Abrams' Ship Is Bigger Than Yours

I really have to be honest. I've never had any experience in the world that is Star Trek, that is up until I saw Abrams version of "Star Trek. Never watched any of the films, never caught a minute of any of the TV shows. I was nervous going in, nervous that I wouldn't be able to enjoy a film which was getting such great buzz because of all the inside knowledge of the Trek universe that I certainly didn't possess. Luckily Abrams held my hand and guided me through allowing me to enjoy the film and not worry about the knowledge I never took the time to acquire. There was action, drama, and humor, everything I love from a tentpole. The film was made for the general public, watching it again on DVD has allowed me to do some digging and boy are there things for "Trekkies" to talk about.

Over at John Eaves' blog, who was a consultant on Abrams' Trek, there has been some good spirited debate regarding the scale of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The "official" number indicating the actual size of the new version of the Enterprise as 2379.75 was presented via the DVD from Alex Jaeger, Visual Effects Art Director for ILM. Apparently fans have been debating the scale of the Enterprise and other scaling issues for many months. You would think the above picture and the commentary on the DVD would help to put out the fire but the new revelation seems to have only fanned the flames as evidenced by the 60+ comments that have followed.

William Shatner Star Trek Cameo Revealed

J.J. Abrams and Chris Nolan have one thing in common with Star Trek and Batman. Both made the decision to simultaneously stay as true to lore as they could, but also say, “I’m not going to go out of my way to provide fan service if this doesn’t help the story I’m telling. This must play across the board to everyone no matter what.” That mentality turned both once-dead franchises to vibrant properties that the movie-going public can’t wait to see the next installments.

In the case of Abrams came the issue of including William Shatner in some form as Captain Kirk. As it turned out, the cameo he and his screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote didn’t suit the Priceline spokesman and he ultimately decided against it. Months after Trek’s wildly successful theatrical run (and a week after the DVD/Blu-Ray hit shelves), comes the script from that scene courtesy of Trek Movie.

It’s basically the meeting of the two Spocks (Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy) near the end. Spock Prime (God I hate saying that name) shows his young counter-part proof that he and the brass Kirk (then Shatner, now Chris Pine) are destined to become best friends even in his newly altered (and thus rebooted) universe. His proof comes from a holographic image of the Shat himself. Singing. Happy Birthday. To his old friend Spock.

Now I joke, but this could have been a moving scene. But we as an audience and the film (and this new rebooted franchise as a whole) are better off without it. The point of the film (at least how I interpreted it) was how no matter what, you can’t avoid your own destiny. Kirk was always meant to become Captain of the U.S. Enterprise. He’ll just never “become” Shatner which made it more effective and by dafault the cameo pointless as Hell. Nothing more than pure fan service.

Everyone knows how Abrams is acting nice about possibly including Shatner in Star Trek 2. But who seriously thinks that's going to happen?

Tobey Maguire Confirms Spider-Man 4 Start

For all the non-answers from Sam Raimi and endless Black Cat rumors, we never heard a peep from Spider-Man himself (aka Tobey Maguire) on where things stood with the fourth installment. He’s long been confirmed to return, but nothing beyond that. Truthfully, we haven’t seen much from our favorite doey-eyed web-slinger since 2007s Spider-Man 3. Yes, I realize there was the Tropic Thunder cameo from last year, but it's not like he went out and did press for that movie.

Now the actor is out pimping for his new drama Brothers (ironically enough co-starring his almost-replacement on Spider-Man 2 Jake Gyllenhaal). The topic of Webhead was bound to be brought up in discussions. HitFix is the first to report on the matter from the press rounds:

At a press conference for his newest movie "Brothers," Maguire responded a mere "yes" when asked if audiences will be seeing a new side to Peter Parker in the third sequel of the comic book flick.

One could immediately interpret that as a "confirmation" on the Spider-Baby rumors. Then again, I don't think that many of us bought into that rumor to begin with. Maybe someone should track down Kirsten Dunst. Maybe she'll blab the villains like she did with that last one.

Avatar Featured On 60 Minutes

Last night’s episode of 60 Minutes was watched by 16 million people. Could that be due to a segment dedicated to James Cameron’s Avatar? Possible, but highly unlikely. The television newsmagazine has been a staple on our screens since the late 1960s and continues to pack quite the punch in the never-ending battle for truth, justice and ratings domination.

The 12 minute piece pertained to next month’s high-stakes (for 20^th Century Fox, at least) sci-fi epic, the career of its writer/director one Mr. James Cameron and its potential impact on the market with its use of 3-D technology. You can enjoy the segment in its entirety on the official 60 Minutes website or embedded below.

To their credit, this doesn’t devolve into a puff piece for the movie. Since the network is owned by Viacom and Avatar is coming our way via Fox, which was never going to be an issue. We’ve all known the story of O.J. Simpson in Terminator casting story for years, but it’s especially funny to hear it coming out of Cameron’s mouth (i.e. “I didn’t think he’d go kill his wife!”)

Tell us what you really think there, Jim.

