Rick Berman Talks More Trek Future
By ChristianMay 21, 2000 - 11:39 AM
Besides the Brannon Braga interview we already reported on yesterday, the June 2000 edition of SFX Magazine also contains an interview with Rick Berman, Star Trek's Executive Producer. Below is a summary of Berman's statements on the future of Trek, courtesy of Twain, who was kind enough send in a transcript of the interview.
In the interview, Berman of course again talked about Series V, acknowledging that there are advantages to having a strong group of recurring, but not regular characters, similar to what DS9 had. He then went on to talk about some of the elements he believed should be present in the new series:
"Hopefully, we'll be manage to combine elements of that with some of the
more traditional Trek elements which Voyager had. [...] There are
benefits and problems with both. Obviously the benefits of having the rich
group of secondary characters on DS9 was countered by the negative of it not
being a ship-driven show. It was a Star Trek series that wasn't about the
Enterprise for the first time. We're hoping that the new series will
integrate elements of both in a kind of unique fashion that it's too early
to talk about. The aim is to satisfy both camps. Hopefully. When I can
talk about it, you'll see how it's going to be something fresh and
different. More different than either DS9 or Voyager has been."
Berman was also asked whether the new series would be called 'Star Trek: Enterprise', which according to SFX was what internet rumours suggested:
"I really don't want to talk about the rumours because it's giving them
credence just to talk about them."
The other main topic in the interview was the tenth Star Trek feature film. Berman gave a few more hints about the "big name writer who's also a Star Trek fan" who he said earlier would be writing the script:
"Obviously I can't name him, but he's a very successful screenwriter, who
has some major movies to his credit, and some of them, I think, you could
definitely say fit within the science fiction realm and a number of them do
not.
Regarding the cast, Berman confirmed that their hopes are still the film will focus on the Next Generation cast. He added that he couldn't be certain of that, but that at the amount that is Paramount's goal. The major reason for this uncertainty is apparently that negotiations between 'key actors' are still in progress.
Finally, Berman did again indicate that Trek X will be a more 'epic' and adventurous film than 'Insurrection':
"...We take (the movies) one at a time. I would say if there's a lesson to
be learned from the last one it's that we need a more formidable, more
classic villian, and we need Picard a little less pensive and a little bit
more action packed. That's what we're leaning towards in the next movie.
We're hoping that the next film will get back to the grander adventure we
had in 'First Contact'."
The full interview can be found in Issue 65 of SFX Magazine. Very major thanks go out to Twain for transcribing it!
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