Wheaton Upbeat About Abrams Trek
Written by Ian Cullen on July 9, 2008 – 11:30 am -
By Ian M. Cullen
In a recent interview for Geek magazine former Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Wil Wheaton gave his point of view about J.J. Abrams and the pending Star Trek movie which is looking to reboot the movie series for a wider audience.
For the last year and a half we have been hearing many media terms such as reinvent – make it better. This movie is going to be the best – and a film that a mainstream audience can truly embrace. It’s nothing new – we as fans have heard all of this before which is something with Wheaton said himself.
However you can make allowances for certain movie and TV producers if they have a good track record – and J.J. Abrams in recent years has proven his worth in the arena of genre television and movies. He also feels that the people working on this movie have both a unique and daunting challenge.
“Star Trek is a phenomenon that spans generations. It has one of the most passionate, entrenched fan bases in the history of media. The truth is, over the last several years, Star Trek was run into the ground and the franchise was nearly destroyed by the films and the television series that were not being guided by a good hand.
“J.J. Abrams is a pretty good filmmaker. Cloverfield and the first season of Lost were great. So you have this guy who’s really creative and has a pretty good track record of making science-fiction related programs and you put him in the right seat and say, ‘Now fly this franchise and recreate it.’ The pressure that he must be under to deliver something magnificent, and the amount of studio interference must be enduring, has got to be nearly indescribable. So I have a lot of sympathy and understanding based on those things.
“But as a sci-fi fan, we live in a post Phantom Menace world. That movie was a huge kick in the nuts to a lot of people. For those of us that Star Wars meant more to us than just a movie, it was devastating. I think the same thing with Star Trek. It means more to people than just being a TV show. If you look at the track record that Hollywood has making lifelong properties that really matter to people into movies you see a string of failures. Star Trek fans really want this to be good.”
In the movies Star Trek had a hit and miss record – the original series movies it was the odd numbers that won fan and mainstream acclaim. The Next Generation however by and large had an awful track record in movie theatres – First Contact being their best outing. Generations was made on the fly and felt to many myself included like a two part episode – same can be said that Insurrection – so by the time Nemesis came along most fans were running for cover. Wheaton for his part is a little less kind than me when he talks about the movies.
“Oh, they’re horrible! There are two really great mainstream films, and two that are really enjoyable for Star Trek, fans, and the remainder are unwatchable. If we’re going to be Star Trek fans and hold J.J. Abrams to a certain level of excellence we have to be willing to admit and acknowledge that we’re even lucky this is even happening at all.”
More from Wheaton can be found here.
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- Wil Wheaton Reacts To JJ Abrams Star Trek Comments
- Abrams Offers Two ‘Star Trek’ Premiere Tickets For Charity Auction
- ‘Star Trek’ Is For Everyone
- New Trek Brings A Fresh Look At Kirk and Spock
- Simon Pegg Geeks Out For J.J Abrams Star Trek
Tags: JJ Abrams, Star Trek, Wil Wheaton
Posted in SF-TV & Movie News | 1 Comment »
By Shinobi on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply
Primo stuff, Ian!
I have to tell you, it does a trekkie like me proud to read commentaries from iconic character actors such as Will Wheaton, particularly when they echo much of the same sentiment about previous ST movies as other fans. And so unrelentingly honest too! LOL That last quote was an absolutely on the money!
More importantly, however, is his enthusiasm about the newest installation of Star Trek cinema. Thoroughly contagious. Great editorial!