CONTENTS |
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Friday-Sunday, April 20-22: TrekTrax
Atlanta
Sunday,
April 29: Spring Dinner & Business Meeting
SAVE THE DATES: DETAILS TO BE
ANNOUNCED
Friday-Sunday, May 4-6:
Outlantacon
Saturday, May 5: Away Mission
to The Avengers
Friday-Sunday, May 25-27:
TimeGate
Friday-Sunday, June 8-10:
Sci-Fi Summer Con
Saturday, July 7: Away
Mission to The Amazing Spider-Man
Saturday, July 21: Away
Mission to The Dark Knight Rises
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
TXA drops two guests, moves
forward with convention
USS Republic wins
two Region 2 awards for 2011
Personnel Records
Library Computer
Recent Chapter Event Photos
SIDEBAR
April Birthdays
Member Reenlistments
April
Membership Renewals
About the Republic
For More Information
USS Republic Online
Our Member Benefits Program
Partners
USS Republic &
USS Atlanta Crew Rosters
News
from TrekMovie.com
Star
Trek: Enterprise Was "Victim of Circumstance"
Star
Trek: Phase II "The
Child" Online
Enterprise
Crew "Still Working Out Kinks"
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
TrekTrax
Atlanta
Friday-Sunday,
April 20-22, 2012
Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter
4386 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd
Atlanta GA 30341 (770) 457-6363 |
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TrekTrax
Atlanta
is a science fiction convention based in Atlanta, Georgia,
dedicated to Star Trek and hosted by the USS Republic,
that places special emphasis on fan-based events, activities,
programming and productions. After a successful first
convention in February 2011, TrekTrax Atlanta 2012 will be
held April 20-22 at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter in the
northern Atlanta suburb of Chamblee. TrekTrax Atlanta
has been endorsed by the Klingon
Assault Group
International as the National Klingon Konvention. Confirmed
guests include:
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David Orange, best known as the "Sleepy Klingon"
in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
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Morgan
Gendel, author of the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episodes "The Inner Light" (for which he won the
Hugo Award) and "Starship Mine" and the Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine episodes "The Passenger" and "Armageddon
Game" |
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Dr.
Lawrence M. Schoen, author, publisher, psychologist,
Klingon language expert and founder of the Klingon Language
Institute who has published Klingon translations of
Shakespeare's Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing,
as well as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Tao
Te Ching |
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Fan
Guest of Honor Melissa Carter, a columnist for
The Georgia Voice and The Huffington Post,
member of the Atlanta Police Department GLBT Advisory
Board, transplant survivor and a former co-host of the
morning radio show The Bert Show on Q100 in Atlanta |
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Cheralyn
Lambeth, a professional costumer formerly with Paramount
Production Services' Star Trek Earth Tour and
Star Trek: The Experience |
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Andrew
Greenberg, a roleplaying game designer who has worked
on games for Star Trek: The Next Generation and
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |
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Emmett
Plant, a writer, composer and producer who has produced
over twenty Star Trek audiobooks for CBS/Paramount |
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Michael
Bednar and Michael Day from Starship Farragut,
a Star Trek fan production based on the original
series of Star Trek |
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Chris
Coleman, Doug Harper, Randall Landers,
Bill MacKenzie and Sara MacKenzie from
Project: Potemkin, a Star Trek fan production
set shortly after Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered
Country |
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Jim
Brucke, Renda Carr, Tim Carr and Keith
Harris from Star Trek: Lexington, a Star
Trek fan production set shortly after Star Trek
IV: The Voyage Home |
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il
Troubadore: The Klingon Music Project, a four-person
musical troupe from Indianapolis, Indiana, that performs
original Klingon music and presents its original production
"The Klingon Ballet" with belly dancers |
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"Nerd
rock bands" One Hard Night and the New York
Disco Villains |
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Keela
& Katkith, hosts of the popular "Klingon Karaoke" |
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For 2012,
TrekTrax Atlanta will present three concurrent tracks of programming:
one dedicated to the Star Trek universe in general
("Main Viewer"), a second devoted to the Klingon Empire in
particular ("Qo'Nos"), and a third specifically for costuming
and makeup ("The Ready Room"). The convention will host
a 24-hour gaming room for role-playing, board and card games,
as well as a VIP champagne reception, a "Trekkies Got Talent!"
talent show, writers workshop, dealers room, con suite, costume
contest, 24-hour video room, live performances by il Troubadore,
the New York Disco Villains and One Hard Night, "Klingon Karaoke,"
and the 13th annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant. The
convention will also partner with LifeSouth Community Blood
Centers to host a blood drive.
