After the outstanding success of his Star Trek reboot, director J.J. Abrams has found himself fielding questions about the film’s sequel on a near daily basis. Who will be the villain? Does Chris Pine have as hard a time with Tribbles as William Shatner? Etc, etc. Luckily, Abrams is one of Hollywood’s more nerd friendly directors, so you can always count on him giving you a decent answer.

Recently, MTV caught up with Abrams for an exclusive interview about Star Trek 2. In the interview, Abrams discusses some possibilities  for the sequel and the relative leeway the screenwriters have in bringing old characters back to the big screen. Care to guess which name brought up the most excitement? You guessed it, KHANNNNN!!!!, a.k.a Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically engineered superhuman played by Ricardo Montelban in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.

To help build excitement for the upcoming release of Star Trek on DVD and Blu-ray, Paramount has released a deleted scene that will be a bonus feature on the home video release of the franchise’s rebirth installment.

This scene is part of the story where Nero (Eric Bana) is held captive by Klingons and interrogated about his knowledge of the future and of the Federation. You’ll definitely recognize one line from the trailer where Nero states “The wait is over” which wasn’t a part of the theatrical release of the film. For Trek fans out there, you’ll also notice another special something from classic Trek lore.

Check the video out after the jump.

This past Saturday, October 17th, I attended my second year of Spike TV’s annual Scream Awards. Not only did I attend, but I had been hand-picked by the casting director to sit front row center for the show! As a fan-focused awards show, it’s much more enjoyable being seated amongst JJ Abrams, Karl Urban, Elijah Wood and Woody Harrelson. My favorite personal surprise of the evening came when the Best Science Fiction Actress nominees were being announced. I cheered (maybe a little too loudly for my girlfriend’s tastes) for Eliza Dushku when her name was announced, only to discover she was sitting right in front of me. She turned around and flashed me her lovely smile. Good thing my girlfriend isn’t the overly-jealous type.

As for the show itself, it seems as though the winners have already been leaked online, and the best surprises have been revealed, even on Spike’s own website. So keep in mind there be spoilers here.

The last Star Trek film was by all accounts a huge success, both financially and critically. The reboot brought in $384 million worldwide since its May 2009 release and with the DVD soon to hit store shelves November 17th, the financial gain is sure to continue. Director J.J. Abrams, along with writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci managed to reinvent the Roddenberry franchise without the use of *gasp* William Shatner.

Some people questioned why they wouldn’t bring Shatner on board for the reboot – not because he is the greatest actor in the world, but rather because he essentially IS the embodiment of Star Trek. Our friends at Cinema Blend pointed us towards The West Australian, who were at a Los Angles press conference promoting the Star Trek DVD, where J.J. Abrams addressed that very topic and it looks like William Shatner MAY (not will) show up in the new Star Trek sequel.

“The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could … the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with.”

I suppose that makes sense. Shatner did die in the Star Trek: Generations movie only to come back from the afterlife “Nexus” and die again later in the movie. So why wouldn’t Abrams and company do the same kind of thing for the prequel?

“It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the [Star Trek]. It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting.”

Not quite as distracting as Leonard Nimoy returning to battle a snow beast as his home planet is destroyed, or as distracting as a green alien hottie in her underwear, but I understand what he means. Trying to start a franchise basically from scratch so that it may continue to live through numerous sequels is tough enough to do without bringing back in a familiar face just for the sake of branding.

So what has changed in the Star Trek universe that would allow Abrams to include Shatner into the upcoming sequel?

“In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything. I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there’s less of a burden and there’s going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner).”

I’m not really sure how I feel about that statement. The inclusion of Shatner in any manner other than portraying Captain Kirk would just be strange. That means in order to use both Chris Pine and William Shatner as Captain Kirk there would have to be time travel involved and honestly that would feel gimmicky to me. The whole topic is covered in detail on the upcoming Star Trek DVD, in a feature called “The Shatner Conundrum”.

