Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures is the film production and distribution company that currently holds the rights to the " Star Trek " feature films and formerly controlled the rights to the " Star Trek " television franchise . Paramount is currently owned by the media conglomerate Viacom which is , in turn , controlled by National Amusements . Brad Grey , previously a television producer , is the current CEO . It was his stated intention to reestablish Paramount as a leading media company by being willing to take risks and lure creative talent to the company . As part of this initiative , he lured Gail Berman , one of the original producers of " Buffy the Vampire Slayer " , into the corporate offices to take on the role of President . Beginning in 1931 , Paramount Pictures owned and operated the ( note British spelling ) in Oakland , California where it held many premieres for its films . Since 1986 , the theater has been owned and operated as a non - profit organization by the city . Paramount produced and distributed all " Star Trek " films and television shows from 1967 through ( ) and owned the " Original Series ' first season and its two preceding pilot episodes . It also licensed the production of Filmation ' s in 1973 . History with " Star Trek " . Paramount formally acquired the " Star Trek " franchise on when Lucille Ball ' s Desilu Studios , the company that produced ( as it was later dubbed , but then still officially known as simply " Star Trek " ) , was purchased for seventeen million dollars by Gulf + Western , Paramount ' s owner . Paramount Pictures had previously operated its own rather insignificant television production department and Desilu was incorporated into it to form Paramount Television , placing the " Star Trek " television series under its aegis . As a result of Gulf + Western ' s purchase of Desilu , it also acquired three other Desilu television shows that were in production at the time . ( referenced on " Star Trek " ) , , and were considered hugely successful at that time and were the prime motivations for the purchase of Desilu . " Star Trek " and its middling television ratings were essentially thrown into the deal as an afterthought . The company came under the ownership of Viacom when that company took over the remnants of Gulf + Western in . Acquiring " The Original Series " . Viewed as a commercial disappointment at the time , Gulf + Western initially wanted to exclude " Star Trek " from its purchase of Desilu . Desilu executive Herb Solow later stated , " " Paramount didn ' t want " Star Trek " , because it was losing too much money each week and didn ' t have enough episodes to syndicate successfully . That was a wise business decision at the time . " " Nonetheless , Lucille Ball insisted on selling her company as an intact entity which forced a reluctant Paramount to also accept the legal and financial liabilities for the unwanted property . ( " " , p . 218 ) One week after the acquisition and alarmed by his financial audits , Gulf + Western founder , co - owner , president , and driving force behind the acquisition , called one of Desilu ' s former negotiators named Ed Holly , utterly aghast . Holly recalled , " " Just a week or so after the merger , when Bluhdorn had started seeing the cost figures , he called me in the middle of the night . All I heard was ' What did you sell me ? I ' m going to the poorhouse ! ' I said , ' Charlie , you must be looking at Star Trek and Mission : Impossible . Those shows are costing almost to the dollar what our projections showed they would cost . You and your people made the judgment that that was all right . " " ( " Desilu : The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz " , 1994 , pp . 297 - 298 ) Although he had been known as a formidable business tycoon , Bluhdorn ' s exchange with Holly betrayed that he and his financial subordinates did not have a thorough understanding of the motion picture and television business . Bluhdorn had only become a " Hollywood Mogul " less than a year earlier when he had bought Paramount Pictures on 19 October 1966 and was not , in the least , reassured by Holly ' s assurances . Bluhdorn decided to visit the set of " Star Trek " in person to witness a day of production for himself and found it to be an underwhelming experience . What he saw on that day made him highly skeptical but , even though it was his prerogative as the temporary chairman of the board of Paramount Pictures , he stopped short of actually ordaining the series ' cancellation . Instead , Bluhdorn had a small army of Paramount and NBC financial executives and accountants descend on " Star Trek " to go through the finances of the production with a fine tooth comb . Inevitably , this resulted in more severe budget cuts and creative meddling from these businessmen . This interference eventually turned out to be the impetus for the subsequent departure of the driving forces behind the series which included Solow , Gene Roddenberry and , eventually , Robert Justman . ( " " , 1997 , pp . 360 - " et al " . ) These defections only served to reinforce the decision to cancel " Star Trek " as soon as possible but fan letter - writing campaigns convinced NBC to renew the series twice . Despite NBC ' s and Gulf + Western ' s financial experts ' grave concerns about " Star Trek " ' s high production costs , the final decision to cancel the show was not made by television network NBC until the end of the series ' third season , reportedly leaving the entire production at $ 4 . 7 million in debt . ( " " , p . 399 ) Due to its original contractual obligations , net profits ( non - existent at the time ) were be shared between the studio ( 26⅔ % ) , Roddenberry ' s production company Norway Corporation ( 26⅔ % ) , performer William Shatner ( 20 % ) , and NBC ( 26⅔ % ) . Due to its losses , Paramount offered Roddenberry the opportunity to obtain the " Star Trek " property for $ 100 , 000 - $ 150 , 000 in 1970 . However , Roddenberry was unable to raise this sum on his own so the ownership of the property remained with Paramount . This turned out to be extremely fortuitous for the studio , and as Solow put it , " " History would show that Gulf & Western ' s purchase of " Star Trek " alone , the low - rated , money - losing second - year series on NBC , would become one of the most spectacular business moves in entertainment history . " " ( " " , p . 220 ) Syndicating " The Original Series " and resurgence . Yet , very shortly after the studio had made Roddenberry the offer , Paramount found that its hot potato was quickly turning into a hot property due to its huge and unexpected success in syndication in the early 1970s . In effect , the very first time Paramount sold syndication rights was already in 1969 while the third season was still being aired in its original run on NBC . The buyer , Kaiser Broadcasting ( which operated a small chain of local television stations along the West , and East Coast ) , immediately started to broadcast " Star Trek " after NBC had canceled the series on a daily basis and , much to their delight , observed a steep rise in viewership " and " ratings , the latter identified in " Star Trek " - lore as the reason why the " Original Series " was canceled by NBC in the first place . ( " " , 1997 , pp . 