Minor built a central bubble for the ceiling to give the bridge a human touch. [36]:90[46] The rush to finish the rest of the film impacted the score. [19]:1778 With the approval of Roddenberry, Fletcher fashioned complete backgrounds for the alien races seen in the Earth and recreation deck sequences, describing their appearances and the composition of their costumes. The biggest design issue was making sure that the connective dorsal neck and twin warp nacelle struts were strong enough so that no part of the ship model would sag, bend, or quiver when the model was being moved, which was accomplished via an arc-welded aluminum skeleton. The extreme lighting caused normally invisible dust particles in the air to be illuminated, creating the appearance that the actors were caught in a blizzard. [6]:57 The shoot dragged on so long that it became a running joke for cast members to try and top each other with wormhole-related puns. The set was 24 feet (7.3m) high, decorated with 107 pieces of custom-designed furniture, and packed with 300 people for filming. Paramount fired Abel and Associates on February 22, 1979. The Motion Picture's budget of $44 million,[4] which included the costs incurred during Phase II production,[35][93] was the largest for any film made within the United States up to that time.
[29]:6 By then Trumbull was supervising effects, greatly reducing Abel's role. A 6-by-3.5-foot (1.8 by 1.1m) model was used for distance shots, while an isolated 5-by-6-foot (1.5 by 1.8m) panel was used for closer shots. Probert also replaced the Phase II ship weapons tube with a twin launcher torpedo deck and added elements such as features for a separating saucer and landing pads that were never utilized on any film featuring the model. The tank was designed to be flooded with millions of gallons of water to represent large bodies of water. [15]:85, Wise asked Harold Michelson to be the film's production designer, and Michelson was put to work on finishing the incomplete Phase II sets. 
Likewise, an orbiting dry-dock, space office complex, and V'Ger had been designed by artist Mike Minor. Each final film reel was taken while wet from the film studio and put into a container with other reels, then taken to airplanes waiting on tarmacs. V'Ger itself was filmed in a hazy, smoky room, in part to convey depth and also to hide the parts of the ship still under construction.
Stowmar's footage was exhausted only a few weeks into filming, and it became clear that new monitor films would be needed faster than an outside supplier could deliver them. [15]:2045 Offering what Trumbull described as "an almost unlimited budget",[31] in March the studio asked Trumbull if he could get the opticals work completed by December, the release date to which Paramount was financially committed (having accepted advances from exhibitors planning on a Christmas delivery). Production was moved to April 1978 so that the necessary scripts, sets, and wardrobe could be upgraded. Instead Robert Fletcher, considered one of American theater's most successful costume and scenic designers, was selected to design the new uniforms, suits, and robes for the production. [15]:1726 Weldon matched the effects filmed at Yellowstone using dry ice and steam machines. The seller was convicted of stealing a trade secret, fined $750, and sentenced to two years' probation. At the same time, the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind showed Paramount that Star Wars' success at the box office could be repeated. The cinematographer called his function to "interpret [the] preplanning and make it indelible on film. [15]:15, The series creator Gene Roddenberry had first proposed a Star Trek feature at the 1968 World Science Fiction Convention. 
