1-18-08/Cloverfield
Orci & Kurtzman Working On New TV Pilot w/ Abrams + ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Movie + New Info on Abrams ‘Cloverfield’
At a writers workshop held in Santa Monica on Thursday, Star Trek co-writer Alex Kurtzman said that he and writing partner Roberto Orci are writing on a new TV pilot with JJ Abrams. The three worked together in TV before on the show Alias and it would be the writers first time back on TV since that show ended. Abrams has a multi-million dollar TV production deal with Warner Brothers, but so far has only announced one show for HBO (a medical drama). After the event Roberto Orci told TrekMovie that it was not a Star Trek show and that they still don’t know if the show is for network TV, HBO or cable. He did say it will probably have some sci-fi/genre elements (kind of like Lost and Alias have some genre elements but are not ’spaceship scifi’), but they are still working out the details. If the show follows the usual pilot season schedule then it wouldn’t really kick into production until Spring of 2008, which would be after Star Trek enters its post production phase.
Orci & Kurtzman also said they are working on a live action film adaptation of the ‘Cowboys and Aliens‘ graphic novel series for Dreamworks. Variety is reporting they will be producing, but not writing for that project. They will be working with Brian Glazer and Ron Howard (Abrams is not part of the C&A project). Orci didn’t provide any details except to joke "well it’s about cowboys…and aliens."
Remember ‘Cloverfield’?
Back in February we ran a few articles regarding JJ Abrams and the ‘will he wont he’ direct the new Star Trek movie rumors. At the time there was some confusion over the "Dark Tower" project as well as a project called "Cloverfiled." TrekMovie.com confirmed Cloverfield was a horror project and part of Abrams mutli-picture deal with Paramount. Now AICN is reporting that Cloverfield is "a giant monster movie featuring something called ‘The Parasite.’" Apparently there will actually be a trailer for the film some time this summer. It isn’t clear how what Abrams involvement in th project is, but it is likely just producing. The film is said to be a ’small picture’ using an innovative technique "using home video cameras as if from the point of view of real people who are experiencing an attack on New York."
We will keep track of both of these projects.
Orci and Kurtzman did speak a bit about how they approached the Star Trek script at the workshop, expect a report on that later Friday
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A trailer out this summer? Geez, that was fast… the thing must already be nearly halfway done then. Of course, if it’s only a small movie using home video cameras, it may not take that long.
Anyway, I look forward to the Orci/Kurtzman report.
So is it “a giant monster movie” or a “small picture”?
I hate it when you hear that the writers of a big movie are also off developing other projects tv pilots etc..just stick to the job in hand fellas…
Star Trek!!
Snake, the job at hand is done. Writers write. And these writers have written the Star Trek script. Their “job” for trek is finished.
This is sure to draw Anthony’s wrath, so I apologize in advance for this minor criticism, but this story really doesn’t have very much to do with Star Trek. I appreciate that there’s some kind of love affair going on with Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman, but I’m not too interested in being kept up on all their other non-Trek projects. And, yes, I know that nobody asked for my opinion (not directly at least), that if I don’t like it, I don’t have to read it, and that no one has a gun to my head forcing me to visit this site, and that if I think I’m so smart, why don’t I just go off and start my own Trek-related website. I’m just giving my honest feedback. And I also apologized in advance for doing that.
This sounds interesting, kinda like Blair Witch meets War of the Worlds. I enjoy reading about the various side projects as they give some indicators of the style and sensibilities of the Trek production team.
# 5… You don’t need to apologize, because I for one agree with you. We are not so starved for information that we need to know what the next Abrams/Orci/Kurtzman project is… or if they drink Bud or Miller Lite, wear boxers or briefs, etc. It’s becoming like that seen in The Right Stuff when the reporters mobbed Al Shepard”s diaper-serviceman just to get any scrap of information they could. Just pertinent Star Trek information please.