417 - 418 ) The phenomenon was not lost on other local television stations , and thus the spectacular resurgence of " Star Trek " in syndication started . It was around that time that Paramount discovered that Roddenberry was selling " Star Trek " merchandise through Lincoln Enterprises , which was formally an illegal endeavor , as he simply did not own the brand . Yet , both parties struck a deal , which allowed Roddenberry to continue in return of a percentage of the sales , as Paramount also started to realize that their " Star Trek " property was not a too bad one to have after all . Not yet having a well oiled " Star Trek " marketing machine of their own , Lincoln Enterprises suited the needs of the studio well in raising the awareness of their increasingly profitable " Star Trek " brand . By early 1987 , when a new television series , , went into pre - production , " Variety " magazine of 2 December 1991 , was able to report that the " Original Series " had by then netted the studio already over US $ 1 million dollar per episode in domestic syndication fees alone – and thus excluding the by then substantial sales revenues abroad , as well as those stemming from home media format , and affiliated merchandise sales . Considering the average production cost of US $ 190 , 000 per episode , this turned out to be a more than healthy return on investment , especially since Paramount had not borne the costs of the , relatively most expensive , first season of a production that was essentially thrown into the deal ( any Desilu book losses in regard to the " Star Trek " production , would have been accounted for in the purchase price paid by Paramount ) , arguably for almost free , as Susan Sackett , Roddenberry ' s personal assistant , had dryly noted that it was NBC which had borne most ( but not all ) of the production costs ( also explaining why there had been NBC financial experts present in the first place at the due diligence audit back in 1967 ) , not Paramount . ( " " , issue 43 , p . 14 ) Now the truly ugly side of doing business in Hollywood came to the fore in full force , as it became concurrently known that the studio had shortchanged at least one of its other stakeholders , Roddenberry , who was still legally entitled a full one third of the net profits ( in exchange for surrendering any and all other legal title to the series , save for his " Created By " - credit , according to James Van Hise ) . Roddenberry was by 1981 perpetually led to believe by the studio that the " Original Series " was still deeply in the red by as much as US $ 1 million dollar – or US $ 500 , 000 by 1982 , again according to Van Hise ( " " , p . 58 ) – as supposedly " proven " by doctored account statements handed over to him . Roddenberry instructed his attorney , Leonard Maizlish , to start legal proceedings in order to be given access to Paramount ' s records , seemingly to no avail initially . " " The greatest science fiction in show biz is in the accounting " " , Roddenberry declared chagrined , referring to the infamous " " industry phenomenon . ( " " , issue 43 , p . 14 ) Roddenberry had reasons to be suspicious , as it seemed unlikely that the by 1987 reported net syndication profit of US $ 78 million dollar was only realized in the intervening six years . While it was at the time unknown what the outcome of the legal proceedings were , it should be noted that it was around this time that Roddenberry entered into his below - mentioned advantageous ( financially that is , creatively it was an altogether entirely different matter ) movie deal with the studio ; It was conceivable that Roddenberry and the studio settled their " Original Series " accounts on that occasion , as Roddenberry became an affluent man from then on . That this was indeed the case came to light in 1994 when it was revealed that the studio disbursed US $ 5 . 3 million in profit distribution to Roddenberry between June 1984 and July 1987 . Launching the " Star Trek " movie franchise . As if to underscore Roddenberry ' s suspicions , former " Original Series " writer D . C . Fontana was already able to report in the fanzine " Star - Borne " of that , " " Paramount . . . [ is ] enormously impressed by the quantity ( and quality ) of fan mail they continue to receive . The possibility seems to be slowly developing of a Star Trek feature movie for theatrical release , aimed at becoming the new Star Trek television pilot . . . on the network front , NBC still expresses great interest in doing Star Trek in some form . Both NBC and Paramount continue to receive a great deal of mail and have had to assign secretaries for the sole job of answering it . " " NBC ' s complete turnaround , not only stemmed from the spectacular resurgence of the " Original Series " in syndication , but also from its own accounting department . Shortly before Fontana ' s report , NBC had replaced its old Nielsen rating system , purportedly the results from which having been the primary reason for the cancellation of the series , with a new and updated one . When they ran the original " Original Series " figures through their new system they found out much to their surprise that it had not only reached full penetration into their most coveted target audience , the male population between 18 and 45 , but also that the series had been one of the most successful series , the network had ever aired . The sickening realization hit upon the dismayed network executives , that they had slaughtered the goose that laid the golden eggs , something that every " Star Trek " fan at the time could have told them , and which they had done in the first place . Hurriedly approaching Roddenberry to see if the series could be revitalized , turned out to be unfeasible , as Paramount had only a few months earlier cleared out their warehouses from the vast majority of the remaining " Star Trek " production assets , they either being scrapped , given away or simply stolen . Recreating them , calculated at US $ 750 , 000 , was deemed far too cost - prohibitive . It did however , lead to NBC ordering the creation of " Star Trek : The Animated Series " . ( " Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before " , pp . 51 - 52 ) And indeed , the phenomenon was not lost on Bluhdorn himself , as he had by 1974 completely reversed his stance from the one he had back in 1967 , and had by now become enamored with " Star Trek " due to its huge and unexpected success in syndication – and the recent addition of the " Animated Series " , which , while not produced by the studio , was legally Paramount property nevertheless , adding an additional " Star Trek " revenue stream – , embracing the property as something of a pet project . It was therefore , after he had been presented by a subordinate , Paramount ' s then chief financial officer Arthur Barron , with the idea of turning " Star Trek " into a movie , that he gave Barry Diller , freshly appointed in October 1974 as the new studio head , as one of his consignments , to turn the idea into a project . Not particularly interested in doing " Star Trek " in any format whatsoever and , by any standard , a formidable executive himself , Diller nevertheless did not want to repeat the mistake his immediate predecessor Frank Yablans made by antagonizing his new boss and his new - found infatuation with " Star Trek " and set to work . ( " The Keys to the Kingdom " , Chapter 5 ) As it turned out , Roddenberry had already approached the