, and I'm still waiting on the results for SNW 10. Because there's a new editor at Simon & Schuster Books who's judging, the normal reporting time has been pushed back from the normal January 3 date to...sometime in January.

Nichevo.

BERMAN SAYS IT ISN'T HIS FAULT

SyFy Portal reports that Rick Berman, among other things, says UPN didn't help the "Enterprise" (ENT) series stay on the air.

He blames UPN for shifting from dramas to reality shows that cater to young women like "Beauty and the Geek" and "America's Top Model."

I'd say UPN's change in priorities didn't help, but if he and Brannon Braga had produced episodes that relied on character, dialogue, new plots, etc. rather than had the actors slather ointment on each other in their underwear, give neural pressure therapy while half-dressed, recycled old Trek stories, etc. to get ratings, ENT could've gone a full seven years like its predecessor series.

What studio would say "no" to making money?

Paramount's trying to revive the franchise after all with a young Kirk
story for Trek XI that I suspect will be a one-off at best. After seeing how "Alias" got canceled and "Lost" really begin to lose it in the current third season, I can't say I've got a lot of confidence in anything with JJ Abrams' name attached to it. Too bad Paramount passed on Bryan Singer ("X Men 1 & 2"; "Superman Returns") and a Romulan War prequel trilogy pitched by Eric Jendreson ("Band of Brothers") to settle on Abrams. I wonder if the current Paramount studio heads'll try recasting Picard and gang next?

It seems to me that with some financial sense, ENT could've been continued on cable with a reduced budget. Who's complaining about the SG1, Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica production quality?

Boris

Abrams Still Not Committed to Directing Trek XI

Earlier this month, an article came out on SyFy portal regarding Trek XI.

Until the story and script has been finalized, Abrams says he's not sure that he's the right person to direct the upcoming Trek XI flick, which rumors're saying will dramatize the first Kirk-Spock meeting.

When I read between the lines, I have the feeling this is due in part to long talks he's had with Shatner, who told him that his Kirk character is "uncastable" and that Matt Damon's people have announced that the actor isn't interested in playing a young Kirk.

To me, this fits in the pattern of Abrams' behavior to date with many of his TV projects. He takes something on and is excited about it in the beginning, then falls out of love, gets restless, leaves someone else behind to handle it for him, then jumps to another project which he also abandons later on.

I had serious doubts when I heard that Abrams was selected to bring Trek back to the screen. A lot of good candidates were passed over, including director Bryan Singer ("X Men" 1 & 2 and "Superman Returns").

IMHO, Abrams is something of a dabbler who works with other people's ideas, but is unable to develop them over the long term once he exhausts the initial storylines of the first season or two.

People like Ron Moore ("Galactica" & "DS9"), Brad Wright ("SG1" & "Atlantis"), and Joss Whedon ("Buffy," "Angel," "Firefly," & "Serenity") stick with their projects through thick and thin.

I don't feel that Abrams has shown that quality so far. It's my impression that he's having trouble making his young Kirk story float, so he's getting ready to pass the buck along to someone else while he goes back to playing musical chairs with his other projects.

Incidentally, I would prefer to see a Trek film with new characters and storylines. At the very least, something with a new chapter set in TNG, DS9, or ENT.

Boris

It's Kirk...Again

JJ Abrams reversed himself without saying so.

Not only is he revisiting the classic Trek era, but he's recasting Kirk. Rumors once pointed at Matt Damon, but he hasn't stated that he wants to sit in the captain's chair.

I wonder how far off a new Next Generation film with a new Picard and gang is?

It seems that Trek has reached the retread territory occupied by Batman, Superman, James Bond, and other franchises. Is it a good thing for Kirk, Picard, and others to be recast every 10 years, though?

Shatner made a recent announcement at a convention about how we can look forward to at least one more Kirk adventure.

IMHO, without new stories driving the Trek universe ahead, the Trek well is running dry. I therefore favor going forward or letting Trek go gracefully into the sunset.

The current Paramount studio leadership won't do either. They want to continue milking Trek as a cash cow, but won't take it forward into the future. And they decided to bring in JJ Abrams.

I was once a fan of Abrams, but after having seen how Alias ran in circles recycling its characters and storylines before getting itself canceled and Lost began to lose some of its mysterious allure, I seriously doubt he'll reboot the Trek franchise like what Chris Nolan did for Batman with Batman Begins. Barring a new film or series featuring a new crew and ship, it seems a good stand alone Kirk story is the best people can hope for.

Abrams says he wants to create a new generation of Trek fans. His method is finding new actors to play old characters. I wonder how well that'll work?

Before Abrams was brought in to helm the upcoming 2008 film, a prequel Romulan War trilogy was being considered. A first draft for the first movie was written by Erik Jendresen, who worked with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) on the epic HBO TV mini-series Band of Brothers. It was a critically acclaimed story of a WW II company of airborne infantry, 501st Easy Company, who fought in Normandy, the Netherlands, and spearheaded the American drive into Nazi Germany. Jendreson said he had written his script with an eye to portraying a close-knit group of men and women defending Earth in tough conditions who were doing heroic things as a matter of course a la the Greatest Generation of Americans who won WW II. Speaking for myself, this vision appeals to me more than Abrams's plan of giving us Matt Damon in an unfilmed chapter of Kirk's life.

If DS9 alumni Ronald Moore (currently Battlestar Galactica), Ira Steven Behr, Michael Pillar, or Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, & Serenity), or Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) were calling the shots on the new Trek film, I'd be less dubious than I am with Abrams at the helm. Another person I wouldn't have minded seeing in charge, but got passed over was Bryan Singer (X Men 1 & 2 and Superman Returns).

I wonder what part Abrams'll give his actor friend Greg Grunberg in the new movie?