I honestly don’t think Shatner should return to the franchise. He had his three decades of fame from Star Trek and should now fade into the background and enjoy watching younger actors pick up the torch and run with it. I’ve enjoyed watching him in his more comedic roles lately and who doesn’t like the Price Line Negotiator? But he most likely will play a part in the sequel because Abrams added:

“I would love to work with [Shatner]. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. “

What do you think about William Shatner coming back on board to play a part in Star Trek 2? Should he leave well enough or alone or does he deserve to be in every Trek movie as long as he lives?

The Star Trek Blu-ray and DVD comes out in the US November 17th, 2009.

Source: Cinema Blend, The West Australian

Chris Pine, one of the next big things in Hollywood has been one of those actors among that special group seemingly considered for every big role out there (some other members being Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Sam Worthington). Aside from being talked about for Green Lantern and a part in The A-Team, Pine is now being reported as a lead candidate to take over the character of Jack Ryan in the long-awaited return of the Tom Clancy franchise.

According to Variety, Paramount Pictures is in negotiations with the young Captain Kirk to play the CIA analyst for the next feature film based on the Tom Clancy novels.

If this comes to pass, Pine will likely have a long and bountiful relationship with Paramount as both Jack Ryan’s adventures and the rebirth of the Star Trek franchise have the potential for long and successful lives.

Today we have some updates on the upcoming sequel to this year’s Star Trek reboot, from both director J.J. Abrams and writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. The topics of discussion range from the story ideas for Star Trek 2 to the news that the sequel will possibly be shot in stereoscopic 3D.

All of this wonderful Star Trek 2 info comes our way thanks to the diligent work of our friends over at Collider.

Today we have some of J.J. Abrams news about two sequels from two big franchises: Star Trek and Mission: Impossible IV. The Star Trek news hints at what the sequel to Abrams’ successful Star Trek reboot might be about. And the M:I IV update is on the current status of the film, and whether Abrams will be directing or not.

STAR TREK

LA Times Hero Complex got a chance to catch up with Abrams and Trek co-writer, Roberto Orci, on the set of the second season of Fringe, and they naturally got around to asking about the next film in the now rebooted Trek franchise. The replies from both Abrams and Orci were very interesting and exciting. First, here’s what Abrams said:

Star Trek, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” – 43 years later.

That’s right folks: This week in 1966 – 43 years ago, Star Trek warped across the nation’s television screens and into our living rooms.  Or as NBC put it back then, “rocketed” in.

It lasted 79 episodes despite the questionable ratings and in its third season was moved to Friday nights, where all good shows go to get put out to pasture (does that sound familiar?).

So we just finished telling you why the Summer of 2009 was the season of bad movies. Now, as if to validate our point (sarcasm alert) Variety has just announced that the Summer of ‘09 has set a new record as the highest grossing summer of all time at the U.S. domestic box office.

So there you have it, folks, it’s official: Hollywood has no reason to ever hire good writers, produce good scripts, or offer us anything better at the multiplex than what Michael Bay can half-envision.

Awesome.

Leonard Nimoy had an extremely important role in J.J. Abrams’ re-imagining of Star Trek. Nimoy had to represent the anchor that held the new Trek within the decades-long continuity established before, and helped allow the film to function for audiences new and old.

Just having him appear in the film as old Spock to tell someone to “live long and prosper” helped sway hordes of Trekkers who may have been skeptical about what the new Trek would be bringing to the franchise.

To me, his role was perfect and it did make a big difference having him as a key element of the plot. Having accomplished that and knowing Trek is a viable film franchise again, will Nimoy appear again in the sequels? According to him, it doesn’t sound likely…

Well, the summer movie season is officially over, and while box office earnings are way up, it seems like the quality of the films have actually gone way down.  But for every few badly-written movies (like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers 2, and G.I. Joe–though some will say it’s not that bad), there was a diamond in the rough like District 9.  So why were so many movies so bad in the summer of ‘09, even if they did make a lot of money?  Hint: The Writers Strike!

