| CONTENTS |
|
UPCOMING
EVENTS
•
Saturday, July 27: Away Mission
to The Wolverine
• Saturday, August 3: Away
Mission to Europa Report
• Saturday, August 10:
Away Mission to Night at the Museum
SAVE THESE DATES NOW: DETAILS
TO BE ANNOUNCED
• Saturday, September
28: STARFLEET Bowling Challenge
• Sat., October
12: Project: Potemkin Open House (Albany GA)
• Saturday, December
7: Farragut Fest 2013 (Kingsland GA)
• Saturday, December
21: USS Republic Christmas Party
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Republic
senior command appear in FOX 5 Atlanta newscast
• The
TrekTrax Atlanta 2013 Postmortem Report
• Personnel Records
• Library Computer
• Recent Chapter Event
Photos
SIDEBAR
• June Birthdays
• Welcome Aboard!
• Member Reenlistments
• June and July Membership
Renewals
• About the Republic
• For More Information
• USS Republic Online
• Crew Roster
•
News from TrekMovie.com
— Star
Trek, after Darkness: What is next for the franchise?
— Costumed
Trekkies to attempt new world record
— Fan
production Star Trek Continues
releases first episode
|
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Away
Mission to The Wolverine
2:50
p.m., Saturday, July 27, 2013
Regal Atlantic Station 16
261 19th Street NW
Atlanta GA 30363 |
 Hugh
Jackman returns as Wolverine in this sequel to the member
of the X-Men's first solo outing. Mark Bomback
and The
Usual Suspects' Christopher McQuarrie penned the
script, which takes its inspiration from the Chris Claremont
/ Frank Miller Marvel miniseries from the 1980s
dealing with the character's adventures in Japan as he fights
ninjas in the ceremonial garb of the samurai. Knight
and Day's James Mangold directs.
Please join us for the last matinée-priced showing
of the day (only $9.50 for adults) at the Regal Atlantic
Station 16 at Atlantic Station (compared to $17.00 for
adults at the 10:05 p.m. showing later the same day at the
same theater). This will be our first "away
mission" to this theater (don't forget that we are not
going to the Regal Hollywood 24 in Chamblee), so please be
sure to wear your Republic t-shirt or sport shirt or
other Star Trek-related shirt (Star Trek costumes
at your own discretion for this event). If the
theater allows, we'll take a group shot after the movie and
some of us will likely go somewhere nearby for dinner. Everyone
is welcome to join us!
Click the link below to purchase your ticket(s) online and
let
the Captain know if you're planning to attend and
we'll do our best to get seats together for our group.
WATCH
THE WOLVERINE TRAILER HERE
BUY
YOUR TICKET(S) TO THIS SHOWING HERE |
Away
Mission to Europa Report
Saturday
Afternoon, August 3, 2013
Exact Time and Location to Be Announced |
 A
unique blend of documentary, alternative history and science
fiction thriller, Europa
Report follows a contemporary
mission to Jupiter's moon Europa to investigate the possible
existence of alien life within our solar system. When
unmanned probes suggest that a hidden ocean could exist underneath
Europa's icy surface and may contain single-celled life, Europa
Ventures, a privately funded space exploration company, sends
six of the best astronauts from around the world to confirm
the data and explore the revolutionary discoveries that may
lie in the Europan ocean.
After a near-catastrophic technical failure that leads to
loss of communication with Earth and the tragic death of a
crewmember, the surviving astronauts must overcome the psychological
and physical toll of deep space travel, and survive a discovery
on Europa more profound than they had ever imagined.
Showtimes have not yet been announced, so save the date now
and plan for a late afternoon screening (i.e., the last matinée-priced
showtime) with your friends and crewmates aboard the USS Republic. Exact
time and location will be announced in the next issue of The
Republiqué.
WATCH
THE EUROPA REPORT TRAILER HERE
|
Away
Mission to Night at the Museum
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Tellus Science Museum
100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville GA 30120
(770) 386-0576 |
 From
the Tellus Science Museum web
site:
August 10 isn't just any old night at a museum; it's Tellus'
annual Night at the Museum, an evening of fun unlike any other.
The fifth year of this staple event will feature unique guests
from the worlds of science and science fiction that will delight
fans both young and old. All children will receive a
special autograph book to capture the signatures of everyone
from Amelia Earhart to Darth Vader.