[28]:87 The Enterprise was revised again after Abel & Associates were dismissed. Roddenberry proposed insuring Khambatta's hair after the actress voiced her concerns, believing it would be good publicity,[15]:139 but legal teams determined such a scheme would be very costly. The final model was 68 feet (21m) long, built from the rear forward so that the camera crews could shoot footage while the next sections were still being fabricated. He's great!" The bottom part of the statue miniature was represented by a 16-foot-high (4.9m) fiberglass foot. Scenes were rewritten so often it became necessary to note on script pages the hour of the revision. Roddenberry also provided a large amount of input, sending memos to Ramsay via Wise with ideas for editing. [15]:210[31] A similar method was used on the Klingon cruiser model, but he made it less well-lit to convey a different look than the clean visuals of the Federationthe cruiser was meant to evoke "an enemy submarine in World War II that's been out at sea for too long". The original Star Trek castwho had agreed to appear in the new movie, with contracts as-yet unsigned pending script approvalgrew anxious about the constant delays, and pragmatically accepted other acting offers while Roddenberry worked with Paramount. [15]:2023, Rumors surfaced about difficulties regarding the special effects. Zuberano, who had helped select the site for the shoot, traveled to Yellowstone and returned with a number of photos. "Shatner has perhaps the least impressive movie physique since Rod Steiger, and his acting style has begun to recall the worst of Richard Burton. The director carried the fresh print of the film to the world premiere,[47][9] held at the K-B MacArthur Theater in Washington, D.C. Roddenberry, Wise, and the principal cast attended the function, which also served as an invitational benefit for the scholarship and youth education fund of the National Space Club. [6]:87 Chekov's burns sustained in V'Ger's attack were difficult to film; though the incident took only minutes on film, Weldon spent hours preparing the effect. [19]:155158 On November 11, just two and a half weeks before production on Phase II was due to start, the studio announced that the television series had been canceled in favor of a new feature film.
Khambatta spent six months following the regimen, (her hair eventually regrew without issue, though she kept her shaven locks after production had ended. Here's this gigantic machine that's a million years further advanced than we are. [5] The Motion Picture was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction (Harold Michelson, Joseph R. Jennings, Leon Harris, John Vallone and Linda DeScenna), Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score. [20] Roddenberry teamed up with Jon Povill to write a new story that featured the Enterprise crew setting an altered universe right by time travel; like Black's idea, Paramount did not consider it epic enough. [27], The first new sets (intended for Phase II) were constructed beginning July 25, 1977. Concept artist Andrew Probert helped refine the redesign. [41], Much of the recording equipment used to create the movie's intricately complicated sound effects was, at the time, extremely cutting-edge. [9], While the bridge scenes were shot early, trouble with filming the transporter room scene delayed further work. The movie provided major publicity and was used to advertise the synthesizer, though no price was given. Gene Siskel felt the film "teeter[ed] towards being a crashing bore" whenever Khambatta was not on screen,[19]:155158and Jack Kroll of Newsweek felt that she had the most memorable entrance in the film. Kaufman reconceived the story with Spock as the captain of his own ship and featuring Toshiro Mifune as Spock's Klingon nemesis, but on May 8 Katzenberg informed the director that the film was canceled, less than three weeks before Star Wars was released. Fletcher eschewed man-made synthetics for natural materials, finding that these fabrics sewed better and lasted longer. Measuring 4ft 10ft 6ft (1.2m 3.0m 1.8m), its 56 neon panels required 168,000 volts of electricity to operate, with a separate table to support the transformers; the final price for the dock setup was $200,000. The disc features a new commentary track by Star Trek authors and contributors Michael and Denise Okuda, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman. [95]:99 Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer would produce and direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which received better reviews (becoming a fan favorite) and continued the franchise.
[55]:142 When Apollo suggests that humans need a new pantheon of gods, Kirk dismisses the idea with the words, "We find the one quite sufficient." The Starfleet delta symbol was standardized and superimposed over a circle of color indicating area of service. [15]:1556, Filming of The Motion Picture began on August 7, 1978. [73][74], Two members of Wise's production company, David C. Fein and Michael Matessino, approached Wise and Paramount and persuaded them to release a revised version of the film on video; Paramount released the updated Director's Edition of the film on VHS and DVD on November 6, 2001. [15]:66, Koenig described the state of the script at the start of filming as a three-act screenplay without a third act. It's a way of everybody being on the same wavelength." [15]:165 Yellowstone was selected after filming in Turkish ruins proved to be too expensive. [10]:2401 While the performance of The Motion Picture convinced the studio to back a (cheaper) sequel, Roddenberry was forced out of its creative control. To cap off his list, Povill put as his last recommendation "Jon Povillalmost credit: Star Trek II story (with Roddenberry). Decker and Ilia are listed as "missing" rather than dead, and the lighting and effects created as a result of the merge have been described as "quasimystical" and "pseudo-religious". The idea for Phase II was that Chekov would have looked out toward space while cross-hairs in the bubble tracked targets.
