If blame is going to be tossed around about why "Star Trek: Nemesis" was such a huge failure, you need to start with the fans.
At least that's what Brent Spiner, who played Data in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the subsequent movies, told the official Star Trek Magazine, as first reported by Sci-Fi Pulse.
"We worked on the story with the intention of making it for the fans," Spiner said. "With every Star Trek movie prior to that, we tried to find a way to bridge the gap between the fans and the general public. With 'Nemesis' we said, 'Forget that! Let's make a movie for the fans, because that's the people who actually go to see the films.' And what happened? They didn't go!
"Usually the films opened big, even if they had a lot of competition, but 'Nemesis' didn't even do that. That was a message from the fans that they were done with us."
"Star Trek: Nemesis" opened on Dec. 15, 2002, just days before "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" opened. The film made $18.5 million on opening weekend, and did a total American box office of $43.1 million.
In comparison, the previous movie -- "Star Trek: Insurrection" -- had an opening day box office of $22 million in 1998, going on to gross $70.1 million.
Spiner says he's all for restarting the Star Trek franchise, however, despite his previous comments on J.J. Abrams' idea for Star Trek XI.
"I think they're right to start a new movie franchise that will hopefully spawn a new series that will spawn new movies," Spiner said.
About the Author:
Michael Hinman is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha and the entire BlipNetwork. He owns Quantum Global Media Inc., the parent corporation of the BlipNetwork. He's a print journalist by day, and lives in Tampa, Fla.
