Genre: Science Fiction/Action.
Studio:
Paramount Pictures.
Production Company:
Paramount Pictures.
Project Phase: In the Can.
Who's In It:
Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard); Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker); Brent Spiner (Lieutenant
Commander Data); Michael Dorn (Lieutenant Commander Worf); Marina Sirtis (Counsellor Deanna Troi);
Gates McFadden (Doctor Beverly Crusher); LeVar Burton (Commander Geordi LaForge); Donna Murphy (Anji);
F. Murray Abraham (Ru'fao); Anthony Zerbe (Admiral Matthew Daugherty).
Who's Making It:
Jonathan Frakes (Director); Michael Piller (Screenwriter); Rick Berman (Producer);
Michael Piller, Rick Berman (Story Developers); Patrick Stewart (Associate Producer).
Premise: Captain Picard is forced to choose between his alliegance with Starfleet and the Federation or a group caught in the crossroads of galatic debate.
Release Date: December 11, 1998.
Comments: Paramount wants to move ahead developing its new Trek feature. Former Trek scribes Brannon Braga and Ronald Moore aren't involved with this project.
Developments
May, 1997... Patrick Stewart is the first to sign on for the new film. Later in the month it is revealed he will earn $12 million to return as Captain Picard.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
April 16, 1997... Paramount announces active development of the next Trek film. Nothing else is known save that executive producer Michael Piller is the screenwriter and the storyline will feature a "strong character arc" for Captain Picard. Rick Berman, the film's producer, will develop the story with Piller. No mention of a role for Alan Rickman yet (sorry, couldn't resist!) [Scoops submitted by 'LB2000', 'H.B.', J.C. Cox and 'FraggleMom'.]
May 29 - June 3, 1997... Make it so for $12 million. Details on Stewart's contract are revealed - the actor will net a stellar $11 mil to reprise Picard for the third feature, as well as serve in a exec producer role. [Scoops sent in by ZENtertainment, Cory, 'Brossert', 'widgett', 'LB 2000', 'Moonbeast', 'eeilerts', and anonymously.]
On last weekend's SF Vortex show (on the Sci-Fi Channel), Trek producer Michael Piller let it slip that the story will feature Data in both a good and bad way; however, it appears he was merely playing off of the fears of a previous caller's question. Whether Berman was alluding to the return of Data's evil twin android brother Lore or yet another manifestation of his emotion chip, or another entirely new angle (or nothing at all) remains to be seen. Berman also mentioned that a villain seen before from the syndicated TV series will return (but not the Borg); that there will be "changes" to the crew relationships; and that Picard's character will also change. Also rumored is that the storyline follows along a Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness trail.
[Additional info sent in by 'fxmulder'.]
Also...rumors are starting to circulate that Jonathan Frakes has been offered the director's chair again. [Scoops sent in by 'Simon Templar', 'jrspacer', and anonymously.]
Another scooper reports that they've heard from a friend doing preliminary work for the new movie about a supposed plan. This plan is to "bring in Deep Space 9 AND Voyager into the next movie", the thought being that the two television series would benefit from the big screen exposure a Next Generation feature would bring. A contingency plan would be put into effect if rating for Voyager dipped again this coming season, bringing the Voyager crew back home via events that transpired in the new feature film. [Sent in anonymously.]
July 21, 1997... Rumor Control would like to dispell some of the Trek rumors overheard these days. First off, there's a strong rumor making the circuit that the new storyline has Picard finding out he's actually a Romulan who was implanted into Federation society. As Picard makes his way back into Romulan space, Data aquires the emotion of ambition and embarks on a quest for promotion. Kiddies, let's realize that Piller is writing the script just now, and there's no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that this storyline could be this solidified and detailed at this stage. (The actual rumor has been going around for months, and started before Stewart was confirmed for the sequel.)
Second rumor, and the better one we think, is the 'civil war' storyline that people keep sending in to us. This plot has a number of Federation captains, upset at the annex of solar systems in Federation space by the Cardassian Empire, break away from Starfleet. About every classically-trained Shakespearian British actor has been sent to CA from people who swear this is true: Ian McKellan, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branaugh and Brian Blessed being some of the more popular actors mentioned.
We hate to be the ones to bust your hopes but we're sorry to say we started this rumor last April 1st as something we would like to see in the next Trek film. Of course, we are open to any Paramount rep approaching us to develop the storyline... [Thanks to the many Trek scoopers with Vulcan hearing abilities.]