More than 30 characters will be wandering the galleries of
Tellus educating visitors on how science and science fiction
often intersect and influence each other. From Star
Wars to Star Trek, from physics to aviation, all
the bases are covered at Night at the Museum. Kids and
kids-at-heart are encouraged to talk to the characters, take
photos and, of course, collect autographs.
Also returning this year are the infamous Tellus Mad Scientists.
They will be back with more zany and unique experiments
in the theater. There's no telling what will pop up
(or explode) during their demonstrations.
Children 12 and under are encouraged to dress up as their
favorite science or science fiction character and be part
of a special parade at 8:00 p.m. Please no adult costumes;
let's avoid confusing the crowd. Night at the Museum runs
from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. The Café will be open until
9:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for Tellus Science Museum
members and $20 for non-members.
Advance tickets are available for members to purchase now. Tickets
go on sale to the general public on July 1. Keep an
eye on this
page to see a list of characters as they are confirmed!
Call (770) 606-5700 ext 431 to purchase your tickets.
Save the date and plan to join your friends and crewmates
aboard the USS Republic for this exciting away mission
to the Tellus Science Museum. Arrangements for
carpooling to Cartersville will be announced in the next issue
of The Republiqué. |
Characters
and cosplayers from several popular franchises
participated in last year's Night at the Museum, August
4, 2012.
Photo courtesy of the 501st
Georgia Garrison |
|
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
USS
Republic senior command appear in FOX 5 Atlanta newscast |
| CLICK
THUMBNAIL TO WATCH VIDEO |
|
|
USS
Republic NCC-1371 Executive Officer Admiral Mike
Henigan responds to a question from FOX 5 Atlanta reporter
Eric Len at the Star Trek Into Darkness movie
premiere at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee,
Georgia, on Friday, May 17, 2013. To Admiral Henigan's
left is USS Republic Commanding Officer Captain Eric
L. Watts. To Captain Watts' left, not seen in the
close-up but seen briefly in the shot of the three of them
walking together, is Region 2 Zone 2 Zone Coordinator Admiral
Kelly Hilliard. All three gentlemen answered
several questions during the interview, but only one reply
made it to the final cut in this 51-second news clip.
Originally broadcast at 10:45 p.m. ET on Friday, May 17, 2013,
during the FOX 5 Atlanta News at Ten newscast and subsequently
posted on the FOX 5 Atlanta web
site. Copyright © 2013 Fox Television Stations,
Inc. and Worldnow.
Setting up for this interview did not come without its own
share of unfortunate drama. For details, see the
caption under the photo from this event under Recent Chapter
Event Photos below. |
| The
TrekTrax Atlanta 2013 Postmortem Report |
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|
The
third annual TrekTrax
Atlanta
(TXA), the Star Trek convention hosted by the USS Republic,
was held April 19-21, 2013, at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter
in Chamblee. This was the second consecutive year that
TXA billed itself as "The National Klingon Konvention" and
the first year as "The Star Trek Fan Film Festival."
It was also host of "The USS Republic 25th Anniversary
Celebration." Our Guest of Honor was Manu Intiraymi,
best known as "Icheb" from the last two seasons of Star
Trek: Voyager. Special Guests included Keith
R. A. DeCandido, the prolific writer/editor of many Star
Trek novels, novellas, short stories, comic books and
eBooks; Ken Feinberg, who played the Alien Captain
in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Horizon;" Dr.
Lawrence M. Schoen, author, publisher, psychologist,
Klingon language expert and founder of the Klingon Language
Institute; and Emmett Plant, a writer, composer and
producer who has produced over twenty Star Trek audiobooks
for CBS/Paramount. More than two dozen additional guests
were also in attendance, including cast and crew members from
the Star Trek fan productions Project: Potemkin,
Star Trek: Reliant, Starship Farragut
and Star Trek: Valkyrie; musical acts il
Troubadore: The Klingon Music Project and Go, Robo!
Go!; popular Klingon Karaoke hosts "Keela & Katkith;"
"Moxie Magnus," an entertainer and stage performer;
and Merrybellies, a five-woman belly dancing troupe
who often performs as Orion slave girls.
Over the course of the three-day convention, TrekTrax Atlanta
presented over 50 different events on three concurrent tracks
of programming: one dedicated to the Star Trek universe
in general, another devoted to the Klingon Empire in particular,
and a third designed specifically for costuming and makeup.
