Star Trek producers and 'Voyager' actor Tim Russ discuss 'Renegades'

Star Trek : Renegades

Star Trek fans are about to be treated to an epic voyage into the unknown in 'Star Trek : Renegades' a new TV pilot that features some of the series' best known characters.

From Walter Koenig (Chekov, Original Star Trek) to Tim Russ ('Tuvok' in Star Trek Voyager), 'Star Trek : Renegades' has an exceptional team behind it ready to create the action and suspense fans of the TV series love and miss.

With a diverse cast including 'Star Trek Voyager' actors Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips and Garrett Wang, and the charming Adrienne Wilkinson (Xena, Star Wars), this pilot promises to raise the stakes like never before.

Brief Synopsis

The Federation's main source of dilithium crystals has vanished as space and time has mysteriously folded around the planet of Reuel VII. In order to trace the origin of the phenomenon, Admiral Chekov turns to Tuvok to form a covert 'Renegade crew' of elite rogues and outcasts to re-establish communication at all costs, and hunt down those responsible for altering space.

This new mission is very close to completion, and the team along with the guidance of 'Star Trek' veteran Walter Koenig is looking for donations on Kickstarter to make the project a reality.

So far, more than $150,000 has been raised out of $200,000 needed to complete the financing of the movie.

Find out how 'Star Trek : Renegades' came about in this exclusive interview with Tim Russ (Director/actor), Sky Conway (producer) and Ethan Calk (writer)

Tim Russ

Iain: How did you get involved with the 'Star Trek : Renegades' project and what attracted you to direct this new pilot?

Tim: As was with the previous independent Trek feature,  "Of Gods and Men,"  Sky Conway and Ethan Calk approached me and asked if I would be interested in directing this new Trek story.

Iain: Having portrayed Tuvok in the hugely successful 'Star Trek : Voyager' series how will you manage to balance being both off and on-screen in this project?

Tim: Well it's tricky working both sides of the camera mostly during the actual shooting. If I am on camera playing the role, I have to really focus on the acting, because the tendency is to find myself "looking" at the scene as a director between lines etc, while I'm acting in it.  It's also difficult because you tend to prep for the scene almost at the last minute because you've been so busy working behind camera.  I usually ask the writers to keep my character in as few scenes as possible.

Iain: Have you been rehearsing with your former Voyager co-stars and Walter Koenig for this pilot?

Tim: I have not as of yet. We only got together to shoot the trailer. The script is not completed as of yet.

Iain: Could you reveal a little about your technique to get the best performances from your actors on camera?

Tim: The best technique is to cast actors who are good at what they do to begin with.  Then it just comes down to adjustments on set. Depending on the scene, I will tweak a moment here and there sometimes for actors who are not as experienced, or actually demonstrate what I'm looking for, or if myself or the actor wants to try something different on a take, I'll shoot it a couple different ways so we have it and choose which works best during the editing.

Sky Conway

Iain: Having produced 'Star Trek : Of Gods and Men' what can Star Trek fans expect to see in terms of production values and special effects in 'Star Trek : Renegades'?

Sky: Our goal is to exceed in all areas the production values and standards of Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. I learned a lot from Stogam and will be applying those lessons to improve Renegades.

We had an incredible CGI team last time but our team has grown and you will see some eye popping SFX in Renegades!

After Kickstarter, we will try additional fund raising with the fans, so the more we can raise the better the film.


Iain: With such a limited budget how will you go about finding good locations and what kind of equipment will you be using to shoot scenes? 

Sky: We will be using the latest HD cameras which are incredible.

Sets and locations are tricky and you have to get very creative! We have a Studio in LA where will shoot most of the film. We will also shoot a lot more green screen this time.

Ethan Calk

Iain: How did the story of Renegades first come about and did you have particular cast members from Previous Star Trek franchises in mind when starting out?

Ethan: The idea came about on the last day of shooting of ST: Of Gods and Men.  We were at the Laurel Canyon Stages shooting the scenes in the relay station with Ethan Phillips and on the bridge of Gary Mitchell's ship - Laurel Canyon has permanent derelict-looking spaceship sets, so we were using them for several ship sets.  The three writers (me, Jack Trevino and Sky Conway) were just talking between takes and Jack made a comment about doing some kind of Trek where the crew has to work "outside" the normal bounds of Starfleet - and the idea just grew from there.  It went through quite a few changes - possible characters we could use, different storylines, but the overall concept stayed the same - Star Trek, but not necessarily a Starfleet crew.

We didn’t have any characters or actors in mind then, but we knew we wanted to work with some of them again, and we are doing just that.

Find out more about Star Trek : Renegades via the Official website

Iain Alexander

Founder - Film Industry Network

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