Biggest Geek News of the Week
Biggest Geek News of the Week
Apr 21So J.J. Abrams is doing a new Star Trek film, based on the early adventures of Kirk and Spock. My brain, she goes like this: “Oh, yes…oh, no.” Because combining an awesome geek creator like J.J. with Star Trek is something akin to nerd nirvana, but doing a film with younger versions of Kirk and Spock? Iconic characters played by actors who are not Shatner and Nimoy? That just seems…not right. And like a recipe for disaster. I don’t know. I’m all in a tizzy.
my gut reaction was excitement and fascination but reading this post also puts me in a tizzy. you’re right–the young spock/kirk thing is risky. with the right actors and script, i’ll buy it. but is abrams even that big a trekkie? i don’t mean to discount his geek cred but there are several geek auteurs out there (joss whedon, tim minear, bryan singer) I’d put in line before Abrams to get a crack at Trek. so that makes me nervous too, because it’s like Paramount isn’t choosing someone to give them a blockbuster and a great movie; they’re choosing someone who is about to give them a blockbuster who may or may not give a shit about trek, just because he just gave them a blockbuster.
i dunno. meditate on this, I will.
yeah, i see what you’re saying. i feel like jj is a trekkie, but maybe that’s just because of his general nerdness. you know? i can’t produce any actual evidence.
i also just had a vision of shatner strapping on the girdle and trying to play the role of teenage kirk himself. is this a nightmare or a beautiful, beautiful dream? you decide.
Let’s just cut to the chase – Star Trek hasn’t made people super happy in awhile. Might as well start fucking with things, mix things up and see what sticks, then work out from that new paradigm.
Replacement actors are tricky, but not impossible, and worrying about it too much is kind of what got Star Trek in this mess in the first place.
I say go for it – better yet, riff off the original art direction. Make it what Enterprise should have been – TOS with better special effects.
And miniskirts.
i agree that they need to mix it up…though i think that’s what they were trying to do with ENT. the fact that they have jj instead of bermaga is a step in the right direction.
even doing a prequel would be fine — i just don’t think the kirk/spock thing is a fantastic idea. if they’re gonna “fuck with things,” then…then…really fuck with them. don’t just try to go with classic characters that you think everyone wants to see. because there’s no “almost right” when it comes to finding actors for a young kirk and spock. it’s either right or it’s wrong.
I think it’s gonna entirely depend on the casting. That’s one big variable that we can’t judge till it happens. I like Chris’ attitude and that’s ultimately how I feel. I’ve been saying they should get someone new to fuck things up for a while. I just wish it was someone who has been really public and vocal about their reverence for good Trek. I mean, Bryan Singer’s ending to X2 was like a goddamned valentine to Khan. practically a demo reel for an interview with Paramount.
i think with almost any other characters, i would agree that we can’t judge the casting until it happens. but this one is fuckin’ with my head just a little bit. can you understand? imagining young kirk who is not teh shatner = MIND BLOWN.
one consolation: they found a good young obi-wan, right? that’s one of the few things i liked about those movies.
but hey, my outlook is still way better than the people saying, “omg, trek needs to DIE! omg, boo, hiss!” the idea of a new trek movie is still exciting to me 🙂
and look at all the discussion this is generating just from the three of us! no matter what your feelings on the matter, this is a pretty exciting, talk-provoking day to be a geek.
Well, please don’t put me on the Trek Must Die list. I have a long history with Trek, but to me it took a beating at the hands of Babylon 5 and more recently, BSG. I’m not so much excited as desperate when the new movies come out.
no, no — i was putting you on the “optimistic, wait and see, no judgment” list. the “must die” list is mostly from other chatter i’ve seen on the intraweb since the news broke. i guess i’m on the “cautiously optimistic but definitely judgmental about the proposed storyline” list. i think i have too many lists.
i thought the one episode of New Voyages I watched bit hardcore ass. however, i do agree with their assertion that the role of kirk is in some sense like the role of hamlet–eventually we’re going to have to embrace other actors playing it. if they got a good kid who can really capture the spirit of a young kirk, i’m buying it.