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Original article at:
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/46176.html

03.08.2007
"Trek XI" Writers Talk, Drop Hints

The title of the eleventh film in the Star Trek franchise may simply be "Star Trek," and it's being considered more a reimagining than a prequel, the writers of the project revealed in an interview posted today on MTV.com. They also promised that the story will be a starship-based adventure with more action and a bigger budget than any previous "Trek" film.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci — the two screenwriters who also serve as executive producers — told MTV that "Star Trek" by itself is their intended title. "I don't think we want to put any colons or anything on it," Orci said. This detail about the "Star Trek XI" project is still up in the air, though, where the studio is concerned, and likely to be subject to change until the last minute.

The article contends that Kurtzman and Orci described the film as "not in any way a prequel but a reimagining of the franchise," without quoting them directly saying that. The article does quote Orci as saying, "We're not going to start totally from scratch." But, "We want it to feel like it's updated and of the now. That's actually the discussions we're having now: how to keep the look of the universe yet have it not look like nothing's new. It's tricky."

The writers did promise that this movie will contain more action than any "Trek" film that has preceded it, and said it will have the biggest budget. Apparently Paramount gave them no stipulations and no limits. "They were just like, what would you do with 'Star Trek'?" Orci recalled. "We've been watching [Trek] all our lives. I've even read the books. It was all about, what have I always wanted to see in Trek?"

Orci also said, "The economic models of the other [films] were very much based on the fans out there and their purchasing power. With this one we're going for the broad audience to bring people into Trek for the first time."

Kurtzman added, "The challenge of the movie is to be 100 percent true to the fanbase but also to bring in a whole new group of people who've never seen Trek before."

But they were still mum on the details of the story, or which characters will appear in it, deflecting such questions from the interviewer with a persistent "Who can say?" But they did allow that it will be a starship-based adventure. "I don't know how you make Star Trek without a starship," Orci laughed. "You have to trek through the stars, so you need a ship for that. There, you got something out of us!"

Kurtzman said the same thing about the oft-maligned "technobabble" staple of Trek scripts. "I actually love the technobabble!" Kurtzman said. "I don't think you can do Trek without technobabble."

Without discussing why, Kurtzman and Orci revealed that they and producer J.J. Abrams did recently visit with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. "It was pretty much the most stressful thing ever, but it was wonderful," Kurtzman said. "They were amazing."

While apparently describing the film as a "reimagining," the writers do believe their script adheres to the original vision of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. "Trek, more than anything, has always been about the human interactions," Orci said. "It's all about the human soul."

"And the friendships," Kurtzman added. "And everyone being a family. Whatever the story was, we always knew what it had to feel like."

The pair expressed relief that Abrams decided to direct the movie after reading the very first draft. "When we finally turned in the script I started lining up other directors, and that really got [Abrams] going," Orci joked.

As for other crew members, the article cited Scott Chambliss as production designer and Daniel Mindel as director of photography, who worked with Kurtzman, Orci and Abrams on Alias and "Mission: Impossible III."

On recent rumors regarding casting of key roles, the writer/producers were very coy, only saying things like, "We never said Bones was in it." Kurtzman did admit, "I'm the hugest Matt Damon fan ever. If he became [Kirk], great."

In the full article, Kurtzman and Orci also talk a little about Star Trek: The Next Generation, and what "crazy" fans they are. Read it at this MTV.com link.




http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1554046/story.jhtml