Before the summer began, I wrote an article about how the 2007 Writers Strike might affect the summer 2009 movies.  I speculated that back in 2007, studios were nervous about how long the writers strike could last, leaving them with a possible lack of films for the fall/winter 2008 and all-important summer 2009 season (early May to late August 2009). To make sure they had big films lined up for Summer ‘09, the studios pushed to have their big-budget scripts quick-finished before the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) contracts were up in November 2007 and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in summer of 2008.

Before one of the summer’s best movies makes its way onto DVD and Blu-ray this November, people who want to see it on the biggest screen possible can do so very soon: Star Trek is being re-released in select IMAX theaters starting this Friday (tomorrow, September 4th) for a limited two week engagement.

Back in May, Star Trek got a limited run in IMAX theaters for about two weeks, before it had to make room for the family film Night at the Museum 2. So even if the more adamant fan out there was first in line to see the film on a gargantuan IMAX screen, others who may not have been so adamant may have missed those limited showings. But now you’ll get a chance to see it again, if you happen to live near one of the select 85 theaters (in the U.S. and Canada) that it’s playing in.

The nominees have been announced for the fourth annual Scream Awards, held every year by Spike TV. The decisively more “fan-friendly” award ceremony (compared to the Oscars) honors films from the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic-book genres of movies, TV shows and comic books. The awards are described as, “the first and only global event of its kind,” to honor those genres.

The Scream 2009 nominees were chosen by the Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders, a list which this year includes the likes of Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Eli Roth and Zack Snyder, plus many more. The event will be taped on Saturday, October 17th this year at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV ten days later on Tuesday, October 27th (check for local times).

Along with the awards, the show will also be airing some exclusive, world premiere of footage of some of the most anticipated movies of 2010! Presenters and musicians for the event are to be announced shortly.

I saw this Kevin Pollack stand-up routine only ONCE, many years ago – but I never forgot it. In it he (as a huge fan) does a hysterical riff on Star Trek (original crew). Without a doubt, Pollack does the BEST impersonation of Shatner as Kirk. Ever.

Check it out for yourself after the jump.

Star Trek has boldly gone on to earn $375 million at the worldwide box office, and it’s coming to a home theater near you!

J.J. Abrams’ highly successful reboot of the legendary sci-fi franchise is getting a slick Blu-ray makeover and we’ve got the details on what extras will be waiting onboard the Enterprise, and (more importantly) when Star Trek will be beaming up into stores everywhere.

Oh, and DVD folks don’t feel too left out. We’ve got details on what you’ll be getting too.

With the welcome success of the recent Star Trek reboot (both critically and financially), you just know that talk of the sequel is inevitable. Screen Rant reported on screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci’s thoughts on a sequel a few days ago, and today we have some more, via a video interview with Collider.

In the interview with Collider, Kurtzman and Orci talk mainly about Star Trek (which is, let’s face it, one of the geek world’s hottest topics of discussion) but also their upcoming Cowboys and Aliens movie. The interview is in video form, but if you don’t want to watch the almost 10 minute video, here is the gist of the details they put out there:

Speculation at one point was that Star Trek might not make enough money to warrant a sequel. Well those fears have been quashed with Star Trek pulling in $231 million domestically, making it the highest grossing film so far in 2009. It might be able to hold on to that title if it manages to fend off the upcoming Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (doubtful). Either way, script writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kutzman are in the limelight because they co-wrote both movies.

One of this year’s biggest names in Hollywood is getting a little bit bigger. Last month, we finally saw the release of Star Trek, the film that set out to rekindle the near-dead sci-fi franchise and succeeded beyond anyone’s imagination. The man responsible for this success is of course, J.J. Abrams.

If you follow film or television news in the slightest bit, then you know this man. On our TV sets, he brought us Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe and on the silver screen, he engineered movies such as Cloverfield, Mission: Impossible 3 and of course, Star Trek.

Terminator Salvation came to theaters on May 21st.  It sparked an idea in my head about technology in our society and if it’s really possible get to the point of what the Terminator franchise projects for our future.

When I presented the idea to a co-worker, he dissed it immediately. When a scientist or engineer starts to immediately diss the possibility of an idea, it’s a good clue that it might be a good idea for us to wrap our imaginations around. Hence, the birth of this article.

