Beamed Out
Though he produced the last four “Star Trek” films, Harve Bennett won’t be at the controls of “Star Trek VI,” which he’d hoped to take where no “Star Trek” sequels have gone before--back to the early days of Capt. Kirk and crew.
Bennett’s script for “VI,” “The First Adventure,” was set at the academy where Kirk and Co. first got together. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and others were nervous about the premise, Bennett tells us, fearing it would be a spoof along the lines of “Police Academy.”
After waiting “the better part of a year” for a status report from the studio on his script, Bennett finally got the bad news. He then decided to leave producing chores to others, explaining, “After 10 years with ‘Star Trek,’ I wanted a fresh challenge.”
His production company is due to depart the lot next Sunday, and Bennett emphasizes: “I leave . . . with a tremendous sense of achievement.”
He says it would be “premature” to discuss future projects now.
Paramount, meanwhile, is scurrying to come up with a shootable script, hoping to release “VI” next summer--to coincide with the 25th anniversary of “Star Trek,” the TV series.
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