Words trailing off

Ever wonder what happens to the words floating through space after they go by at the beginning of "Star Wars?" Where do they go?

The question is answered in what is likely the most geektastic viral video you'll see this week...

Geekgasm

Is it May 8 yet? If "Star Trek" is half as good as this trailer, then I will bow down and worship J.J. Abrams.



See it in glorious HD Quicktime here.

Trailer Trekkin'

It's a cruddy bootleg, but here's the trailer to the big screen "Star Trek" reboot. It debuted yesterday in front of "Quantum of Solace" (which I still haven't seen, damn it).

It will officially be released online on Monday. I'll probably embed a better version then.



So? What do you think? It certainly looks different than anything we've seen before -- and yet also familiar at the same time. It was cool seeing all this different looking stuff and then hearing the classic "red alert" siren.

It will remain to be seen if J.J. Abrams and company have changed the right things.

UPDATE 11/25: As promised, I've updated with a better quality version of the trailer, although I hoped to find a more "official" embeddable version. I guess, sadly, not every studio is on board with letting people embed their trailers and supply their films with free publicity.

By the way, now posted here is a newly tweaked version that includes a glimpse of Leonard Nimoy at the end. You can find it in high-quality Quicktime on Ain't It Cool News.

Yesterday's Enterprise

So this is what the Enterprise will look like in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek."

At first I wasn't too sure how I felt about it. Yeah, it looks cool. But if this movie is supposed to fit into established Trek canon, then this ship doesn't work -- it strays just a little too far from the original design of the 1960s TV series.

Yeah, they changed it for the earlier movies, but that was worked into the story. The Enterprise was retrofitted after the the events of the TV series. But this is supposed to be a prequel (sort of). So the ship should look like it used to, shouldn't it?

I finally rationalized the slick new Enterprise by comparing it to the Klingons, who famously underwent a makeover in the movies and modern spinoffs -- after make-up effects and budgets advanced. And the new and improved bumpy-headed Klingon look extended into many flashbacks, time travel stories and whatnot that predated the original series.

So if I was OK with that, then I guess I can learn to be OK with this souped up Enterprise.

Alright, I'll stop acting like such a ginormous geek now.

Then & Now

Here's another shot of the new Kirk and Spock, courtesy of Empire. This time we get a side-by-side comparison, with Zachary Quitno and Chris Pine emulating a classic Nimoy/Shatner publicity shot.

Kirk & Spock 2.0

Here's the Entertainment Weekly cover...

Star Trekkin'

At long last some official images from JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" are starting to appear. You can find them in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly -- or all over the Internet if you prefer.

These have been released in advance of the new trailer, which is due in a few weeks.

Ain't It Cool News has links to all of the pictures.

Just based on these images, I love the look of this movie and can't wait to see more (although I don't remember Chekov having curly brown hair. He's supposed to look like one of the Monkees!). I'm dying to see what Zachary Quinto (aka Sylar of "Heroes") does with Spock!

The final frontier

I like "Star Trek" as much as the next geek. But you've got to draw a line somewhere. And if you're getting buried in a Trek-themed casket, then I think you've gone waaaayy over that line!

A company called Eternal Image will soon offer the coffin designed to look like the photon torpedo used to jetison Spock's body into space in "Star Trek II." They'll also have a Trek inspired urn for those who go the cremation route.

This same company also offers Major League Baseball caskets.

A longer 'Trek' to theaters

Remember that trailer for J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" that came a out a few weeks ago and touted a Christmas 2008 release? Yeah well, forget that.

Variety reports that in the aftermath of the writer's strike, Paramount has reshuffled their release schedule. Apparently they think the movie will make more money with a summer release. So it's now set for May 8, 2009 (yeah, I know that's still spring, but that's pretty much when what's considered "the summer movie season" begins).

Variety says this puts "Trek" opening one week after "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and one week before the "Da Vinci Code" sequel/prequel "Angels and Demons."

In the long run, this is probably a good thing -- giving them more time to work on the movie.

Under Construction

Here's a view of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 while under construction. This is most likely an image from the teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," which will be playing tomorrow before "Cloverfield."

Trek tunes

From the Too Much Free Time Dept. Thanks to Shannon for passing this one along...

'The Office' is closed (and other strike news)

Watching this week's episode of "The Office," I was thrilled to hear there is a Dunder Mifflin branch right here in Albany (not to mention the office in nearby Utica seen last week). Now I know where to go for all of my paper product needs!

Unfortunately, the folks from Dunder Mifflin won't be around much longer. Production on the show has shut down due to the Writers Guild of America strike. I believe next week's episode will be the last original episode and then the show will go back into reruns until the strike is settled.

In this video, some of the show's writing staff -- many of whom are also cast members -- outline their case. I first saw this a couple of days ago and wanted to post it then. Alas, it's been a busy week and now this clip has spread everywhere. You've probably seen it by now. If not, here it is...



In the meantime, we've finally learned what it takes to stop Jack Bauer -- a WGA strike. Remember that "24" trailer I posted? Enjoy that, because it's all the "24" we'll get for a while. Fox has pulled the planned January season premiere from their schedule -- delaying the show indefinitely. They want to wait until they're sure they can run all 24 episodes in Day 7 consecutively.

I fear the strike is also going to doom the new "Star Trek" movie, which began shooting this week. Director/producer/writer J.J. Abrams agreed to start production on schedule, but is refusing to take part in any rewrites along the way. So if a scene isn't working out as well as it seemed on paper, they're stuck with it. Actually, I'm sure someone will do the script tinkering, but it probably won't be any of the original writers who worked on the script, but rather some studio hack.

