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Between comments from Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf, the cast and crew of the "Transformers" franchise haven't exactly denied that "Revenge of the Fallen" had some… problems, to put it mildly.

But Bay, Shia and others have expressed an equal amount of passion towards "Dark of the Moon," the new "Transformers" movie arriving this summer. The just-released trailer has offered serious hope that "Dark of the Moon" will indeed kick some robot tail, but does that still wash the taste of "Fallen" out of our mouths? And, really, won't somebody think of the writers?

Well, it turns out that you don't need to feel too badly for Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the screenwriting duo who brought you "Revenge of the Fallen." Orci, who has collaborated with Kurtzman on a number of highly respected and anticipated projects including the "Star Trek" reboot and "Cowboys & Aliens," explained to MTV News in a phone interview that they're not upset about the "Fallen" backlash — especially when looking at box-office numbers.

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Tags alex kurtzman, robert orci, transformers dark of the moon, transformers: revenge of the fallen

Last week "Ender's Game" fans everywhere rejoiced at the news that the beloved novel by Orson Scott Card is getting closer to a long-awaited big screen adaptation. Director Gavin Hood ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine") along with dynamic writing/producing duo Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Star Trek," "Cowboys and Aliens") announced - via Orci's Twitter account - that they are currently shopping the project around town.

MTV News recently caught up with Orci during a preview screening of one of he and Kurtzman's many other projects, "Transformers: Prime," where we asked him how things are going with "Game."

“The first thing is to set it up somewhere," he said. "The last 48 hours I’ve been running around trying to sell the damn thing, and someone needs to get some guts, and get in here and buy it."

On that note, Orci called out Hasbro by name, the same company that produces "Transformers: Prime" on its shared venture with Discovery, The Hub.

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Tags alex kurtzman, Ender's Game, Gavin Hood, Roberto Orci

Depending on your amount of geek or sci-fi cred, the following news will either be met with elation and excitement or disgruntled dissent: Orson Scott Card's beloved novel "Ender's Game" may finally be headed for the big screen by way of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the dynamic writing/producing duo behind "Star Trek" and "Cowboys and Aliens," with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" director Gavin Hood behind the camera.

Now to be fair, the film has yet to be officially greenlit and picked up by a major studio, but the fact that Kurtzman, Orci and Hood are all on-board and shopping the project bodes well for the big screen adaptation, which has been talked about/in development limbo almost as long as the book has been in print.

Orci officially broke the news via his Twitter account. He wrote: "Ender's Game! Us (K/O), Oddlot, and Gavin Hood taking his amazing script to the town! Who wants some?" Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, Ender's Game, Gavin Hood, Roberto Orci

Olivia Wilde: so hot right now.

Fresh off a butt-kicking turn in Tron: Legacy" and with a trio of promising films already due in 2011, the in-demand actress has landed a role in writer Alex Kurtzman's eagerly anticipated directorial debut "Welcome to People," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"People" stars Chris Pine as a young businessman who, after the death of his estranged father, must deliver $150,000 to the alcoholic sister (Elizabeth Banks) he never knew he had, as well as her 12-year-old son. Reluctant to part with the money, Pine's character reaches out to his sis and nephew... but without revealing who he is. Wilde will play Hannah, the Pine character's girlfriend. Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, chris pine, cowboys and aliens, elizabeth banks, olivia wilde, Roberto Orci, Welcome to People

This is just a three exclamation point kind of story. Every news outlet on the planet has been trying to get J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to open up with some kind of talk on their in-development sequel to "Star Trek." Those guys know too much about preserving a secret though. They won't budge!