Special events included a VIP champagne reception, a
"Trekkies Got Talent!" talent show, a Star Trek Universe
costume contest, musical performances by two live bands, a
"Klingon Ballet" and of course, the 14th annual Miss Klingon
Empire Beauty Pageant. TXA also hosted a gaming room,
a dealers room and a con suite. As the central feature
of our "Star Trek Fan Film Festival," 43 different
Star Trek fan films, including episodes from various
series and several standalone films, were broadcast—or
at least, were supposed to have been broadcast—over
one of the hotel's in-house TV channels. In addition,
these same films were screened—until Sunday, at least—via
projector and film screen in the sitting area adjacent to
the hotel restaurant. As part of the USS Republic's
25th Anniversary Celebration, a group portrait was taken of
as many past and present members of the Republic as
we could corral in one place at one time.
Most of this year's attendees will tell you that they had
a great time at this year's convention, citing the many events
and activities that were presented as planned. We are
grateful for the many positive comments we've received telling
us that we did a great job and the strong encouragement we've
received to continue. In spite of this praise, however,
and unlike our first two conventions in 2011 and 2012, our
2013 convention was not the overall operational success we
had hoped it would be. A number of things we'd planned
did not go as well as we had hoped or, worse, did not go at
all. Some of these things can and will be easily forgotten,
while others will continue to affect how we do things for
months, if not years, to come.
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•
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One
of our confirmed special guests, James Cawley,
best known as the creator, executive producer and as
Captain James T. Kirk in the fan film series Star
Trek New Voyages: Phase II, and the designated Guest
of Honor of our Star Trek Fan Film Festival,
was involved in an automobile accident on the way to
his departure airport on Friday morning which totalled
his vehicle. We are grateful that Mr. Cawley was
unhurt, but the accident caused him to miss his flight
and he was unable to rebook the flight at a later time,
causing him to miss our convention altogether. His
absence caused a couple of panels to be cancelled, including
the screening of a "rough cut" of an upcoming
Star Trek: Phase II episode that has not yet
been released. |
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•
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While
we're very pleased that the paid attendance of our VIP
Champagne Reception this year was the highest it's been
so far, we're also very disappointed that the quality
of food and service at this year's reception was unacceptable.
What was supposed to have been "heavy hors d'oeuvres"
was little more than snack food not much better than
what we were already offering in our own con suite,
and we actually had to hunt down the service personnel
twice during the event for champagne, of which they
apparently didn't want to bring out more than one bottle
at a time (for 24 people!). |
|
•
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Attendees
of our first two conventions in 2011 and 2012 may remember
that we had a full-size replica of a Federation starship
command chair at the hotel that was used as a prop for
photo opps both with and not with our celebrity guests,
which turned out to be very popular with our attendees.
In fact, photos with and/or in that chair was
the activity that allowed us to raise $200 for the Melissa
Carter Transplant Fund last year. For 2013,
we had arranged for that same chair to be brought back
to the hotel to be used as the central prop of our celebrity
photo shoots. We even comped a membership
to the owner of the chair for his trouble. Unfortunately,
and for reasons that remain unclear to us to this day,
the owner of the chair did not bring the chair to the
hotel as previously agreed. We spoke to the owner
of the chair on Saturday evening. He had not forgotten
about the convention, nor was he ill, nor was he apparently
unable to transport the chair; he simply... changed
his mind. He would not volunteer any reason or
excuse for his change of mind; explaining to him how
important it was that he bring the chair to the hotel
as agreed fell on deaf ears. To this day, we don't
know the real reason why this person failed to keep
his promise.
What might have otherwise been a minor annoyance and
embarrassing inconvenience takes on much more serious
ramifications when you understand that photo opportunities
with our Guest of Honor in that chair was included in
our contact with him as a significant (if secondary)
source of revenue for him, in addition to his appearance
fee. In fact, revenue from photo opps could even
have potentially exceeded his appearance fee. When
the chair did not arrive and it became clear that it
wasn't coming, we tried to salvage the photo opps, but
the truth of the matter is that no one was willing to
pay $20 for a portrait with our Guest of Honor in front
of a plain blue background and a couple of fake potted
tree plants. Worse, our failure to provide a command
chair replica for photo opps with our Guest of Honor
technically put us into breach of contract with him.