July 27, 1997... According to this scooper, the UK Official Trek Fan Club interviewed writer Michael Piller about his concepts for new movie and Piller revealed a basic storyline. Supposedly, Lore will be re-activated and seizes control of a super-warship with which he plans to use to take revenge on the Enterprise crew. "In general the film seems to have a Star Trek II style behind it, 'Gazza' writes, "but with the main conflict between Data and Lore rather than Kirk and Khan. Also there will be a major argument between Picard and Data and both will have to make big sacrifices. Piller also explains that he wants to use a lot of action and tension in the film (sounds like he really wants to create a good atmosphere.)" [Reported by 'Gazza'.]
August 5, 1997... One of the clauses in Patrick Stewart's contract was the right to refuse scripts...and it looks like the actor has exercised that right. According to our source, Stewart has rejected Piller and Berman's first draft for the movie. Now the writers have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a whole new idea - which leads the scooper to suppose that all the previous story ideas rumored have just become null and void. [Scooped by 'Gazza'.]
August 24, 1997... Many AOL scoopers have written in telling us that the Stewart/script denial rumor is untrue. According to the submitters, a fellow by the name of Don Granger, an executive in Paramount overseeing the project, frequently posts on AOL Star Trek discussions and denied its authenticity. According to Granger, things are proceeding very smoothy and Stewart is happy with the direction Piller is heading. [Scoops sent in by 'MSmart5656', Thomas and many anonymous entries.]
Also, the personal assistant of Michael Piller, Eric Stillwell, denied that Piller gave the UK interview mentioned in our July 27th scoop. [Handed in anonymously.]
In an interview, Patrick Stewart hinted that the storyline for the third film will be lighter in tone than the two heavy drama pieces seen previously. Stewart mentioned Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as the same type of approach he'd like to see in the next Trek film. [Handed in by Thomas and 'staticd'.]
October 13, 1997... Late last week two rumors surfaced about the new Trek production: that Jonathan Frakes has agreed to direct and star in the picture, and that Brent Spiner will reprise his role as Lieutenant Commander Data for a reported $5 million paycheck. We assumed that Paramount would confirm these two stories in a short manner, since so many people were reporting the news to CA. But Paramount never did.
Of the two rumors, the Frakes one has the most strength to it. Microsoft's Continuum, their Web-based Star Trek site reported Frakes returning to the director's chair again. Many industry 'buzz' columns have also covered this story, which then got slowly changed until it sounded like a done deal. From our digital forensic investigation, here's how the gossip got started:
November 10, 1997... It seems that there's been some Paramount execs visiting the Sony Pictures Imageworks building in Culver City these days, and the hot gossip in the building corridors concerns something is up about the new Trek movie. After the impressive debut of Imageworks' latest resume credit (Starship Troopers) chock full of CGI spaceship sequences one's mind can only wonder what the discussion behind closed doors is about. But on the downside, the release date may slip away until May 1999 if a Mission: Impossible sequel doesn't materialize to fill Paramount's summer 1998 schedule. But would Star Trek producers give up their cushy holiday spot? [Submitted on our hailing frequency by 'Zarquon'.]
November 16, 1997... News from a scooper who just completed a press interview with Michael Dorn last Thursday. Most of the interview had to do with this week's Deep Space Nine episode ("You Are Cordially Invited") but he did mention that the new Trek was scheduled to start in March with a projected Holiday '98 release. Dorn also said he's hoping to be in the picture but it's not definite. He also said that Paramount would like to go into a 7th season of DS9 but that wasn't a done deal yet. [Thanks to the Andorian captain known only as 'KJB'.]
November 18, 1997... This past weekend at a lecture composer Jerry Goldsmith was giving at London's National Film Theatre, he publically stated that he will be scoring the next Trek film. [Scoop sent in by 'ma6jes'.]
Meanwhile, in an interview with Yahoo!'s Internet Life magazine, Frakes confirms his role directing Trek 9. Well, we wanted to hear it from the man himself before we absolutely accepted it. [Sent in by 'Trek Hunter 47'.]
