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Star Trek Premiere Gets Standing Ovation, Surprise Showing In Austin
MrKaos writes "Proving that science fiction can still be great entertainment, J.J. Abrams appears to have impressed Star Trek fans at the official world premiere of Star Trek, who gave the film a five-minute standing ovation at the Sydney Opera House in Australia today. Meanwhile, mere hours beforehand, flummoxed fans at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, TX, deceived into thinking they were seeing a special, extended version of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, were pleasantly surprised when a disguised Leonard Nimoy greeted them and announced they would be seeing the new film in its entirety. ILM's influence on the film is reported as visually stunning, and lucky Australian fans are scheduled to see the movie first, as it opens a day before the American release."
.... I'd hate to see this guy have to do another plot synopsis ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
"Proving that science fiction can still be great entertainment"
When was this something that needed to be proven? I've found plenty of entertaining science fiction around. Did I miss the elitist newsletter that told us all we had to say science fiction was crap now?
Jeez, miss one meeting...
Those guys in Austin should demand a refund! They paid for a ticket for The Wrath of Khan, but that's not what they got. If it were me I'd be raising hell.
This guy's the limit!
I guess he didn't wear his ears.
Have you read my blog lately?
I like how the "visually stunning" link goes to a tech article about the equipment used for the Sydney showing. Maybe Soulskill can fill us in on how that ties in to ILM.
This guy's the limit!
It got an ovation, great. But are they allowing anyone to release any reviews? Was some of the ovation left over from the shock of what the actual movie was?
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
Well, you see, the Enterprise crashes on this planet, and all sorts of spooky things happen.
Meanwhile, these aliens, called "The Others" keep harassing the crew.
And there are lots of flashbacks to just before the Enterprise crashes.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
The audience consisted of trekkies, but I'm wondering; does that make the 5min. standing ovation more, or less impressive?
While I'll never get tired of seeing new Star Trek movies, you do have a point. 90% of what we see today is either a sequel, a retread, or a copycat. The fat cats are mostly interested in safe bets.
(Leonard Nimoy as a surprise guest [would that be an oxymoron (was he dressed in Vulcan prostitute garb?)?]?)
(loop (print (eval (read)))) ;-)
Well actually it was a free screening. I got there too late and was turned away because the theater was full. It would've been cool to see Nimoy. I say I would have walked out since I really wanted to see Khan, but honestly I'm sure the atomosphere was totally electric after Nimoy came out. I think all the good reviews coming out from that are more than likely colored by that fact. I'm sure I would have been caught up in it too even though I could give a crap about seeing the new one.
there opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
I hope it is worth it.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Personally as long as something is done well it don't have to be new. If the new incarnation of Star Trek is well made and entertaining, then I nothing is better than that. It is far easier for "established" licenses to get the budget movies like this get. Of course I wouldn't mind seeing something darker and more gritty than Star Trek within the realm of science fiction. But at least a well made movie constructed on an old concept is better than a crap movie based upon a new concept.
The Long Now Foundation
Every time he thinks about Megan Fox, he thinks about his organ.
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
FTFA:
Anton Yelchin's Russian accent in his portrayal of Chekov does get a bit annoying.
What do you expect Yelchin to do with that part, now that Koenig completely immortalized bad accents for Chekov?
I am officially gone from
Just curious, is Christopher Pike the captain of the enterprise? I saw some guy introduce himself as Kirk in the trailer. However since this is supposed to be predating the early series, Kirk wouldn't be captain yet. Pike would. Or is this yet another one of the billion plot holes?
Or Herbert's "Dune" saga. And no, a corny 80's cinematic abortion + a severely dumbed-down miniseries does not do the books any kind of justice.
write your state representative and senator and get them to support Representative Dawnna Duke's economic incentive bill.
Or you could just let them succeed or fail on their own merits like every other industr...
Never mind. Apparently, that's not how we do things anymore in America (or Texas). So yeah, give 'em a handout. Just make sure it's tied to some venue tax in Austin, so I don't have to pay for it.
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
Am I the only one to see the irony in someone claiming that the solution to the lack of original ideas is to copy ideas from books?
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Remember, this was a screening attended by trekkies and Harry Knowles-type movie dorks. These aren't people that know what a good movie is.
Hell, the trailers for the new Trek movie seem to indicate that Abrams took inspiration from - God help us - the Star Wars prequels.
It'll suck. Like almost all science-fiction movies from the past 15 or 20 years. And I'm a sci-fi fan.
It's actually, apparently, all well explained. Including other stuff like the Enterprise being built on the ground instead of in space.
You are who you are, let no one tell you different. But, never close your mind to a new point of view.
