Star Trek XI

James McAvoy to Play the New Scotty in Star Trek XI ? Movie Rumor Mill Spinning Fast
From TrekWeb:

According to Scottish tabloid The Sunday Mail, Last King Of Scotland star James McAvoy is set to play Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the upcoming Star Trek XI prequel to be produced by J.J. Abrams.

According to the site, Paramount Pictures said: "We are very excited about the film. Casting is in the early stages - we cannot comment on any names yet."

But an insider revealed: "The producers are keen to have a Scottish Scotty and James is the No.1 choice."

"They think he could form a brilliant double act with Matt. James' star is on the rise after The Last King of Scotland. He's Scottish and has box office appeal so he fulfils both criteria."

This information is preliminary, of course, and entirely rumor.

From TrekWeb:

"The search for Spock is on again, as it becomes apparent that J.J. Abrams' Star Trek story shall focus on younger versions of the original crew. With the Canadian Fan Expo nigh, the Toronto Sun made a call to Leonard Nimoy, who joked about having to write a sequel to his I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock books.

"My next title should be I Am Not Necessarily Spock," laughed Nimoy as he considers that his signature character may be played by another actor, one who might need blessings from the archetype (story).

Having received a call from Paramount, Nimoy now speculates about his participation in the next Star Trek film, suggesting that he may be willing to come out of retirement to reprise his Vulcan persona.

"The head of production at Paramount called my agency to tell them about this project and they are aware of Bill [Shatner]'s and my contribution to the franchise," Nimoy explains, "and they'd like us to know they might want some involvement. It was all very, very general.

"They might possibly want Bill and I to set up the story as a flashback. But that's just conjecture on my part."

Conjecture is often agreeable to negotiation, so the big screen may yet again see Nimoy as Spock. Shatner has already expressed an interest in more onscreen Star Trek (story)."

From TrekWeb:
"Several online discussion forums, including the StarTrek BBS here at TrekWeb, have conducted casual opinion polls that speculate on who'll write the soundtrack for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek feature film. That score has now been settled, as the musical maestro was found at a Lost DVD release party, attended by IGN.

Michael Giacchino is a longtime Abrams favorite, collaborating on the Alias, Lost, What About Brian, and Six Degrees television series, as well as the Mission: Impossible III movie.

Giacchino won an "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series" Emmy Award for Lost, and he has plucked numerous laurels for his orchestral magic in The Incredibles animated feature -- including the Annie, ASCAP, BMI, Sierra, LAFCA, OFCS, and World Soundtrack Awards.

The composer says he's just starting to think about his approach to the score for Star Trek. "It's kind of on the distant radar," said Giacchino. "I know they're working on it. [But] it is so far away we haven't even discussed it yet."

Giacchino is likely to extrapolate upon the musical themes in existing Star Trek soundtracks.

"I think that ultimately you might pick the theme that you think is the important one and utilize that in a certain way, and then go completely somewhere else with it," Giacchino said. "That would be I guess in the same way as Mission: Impossible was fun like that, to take that and go somewhere wholly different with the score that the other two dudes didn't do. Not that it's better or worse but just different."

From Cinematical:
"Late last week, IESB reported on some interesting Star Trek XI rumors via one of their "unnamed studio sources" who, supposedly, is involved in the movie in some way. As far as this next Trek installment goes, so far we know J.J. Abrams is onboard as director, and that they're planning on taking a trip back to the early days of Kirk and Spock, catching up with the boys while they begin their Academy training.

Now, amidst reports that Matt Damon is up for the role of a young Captain Kirk, comes a bit more regarding plot and vision, as well as what part (if any) the Trekkies will play in the overall decision-making. And, if you are said Trekkie, you may not like the following statement: According to their "inside" source, "Trek fans were not able to keep the last show (Enterprise) on the air and we are looking on bringing over Alias and Lost fans. And if the old Trekkies like the new movie, great -- if not, too bad. We have to boldly go where no Star Trek has gone before."

Hey, I understand they want to re-invent the franchise, but to totally shut out fans like that -- I don't know -- it just seems wrong. Granted, this is not J.J. Abrams talking, but I'm starting to worry this film will resemble an episode of Alias and not Star Trek. Thoughts?"

