20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact 1996 - Part 1 - video Dailymotion

Australian Cinephile

First Contact remains a mighty Trek classic over 25 years or so later.

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00:00And we have come to it at last. It is the film that proved that the Next Generation crew really

00:06could handle a big screen budget and some big screen adventure. Now, whether we are following

00:11Jean-Luc Picard on his insane quest to smash every piece of glass that he finds, or Riker's quest to

00:19figure out what was that third scene originally for in the cockpit of the Phoenix, it is the big

00:27film of 1996. I'm not going to lie to you. I've got very happy memories of this film. Is it a perfect

00:31film? No. No, it isn't. Is it a terrible film? No. No, it isn't. Is it a film that I shockingly,

00:38with my father, found myself in the middle of when the screen turned off and suddenly we were all

00:43given a bathroom break? Yes. Yes, it is. That was very surprising. I mean, I don't know what to tell

00:48you. Bathroom break in the middle of a two-hour film. Hey, listen, I wasn't about to turn it down.

00:52That is just one of the many things you probably didn't know. So, with that in mind, I am Sean

00:58Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are 20 things you didn't know about Star Trek First Contact,

01:03Part 1. Number 20. It had a considerably bigger budget than Generations. First Contact's final

01:09budget was set at $45 million, making it the most expensive film of the franchise up to that point,

01:14tied with the very first film in the series Star Trek The Motion Picture. After the release of The

01:18Motion Picture, the sequels received considerably smaller budgets, with First Contact's predecessor

01:22originally priced at a slender $25 million before reshoots and overages pushed to $35. First

01:28Contact having $10 million more to play with, allowed the production team to plan and stage

01:32more elaborate effects-driven action sequences, as ultimately became a large part of the movie's

01:36mainstream appeal. Its subsequent box office success prompted Paramount to drop a stonking

01:40$70 million on the direct sequel, Star Trek Insurrection, which wasn't nearly as well received,

01:45either critically or commercially. Number 19. Picard and Riker's planned roles were swapped.

01:51In earlier drafts of the script, the plot roles assigned to Captain Picard and Riker were actually

01:55reversed. Picard would remain on Earth to help with the Phoenix's historic warp drive flight,

01:59while Riker would fight the Borg aboard the Enterprise. As a result, the bulk of the earlier

02:03drafts were focused on Earth, which Patrick Stewart reportedly objected to, resulting in Picard and

02:07Riker's arcs being switched around. This explains why Picard assumes a more action-centric role in this

02:12film. It was originally written for Riker, while Picard was supposed to replace Zefram Cochran

02:16in Launching the Phoenix after the Borg puts Cochran in a coma.

02:20Number 18. It almost took place in Medieval Europe.

02:23As soon as writers Brannan Braga and Ronald D. Moore committed to the idea of a time travel

02:27movie, they began tossing around potential settings and settled on one distinct time period,

02:31Medieval Europe. This version of the story, aptly entitled Star Trek Renaissance, would have

02:35revolved around the Borg attempted to prevent the development of modern civilization in the 15th

02:38century Europe. The Borg's base would have been an ornate castle that would have been half-assimilated,

02:43there would have been swordfight sequences, and Data would end up as Leonardo da Vinci's

02:46apprentice. Ultimately, Moore felt that the idea risked becoming too campy the more they dug into

02:51the bones of it, and Patrick Stewart refused to wear tights, so the concept was scrapped. While it does

02:54sound a little Bill and Ted all in all, it could have been a lot of fun. Number 17. The Borg were given a

02:59big-budget redesign. Budgetary constraints meant that the crew of the next generation weren't totally happy

03:05with how the Borg looked on the show, but First Contact's beefier budget allowed them to take

03:09the intended design much further, and retain the costumes and sets for later use on Star Trek

03:14Voyager. The makeup team's process for Borg actors on the movie took five times as long compared to the

03:19next generation, as they opted for a more visceral and involved look that better conveyed how thoroughly

03:24an assimilated person is subsumed by the Borg. Once shooting was complete for the day, it reportedly

03:28took a Borg actor two hours to get out of the elaborate costume and remove all of their makeup.

03:34Number 16. Zefram Cochran is greeted by Spock's great-grandfather.

03:39The Vulcan captain of the Tiplana Hath, who crucially greets Zefram Cochran and initiates

03:42first contact, is never named in the movie itself or its end credits, though it's stated

03:47in a Star Trek card game and also a reference book that it is in fact Solcar, Spock's great-grandfather.