studio with a pitch for a " Star Trek " movie one year previously . Then Paramount President , Frank Yablans , was very interested , but due to Roddenberry ' s obtuseness at the negotiation table , the proposition fell through . ( " " , 1997 , pp 420 - 421 ) Despite the failure of the negotiations , Yablans ' interest in producing high - tech science fiction was piqued nevertheless and to this end he facilitated and arranged the funding for the establishment of two Paramount visual effects subsidiaries , Douglas Trumbull ' s Future General Corporation ( FGC ) and Carey Melcher ' s Magicam , Inc , a very short time thereafter . Unfortunately , his immediate successors , Barry Diller and Michael Eisner , had zero affinity with science fiction and none whatsoever with visual effects in particular , and tried to shut down FGC immediately upon their ascent , which came back to haunt the production later on . Yablans however , had failed to inform his boss of Roddenberry ' s prior overtures , and Bluhdorn perceived this as part of Yablans ' overall lack of respect for him , which shortly thereafter led to his downfall . Barron incidentally , had approached Bluhdorn on his own accord . ( " The Keys to the Kingdom " , Chapter 5 ) Still , getting " Star Trek " off the ground again as a new live - action production turned out to be not as straightforward as it originally sounded , and for three years the project stubbornly refused to come into fruition . However , when Diller thought up a fourth television network for the company , Paramount Television Services , officially announced on , he intended " Star Trek " to serve as its flagship as a new television series , " " ( or " Star Trek II " as its official title was to be ) . Fully endorsed by Bluhdorn , who sensed an even more profitable repeat performance of the property , actual production of a new live - action production was finally started the same month . His initial enthusiasm notwithstanding , Bluhdorn soon found out that America was not yet ready for a fourth television network , informed as such by then Vice President of Research Mel Harris , as advertiser ' s interest did not materialize and he already pulled the plug on the network project near the end of July . Still , he allowed the production of " Star Trek " to continue , which was , aside from his own personal interest , in no small part due to the desire not to lose development costs already sunk in all previous revitalization attempts . " Star Trek : Phase II " eventually morphed into , which was officially announced by the studio on 28 March 1978 to the public at Paramount Pictures in the largest press conference held since ' s announcement of his 1923 silent movie , . ( " " , pp . 50 - 51 ) . Even set initially at an in hindsight unrealistic original budget of US $ 15 million dollar , Paramount took a huge gamble with " The Motion Picture " as it was the most complex , ambitious and expensive movie project the studio had ever embarked upon in its history , Cecil B . DeMille ' s ( inflation adjusted ) 1956 remake of his own 1923 silent movie classic " The Ten Commandments " , being the sole exception . Having only just recently reversed the fortunes of the studio , after nearly a two decades long slump , all the studio ' s biggest box - office successes of the mid - 1970s , John Travolta ' s " Saturday Night Fever " and " Grease " , as well as Mario Puzo ' s " The Godfather " , were in comparison " low - budget " productions , none of them exceeding a production budget of US $ 6 million dollar ( the substantial profits made from these were mainly used as debt - relief and repairing the financial position of the studio ) . Only in the mid - to - late 1980s , did production budgets start to habitually balloon exponentially , first in double digits , and subsequently into the triple digits . Partly due to the studio ' s hitherto utter lack of experience with a technically complex and visual effects heavy productions of this magnitude , the production of " The Motion Picture " proved to be exceptionally difficult , troublesome , frustrating " and " , for those times , extremely costly , the latter in no small part due to the studio ' s own mismanagement of the visual effects production . " " We didn ' t know what these things were , Bob Wise " [ remark : the movie ' s director ] " was a lovely man , but he didn ' t know , either , " " Diller conceded , though only much later . ( " The Keys to the Kingdom " , 2000 , Chapter 6 ) Running massively over budget as a result , Diller and his executive subordinates ( close to nervous exhaustion ) were bracing themselves for a financial disaster , which fortunately for them did not materialize . Immensely relieved of having dodged the financial bullet , Diller and his colleagues counted their blessings and were fully prepared to move on , entirely willing to leave " Star Trek " behind them . Yet , Bluhdorn was of different mind and ordered the development of sequels shortly after the premiere of " The Motion Picture " in early 1980 . Bluhdorn personally selected Harve Bennett who would head , as executive producer , the production of the subsequent four , of which two , and , were to become particularly successful . For all intents and purposes , it was therefore Bluhdorn , who was responsible for the creation of the " Star Trek " movie franchise . ( " The Keys to the Kingdom " , Chapters 5 - 7 ) For a more detailed treatise on the difficult birth of the movie franchise , please refer to : Gene Roddenberry however , indeed responsible for some ( but not all ) production troubles , was by the studio increasingly perceived as very difficult to work with and was essentially removed by them from creative control over the movie , halfway through the production . Actually , Diller had already removed him once entirely from one the the previous revitalization attempts , " " . While the studio , as far as they were concerned , had seen the very last of Roddenberry , the realization also sunk in that by now , no " Star Trek " incarnation could ever be produced without the Roddenberry name attached to it while he was still alive , due to his by now firmly established stature in the general populace ' s awareness as the creator of " Star Trek " , strongly backup - ed by a small , but highly vocal hardcore of the more puritanical Trekkies . Adhering to the old adagio " keep your friends close , but keep your enemies closer " , the studio came up with a crafty solution to the conundrum ; Roddenberry was " bumped upstairs " , given his own office at the studio with a handsome remuneration and given the formal title of " Executive Consultant " , which meant that directors and creative staff could ask for his opinion on the project , though with the proviso that his advice was not needed to be taken . Required by the agreement to be kept in the loop , but lost in the studio ' s equivalent of the " Bermuda Triangle " , no one ever thereafter heeded Roddenberry ' s copious , but unsolicited , advise for the subsequent five movies , nor did anyone even bothered to consult with him . Though for the studio perhaps a costly solution , it was far cheaper than to be bogged down by incessant lawsuits , which were sure to follow given Roddenberry ' s character , and dealing with the fallout from the " Star Trek " fanbase , which was equally sure to follow , and the resulting negative publicity . Still , this did not prevent Roddenberry in the slightest to relentlessly harass studio and production staff alike , on occasion even going as far as threatening with legal actions as Actor / Director William Shatner and Director Nicholas Meyer could attest to . The latter was bluff however , as the stipulations of his studio contract simply did not allow for them , and no legal proceedings ever materialized during this period in time . ( " " ; " From Sawdust to Stardust " , pp . 