December 9, 1997... In an interview with the Official Star Trek magazine of Australia, screenwriter Michael Piller lets slip some details about the new Trek's storyline. In the interview Piller confirms that all the supporting cast members have signed. Picard's morals will lay with a group of 600 individuals, and his actions will isolate him from those of Starfleet's and the Federation, all for the sake of the well-being of the six hundred. Berman also goes so far as to call the storyline "a farce", but in the vein of Moliere. There will be many twists and turns, and the story will cover the spectrum of heavy drama to farcical comedy fare, but overall the key is a center on the unique 'family' nature of the crewmates. Data is involved in some major mystery for the first 30 pages, which will then reveal itself into the larger plot mystery. There will also be attention paid to the supporting characters, including a possible 'couple' pairing between Riker and as-yet unnamed character. The working subtitle that will not be used in the final title is 'Stardust', a borrowing of Moliere. [Kudos to 'Trek Hunter 47'-- twice!]
December 11, 1997... Wow. Our Trek scoop for December 9, in which we accidentally reported that the interview was with Rick Berman, when it should've said Michael Piller, made waves and got people confused. Sorry about that gang! [Thanks to the nice group of friendly Klingons who beamed into our offices this morning and got the matter sorted out with only a mimimal loss to human life.]
Again, to clarify the working subtitle 'Stardust' used with the project: this is being used by the production and will not be used to market the film. Also, the comedy element is downplayed in the second draft, in favor of more drama. [Thanks to 'Trek Hunter 47' for saving our bacon, again.]
December 14, 1997... "Hey there folks! Michael Piller, the writer on the new Star Trek movie, just did a chat on Trekweb.com he talked about ST9. I'll just cut and paste the important stuff relating to the new Trek flick. Just do me a favour, will you FINALLY POST ONE OF MY SCOOPS, ALREADY???!!! Yer drivin' me crazy here!" Better yet, we created a seperate page for the substantial chat transcript. In the discussion, Piller reveals more about the plot that anything else we've heard before, more than enough to whet the appetites of Trek fans over the world.
In the discussion, Piller gives away these tidbits:
December 17, 1997... As reported as well on Dark Horizons, we've received email stating that the proposed storyline for the film revolves around the Enterprise attempting to relocate 600 settlers to a planet which has the secret of eternal life. But a group of renegade Starfleet personnel (Hmmm...sounds suspiciously like another Civil War idea popping up again...) led by Data (?) attempt to take control of the planet and only Picard can stop them. Will the rumor pan out? Let's wait and see. [Sent to us by 'Pyro'.]
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December 23, 1997... One scooper tells us that the Starfleet renegades attempting to overtake the planet that hold the secret of
immortal life do so with the help of Data, and not led by Data. [Sen by 'Pyro'.] January 6, 1998... One of our regular contributors tells us Star Trek 9 is now in full-blown pre-production. Construction of the sets, including some cave-type dwellings, has long-since been completed. Another set, the bridge for another starship besides the Enterprise-E, is going through its final touch-ups. Could this be Riker's new command? [A big Romulan pat on the back to 'Robnhud'.] January 12, 1998... We've been told that in the latest Star Trek Communicator, producer Rick Berman said there are three major guest roles in the film, two male and one female. These parts have not yet been cast. [Anonymous.] We occasionally get some fantastic artwork sent in to CA, but our policy is to usually choose not to post it up since it really doesn't have a rightful place on a page. But when Jason Spriggs sent us in this picture, we thought we might break our rule for once. We're pretty sure that this isn't a preliminary poster for Star Trek 9: Transcendence, but a very creative teaser poster manufactured using already-existing images of the Trek stars from their previous outing in First Contact with a little Photoshop thrown in. Right Jason? Right??? [Thanks to Jason Spriggs for sharing the image with the gang. Click on it for a larger poster-sized version.]
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January 22, 1998... An anonymous scooper tells us that the ship just recently seen in this week's episode of Star Trek: Voyager may play a prominent role in the new movie. His friend, an associate at ILM, told the scooper to watch the January 21st episode of Voyager that featured the U.S.S. Prometheus, a new Federation ship that has something called an 'multi-vectored assault mode' built-into it, because it may be seen again. Some of the detailed Prometheus sets, such as the bridge and sickbay, may be seen in Star Trek 9 on a different ship but from the same class design. The scooper wondered whether this could be the 'new ship' Riker commands during the new film. [Thanks to anonymous.]
January 25, 1998... When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek more than thirty years ago, we're pretty sure he anticipates a future where no practical jokes or toilet humor existed. What gives? Just because you've signed up with the Federation, it doesn't have to mean you can't place a whoopie cushion on the Klingon delegate's chair or hide a laughing box somewhere on the bridge, right?
This scooper thought along the same path as us when they heard about the film's inspiration with Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and sent us this email to prove their point...
