The fictional date for First Contact between humankind and the Vulcans is one of the most important moments in Star Trek. David C. Fein is one of the film's longest advocates. Fein's first rodeo with the movie that changed Star Trek forever was the new remaster of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He was involved in the creation of the Director's Edition cut of the film, which was an expanded and reworked version of the original film. The movie has been improved with a 4K, HDR lighting, and even a re-release. io9 recently spoke to the producer over video chat to learn more about the process of restoring Director's Edition, his relationship with Wise, and why The Motion Picture was made. Check out the interview and edited version. When did you decide to return to The Motion Picture for this restoration? Why was it the right time to go back into the movie? Did I ever leave it? I have never left it to begin with, but sometimes it feels that way. There is a lot to be done with this film and I looked at where we were, number one, with technology. There was always more to be done. We wanted to achieve more than we did before. It was like the dream of every filmmaker to have the freedom to make changes to the film as you please. The goal was always to finish The Motion Picture on film, or film equivalent, while I was at Paramount multiple times.
The Director's Edition was done because people needed to know there was a good film in there. "No matter what happens, I want you to promise me you'll always pursue this," Robert Wise told me. I want to make sure that we get it right and that it is the best film we can make. I know you will do it. I want your promise so I know it will happen. We did it in Standard Definition when we did it in 2001. We can use 4K and HD together. It talks about taking a postage stamp and fitting it to an IMAX screen. It is a completely different experience.
Even with Bob, we talked about where it could be, and the focus was making the story the most amazing, compelling, and engaging story possible, not just polishing what we had before. The film evolved this time. Every frame in the film has been touched in some way, and that is just one of the many things that are far more than before. We were blessed with the money put up by Paramount+. They are fantastic and I love them.
One of the starkest differences between the movie and the release of the DVD was the warming of the colors and the overall tone. Can you talk more about the process of coloring?
Fein says there is no comparison between the film and its slogan. The Motion Picture was rushed in 1979. They had four days to color grade the film. There were still effects shots coming in. They had to come up with a basic, flat grade for the movie so that everything would fit and look good. The goal was to have a coherent film in the theaters. Not a good film. Not a good film. There is a film in theaters. They did, and it's amazing that it's so wonderful, and that people embraced it, but then every single video transfer until 2001 was matching those four days of color grading.
When we did the Director's Edition, we did some of the adjustments to get the color better, but even at that time when you're working in Hi-Def, you do the color grading before you do your work. I created a new negative of the movie. The goal was not to put Bob in that same position as he was not seeing the finished film. When you go back to doing work on the film, you will see color grading happen. The film never had a proper color grading. Now it does! Many people might say that they love the way that it was, but I love the way that it was. You will have the theatrical cut out there. It will be there, what you remember, what was finished. This is the first time that the focus of the film is telling the best story in the world. The grade interacts with the story.
The Klingon ships are dark and gloomy. They should not look like they are on a starship. They should look like they are on a ship. The color can be pulled out. The film was very colorful, but the grade was all blue from beginning to end. There was a lot of color in the film. Look at the poster! It was intended to have a rich color. It was shot-for-shot, scene-for-scene bringing it back to what it should be, as it tells the story. The lighting changes based on the sequence that we are into. It is an active participant in the story, and that is what was so important about it. The movie was made in 2022. It wasn't polishing, it was a restoration. We don't have a good term to use for all the work we do.
The sound mix is more complicated than ever before. It surrounds you, like a wormhole, it moves with you, you feel it and experience it, and it is powerful to make every aspect of the story hit. While the edit hasn't changed that much, just about every frame has been touched in some way. You may not even notice that it has been changed, because you are watching the same thing. That aspect is so important. The goal from the beginning was to tell the best story possible. There are places in the film where you may have been taken out of the whole film.
It's all about the film that I wanted to watch as a kid. Something to fall in love with, and be carried out on an adventure. I'm saying these words about that film, you know what I mean? Even with the Director's Edition, people don't think it's as good as a giant screen. That is the experience. It is an epic film. When it is bigger, your eyes need more time. You want to look at everything when you are in awe of something. People had issues with certain scenes in the past. There are some places where you can see it, but there are more things to see. Our job is to take you away into the film, and not show off, so we add a lot of subtle shots.
I wanted to know if anything still surprises you about The Motion Picture. I've never thought about this shot or this sequence in the same way, while you were putting it together.
Fein fell off his chair. I couldn't believe it. It's something I didn't know about The Motion Picture. I assumed that all the visual effects shots were done at ILM, the best place to do them. They lined up everything. I didn't realize that the film probably cut 30% of the quality of the shots. The shot that had me fall off my chair was a shot from the first generation scans of the Enterprise. It was a back-projection of Kirk and Scotty as they came up over the saucer.
A lot of things from the original movie weren't available so we couldn't do it. They didn't get packed up. We had so much, we used whatever we could find. We had to leave it the way it was because we didn't have the foreground element of Scotty and Kirk to put over that shot. All the shots of the rear had to be from the film already. Over the last 20 years, I've studied every tool available and discovered that there were some that I could increase the quality of to make them match the recomposite material. If you don't know where we did new ones and where we didn't, we didn't lower the quality. The shot I was looking for was before digital compositing, so it was just the Enterprise element. It's gorgeous. It is amazing. The other shots were amazing, but it was the first one that we had an 8K Scan of that was shot in 65mm.
I looked at this and said I want to die. It was absolutely beautiful, stunning, and fantastic. I want people to see that shot in the future.
A lot of your relationship with this movie is tied to your relationship with Robert Wise, who sadly passed a few years after the first Director's Edition re-release. What was it like coming back to The Motion Picture without him?
Fein: He was my mentor... He taught me to be a free thinker and not be held back by the status quo. It's possible to let things be what they need to be. Try to go further. It was what he taught me and my own New Yorker, which has been the story of everything I pursued. It was great to come back because I knew his teaching and he was excited for something we were doing. It was almost like he was there.
Bob was a very brilliant man and one of the most brilliant things he knew to do was get the right people. We collaborated with Bob before. The Director's Edition brought more of Star Trek into the story. We helped guide it into what it is, and that is precious to me. It was working with the team that brought it to the restoration level. I worked with Mike to make sure the sound was current and engaging, and bring you further into the picture. I wanted to go further to what Robert Wise had said about The Motion Picture. He wanted the film to be the best thing it could be. We talked about Star Trek in a lot of ways, embracing the evolution of where we are, and using those tools that Bob didn't know existed at the time. If the film were to be finished, I would have focused on being the best that it was, not the best that it can be. We are with it. That was powerful.
The Motion Picture has had a wild journey in its reputation. All these years later, what is it about film that speaks to you?
Fein: It's positive. It is so hopeful. It's all about us, and it's perfect for today. Forty-two years ago, it was about technology and how it affected humans. The film was about how technology is there, but it's nothing without being human. The film was about the human adventure. The human adventure is just beginning and there are so many people fighting with each other right now. We are all human, and that adventure is still out there.
Even if people don't talk about it, it played on their need for each other. The whole experience, minus humanity, was needed to evolve. You could think about the coldness and mechanical nature of Kirk for a long time. He gets a little more balanced after McCoy comes on board. When he jumps up and sees Spock for the first time, it's like, "Oh yes, our team is complete!" It is more relevant now than it has ever been. The movie is great, and the time is right for it. I want everyone to see it and take the messages with them. I could go on for hours about that. The optimism is great.
The 4K restoration of Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director's Edition will be available on Paramount+ from April 5.
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