Although we tried our best to explain the situation
to him, he was understandably unhappy with us and the
loss of significant income. To his credit, he
maintained a professional demeanor in front of our attending
members and did not discuss the matter publicly. |
|
•
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When
we were negotiating a contract with our host hotel back
in August 2012, they made us a number of offers and
concessions they hadn't previously made in order to
keep our business, which they were in danger of losing
because of their having already booked another convention
on the same weekend as the dates we wanted. These
included free meeting room rent, guaranteed; no room
nights commitment or attrition clause; a free hospitality
suite; and, with two conventions in the house at the
same time and not enough meeting room space available
for a video screening room, the opportunity to put all
of our video programming on an in-house hotel TV channel
that could be seen in every hotel guest room and on
at least three of the TVs in and around the lobby and
atrium on the bottom floor of the hotel. This
clause included us having access to their equipment
so that we could play our DVDs on time and in proper
order around the clock, as part of our "Star Trek
Fan Film Festival."
When we approached the hotel in early April to determine
the specific logistics of making this work, we were
informed that the hotel had replaced their previous
television programming system in December with satellite
programming and due to that change, there was no longer
a DVD player "in house" that we would have access to
in order to broadcast our DVDs. When we reminded
the hotel of our contract and their obligations, it
quickly became clear to us that they had forgotten about
this clause in our contract and that they were no longer
able to play our video programming on their in-house
TV system. With the "Star Trek Fan Film
Festival" an integral part of our convention programming
and with our expectations unambiguously detailed in
our legally binding contract, we made it clear that
we expected the hotel to meet their contractual obligations
at whatever expense to them may be required. Even
as late as Friday afternoon on the first day of our
convention, and with Opening Ceremonies only hours away,
there was still some doubt as to whether the hotel would
be able to meet its obligations. Somehow or another,
the hotel managed to rig up at the last minute some
kind of patched-in equipment that allowed them to broadcast
a DVD from a standard DVD player on one of their in-house
TV channels. However, they would not allow us
access to that equipment and informed us that we would
have to let the front desk personnel know each and every
time it was time to change out the DVDs. With
some of our videos only a few minutes long and others
more than an hour long, this quickly became a logistical
disaster. To make matters worse, they were never
able to tell us, exactly, which channel our DVDs were
being broadcast on, and only by scrolling through the
channels one by one did any of our attendees ever actually
find our video programming. Inexplicably, the
TV in our con suite was not hooked up to the hotel's
TV system, making it impossible to show the videos in
the con suite. And on top of all this, the hotel
also brought in a DVD projector and film screen at their
expense to set up in the sitting area next to the hotel
restaurant instead of broadcasting our videos on three
of the lobby/atrium TV sets as agreed. Trying
to keep the videos constantly running was already enough
of a challenge on Friday and Saturday; then, on Sunday
morning, the DVD projector and film screen mysteriously
disappeared, without explanation, never to return. By
Sunday, any and all attempts to keep the DVDs running
on anything were completely abandoned by hotel personnel.
As far as TXA management is concerned, our "Star
Trek Fan Film Festival" (or the video programming
part of it, at least) was a disaster and we place the
blame squarely on the shoulders of hotel management,
who we feel is in breach of contract for failing to
meet the terms of our agreement. |
In spite of these disappointments and challenges, which, to
be honest, many of our attendees weren't even aware of, most
of our attendees had a great time at the convention. Highlights
include the filming of a Project: Potemkin vignette
called "Closing Time" on Saturday night, which boasted
the participation of cast members from Star Trek: Reliant
and Star Trek: Valkyrie and the makeup supervisor from
Star Trek: Phase II, a "rough cut" of which was "world-premiered"
at the convention on Sunday afternoon; and the 14th Annual
Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant featuring five contestants.
To the best of our knowledge, all other programming
events went off exactly as planned and without incident.
In 2011, TrekTrax Atlanta attendance numbered 25 guests, 45
staff volunteers and 187 paid memberships for a total attendance
of 257 persons. In 2012, attendance numbered 33 guests,
45 staff volunteers and 162 paid memberships for a total paid
attendance of 240 persons, a 6.6% decrease from the previous
year. In 2013, TrekTrax Atlanta attendance numbered
43 guests and comps, 41 staff volunteers and 97 paid memberships
for a total paid attendance of 181 persons, a startling 24.6%
decrease from the previous year.