This was going to be a short piece… but unfortunately, like the technology in Terminator, the more I looked into the subject matter, the more the article grew on me. It got bigger than the original idea. It took me over and I found myself inexorably abducted into having to write it.

In the Wrap Up this Week:

The box office is UP; Robert Downey Jr might still saddle up for Cowboys and Aliens; Lucy beats Nicole Kidman to the Punch; Natalie Portman, Danny McBride and James Franco salute Your Highness; Seann William Scott and Adam Brody are A Couple of Dicks and Chevy Chase dips his toes in the Hot Tub Time Machine and he may return as Fletch.

Back in March, it was reported that the writers of Star Trek, Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci (Transformers 1 & 2, Fringe) as well as contributor Damon Lindelof (Lost) have all been signed to pen the sequel to J.J. Abrams’ successful sci-fi hit and that they were planning on a 2011 release. As soon as opening weekend came around, everyone was hearing the sequel talk and expecting the next film to debut in two years.

This week:
Ben Stiller has no time for Salvation at the box office; George Clooney is a Private Gentleman; Lyndsy Fonseca gets into the Hot Tub Time Machine; Milla Jovovich throws a Stone; Ridley Scott looks for a younger Robin Hood and Kevin Costner makes a western – I’m not kidding.

This week:

Tom Hanks is the box office champion; Terry Gilliam kills Don Quixote…again; Spider-Man has a new Green Goblin (on stage); the Basterds are online; Toy Story 3 is moving Up; Ewan McGregor won’t be Trainspotting and who are the Six Suspects?

A YouTube user took the time to creatively modify some scenes from the original Star Trek series and make them look like the new movie.

What do you mean, you ask?

Lens flares!

Did you see the new Star Trek movie that opened this past weekend? If you have, you no doubt also saw that little movie called Star Wars that came out back in 1977. Did you notice any similarities?

J.J. Abrams has been openly honest all along that he was a fan of Star Wars growing up and not so much Star Trek. It’s no secret that he guided his new Star Trek movie in a more Star Wars-like fashion because of it.

JJ Abrams’ relaunched Star Trek came out this past weekend and it was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews (like from Screen Rant Owner and Editor-in-Chief Vic Holtreman), and made some big bucks.  Yes, we’re a bit behind on bringing you these, but maybe you’ll appreciate them even more after having seen the movie.

Sure, it’s not the biggest box office opening weekend ever, but for a Star Trek film opening in the second weekend in May, with a blockbuster a week ahead of it (Wolverine), it passed the test with flying colors.

What test? How about “Will people turn out in droves for a Star Trek movie despite the “geek” stereotype?”

In the Wrap Up this week:
The Box Office boldly goes where no Star Trek film has gone before; Joel Silver sees an Apparition; Keanu Reeves Hydes Jekyll;  James McAvoy and Elizabeth Banks have The Details;Val Kilmer, Ray Stevenson and Christopher Walken know The Irishman and Nick Fury is a Pirate.

Regular Screen Rant reader “790″ suggested I set up a discussion post for the Star Trek movie, where people can feel free to talk about all aspects of the film without having to worry about spoiling it for others. I had meant to set one of these up for Wolverine but just never got around to it.

Considering how popular I think Star Trek will be (moreso than Wolvie), I thought it might be a good idea to get this set up ASAP.

So discuss the film below to your heart’s content!

This is the weekly TV update coming at you yet again.  Today I chat about how Numbers has survived on Friday nights, I share my suspicions on what will happen with Chuck on NBC and I celebrate a bit about Fringe on Fox.

I’ll also touch on how the new Wolverine movie has already had its TV rights secured while I tell you about a couple of upcoming Sci-Fi Channel marathons, and then I’ll close with some depressing inclinations about Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  At the very bottom, past my ratings chart, I actually make a suggestion about an episode of Criminal Minds that I suggest hunting down to watch.  (Yes, I make a recommendation.)

Let’s get on with it, shall we?