New here and loved to know someone decided to open a community to chat about new Star Trek movies, finally! Great idea. Hugs! (I added you as friend, ok? Hope you don't mind).

From StarTrek.Com:

"A picture, even a mere image that hints at a broader picture, can instantly give you a snapshot of things to come.

The production team that now holds the creative reins for the next Star Trek movie project has released a piece of artwork this weekend (to coincide with Comic-Con) that provides a Polaroid of an era past, as well as a vision yet to be revealed. With this familiar imagery, the direction of the next movie is now officially open to speculation.

J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are the film's producers; Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are executive producers. The film is slated for release in 2008.

The first people to get their hands on this iconic image are those who visit the Paramount Pictures booth this morning at Comic-Con in San Diego.

Three versions of this image are available now as Desktops and AIM Icons.

Several lucky Star Trek fans will win their own copy of this unique poster. Click here to enter for your chance to win!

Stay tuned to STARTREK.COM for continuing coverage about this upcoming feature film."

( Cut for ImageCollapse )

First, guys, sorry for the inactivity! Feel free (aka PLEASE) post articles you find here if you want more activity ^^ Now for the article...

From TrekWeb

"Whether by coincidence, omen, or temporal tampering, Star Trek writer and director Nicholas Meyer had been in attendance at J.J. Abrams' bar mitzvah. "It was my first step in preparation for working on Star Trek," jokes Abrams in an interview for Variety.

Trekkies may be glad to know that Abrams et al have been doing plenty of research. "We've been provided with every published Star Trek work," he notes, "whether it's original novels or analysis or companions to the series."

The impossible mission team is also immersing itself in episodes of The Original Series, though perhaps not plunging into the deep end of the franchise pool. "We don't want to become oversaturated with the pre-existing material," says Abrams. "We're reading as much as we can, and as much as we need to, but we're also going to limit it. You want to remain fresh and be inspired."

Alas, Abrams remains mum on details of the Star Trek XI script he's penning with Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, insisting it's "infinitely too early to be talking about" the plot. Neither does he tip whether or not he'll sit in the director's chair for the film.

Abrams does tell us what he has liked about Trek, and what he's aiming to have at the heart of his story.

"Star Trek to me was always about infinite possibility and the incredible imagination that Gene Roddenberry brought to that core of characters," he says. "It was a show about purpose, about faith vs. logic, about science vs. emotion, about us vs. them. It was its own world, and yet it was our world.

"[Trek] was always my favorite when it was a little bit scary, when they would deal with beaming something on the ship that was an incredible mystery or there was a clear threat.

"All of these things I loved about the series is what we're working to incorporate into the story for the movie."

Though Abrams was a regular viewer of TOS, he admits, "I don't think I would qualify as a 'Trekker.' I fall in the 'big fan' category." Writer Robert Orci claims "immediate recall" of all things Trek, while producer Bryan Burke is "relatively fresh" to The Great Bird's galaxy. "The beauty of that is we have all points of view," says Abrams.

So, will ST:XI be dressed for the hardcore Trekkie, or the fairweather populace?

"We absolutely feel beholden to the fans, but at the same time, we have to recognize that you can't only go out and make a movie or TV shows for a group of people that live and breathe a show," Abrams says.

Abrams goal is a tale that "simultaneously speaks to the people who hold Star Trek close to their heart, and at the same time tell a story that resonates" with new fans.

After the failed Nemesis movie and Enterprise series, this project presents Abrams with the nontrivial pressures of resuscitating Paramount's high-profile franchise.

"Maybe if I looked at it from the point of view of a TV analyst or an entertainment analyst, I'd be thinking it's too risky or scary," said Abrams. "My reaction is always a gut reaction, which is, if there were a great telling of a Star Trek movie, it could be as thrilling and as fun as anything I could imagine.

"Listening to that voice has been very helpful.""

Star Trek XI Writers Know Their Canon
From Movies Online

"If your head has finally stopped spinning from the number of times the "Star Trek" rumor mill has turned up a dead end or wrong turn, then you are probably very relieved to hear the official details surfacing since the eleventh "Trek" film finally has a crew working on the plan for a new voyage. With J.J. Abrams producing and directing, his partners-in-television are jumping aboard the ship. Abrams has his "Lost" associates Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk producing with him, and his "Mission: Impossible III" screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who have both worked on "Alias," are penning the script for "Trek XI."

