Showbits

With still six months to go, Star Trek XI has already traveled a long road. The intention to develop the property was announced in April 2006, with the first poster coming out in June of that year. JJ Abrams (Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible III) signed on to direct in February 2007, and filming began in November 2007, with a wrap date of March 2008. The film-footage-free teaser trailer was released before Cloverfield in January 2008, back when we thought we'd be revisiting Roddenberry's future as early as this Christmas.

Now, with less than half a year until the May 8th release, the veil of secrecy under which the Star Trek reboot has until recently been conducted provides us with our first significant glimpse of what awaits in the form of this full-length trailer:

I was sorely tempted to not indulge in this trailer at all; if its purpose is to sell me on the film, then its very existence is superfluous. Why not leave that many more surprises until its silver screen debut?

But I'm glad I watched it, and gladder still that it is completely spoiler-free. Almost nothing of the plot or obstacles are revealed, leaving us instead with a more general look of the actors and their environment. I confess that even that little is not what I expected. The Enterprise has always faced the final frontier with a sense of wonderment, though here we find it in not the seasoned and mature crew of TOS, but a younger and less experienced crew. As a prequel, that only makes sense, but I worry that too much rebellious angst will fill the film, as suggested by the conflict between Kirk and Spock. Also, seeing Kirk on two classic means of locomotion lends an even lower-tech feeling than its temporal predecessor, Enterprise.

Other than these minor points, I have a surprisingly nondescript reaction. The fast-paced nature of the trailer left little opportunity to assess the characters in their roles, or even to get a good look at their ship, within or without. I find myself neither more eager nor more anxious about the fate of the franchise; only the final film will allow me that judgment.

The following pictures are taken from the JJ Abrams-directed film Star Trek XI, to be released originally on Christmas Day 2008, now May 8, 2009. These shots were widely distributed across the Internet earlier this week, but only tonight did Paramount lift the exclusive on the various sites that previously carried them, allowing Showbits to join their ranks.

As I'm already sold on this movie, a part of me regrets seeing these pictures. Nonetheless, I will share with you the source of my remorse:

[Show as slideshow]

What can we tell from these pictures? First, the bridge looks little like the Shatner's ship of the Sixties. Second, Spock seems indistinguishable from Sylar — at least to me, being recently off a weekend-long binge of the character. Finally, Nero sure knows how to brood, distinguishing him from every villain who has ever existed. (Not.)

Of course, it's almost impossible to judge a film from such context-free imagery, so I will reserve judgment. A full trailer is expected to be released in November, possibly prior to the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

A recent article on CNN.com reminded me that the Web holds a bounty of fan films based on the various Star Trek properties. This wasn't necessarily news to me: I'd once tried watching an episode of New Voyages, which aims to continue the five-year mission of the original Enterprise, but couldn't get past the recasting of the original stars. William Shatner's portrayal of James T. Kirk was too engrained in my mind for me to accept anyone else in the role; even in science fiction, suspension of disbelief has its limits.

But to see on CNN that this series won TV Guide's 2007 Online Video Award for Best Sci-Fi Webisodes, chosen over Battlestar Galactica, suggested I should look again. I'd thought the only way to watch New Voyages episodes was via streaming video, which I generally eschew — but poking around their Web site revealed a slightly preferable BitTorrent option. The episode I selected for our reintroduction was "World Enough and Time", written and directed by Marc Scott Zicree (author of "Far Beyond the Stars", possibly my favorite DS9 episode).

Again, I was assaulted by the casting of anyone but Shatner and Nimoy as Kirk and Spock, but this time I persevered. I'm glad I did, as even if the actors didn't nail the parts, I can't blame the writing, which comes across strongly. The sets are on par with the original series (which, despite being 40 years later, is pretty good for a fan film — authentic, too), and the sound effects and CGI are fluidly incorporated.

But the star of the show is none other than George Takei, playing the role of an older Sulu. Rather than looking out-of-place, this temporal anomaly is written into the story in flawless Trek fashion, in the spirit of "Time's Orphan". For this actor to have taken time away from Heroes to so accurately reprise this role for a free Web series speaks volumes of the integrity of both Mr. Takei and New Voyages. Yet newcomer Christina Moses almost steals the show, capturing the awe and innocence of a first-time space traveller with earnest mannerisms and subtle body language. As hard as the recast TOS icons worked, their best role was to frame these two actors' characters and performances. Altogether, the cast and story made every minute of the one-hour episode worth watching.

Looking through the episode list, it appears New Voyages' other offerings are equally star-studded. Story authors include David Gerrold (author of "The Trouble with Tribbles") and Dorothy Fontana (author of "Encounter at Farpoint", "The Enterprise Incident", and more), while among the actors are Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekhov and J.G. Hertzler as Harry Mudd.