[79], The Director's Edition was far better received by critics than the original 1979 release, with some considering the edit to have subsequently turned the film into one of the series' best. [102] Godfrey called the effects "stunning", but conceded that they threatened to overpower the story two-thirds of the way into the film. That was the problem. [15]:138, Besides developing Vulcan ears and alien masks, Phillips and his assistant Charles Schram applied more routine makeup to the principal actors. [71] It added roughly 12minutes to the film. The Enterprise was modified inside and out, costume designer Robert Fletcher provided new uniforms, and production designer Harold Michelson fabricated new sets. Difficulties resulted in the scene being shot ten times; it was especially uncomfortable for the actor, whose arm was slightly burned when some of the solution leaked through to his arm. [15]:2112 Crews worked in three shifts a day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. [15]:177, The computer console explosion that causes the transporter malfunction was simulated using Brillo Pads. The welder was designed to create a spark instead of actually welding, causing the steel wool to burn and make sparks; so effective was the setup that the cast members were continually startled by the flare-ups, resulting in additional takes. [43][44] It was created by musician Craig Huxley, who played a small role in an episode of the original television series.
Time was of the essence; Paramount was worried that their science fiction film would appear at the tail end of a cycle, now that every major studio had such a film in the works. Kirk's unfamiliarity with the ship's new systems increases the tension between him and Decker, who has been temporarily demoted to commander and first officer. To recreate the appearance of the swirling eddies of water in the real Yellowstone, a combination of evaporated milk, white poster paint, and water was poured into the set's pools. Production illustrator Michael Minor created a new look for the station using a flat edge in the corner of the set. Roddenberry and Wise agreed with Michelson that in 300 years, lighting did not need to be overhead, so they had the lighting radiate upward from the floor. Ostensibly, the bubble functioned as a piece of sophisticated equipment designed to inform the captain of the ship's attitude. [15]:211, Trumbull said that Wise and the studio gave him "a tremendous amount of creative freedom"[31] despite being hired after the completion of nearly all the principal photography. Early work was promising, and by the fall of 1976, the project was building momentum. The production team used the original script, surviving sequence storyboards, memos, and the director's recollections. [36]:89, Goldsmith scored The Motion Picture over a period of three to four months, a relatively relaxed schedule compared to typical production, but time pressures resulted in Goldsmith bringing on colleagues to assist in the work. [9] By the time The Motion Picture was finished, $26 million was spent on the film itself, while $18 million had been spent on sets for the undeveloped Phase II series, much of which were not used for the film itself, which brought the total cost of the movie to $44 million. [15]:8991, The transporter had originally been developed for the television series as a matter of convenience; it would have been prohibitively expensive to show the Enterprise land on every new planet. [70], In 1983, an extended cut premiered on the ABC television network. The success of the series in syndication convinced the studio to begin work on the film in 1975. [15]:130, Fred Phillips, the original designer of Spock's Vulcan ears, served as The Motion Picture's makeup artist. The original plan was for Kirk to follow Spock in a spacesuit and come under attack from a mass of sensor-type organisms. [87] Overall, the film grossed $139 million worldwide.