240 - 241 ; " Star Trek Movie Memories " , pp . 99 , " et al " . ) While acknowledging this state of affairs as " speculation " , an opposing view was proffered by authors Judith and Garfield Reeves - Stevens , who have claimed in their reference book " " ( p . 3 ) that , " " ( t ) he real reason for Paramount ' s concern about keeping Roddenberry tied to each " Star Trek " film was that every executive involved with the productions shared the maddening knowledge that no one had the slightest idea why " Star Trek " was a success . . . except Gene Roddenberry . Without his input , there was always the chance that the next movie wouldn ' t capture whatever it was that made " Star Trek " so enticing . " " While staunch Roddenberry supporters Reeves - Stevens ' did have a point where the studio executives themselves were concerned , their assertion was certainly contradicted by the directors , producers and screenwriters ( most notably Spock Performer / Writer / Director Leonard Nimoy , who most definitely had a thorough understanding of what made " Star Trek " " tick " , arguably even more so than Roddenberry himself did ) of the subsequent five movies , all of them , save Shatner ' s , highly successful and produced without any creative input from Roddenberry whatsoever , and each of them actually opposed by him in varying degrees of vehemence . Roddenberry being put out to pasture , it effectively was the Nimoy - Bennet - Meyer triumvirate that became the keeper of the " Star Trek " films flame in the decade following " The Motion Picture " . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol 22 # 5 , pp . 39 - 42 ) Creating an overall " Star Trek " franchise . Until 1979 , and reflecting the studio ' s general attitude towards " Star Trek " , merchandising and licensing " Star Trek " remained a rather passive and haphazard affair ; interested parties had to approach the Paramount Publicity Department with proposals , which the department ' s involvement somewhat limited to either agreeing to them or not , and drawing up contracts . Having had personal dealings with the department , author Stephen Edward Poe has commented in later years , " " Desilu " [ and its successor ] " treated the whole idea of " Star Trek " licensing and merchandising with immense disdain . It was as if studio executives felt greatly annoyed at having to even discuss the subject at all ( . . . ) – some sort of corporate aberration – and licensed merchandise emerged only slowly and with , apparently , great reluctance . " " ( " " , pp . 45 - 46 ) Emergence . Yet , for all the troubles " The Motion Picture " represented for the studio as far as the production itself was concerned , it also represented the birth of the modern moneymaking property the studio was to eventually refer to as " The Franchise " . Responsible for this was Vice - president of Marketing and Licensing , Dawn Steel , who was charged with coming up with an additional revenue stream after the February 1979 , which had left the " Motion Picture " production in a critical situation , as there was no more money left to complete the movie . She did so by organizing a vigorous merchandising and licensing fund drive , which climaxed in a highly imaginative presentation , held in the largest theater on the Paramount lot . A resounding success , the presentation was met with rambunctious enthusiasm by the attending prospective licensee companies . " " It was the most unbelievable party Paramount ever had . " " , attending studio producer , Brian Grazer , remembered , to which then novice studio producer Jerry Bruckheimer has admiringly added , " " She went to convention s and got every toy - maker , anyone who made T - shirts and key chains and raised every nickel she could . She shook the trees . There hasn ' t been that energy vortex in merchandise since she left . " " . Numerous companies signed up , including for the times unusual ones , such as food industry corporations like Coca - Cola and McDonald ' s . The presentation marked the first time for Paramount that licensing revenues were generated , before a production had premiered . The successful fund drive made Steel ' s name in the motion picture industry , and a thoroughly impressed Paramount CEO Michael Eisner , who was ( in ) famous for not being easily impressed , promoted her the next day to vice - president of productions in features , getting her off to a stellar industry career . She had been working in the licensing department for less than six months . ( " New York Magazine " , 29 May 1989 , p . 45 ; 6 September 1993 , p . 40 ; " " , pp . 108 - 109 ) Hollywood studios had , and to this day , have obviously been exceptionally loathe to divulge particulars surrounding their revenue streams stemming from licensing and merchandising efforts , " Star Trek " not excepted . However , Steel , due to the unexpected and exceptional success of her 1979 fund drive , had understandably been somewhat more loose - lipped , unable to resist some bragging at the time . Revealing in January 1980 that General Mills featured " Star Trek " artwork on 37 million of their cereal boxes , McDonald ' s had spent US $ 20 million dollar on TV adds to promote 50 million " Star Trek " themed " Happy Meals " , and that Bally had by that time already totaled up a sale of US $ 19 . 5 million of US $ 1 . 795 apiece " Star Trek " themed pin - ball machines , alone , she divulged that by that time she expected that at the most conservative estimations , licensed " Star Trek " related merchandise would at least amount to US $ 250 million dollar , with the possibility to reach double that . " " Licensed children ' s merchandise is the last category to suffer in a recession : Dad will give up his suits , but his kids will still get toys and clothes . " " , she clarified , adding , " " Our fee ranges from one to 11 percent , depending on the product . " " This statement indicated that the studio was to receive at the very least US $ 2 . 5 million , or at the very most US $ 55 million dollar in licensing and merchandising revenues , though it was unlikely that the upper estimate was ever met due to the mixed reception of the movie and the somewhat disappointing sales of related merchandise . ( " Playboy " magazine , January 1980 , p . 