I can’t help but wonder…
they said they’re not sure if it will be “Spaceship scifi” …
does that mean they’re considering turning the Harve Bennett Kirk in Starfleet Academy movie into a tv series?
RE: why cover Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman
we cover them the way other sites cover the latest moves of Kate Mulgrew. (although I do periodically do a ‘where are they now’ thing) In this case it has even more to do with Trek because these people are actually working on Star Trek instead of just having worked on it in the past. It is also a way to get to know the new team better. This site will continue to periodically cover other projects from the team…you can alway skip those stories there are about 15 stories from the last week and they are not all required to read.
RE: wish they would just work on Star Trek
the problem with popular talented people is that they have a lot of work. The writing team said that for the lase few years they have been working on at least 2 projects at a time, Abrams clearly is a multi-tasker with Lost, Alias, MI3, Trek, etc, etc That is just the nature of the business in Hollywood
RE: is this Trek
I have added an update to clarify that the pilot is not a new star trek show
#7
So which is it? Boxers or briefs? Bud or Miller? Giant monsters with video cameras who have the Right Stuff? What?
I am an avid Star Trek fan, but I also love movies. I, for one, am interested in all sorts of movies. I would hope that as the most educated fans in the universe of fandom, we might just be interested in all sorts of goodies.
Cowboys and Aliens? Can anyone say “Firefly”? This group of hacks gets worse by the minute.
I sure do hope these guys havent bitten off more than they can chew. Remember Generations? I am sure that movie wouldnt have sucked as much as it did if Berman and Co. weren’t working on the end of TNG, the start of VOY and DS9 ASWELL as writting the movie. Lets hope Abrhams can juggle projects better than Berman!
#10…Point well taken. But I still laugh at fact we all get so worked up on such limited information and rumors.
Follow the link here for cowboys and aliens the on line comic…
http://www.drunkduck.com/CowboysAndAliens/
I imagine that this will be the start of the movie…
#11
Please to be reading:
“they are working on a live action film ADAPTATION of the “Cowboys and Aliens” graphic novel series”
Does this clear anything up for you? Or is it easier to just bitch?
Sorry, it’s Friday and the weight of the world is unbearable.
sorry i fixed the link to the cowboys and aliens site in the article.
and mark…give it a rest. If you are just here to flame…then I suggest you just move on
I, for one, am very interested in other projects the Trek crew are working on. Unless I am mistaken, this site was founded to post news related to the new Star Trek movie (hence, trekMOVIE.com and Trek MOVIE Report). As far as I know, the writers of the new film fall under that category. The film is still being developed, and they are still very involved with the project even if the script may be complete… they’re also two of the film’s executive producers on the film, after all.
As for “the job in hand” (to quote #3), that’s actually “the JOBS in hand”… plural. Writers keep writing. When they’re finished with one thing, they move on to another… and sometimes, they work on two or more projects at a time. That’s what Hollywood writers do.
Oh, and in response to #11… wow. That must be really embarrassing for you. I know I get embarrassed whenever I say something without thinking. Oh, well. Live and learn, right? Better luck next flame… er, time.
Off Topic, sorry… I checked out Mark’s site… IMO… don’t waste your time.
#18 - I didn’t intend to.
Thanks for the warning, though. 
That Cowboys and Aliens thing sure looks pretty interesting, though. I never even heard of this before, at least, not that I recall. But hey, Howard and Grazer… should be good. Should be… doesn’t necessarily mean it will (remembers The Missing and shudders).
#18
His site is actually rather good. I don’t think it was necessary to mention his site at all, even if you DID hate it. You’re just being a bit bitter.
-TGP-
So I looked at Cowboys & Aliens. Darn it if the alien women don’t walk off the spaceship wearing fishnet stockings and knee-high boots!
Seeing as I remember Star Trek being described as “Wagon Train in space” over the years, isn’t Star Trek really just “Cowboys and Aliens” then…