In a chat with fans, Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. talked about his Trek Nation documentary, his mother's health and his frustration with how his father's series have been handled by producers in recent years.

At Roddenberry.com, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry said that Trek Nation (no relation to this web site) is halfway through the editing process and needs at least another two months before it can be entered into film festivals. "We actually had a finished rough cut but it was not what we wanted," he admitted. "So we've had to go back and recut the whole thing...I'm going for 'I am very happy with this film.'"

The film was not finished in time for Sundance this year, he noted. After the film is shown, he added, "distributors (Paramount, 20th Century, Lions Gate...etc) contact us with an offer...ideally." He hoped to see the film released by the end of 2006 in time for Star Trek's 40th anniversary. Anthony Montgomery (Mayweather) and Roddenberry have "been working on a hiphop" for the movie which Roddenberry called "really quite amazing," saying that Montgomery, who released a CD last year, is "talented beyond anything I imagined."

Roddenberry said that he was out of the loop about Paramount's plans for Star Trek, explaining that he did not know whether there would be another movie or a Starfleet Academy show. "I wish I could be the 'Authority' on this stuff but I get the impression that Paramount do[es] not want the Roddenberry [name] to take part in promoting ST," he said. "HOWEVER! Star Trek is not dead or gone. Paramount owns an amazing and profitable property. I'm fairly certain they are just regrouping. IT WILL be back. No one is that stupid."

When a fan inquired about his mother, Roddenberry said, "Majel is good. In her own words 'getting older' but good. She cannot move around as well as she used to. I think she's pretty much retired when it come to conventions...she's done them for almost 40 years, she deserves a rest."

Asked whether there were any plans to continue Andromeda, Roddenberry said that he was out of the loop there as well: "I wiped my hands of Andromeda back at the beginning of production....I've had nothing to do with it." He guessed that there would not be another season of the television series, but added, "However, this is only a rumor...someone somewhere (not me) may be trying to shop it around as a feature. Just like Firefly. Keep in mind that I get these rumors from other fans not from legitimate sources. I know nothing."

As for Earth: Final Conflict, another Gene Roddenberry series, Roddenberry noted, "EFC was wonderful because of the cast and crew and terrible because of the typical Hollywood BS." For him the biggest problems were personal: "'Someone else' was producing a TV series based on my father's concepts. They had little respect for the fans and weight of the Roddenberry name. First season was an excellent first season. The rest was mediocre Sci Fi. In my opinion...however, lets see how good I do when I produce my first TV series. Proof is in the puddin' baby!"

For more, including Roddenberry's taste in music and favourite underwear, the transcript is at Roddenberry.com.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!