"Not really a scoop - but more of 'You've opened a literary can-of-worms which demented english majors can take advantage of' and primarily for your entertainment. You may diseminate if you think others will get the outlandish humor and can follow the thread...
February 10, 1998... An effects company learned today that they've been awarded 171 out of the total 258 FX shots in the upcoming Trek film. It was also mentioned a fellow named Jim Rygiel is the project's visual effects supervisor for the film. Our problem is -- what's the name of the FX company?? The scooper forgot to include that! [Thanks to 'Zarquon', but get back to us with the rest of the scoop!]
February 12, 1998... VIFX (also known as BlueSky) and Santa Barbara Studios were the FX companies awarded the Star Trek 9 job. One anonymous scooper mentioned that these were the lowest bidders of the houses that bid on the contract. As mentioned in the last scoop, the Jim Rygiel in question worked for Boss Films effects before that company went out of business. [Thanks to ensigns 'alacran', '667951c', 'Cozumel Fan Club' and anonymous.]
February 22, 1998... This scooper now tells us the Son'a being are not the natives of the planet. Instead they are a powerful race allied to Starfleet who eventually turn out to be in cahoots with the bad guys.
Here;s how our scooper tells us things are shaping up over there:
"As of the 'Production Draft' on January 15, 1998 -- the most current draft as of this writing -- the movie starts off with Anij, a 38-ish female native of you-know-where, and a peaceful view of the planet and its inhabitants; we then realize that the inhabitants are being observed by a group of people who are cloaked (in the Star Trek sense of the term, of course). Suddenly, one of the cloaked people opens fire on the other cloaked observers...it's Data! He then steals a spacecraft, opens fire on the big Son'a ship in orbit, and holds the planet and those on the surface hostage...
"Here the most current draft (that people other than Mike, Rick and Jonathan have) as of this writing -- here's how the last scene goes!"
Page 123, Sc. 293:
Riker takes Troi's hand suggesting perhaps a new permanent commitment. Picard moves to join the others, presses his commbadge.
PICARD
Enterprise.. seven to beam up. Energize.
Picard exchanges a final look with Anji as they DEMATERIALIZE.
The scooper tells us that Anji is Picard's beautiful "semi-love interest" in the movie. Worf's also on board the Enterprise as part of an elite security detail: there's a big "shindig" on the Enterprise early in the movie, involving lots of Starfleet VIP's, and he's providing security. [Scoop-o-rama sent in by 'Robnhud.]
March 4, 1998... Marina Sirtis was in Australia recently for a convention and to promote a new Star Trek exhibit at a place called Scienceworks. Anyway, the scooper's heard from two sources (radio station TT FM 101.1 and the newspaper The Age) that Troi and Riker have a scene in the film where they are share a bubble bath! Looks like a concrete sign that there's a romantic angle between the two characters. [Relayed via subspace by 'Lt. Cmdr Kangaroo'.]
March 12, 1998... As practically everyone else online has reported, a reportedly authentic treatment for the new film's storyline has been spread across the Internet. If the treatment is false, the writer did a good job with his rumor homework: we count at least seven items previously sent in as scoops to CA used in this treatment: the character of Anji, Picard's romantic feelings towards her, the introduction of the Son'a race, Data starting the film off as a villain, Riker and Troi's rekindled romance, the planet's 'Fountain of Youth'-like properties and Picard's crisis between duty and morality.
New plot elements such as the region of space the Bak'u's homeworld is located in (the 'Briar Patch', a particularly festive-looking region of space) and the fleshing out of Starfleet's role in the story are also in the treatment. There is more scenes for Geordi and Beverly, a mention of DS9, Dax and the Dominion War, space battles, subterfuge, romance, new weapons and ships and comedic scenes (particularly at the expense of Worf.)
But is this the treatment? It seems it 'magically' appeared on many Star Trek-devoted sites sometime on Tuesday evening; after that, the Internet has been buzzing about it. So far, Paramount Pictures has had no comment. If this is the working treatment for the film, everything has been revealed before one frame of film has been shot.
Since almost every Trek fan online has now read the treatment what are some of your thoughts on the story? Here's what one of our scoopers had to say:
"The storyline looks a lot different from anything they've done before - original crew or TNG crew - and looks quite promising. The production team have at last, it seems, realised that a basic part of the Star Trek story was the character development of the crew 'family'.