The convention's full and complete programming
schedule is online.
At-the-door memberships are $50 for the entire weekend, $30
for
Saturday only and $25 for Friday only or Sunday only. Please
visit the TrekTrax
Atlanta
web site for full and complete information about the convention,
including hours of operation and hotel location. |
Spring
Dinner & Business Meeting
6:00 p.m. Sunday, April 29, 2012
Stevi B's Pizza
Briarcliff Village Shopping Center
2080 Henderson Mill Rd, Atlanta GA 30345
(770) 938-3960 |
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The
Republic's 2011 Spring Dinner & Business
Meeting
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The
Republic typically holds two business meetings a year,
one in the spring and one in the fall, to set the chapter's
course for the following six months. At this year's
spring meeting, we'll be focused primarily on discussing the
previous weekend's TrekTrax Atlanta convention and hopefully
rejoicing in its success. We'll review the numbers,
talk about what went right (and hopefully, very little discussion
of what went wrong), review any feedback we may have received,
and perhaps most importantly, discuss whether, after two years,
we can or should plan on a third year.
Also on the agenda will be a discussion of upcoming events
and activities planned specifically for the Republic
for the next six months, an update on our
Year of the Phoenix campaign, preliminary
discussions about the Republic's 25th anniversary next
year and a reminder that Capt Eric L. Watts' third
two-year term as the Republic's commanding officer
concludes at the end of this year. Members
and friends who wish to be more involved in the Republic's
operations and TrekTrax Atlanta are especially encouraged
to attend. As always, the Republic's many
friends and guests are invited to join us; chapter membership
is encouraged but not required.
We'll
be gathering for this important dinner meeting at Stevi
B's Pizza Buffet Restaurant in the Briarcliff Village
Shopping Center at the intersection of Henderson Mill, Lavista
and Briarcliff Roads near Northlake Mall in Atlanta. Stevi
B's Ultimate Pizza Buffet includes all of your favorites and
many original Stevi B's creations, too. Don't see what
you're looking for on the buffet? Tell any Stevi B's
team member what you'd like on your pizza and they'll custom
make it and deliver it straight to your table. You can
choose from any of their fresh toppings to create your own
personal pizza masterpiece! Visit their web
site for more information on their complete menu.
We've booked their "party room" for our meeting
and, because we're such an awesome group of Trekkies,
everyone joining us for dinner will receive complimentary
soft drinks---a $1.99 value!
Please arrive no later than 6:00 p.m. to enjoy your dinner
and enjoy conversation with your fellow crewmembers. The
business meeting is scheduled to begin around 6:30 and will
likely last about an hour or so. This is your
chance to give feedback on TrekTrax Atlanta, other recent
events and activities, and to make suggestions for where you'd
like to go and what you'd like to do as a member of the Republic
in the next six months. Please make plans to attend!
STEVI
B'S WEB SITE
MAP AND DIRECTIONS |
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
TrekTrax
Atlanta drops two guests, moves forward with convention |
The
TrekTrax Atlanta executive committee announced earlier this
month that our previously announced celebrity guests Todd
Bryant and Spice Williams will not be joining us for our 2012
convention.
The TXA executive committee reviewed our preregistration numbers,
analyzed our financial situation, evaluated our last-minute
and at-the-door membership sales projections and reached the
unfortunate but inescapable conclusion that we were unable
to bring Mr. Bryant and Ms. Williams to the convention as
we had hoped to do. We wish to make it clear that our
guests did not cancel their appearances with us. With great
regret, we informed them of our situation and apologized for
not being able bring them here as previously planned.
We know that many people planning to attend TrekTrax Atlanta
will be disappointed to learn of this development. However,
we want to assure you that THE SHOW MUST GO ON and we remain
committed to presenting a fun, rewarding, entertaining, educational,
informational, recreational and immersive Star Trek
fan experience to everyone in attendance. We are still
the National Klingon Konvention and we hope that everyone
who had been planning to attend will still do so.
