Peter Laird's opinions about the new Star Trek movie

[CyberCubed]

For those who haven't read it, Peter Laird hated the Star Trek reboot:

http://plairdblog.blogspot.com/


Given the new TMNT movie may be a reboot, how do you think this movie could be done to appease Peter Laird, given he apparently hated another type of reboot done just recently?

[gobo]

It was a pseudo-reboot. But, yeah, that's not very reassuring. Good thing he's not a movie producer...

[Jester]

Pete so far has been the only really negative review I've heard on Star Trek...

[Aztec General]

I don't know much about Star Trek (nor do I care) but let's remember that it was Peter Laird who thought the script for the 2007 TMNT film was good enough to film...

[willtupper]

Did you guys see The Onion's "news" story about this?

http://www.theonion.com/content/vide...star_trek_film

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Aztec General

let's remember that it was Peter Laird who thought the script for the 2007 TMNT film was good enough to film...

But, it was "good enough"... Crap a lot less interesting than that still disgraces the silver screen regularly.

[Roseangelo]

I pretty much lost what little faith I had in the new TMNT movie when I read what Peter wrote about Star Trek.

Sorry Peter, I'm a life-long Trek fan and the new movie kicks ass. If you have no interest in making a TMNT movie that people will embrace like they have this new Star Trek movie, why are you even bothering?

[CyberCubed]

Maybe it is an age-thing? Peter Laird is 55 and grew up watching Star Trek on TV back when it originally aired, and this movie was too action oriented, and also somewhat teen oriented given the younger main characters. (I know they were all in their 20's or older, but you get my idea)

I am interested to see how other 50+ year olds who watched Star Trek back when it aired feel about this.

I hope TMNT fans are open minded if the new reboot goes in a new direction too.

[GK Punk]

Everyone I knew that grew up watching Trek loved it.

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by Jester

Pete so far has been the only really negative review I've heard on Star Trek...

Roger Ebert also gave it a negative review, I'm sure there has been more and will be others, no movie is ever universaly accepted. I've also read a few articles criticising that it doesn't capture the feel of "Roddenberry's vision" or being a sci fi commentary on current events as some episodes of the series have been touted as.

(yes, exactly what the Onion's news video is parodying)

I myself have casualy followed the movies production and even by looking at the trailers I think it's obvious to anyone that this is not going to be the Trek that many already know, that's the whole selling point of the movie. "Think Star Trek is just for sweaty 30 year olds who live with their parents...think again. This is cool with tons of explosions and lense flares and the extreme"

I can certainly enjoy on that level and suspect I will when I go see it, particularly as it seems to retain elements of TOS that I liked and even Laird himself praises one of these aspects.."some of the key cast did excellent work with their interpretations of the established Star Trek" characters, and some of the visuals were very impressive."

I think a lot of Trek fans are enjoying it on the same level as I expect to as well as tons loving the fact that after the last decade or so of dreck and commercial decline thanks to Abram's name and the hype around the film it's not only going to be commercialy succesful but also make the franchise something it's never been before...cool. It's the same with the current crop of comic book movies, generaly comics are looked down upon as kids things but when they make succesful movies it almost makes the twentysomething fans that still read them feel validated.

If Laird is not one of those fans then I'm not really sure how that affects the upcoming TMNT reboot. It's not like the story that most fans want for TMNT
fits with big explosions and more modern hip versions of the characters like what I suspect Star Trek will be or Bay's Transformers. So it's irrelevant.

What we should be looking at is Laird's opinons on movies that play closer to what fans feel a TMNT film should be. Back when it first came out he stated that he enjoyed Batman Begins and in the first MTV interview he did said that he regards the first live action as being the best.

We also know what he'll never allow in a film, Venus, Bebop & Rocksteady and overt OT pandering. Now if that still makes people uneasy then...well what can ya do?

[TristanHuwJones]

No offense, but what the hell does this have to do with the TMNT movie? It's a pretty ridiculous argument. Peter Laird didn't like Star Trek = TMNT reboot will be bad.

All I keep hearing, even when I tell the Trek fans I know to cut through the ******** and be honest with me as someone who has never really cared about Star Trek and maybe watched a couple of episodes I can't even recall, is that it's a pretty standard movie. The only reason Trek fans really love it, and this is exactly what I've heard from fans and non-fans alike (again after saying cut the garbage and be honest) is that the film essentially goes through a checklist of things that they hope will ensure the fans love it and then does its thing. Just because Trek fans embrace it, it doesn't make it a good movie for everyone. Star Wars fans embraced the prequels but that didn't necessarily make them good either.