The film also seems to have considerable reference to the goings-on in DS9 vis-a-vis the Dominion and the wedding of Worf and Dax. I nkow a lot of folks will also be glad to see Troi and Riker finally get together." -- Gareth Williams
[Thanks to all these enlisted Starfleet officers for patrolling the Neutral Zone for us: Gareth Williams, 'Robnhud', 'darkcable' and those anonymous senders.]
April 5, 1998... With Donna Murphy landing the role as Anji, our sources now tell us Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham is heavily favored to land the role of the picture's main villain, Ru'fao.
Rumors continue to abound as to who'll play Starfleet Admiral Matthew Daugherty. There's been talk that Gene Hackman, Wilford Brimley or Geoffrey Rush. Screenwriter Rick Berman recently told the Star Trek Communicator magazine that there will be some surprises in terms of guest casting, including one surprise that he thinks fans are going to adore. "This suggests that if the Hackman rumor is false, then they have at least snagged someone of his caliber," one of our scoopers theorized.
The Star Trek Communicator also gave a synopsis of the film. They described the storyline as Picard saving the Federation from itself. Standing alone to protect a magical colony of beings from annihilation, Picard's enemies include a new race known as the Son'a, a group of strange aliens who will do anything they can do to steal the "magic" of the colony. Picard will become involved with a woman from the colony who teaches him remarkable new ways of perceiving the world.
So basically, the leaked story synopsis looks to be 100% accurate.
[Thanks to 'Robnhud', 'doink63', 'miker0478', and anonymous.]
Last week the production was shooting, with some scenes being filmed in the Enterprise library. ['Robnhud's tricorder picked this up.]
April 7, 1997... At last weekend's Star Trek Glad Slam Convention, Paramount spokesperson Richard Arnold apparently confirmed that Anthony Zerbe has also been cast in the film. With Donna Murphy cast ab Anji and F. Murray Abraham the front-runner for the part of R'ufao, Zerbe's role would probablybe that of Starfleet Admiral Daugherty. [Scooped by 'Brian281'.]
Our scooper has heard the word direct from Jerry Goldsmith's assistant, Lois Carruth. Goldsmith is back on board the franchise to score the ninth feature. [Shuttlecraft mail dropped off by 'C'.]
April 11, 1998... Here's the latest news straight from the set courtesy of 'Robnhud':
"Info handed down to me from someone who I know who DOES ACTUALLY work on the set........
April 16, 1998... If you haven't heard yet...two days ago Paramount issued a press release confirming the guest actors in their rumored roles. [Thanks to our manned Federation listening posts for the message.]
May 5, 1998... We've been told the film's teaser trailer will be shipping out to theaters on June 1st, and tagging a ride inside the film cans of The Truman Show and Saving Privtae Ryan; the scooper also hears it will "definitely" be attached to the Paramount films A Night at the Roxbury and Payback. But by the time the trailer was assembled and prints run off, 30% of the movie had been shot so don't expect to see a dynamic representation of the movie's scenes. Still, Paramount is putting a lot of effort into making this Trek trailer a memorable one we're told. The film's final trailer is slated for an early October release to theaters.
Our scooper also reports that the film's action sequences have been "considerably beefed-up" while the comedic elements have been toned down: "...the Riker-Troi thing isn't as integral or dynamic as you'd think." The scooper said it's not shaping up to be the best Trek of the new crew but the film is the most action-oriented of the three. [Anonymous.]
May 7, 1998... Paramount Pictures registered the title Star Trek: Rebellion this week at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). This comes a couple of days after a rumor that Patrick Stewart, in his role as associate producer, vetoed 'Prime Directive' as the film's subtitle. [Scoop broken by 'TrekHunter' and 'Robnhud'.]
May 19, 1998... Now word comes in that Paramount has officialy registered the title Star Trek: Defiance with the MPAA. And the revolving door goes around... [Thanks to 'Robnhud' and anonymous.]
May 24, 1998... A MINOR CHARACTER SPOILER can be swiped by you below if you so choose:
Counselor Troi will shave off Commander Riker's beard halfway through the film.
['Robnhud' went behind Romulan lines.]
May 26, 1998... As of now Paramount has officially registered 9 titles for this film. On the May 20th daily title registration report for the Motion Picture Association of America, if you turn to page four you'll see the following Trek titles registered:
Star Trek: (The) Prime Directive
Star Trek: Betrayal
Star Trek: Defiance
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Mutiny
Star Trek: Rebellion
Star Trek: Revolution
Star Trek: (IX) 9
Star Trek: The Enemy Within
Wacky, no? Perhaps Paramount is undecided which subtitle to choose just yet, or perhaps they want to keep the Internet sites guessing until the final moment.
