--- title: How to Be a <i>Star Trek</i> Scribe | TIME description: 'Star Trek' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci show Rebecca Keegan and Emily Poenisch how to go boldly into screenwriting canonical: https://time.com/video/EY6nGQc8/ og:title: How to Be a <i>Star Trek</i> Scribe og:description: 'Star Trek' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci show Rebecca Keegan and Emily Poenisch how to go boldly into screenwriting og:url: https://time.com/video/EY6nGQc8/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EY6nGQc8/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Be a <i>Star Trek</i> Scribe twitter:description: 'Star Trek' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci show Rebecca Keegan and Emily Poenisch how to go boldly into screenwriting twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EY6nGQc8/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # How to Be a _Star Trek_ Scribe > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: How to Be a Star Trek Scribe [Watch (HLS stream): How to Be a Star Trek Scribe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EY6nGQc8.m3u8) (7:44)  _Published 2009-05-04. 'Star Trek' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci show Rebecca Keegan and Emily Poenisch how to go boldly into screenwriting_ --- Jul 27, 2023 1:09 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Star Trek Bridge Crew Trailer](/video/yeog9ZV4/) ### Star Trek Bridge Crew Trailer [Star Trek DVD Exclusive](/video/gsE74pOS/) ### Star Trek DVD Exclusive [Star Trek](/video/rsi6l9ad/) ### Star Trek --- ## Transcript >> Prepare to fire all weapons. >> After seven years, Star Trek the Movie franchise is rebooting. >> Buckle up. >> Eager to hop on the Starship Enterprise bandwagon, I asked Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to help me and my friend Emily go boldly into screenwriting. >> I'll take Scarlett. >> Here is where it gets better. >> I'm Rebecca Keegan and I used to be the Hollywood correspondent for TIME Magazine. Sweet gig right? Well, when the economy nosedived I became a full time freelancer and now I'm pounding the pavement, working my movie industry contacts to try and get a job in Hollywood. Friends of 17 years, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are Hollywood's go- to screenwriting team for big effects movies like this summer's Star Trek and Transformers 2. Today I've enlisted by friend Emily Poenisch, also a freelance writer to visit Kurtzman and Orci at their offices on the Universal Studio's lot; learn their unorthodox team style of writing and hopefully sell our pitch for the next Star Trek movie. >> Hi! Hello! First thing we noticed is that two grown men share one desk. Interesting. So when you first get an assignment, how do you start? What's the first thing you do? >> First you Google Star Trek and you go find out what the hell is it all about. Okay. >> Okay. Cool. Alright. >> We take note cards and we start writing ideas that we learn from. So for example we learned that there is a Vulcan guy named Spock. So then you do a card like that and you go, what can we do with Spock. Then you put him-- put him up so you can kind of stare at it. >> How did you meet? >> High School. >> We were both kind of breaking up with our girlfriends. >> Oh Right. And we were both writing, you know, like alright here's our-- >> We kept this letter. >> You know the letters that you write when you're at that age. >> Right. They're the best. >> So you were editing each other's love letters. >> Yes. And you can be that trusting of your partner where you can tell him anything and they also respect you. >> And then you just sort of walked on into Amblin and you're like, hey! Fellas! Steve- O. >> Our first job was then, actually the office right over there. >> Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, as staff writers. >> He was a man like no other. Born of a beautiful mortal woman but fathered by Zeus, King of the Gods. >> We learned a lot and it kinda helped-- being friends gave us the ability to trust each other which is great and then you know, we started writing together and you know, you get-- when you're in TV you get under the deep end of the pool so fast, there is no time. We didn't know really what we're doing but we had to learn immediately. >> Well you guys studied great partnerships. >> Right. >> So what do you learn from the great partnerships that you studied? >> Ego can hurt your partnership if you think you're doing everything or you don't think your partner is carrying enough. >> Now that the guys have let us in on their secrets, just as we'd hope, they thrown down the gauntlet. >> We have an assignment >> Yeah, sure. >> Right. Hopefully there's going to be many