Is Star Trek Now Cool?

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Paramount Pictures Studio insiders tell Kim Masters that the much-hyped Star Trek won't have a huge opening this weekend. But director J.J. Abrams may have done the impossible: sex up the ultimate nerd franchise.

Star Trek might not have a blockbuster opening this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that director J.J. Abrams won’t have a blockbuster in the end.

Industry research shows that Star Trek is not tracking with moviegoers nearly as well as Paramount Pictures might like. As you’d expect, given the name, awareness of the film is high. But research shows that the idea of actually going to see it appeals most strongly to older men—not the young ones who drive big openings. Women, too, are not dying to rush out and see it. “Overall the ‘definite interest’ is well behind where it should be,” says an executive at a rival studio. “The same hurdle that they’ve always had to overcome is still there: The movie’s called Star Trek.”

“Overall the ‘definite interest’ is well behind where it should be,” says an executive at a rival studio. “The same hurdle that they’ve always had to overcome is still there: The movie’s called Star Trek.”

Yes, the series has a dedicated fanbase, but the original Star Trek movies didn’t generate huge box office. Studio box-office trackers expect this $150 million-plus, effects-driven reinvention to pull in around $60 million this weekend, which would fall far short of, say, the $100 million opening weekend for Iron Man a year ago.

But the film—only the second that Abrams has directed (following Mission: Impossible 3)—has a stunning 94 percent positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site. Word-of-mouth should be strong and this movie is likely to have what the industry calls “legs.”

At 42 years old, Abrams has already lived long and prospered in a very tough industry. He has written films from the 1990 James Belushi comedy Taking Care of Business to the 1998 Jerry Bruckheimer hit Armageddon. He is a creator of television shows including Felicity, Alias, and Lost. And Abrams has become a brand. The new Star Trek stars a group of unknowns but the studio is selling Abrams, who’s been circling the globe to support it.

“They’re trying to make him into Jim Cameron,” says one prominent producer, prompting a Fox executive to muse: “He’s almost more of a consumer product than Cameron.”

Paramount Chief Executive Brad Grey wouldn’t blush if Abrams is compared with anyone. “I think he really is going to be one of the greats of our industry,” he says. “He’s become an extraordinary director very quickly.”

Abrams seems to have gotten to this level without making lots of enemies, which may be an even bigger achievement than sustained success in Hollywood. He did this by being “a stand-up guy,” as one top agent who doesn’t even represent him puts it.

Abrams was a Hollywood kid—his father produced television movies. His first writing partner, while he was still a senior at Sarah Lawrence, was Jill Mazursky (whose father Paul directed Down and Out in Beverly Hills, among other movies). “He definitely worked harder than anybody I’ve been exposed to in my life,” Mazursky says. “He would work until four in the morning while our friends were out partying.”

Abrams insisted that Mazursky take Robert McKee’s screenwriting class even though she’d already sold some scripts. Even at that tender age, she adds, “He really knew how to put material together.” When he was just 21, Abrams’ script for Regarding Henry was red-hot, attracting producer Scott Rudin and director Mike Nichols, with Harrison Ford in the starring role. (The film was a disappointment.)

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