03:52We first hear mention of Solcar way back in Star Trek III The Search for Spock, when he's

03:56named as the father of Scone and the grandfather of Sarek, Spock's own father. Fan service of this

04:01sword is tricky and often ends up confusing or enraging fans, but in this case, it's

04:05a meaningful addition that's just subtle enough to pass by more casual observers.

04:10Number 15. Q appeared in a draft of the script.

04:14There's no denying how much fans love Q, and so it's little surprise he almost wound up

04:18in first contact, having been part of one of the script's earlier drafts. There's no word

04:22on precisely what his role might have entailed, but his presence surely would have dovetailed

04:26neatly into the time travel plot, yet the decision was ultimately made to exclude him, potentially

04:31due to the script already having so many spinning plates to keep track of. A Q cameo is rarely

04:36a bad thing, and Paramount was reportedly angling hard for the character's inclusion, but it

04:40never came to pass. It would have been neat, but it's not like the end result suffered at

04:43all due to his absence.

04:45Number 14. Geordi's Visor Was Replaced At LeVar Burton's Request.

04:49Geordi LaForge ditched his iconic visor from the next generation in this movie, switching it

04:53out for ocular implants which aren't given any further explanation. The change was

04:57actually suggested by At LeVar Burton himself, who for years had been lobbying to get rid

05:01of the visor, feeling that it encroached upon his performance due to his lack of eyesight,

05:05and that preventing the audience from seeing his eyes lessened their emotional connection

05:09to him.

05:10Co-writer Moore eventually complied and came up with the implants, which Geordi continued

05:13to wear for the remainder of his cinematic Trek tenure, bar that subplot and insurrection

05:17where his eyes temporarily regenerate.

05:19Number 13. It Was The Last Trek Film To Use Practical Models.

05:23First Contact marked a major milestone for the Star Trek movies by being the final one

05:28to use a practical scale model of the Enterprise during production. Most of the shots of the

05:32Enterprise throughout the film were achieved through practical motion control photography,

05:36with the model being filmed and then inserted into a CGI environment or enhanced with digital

05:40effects. From Star Trek Insurrection onwards, the various effects shot of the ships were entirely

05:44digital, initially working from high resolution images of the Enterprise model taken during

05:48production on Star Trek First Contact. Naturally, it goes without saying that the JJ Abrams

05:52produced reboot franchise also opted for 100% CGI ships, given that VFX are considerably cheaper

05:58than practical elements these days.

05:59Number 12. The Borg eyepieces secretly flash Morse code.

06:04Each Borg drone, of course, wears an electronic eyepiece which could be seen periodically blinking

06:08red, but what you surely didn't realise is that these blinks were actually spelling out

06:12Morse code. Makeup designer Michael Westmore's son, Michael Westmore Jr, programmed the lights

06:16to spell out the names of various members of the film's production team. Though you'd struggle

06:20to make any of these names out, given that a single Borg drone has rarely lingered upon

06:23for long, it's a most fascinating, peculiar easter egg for sure. Allegedly, some of the names

06:28included are producer Rick Berman, former Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing, and Michael Westmore's dog,

06:33Bonnie. Number 11. Shooting started just seven months before release. This fact is scarcely believable,

06:40considering how polished and well-aged the movie is, but First Contact didn't start shooting

06:44until April 8th, 1996, just seven and a half months before the film ended up releasing in

06:49cinemas. This truncated production schedule, comprised of three months of shooting and almost

06:53five months of post-production, forced visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to

06:57rush to complete the film's effects on time. The most complicated effect in the film,

07:01the Borg Queen's head being lowered onto her torso, alone took five months to satisfactorily finish.

07:07The prospect of a sci-fi tentpole film hitting cinemas less than five months after the last

07:12piece of principal footage is shot is absolutely mind-boggling to consider today, where it's not

07:17unheard of for glossy tentpoles to spend 18 months in post-production. Now, that is everything for the

07:23first part of the list, because we don't want to give you everything too quickly, because you'll

07:27never come back and visit us again. Also, before I let you go, make sure that you check out our

07:32interview with Doug Drexler, who was of course a designer and worked as a scenic artist

07:37on Star Trek First Contact as well, in addition to designing so many cool things for Star Trek.

07:42You can find the link to that in the description of this video, you won't regret it. Don't forget

07:47that you can catch us over on Twitter at TrekCulture, and you can catch myself at Sean Ferrick on Twitter,

07:53and Instagram, and TikTok as well, where I post daily Star Trek videos. You will be able to catch the rest

08:00of this list soon. In the meantime, live long and prosper. You look after yourself, you look after

08:05your friends and family, and to my friends in Ukraine. Stay safe, we're thinking of you,

08:10with all of our love. Thanks a million.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact 1996 - Part 1

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