Well the threesome recently sat down for a deep dive feature with SFX Magazine (via TrekMovie.com). And while there's still no talk specific talk about the sequel's plot points, words like "Klingon" and "Khan" were thrown around, much to the delight of fans everywhere. Even with those buzzwords being broached, Abrams acknowledges right off the bat the key challenge faced with crafting a sequel. Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, jj abrams, Roberto Orci, star trek

"Star Trek" fans across the Internet -- including my good pal Jordan Hoffman at UGO -- are dismayed this morning to read the news that Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks will produce the Alex Kurtzman's feature directorial debut. This comes only days after the news that the accomplish filmmaker will also be working with Kurtzman and his writing partner Roberto Orci on developing a TV adaptation of the comic book series "Locke & Key." The reason this is upsetting for "Star Trek" fans is simple: the duo, among their many other commitments, are also in the process of scripting the sequel to J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot.

Kurtzman's pitch, which he wrote with Orci and documentarian Jody Lambert, has nothing to do with space aliens, fringe government divisions, giant transforming robots or anything similar. The story follows a twentysomething man who is given the task in his father's will of delivering $150,000 in cash to a sister he didn't know existed and her son. He decides to keep the money but makes contact with this lost family members, without revealing who he actually is. The script was written six years ago; Kurtzman pulled it out in a bid to break free of the geek-driven trends set by his past work, Vulture reports. Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, Video, Welcome to People

The sequel to "Star Trek" isn't a focus at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, but it would hardly be the biggest geek gathering of the year without some talk of J.J. Abrams' exceptionally strong franchise reboots. And we've got it, from writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who joined MTV's Kara Warner to discuss their upcoming TV series reboot of "Hawaii Five-0."

"We actually are making significant process on the story," Kurtzman said, pausing. "I will tell you nothing more." Kara pressed, knowing full well that these guys hear this same question in just about every interview. Tell us something new, she pleaded. "That's something we've never told anyone," Kurtzman replied. "We actually are making significant process on the story." Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, Roberto Orci, star trek, Star Trek 2, Video

Did you know there's NASCAR for kids? Well, that's not exactly what it is, but there is a pee-wee version of race car driving involving go-karts, for those youths hoping to grow up to become the next Jimmie Johnson. A documentary titled "Racing Dreams," about three competitors in this World Karting Association, premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary. And now Variety reports that the film, which was produced by Dwayne Johnson, has been tapped for a dramatized treatment by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

The "Star Trek" writer-producers will not adapt the documentary themselves, as they've got a lot of other stuff on their plate. Like the "Trek" sequel. Instead they'll be overseeing the project, with both Johnson and his wife Dany Garcia, also his partner on the original "Racing Dreams," returning to the material as executive producers. DreamWorks, which is distributing the adaptation, will reportedly hire a writer for the film this week. Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, Racing Dreams, Roberto Orci

UPDATE: Paramount has confirmed to MTV that the projected release date for the "Star Trek" sequel is indeed June 29, 2012.

This counts as news, but there's not much to it. We all know there's a "Star Trek" sequel coming. Hell, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, writers/producers of the May reboot, were talking about sequel possibilities as far back as the week after the first movie came out. Now we have a date to pin our hopes to: June 29, 2012.

Nothing else is known or announced, so don't ask. Maybe director J.J. Abrams will return to helm the sequel, maybe he won't. Maybe Khan will be the villain, maybe not. For all we know, the plan is to give us an epic "Star Trek Meets Star Wars" crossover. Could happen, right? Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, jj abrams, Roberto Orci, star trek

"From the very beginning, we talked about wanting to do a Kirk and Spock story." That's "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams, speaking on how the story for the May hit was originally conceived. The clip below, a brief snippet focused on the Kirk/Spock origin story, comes from the bonus content included on the DVD/Blu-ray, which hits stores today. Check it out.

Abrams and his team, including writing superstars Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, made the right move in focusing on the birth of Kirk and Spock's friendship. It is as essential to the DNA of the series as the name "U.S.S. Enterprise." As much as the two butt heads in this reboot, they have to be friends in the end if Abrams' is to have any hope of pleasing longtime fans. Read more...

Tags alex kurtzman, jj abrams, Roberto Orci, star trek, Video