Orci And Kurtzman Talk Writing And 'Star Trek XI'

Writing for an established franchise like Star Trek is tougher than writing for a new movie because Star Trek belongs to the fans.

As reported by IESB Star Trek XI writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci gave insight into what it was like to write as a team. "It's been over 17 years now that we've been doing this together, so, I can just tell by the look on Bob's face whether he likes or dislikes an idea before he says anything," explained Kurtzman. "He gave me the finger right now by the way so...So there's that and that's actually a great gift because there's a shorthand, obviously, that come from that kind of time together. But, I think that what I always look to Bob to find the unpredictable ideas, how can we find a way, what's a cool way into this to feel different, and that's still a big part of how we work."

At times, the pair will disagree on certain elements. "...like all long term relationships we certainly have our arguments," said Orci, "but I think we are always, we always want the same thing and weirdly a lot of the time those debates will translate to the page in a way that makes the scene exciting hopefully, so, we've learned to respect that as part of the process."

Working on Star Trek XI meant meeting the expectations of the fans, while entertaining newcomers to Star Trek. "I think the scale of this 'Star Trek,' not only because of the technology but because of the trust that the studio put in all of us in terms of the investment, is going to be bigger than you've ever seen in a Star Trek movie," said Orci. "'Star Trek' is where you primarily think about the family, the humanity, the interactions and that is no different in the 'Star Trek' that we are working on but it definitely is going to have an epic action quality to it that is unique."

It is more difficult to write for something like Star Trek due to the expectations of the fans. "When you are doing a property like 'Star Trek,'" said Orci, "we feel it doesn't just belong to us, it belongs to all the fans that really love it and there has to be a certain respect that goes into that and there has to be a certain openness to what longtime stewards of those properties believe and feel."

Star Trek XI is about "two brothers," according to Orci, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "It's how a family comes together," he said. "And then more specifically, the story of two brothers, Kirk and Spock. It's the first time Alex and I got to really write about our friendship, in a way."

Orci admitted to "odd interactions" with Star Trek fans. "Only online. And not funky. You know: passionate, informed, emotional. Nothing that's made us uncomfortable. But someone on one of the chat boards mentioned that it looks like I was gaining a little weight and I should stay off the doughnuts. So that's the only thing that I've had to contend with. But you know, that's the price."

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