First Draft of Roddenberry's Star Trek Pitch

A piece of Star Trek history has been posted online for the public to enjoy (for now) in the form of Gene Roddenberry's first draft of his Star Trek pitch. The PDF file can be found here. What make the pitch interesting are the changes that occurred from concept to final production. For example, Mr. Spock was "heavy-lidded and satanic" while the Captain of the "S.S. Yorktown" was Robert M. April (later retconned in via the novels as the first captain of the Enterprise). The pitch has early titles of a few familiar early episodes of the series, shows some of the concepts (like Parallel Worlds) that laid the foundation on why everything was conveniently Earth-like (and therefore cheaper to cast, costume and set build), and much more. It is an interesting look at how much Roddenberry had in mind from the onset and yet how much changed once the show passed the pilot phase and eventually entered into television history. (via IO9)

Abrams Undecided on Star Trek 2 in 3-D

Collider has posted a brief addendum to their interview with JJ Abrams' when they asked him the studio wanted Star Trek 2 to be in 3D ("Yep") and his thoughts on the format.

“I have nothing against 3-D in theory. But I’ve also never run to the movies because something’s in 3-D. [As for Trek], as soon as I read the script, if it says, “Somebody pushes a weapon toward the camera in a menacing way,” and we think, “That’d be better in 3-D!”… I dunno.”

Unless the 3D sales take a noticeable nosedive (and don't see how considering movie goers will have a difficult time avoiding them considering the volume of them being released) then I think Star Trek 2 will be in 3D. That battle was proven to be definitively lost the moment Peter Jackson was forced to make The Hobbit films in 3D and rumored to be planning to post convert the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Abrams Update on Star Trek 2 Script, Directing

In an interview with Collider about his various projects he has going (and there are many), the prolific director, writer and producer provided a status update on the script for Star Trek 2 and his decision on whether he will direct or not.

Do you have a date by which you have to decide whether you’re going to direct Star Trek 2?
ABRAMS: That’s a good question. I probably do. I don’t know. There’s a script that should be coming in, hopefully by the time there’s a trailer for Super 8 [March], and then we’ll know.

What’s the biggest proponent of that decision for you?
ABRAMS: I guess the idea of not wanting to choose to direct a film, for which I’ve not read a script. It’s a tough decision to make without seeing any pages. That’s not to say that I don’t have all the faith in the world in the spectacular writers. Damon Lindelof, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman are awesome. My hope is that they’ll write the script, it will be great and we can make a fun, exciting sequel to Star Trek.

Plinkett's Star Trek Review

Red Letter Media Mr. Plinkett is an odd reviewer. He creates these rather long reviews that typically tear movies a new one but does it in a way that is very entertaining and often right on nose. If you are a film student, his reviews of the Star Wars prequel films should practically be required viewing. His main focus is Star Trek and Star Wars with some branching out to other films. Unlike most reviewers, it quickly becomes clear that not only does he know films, but he actually has deep knowledge (or a crack research team) about the subject matter.

Below is a prime example as he spends a little over an hour breaking down JJ Abrams' Star Trek while comparing its story, characters and so much more to other films, Star Trek movies past, the series while using details about the Star Trek franchise that I barely even remember. The two part review is below or you can find them here.

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