['GF2020' is first on the scene with the info, followed by Gareth Williams, "Rebel Scum', and anonymous.]
June 10, 1998... On Monday Paramount changed its mind again. The picture now has a new subtitle: 'Insurrection'. The fan reaction we've seen can be summed up in one word: "Ehh." At least the studio finally made a decision! [Federation operatives included 'Screenwriter1138', QJScott, 'Poet', 'rdalziel', 'Robnhud47', Gareth Williams, 'Chuckster', 'muselix730', 'TrekHunter' and anonymous readers.]
July 7, 1998... Principal photography wrapped last week and so now the film moves on into the post production phase. Although there's still no guarantee of when a trailer will be seen, quite possibly something may appear in front of Saving Private Ryan. Remember that word: possibly. [Written in pink highlighter scribble on the side of a photon tube by 'Robnhud', the Federation's Most Wanted.]
July 14, 1998... The man has to be phased. 'Robnhud' briefly becomes corporeal to give us the latest word on the trailer and a possible subtitle change...
"Well, things are getting VERY VERY interesting. The boys and girls over at Paramount can't make up their minds on a title for ST9.
"Turns out, most of the Paramount brass and the fans are not too pleased with the title (INSURRECTION), Paramount is SERIOUSLY considering changing the title. To WHAT is still a mystery.
"About the trailer... well due to the above circumstance, that's ANOTHER reason why we haven't seen one. And from the info that's been passed to me, there isn't even one 'in the can yet'. Looks like August 7 for Snake Eyes.... MAYBE.
"More soon to come."
And with that he shifted back into his previous phased state, back to observe Frakes in post-production...
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['Robnhud'.] July 19, 1998... Star Trek is known far and wide for its enthusiastic fans and the Internet seems to be the abode of some of them. Take Cory Richards for example. A fan of Trek and CA, Cory's created a mock-up of a teaser poster using Paint Shop Pro. You may remember we ran another mock-up poster back in January, and while it's not standard policy to include fan material on the CA film pages, Cory obviously spent a load of time working on it...and it'll give us something to look at while we continue to wait for the Insurrection trailer to finally be released. OK, and his Insurrection taglines were pretty nifty too... [Image created by Cory Richards.]
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Another piece 'o gossip has it that P'mont now wants to change the release date from the 11th to the 18th.
We're taking a cautious approach with both of these claims. The safest bet is to simply give the studio a couple of weeks to confirm or deny it. [Thanks to our many listeners at deep space listening posts for picking up these faint Tholian communications.]
August 11, 1998... 'Robnhud' is back to impart some more post-production information to us. 'Rob' confirms that the subtitle is indeed Insurrection "as the title was printed on the Crew Jackets and the title was also sent to the Movie's Trailer House." The movie is still planned to be released on December 11th and not the 18th as some reports have mentioned. Preliminary musical scoring has started and a temporary track is being used right now "so when Jerry Goldsmith gets a look at it, he'll know what kind of music they're looking for out of him." The film currently clocks in at 1 hour, 50 minutes length "and that's without a lot of the FX and the credits. We're expecting to have the film trimmed down however. One scene which will most likely STAY cut, Quark's cameo scene at the very end. The opinions now is that the final scene works better without him,' the 'hud' told CA. Our scooper left us with this final thought: "As more and more people involved with post production see the film, the opinions are that this is Patrick's BEST performance of Picard yet and that F. Murray Abraham steals the show!"
[Beamed down to the surface by 'Robnhud'.]
August 18, 1998... Last week in NYC, Playmates Toys previewed their upcoming fall/winter product line -- including their new Star Trek line-up. A few things that would be of interest to those tracking the development of the latest Trek film should be noted:
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['ToyBoy' was our guide through Gorn space on this mission.] September 14, 1998... Remember that nifty Star Trek poster created by Cory Richards in back in July? Well, he's done it again... [Image created by Cory Richards.]
September 20, 1998... It's official. The website that is. The website is now off to the races with trailers and the promise of more Federation-comissioned frolic to come. You can find it and any and all trailers at http://insurrection.startrek.com/ [Thanks to frontier scouts 'jjlynch,' 'ncurnow,' and 'commo1'.] And not to ruin anyone's day, but to set the record straight: Counsellor Troi will not be showing any of her personal files (so to speak) in a rumored bubble bath scene. Mr. Frakes himself has stated that while there is a bath scene, the bubbles will obscure any of Deanna's heretofore unreleased qualifications. Sorry, guys. Back to the newsgroups with you. [Originally appeared in Dark Horizons; reported by 'Widgett']
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October 20, 1998... Uh oh. Looks like that dreaded teaser poster has begun to manifest itself in theater lobbies across the continent. Hopefully our friends in Europe and the rest of the world will get to see another different teaser when their nation's release date creeps around.