The largest part of production had been completed by this time, but three live-action scenes (the San Francisco tram sequence, the Klingon bridge sequence, and the Epsilon 9 scenes) were filmed after the party during post-production. In the film, set in the 2270s, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path. [104] Scott Bukatman reviewed the film in Ares magazine #1, and commented that "With Star Trek, Roddenberry's trick has been to wear the mask of the humanist as he plays with his Erector set. [54]:7989 The crew encountered difficulty in transferring the quarter-inch (0.64cm) tapes used for creating the sounds to the 35mm film used for the final prints; while the film was to be released with Dolby sound, Serafine found it was easier to mix the sounds without regard to format and add the specific format after, during the later transfer to 35mm. When the original contractors for the optical effects proved unable to complete their tasks in time, effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull was asked to meet the film's December 1979 release date. Roddenberry screened ten episodes from the original series for him, including the most representative of the show and those he considered most popular: "The City on the Edge of Forever", "The Devil in the Dark", "Amok Time", "Journey to Babel", "Shore Leave", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "The Enemy Within", "The Corbomite Maneuver", "This Side of Paradise", and "A Piece of the Action". Collins was covered in tiny dabs of cotton glued to his jacket; these highlights were designed to create a body halo.
He thought that Enterprise should self-illuminate when traveling years from any source of light. 1979). Given access to state-of-the-art audio equipment, Serafine saw the picture as the chance to modernize outdated motion picture sound techniques with digital technology. The blue color of previous uniforms was discarded, for fear they might interfere with the blue screens used for optical effects. By October 1976, Robert Silverberg had been signed to work on the screenplay along with a second writer, John D. F. Black, whose treatment featured a black hole that threatened to consume all of existence. [15]:211, Post-production was so late that Paramount obtained an entire MGM sound stage to store 3,000 large metal containers for each theater around the country. Dennis Clark (Comes a Horseman) was invited to rewrite the script and to include Spock, but he disliked Roddenberry, who demanded sole credit. [15]:160 The seats were covered in girdle material, used because of its stretching capacity and ability to be easily dyed. Instead, Khambatta visited the Georgette Klinger Skin Care Salon in Beverly Hills, where the studio footed the bill for the recommended six facials and scalp treatments during the course of production, as well as a daily scalp treatment routine of cleansers and lotion. Jumpsuits, serving a more utilitarian function, were the only costumes to have pockets, and were made with a heavyweight spandex that required a special needle to puncture the thick material. The cloud easily destroys three Klingon warships and Epsilon Nine on its course. The producers got her to agree to wear a thin skin-colored body stocking, but she caught a cold as a result of the shower mist, created by dropping dry ice into warm water and funneling the vapors into the shower by a hidden tube. If humans can defeat this marvelous machine, it's really not so great, is it? [31] Its two pages of script needed 45 different shotsaveraging one a dayfor the travel pod containing Kirk to make its flight from the space office complex to the docking ring. Collins described Khambatta as very patient and professional while her scalp was shaved and treated for up to two hours each day. Alexander Courage, composer of the original Star Trek theme, provided arrangements to accompany Kirk's log entries, while Fred Steiner wrote 11 cues of additional music, notably the music to accompany the Enterprise achieving warp speed and first meeting V'Ger. A number of screenwriters offered up ideas that were summarily rejected.
