March 2009

The LA Times have a piece on Fringe co-producers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (aka “Korci”), in which they talk about their partnership in crafting science-fiction productions such as Star Trek and Fringe. In truth it is Fringe-lite but worth a read if you’re a Trek fan, or if you want to gain some insight into what makes them tick as a partnership:

On a leafy hillside on the Universal Studios lot, childhood friends Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman share not just a bungalow but a single desk that sits beneath large letters that spell out “C-O-F-F-E-E” — vintage neon salvaged from an old diner. There, sitting face to face and finishing each other’s sentences, the screenwriters crank out tales of the fantastic for Hollywood, including two of this summer’s biggest popcorn films, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Star Trek,” as well as Fox’s eerie hit series “Fringe.”

The two met in their senior year at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, the Santa Monica private school that lists Amy Pascal, Michael Bay, Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow among its alumni, and their great bonding moment was their mutual passion for “sex, lies, and videotape,” the 1989 Steven Soderbergh film that became a signature moment in American independent film. There were, however, no giant robots or photon torpedoes in that Soderbergh script.

“We came from a place of passion for independent films and imagined ourselves writing films like that, but now, for better or worse, we have developed a reputation as guys who write ‘big’ movies,” Kurtzman said. “And I’d really like ‘good’ to also be an adjective that’s used. I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. You really can do both.”

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