Looking to prosper at the box office
BY COLIN ENQUIST
Reboots have been taking a lot of flak, mostly because they are being done so poorly. Some exceptions do apply though,
King Kong,
The Magnificent Seven,
Ocean's Eleven, are a few that come to mind. It looks like we may be able to add another film to that list. The
J.J. Abrams version of
Star Trek, while not being officially released until Thursday at 7:00 PM on May, 7th, preview screenings have been popping up all around. It seems that every person who has seen the film can only say positive things about the it.
Abrams was originally attached as a producer only, citing that he wanted to work with writers
Alex Kurtzman and
Roberto Orci again, whom he worked with during the filming of
Mission Impossible III. Kurtzman and Orci both label themselves "Trekkies" and wanted to create a script that a die hard fan would enjoy, the casual fan and introduce
Star Trek to any newcomers as well. Abrams on the other hand is just a casual fan. Then Abrams read the script, stating that he was envious of whoever got to direct the film. Paramount must have heard this and quickly offered him the job, which Abrams jumped at the chance. The writing duo of Orci and Kurtzman must have done what they set out to do, if a casual fan (Abrams) loved the story so much he had to direct.
The first public screening was held on April 6, 2009, at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas, hosted by writers Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and producer
Damon Lindelof.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was what everyone in the theatre thought they were going to see, followed by a ten-minute preview of the new
Star Trek film. To the audiences surprise, a few minutes into
Khan, the film began to melt on screen and
Leonard Nimoy appeared on stage with Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof, asking the audience, "wouldn’t you rather see the new movie?" For almost two years, Vulcan, Alberta had campaigned to host the film premiere, but the small town lacks a movie theater, so Paramount arranged instead a lottery where 300 winning residents would be taken to a pre-release screening in Calgary, Alberta. The first of many premieres across the world was held at the Sydney Opera House on April 7, 2009. On April 11, the film was screened by 920 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Cast and crew members were in Kuwait to meet with the soldiers.
Not much is known aboout the plot, just that the film will chronicle the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow crew members aboard the USS Enterprise.
Chris Pine,
Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy,
Eric Bana,
Simon Pegg,
Anton Yelchin,
John Cho,
Karl Urban and
Zoe Saldana star in the film. Rumours have been bounding around that
William Shatner will have a cameo in the film, but Shatner has stated he did not want a cameo in the film rather a part along the lines of Nimoy's.
Now, as we draw closer to the theatrical release, reviews are showing up across the internet. Boston Globe writer
Ty Burr gave the film a 4/4 and said it is "ridiculously satisfying", and the "best prequel ever". Tall words, but with Rotten Tomatoes having the film at 100% fresh rating off of 22 reviews, Metacritic holds a score of 89 and IMDB the film is sitting at 8.2/10, how can you not believe him. The movie trailers have looked fantastic and hearing no negative rumblings from any fan, Trekkie or casual, can you refrain from seeing this film opening night? I know I can't.
TV Guide has reported that J.J. Abrams will indeed be producing the next Mission: Impossible film. Producing alongside him again will be the series' star, Tom Cruise. "I am incredibly honored that Tom has invited me back as a producer on Mission: Impossible 4" says Abrams, who directed Cruise in Mission: Impossible III. No word yet if Abrams is willing or wants to return as director. Abrams added "Tom and I have come up with a really cool idea we are pursuing".