[25] When the script was presented to Michael Eisner, he declared it worthy of a feature film. As such, Rubin devised and fabricated about 350 props for the film, 55 of which were used in the San Francisco tram scene alone. [94] The studio faulted Roddenberry's script rewrites and creative direction for the plodding pace and disappointing gross. Key among these were famed production designer Ken Adam, who said, "I was approached by Gene Roddenberry and we got on like a house on fire"; he was employed to design the film. B Effects consisted of minor sounds such as the clicks of switches, beeps or chimes. [98] The film holds a 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 contemporary and modern reviews. Michelson first removed Chekov's new weapons station, a semicircular plastic bubble grafted onto one side of the bridge wall. [40], Goldsmith was influenced by the style of the romantic, sweeping music of Star Wars. [72], Aside from the effects, the soundtrack was remixed. [78] Although no new scenes were added, the MPAA rated the revised edition PG in contrast to the G rating of the original release. In March 1978, Paramount assembled the largest press conference held at the studio since the 1950s to announce that Wise would direct a $15 million film adaptation of the original television series. The approach of Kirk and Scott to the drydocked Enterprise by shuttle lasted a ponderous five minutes due to the effect shots coming in late and unedited, requiring Goldsmith to maintain interest with a revised and developed cue. [69], Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, and CED videodisc in 1980 in its original theatrical version. "[80] Complaints included the edition's 2.17:1 aspect ratio, as opposed to the original 2.40:1 Panavision. [15]:51 Wise had seen only a few Star Trek episodes, so Paramount gave him about a dozen to watch. [49], The score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture went on to garner Goldsmith nominations for the Oscars, Golden Globe and Saturn awards. Much of the materials for these casual clothes were found in the old storerooms at Paramount, where a large amount of unused or forgotten material lay in storage. [15]:87 Michelson wanted the engine room to seem vast, a difficult effect to achieve on a small sound stage. Weldon prepared an ammonia and acetic acid solution that was touched to Koenig's sleeve, causing it to smoke. [15]:87, The Enterprise engine room was redesigned while keeping consistent with the theory that the interior appearance had to match the corresponding area visible in exterior views of the starship. Rawlins, production manager Lindsley Parsons Jr., and Katzenberg were all tasked with keeping things moving as fast as possible and keeping the budget under control; every hour on stage cost the production $4000. Despite being relieved of nearly half the effects work, it became clear by early 1979 that Abel and Associates would not be able to complete the remainder on time. The scene was finally completed on August 24, while the transporter scenes were being filmed at the same time on the same soundstage. Any further scenes to recreate Vulcan would be impossible, as the set was immediately torn down to serve as a parking lot for the remainder of the summer. In his long association with Star Trek, Phillips produced his 2,000th Spock ear during production of The Motion Picture. Canby wrote that the film "owes more to [Trumbull, Dykstra and Michelson] than it does to the director, the writers or even the producer". More than 100 such paintings were used. Roddenberry had insisted that the technology aboard the Enterprise be grounded in established science and scientific theories. The executives consulted Asimov: if the writer decided a sentient machine was plausible, the ending could stay. Paramount assigned a studio executive to Trumbull to make sure he would meet the release date,[33] and together with Yuricich the effects team rushed to finish. The album added an additional 21 minutes of music to supplement the original track list, and was resequenced to reflect the story line of the film. Isenberg began scouting filming locations and hired designers and illustrators. [47][81] Jeremy Conrad of IGN felt that despite the changes, the pacing might still be too slow for some viewers. [15]:935, The first Star Trek movie models constructed were small study models for Planet of the Titans based on designs by Adam and McQuarrie, but these flat-hulled Enterprise concepts were abandoned when that film was cancelled (although one was later used in the space-dock in the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and another later appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds"). "[107] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the actors did not have much to do in the effects-driven film, and were "limited to the exchanging of meaningful glances or staring intently at television monitors, usually in disbelief". The Klingon cruiser's lighting was so dim that there was no way to make them bright enough on film. [106] Martin considered the characters more likable than those in comparable science fiction films. Owing to background noise such as camera operation, much of the ambient noise or dialogue captured on set was unusable; it was Serafine's job to create or recreate sounds to mix back into the scenes. [9] Because of likely changes, actors were at first told to not memorize the last third of the script,[27] which received constant input from actors and producers. [108] Stephen Collins and Persis Khambatta were more favorably received. [n 1] Weldon was planning on retiring after 42years of effects work, but his wife urged him to take on Star Trek because she thought he did not have enough to do. [106], Many critics felt that the special effects overshadowed other elements of the film. [15]:36 When the television series was cancelled and plans for a film put into place, new sets were needed for the large 70 mm film format. As the intended start of filming in late spring 1978 approached, it was clear a new start date was needed. The wires were treated with a special acid that oxidized the metal; the reaction tarnished the wires to a dull gray that would not show up in the deep blue corridor lighting. [15]:268 Finally, British screenwriters Chris Bryant and Allan Scott, who had penned the Donald Sutherland thriller Don't Look Now, were hired to write a script. We always ended up against a blank wall. In contrast, almost every action on the Klingon bridge made noise to reflect the aliens' harsh aesthetic[54]:797 While much of the effects were created using digital synthesizers, acoustic recordings were used as well. [15]:25 In June 1976, Paramount assigned Jerry Isenberg, a young and active producer, to be executive producer of the project, with the budget expanded to $8 million. [29]:11 The torpedo effects were simulated by shooting a laser through a piece of crystal mounted on a rotating rod after experiments with Tesla coils proved insufficient. Khambatta had no qualms about shaving her head at first, but began worrying if her hair would grow back properly.
