image: Paramount Pictures

Not everyone in my life shares my passion for Star Trek so I thought it was great that Abrams really found a balance between giving fans the sci-fi flick they needed while making it also an action-packed adventure.  The film struck a real balance and I think audiences responded favorably to it.

In the movie, we meet Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Uhura and the rest of the gang before they became the crew we all know and love.  There were a few surprises but mostly it was just cool to see how the relationships developed as well as understanding how certain things happened (we learn about how Kirk passes the unbeatable Kobayashi Maru test at the Starfleet Academy).

I know people will always be picky when a new movie is added to a popular series but, seriously, I think this one is definitely worth checking out!

Post from: EveryJoe

“Star Trek” on DVD and Blu-ray

He said that the extra time would be beneficial,”You use what you’ve got. The more time you have, the more time you have to use to hopefully make it a better movie.

Co-producer and writer, Damon Lindelof said, “Yeah, I think that we would be hard pressed to get it on screens by 2011. If that’s the case, we’d better get to writing right now.”

Lindelof  also gave some clues as to what they are keeping in mind with production of the Star Trek sequels. He hints, “One of the things we like to do as storytellers is drop you in the middle of something. And the question that you’re asking yourself is ‘Where am I in relation to the last time I left these guys? Could this be something that predated even, perhaps, some of the adventures that they had in the first movie? Does it happen five years later? Is it happening two seconds later?’ Who knows? So we’re not going to tell you.”

It sounds like they’ve definitely trying hard to make this a great sequel. Hopefully, this movie is worth the wait!

Image: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

“Star Trek” Sequel to Be Released in 2012

How would you like to own the Macintosh computer that was given to Gene Roddenberry by Apple directly? Now you can if you bid enough in an auction being presented by the Profiles In History website.

Profiles in History is the leader in Hollywood and movie memorobilia auction items. They’ve auctioned away some of the coolest items from some of the greatest sci-fi movies ever. Items like the “Cowardly Lion” costume from The Wizard of Oz ($805,000); a full-scale model T-800 Endoskeleton from Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($488,750); a T.I.E. Fighter filming miniature from Star Wars ($402,500); a King Kong six-sheet movie poster ($345,000); the Command Chair from the “U.S.S. Enterprise” ($304,750); Harrison Ford’s hero blaster from Blade Runner ($258,750); the original “Robot” from Lost in Space ($264,500); Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber ($240,000); a Frankenstein one-sheet movie poster ($212,400); the Black Beauty car from The Green Hornet ($192,000); George Reeves’ Superman costume from The Adventures of Superman ($126,500); the H.R. Giger designed Alien creature suit from Alien ($126,500); a full-scale T-Rex head from Jurassic Park ($126,500), the Leaping Alien Warrior figure from Aliens ($126,500), Christopher Reeve’s ‘Superman’ costume from Superman: The Movie ($115,000), C-3PO’s helmet ($120,000),  The Wizard of Oz ‘Winkie’ Guard Costume ($115,000); a “Ming the Merciless” cape from Flash Gordon ($115,000) and the Hydraulic screen-used Velociraptor from The Lost World: Jurassic Park II ($115,000).

Enough about that though, we’re talking about getting a piece of Star Trek and Apple history by successfully winning the Macintosh 128, which was later upgraded to a Macintosh Plus for Mr. Roddenberry. The auction will take place October 8-9th and you can put in your bid at the auction website. Estimated price for the item is $800-$1200 which I think is kind of odd because that’s about what you’d pay for a bare bones Mac computer today.

Update: Current price of the item is now $2750.

Image: Provided by MJK Public Relations

Post from: EveryJoe

Own Gene Roddenberry’s Mac

I know that some die-heard Trekkies criticized the movie for not being as Sci-Fi as they might have liked but I believe that the majority of people felt the way that I did – this newest Trek is perfect for people who love the series as well as those who find the older movies a little too nerdy.

image: Paramount Pictures

The film tells the story of how James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his future crew came together at the Starfleet Academy.  There were a couple things that I didn’t exactly agree with but, for the most part, I really enjoyed watching the characters develop, especially the relationship between Kirk and Spock (Zachary Quinto).  Even Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) made an appearance in a way that I actually thought was pretty cool.

If you are planning to pre-order or buy a copy, here are your options:

• Star Trek (single DVD)
• Star Trek (Two-Disc Digital Copy Edition)
• Star Trek (Three-Disc +Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

Post from: EveryJoe

Pre-order “Star Trek”

image: Paramount Pictures

In this film, J.J. Abrams takes the story of the most famous crew back to before their days on the U.S.S. Enterprise.  With an all-new cast, we get to see how Captain Kirk. Spock, Uhura, Bones, Chekov, Scotty and Sulu first meet and I think, for the most part, the new actors were fairly well chosen (see a side-by-side comparison).