The CNN article neglected to make a timely mention of a similar project: Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, which finally debuted today. This feature-length production can hardly be called a "fan film" when you consider its weighty cast: Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekhov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand), Lawrence Montaigne (Stonn from "Amok Time"), Gary Graham (Ambassador Soval), Alan Ruck (Captain John Harriman), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), J.G. Hertzler (General Martok), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), and Chase Masterson (Leeta) — as well as some alumni you won't recognize: Crystal Allen (an Enterprise Orion slave girl), William Wellman (a DS9 Bajoran officer), and Daamen Krall (a voice actor for the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy video game). Even "World Enough and Time"'s Kirk and Spock make appearances in other roles.

This dark, "Yesterday's Enterprise"-style mashup is every Trekkie's dream, though I worried it would've suffered from lengthy delays: the film was originally to be released back in April, and even now, only the first third, weighing in at 26 minutes, is available in low-quality streaming video. (Watch for a higher quality version once opening weekend demand dies down.) But what I've seen so far has me eager for more. These experienced actors are so comfortable in the Trek universe that watching them find new ways to play in it is a win-win for both sides of the camera.

The varying yet surprising quality of these "webisodes" has me looking at J.J. Abrams' pending TOS reboot in a new light. Both "World Enough and Time" and Of Gods and Men have demonstrated that a tight script and a talented cast can deliver an excellent story, regardless of the characters or the setting. But when that promise is exemplified best by Star Trek alumni, as is the case with the above two films, the concept of recasting the characters we know and love becomes a questionable proposition at best. I'm a bit more cautious now about the Christmas 2008 release — but I now know that, thanks to talented fans and actors, I have a wealth of new adventures to tide me over in the meantime.

Here's a five-minute clip from Cloverfield:

I'm amused by the reaction of the New Yorkers to seeing Lady Liberty's decapitated head; I would think 9/11 would've struck a bit less shock and somewhat more caution around seeming catastrophes. The videographer does not seem to manifest himself much, though it does seem my previous concern that the film would be shot entirely from that character's perspective will be realized — but the motion is far less jerky than I feared. Perhaps my stomach will tolerate it after all.

Earlier this month, a full-length trailer was released for Cloverfield. Before then, the film's title was only a rumor, with the project being better known by its release date — 01-18-08 — or as "J.J. Abrams' new monster movie." Even with this trailer, little is known:

What is known: Cloverfield is an American-made film about a giant monster attack on New York City, from the director of Lost, Alias, and Star Trek XI. I've not actually seen these samples of Abrams' work, but they've earned enough publicity to make his latest venture worth a look.

For all the secrecy around the film, the most intriguing element is the antagonist itself. In the last decade, Hollywood has seen the reimagining of the archetypal behemoths, Godzilla and King Kong. How will Abrams' threat to the Big Apple set itself apart from its ill-received predecessors? The Internet is abuzz with speculation: could it be a Lovecraftian, Cthulu-type abomination? A giant mechanoid? The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? As depicted in the trailer, the destruction of the Statue of Liberty suggests the seriousness of the assault, but pure mayhem on a major metropolis has been done often enough, including in Independence Day. To engage and retain the audience, Abrams has to produce something original — assuming the monster is even a central figure, in much the way the Autobots were not the stars of The Transformers.

Regardless of the content, it's vital Cloverfield be presented in an easily-consumable format. The entire film appears to be shot in the amateur style of The Blair Witch Project, which I hope is not the case. As I've learned with that film and the likes of the last two Bourne films, I haven't the constitution for the irregular motion and unfocused shots. Films should be emotionally, not physically, demanding. Give me a clear and shocking view of a creepy colossus, and I'm sold.

Paramount has officially announced Star Trek XI, scheduled for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

Though J. J. Abrams is confirmed to direct, only rumors exist as to the film's plot and cast; therefore, I posit that that it will be a cinematic adaptation of the following poem.

(more…)

Courtesy StarTrek.com comes this article from Entertainment Weekly that the first draft of the next Star Trek film is done. Slow but steady progress, to be sure…

The credits most often associated with J. J. Abrams, the producer and possible director of this film, are Mission: Impossible III and Lost. I'm familiar with neither, though I'm told the former was the best film in the series. Does his style of directing seem to lend itself well to the final frontier? Is it about time we finally got an "outside" director (i.e., someone who isn't a Trek alumnus, like Jonathan Frakes)? Could Abrams finally be The One to bring non-Trekkies to the franchise?

In other Trek movie news, IGN has an interview with William Shatner, in which he states his interest in being in the film; and the appearance of other Trek alumni in the fan film Of Gods and Men has been postponed until April.

Via TrekToday comes this neat, two-page interview with Brent Spiner. He talks about the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek (which every surviving Trek alum is doing this year), Threshold, Enterprise, J. J. Abrams, and more.

I've always enjoyed the "trying to be human" characters of Star Trek, even if it has become cliché by now. And though TOS was my least favorite of the five series, it seems to make the best novels; I'll devour anything about Spock, for example. I would love the opportunity to engage some comparable narratives about our favorite android. Can anyone recommend any similarly spectacular Datacentric stories?