more Star Treks if we're lucky. So if there's anything you can contribute to the Star Trek Universe because you have until the end of the day. I guess. >> Until the end of the day? >> Emily takes careful measurements of the guy's offices so we can duplicate their process. >> Think it's gonna work? >> Yeah. That's a good question. That's smart. >> First we set up our workspace Kurtzman and Orci style. >> Okay. Star Trek. Break it down. >> You've seen Star Trek right? >> Of course. >> Yeah. Okay. It's basically a bloody movie. These two guys, they're piloting this spaceship, they're sort of surrounded by people from different-- different races and different nationality. >> Evil people? >> Well the people in the ship are not evil and then you see the people from outside the ship, evil. >> Are evil. >> I will not allow you to lecture me. >> Then why don't you stop me? >> I like this ship! You know, it's exciting! >> The wait is over. >> What we should do. >> Okay. >> Hear me out: Female empowerment story. Jane Eyre, but not loud. You know. >> Jane Eyre [ unk ] >> Rambo? >> What? No. >> No? Not girl enough. >> Sense and Sensibility. >> Everyone does Jane Austen. >> Alright you're right. You're right. Right. Right. >> Da Vinci Code. >> Oh War and Peace. >> War and Peace in Space. >> Females. Women. >> The Feminine Mystique. >> Yes! >> Supernanny? >> What? >> Supernanny. >> More ideas. >> Vernon Shirley. >> What happens in Jane Eyre? >> Tall, dark, handsome crazy woman in the attic that's really it. More female empowerment films. >> Dom DeLuise. >> Yeah. That's it. >> Do you think we could do Cowboy Hats in Space? >> Finally the creative juices start flowing and we have the pitch. >> Yes! Alright. >> Yup. >> Hi, we're back. >> Oh my God! >> Please well. So we can hear you. >> We're doing reinterpretation. >> Okay. >> Just like, Gene Roddenberry, Dom DeLuise. Captain Kirk is actually Jenny Kirk making like a Scarlett Johansson type with Russell Crowe. She is piloting the Starship Enterprise with female Spock, we're thinking like Anne Hathaway type and the Federation calls the women-- >> Come on over for an assignment. >> They have to transport the Jonas Brothers to an intergalactic benefit concert. >> They're like sirens. >> Their tears have the power to inflame you. That's the good news. >> Bad news. >> The problem, they deliver another message to the ladies that Jenny-- Captain Jenny Kirk, this one, is gonna have to marry a Klingon-- >> We're thinking Mickey Rourke as for the Klingon. >> Mickey Rourke. Uh huh. -[ unk ] Jenny is already in love with the communications officer for Starship Enterprise who is Ulrich. And he often is in the background doing, pushups, punches, things like that. >> He's just eye candy. We're not really gonna flush him out. >> Oh my God we're losing them. We moved right to the finale. >> At the last moment it's like they have the choice to go to the Klingons-- >> Yup. >> Or crash into an asteroid. >> There's the asteroid. >> And they lock arms, they do this, and then they just crashed into it. >> Crashed into the asteroid. >> What do you think? >> The way the men are treated is a little sexist, a little bit. >> Why? >> You know, they're kinda, like if the pushup saved the ship, like they gave him the energy. >> If you don't like this one, we did have a plan B. >> Really? >> Should we? >> Yeah. The Jane Eyre thing. They do like the Jane Eyre. >> In space? >> I told you it doesn't-- No. >> Jane Eyre in space? That actually is not a bad idea. >> I think we should just have another meeting. >> Yeah. Can you come back in maybe next week. >> Really? >> Yeah definitely. Thanks so much. >> Bye! >> Bye! >> Thanks so much. >> Unfortunately our partnership also hits an asteroid. >> Emily, one of the main things they were talking about, is that it's really important for a team that both people pull their weight, both taking the task at hand really seriously. >> Which is a good point because you are a bit naughty Bella, you know what I mean? >> Despite Kurtzman's and Orci's warnings, I decided to try going solo. >> Star Trek opens May 8. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How to Be a \u003ci\u003eStar Trek\u003c/i\u003e Scribe","description":"'Star Trek' writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci show Rebecca Keegan and Emily Poenisch how to go boldly into screenwriting","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EY6nGQc8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2009-05-04T11:41:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EY6nGQc8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/EY6nGQc8/","duration":"PT7M44S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/EY6nGQc8/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```