Star Trek XI - spoilers!

[Rico]

The truth is "Star Trek" has never generally focused on sexuality very much.  I mean how long did it take Riker & Troi to get married?  So, if it isn't important to the plot I see no reason to put comments about any character's sex preference into the story.  Now, if another TV series comes along where they might have time to explore this some I think that would be a good opportunity.  But in a 2 hr. movie, it has to be focused on the story at hand.

[billybob476]

Well, all Treks after TOS never focused on sexuality much. TOS had the whole 'babe of the week' thing going on.

I think that if they were to do it it would be a very fine line to walk, if it was just a passing mention I think it would go over people's heads and proponents of having it in the film would say it wasn't given enough emphasis. If they concentrated on it, it wouldn't really be Trek.

I'm not saying Trek shouldn't have gay characters, it just needs to be done right. I also realize that no matter how they do it (if they were to), someone will be offended.

[X]

The truth is "Star Trek" has never generally focused on sexuality very much.  I mean how long did it take Riker & Troi to get married?  So, if it isn't important to the plot I see no reason to put comments about any character's sex preference into the story.  Now, if another TV series comes along where they might have time to explore this some I think that would be a good opportunity.  But in a 2 hr. movie, it has to be focused on the story at hand.

I agree with this. At the same time, I also think that you'd get more people in the gay community upset if you mention that someone is gay in a throw away line. It would then become a story about how a character was introduced as gay then subsequently ignored by the movie / series.

There have been lots of gay characters on television going all the way back to Soap. It's not as if they would be breaking new ground with it. It's also not as if they focused on the sexual orientation of every character on the show.

I think that the lack of a gay character doesn't do anything. We haven't seen a Cuban, Blackfoot, or middle eastern main character either. There is only so much show to go around.

[Geekyfanboy]

J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek
Source: Scott Huver
July 16, 2008

For the past several months getting any information out of the always enthusiastically secretive J.J. Abrams camp about his re-launch of the classic Star Trek series for the big screen has been about as easy as getting light out of a black hole.

But when ComingSoon.net cornered Abrams at a big Hollywood event this week, we were surprised that he seemed finally ready to reveal a few tiny, tantalizing hints about his version of the final frontier, as well as his feeling about the franchise and his film's old school standard bearer – and we didn't even have to pull a phaser on him.

CS: You've said that you didn't start out as an uber-fan of "Star Trek," but you quickly became a fan. Can you talk in general terms about what you fell in love with about the whole franchise?
Abrams: I fell in love with the relationships between the characters. I fell in love with the characters. The idea of – it's so funny because you hear something so often and it loses it's meaning. But "space, the final frontier" – if you actually consider space as uncharted territory there's something about the idea of these people, because any ship flying by isn't going to get you excited. It's who's on the ship that matters. I feel like these characters actually going out into that nothingness and finding something is great. Having lived with it now and gotten to know the characters and worked with amazing actors who portrayed them, it made me fall in love with that notion, that idea that for some reason never struck me the way that "Twilight Zone" did.

CS: Are you ready to talk about the Jennifer Morrison character? There's been a lot of speculation and confusion as to exactly who she's playing.
Abrams: She is so great. I'll just say that she plays Kirk's mother. She's awesome. Great.

CS: Does the film feature many flashback sequences? We also know that Winona Ryder is playing Spock's mother.
Abrams: Yeah, most of the movie is not - I wouldn't call them flashbacks, but she's in a great sequence and is so good. I love her.

CS: What can you say about about working with Leonard Nimoy?
Abrams: It was really just a dream experience, working with him. He is everything you want him to be. He's funny and incredibly thoughtful and was surprisingly open and receptive to direction. He's just got an amazing wife and family and working with him was literally... Like the other day we were doing some ADR and he was there and because we weren't shooting anymore I was standing there and I just looked at him while he was doing his thing. I wanted to burn it into my head. It was so great to get to work with that guy. He's just an amazing man and is terrific in the movie.