A special camera support track was built that could pan and focus over a 40-by-80-foot (12 by 24m) piece of art, with the light strobed to provide depth. It is the first installment in the Star Trek film series, and stars the cast of the original television series. The set was designed and fabricated in four and a half weeks, and was filmable from all angles; parts of the set were designed to pull away for better camera access at the center. [15]:17880 Security swept cars leaving the lots for stolen items; even the principal actors were not spared this inconvenience. [37][38] Gene Roddenberry had originally wanted Goldsmith to score Star Trek's pilot episode, "The Cage", but the composer was unavailable. Different lighting schemes were used to simulate different decks of the ship with the same length of corridor. The movie was to have been set before the television series, showing how the crew of the Enterprise met. Cargo boxes were made out of light balsa wood so that fine wires could be used as support. [8][15]:25. The damaged probe was found by an alien race of living machines that interpreted its programming as instructions to learn all that can be learned and return that information to its creator. [29]:5964, Even after the change in effects companies, Yuricich continued to provide many of the matte paintings used in the film, having previously worked on The Day the Earth Stood Still, Ben-Hur, North by Northwest and Logan's Run. The Motion Picture likewise received technical consultation from NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as individuals such as former astronaut Rusty Schweickart and the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. [26] The budget was projected at $15 million. The script prescribed a heavy emphasis on lighting, with spiraling and blinding white lights. Most of the bridge consoles, designed by Lee Cole, remained from the scrapped television series. [15]:856 The wattage of the light bulbs beneath the plastic console buttons was reduced from 25watts to 6watts after the generated heat began melting the controls. The series went into reruns in the autumn (September/October) of 1969, and by the late 1970s had been sold in over 150 domestic and 60 international markets. [55]:144[56]:160 The discussion of a new birth is framed in a reverential way. Star Trek and The Black Hole were the only feature films to use an overture from the end of 1979 until 2000 (with Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark). Kline and Michelson would then discuss the look they wanted (along with Weldon, if effects were involved). [19]:1647 He added a sealed control room that would protect operators from the powerful forces at work. Enterprise intercepts the energy cloud and is attacked by an alien vessel within. The designs were developed by Phillips or from his sketches. "Into the V'Ger maw with Douglass Trumbull", "Star Trekking at Apogee with John Dykstra". In doing so, he learns that the entire vessel is V'Ger, a non-biological living machine. Abel and Associates bid $4million for doing the film's effects and Paramount accepted. Bryant believed he earned the screenwriting assignment because his view of Kirk resembled what Roddenberry modeled him on; "one of Horatio Nelson's captains in the South Pacific, six months away from home and three months away by communication". [54]:7967, When The Motion Picture was announced, many synthesizer artists submitted demo tapes to Paramount. [19]:155158. Released in North America on December 7, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture received mixed reviews, many of which faulted it for a lack of action scenes and over-reliance on special effects. [29]:8 Dykstra and his 60-person production house Apogee Company were subcontracted to Trumbull. From 1976 until the completion of the film Puttkamer provided the writers, producer, and director with memos on everything technical in the script;[15]:1503 the scientist reviewed every line in the script, and was unpaid for his assistance. Wise, who had worked with the composer for The Sand Pebbles, replied "Hell, no.
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