The causes of this alarming one-year drop in attendance and
what to do about it have been the subjects of discussion and
debate among both our attendees and our volunteer staff since
this year's Closing Ceremonies and continuing to this very
day. A significant decrease in paid advertising and
fewer in-person promotional appearances at other conventions
seem to have been factors, as well as (with all due respect
to our guests this year) the lack of any high-profile, well-known
media guests from the Star Trek franchise, such as
a series regular. An increased reliance on social
media and email marketing does not appear to have resulted
in any noticeable growth in attendance.
Given the well-publicized financial difficulties that TXA
found itself in following our first two conventions, one might
assume that a one-quarter drop in attendance would automatically
spell certain doom. Surprisingly, that is not the case.
Surprisingly, thanks to the two Trekkiepalooza fundraisers
we held in 2012, the Indiegogo fundraising campaign we held
in early 2013 and a whole bunch of stuff being sold on eBay
over the course of the last year, we were able to pay off
a significant portion (although not all) of our outstanding
debt from previous years. Surprisingly, after all invoices
were paid and all checks had cleared, TrekTrax Atlanta 2013—as
a standalone event with its own twelve-month fiscal year—actually
broke even, almost to the penny. The exact number? $5.16
in the black. After two years of conventions that finished
thousands of dollars in the red, we are absolutely thrilled
to have finished our third year in the black... even if only
by five measly bucks.
What this means for the future of the convention is that after
three years, we have finally figured out how to properly and
appropriately budget for an event for which we now have a
much more realistic expectation of paid attendance. The
success or failure of TrekTrax Atlanta should not and cannot
be measured by attendance alone; it must also be measured
by financial performance. Now that we know how many
people we can reasonably expect to attend next year's convention,
we can now develop a realistic budget to finance it, without
the numerous unnecessary luxuries we paid for the first two
years. Does this mean we'll be scaling back on some
of the things we previously offered? Perhaps. That
remains to be seen. What we can say for sure, however,
is that TrekTrax Atlanta 2014 will be both smaller in size
and broader in scope as we move forward, maximizing our strengths
and minimizing our weaknesses. As always, our biggest
asset is YOU, and we look forward to your support and participation
in the months ahead. |
|
Personnel
Records
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|
 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!
Something
special going on in your life? Submit
your Personnel Record for publication in the next
issue of The Republiqué!
|
Library
Computer
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
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Recent
Chapter Event Photos
CLICK ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
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Star
Trek Into Darkness Premiere (Vinings) || May
15, 2013
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Bill
Reichart, ENS3 Marq Collins, Richard Burke, Angela Tebbe
Burke, D. A. Moore, Ens Theresa Parker, CO Capt Eric L.
Watts, ENS1 Mark A. Ozanick, Capt Michael Cowart, ENS2 Tracey
S. Harwell, Gerry Crete, ENS3 Tracy O'Quinn and ENS1 Wil
Sims at the AMC Parkway Pointe in Vinings.
This special advance screening, two days before the original
release date (before Paramount inexplicably bumped it back
a day a week before the previously announced premiere),
was made possible by a partnership with Allied Integrated
Marketing of Atlanta.
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Star
Trek Into Darkness Premiere (Chamblee) || May
17, 2013
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Region
2 Zone 2 Zone Coordinator Adm Kelly Hilliard, ENS2 Eddie
Hines, Commanding Officer Capt Eric L. Watts and Executive
Officer Adm Michael Henigan at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood
Stadium 24 in Chamblee.
We had previously arranged to meet FOX 5 Atlanta at this
theater for an interview. However, much to our
surprise, when they arrived, theater management unceremoniously
threw them off the property, stating that they didn't have
permission to be there. Your Captain and the
Admirals ended up driving to a nearby business' parking
lot to meet FOX 5 for the interview. We were
so upset at the way theater management treated the press
that we gave our free tickets back, packed up our table
and left. Ensign Hines, however, stayed for the
free movie.
As a result of this incident, the USS Republic has
chosen to terminate our longstanding relationship with the
Regal Cinemas Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee. All
future "away missions" to movie premieres will
be held at a different theater.
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Star
Trek Into Darkness Premiere (Alpharetta) || May
18, 2013
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Cdt
Zarena Nova Tucker, ENS3 Richard Tucker, ENS1 Zannetta Law
Tucker, CO Capt Eric L. Watts, ENS2 Tracey S. Harwell, ENS1
Sue Lin Lange and "Ensign Wolfy" at the Studio Movie Grill
in Alpharetta.
