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At a press day for the release of Star Trek](Star Trek (2009) - Movie | Moviefone) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen](Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) - Movie | Moviefone) on DVD and Blu-ray, screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman discussed the futures of those respective franchises, and offered a few highlights from their upcoming slate of screenplays and producing projects. When asked about their process for developing sequels, Kurtzman said, “Every franchise has a different need, so you have to look at them differently, based on whatever the mandate is. You need to be able to not have seen the first movie to appreciate the second one. But, for us, it’s always about going back to the sequels that we loved as kids and asking ourselves why we loved them.”
Offering a list of their favorite follow-ups, Kurtzman continued, “there’s Empire Strikes Back](The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - Movie | Moviefone), Superman II](Superman II (1981) - Movie | Moviefone), Aliens](Search Results for 'aliens' | Moviefone), Terminator 2](Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - Movie | Moviefone), Star Trek 2](Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - Movie | Moviefone). What do all those movies have in common? Well, they’re amazing stories all on their own. You didn’t have to see the first movie. And, there was some incredible, emotional test of character, in all of those movies. Superman has to give up his powers for love. The Spock and Kirk relationship is tested by Khan. Ripley finds a daughter. All of those things are such big ideas, in and of themselves, and you really can’t tell those stories in movie number one because movie number one is very much about establishing a world.”
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen debuts on DVD and Blu-ray October 20, 2009, and Star Trek follows on November 17. The following is an edited version of a news conference featuring Orci and Kurtzman.
In terms of Star Trek’s expanded universe, are there any elements from the later series that you might want to throw into the next film?
Continue reading Orci & Kurtzman Talk ‘Trek 2,’ ‘Transformers’, ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ ‘View-Master’