Klingon Costumes @ movie openings

[karenmaverick]

posted on 11-27-2002 at 01:38 PM

Klingon Costumes @ movie openings

A few years ago when the last movie came out my husband and I went on opening day. It was the first time we ever went to the opening. Many people were dressed as different Star Trek characters including Klingons. Has anyone seen many others do this? Just wondering?

[Kesvirit]

posted on 12-19-2002 at 07:31 AM

Sounds like fun! I haven't been to an opening day bash since ST6, but in none of the ones I attended did I see anyone in Trek related attire. (At ST4 there was a Rocky Horror contingent dressed in their finest, but they were going straight from the Trek movie to a midnight Rock-out.) I suspect that going to opening day in costume may be a more recent phenomena that sprang from the corporate mega-cons that took hold in the 90's. Is there anyone who has frequented both who has noticed a trend?

- Kesvirit
 

[tmk1000]

posted on 4-16-2003 at 05:17 PM

when i went to the new movie their was no one who was trying to look like eneyone but i went trying to look like a vulcan undercover i coverd up most of my ears i took my TNG tricorder and the first contact phaser and the new comm badge

[GravityMaster]

If you check with the theater manager prior to the opening (usually a week or more) and your have a group that is willing to dress, they will usually give you either discount or free admission to the movie.
My group has been doing this for several years now.  We spend three or four hours at the theater (2 or more watching the movie, and the rest Photo-Ops with the patrons).  For 'Nemisis', we were in Myrtle Beach, SC, and the manager and his crew had a blast.  Had us walk down the isles during the other movies.  'Santa Claus II' was full of kid and they loved it (marketing ploy to get them back to see the Star Trek movie, I guess).
As soon as the dates for the next movie are posted, have your Ops person check with your local theaters (more than one for best deal; i.e. #'s needed, how many hours the group needs to be there, cost of admission/free, etc...).  This is also a GREAT recruiting/advertising tool.

[voraq]

I am working ever more diligently to complete my uniform to wear to the opening of Star Trek XI(X-mass '08) and I have a question for all who will give an opinion(not that anyone enjoys giving opinions )

I want to wear the movie style with the full forehead.  It will give me the ability to go up to the ticket counter and ask (demand) for the ticket in tlhIngan Hol and only switching to Terran when the poor ticket seller is not cultured enough to speak Klingon.  While I can do this with a TOS uniform on I am not sure I would for the sake of being 100% recognized as I will not have any head covering on.

Upon hearing that the movie will take place in the time period just before TOS (rumors of cast for all original crew make it unlikely to me that it will be an academy movie)  I decided that it would be great to wear a uniform that corrisponds to the timeperiod in the movie. 

I want to be recognized as a klingon and for some reason it seems to me that the movie/TNG  style klingon is more widely known as "The Klingons" or "The S T aliens that arent Spock" (lol)  Those Geeks to sheltered to be Trekkies will recognise me.  But I suppose friends and others who know Trek might wonder at the reasoning for going out of the time period.

Either way I'm going to Trek XI in Full Klingon (which means I will probably speak our native tounge regardless)

Any Thoughts?

[Kesvirit]

You could just go in your full TGN-era costume, and if anyone comments on your not wearing a “contemporary” uniform, tell them that you have come to bear witness to an outrageously revisionistic Federation propoganda piece.

Just-before-TOS would place you within the early April era, and I have no idea where you would find a picture or other references to uniforms of that time. TFR takes place slightly before then and shows Krenn in a mock-turtleneck, grey pants, and a solid gold-colored overvest. I believe that the gold instead of the familiar stripes may indicate rank, and be a precursor to the command sash. But one cannot take book covers as canon; Krenn is also shown as being a Fusion when the book clearly states that he was an Imperial, and book covers are usually done by work-for-hire artists based on directions from marketing directors, neither of whom have actually read the book they are illustrating/promoting. So YKtFRMV.

If you really want to go period, you could still wear the full head and makeup put together with a non-military Klingon-themed costume that would pass muster at any point in the spacefaring era. Perhaps go as a merchant, farmer, scientist, freighter captain... There are many other professions in the Empire besides that of professional soldier, and many other reasons one would venture into space... even as far as Earth.

[Addendum -- added link]

[qoSagh]

I have been to a couple of these events in full uniform. Most of the time it is fun, sometimes it gets to be a bit of a job, if you are looking for anything free be certain you know what you are requested to do beforehand.

As for the costuming, this is where the fun world of ever changing cannon comes into play. Initially I would have thought a Human Fusion would be the way to go, however TNG & Enterprise saw fit to at least confirm that there were Imperials in the pre-TOS days. So far we have only seen the non-military or the recently augmented, so there isn't much to go on. In TOS we never saw an imperial so we don't know if they dressed differently, although I suspect not. If we are in the Robert April era, the only source material we have is TAS, and the poorly drawn versions of the TOS uniforms. As I can attest to, TOS material can be hard to come by, but a good approximation is usually possible.

I know a couple who always try to out do themselves with federation uniforms at movie openings, by searching for production stills and trying to show up in whatever the new uniform is for the movie. IF you are good and fast with the sewing this could be a fun way to go about it. I saw them go into a movie once with everyone commenting on his weird not quite TNG uniform, only to come out at the end asking where he got such a cool movie uniform so fast.

[Kesvirit]

I have been unable to find any images from the early April era, but have found a series of comic covers from the Pike era featurning a Klingon character.

If you look at the cover of #7, Kaaj is dressed very similarly to Krenn on the TFR cover. (The color in the image is off, but I am looking at the cover of an original print run and the uniform colors are definitely black, gray, and gold.) Cover #2 adds a command sash like Kor's and what looks like some sort of bracer.

So if I were to attend the Trek XI opening as an Imperial in period dress, I would go in full head and makeup while wearing something very similar to Krenn's uniform. Keep the elements clean and simple so that non-Klinfolk will recognise it as a variant on the TOS look. This will also save you money as the trousers, mock, and boots will be readily available come autumn. The only thing you will likely have to make from scratch is the overvest, and as uniform parts go it should also be cheap and simple to make.

However, to quote a prominent Surgeon Specialist, “That is what I would do. I do not know what you would do.” I hope you will update us as to your strategies and progress.

Oh, and qoSagh also brings up as good strategy as exhibited by the Federate couple. As film production progresses, periodically search the nets for spoilers and publicity shots. At this point we do not even know if there will be Klingons featured in the film, but rewrites are known to happen during filming, and plots may be changed in post-production editing.

[voraq]

...by searching for production stills and trying to show up in whatever the new uniform is for the movie.

I will defenitely keep up on the search for ST XI stills and info.  If there are no Klingons represented in the movie I think I will still go as a Klingon.
      I can imagine the reaction everyone had when they realized  your friends uniforms were current.

I would go in full head and makeup while wearing something very similar to Krenn's uniform.

Thats a great suggestion.  And, honestly, not one I would have thought of myself.  I haven't entered any book "worlds" in the recent past and have a tendency to forget about the widespread use of the Imperial and Fusion races.  (That might border on blasphemy and I hearby pledge to keep my head fully in the Klingon Empire henceforth. Any violation of this pledge is punishable by long torture in a prison cell with no option of honorable death.)

I will update you all on my progress, and hopefully will be able to add some pics when it comes time for the grand venture.