Memory Alpha:Ask J.J. Abrams/RoundOne

This is an archive of all interview questions submitted by 12:00 PM UTC April 19th, 2009!

These questions remain after the first round of elimination.


 * 1) Memory Alpha is a Trek encyclopedia, and we would really like to ask you specific questions about things in the film we might write articles about, but of course we haven't seen the film yet. Will you please give us a second interview after the film is released? --bp 19:09, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 2) Did the vast Trek canon help or hurt your work to make this film?--31dot 20:57, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 3) What made you decide to go with a Classic era film as opposed to say a Deep Space Nine/Voyager/Enterprise film and if this is successful might you look towards those series for a movie? &mdash; Morder 21:45, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 4) How many different incarnations of Star Trek get at least a little nod or tiny reference in the film? --JemHadar359 23:33, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 5) We all understand that this is an Original-Series film, but how did the other incarnations of Star Trek (from the other television series to the novels to any number of non-canon references) influence your interpretation of the characters and franchise? --YajEes 16:39, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 6) What would you consider was the greatest challenge for you when it came to trying to craft a movie that would both cater to the built-in audience as well as attempt to attract a new generation of viewers? Panadero 00:46, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 7) Please tell me what was your favorite set or location during production?
 * 8) The animated Star Trek series has had a loose relationship with official canon over the years. Does the film feature any elements that originated in the animated series, perhaps helping solidify its place in canon?--Tim Thomason 04:51, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 9) Memory Alpha has nearly 30,000 articles. How do you keep track of the huge amount of canon in the Star Trek universe? --Ortzinator 06:16, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 10) Do you think Gene Roddenberry would like this film? --Startrekking2 12:03, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 11) How do you think people will respond to seeing new actors cast as the legendary officers of the Enterprise? If they like it, are you planning to do another? If not, are you thinking about doing another movie, perhaps based on another series? --EnsignBush 09:41, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 12) Who is your favorite character in the Star Trek universe? And does he/she/it have a role in the upcoming movie? --LegoIndiana 18:21, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 13) When you hear the words 'Star Trek', what are the first things that pop into your head? Have these ideas changed from before you started work on Star Trek to now? And have they influenced the film in anyway? --WormholeAlien 19:17, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 14) The original series had very tactile interfaces for the controls - utilizing levers, knobs, and buttons at each station on the ship.  Later series and movies evolved into a more modern "touchscreen" sort of interface.  Can you maintain that feel of the original series controls and still present those devices as futuristic now that our culture has taken great strides towards more modern touchscreen devices? --Joshg 19:34, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 15) Did your passions for more Earth-bound series, such as The Twilight Zone and The X-Files, influence your work on this movie at all and, if so, how? --Defiant 20:18, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 16) Existing Star Trek fans have a deep love for the minutiae of the established Star Trek universe, but the goal of the new movie is to appeal to a broader audience that doesn't care about "canon" and similar fannish concerns.  In making Star Trek for a new generation, how have you balanced the needs of the few (existing fans) and the needs of the many (the larger audience, who we hope will become fans in the future)? —-Josiah Rowe 21:19, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 17) How many different designs did the various Enterprise interiors such as the bridge, transporter room, engineering, etc, in this new film go through? --Delta2373 23:52, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 18) When Rebooting a Franchise, Fan's of the Original tend to be Alienated due the attempt to draw new fan's in, how did you address this when making this film? --Henshin86 23:53, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 19) Roddenberry chose to address broad social questions of the day through Trek, for instance in the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."  How does the new Trek follow in this path? --Winn cochrane 07:07, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 20) When you were writing the new film, did you ever discuss the lack of LGBT characters in previous Trek incarnations, and if so, can we expect to see any in the near future? --Geek Mythology 11:40, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 21) Are their any villains, historical or fictional, from whom you drew inspiration when creating Nero? --Timstamper 19:21, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 22) Being that this is a movie that involves time travel, if you could go back in time and change one aspect of this film, what would it be? --JerryJoe216 02:56, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 23) What was it like directing Leonard Nimoy?  Is there any direction you can give to someone who has played a character for so long, or do you just let him decide what is best for the character in each scene? --Jonzam 04:57, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 24) During the early stages of production, the Writers' Guild Strike was happening. You had mentioned that this stopped you from making some on-the-spot changes that would have enhanced the story. How much was the final cut of the movie ultimately affected by the Writers' Strike? --VH2 06:35, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 25) The atmosphere of Star Trek has a certain uniqueness to it that the 60s could only deliver. Do you feel that you can recapture that special essence that has been lost with the more recent Star Treks? --Constable Odo 14:13, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 26) What TOS character do you think you relate to the most and why? --Anakin138
