Theyve just finished up withFringeand HawaiiFive-0.And they have no shortage of other projects bubbling up.
Fortunately for us, they found us a spare ten minutes to natter about them….
Star Trekfirst.
I really like the first/eleventh film.
Were you keen to redress that here?
Alex:We believe very strongly that sequels are about bad guys.
The old adage that your hero is only as good as your villain is true.
Who forces Kirk to become the captain that he is?
Did he inherit the chair too early?
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Bob:Eric Bana is an unsung hero in the first movie.
We always thought of him as a great white shark.
He is just this force that is coming after our crew to put them together.
In a way, its a thankless job, and he did it brilliantly.
And it was by design that the origin story took up so much time.
But he brought that to it on his own, so God bless him.
Also, Eric BanasHulkmovie is criminally underrated.
Bob:Totally agree.
This film, and also the first, is almost a recruitment drive forStar Trekisnt it?
And at a point where movies are subverting lots of conventions, youre not.
Where are you drawing the line as to where to pitch this one?
Because we knew at our core that we needed to just two people: fans and non-fans.
So how were we going to do that?
So we had that element in our group, with Bob and Damon.
As a die hardStar Trekfan, how would I feel about this?
What would I embrace?
Because we are making a movie for a much bigger group.
But doing it in a way that was also emotional.
That was the key for us: figuring out that balance.
It is for the audience to decide if we found it, but that was certainly our collective goal.
My big problem with the movie was its title.
Wheres the colon?!
Thats basic punctuation, isnt it?
Bob:Unless its a sentence!
[laugh]
It doesnt make sense, though!
Bob:Trek Into Darkness, Trek Into Darkness.
Trek Into Darkness does,Star Trek Into Darknessdoesnt!
you should probably add a colon, or lose the word Star!
Bob:Its pretty close!
But this is quite a light film, which bucks the modern trend somewhat.
I think it might surprise people.
Is that lightness, with tinges of darkness, part of you trying to be true to that ethos?
Bob:Well if you look at the first film, a lot of terrible things happen.
An entire planet Vulcan, by the way gets destroyed.
Theres some dark stuff in there.
I think the thing withStar Trekis to keep your chin up, in spite of these things.
Its that the funs going to be challenged by some serious issues.
Thats how we see it.
Does that mean were going to get whales soon?
When it was underwater at the start, I thought we were going to get some.
Bob:You saw a big fish though.
That fish was the whale of that planet.
Thats not a whale!
Anyway, can I touch on a couple of other projects youre involved with.
Bob:Yeah, what have you got?
I think if you announceThe Gooniesnext, thatd just cap the lot off!
Bob:Dont go there!
Im curious where everything is.
Alex:Its all true.
Yeah, I do think that reboot isnt the word at all.
Each of those things are unique and totally different and separate from anything thats been before.
Its a totally new context, totally new story.
It is a contemporary modern day story.
AndThe Mummyis an entirely different story.
Its not a reboot.
Its a fresh story.
There are new elements that have never been done in any of theMummymovies.
So that feels like a new and exciting challenge for us.
Bob:And I would say this.
In school, you learn that there are only seven kinds of stories.
Theres man versus nature, man versus man, man versus himself, blah blah blah.
So it doesnt matter what theyre called.
Its this: do you have a new story that fits into one of those things.
Those movies could be called anything, frankly.
It just happens that the business is here, its where it is.
Studios, to cut through the clutter, want recognisable titles.
But that does not excuse you, as a writer, from having an original story.
So for us, it doesnt matter what its called.
Bob and Alex, thank you very much!
Star Trek Into Darknessis out in UK cinemas now.
You canread our interview with Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk here.