310 ) Print material franchise . Concurrently , parent company Gulf + Western , through Bluhdorn , had commissioned the development of an accompanying , " The Motion Picture " - themed , book line through subsidiary Pocket Books and its imprints , which it had acquired in 1975 ( and therefore a sister company of Paramount Pictures ) , and from here on end merchandising and licensing became an integral part of a proactive overall marketing strategy ( considerably hammered out by Frank Mancuso , Sr . , who was appointed as the department ' s president after Steel had left ) , in the creation of a sustained " Star Trek " product line . In doing so , the franchise rescinded the license for " Star Trek " book titles other publishers held up until that point in time , Ballantine Books having been been the most notable one . For over two - and - a - half decades Pocket Books was the only publisher of official " Star Trek " - related book titles , specifically novels and reference works . Other print materials , most notably comics , were licensed out to other publishers . For obvious , commercial reasons , the franchise requires licensed writers to write their real - world production reference works and articles for licensed magazines in an upbeat , somewhat celebratory and slightly promotional manner , and to shy away from any and all critical notes , on the franchise itself in particular , essentially exercising censorship . It was for this reasons that Pocket Books declined publishing the book " " for example ( in which the dubious role of Paramount itself was highlighted , especially in regard to VFX company Robert Abel & Associates ) , its then chief editor deeming the copy too " non - " to the franchise ' s taste . Nevertheless , aside from actual illegal publications , the franchise was unable to curtail the prolific publications of , often more critical , unlicensed ( therefore not rarely deemed " illegal " and / or undesirable from the franchise ' s point - of - view ) but legal reference works – those of Schuster & Schuster and ( auto ) biographies in particular , and eventually including " Return to Tomorrow " as well – , or any article written by journalists for otherwise unaffiliated magazines for that matter , as these were published making the fullest use of the " works of journalistic / academic nature " exemption clauses in copyright laws , though this meant these publications could not legally feature any " Star Trek " copyrighted imagery . As of 2002 , the franchise has opted not to publish reference works – both in - universe as well as real - world – themselves anymore , but rather to license them out to mostly non - affiliated publishers . As far as specialized " Star Trek " magazines were concerned , the franchise has until recently opted to farm out licenses to outside publishers . The very first such known publisher was Starlog Press , acquiring the license to carry the denomination " official " in the title of their " upbeat " 1980s - 1990s spin - off official movie magazine series , from the onward . Starlog was chosen as its ( over which the franchise had no editorial control due to the " works of journalistic nature " exemption clause ) founding editors were unadulterated " Trekkies " , profusely reporting on " Star Trek " , even though interviews were featured with former " Star Trek " performers and production staffers – predominantly from the " Original Series " and " The Motion Picture " - era – , who , on occasion , vented opinions , the franchise had preferred not to see in print , much of which " actually " turning up as edited copy in the Schuster & Schuster publications . Nevertheless , aside from the movie specials , it netted Starlog Press the right to publish the recurrent , subsequent " official " " " , " " and series . There was however , a definite upside of having been able to carry the " official " moniker in title of the spin - off publications ; in return of surrendering some of its editorial freedoms as well as magazine revenues , Starlog writers and journalists were given uninhibited access to the sound stages , performers , productions staffers and studio archives – therefore becoming notable for the publication ' s reproduction of production material , rarely seen afterwards – , enabling these publications to report on the inside story of any " Star Trek " production in detail first , at a time when " Star Trek " - frenzy was rapidly reaching a peak . Pursuant the 1982 Starlog Press license , the franchise has considerably tightened its ( editorial ) grip on magazine publications , it has licensed to carry the moniker " official " in their ( sub - ) titles . These included , most notably , ( from 1995 onward and being the original 1979 ) , ( partially absorbing the function " Communicator " had upon its default in 2005 ) and , the US off - shoot of the equally " official " " Star Trek Fact Files " and its international variants . The latter , which ran from 1999 till 2003 , was presented as a higher - quality ( attempting to come across as less fan club like and less heavy on merchandise peddling ) , glossy , life - style like magazine , though a five percent page count in each issue served as an impromptu franchise message board as well as merchandise product placements , disguised as articles , whereas an additional ten percent still consisted of actual merchandise advertisements . A more recent " official " release is the British " " partwork publication . Home media format franchise . An important cornerstone for the overall franchise became the home media formats franchise . In 1971 Paramount Pictures partnered up with industry competitor Universal Studios when they , as equal partners , established Cinema International Corporation ( CIC ) in 1971 ( as of 1981 : United International Pictures – UIP – ) as a joint venture , and responsible for the distribution of feature films outside the US , which included all of the later " Star Trek " films . This action was necessitated partly for cost - cutting reasons , partly for anti - trust rules , specifically aimed to break the hold individual studios hitherto had on the entirety of the industry , otherwise known as the traditional " " ( " see also Desilu Studios in this regard " ) . With the advent of the VHS and Betamax video tape home media format , a subsidiary division , CIC Video , was established two years later , responsible for the distribution of this home media format – due to the very high retail prices , predominantly through the rental outlet circuit initially – , including all the " Star Trek " productions released in this format . It was again " The Motion Picture " that turned out to be the primary agent for " Star Trek " to make its entrance in the home media market as currently understood ( meaning visual formats – there had been a few audio only formats previously , such as the 1976 " Inside Star Trek " LP ) . While it was a foregone conclusion that the film itself was to be released on the new videotape formats , Paramount Home Video ( established in 1976 , later known as Paramount Home Entertainment ) also made use of the opportunity to release ten selected episodes of " The Original Series " , in five volumes of two episodes each as part of their " Television Classics " collection , in the United States as appetizers for the later in October released movie tapes , priced at US $ 79 . 