Last night, some very lucky Star Trek fans who believed they were walking into a screening of 1982’s Wrath of Khan instead got a surprise sneak peek at J.J. Abrams’ new enterprise. While Abrams’ reboot/prequel, Star Trek, isn’t scheduled toofficially hit theaters until May 8, those fortunate enough to be onhand at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, Tex., were the giddy victimsof a blockbuster bait and switch. And nudging the event into total nerdvana territory, the hotly anticipated summer tentpole was reportedly introduced by the film’s writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, its producer Damon Lindelhof (Lost), and (get this) Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.
Needless to say, those in attendance — no doubt very familiar with making their sci-fi opinions known in cyberspace — immediately posted early reviews of the film on the Internet. And so far, the reactions range from wildly ecstatic to only barely less ecstatic. On his AICN site, Austin’s blogging poobah Harry Knowles dedicated about 40,000 words to the screening, reporting that it concluded with a standing ovation that lasted five to six minutes. "After the film, the audience was a collective smile, some crying they were so happy," Knowles wrote.
Meanwhile, in another huge, scrawling review, a writer at filmschoolrejects.com summed up the pic by saying, "This version is new and fresh, but it doesn’t forget its roots — and I think fans will appreciate that." Cinema Blend was similarly positive: "The new Star Trek movie is amazing — easily the best Trek movie since The Wrath of Khan, and a veritable feast of sight and sound."
Elsewhere online, OMG twitter posts were blasted from inside the darkened theater before the end credits even rolled. Here’ a sampling from slashfilm.com:
-"I just got back from Star Trek and it was AMAZING. The best Star Trek movie ever. Yes, it even best Wrath of Khan. Believe me."
-"ZOMG!! Just saw the new Star Trek movie and it melted my pants!!!!!"
-"My mind = blown Star Trek was AWESOME!"
-"Yes, I’m the guy who’s never seen an episode of ST and got to see Star Trek tonight. As a total ST virgin, the movie is incredible."
One blogger on Knowles’ site who was at the Alamo added: "You don’t replace Wrath of Khan. You just don’t. Not unless the movie you’re replacing it with is pretty godd—- strong. And guess what? It is. Holy Christ Crispies in a bucket of milk, was this movie f—ing awesome."
If you were lucky enough to be at the Alamo last night, let us know what you thought.
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that last blogger needs his mouth washed out with soap
I was there, in the very front row. It was surreal.
First Start Trek movie I ever see, and it’s the SURPRISE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE NEW MOVIE. WITH LEONARD NIMOY IN ATTENDANCE.
That will be something to remember.
Also, the movie itself is fantastic. If you’ve never seen any of the movies/episodes, it is a wonderful introduction, and if you have, it’s a wonderful backstory. And even if you couldn’t care less about Star Trek, it’s a great movie anyway.
I still cannot believe my luck.
I wasn’t there, but who is the dude to the right of Kirk (our left) in the photo?
WOWZA! Some enthusiastic opinions. I’m still skeptical (that’s just the way I am), but it’s good to know people are liking it. I doubt it’s THAT good, but we’ll see…
But keep in mind, early reviews said that Watchmen was amazing. Yet look at how many people hated it.
That’s Anton Yelchin (of Charlie Bartlett fame). He plays Chekov in the new film.
BTW, I am totally jealous of the folks at the preview, but I’m glad they picked a Texas town for this event!
damn it when will this movie be out!!!
It was a “surprise” screening that Harry Knowles just happened to be at? Uh-huh, sure. This is all just good marketing from Paramount.
Crispy, Knowles set up this Wrath of Khan screening thing with AICN as a promotion, where Paramount agreed to show 10 minutes of the new film. Paramount then surprised everyone by giving them the entire movie. Pretty simple logic, unless you’re a conspiracy nut.
It was a surprise. Harry was told it was a screening of a new print of “wrath of khan” with 10 minutes of new “Trek” footage, and Leonard Nimoy came on stage and surprised everyone.
I noticed that in the only image of a woman in the entire trailer, she’s on her back in a sex scene. I assume that’s not an accurate representation of a movie made by the people behind “Alias” and “Lost.” Can anyone who saw the Austin screening comment on how Uhura and/or other female characters are portrayed in the film?
As AICN relates, they even played the first 10 minutes of Wrath of Khan then the film “broke”. The studio heads apologized, Nimoy came out and asked if they’d prefer to see 10 minutes of the new Star Trek or the whole picture?
Sorry, that’s not a surprise screening. It was a marketing ploy to get a friendly, enthusiastic audience into a screening of the film anticipating they’d generate huge buzz online. And it worked!
I worked in film marketing for 5 years… this is what they do.
I totally have to agree with what poster “Crispy” said, I linked to this article thinking “how cool” but when I read that Harry Knowles just happened to be there my thoughts changed to “yeah right”. When are movie execs going to stop thinking that the majority of movie goers are complete idiots? Anyone reading this article that has half a brain will see it for what it was; a media stunt by Paramount. Do they really need stunts like this? I thought everyone was pretty excited about this film already. Although I guess after how much Watchmen failed to impress after the initial great reviews maybe the studio is a little worried. There is a lot of competition out there this summer that is for sure. (And I plan on watching all of it!)