CS: Is he a major presence in the film?
Abrams: Yeah. I think he's a major presence in any scene he's in. He's terrific.

Star Trek opens in theaters on May 8, 2009.

[billybob476]

I think that the lack of a gay character doesn't do anything. We haven't seen a Cuban, Blackfoot, or middle eastern main character either. There is only so much show to go around.

I think the point is that Str Trek has always claimed to look into a future where humanity has reached a type of pinnacle of culture. TOS attempted (with varying degrees of success) to include women and people of various cultures in positions of power in a time when TV was pretty prejudiced. Heroes were white, black people were servants, Asians were cast as comic relief, Russians were bad guys, etc.

I guess that the next logical step in Star Trek's 'diversity evolution' would be making homosexual characters take prominent roles. Imagine a gay Captain? That would have changed A LOT of TOS episodes.

Again, I think it's a fine idea and in keeping with the original spirit of Star Trek, it just needs to be done right.

[Rico]

Ok - back to the actual movie.  Entertainment Weekly's next issue will be focusing on Comic Con.  And even though there will be no "Trek discussion panel" there, they are going to be releasing a four poster set featuring four of the main cast members from the movie.  It's our first real look at them in character - and I love the presentation.  Make sure to look closely at the eyes in each picture.









and the whole set put together.....

[Geekyfanboy]

very cool... can't wait to see these in person.

[Geekyfanboy]

Head on over to the official site at http://www.startrekmovie.com to check out the brand new site with an all-new look and brand new downloads!

[batmite]

For those who want all four images in one as a desktop, this morning I put together this desktop wallpaper from the new trek art. Its sized for my Mac here at work so if its too big you can crop or resize to your own needs. Enjoy.

[Rico]

Cool!  My new desktop!  Thanks!!

[sheldor]

Haven't looked through the threads but....if there are klingons in this movie, what will they look like ?   Come on, you guys/gals know what I am talking about.  "Klingons ?  There are klingons here ?"  :D

[Rico]

Not sure we will see Klingon's or not.  But if we do based on things shown on "Enterprise" they could look the old school way or the TNG way.  Just depends on which type you run into.

[Meds]

We don't talk about with others.

[Rico]

Well, the first screening of the first cut  of the movie has happened and gone well.  Read on....

Four months after wrapping principal photography JJ Abrams and his editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon have finished their first cut for Star Trek. Late last week Abrams screened this cut for studio boss Brad Grey and other big shots at Paramount and according to sources it went very well.


The Paramount buzz on Star Trek went into high gear last week. One source tells TrekMovie that first cut showing was "a hit." Another old studio hand who isn't even working on the projects called the cut "very impressive." And yet another source said that the reaction in the screening room was "far beyond expectations" and as we know expectations have been high at the studio since the powers that be decided to move it from a Christmas 2008 release to their first summer tent pole of 2009.

Of course we are still nine months away from release, but Abrams is determined to stick with his original schedule, although due to the large number of effects shots needed this may slip a little to save some money on overtime. There is still a lot of post-production to be done on the film, with the visual effects from ILM being the biggest element that needs completing (so far only a few of the 1300+ shots are considered 'finished'). Another major task yet to be done is the music by Michael Giacchino, but sources say the composer is already at work and that scoring sessions should get underway in the Fall.

The next major step for Star Trek is likely to be the release of the first theatrical trailer. The trailer itself is edited already, but apparently the effects are not finalized. Unlike the first teaser, this trailer will include live action shots from the film itself. No word yet on when this will be released, but it is expected (but not guaranteed) sometime in 2008. Other promotional milestones include official movie poster (and tagline), release of full picture of the Enterprise, and additional viral campaigns.

source:  http://trekmovie.com/2008/08/04/first-cut-of-star-trek-complete-paramount-preview-goes-well/#more-2245

[moyer777]

cool new set of posters..... from trekmovie.com