Most stuff like this gets previewed in Austin in order to buy Harry Knowles' endorsement. It's not a high barrier to entry. Studios usually just massage his ego with a visit to their set, an advance screening on his birthday, or bring him up on stage to introduce a screening. As if he knows two shits about anything (that youtube link is to a video of him introducing the Star Trek premiere mentioned in TFA).
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Let's not fool ourselves here-- if you think Hollywood has an idea shortage because they're recycling old ideas, stories, and characters, then all of humanity has had an idea shortage for a few thousand years, at least. And I say "at least" because the writers then may have been stealing ideas, but we just don't have records of the ideas they stole.
This era of reboots is fantastic in my opinion. It's what cultures do when they have a rich culture to draw from, which is that they take the old ideas and stories, and reinvent and reimagine them in a way that makes them relevant and poignant for the time. The original series was great for its time, but yeah, it's becoming increasingly dated as a relic of the 60s. The general setup of a band of explorers and the characters themselves, however, still have relevance.
Oh heck, if you want space opera, it would be great to see something - anything by E.E. Doc Smith turned into a movie. In order to not be downright ludicrous, it would need to be done with tongue heavily in cheek, like "Big Trouble in Little China". (How anyone could say some of those lines, keep it straight, and not crack up on the spot is beyond me.)
On the mildly more serious side of space opera, I seem to remember hearing that someone is taking on "The Foundation Trilogy".
Or for newer space opera, any of Alistair Reynolds or Peter K Hamilton stuff would work well. I don't think general audiences are ready yet for Iaian Banks or The Culture.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
One lonely, obese man cries out for Kahn.
When will Shatner finally admit his defeat?
Those guys in Austin should demand a refund! They paid for a ticket for The Wrath of Khan, but that's not what they got. If it were me I'd be raising hell.
The story I heard via word of mouth was that they were actually going to play Wrath of Khan, with ten minutes of sneak-preview footage from the movie that hadn't been seen before as a bonus. However shortly after Wrath started playing, the old and damaged film caught fire and was destroyed. Then Nimoy revealed himself, and instead of showing the 10 minute teaser, they showed the whole film.
linky I found on a Drafthouse blog, btw.
I can't imagine (though I guess it's possible) even Spock himself would dare show the full movie without authorization. So that may have been planned. The destruction of a print of Wrath... probably wasn't.
The last time I had a film burn up (actually it was the projector bulb that exploded, side effect was the print was destroyed) all I got was a lousy refund. Getting to watch a world premiere of a movie I'd probably be interested in, rather than having my night out ruined, is way way better than a refund.
I seriously fucking wish I had been there and I may have been but I didn't even know they were running Wrath. Why do I not check the Drafthouse web page more often?!
The enemies of Democracy are
I still think they should make a movie of Zelazny's Lord of Light. One of the best damned SF books ever written. Besides, who wouldn't watch a movie with a talking monkey.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Dude, you would complain about a blowjob.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
"gave the film a five-minute standing ovation at the Sydney Opera House in Australia today."
The Star Trek fans did exactly the same at the end of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and that is one of the worst movies of the franchise. I suspect the applause had more to do with seeing Star Trek *return* than any relation to artistic merit.
On the other hand:
Maybe I'm just being cynical. Abrahms produces a lot of crap. Lost sucks (boring - slow as molasses), and Alias was also lousy except for the brilliant first season. I am not expecting anything from him.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
When even I look at the new Spock, I see Sylar. I'm all for actors branching out, but Sylar is just too strong a character for me to forget him quickly, no matter how good the acting is.
If they were pissed, they are morons. They've seen Khan a hundred times already in every format imaginable. Chances are good that the real event will happen again.
I mean, if this is actually a good film, who wouldn't want to be able to tell their friends that they got to see if first? With Nimoy, no less?
FAIL.
Just in point of fact. A bridesmaid is a woman who stands with the bride on her wedding day. A "bride's maid" is someone hired to clean the brides house (I guess).
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
You know there was ONE huge trekkie there that was actually mad he wasn't seeing the special extended version of wrath of khan and was forced to watch the new movie.
Sorry, but it's not like ignoring Nemesis would result in the Trek franchise being unsullied, so I don't see it the same as the fact that there is only one Matrix movie. There were already bad Treks, including even numbered ones, and that's just part of the series charm... I guess.
No what really happened is that Nemesis was a real movie, and a real shitty movie. Nemesis was not just an even numbered Trek that sucked, it was an even numbered Trek that sucked so hard that it dragged everything around it into itself until its huge mass of suck collapsed and formed a singularity, making a wormhole into another dimension where the old odd-even rule simply doesn't apply any more.
Nemesis broke the pattern, literally. It's busted. We're in a new world where anything can happen, including good odd-numbered Treks. Also, I think Neptune is slightly more purple in this universe.
The enemies of Democracy are
And if it wasn't opening a day before in Australia... they wouldn't get to see it first?? (before the U.S.)