Unlike previous appearances, those of us in costume posed
for photos with theater patrons with the promise we'd send
them a copy of the photo to their email address. We
collected two dozen new email addresses for our distribution
list... welcome!
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TimeGate || May
24-26, 2013
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CO
Capt Eric L. Watts, as sick as the proverbial dog with a
week-old case of bronchitis that would continue to linger
for another two weeks, dragged himself and only one box
of merchandise to display at this year's TimeGate.
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BELATED
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
Tuesday, June 4
ENS2 Renardo Hunter
Friday, June 7
ENS1 Michael Shipley
Saturday, June 22
ENS3 Karen Neal
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WELCOME
ABOARD!
2 New Members in May!
Ens Tov B. Brog
Crmn Eliya Brog
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MEMBER
REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in May. Thank you!
Capt Michael Cowart
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JUNE
AND JULY MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
These members' dues
expired in June
and July. Please renew now!
ENS1
Lea Hepler
Ens Patricia Houk
ENS1 Elisa Roper
Cmdr David A. Slaughter
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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 July 22, 2013, the Republic crew includes 43
members who are active members of STARFLEET in good
standing.
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The
Republic plans and coordinates an active schedule
of events for its members, but does not hold meetings
on a consistently fixed date each month.
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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 additional privileges that occasionally become available.
Additional information on Republic membership
and how to join or reenlist is on our award-winning web
site.
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FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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USS
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CREW
ROSTER
AS OF JULY 22, 2013
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Crmn Eliya Brog
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CDT
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ENS1
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NEWS
from
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| Star
Trek, after Darkness: What is next for the franchise? |
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By
Joseph Dickerson
July 11, 2013
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| As
readers of this site know, Star Trek Into Darkness
opened domestically and internationally late spring and
has earned over $443 million dollars. This is a success
for Paramount, albeit a modest one. It's not a flop,
by any measure... but it's not a home run, either. It's
a solid double or triple, but Paramount (like all studios
do with summer blockbusters) was swinging for the fences.
So, what's next? Well, to quote Donald Rumsfeld,
there are some "known knowns" and "known unknowns." Let's
cover what we know, and spend some time theorizing what
comes next. |
| "Modest"?
You may be thinking, "How is $443 million a ‘modest'
success?" |
| It's
a modest success for several reasons. First, it cost
almost $190 million to make, and Paramount spent a considerable
amount of money on advertising above and beyond the production
cost (at least $50 million, by one estimate). Second,
not all of that $443 million goes to Paramount—a significant
percentage goes to the theaters that show the film (1/3
to 1/2, depending on what is negotiated and how long the
film runs). Finally, while it exceeded the international
ticket sales of the first film, it did not have the 2X multiplier
against domestic box office that other summer films (like
Iron Man 3 or Fast and Furious 6) achieved. |
| Add
to that the demographics of the people who paid to see Star
Trek Into Darkness (only 25% were under 25, much less
than the 35% that the first film attracted, according to
The Wrap), and you can definitely see that things
were not as hoped. |
| The
50th Anniversary |
| 2016
will mark the 50th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek,
and releasing a new Star Trek film that year is a
no-brainer. Like Skyfall showed last year,
there's a lot of benefit that can be gained from releasing
a film that ties into an anniversary year. Will it
happen? Paramount has not yet officially stated that
there will be a third Star Trek film, which is surprising—they
announced a sequel to Star Trek shortly after that
film opened. However, co-writer Damon Lindelof has
stated in interviews the film is going ahead. Paramount
is rumored to be looking for a new director to replace J.
J. Abrams (who is committed to directing the next Star
Wars film). Names of directors that are purportedly
being considered have been Joe Cornish (Attack the Block),
Matt Reaves (Cloverfield), Joseph Kosinski (Tron:
Legacy) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men).
Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9,
was also a rumored name on Paramount's short list, but he
recently stated in an interview he is not interested in
directing Star Trek or any other franchise film. |
| They
[Paramount] are firm about having a movie out by the 50th
anniversary [in 2016] and we are all trying to see if we
can all make it work together. — Orci and Kurtzman in
an interview with TrekMovie.com |
| Bad
Robot |
| At
this point, it looks like Bad Robot will continue to be
involved in any potential sequel to Into Darkness,
and the writers of the film have discussed wanting to bring
Klingons back as the main villains of any third film. Since
Bad Robot is J. J. Abrams' production company, he will presumably
have some input into the story and creative decisions even
with his commitment to Star Wars: Episode VII. |
| Above
and beyond that, the ongoing Star Trek comic book
(supervised by Trek movie writer Bob Orci) will continue
to tell new stories set after Into Darkness and adapt
classic TOS episodes. As the comic laid hints as to
what would happen after Into Darkness, it may be
worth keeping an eye on for "clues" as to what will take
place in the third film. |
| A
lower-budget sequel? |
| How
will Paramount respond to the modest success of Star
Trek Into Darkness? Possibly by reducing the budget
of the third film. This could be a good thing, in
that a reduced budget could increase focus on telling a
tight story and on character moments. A Star Trek
sequel with a reduced budget wouldn't be anything new—Paramount
cut the budget for the first Trek sequel, and in
return we got The Wrath of Khan. Less money
doesn't mean reduced quality—sometimes budgetary constraints
can produce creative solutions and better ideas. |
| A
return to television? |
| Star
Trek started on television, and many fans think that
Star Trek is better suited to episodic TV than to
films (former Star Trek writer and show runner Ronald
D. Moore has also said as much in interviews). Writer/producer
Bryan Fuller, who is currently working on the series Hannibal,
has repeatedly said he would love to helm a new Star
Trek series. |
| Will
it happen? Maybe, but don't count on it |
| Thanks
to a large splitting up of Viacom properties in 2005, two
different companies effectively own the Star Trek
franchise: CBS Studios now owns Star Trek as a television
property and Paramount Pictures owns the film properties.
While they have a relationship where the "Star Trek" name
and characters are cross-licensed to one another, there
are two different managements that exist and these managements
would have to work together to make a new Star Trek
series. This won't be easy, because corporations are...
interesting places (think Dilbert). Doing Star
Trek on TV again would require a significant investment
in sets and special effects before a single episode is filmed,
and it would take a big commitment for any network or cable
channel to green-light such a production. |
| An
animated series has been rumored for some time, and such
a series would cost less than a live-action series... but
there are challenges there, as well. What is the target
audience? Will it be a "dumbed-down" version of Trek
for younger viewers? Or will it be a more intelligent
series, like the recent Star Wars: Clone Wars show?
When would it be set, and would it attempt to bring
in recognized voice actors (like Patrick Stewart) to appeal
to fans? |
| A
lot of moving parts have to come together to make a successful
Star Trek series. Is it worth trying?
Absolutely. But, as noted above, there are challenges. |
| Continued
merchandising, video releases and tie-ins |
| There
are multiple companies producing Star Trek merchandise:
Diamond Select, Simon and Schuster, Round 2 Models, Her
Universe and more. New games, posters, collectibles
and clothing items will continue to be made, all intended
to separate fans from their hard-earned latinum... err,
dollars. CBS is busy remastering all the Star Trek:
The Next Generation seasons, and have recently started
releasing Enterprise on Blu-ray. A high definition
remastering of Deep Space Nine may also occur, depending
on how the Blu-ray sets of ST:TNG and Enterprise
sell. |
| However,
things aren't all rosy when it comes to merchandising.
Star Trek: The Video Game, released to tie-in with
the new film, flopped with tepid sales and horrible reviews.
Hasbro released Star Trek building sets (through
its Kre-O line) to tie-in with the new Star Trek
film, though soft sales may halt the creation of additional
sets. Finally, the soft economy (along with online
streaming services) has reduced "catalog" sales on all home
video titles, and this has impacted the sales of season
and movie sets. |
| While
there's a lot of fan-centered merchandise on the market
for the various franchises, there are also a whole lot of
Star Trek fans out there... and many of them will
continue to purchase Trek-related products to line
their shelves and display cabinets for the foreseeable future. |
| Ongoing
fan productions |
| While
it may be at least three years since we get new Trek
on the big screen, there IS new Trek being made.
In addition to the Star Trek: Phase II production,
Star Trek Continues recently premiered to much praise.
While both productions have some shortcomings due
to its low budget, both are entertaining original takes
on the original series, telling new stories with the involvement
of some of the creative team from the original series (such
as D. C. Fontana and David Gerrold). This is in addition
to other "one-off" fan efforts and older shows that have
ceased production. So check out these interesting
takes on the Star Trek universe. |
| Star
Trek lives! |
| Star
Trek is still a viable franchise, with fans around the
world excited to share their love of the series with their
fellow Trekkers (or Trekkies, depending on your preference).