How many other reboots have there been to date? Batman, Superman, X-men, Hulk, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, James Bond... They've all been hit and miss too. So Peter is a Star Trek fan who didn't like the movie. So what? I've got friends who are fans who didn't either. But what has this got to do with the TMNT movie? From the sounds of everything it doesn't exactly look as though they're going to be going into space. It's like saying "okay, this apple wasn't to my liking, therefore that pot roast will not agree with me either."

No one involved in the Star Trek movie is currently working on the film. At the moment it's the dude who put the money forward for the Batman movies, 300 and Superman, and the dude that put the money forward for TMNT 4. Then you've got Peter and Gary and Legendary Pictures. There's not even a writer or director MENTIONED... ANYWHERE... So just chill, and wait until there's something solid ABOUT TMNT said.

What Galactus above me has said is spot on, and my own post probably would've hit around the same time as his if I hadn't taken a phone call
Sorry for the repetition without directly quoting you or referencing your own post G!

[Machias Banshee]

Tristan pretty much said it for me. Star Trek and TMNT are two totally different things. There's no Logical way to compare how the star trek movie was done and what will happen with the new TMNT movie. We don't even know a PERCENT of what's going to happen with the TMNT movie. Can we at least WAIT and SEE something before we immediately go TRASHing it?

I think people are just reaching WAY out and trying to grasp at straws to be negative about something.

[VaughnMichael]

I think people are worried because he said this about Trek and has said things about George Lucas, when he can't see that it's the same thing when his fans dislike something.
I'm pretty sure thats the point people are trying to make.
It's time to move on from the past and I mean everything, it's time for a new turtles.

[TristanHuwJones]

Originally Posted by VaughnMichael

I think people are worried because he said this about Trek and has said things about George Lucas, when he can't see that it's the same thing when his fans dislike something.
I'm pretty sure thats the point people are trying to make.
It's time to move on from the past and I mean everything, it's time for a new turtles.

I can understand that argument, as it's been brought up in reference to some issues of Tales and Volume 4, and both Peter and the fans have recognised that point. The argument here though, in a nutshell is Peter didn't like Star Trek, therefore TMNT reboot is a write off.

[Spitfire]

He hated the film because he's a fanboy and he stated that pretty clearly. It's the highest rated movie of the year, with a whopping 94% on Rottentomatoes, so I'm going to take a guess that's it's at least a decent movie. Fanboys don't appreciate it because the guy who directed it doesn't even like Star Trek and it's more of an action film then anything. Star Trek fans like watching what I call "Live action Battle Ship" where rooms of people stand around and yell at each other while occasionally firing weapons and pretending to fly around the room when they get hit.

The point of a re-boot is to appeal to an audience the series has never appealed to before. With this I think this new Star Trek movie probably succeeded just as Batman did. The first 4 Batman films before Begins were goofy and cartoony in nature, not much like the comic book more like the TV series. Then Batman Begins was a lot more hard edged and more like the comic books.

Does this remind you of another franchise? The first turtles film might have been based off the comics but it was obviously geared towards fans of the old cartoon series, as were the other three, the newest one being for fans of the new toon. With that said if he wants to do a new film as a reboot I'd honestly expect a Batman Begins style film like he promised. He's not a turtles fanboy and even if he was he knows that's what almost all his fans want so he'd actually succeed in pleasing everyone. Making a turtles film more like the comics isn't changing the source material or altering the personalities of the characters like this Star Trek reboot supposedly did.

[Andrew NDB]

Not to play devil's advocate, but I completely agree with Peter Laird on the new Star Trek movie. Pretty much every word.

I will say, however, that it's a highly entertaining film. Very riveting. I'd recommend it to anyone.

But it's a very strange thing, this movie. I mean, I get that it's for new fans who have never really been involved in Star Trek... so why not just do a real reboot? Or if they wanted to do a prequel, why not do a proper prequel?

As it is, it is a strange pitch: "What if Kirk wasn't really Kirk... and what if we saw this new Kirk's origins?" It's like a new, less-interesting Mirror Universe or something.

[staypuftweepel]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The first 4 Batman films before Begins were goofy and cartoony in nature, not much like the comic book more like the TV series. Then Batman Begins was a lot more hard edged and more like the comic books.

Have you even seen Batman and Batman Returns? They aren't anywhere near the 60's show. If anything Batman feels exactly like comics back when it came out.

[trustno1]

batman and batman returns felt like the comics did at the time.

back on track. this is easily the stupidest thread i have seen started here. tristan, galactus, machias banshee and spitfire speak the truth. i vote this thread be locked.

[GK Punk]

Originally Posted by trustno1

batman and batman returns felt like the comics did at the time.

back on track. this is easily the stupidest thread i have seen started here. tristan, galactus, machias banshee and spitfire speak the truth. i vote this thread be locked.

A thread isn't going to be closed just because you don't like it.

[Machias Banshee]

Yeh... if all unlike threads were locked, we'd be running out of thread to talk about..