The Blu-ray/DVD isn't the only "Star Trek"-related piece of awesome hitting stores today. Serious fans can also pick up "Star Trek: The Art of the Film," from Titan Books. We ran a few exclusive monster design sketches last week to psych you up, and now we have a couple more looks at the book.
These are no sketches though. Oh no... we've got photos to share today. Two of them. First up is a look at the rebooted bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, from various angles. Pretty badass, but it doesn't compare to the second one. It's a full Enterprise crew cast shot taken on the bridge, only Abrams himself is in the captain's chair. As he should be. The poster above you might've seen before, but I love the design of it so much that I'm running it to go with this post. Hit the jump for the exclusive hotness. Read more...
Back in May, J.J. Abrams delighted fans and newcomers alike with his mass audience-friendly (yet still fan-serving) reboot of "Star Trek." It's been a six month wait, but finally we all get to enjoy the movie at home thanks to today's Blu-ray/DVD release. What many people may not realize however, is that the wait could have been longer.
"Trek" was originally set to hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2008. Paramount chose to delay that release to May 2009, which turned out pretty well. Abrams didn't mind either, since it gave him extra time to ensure that the movie would have something for all who might be interested. "We had the luxury of time," he said in a recent interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz. "I would argue that literally the last ten days of our post process we did 30% of the work." Read more...
"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...
It coulda been great! J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof — two of the key dudes behind "Lost" — were set to adapt Stephen King's sci-fi/fantasy opus, "The Dark Tower," for the big screen.
Such a seamless fit between material and filmmakers — it coulda be great, but it ain't gonna happen, as Abrams himself told MTV News' Josh Horowitz recently. "The 'Dark Tower' thing is tricky," he said. "It's such an important piece of writing. The truth is that Damon and I are not looking at that right now." Read more...
We were just discussing in the MTV Newsroom last week the fact that J.J. Abrams' reimagined take on "Star Trek" was this summer's "Dark Knight." They're both releases which transcended their geeky followings to deliver universally enjoyable movie-going experiences for one and all. Next week, the theatrical release finally comes home to DVD and Blu-ray for viewers to enjoy, along with all manner of other behind-the-scenes material.
Chief among those is Titan Entertainment's hardcover coffee table book, "Star Trek: The Art of the Film." Featuring a mixture of concept art, behind-the-scenes photos and movie stills, the book gives fans a look into the process of how the classic, decades-old franchise was translated to hold an appeal for modern audiences. After the jump, check out three exclusive design sketches of what eventually became the beast that pursued James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) during his stay on the ice planet Delta Vega. And you'll have a chance to see plenty more when "Star Trek: The Art of the Film" from Titan Books hits stores on November 17. Read more...
J.J. Abrams nailed the recasting of "Star Trek" icons James T. Kirk and Spock for his big screen reboot this past May. The question, "Who in the world could possibly replace William Shatner on the Enterprise flight deck?" was answered with the resounding cry, "Holy crap is Chris Pine good!"
With these casting achievements behind him, Abrams knows he's opened up some creative leeway in terms of replacing characters in the mythology. Could that lead to another go at the franchise's #1 villain, Khan? In a recent interview, Abrams admitted taking on the genetic superfreak would be a challenge, but one no bigger than ushering in new versions of Kirk and Spock. Read more...
When J.J. Abrams took on directing duties for "Mission: Impossible III," he tried to get Martin Landau – who played super-spy Rollin Hand in the original '60s TV series – to take on a cameo role in the movie. "[J]ust for fun," the director said recently, "and [I] was told that he had no interest in doing it."
Now we know why. In an interview with MTV News, Landau said he has no interest in appearing in an adaptation of a franchise of which he's fiercely protective and which he feels is not true to the original series. "I'm not interested in doing that," he explained. "Let the young Rollin Hand live on." Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: In 2006, J.J. Abrams was largely known as a TV guy, one of the creative minds behind fare like "Lost" and "Alias." Then came a turn in the directing chair for "Mission: Impossible III," when he popped off explosions galore around Tom Cruise, and Abrams' career was never the same. Rebooted "Star Trek," anyone?
Now, a fourth "Mission" is in the works. Will Abrams step back into the role that brought him from small-screen whiz kid to big-screen guru? That seems unlikely, as Abrams made clear in an interview with MTV News.
Continue reading J.J. Abrams Isn't Planning To Direct 'Mission: Impossible IV'
FROM MTV.COM: What's the bigger challenge: rebooting an iconic sci-fi franchise that had lapsed into disrepair, like an interstellar spacecraft whose warp drive missed a couple of tune-ups and could no longer handle faster-than-light-speed travel? Or following up that triumphant reboot with a flick that not only proves to be a worthy successor, but which sets fanboys' geek phasers on "Oh, hell yeah!"?
Such is the conundrum facing "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams and his creative team as they begin to brainstorm ideas for a sequel to May's $258 million-grossing hit. "The first one did what it was required to do, which was bring the family together and reset," Abrams explained in an interview with MTV News. "It was a bridge, no pun intended, between what came before, what the 'Star Trek' people knew and the 'Star Trek' of now. And that was the heavy lifting of the first film."
J.J. Abrams Sheds Light On Plan For 'Star Trek' Sequel
One of the better event blockbusters of the year was undoubtedly J.J. Abrams' franchise reboot of "Star Trek." It's been a lot of months and a lot of movies since that May release, but it's still a heavily anticipated home video release for this holiday season. He's got an auteur's sensibilities, and each successive bit of work he turns out brings that fact into clearer focus.
As a man who straddles both film and television, "Star Trek" is an amazingly good fit for Abrams. And now that he's well and truly nailed the movies side of things, one has to wonder what his plans might be for the small screen. After all, that's really where he defined himself, with series' like "Felicity" and "Alias." So when MTV's Josh Horowitz got to speak with Abrams earlier this week, one of the big questions was obviously what plans might be in store for a "Trek" TV series. Read more...