Taking the Enterprise to search for Xenu

Now this presents a dilema. I made the statement a wihle ago that I had no desire to watch another Tom Cruise movie. So what do I do if he winds up in the next "Star Trek" film?

SciFi Wire reports that "Trek XI" producer/director J.J. Abrams is hoping to get his "Mission: Impossible III" star to make a cameo as Capt. Christopher Pike.

Cruise earned a reputation as a Scientology nut, alienating a lot fans and Paramount honcho Sumner Redstone in the process. Obviously, he still has enough fans to be a bankable movie star, but I'm not one of them. What about Redstone? Has he had a change of heart?

A tale of two Spocks

It's officially official. Once again from AICN, here's Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy together at Comic-Con for the announcement of his casting.

UPDATE: There are more photos from the presentation on StarTrek.com. That's where I also found an image of the new teaser poster.

In other news, the part of Captain Kirk has not been cast yet. There were rumors for quite a while about the role going to Matt Damon, but that's not going to happen.

J.J. Abrams confirmed that Nimoy will be appearing in the movie as old Spock.

Right now the script does not include an appearance by old Kirk. But Abrams said they would like to include Shatner somehow if they can figure out how to make it work with their story.

The release date for the movie will be Christmas Day 2008.

Sylar to live long and prosper?

J.J. Abrams has promised some big "Star Trek" news at Comic Con later this week. But a juicy tidbit may have slipped out today at the Television Critics Association gathering in Hollywood.

Zachary Quinto, who plays super bad guy Sylar on "Heroes," was asked about the persistent rumors he's in line to don Leonard Nimoy's pointy ears as young Spock in the new Trek movie. Here's his answer, according to TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello...

"I'm under strict orders not to say anything,"

Hmmm...what does that tell you? Would be under "strict orders" if he didn't have the part?

Keep it simple

That seems to be the motto, at least when it comes to the title, for the next Star Trek movie.

Until an official title was announced, people have been referring to the upcoming movie as "Star Trek XI." But now writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci have said in an interview with MTV.com that the title will simply be "Star Trek."

"That's the intended title," [Orci] said. "I don't think we want to put any colons or anything on it."

For some time now the speculation has been that the new movie would be about Kirk and Spock meeting at Starfleet Academy. But I read recently that although the story would likely focus on Kirk and Spock's first adventure together, it would not be set in their academy days. All the writers will confirm at this point is that it does take place on a starship.

Now for the big question: is this a "reboot" of the franchise, like "Battlestar Galactica," or does it fit into the existing Trek canon? I think people were assuming it was going to be the latter. But then an article on SCI FI Wire states the following. Make of it what you will...

The writers wouldn't discuss details of the story, other than to say it is a reimagining of the franchise that will remain true to its history, but aim for the broadest audience possible.

Last week the news came out that J.J. Abrams, who had been attached as a producer, is now officially signed to direct as well. They're eyeing a December 2008 release.

There is no word on casting but the names being tossed about include Matt Damon as Kirk, Adrian Brody as Spock and Gary Sinise as Dr. McCoy.

A geek's dream come true

What would happen if the starship Enterprise took on Darth Vader and the Empire?

The politics of Star Trek

I love our country. Rep. David Wu, D-Oregon, takes to the floor of the House of Representatives with the following message:

"Don't let faux Klingons send real Americans to war."

Leonard Nimoy tells Jon Stewart that Wu's Star Trek analogy is weak.

But will anyone let George Takei get a word in edgewise?

Oh my!

More great geek news...TrekToday reports George Takei (Mr. Sulu) will appear on "Heroes" as Hiro's father. He's set to make his first appearance in a cliffhanger episode on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, the same article also reports Christopher Eccleston (aka the Ninth Doctor Who) will also be joining the cast. No word on who he will play or when he'll make his first appearance. Although I can't help bu wonder if he's goingto turn outto be the mysterious super serial killer Sylar.

Toon Trek

The geek-ization of the boys continues…

On Friday I got a copy of “Star Trek: The Animated Series” on DVD. It has all 22 episodes of the cartoon version of “Star Trek” produced in 1973-74.

As I kid, I was vaguely aware that there had been a “Trek” cartoon, but I don’t remember ever actually seeing it. I finally caught one episode on cable TV somewhere when I was in middle school.

The animated “Trek” is actually quite good. It brings back most of the original cast (sorry, no Chekov) and members of the live action show’s writing staff. The writers turned in scripts that were every bit as intelligent as the original show (except they’re only 22 minutes long). They didn’t “kidify” the show for Saturday mornings at all. Better yet, in an animated form they were no longer constrained by what passed for special effects on TV at the time.

Despite that reputation, I thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce Nolan to “Star Trek.”

When he was younger (possibly pre-Thomas) Kris used to sometimes watch reruns of “Star Trek: Voyager” with him. He used to call it “The Space Ship Show.” That routine didn’t last long and he hasn’t really been exposed to Trek since.

A couple of times I’ve caught one of the “enhanced” versions of The Original Series that started running this fall and I tried to get him to watch. But he didn’t show much interest.

So when I got my hands on these DVDs, I thought maybe he’d be more interested if it’s a cartoon.

We popped a disc in and sure enough it was pretty “adult” and “scientific-y.” I was thinking that it was over his head and that he must be getting bored. But he really dug it! In fact, he was clamoring for more. I couldn’t be more proud. It will only be a matter of time before we work our way up to “Wrath of Kahn” (“K H A A N N!!!”).

Thomas was around when we were watching the shows too. He wasn’t paying too much attention though. He was more interested in playing with his monster trucks. That’s ok. We’ve still got lots of time to work on him.