Thank you for your continued support and attendance! |
USS
Republic wins two Region 2 awards for 2011 |
No
one was more surprised than USS Republic CO Capt Eric
L. Watts to learn late last month that the Republic
won two awards at the joint Region 2/Region 3 Summit, held
March 17-18 in Hammond, Louisiana. The Republic
won the Second Place award for "Journalistic Achievement
in Newsletter Production" (a.k.a. Newsletter of the Year),
losing out to Jackson, Mississippi's USS Haise for
First Place. The USS Haise is commanded
by Region 2's Awards Director.
The Republic also "won" a Perfect Reporting
award "For Achieving A Perfect Reporting Record In Region
2." Not exactly a First Place finish, as this
"award" went to no less than 14 chapters in Region
2 for merely doing what, as the Republic was so harshly
reminded by STARFLEET International in October 2010, is constitutionally
required of all chapters... whether they like it or not.
Capt Watts is the Republic's newsletter editor and
will retain the second place award certificate for himself. The
Republic's monthly status reports (MSRs) are submitted
to STARFLEET by the Republic's executive officer, Cmdr
Dave Churvis, who will be presented with the reporting
award certificate later this month.
The USS Republic is one of 34 chapters in Region
2, which is comprised of Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi and the Caribbean. Region 2 is one
of 20 STARFLEET regions around the world, which includes a
total of 241 chapters. |
Personnel
Records
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Congratulations
to Cmdr Masibindi Mother Courage Miller, who
received a grade of DISTINCTION for the STARFLEET Academy
exam SFRT 103: HAND HELD EQUIPMENT from the School of
IOLEE College of Firefighting & Rescue, completed on
March 21, 2012. |
STARFLEET
Academy is a special collection of correspondence courses
available to every STARFLEET member. Over 60 Academy
Colleges offer courses spanning all aspects of Star
Trek and science fiction; some courses even cover
non-sci-fi real world topics. Each college offers
dozens of different courses at varying levels of challenge
from super-easy to really hard. In total, there
are nearly 1,000 different courses available. Take
a course today! |
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Library
Computer
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After
Star Trek's first season ended, series creator Gene
Roddenberry wanted to include a younger cast member to appeal
to teenage audiences. Roddenberry interviewed Walter
Koenig (above right) on the recommendation of director
Joseph Pevney. After casting Koenig, Roddenberry
wrote a letter to Mikhail Zimyanin, editor of Pravda,
informing him of the introduction of a Russian character,
and an NBC press release announcing the character at the
time stated that it was in response to a Pravda article.
Koenig always denied the "Russian origin" story and said
the character was added in response to the popularity of
The Monkees' Davy Jones (above left), and the character's
hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this. Roddenberry
had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director,
a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of the Beatles
or Monkees on the show.
Davy Jones died on February 29, 2012, at age 66. As
of this writing, Walter Koenig, at age 75, is still alive.
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Recent
Chapter Event Photos
CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
130th
Atlanta St. Patrick's Parade || March
17, 2012
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Left
to Right: Bianca Bury-Rodriguez, ENS1 Todd Dissinger,
Mike Antol and USS Republic CO Capt Eric
L. Watts gather to represent Star Trek fandom
at Atlanta's 130th St. Patrick's Parade.
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Not
pictured: ENS2 Glenn Albertini, ENS2 K'La Albertini,
ENS1 Nelson Barnhouse, ENS2 Russell J. Broomfield,
ENS3 Barry Bynum, Cmdr David Churvis, Capt Michael
Cowart, ENS3 Ken Cribbs, CDT2 Karl Dissinger, ENS1
Hal Doby, Ens Rob Gilliam, ENS3 Tasheka Gipson,
Ens James P. Gronski, Ens Leslie C. Gronski, ENS3
Tracey S. Harwell, ENS3 Eddie Hines, Cmdr Brian
Holloway, ENS1 Eric Lange, ENS1 Sue Lin Lange, Cmdr
Masibindi Miller, Ens Karen Neal, ENS1 Mark A. Ozanick,
ENS1 Elisa Roper, ENS1 Michael Shipley, Cmdr Dave
Slaughter, ENS1 Jeff Trew, CRMN1 Jenilee Trew, ENS1
Joanne Trew, ENS1 Julianne Trew, ENS3 Richard Tucker,
ENS1 Zannetta Law Tucker, ENS Leslie Williamson,
ENS1 "Wolfy."