While some fans were frustrated with some of the creative
decisions in the latest film, many others enjoyed the film.
The reason for such strong reactions, both pro and
con, is simple: People LOVE Star Trek, and it holds
a special place in people's hearts. And as long as
it provokes such a passionate reaction, Star Trek
will never die. |
|
|
Costumed
Trekkies to attempt new world record this August |
|
By
Nancy Garrett
July 15, 2013
|
| Thousands
of Star Trek fans will be convening in Las Vegas
in August again, to listen to celebrity panels, bid on memorabilia,
attend planetary science discussions, stand in lines for
autographs and photo opps, and debate the merits of the
latest Star Trek motion picture. And again
this year, they will attempt to break a Guinness World Record
for most people dressed in Star Trek costumes at
one location. |
| Breaking
the Guinness World Record |
| The
12th Annual Star Trek Las Vegas Convention is set
again to be one of the largest gatherings of Star Trek
fans, so one wouldn't think this would be much of a challenge.
The magic number needed is 1,064—1,064 Trekkies
costumed as any Star Trek character (or object!)
that was part of five television series or twelve motion
pictures. (The sixth series is Star Trek: the
Animated Series, but we don't yet have the technology to
transform into a cartoon character.) Last year, Vegas
fans had their chance to break their 2011 record of 1,040,
but fell short. Destination Star Trek London
fans beat them to it, setting a new record of 1,063 in October
2012. |
| Star
Trek costume record-setting is nothing new. Convention
cities have been going back and forth in the world record
competition—it comes off like a horse race. As
each year begins, conventions leave the post, going neck
and neck, one event surging forward of the other by a length
or a nose. Las Vegas has been alternating costumed
record attempts with events in London, Tampa, Atlanta and
Germany's FedCon. Many other cities make the attempt,
but can't come close to the winner's circle. |
| It
All Began With Only 99 Fans |
| Reports
say the origin of the first title began in London in February
2010, with a mere 99 costumed fans. In May 2010, record
attempts were made by the Tampa convention and Germany's
FedCon, with the Europeans taking the honors at 507. But
the record would be upset again, as Star Trek Las
Vegas counted 543 costumed fans. Atlanta's Dragon*Con
won the year's best with 571. Moving forward to 2011,
the title went back across the ocean as FedConXX claimed
691. But in August that year, Las Vegas Trekkies gathered
in full force and 1,040 costumed fans passed through the
doors of the DeForest Kelley Theatre to pull out far ahead
of the pack. |
|
|
|
MEMBERS
OF THE USS REPUBLIC AT THE 2010 DRAGON*CON GUINNESS
WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT
|
| Last
year, Star Trek Las Vegas fans attempted to unseat
their own record, but couldn't top it. Destination
Star Trek London's October convention not only attracted
all five Star Trek captains to the program, but also
drew 1,063 costumed fans for the record attempt, and the
Guinness World Record moved back to the U.K. |
| Next
month, Las Vegas Trekkies will have the chance to redeem
themselves. Some fans have tried to analyze what went
wrong in 2012. There has been talk of scheduling and
program conflicts. Other important events were happening
simultaneously. Other fans complained they were turned
away by staff because their footwear or costume didn't meet
the requirements. A few have suggested that Las Vegas
fans simply lost interest in a second record attempt. |
| Star
Trek Into Darkness, released this year, gives fans a
whole new realm of opportunities for costumes and uniforms.
Now that another city, country and continent holds
the record, maybe there'll be more incentive to bring the
honor back to what many Trekkies consider to be the premier
convention: Creation Entertainment's Star Trek Las
Vegas. What do you think? Can they do it? |
|
|
Fan
production Star Trek Continues releases first episode |
|
By
Matt Wright
May 30, 2013
|
| The
fan production Star Trek Continues, a new
TOS-era fan film led by anime voice actor Vic Mignogna as
Kirk and featuring Chris Doohan as Mr. Scott (his Dad's
old job), Trek author Larry Nemecek and Mythbuster
Grant Imahara as Mr. Sulu, has now completed their first
episode, "Pilgrim Of Eternity." As previously reported,
it features the return of original actor Michael Forest
as Apollo. Keep a lookout for a cameo by Battlestar
Galactica's Jamie Bamber, Trek art department
alum Doug Drexler as the holographic cowboy, and the voice
of the ship's computer sounds pretty familiar, too. |
|
|
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