"Well, I unfortunately can confirm your latest scoop about the poster. I went and saw Beloved on Friday the 16th where I caught a glimpse of it (the Star Trek teaser poster, that is). It is EXACTLY as described in the scoop. I groaned when I saw it. It's not something I would hang on my wall. Not only is the face reminicent of Star Trek VI's teaser poster, but the tagline ,'The battle for PARADISE has begun', is a rip off of the theatrical release poster for Star Trek VI, which was 'The battle for PEACE has begun'! C'mon, guys, think of something more original! So far, I don't feel too excited about this one. " [Yup, that was 'Movygrl' sitting behind you while you were watching Oprah up on the screen.]
We're finally able to post up the reviews for last week's test screening (which was throughly covered on Ain't It Cool News) that we couldn't post online due to some Internet problems with CA's server. Nevertheless, here's a report from a lucky scooper who caught a preview showing. Spoilers involved are swipeable.
"Saw a screening last night - loved it. Here's a brief rundown: Troi and Riker back together. Riker clean shaven (tub scene with Troi - but bubbles and water hide all the goodies). F. Murray Abraham made a hell of a villian. Unbearably cute alien pet creature. Nice themes - relocation of a race / technology vs simplicity. Not all of the effects were finished so the key space battle was very rough computer sketches - but it will be spectacular when finished - reminiscent of the great battle at the end of The Wrath of Khan in the nebula. 'The Riker Manuever' won't soon be forgotten. Geordi without visor. Picard gettin some action from older but pretty alien. Worf going through Klingon puberty. Subspace tear weapon - very nice. The captain's Yacht - the luxury shuttle. Excellent comedy strewn throughout the script - much of it involving the Klingon puberty humor and Data - great scene of singing from Gilbert and Sullivan's 'HMS Pinafore'. Overall, I still like Wrath the best but I'd put this right up there with First Contact behind it." [Review provided by Snoz.]
Here's another scooper's thoughts on the Insurrection test screening: "Audience reaction to teasers and trailers for this movie were very good, and left everybody in anticipation for test screenings. This really suprised me, because I'd read the script and was VERY dissappointed. I know, you can't judge a movie before it's released, but I thought the script was SO bad, I couldn't believe it was greenlighted."
Then our scooper gave us their breakdown of some minor spoilers, some of which confirm what we've heard before. Swipe if you wish: Troi shaves Riker's beard (I didn't think Frakes would agree to this, but pictures have appeared of him without his beard), in a scene I pray doesn't make it into the movie Worf and Picard sing to a malfunctioning Data, Worf gets a zit (yes you read that right), there's references to Jadzia Dax, a battle scene where Riker in the captains chair has to take on 3 Son'a ships( the Enterprise warp core is ejected in this sequence), a guest appearance of Quark at the end (which might not appear in the final cut). Terrible jokes! Bigger parts for the other crew members, but not much - personally, I think Picard should have been killed off, and give the others a chance to shine. Riker has to be the most overqualified First Officer in Starfleet history."
So there you go -- one vote yes, one vote so-so. The AICN screening reviews were also a mixed bag, although the majority seemed to consider Insurrection a weaker film than First Contact.
December 10, 1998... Upon the eve of Insurrection's release, the reviews arrive -- and it doesn't look good for Trek fans: one for and two against the film.
"The crew of the Starship Enterprise returns to the big screen in Star Trek: Insurrection, hoping to break the jinx of the odd numbered films. Simply put, for some unexplainable reason, all of the even number films have been the most popular and successful of the series, while many of the odd numbered films have disappointed and not fared as well as hoped. Since Insurrection is the ninth film in the series, many fans have wondered if this is the film that will end the 'odd number curse' as it is known by fans.
"Sadly, it looks like the curse is alive and well. This is not to say that Insurrection is a bad film. Rather, it is a movie that is not very exciting, and fails to provide fans anything new.