To Blackbutton and Eric: You aren’t getting the point. Would anyone go to Austin, Texas to see ten minutes of a film that they could see on the internet most likely the next day? Or in the case of Harry Knowles footage that he has most likely already been shown? No, this was a blantant advertising/marketing gimmick. It happens all the time and will keep happening as long as people believe that there are surprises in the movie industry.
Aren’t all screenings marketing ploys? They’re always used to generate buzz and for critics to cover them. Who cares what it’s called.
OF COURSE it was a marketing ploy! But, ummmm….. WHO CARES?!? I have no idea why people like Crispy and Antoinette have their knickers in such a knot over this. Why else would they have a “surprise sreening” unless to MARKET the movie?! DUH!!
“Aren’t all screenings marketing ploys?” Yes, of course. And guess what? The studios are very selective of who they invite to such screenings. They only want positive buzz. Look, all I’m saying is don’t believe the hype… Harry Knowles and apparently his buddies were picked for this because Paramount knew they’d have a nerdgasm if they showed up with Leonard Nimoy and a complete print.
Crap. A small theatre by where I live in Oakland is showing Wrath of Kahn the weekend of April 24-26. I was already planning on going but now I will be there for sure. For anyone who lives in the Bay Area, the theatre is on Piedmont.
This was a marketing ploy?! Really? Who woulda thunk. The thing to take home from this is that the response was pretty darn enthusiastic across the board, something that you rarely get from these screenings. True, the screening was filled with Trekkers, but they especially are a tough bunch to please. Looks like TREK is back with a vengeance!
I was there last night and lets just say I’m still walking around with a smile on my face! For one, I about had a heart attack when Damon Lindelof emerged (being an obsessive Lost fan) and when I got his autograph and then had the shock of my life when Leonard Nimoy walked out. I don’t know how they managed to hide all the surprises, but it made it that much better. Nimoy was holding a film canister and was like do you really only want to see 10 minutes of the new one or do you want to see the whole thing??
The movie itself is perfection. It really is one of the best Star Trek movies and I think it will reach audiences who weren’t fans of the franchise before. It has a perfect blend of action, humor, and mythology- all things that JJ Abrams does best. Every single character is spot on and all the references you would want to see are in the movie. My favorite was Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, he made every scene he was in a joy. Definitely a must-see I give it an A+!
Wasn’t there. Am jealous.
I saw it in Sydney. AMAZING! My geek friend saw lots of “mythology moments” and I just saw an awesome movie, which kind of means to me it’s great for the Trekky as well as being simply an off-the-scale slice of brilliant entertainment. We both loved it.
Chris Pine is adorable.
Ok, I’m gushing now…
Hey, it’s entirely possible that this movie will be a lot better than I expect it to be. But better than Wrath of Khan? Or The Voyage Home (that’s the “whale movie” for those who don’t know)? Or First Contact (the one really good Next Gen flick)? Sorry, I’m not believing that… Even if this movie is really good, this cast will never replace the original cast, or the TNG and DS9 casts for that matter. Too bad Paramount didn’t put more care (and money) into those shows and movies as they are for this new one.
THis is the part where I vehemently curse my luck in not being in Austin or Sydney!!!! Agggh these reviews make me sooooo excited for a movie I was already wildly anticipating. Now even my father who NEVER like Star Trek wants to see this movie!!!!!
How lucky are these folks. Guess I have to keep reading http://pyramidsofmars.com for my retro sci-fi fix until this is really released!
How lucky are these folks. Guess I have to keep reading http://pyramidsofmars.com for my retro sci-fi fix until this is really released!
I’m encouraged by the positive response to the movie. I worry that J.J. Abrams won’t get that Star Trek is not Star Wars. Remember he helped pen the awful “Armageddon” and produced the overated “Cloverfield.” While his “Alias” (albeit flawed) “Lost” and “Fringe” are good shows. Star Trek is the standard for great science fiction. Great episodes such as “City on the Edge of Forever”, “The Doomsday Machine”, “Arena” all mark the series for sophisticated story telling. It’s no wonder that it inspires many in NASA.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY SHOWED THE MOVIE IN TEXAS!!!!! that must mean that texas is very special and awesome!!!! suck it, you other states!!!!
I was at the Sydney premiere – and yes the buzz is accurate – it rocked: there were a lot of moments where the audience spontaneously burst into applause throughout the film and a standing ovation at its conclusion.
Shireen, the reason they all burst into applause a lot during the screening is because they were 98% trekkies. They probably exploded in their pants everytime the enterprise was shown. And by the way, I don’t give a rats crapper what harry knowles says. This is the guy who likes to post spoilers and pictures not meant to be seen yet and generally ruins most surprises for the movie-going public. What a loser.