95 at the time of their release . Released in early 1980 , these five titles are as such , together with the later released movie tapes , the earliest known " Star Trek " home media format releases , where there had been none previously , that is , officially at least . Having the year previously hammered out a deal with photo developer / video rental outlet , one of the very first such rental companies , it were these tapes that were the first " Star Trek " titles to turn up in the rental circuit from mid - to - late 1980 onward . Ironically , it was not CIC Video that became responsible for the distribution of the first know " Star Trek " home media format title outside the US / Canada , but rather the obscure British distributor Mountain Video , when it , possibly unlicensed , released in the same year the one episode only tape of – not included on any of the five original releases in the US – in on the UK market , though , again for the high retail price , the majority of them ended up in the rental circuit . From the mid - 1980s onward though , CIC Video took over the distribution , not only for the UK alone , but for the entirety of mainland Europe as well . It was Paramount however , who revolutionized the way these home media formats were marketed . Responsible for this was the aforementioned Mel Harris , by now President of Paramount Home Video , who helped to create the home video market by convincing Paramount to sell low - priced videos directly to the public to persuade customers to purchase videos rather than simply renting them . At the time , videos for sale were priced at around US $ 60 - $ 80 or more ; Harris accurately predicted that decreasing the price would create a market for videocassette purchases . Actually , the video tapes for " The Wrath of Khan " were the first ones to be offered in 1982 for a sharply reduced price of US $ 39 . 95 , unheard of at the time , and sending shock waves through industry and retail stores alike – though amusingly , Paramount again generated shock waves eight years later , when it offered tapes of the movie " The Hunt for Red October " for sale at US $ 99 . 99 , incredibly high by " that " time . ( " The Encyclopedia of Television , Cable , and Video " , 2012 , p . 411 ) His policies helped immensely to make the by him later initiated " Star Trek : The Next Generation " a resounding success , aside from tapping into yet another revenue source for the " Original Series " and movies produced up until then . CIC Video as a joint venture was dissolved in 1999 ( corresponding with the demise of the video tape in favor of such later home media formats as the LaserDisc , VCD , DVD , and later still , the Blu - ray Disc ) when Paramount reasserted full control over the release of their home media formats through their own division , Paramount Home Entertainment . Yet , after 2006 Paramount had to leave the home media format distribution of the television properties , most specifically the remaster ed versions of " The Next Generation " and " Enterprise " , to CBS Home Entertainment , as it no longer owns the franchise , though they are still entitled to do so for the movie properties – albeit in mandated conjuncture with CBS , the latter thereby asserting its ownership of the franchise . The theatrical distribution arm , UIP , is , as of 2016 , still in operation and still equally shared by Paramount and Universal . Yet , while it became one of the most important cornerstones of the overall franchise , it has also become in recent decades somewhat a bone of contention with fans and customers of home media formats alike , due to the franchise ' s predilection to release numerous versions of the productions , each somewhat different from the other , leaving " double - dipping " ( term used by them for incessantly re - buying alternate versions ) fans increasingly feeling alienated from , and " exploited " by the franchise , as evidenced by a myriad of angry customer reviews on Amazon . com or . For example , the one episode per Betamax / VHS video tape format , as released from the mid - 1980s through the early - 2000s and adhered to for all " Star Trek " television series with the exception of " Enterprise " , has irked American customers to no end , especially since the format was , excepting a handful of early 1980s British tapes , not utilized in overseas markets , which were served with ( at least ) two episodes per tape releases . Something similar ensued with the very first " Star Trek " television series DVD releases , ; starting in August 1999 , American customers were first offered the series on " bare - bone " two episodes per disc releases , shortly before – with , adding insult to injury , four episodes per disc and beefed out with special features – were made available to them . Overseas customers were on this occasion spared the double - dip format , as it were the season box sets that were offered them right from the bat , albeit at a later point in time . Incidentally , " Enterprise " was not released in the US on VHS but directly on DVD . However , this time around , Europeans were given the double - dip treatment , as they were first offered the series " right before " the releases . Though certainly not the only one – as Disney and Universal were among those , who have solid reputations in this regard as well – , it was Paramount in particular that became notorious for these kind of practices , and which were by all means not limited to " Star Trek " alone . While one of the very first , the " Original Series " has concurrently the dubious distinction of becoming one of the very few , if not only one , television series to be released on DVD in this manner , as all other Hollywood studios , conceivably forewarned by the bad example Paramount had set , decided right from the start to release their television properties on a per season basis in the new DVD home media format . 20th Century Fox became the pioneering one with their " The X - Files " DVD box set releases , which , complete with all the accouterments of such releases , started its release run in May 2000 , when Paramount ' s bare - bone " Star Trek " editions were still in the midst of their release run ; the contrast between the two release formats could not possibly have been any starker and was certainly not lost on customers at the time . In Paramount ' s defense however , it should be noted that , as an " " , unintended errors in judgment regarding the initial release formats could be expected . Particularly loathed are the so - called " retailer exclusive " formats . The format entailed that preferred retailers , most notably the chain store Best Buy , would receive versions that contained special features , not included on the regular releases . An early notable instance where Paramount had employed the practice was on the occasion of their first movie releases on DVD , starting in 1998 with " First Contact " . Regular customers could only buy the basic " vanilla " version of the movies , meaning only the movie itself with the theatrical trailer as single " extra " , whereas Best Buy customers , for the same price , received an additional disc with the special features which were not available in any manner anywhere else ; it infuriated fans , to put it mildly . At the time several scrupulous Best Buy patrons bought these releases in bulk and subsequently offered the special feature discs up at premium prices on eBay , the market site that was at the time rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with . The perceived injustice was only redressed with the 2001 - 2005 " Special Edition " releases , though it meant yet another round of double - dipping . While the franchise could traditionally afford to dismiss fan / costumer concerns in these regards as entirely irrelevant – particularly before the advent of the internet age , when customers for the most part remained blissfully ( from the franchise ' s point of view that is ) unaware of the varying treatments , euphemistically called " market discrimination " in business economics – , criticism of the retailer exclusive format in particular , started to swell considerably during 2012 , precisely " because " of the internet . It became an issue of note with the releases of the home media formats . But the situation truly came to a head during the " " Star Trek Into Darkness " Blu - ray VAM controversy " , which , officially at least , marked the first time that the franchise actually buckled under fan / customer pressure , rectifying their " wrong doings " by releasing the 2014 " " Blu - ray set , and offering a $ 5 rebate for US residents only ( a discrimination – not the first time – which , somewhat incomprehensibly , implies that the franchise still considers foreign markets as side - shows ) , who had previously purchased " Star Trek " or " Into Darkness " on Blu - ray . . Exhibit and attraction franchise . From the early 1990s onward , the franchise has , through subsidiaries and conglomerate sister companies of Paramount ( such as Paramount Production / Show Services , Paramount Parks Entertainment or CBS Consumer Products itself ) , branched out in " Star Trek " - themed commercial public side - activities in the form of exhibitions and attractions . However , it was somewhat ironic that neither phenomenon was actually started by the franchise itself ; it was only after the phenomenal successes of the 1988 - 1996 " Star Trek Adventure " attraction of distribution partner Universal Studios ( though fully licensed by Paramount ) and the 1992 - 1994 " Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit " by the Smithsonian Institution ( though supported by the studio ) , that the franchise , from 1993 onward and deeming them commercially viable , took over full control over either , starting with the 1993 " Star Trek World Tour " for exhibitions , and the 1998 " " for attractions . Becoming " The Franchise " . By the time the television series went into production , the studio ' s stance and attitude towards " Star Trek " had radically changed from the one it had back in 1967 . Studio Executive Brandon Tartikoff had already stated by the time " The Next Generation " went into its fifth season , " " When you look at the books , you saw that " Star Trek : The Next Generation " was a twenty - five - million - dollar - goody , every year . That ' s the profit it would generate for Paramount . " " ( " " , p . 155 ) Stephen Poe observed two years later for himself how much the studio ' s stance and attitude had changed , when he resided at the studio on an extended stay in order to chronicle the genesis of the fourth live action " Star Trek " series , " Voyager " . Poe noticed that studio employees , executives included , were almost unanimously and reverently referring to their " Star Trek " property as " The Franchise " due to its reliable and consistent revenue stream , having been from the mid - 1980s through the 1990s Paramount ' s most profitable property , much to the envy of industry competitors . ( " " , pp . 50 - 51 ) Reporter Mark A . Altman disclosed that the entire franchise had already passed the US $ 1 billion dollar mark in total studio revenues by 1993 ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol 24 # 3 / 4 , p . 16 ) , which was upped to US $ 2 billion gross in " Entertainment Weekly " s Special " Star Trek " Issue of 18 January 1995 . In his 1998 book " " ( p . 55 ) , Stephen Poe cited a " Los Angeles Times " article , that claimed nearly US $ 2 billion franchise revenues in retail sales alone . Current state of affairs . A somewhat ambiguous situation arose in late 2005 , when the original Viacom holding corporation was split up into two independent corporations ( although both corporations are owned by the same company , National Amusements , meaning the franchise is still owned by one company ) , the television corporation CBS Corporation ( which constituted the former Viacom ) and a motion picture corporation , which , a bit confusingly perhaps , was called Viacom ( new ) and of which Paramount Pictures was now a part . The split was formalized in January 2006 . CBS has licensed the right to produce " Star Trek " films to Paramount Pictures , but the newly formed successor of the Paramount Marketing and Licensing Department , CBS Consumer Products , remained the sole entity responsible for the marketing and licensing of the entire " Star Trek " product line for both the television as well as the movie properties , instead of farming out the latter to Paramount ' s own division , Paramount Licensing , Inc . Relaunching the " Star Trek " television franchise . The continuing success of the syndicated " Original Series " , now augmented with three successful theatrical movies ( even " The Motion Picture " turned out to be far more profitable than the studio initially led to believe – see : " Star Trek " films : Performance summary ) and with a fourth movie and the 20th anniversary of the franchise coming up , enticed now Paramount Television Group President Mel Harris to decide that it would be an opportune time to launch a brand new " Star Trek " television series , especially since the fourth movie , " The Voyage Home " , soon proved to be exceptionally successful . To this end he instructed in mid - summer 1986 his subordinate , Paramount Network Television President John S . Pike , to develop what was to become " The Next Generation " . Initially , the studio wanted to proceed without " Star Trek " creator Gene Roddenberry , which was , aside from his notorious eccentricities , partly due to his failing health . Nevertheless Pike , heeding his movie predecessor ' s considerations , decided to bring him in on 12 September 1986 , this time in an active executive producer role . ( " " , p . 7 ) Unfortunately , Roddenberry ' s eccentricities , aggravated by ill health and his notorious attorney Leonard Maizlish , soon reasserted themselves yet again , turning the production of the first two seasons of the new series into a repeat performance of what had happened during the production of " Star Trek : Phase II - The Motion Picture " . In an ironic repetition of what Herbert Solow had to go through twenty - two years earlier , Pike had a tough time selling the series to the networks , as interest in science fiction for television was at an all time low at the time ( after " The Next Generation " started its run , it was for years the " only " new science fiction series being aired ) . Most ironically , it was future Paramount President Brandon Tartikoff who declined to buy the series for NBC , which he headed at the time ; in 1965 NBC had bought " The Original Series " . Pike was down to his last option , Fox Broadcasting Company ( which , again ironically , was established by Barry Diller , now succeeding where he had failed for Paramount in 1977 in establishing a fourth television network for which " Star Trek : Phase II " was slated to serve as flagship ) , finding it interested , but only wanting to commit to a half season of thirteen episodes at an offer that was nowhere near enough to cover the projected budget of US $ 1 . 