 * 27) I understand that Star Trek XI contains an alternate timeline that, among other things, is intended to satisfy those fans that believe that Trek's greatest asset is its large, and largely consistent, internal universe.  Do you believe that there is still room in the original Trek Universe for new stories, and are you interested in telling those stories as well, in either movie or series form? --Samuel Pengraff 21:59, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 28) How extensively did the Supreme Court (you, Burk, Kurtzman, Lindelof, and Orci) and the rest of the creative crew make use of MA to write and produce this film? Do you consider MA an authoritative source? --Figmillenium 01:50, 13 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 29) Exactly how much free reign were you given by Paramount, and was your participation predicated by the answer to that question? --69.243.215.125 04:38, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 30) There have been a few efforts to recreate the Trek franchise over the years, and they usually made an effort to avoid some of the original series' conventions (using "dilithium crystals" as a plot device, and so on). My question is: Since this is an alternate version of the original premise, do you feel the same need to steer clear of any perceived cliches, or are you trying to stay "true" to them instead? --Blandoon 06:18, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 31) How difficult was it to keep the movie canon with the rest of Trek history?--DS9redshirt14:12, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 32) Which character did you find the most difficult to cast? --Third Remata'Klan 14 April 2009
 * 33) "Leaks" - the early releasing of small details or plot synopses - are almost becoming a part of the process of creating a film. How did you deal with controlling information about the film? --BruceWiley 15:40, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 34) If you could revisit ONE episode of the Original Series to re-do with the current cast, which one?
 * 35) If you visited Memory Alpha, you may have come across one of the many "Unnamed X" articles where we try to collect and list all the characters/species/... that haven't ever been named by the producers. Of the past films, only some of the background species used in and  have been named (and subsequently been sold as action figures ;)), whereas nearly every alien from the Star Wars movies has a name and background story, including even the whole bunch of aliens seen in the famous Cantina scene! Obviously, it is much more fun for all involved to have a name for every alien, or starship, or planet. So, can you provide names for some or all of these, after the release? Especially, can you give us the name of the character played by Randy Pausch? -- Cid Highwind 20:40, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 36) Do you think that the original TV show, with it's Cold War and UN parallels, and it's US segregation/Civil Rights allusions (i.e. first interracial kiss on TV) has outlived it's relevance in today's more modern, and accepting society and therefore was harder to reference in the movie, if at all? --Zidel333 03:51, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 37) The new movie seems to focus on building iconic characters while telling an exciting action story.  It looks like a blast, but a great part of the charm of Star Trek has always come from the sense that the universe is a vast, largely unexplored place, with new discoveries at every turn.  Do you think this atmosphere of exploration and adventure made it into the film, or can we look forward to it in potential sequels? --Vicarhelmet 04:24, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 38) As far as I know, Ryan Church was responsible for redesigning the Enterprise, and John Eaves took care of the shuttle designs. Who was responsible for the other ship designs, such as the Kelvin, the Narada, the 'jellyfish', the other Federation starships? What about the Starbase/Spacedock? --ANdRu 10:17, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 39) I'll ask this directly.  "Countdown" gives story credit to the film screenwriters.  The trade paperback credits JJ and the screenwriters and declares it the "Official Movie Prequel".  Is "Countdown" canon (that is "this IS what happened before the events in the film) irrespective of whether or not anything in the movie directly references it? --Capt Christopher Donovan 13:26, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 40) You are a creator of characters. With Star Trek you had to deal with already established characters. Have you been tempted, at any moment, to create a new regular character to add to the Enterprise crew? --Algabe2000 15:18, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 41) In regards to scenes that were cut or trimmed down - Will those possibly be added as extras to the DVD/Blu-Ray edition of the movie?
 * 42) I am wondering how much political statement will be made in the new Star Trek Movie.  I am quite a big Star Trek fan, despite being a member of the U.S. Army and a veteran of the Iraq War.  Will the film take a traditional TNG/VOY left-leaning stance, be politically neutral/ambiguous or be in the spirit of TOS where Kirk stated, "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat.  I can only tell you the truth."  --jimthayner 14:18, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 43) Why did you call the film simply Star Trek, and not have a "subtitle" as with all the other films? --DaveSubspace Message 15:57, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 44) One of Star Trek's main strengths has been able to discuss hot current issues through an allegory that usesd the aliens to abstract the hot issue and topic. Do you feel that these type of stories beloing on the big screen or are they best suited for TV?
 * 45) The past few years have seen a number of popular franchise reboots and remakes. With everything from Batman to James Bond getting 'jump-started,' were there any that were especially useful to you to drawn on in terms of storytelling?  Were there any missteps other creators made that you vowed to avoid at all costs? - Le_Ted
 * 46) To distinguish it from the "original" Star Trek timeline, what would you suggest fans call the continuity created in the film? – Cleanse 05:16, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 47) Mr. Abrams, I have read over the course of the production (and the promotional period) of why the USS Kelvins registry is numbered as such (0514). Is there a deeper reason for this, rather then simply using "514" to compare with the USS Enterprises "1701"? --Terran Officer 05:42, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * 48) Did the lack of success from the previous film(s) have any bearing (or create any limitations) on the production and direction of this film from the studio? If so, were these concerns reflected through input given by Berman and Braga, or did they simply step back and allow the current team take the reigns? --Alan 09:42, 19 April 2009 (UTC)