In any case, Australians are NOT scheduled to see it first, as it opens TWO days before the U.S. in Belgium, France and Switzerland.
http://www.startrekmovie.com/releasedates/
Quote from one of the reviewers:
This 11th film is easily the best looking, most expensive, best produced iteration in the franchise. This film is going to be absolutely massive. It's epic in scale, and it's easy to see where the $150 million went.
Is anyone else actually excited by this kind of thing? Who here can say they enjoyed Reloaded or Revolutions more than The Matrix? I was really hoping for reviews to tell me how compelling the acting and story were, but it really seems to be all about the expense. Am I missing something?
But that means all of the cams will have crappy Australian subtitles!
And for God's sake, build a crazy-expensive professional sports stadium on the taxpayers' dime while you're at it. This is America, dammit!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Star Trek fans have a different mind set the Star Trek fans.
Star Wars: "You better be better then our memories of the first time we saw Star Wars bitch!"
Star Trek fans: "Alright, another Star Trek! Let's be excited for the privileged!"
Oddly enough, even people who are a fan of both have those attitudes toward the respective franchises.
I suspect it has to do with the roots of the franchise. ST was hard fought by the fans SW came out of the gates blowing people away.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Several interpretations for that;
First they got angry with the movie, destroyed all the seats, and then started hitting and slapping each one for going to see it. In a lights out, you only see a lot of standing people and the clapping sound.
Or.. the seats were all taken by the actors, red shirts, extras, old series characters, etc, so the people that went to the cine had to be standing. The movie finished, the director said "ok, now lets go for a beer to forget this" and got an ovation.
PR always give weird twists to stories.
There's a big Hollywood trend for shakey-cam shots, be it Michael Bay, the Bourne movies, Battlestar Galactica, whatever. It'd bad enough when the camera is bobbing and weaving in a conversation between two people sitting down in a comfortable room, absolutely nausea-inducing in an action scene, and seems to have made its way into space as well. Given the limitations of model work, the old Star Treks always had a sedate and stately feel. When Babylon 5 really blew the doors off the idea of using CGI for space battles, they still used admirable constraint while pushing boundaries. Some of the battles by season 5 got a bit muddled, though.
Just going from the trailers of this movie, it looks like we might almost have a Blair Witch level of confusion and nausea in the space battle. The frantic clips appeared to be a kaleidoscope of beams, explosions, and whirling pieces of ships. Does it get any better in context?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
First screening impressions sometimes don't mean anything.
I would like to piggy-back on your comment suggesting early reviews were coloured by the excitement (which is probably bang-on) and point out that in the theatre where I watched the first screening of Star Wars: Episode I, there was a standing ovation after the movie was over.
Later I realized there was a standing ovation BECAUSE the movie was over.
Or for newer space opera, any of Alistair Reynolds or Peter K Hamilton stuff would work well. I don't think general audiences are ready yet for Iaian Banks or The Culture.
I think Consider Phlebas would make a good movie. There's enough action and special effects to appeal to a wide audience.
Lensman movies, done right, could be great.
Lord of Light would be a great movie. Amber could be a really good miniseries if done right - not a sci fi/scyfy/whatever , but a HBO Deadwood or Rome funded project.
The only book I've heard being worked on for a movie that interests me lately is Rama. Although how bad they'll screw that up I'm not sure.
I might have to turn in my slashdot id for this but, I have never seen Wrath of Kahn in any form... just never got around to it.
And I'm totally jealous of those that got to see the new movie!
www.rdex.net
It's not possible to do any good novel justice in a movie. A two hour movie can do justice to a short story. A miniseries can do justice to a novella. A good novel requires a series, and probably two or three seasons. It's not a question of whether a movie is going to bastardize the book it's based on, the question is just, how badly?
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
I don't get this sentiment. If the Internet has shown us anything, it is the fans are the most critical audience. If the movie had been bad, there would have been a riot.
Well, I think there are degrees of 'Fan'.
A small subset consists of those who camp out for a week before the opening of "Phantom Menace" and who confuse the experience of camaraderie with "Good Film". I know guys who swear to this day that they loved that movie.
"Serenity" was similar, (another film I considered sub-par compared to the original series), in that the fans formed a powerful collective joy amongst themselves in the 'fight' to see a film made and who lost all critical faculty as a result.
I also couldn't stand Kevin Smith's "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back". After really enjoying "Dogma" I couldn't believe how stupid his new film was, but the fan base was so tightly wound with a sense of supporting a favored under-dog that it didn't really matter what the film was about.
I love being Fan(atical) about something, (and it doesn't happen often enough these days), but when I recommend the stuff I am that way about, I always take a moment to qualify my reviews with the fact that I'm lacking a degree of sanity on whatever I happen to be promoting with such zeal.
-FL