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Above
Left: Looking north from the Peachtree Road bridge
over the Downtown Connector (Interstate 75/85). This
bridge is generally considered to be the border
between Midtown to the north and Downtown to the
south. Above Right: Capt Watts stikes
a pose with the Twilight Twirlers of Marietta. Below
Left: Looking south, in the direction of the
parade, towards Downtown. Below Right:
Autos new and old followed the Republic down the
parade route.
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TrekTrax
Atlanta Staff Meeting || March
18, 2012
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Above:
About two dozen members and friends of the USS Republic
attended a TrekTrax Atlanta staff meeting at the
convention hotel on the day after the parade. Curiously,
about six times as many people turned out for the
meeting than turned out for the parade.
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Above
Left: Director of Social Media Ken Cribbs, Director
of Convention Operations Barry Bynum and Convention
Chairman Eric L. Watts outline the convention's
staffing needs. Above Right: Volunteer
staff members sit in rapt attention.
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APRIL
BIRTHDAYS
Monday, April 9
ENS1 Eric Lange
Saturday, April 14
ENS1 Elisa Roper
Sunday, April 15
Cmdr Dave Churvis
Monday, April 30
ENS1 Hal Doby
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MEMBER
REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in March
Capt Michael Cowart
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APRIL
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
These members' SFI and chapter dues expire in April
Cmdr Dave Churvis
Capt Matthew D. Ebeling
ENS1 Lea Hepler
CMDR Brian Holloway
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ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
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The
USS Republic NCC-1371 was originally commissioned
as a chapter of STARFLEET International on May 14, 1988,
at the Dixie-Trek convention in Atlanta, Georgia. As
of April 19, 2012, the Republic crew includes 35
members who are active members of STARFLEET in good
standing. |
The
Republic plans and coordinates an active schedule
of events for its members, frequently partnering with other
local science fiction groups in the Atlanta area for joint
activities, but does not hold meetings on a consistently
fixed date each month. |
Because
the USS Republic is a duly commissioned chapter
of STARFLEET International and is bound and governed by
its Constitution and By-Laws, membership in STARFLEET
is a prerequisite for membership in the Republic. Combined
annual dues for both groups are $25 per person and is
collected by the chapter (family discounts are available
with certain conditions and restrictions). Membership
in the Republic includes access to our YahooGroups
message board, voting privileges in chapter elections
and a personalized laminated membership card which entitles
the member to discounts and rebates on products and services
offered by our Member Benefits Program Partners. Additional
information on Republic membership and how to join
and reenlist is on our award-winning web site.
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FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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USS
REPUBLIC ONLINE
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OUR
MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM PARTNERS
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CREW
ROSTER
AS OF APRIL 19, 2012
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USS
ATLANTA CREW ROSTER
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CRR
Brian Ackley
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Cheris
Courtney
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Ens
Travis J. Heller
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Ens
JG Roderick Jennings
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NEWS
from
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Star
Trek: Enterprise Was "Victim of Circumstance" |
By
Anthony Pascale
April 12, 2012
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Debating
the reasons for the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise
after four years on UPN is another favorite pastime of Trek
fans. In a new interview, show star Scott Bakula weighs
in with his theory, saying the show was the "victim
of circumstance." |
Talking
to Canada's Canoe News, Scott Bakula weighed in on
why Star Trek: Enterprise never saw a fifth season: |
I
have to tell you, there were so many political things that
happened in the time that we were on the air, with networks
being bought and sold and studios changing personnel completely.
I never really felt like we had failed as much as
we were victims of circumstance. I felt like our show
got better and better, and the overwhelming conversations
I've had with people are like, "Oh man, that last season
was the greatest. You guys were just hitting
your stride." I said to the cast going in.
"Please don't count on seven years. We're on
a network with completely different rules." We
made 98 hours of television, a huge success by most standards.
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So
there you have it. It was all office politics. |
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Star
Trek: Phase II "The Child" Online |
By
Anthony Pascale
April 7, 2012
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The
Star Trek: Phase II episode "The Child"
has been released. This is the seventh episode
from the popular fan series. The episode has been
adapted from a script written by Jon Povill and Jaron Summers
for the original Star Trek: Phase II in the Seventies.
