There is more news on progress for the 2012 Star Trek sequel script, which is targeted for delivery next month. Now co-writers Robert Orci and Damon Lindelof have indicated they have relocated to a hotel to sit down and focus on finishing their first draft. More details below, Bob Orci asks fans to weigh in on a navigational array.

Orci and Lindelof ‘holed up’ in a hotel writing Star Trek sequel

A bit over a week ago Star Trek sequel producer/co-writer Roberto Orci announced that he and the team were shooting to deliver the sequel in "six weeks or so" (now five weeks or so). Late Monday afternoon co-writer Damon Lindelof sent out a tweet showing that they are really coming down to the wire and focusing on the script, saying he and Orci have relocated to a hotel to focus. Tweeting the following:

Roberto Orci quickly followed up Lindelof’s tweet with the following quip:

So any Trekkie who spots Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci in a Los Angeles area hotel bar tonight, it is your lucky night!

The practice of ‘holing up’ in a hotel is actually something of a ritual for Roberto Orci. He and his regular partner Alex Kurtzman have often seconded themselves to hotels to finish up scripts. The writers have said it helps them remove all other distractions to focus on the work. The reason that Kurtzman isn’t joining Lindelof and Orci for this particular session is that he is currently focused on directing the family drama Welcome to People, which just happens to star Chris Pine. However, Kurtzman, who is also credited as a producer/co-write on the Star Trek sequel, has worked closely with Orci and Lindelof on the Star Trek script since things really kicked off last summer.

The Star Trek sequel is expected to start shooting in late summer, targeting a release June 29, 2012.

An array? A dish? – Orci asks fans a deflector question

TrekMovie contacted Orci and asked if there is any feedback the team would like fan feedback on right now. Bob sent in the following query:

What would the general consensus be on the proper name for the main deflector dish?

That is an interesting question. The dish seen on all Starfleet ships through Star Trek history has been referred to by many names, including "navigational deflector", "deflector dish", "deflector array", and "nav deflector". What do you think it should be called? Post your comments below.



The dish on the new USS Enterprise, which opens up when the ship goes to warp

A dishy plot point?

Could Bob’s question also be related to an important plot point. It could be that the dish, usually used to ensure safe space travel by deflecting space debris, gets a casual reference in the film. But there are many cases in past Star Trek on TV and film, when the deflector dish played a key role. Captain Kirk tried to use the original Enterprise’s deflector to move an asteroid in the original Star Trek episode "The Paradise Syndrome". Riker’s famous line "Mr. Worf, Fire!" ending The Next Generation cliffhanger "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" was ordering the firing of an energy beam from the USS Enterprise D’s deflector to destroy a Borg cube (and killing Capt. Picard as Locutus of Borg). There are many more examples, especially on the USS Voyager, of using the deflector in non-traditional fashions. The deflector probably played the biggest role in an extended sequence in Star Trek: First Contact when the Picard, Worf and Hawk actually

walked on the hull of the Enterprise-E to take on some Borg who were trying to turn the deflector into a beacon to call for reinforcements.



Picard battles Borg on the USS Enterprise E deflector