Well, that didn’t take long. The new Star Trek trailer has been released, in high-def no doubt, and, as if on cue, the nay Sayers are out in full force damning it to no end as a disaster in the making because, “it doesn’t seem to be like your father’s Star Trek.” Admittedly, the trailer has generated an overall positive buzz amongst cinéphiles but a large percentage of others feel that it represents a step in the wrong direction.

I am reminded of a recent South Park episode in which George Lucas and Steven Spielberg unknowingly “guest” star and are portrayed as literally raping Indiana Jones in two particularly harrowing sequences – the message here being that Lucas and Spielberg screwed up Indiana Jones And the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull so much that, in effect, they raped the sweet childhood memories of all the fans who loved the series. Now, I’m not here to condemn or praise what South Park did other than to say that the show has always been controversial but I can’t help but chuckle when reading some of the comments by angry Trek fans regarding the new trailer and how, in a span of two minutes, has ruined forty years of Trek lore.

There appear to be significant canon infractions like Pike seemingly becoming an Obi-Wan figure to young Kirk, or even the sight of Nero’s ship might pose problems as Kirk isn’t suppose to see Romulans until the episode, “Balance of Terror.” Not to mention the outrage that is still raging about seeing the Enterprise being built on the ground rather than in space. Still, without seeing the new film we have no idea whether or not these issues are addressed.

Now I’ve already asked in my previous post that fans try to have an open mind but I suppose I will have to be realistic in noting that people have their own strong opinions. I am not saying my opinion is correct. I might see the film and think it sucks in the end. To everyone who is on the fence or downright hated the trailer let me try using this analogy:

Do you like sushi?

I’m always surprised when someone answers with an emphatic ‘NO!” even though, upon further discussion, you find out that they have never even tried it. Granted sushi might look funny or even disgusting but you never know how it is going to taste until you put the blasted thing in your mouth. Yes, there is a chance you’ll spit it out and run squealing for the nearest latrine but there’s also a chance you’ll actually like it. Remember that Simpsons episode (One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish) where Homer refuses to go to eat sushi and upon arrival finds he likes it and stuffs his face?

This situation reminds me of something similar that occurred a short while ago regarding Daniel Craig having the gall to have blond hair as the new Bond. Imagine that! BLASPHEMY! You’d think rabid Bond fans would have tarred and feathered the film’s producers for such an affront on their childhood memories. Well, we all found out just what happened after that. Casino Royale went on to not only invigorate the franchise but it became one of the highest rated (check www.rottentomatoes.com) films of the year. Craig’s hair colour be damned!

I find that many people, fans in particular, who might know and breathe a heck of a lot of Trek lore are actually clueless in terms to how Hollywood works in this day and age. Not only that, they haven’t the vaguest idea how box office results can be minutely analyzed to show the corporate accountants and planners just how exactly their films are performing. Because of this some fans and even mainstream media still perpetuate many myths about the franchises’ movie track record that I will attempt to rectify here.

So for the next couple of posts I’m going to try my best to lay out the facts in terms of dollars and cents. I’ll try to leave out my biases and just show numbers.

I’m not going to comment much about the trailer as there are more than enough discussion groups raging out there at this very moment on that topic. I will say that on the surface it definitely looks epic and very action oriented. The $150,000,000 budget is easily discernable as the level of effects is truly through the roof and while we can’t see much in terms of sets, the ones shown like the bridge have enough nods to past Trek that I’m willing to live with the redesign. The Enterprise herself is roughly the same shape and the uniforms are spot on. The one thing people keep carping on is that the trailer shows little plot and instantly concluded that the story elements must be ultra sparse. After all, this is the team that wrote last summer’s Transformers so plot must be secondary. Right? I have no idea, well I do have some, where and how the plot fits together but I’m not going to write the movie off because JJ Abrams decided to make an action-orientated teaser.

The trailer has had its intended effect though – non-fans are suddenly curious and intrigued that finally Trek looks cool while long time fans are more hesitant. If I were JJ Abrams or a Paramount exec I’d be breathing a sigh of relief. Why? Let’s turn to some numbers and see where it takes us.