That script was later rewritten for use on Star
Trek: The Next Generation. Producer James Cawley
approached Jon Povill to return the episode back to its
origins on the original Enterprise. The episode
features Anna Schnaitteras the Deltan crewmember Isel and
introduces the young Ayla Cordell as Irska (Isel's child).
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Here
is the official description: |
While
the Enterprise passes through a strange energy cloud,
a mysterious light force enters the ship and impregnates
Ensign Isel who, within days, gives birth to a baby girl,
Irska. The child grows up at a tremendous rate and
while she appears to be human, it is feared she could endanger
the ship after a strange alien spacecraft appears and puts
everyone in jeopardy.... |
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Mini-review
"The Child" is another strong outing for the
Phase II crew. The story is classic Star
Trek, seeking out strange new life forms, and it has
a message as well. Povill's direction is solid, although
(like most Phase II episodes) it feels a bit bloated
and they probably could have shaved off five minutes to
bring it more in line with standard original series running
time. |
The
core team of actors for Phase II continue to improve,
especially John Kelley as McCoy, who has much of the work
in this episode. Cawley himself provides one
of his best performances as Kirk in this episode and Brandon
Stacy's Spock is impressive. The one thing that seems
a bit out of step (and this is true for all of Phase
II), the characters of Kirk and Spock seem more like
members of an ensemble than the hero stars of the show.
Of the two guest stars, the young Ayla Cordell is
surprisingly effective playing the rapidly growing and mysterious
alien child. As for Anna Schnaitteras, I felt she
didn't really have the range to handle the heavy load required
of her for this episode where her character is so central.
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As
usual, the production is top-notch and very professional.
With the lone exception of sound editing for the bridge
sequences (they can't seem to get rid of that echo), every
aspect of the production delivers what you would want from
a Star Trek production. Worth special note
are the special effects provided by Tobias Richter, Juvenal
Vique and Pony R. Horton. |
While
there are still elements of "Hey, let's all play Star
Trek" for the series, Phase II's "The
Child" still shows that it is the best of the fan productions.
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Enterprise
Crew "Still Working Out Kinks" |
By
TrekMovie.com Staff
April 4, 2012
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Talking
to MovieWeb, Star Trek sequel co-writer/producer
Alex Kurtzman offered this update on the progress for the
sequel currently in production: |
The
movie is going unbelievably well. J. J. as usual
is crushing it, he's doing an amazing, amazing job. I
think as much as we put all of our love and effort into
the first one, there's even more in this one and he is really,
he's such an exacting and beautiful director.
What I watch him do, it's so amazing, he inspires everybody
around him and he's been so utterly true to everything that
we all have honored and loved about Trek, so that's
kind of where we're at right now. |
While
Kurtzman didn't reveal any plot spoilers, he did offer a
glimpse into the journey that the cast has taken since the
last film and where they are in the sequel, noting: |
...the
challenge is that you don't want to jump too far ahead and
assume that just because they got together they're all comfortable
with each other. They're still all working out their
kinks and still becoming the bridge crew that we remember
from the series. That's still very much alive and
look, any good sequel is about the challenge that the group
faces in order to become the unified team and I think that
that challenge in this movie is going to be hopefully amazing. |
Finally,
Alex gave this assessment of the performance of Benedict
Cumberbatch, who is playing the villain in the film: |
He's
incredible. What he does with language is incredible.
His training is amazing and he's so magnetic, he holds
the screen in any size frame, he really is a joy to watch."
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The Star Trek sequel hits the big screen on May 17,
2013. |
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USS
Republic NCC-1371
B
O L D L Y G O I N G
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B
O L D L Y D O I N G |
2902
Aspen Woods Entry
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Atlanta,
Georgia 30360-2759 |
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www.USSRepublic.com |
Commanding
Officer, USS Republic
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Captain
Eric L. Watts |
Executive
Officer, USS Republic
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Commander
Dave Churvis |
Commanding
Officer, USS Atlanta
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Admiral
W. Michael Henigan |
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The
Republiqué Volume
I, Number 49, April 2012.
Published monthly by and Copyright © 2012 USS Republic
NCC-1371.
Captain Eric L. Watts, Editor.
If you prefer not to receive any future issues, please
let us know.
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