Alex Kurtzman Talks Amazing Spider-Man Sequel and Why Star Trek 2 is Skipping Comic-Con
Posted 06.16.12 by Chris
Though mostly known for projects that involve aliens (Cowboys & Aliens), robots (the Transformers movies), and outer space (Star Trek), writer-director Alex Kurtzman's directorial debut is actually about real people in real situations.
People Like Us, starring Star Trek's Chris Pine, is inspired by true events in Kurtzman's life. Though Kurtzman is currently promoting People Like Us, it's nearly impossible for Kurtzman to not talk about the Star Trek sequel, which he is co-writing and producing. Kurtzman talked about what it was like to walk on the Enterprise on J.J. Abrams' set and how everyone involved didn't want to rush the project.
We’re not going to be ready and we don’t want to rush this. We felt very fortunate that the first movie was well received, and the last thing that we wanted to do was destroy that by rushing something. It’s very precious to a lot of people. We love our Trek and we just wanted to keep it safe.
Kurtzman wrote the script along with regular collaborator Roberto Orci, and Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus). Kurtzman also talked about why he decided to pen the The Amazing Spider-Man sequel even before the reboot was finished filming.
You always go by your gut. That’s the best you can do. You go by what you feel, and you say yes or no based on what it inspires in you. All I can tell you is that, when I saw the movie, I loved the world that (director) Marc [Webb] had created. I think Andrew [Garfield] and Emma [Stone] are incredible in it. They’re amazing! And I love everyone at Sony. Producers Matt Tolmach and Avi Arad, and everyone there, are so protective of their Spider-Man. I just have so much respect for them. We just saw it and we were excited. When you’re a kid and you’re a superhero lover, the holy trinity is Batman, Superman and Spider-Man, so to be able to take any of those and play with it is a huge joy.
Despite the fact that the world got its first look at the cast of the Star Trek reboot at Comic-Con, the still-untitled Star Trek sequel will not being making an appearance in San Diego this summer. Kurtzman said it was all about timing.
"Here's the thing about Trek. Part of why we delayed a year was because we didn't want to rush it, just because we feel very beholden to the franchise and we feel very protective of it and the worst thing we can do is to put it out there before we felt like we were ready and we were still working on the story.
As of Spider-Man, Star Trek, and his first directorial weren't enough, Kurtzman also penned the script for the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Ender's Game and is involved in the reboots of Van Helsing and The Mummy.
There’s been such a tonal shift, in the way audiences go to movies, particularly these big movies. I think a lot of that had to do with The Dark Knight and the success of The Dark Knight. Suddenly, it became about, 'We want The Dark Knight version.' But, whether you end up doing The Dark Knight or not, I think what’s cool about that is that it’s only grounded superhero stories, or big mythological stories in more reality. That’s really what The Dark Knight did, and that was the turning point there. We try to do that on Trek. It’s exciting, doing Van Helsing and The Mummy. They’re both exciting, for those reasons.