"The story involves the crew of the Enterprise caught in a struggle between a renegade Federation Admiral, (Anthony Zerbe) his alien allies the Sona, and a peaceful people known as the Ba'ku. It seems that the homeworld of the Ba'ku is a fountain of youth for all who inhabit it, and there are those that will stop at nothing to relocate the population of the planet so that the can use it the planet for their own desires of youth.. Naturally the good crew of the Enterprise is not going to stand idly by and let this happen to the technology shunning Ba'ku, so they ready themselves to protect the planets inhabitants, and teh Federations Prime Directive even if it means going against the orders of the Admiral and Starfleet itself.
"One of the biggest problems I had with the film is that the enemies are not that intimidating. Even the great F. Murray Abraham playing the head villain Ru'afo, does not get the chance to do much with his character, and is more cartoonish then menacing. The cast is not given much to do other than a few brief and uninspired action scenes and exchange the occasional humorous lines. In fact, the fantastic cast is the one enjoyable part of the film, as it is great to see the veteran cast slipping comfortably into the characters, and they seem to be having a great time being back with one another. It is a shame that the script did not give them much to work with. Scenes such as Commander riker piloting the Enterprise with a video game joystick are sure to get groans from the audience.
"Another problem I had with the film was with the special effects. Since Industrial Light and Magic is very busy completing the effects for the Star Wars Prequel series, the powers that be at Paramount decided to save some money and go with Blue Sky as their FX provider. There have been stories that as recently as three weeks ago, the film was being edited to compensate for effects that were deemed unusable by the studio. The ships look they they are part of a video game rather than a 60 million dollar production. Star Trek fans have come to expect good special effects in Star Trek films, and I must say that Insurrection fails badly in this category. Another problem I had was with the pacing and look of the film. The events unfolded in a very matter of fact way and their was no tension or pacing to the film. Never once was there any real suspense or drama to the film, and the camera often looked like it was in the face of the actors giving much of the film a compact look. Director Jonathan Frakes is in his second stint as star/director of a Star Trek film and it seems as if he was concentrating so hard on his directing duties that he left little on screen time for his Commander Riker character.
"It is a shame really, as Insurrection could have been a much better film with just a little more work. The cast is fantastic, and there are some very good lines in the film. However the story is an average tv episode at best, and the special effects are far from special. The film will not win over any new fans and is likely to not satisfy long term fans of the series such as myself. Here is hoping the next film gives the talented cast something to work with.
"2.5 stars out of 5."
[Reviewed by Gareth Von Kallenbach.]
"Okay, this is Star Trek NINE, or rather version 2 number three. Based on a TV show, this is just another episode, and not a particularly good one at that....except for the computer animation, which is as good as the kind you had on Babylon 5. But that was to be expected.
"The script seems to have been done in Mike Piller's sleep. An interstellar group of anthropologists are examining a medieval colony of humanoids when Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner), goes berserk, yanks off his invisibility suit and ruins everything. Being that Data is an android and Capt.Picard (Patrick Stewart) has the owner's manual, the Starship Enterprise is called in to catch and fix him.
"The planet's rings turn out to have regenerative powers, something the Son'a, led by a degenerating Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham) want very much to use. So, we discover that the peaceful Ba'ku, led by the beauteous Anij (Donna Murphy) are going to be taken off their paradise and moved somewhere else. Picard doesn't like this and, that leads to the poor excuse for the title and a couple of plotholes that the Enterprise could fly through even touching the edges.
"Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes are back as Lt. Cmdr. Worf, Crusher,. Counselor Troi and Cmdr.Riker, and they are fine. In fact Frakes does a halfway decent job as director, too.
"Anthony Zerbe does a decent job as the moronic Admiral Dougherty, and Max GrodΘnchik is the Sa'an who has a change of heart. This is for trekkers and them alone. We can wait six months for The Phantom Menace....."
[Reviewed by Eric Lurio.]
"I saw Star Trek: Insurrection at a sneak privew screening, and it is an excellent film I must say. I thought that First Contact would be impossible to top, but oh how wrong I am. The rumors and scenes dsicrbied here are perfectly explained her and are 100% true. Riker does shave his beard for Troi, and Worf and Picard sing H.M.S. Pinafore with Data. This is an excellent film and personally the best Trek film ever created. The jokes are great. I personally thought that it had what I expected every Trek movie to have and be. First Contact came close, but only on the action packed sense. This has a love story, two actually, the humor with Data and Worf, and a great action sense, great dialouge. Everything is teriffic in it. I would give this Trek film 4 stars!!!"
[Sent to us by 'The Freakazoid'.]
Official Web Site: http://insurrection.startrek.com/
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