Kurtzman and Orci, like Abrams and others that have been signing on for this mission, are big fans of the "Star Trek" franchise and all that it embodies. They aren’t just thoroughly knowledgeable in the shows and movies; they are just as familiar with the countless novels that also comprise a significant portion of the mythos. Since they are so close to the material, there seems to be no qualms about making promises that fans will be very satisfied with the level of verisimilitude that will paid to this project. IGN quoted testimony that they intend to be faithful to Trek canon:

"We know the mythology well, and we are fans of the novels that happen between the movies and all that kind of stuff ... We're very mindful of being totally true to the mythology ... and this is not a case of trying to come in and be so clever that you're going to reinvent everything. It's a case of coming in and using the stuff you know is great and you know really works and not violating anything that's come before it."

It seems that "Trek XI" is finally getting a solid foundation, and it’s about time. Just as good to observe is that Paramount seems to be taking this production a lot more seriously now, meaning a lot less frustration and disappointment for the immeasurable masses that enjoy "Star Trek" worldwide. There is suddenly concrete cause to celebrate, because not only are the wheels beginning to turn, but it is a group of loyal fans that has taken the helm. That is not only encouraging, it’s exciting."

Trek Prequel Staying True
The writers know their mythology.
by Paul Davidson
From IGN:

"June 8, 2006 - Film writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci say they are up to the task of penning the screenplay for Star Trek XI, a prequel film headed up by J.J. Abrams of Lost fame. The duo were interviewed by Creative Screenwriting magazine because of their work on Mission: Impossible 3, but the topic of the new Trek picture was also raised.

As it turns out, Kurtzman and Orci are fans of not only the films and TV series, but also of the myriad Star Trek novels that have added to the Trek canon and mythology. That mythology is something they plan to respect in Trek XI.

"We know the mythology well, and we are fans of the novels that happen between the movies and all that kind of stuff … and we do know that there is a space [sic] to begin to see a lot of the origins of a lot of the things we know and we're going to start there. We're very mindful of being totally true to the mythology and totally true to what's come there, and in a way try to embrace the fact there's such a rich history to it that this is not a case of trying to come in and be so clever that you're going to reinvent everything. It's a case of coming in and using the stuff you know is great and you know really works and not violating anything that's come before it."

They also suggested that the new film would include both new and familiar characters. Early reports on the movie suggested young Kirk and Spock would be major characters, although that is not officially decided at this point."

From TV.com

"Enigmatic TV creator sheds light on his plans for the next installment in the space saga.
J.J. Abrams.

J.J. Abrams.

When Paramount decided J.J. Abrams would produce the next Star Trek film, it knew it had beamed up a fanboy's best friend.

Abrams' show Lost, which finished the season number 14 overall, has developed a devoted fan following. Called "Losties," they are reminiscent of Trek fans' "trekkers."

In this month's issue of British movie magazine Empire, Abrams talks about his plans for Star Trek and the pitfalls of taking on a beloved franchise.

"We've made a pact not to discuss any specifics," he tells Empire. "But Star Trek is something I grew up with and love. I feel there's still a great movie to be made, another proud chapter in the history of Star Trek. We've got a lot of exciting new ideas."

Abrams admits that he has been remiss of late in keeping up with the aging franchise.

"To be totally honest with you...I haven't even seen [the most recent Star Trek film], Nemesis," laughs Abrams. "I feel like the series disconnected for me at a certain period, and though I will have to watch and see everything that was done, I want to see what not to do as much as anything. But as someone who works on a show that has a very loyal and vocal fan base, I do understand the need to be respectful. I think we can do the fans proud."

Abrams says that original reports that said the storyline of Star Trek XI would involve early adventures of Kirk and Spock were wrong, but he adds, "Those characters are so spectacular. I just think that...you know, they could live again."

On May 6, the Abrams-directed Mission Impossible: III was released. The Tom Cruise action film has grossed over $120 million at the US box office so far. "