Kurtzman & Orci Talk 'Star Trek'

Star Trek XI screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman promised more thrills in the upcoming film than any previous Star Trek movie and confirmed that the bulk of the film will be set on a starship, rather than at Starfleet Academy or elsewhere.

"I don't know how you make Star Trek without a starship," Orci told MTV. "You have to trek through the stars, so you need a ship for that."

The pair which wrote the script that J.J. Abrams will direct were reluctant to discuss casting, but Kurtzman said, "There will be more action in this movie than any Trek that's preceded it...it'll be the biggest one." He said that the studio had planned budgets for the previous movies with an eye to the expected number of Star Trek fans, but "with this one we're going for the broad audience to bring people into Trek for the first time...to bring in a whole new group of people who've never seen 'Trek' before" without alienating the long-time fans.

All that Kurtzman would say about casting is, "I'm the hugest Matt Damon fan ever. If he became [Kirk], great." Neither would confirm stories that the original Kirk and Spock, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, were likely to appear in the feature: "We just hope they bless us," noted Kurtzman, who said that the production team had recently met with Shatner and Nimoy and "They were amazing."

And the writers suggested other changes for long-time fans, saying that without starting completely from scratch, the producers planned a more futuristic look for the franchise. "We want it to feel like it's updated and of the now," Orci explained. "To keep the look of the universe yet have it not look like nothing's new...it's tricky." Mission: Impossible III production designer Scott Chambliss and director of photography Daniel Mindel will be in large degree responsible for that.

Some things, however, will not change. The film is likely to be called simply Star Trek, without any numerals or subtitles attached, and it will be about the characters. As lifelong fans, said Orci, "It was all about, what have I always wanted to see in Trek?" To him, the franchise "has always been about the human interactions. It's all about the human soul."

Star Trek (XI) is due to be released for Christmas 2008. The original interview is at MTV.

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