Need more Star Trek goodies?  Listen to the soundtrack, take a look at these international posters, and then maybe order the original motion picture movie collection!

I also spotted these great cover shoots from Star Trek over the years.  Check it out and tell me which one is your favorite (I love the one featuring Pavel Chekov, of course!).

Post from: EveryJoe

Now in Theaters: “Star Trek”

In the film, Antonio takes on the role of Officer Pitts, the communications officer of the U.S.S. Kelvin. Antonio says, "playing Officer Pitts was definitely a cool thing, he is responsible for a lot – keeping the captain informed on everything that is going on, no matter how good or how bad. If the captain has a question, my character had better have an answer!"

Of the experience, Antonio says "films like Star Trek are the kind of projects that inspired me to become an actor in the first place. Everything about filming that project was amazing, the sets were unbelievable, and everyone was so passionate about it. the experience was great and working with J.J. Abrams is incredible."

I can only imagine!  To say that I’m jealous is an understatement.  I’m so happy that it was a positive experience for him because I really do believe that movies like Star Trek are so innovative and inspirational that it can push an actor to the next level and I hope that it turns out that way for him.

As one of the most up-and-coming Latino actors in the industry right now, you might already recognize him from his stints as a guest star on shows like Private Practice and The Game.  Born in New Jersey, Antonio was raised in Boca Raton, Florida and became known for doing excellent impressions.  He shares, “I loved movies and I would memorize every line and try to act them out with my family and friends.  Sometimes, I would even act them out by myself! It really didn’t matter, as long as I was acting.”

Antonio will next appear as “Ramon” (his first leading role) in Spoken Word which was directed by Sundance Film Festival winner Victor Nunez.  In the film, “a San Francisco spoken word artist returns to New Mexico to be with his dying father, only to find he loses his "voice" as he is sucked back in to the dysfunctional life of drugs and violence he left behind.” 

It sounds really good and couldn’t be more different than Star Trek which shows Antonio’s versatility as an actor.  Spoken Word will be released sometime in 2010.

image used with permission

Post from: EveryJoe

Meet Antonio Elias of the New “Star Trek”

The box-set includes the following movies:
·          Star Trek: The Motion Picture
·          Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
·          Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
·          Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
·          Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
·          Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

As if that wasn’t enough, a seventh disc titled “The Captains’ Summit” is also included and for the first time, five of the final frontier’s greatest names (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and host Whoopi Goldberg) have been brought together for a 70-minute rare and unprecedented round table event.  I’m really looking forward to watching that!

You can also pre-order a copy of Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy which contains Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home along with more than 90 minutes of all-new special features.

image: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection

Then there are these two below.  The first one on the left looks more like a poster for The X-Files, doesn’t it?  I get it – it looks like the Starship Enterprise traveling at warp speed – I just don’t like it.  Then, the one on the right looked like an ad for a movie like Independence Day (1996).  I don’t like that one either.

Then there’s the poster below.  We’ve all seen it about a million times but I’ve got to finally ask for once and for all – doesn’t it look a lot like the posters and DVD covers for the Showtime series Dexter?  What does that pose have to do with James T. Kirk’s usual demeanor?  Not a whole lot, in my opinion.

Maybe I am taking this all too seriously (which is highly likely) but I’m just not terribly happy with how the movie is being marketed.  I’m still going to be there on opening day to see the first showing but I’m growing more worried by the minute.

images: Industrial Light & Magic (Star Trek), Showtime (Dexter)

Post from: EveryJoe

New International Star Trek Posters

Here’s a video of Scramble that YouTube user tr0d took from the series How to Beat Home Video Games:

Okay. Now that the mix up has been cleared, I’d like to thank Chris Herr for the heads up. Here’s a video of the real Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the Vectrex:

Post from: EveryJoe

Re:Retro viewer: That’s not Star Trek!

Speaking of explosive, this video I found on YouTube totally blew me away:

As you may have already surmised from the title, the video features the classic game Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the Vectrex.

The Vectrex? Oh, yeah, you might not have heard of this 80s console. It’s an 8-bit video game console developed by Smith Engineering and distributed by General Consumer Electric and eventually by Milton Bradley Company in the early 1980s. The Vectrex was markedly different from its contemporaries in the sense that you didn’t need to plug it into a television to play games as it had its own monitor.

Going back to the topic at hand, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of the first games created for the Vectrex Arcade System. The object of the game is simple: Fly the USS Enterprise through nine space sectors and destroy everything the ship encounters with phasers and photon torpedoes.

It’s a great game, despite its simplicity. But if you have a Vectrex, you might want to check it out. Oh, and to answer your unanswered question, yes, that’s the Enterprise. It looks like a Klingon Bird of Prey, though, or a Romulan Warbird.

Post from: EveryJoe

Woot! Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the Vectrex