'New Moon' Drives Stake In Box Office

Weekend Actuals Nov 20th - Nov 22nd

1 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $142,839,137
2 The Blind Side $34,119,372
3 2012 $26,410,206
4 Planet 51 $12,286,129
5 A Christmas Carol $12,275,024
6 Precious $10,881,772
7 The Men Who Stare at Goats $2,829,031
8 Couples Retreat $1,943,075
9 The Fourth Kind $1,747,085
10 Michael Jackson's This Is It $1,617,417 

Twi-Hards Turn Box Office Upside Down

Despite the best efforts of South Carolina's Matt Rape, "Twi-Hards" still lined up two by two to experience the cinematic experience we all know as "New Moon". Crushing most estimates, including my estimate of 100 - 110 Million, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" pulled in an incredible 140 Million + this past weekend. The fans have spoken and the message is loud and clear. A property with a dedicated fanbase that is injected with some action, drama, and fun will open huge. It's not rocket science and "Twi-Hards" are not rocket scientists.

"New Moon" becoming # 1 on Fandago's and MovieTicket.com's Top 10 Advance Ticket Sellers of All time last week should have been the first clue. The second clue could have been tickets via Fandango selling at more than a 10 per second clip on Friday. Maybe the droves of teenage girls pitching tents in front of multiplexes indulging in board games while they waited for the midnight showing might have tipped some of us off. If you weren't paying attention by then, when the records started falling I bet you took notice.

Midnight Opening Record: $26.27m
All Time Friday & Single Day Record: $72.7m
Biggest Two Day Total: $115.9m
Biggest November Opening: 140.7m
3rd Biggest Opening All Time: 140.7m

Not only did this movie explode domestically, it took tore away at the competition overseas pulling in $118.1m away from the comfort of the U.S. borders in 25 international markets between Wednesday and Sunday. This gives "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" a 5 day total of $259.8 million worldwide. Although those enormous numbers are nothing to laugh at, leave it to a combination of Brandon Routh and Martha MacIsaac to turn it all into a joke with a "Twilight" inspired parody. Find out what happens when a vampire discovers their girlfriend has their period.

Movie Moan - Three Men and A Lot of Bullshit

Because the Thanksgiving holidays are upon us, there isn't too terribly much news to report this week. Regardless, your pals at Movie Moan (Phil, the "mean" Ed and Jamie) are here to supply your weekly podcast needs. However due to the afore-mentioned lacks of news, the guys spend most of the hour bullshitting off-topic and so on.

Our heroes talk about the latest round of Spider-Man 4 rumors, Preacher being adapted for the big or small screen, the never ending "Will Khan appear in Star Trek 2?" question and and the Twilight phenomenon (with the $140 million opening of New Moon and all). In between those topics come conversations about the Macy's Day Parade, movies opening on Christmas Day in the U.S. vs. them opening in the U.K. on Boxing Day, Thanksgiving memories and Super Mario Brothers Wii.

Ed gives us his thoughts on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and how it made a decade too late. Jamie recreates a meeting between McG and HitFix big-cheese Drew McWeeny and discovers how 2012 is a "prequel" to District 9. It all makes sense now.

Movie Moan - Three Men and A Lot of Bullshit

2nd 'Season Of The Witch Trailer'

Every time I see an article with the "Season of the Witch" title I automatically think of "Halloween III: Season of the Witch". I think to myself, why are they remaking the only "Halloween" flick that didn't feature Michael Myers? Then I realize it isn't that weird film with that eerie song that you can't help but sing to yourself or share with others around you. "Season of the Witch" features Nicholas Cage and he won't be wearing a pumpkin mask. Check out the trailer below and head over to Fandango for the HD version if you dare.

"3 More Days Til' Halloween, Halloween, Halloween."

"3 More Days Til' Halloween, Silver Shamrock"

Warner Bros Develops 'Nubs'

After the success of Fox's "Marley and Me", brothers Warner of Burbank must have been seeing dollar signs as they've dug up the rights to the New York Times children's best seller "Nubs". The uplifting book was written by Major Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery, and Kirby Larson. The true story centers around a stray dog that Dennis found in Iraq which he cared for and had shipped back to the U.S.  Dennis later joined the dog and made appearances on "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" among others. Justin Zackham, lately of "The Bucket List" fame, is penciled in to write and produce.

The general public is always open to a heart warming film featuring animals and using the war as a backdrop will help establish a setting we can all relate to. I'd like to see a strong character actor taking the lead as Major Brian Dennis, not a big name. I can see this film playing to a broad audience and hitting 90 Million to 100 Million domestically depending on release date and actors. If it can be anywhere in the ballpark of the monetary success "Marley and Me", "Scooby-Doo" or
"Beverly Hills Chiuaha" enjoyed, then WB has a gold mine in their paws.

Sherlock Holmes International Featurette

I can't wait to see this "Sherlock Holmes". Robert Downey Jr's comeback has intrigued me. The man has reinvented himself and climbed the ladder from the bottom back to top. you have to respect that. From the footage I've seen so far, the film looks like a fun ride. I can see it being as entertaining as the first "Pirates of the Caribbean", of course it won't make as much money, but you can be sure it will be the first shovel of dirt that buries "Avatar". A formula of fun and action featuring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, and a not so fully dressed Rachel McAdams steals my heart over blue aliens any day. The scribes over at Coming Soon have been nice enough to post the international featurette. Enjoy.