The J.J. Abrams helmed reboot of the Star Trek franchise was a massive hit back in 2009, and though the sequel was due to hit cinemas in June 2012, script delays have forced Paramount to push the flick back to 2013.
The reason for the delay is that the key figures have all been busy working on other projects; Abrams was making ‘Super 8’, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman were working on ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ and developing the sci-fi epic ‘Ender’s Game’, and ‘Lost’ mastermind Damon Lindelof was helping Ridley Scott remold his ‘Alien’ prequel into the more original concept that became ‘Prometheus’.
Some months ago on the Trekkie fan site Trekmovie.com, Roberto Orci confirmed that they had completed a 70-page outline, though they were waiting for all the critical players to come together.
At the recent TCA Press Tour party for the upcoming CBS drama ‘Person of Interest‘, J.J. Abrams gave an update on the status of the highly anticipated sequel. He said how they’re focusing on the critical elements of the story but more importantly the audience experience, and are not so much concerned with scouting locations or other logistics at this stage. Paramount is very supportive of their approach, after all they’ve quickly become some of Hollywood’s most influential writers and producers, and the guys in suits are likely taking cues from them.
Christina Radish was at the press tour and got to ask Abrams about the film’s status and how the studios reacted to them not being able to make the original release date.
All they care about – and I had this discussion very recently with Rob Moore – is that the movie be good. No one wants to take a step backwards. They’ve been great.
Asked whether he’s officially signed on as director:
No. But, we’re working very hard on it and hopefully we’ll have something to talk about soon.
How does the shift in production affect the cast schedules:
The fact is that we never booked them, so it’s not like we’re unbooking them and switching and cancelling lunch dates. They all understand. They want to be in a good movie as well.
As for the status on the script for the Star Trek sequel, Abrams explained the writing process:
There have been a lot of things that we’ve been working on, a lot of important elements that we just know we need to really nail down and solve. Once you say, “We’re ready to go, but we don’t have a finished script yet,” or “I’m directing the thing and here’s the release date, but we don’t have a finished script,” what starts to happen – and I’ve seen this happen with a lot of friends of mine – is that you’re suddenly in production on a movie that they’re thinking, “Oh my god, we weren’t really ready. We thought we’d get it done in time, but we didn’t.” So, while we have a moment to say, “Let’s get the important things figured out,” then all the pre-production stuff will come.
But, I just want to make sure that we’re putting the story and the characters, the cast and the crew, and most importantly the audience, first before we start talking about exactly which locations we’re going to be shooting at and what the wardrobe and visual effects budgets are. It just seems important that we get the important stuff right first.
Expect Star Trek 2 to beam up sometime in early 2013.
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