2 million dollar per episode for a full season . For the briefest of times it appeared that the new " Star Trek " television series appeared to have died before it even had been born , when Pike was approached by his colleague , Paramount Domestic Television President Lucie Salhany . ( " " ) Salhany convinced Pike to produce the new series for direct syndication , an entirely novel idea at the time , ensuring him she could sell a full season of twenty - six episodes . Taking her cue from the syndication history of the " Original Series " , Salhany reasoned that even if the new series did not turn in a profit in first syndication run , the studio should still take its losses on this occasion , as subsequent runs would , not to mention the future revenues from associated sales , such as merchandise , home media formats ( especially appealing to Harris , considering his prior involvement with these ) , foreign sales and the like . Even more novel was Salhany ' s idea to offer the first syndication run of " The Next Generation " for free , in exchange for control over the seven - minute advertisement blocks . In order to manage financial risk , the studio green - lighted a half season run of thirteen episodes , packaged with " Original Series " episodes ( which were to be paid for by networks ) was proposed to see if interest , especially from the side of advertisers obviously , in the new series would materialize , to continue production if it did . Subsequent events proved Salhany ' s hunch correct . In ultimately doing so , " Star Trek " again made television history . Mel Harris officially revealed the news of a new " Star Trek " television series on . Despite a troubled and rocky production during its first two seasons , " The Next Generation " went on to arguably become the most successful outing in the television franchise . ( " " ; " " , pp . 5 - 7 , 11 ) As if to underscore that Salhany ' s hunch was a correct one , the first season finished with a 10 . 6 Nielsen rating , representing 9 . 4 million households , ranking first in the 18 - 49 age group , being the prime demographic group sought by advertisers . While the first season was running , it was already sold to eight European and Asian countries , albeit for a limited run initially and reflecting the studio ' s thirteen - episode trial run . Additionally , by the start of the series ' first summer hiatus , a domestic sale of US $ 2 million dollar had already been realized in VHS tape sales , which only comprised the first four - six episodes at the time . ( " " , 2003 , p . 32 ) For a chauvinistic , male - dominated industry as Hollywood was at the time , it was ironic that " Star Trek " was effectively saved for a second ( or third , if one is to include Dawn Steel ' s crucial contribution for " The Motion Picture " ) time by a woman , as Salhany ' s namesake , Lucille Ball , had already done so in February 1966 for the " Original Series " . The chauvinistic nature of the industry was further exemplified by the fact that Salhany ' s name was kept under wraps for decades , even if her novel approach became well - known , with her boss Mel Harris crediting her idea as a group effort . It was not until the 2014 documentary " " that Salhany was unequivocally credited in full by her former colleague Pike as being the brains behind the format . Unlike its original television predecessor , the series became profitable while it was still in production . On 21 January 1993 , the studio declared " The Next Generation " " in the profit " , and announced profit distribution to start the following month . Exceptionally pleased with the result , Mel Harris , in a for the studio uncharacteristic and unprecedented stance , became a Roddenberry supporter ( in public at least ) when he stated , " " In the period since 1987 no other program has been able to get anywhere near [ ' TNG ' ] . . . It ' s primarily because of the program that was created . . . [ I ] f this hadn ' t been created in the way that it was by Gene Roddenberry , it probably wouldn ' t be on the air today and it certainly wouldn ' t be performing as it is . " " If Harris ' praise had been genuine , then it was obvious that he had not been present on those occasions when his subordinate John Pike had to deal with Roddenberry . Pike has had his share of run - ins with Roddenberry . ( " " ; ) Despite the studio ' s troubled relationship with " Star Trek " creator Roddenberry , the studio did at least exhibit the decency to acknowledge him in full for his contribution to their money making franchise . On the occasion of the franchise ' s 25th anniversary , on 6 June 1991 , shortly before celebrating the 100th episode of " The Next Generation " , the Producers Building on the former Desilu studio lot was renamed the " Gene Roddenberry Building " in a highly publicized ceremony , the only building on the studio lot named for a television production staffer . Paramount television president Harris held a speech , making the above - quoted statement , and during the ceremony " Star Trek " captain performers William Shatner and Patrick Stewart said a few words about Roddenberry . Not only was it the sole building on the Paramount lot named for a television staffer , it was also a timely one , as Roddenberry was to pass away less than a half year later . Post - " Next Generation " productions . The late Brandon Tartikoff , now chairman of Paramount Pictures from to , during " The Next Generation " s fifth and sixth seasons , was deeply impressed with the success of the six ( at the time ) " Star Trek " films and " The Next Generation " , and it was he , in a complete reversal of the position he had six years earlier , who initiated and authorized the creation of a third live - action " Star Trek " series to launch into syndication , . ( " " ; DS9 Season 1 DVD - special feature , " A Bold New Beginning " ) However , him ordering a third live - action " Star Trek " television series , entailed far more than just doing that . The " Next Generation " Executive Producer Rick Berman had recounted that he had a series of meetings with Tartikoff , starting in the summer of 1991 . As a former television network executive , Tartikoff was acutely aware that even the most successful series had a limited , economical life - span for a variety of reasons , ranging from psychological cast fatigue , through naturally increasing production costs – if only for the annually inflation adjusted production staff wages as ordained by the Hollywood Unions , and not in the least for star cast salaries habitually inflating exponentially with each sequel – , to increased competition with itself for scarce syndication time - slots the longer a series runs . Together with Berman , Tartikoff decided upon an optimum " Star Trek " series run of seven seasons , meaning that " The Next Generation " had at that time only three seasons left to go . Though enamored with the " Original Crew " movies , Tartikoff was well aware that they too had run their course , if only for the age of the cast , but figured this was the perfect time to pass the baton to " the next generation " , thereby starting a new " Star Trek " movie franchise . He instructed Berman to start looking into that , and have a movie ready at the end of " The Next Generation " television series ( by which time the new " Deep Space Nine " series had to be up and running for two seasons ) , preferably one in which , one way or another , featured the transition of the " Original Crew " to " The Next Generation Crew " . Given his marching orders , Berman was sent on his way to his most daunting year in his career , 1994 . For all intents and purposes , it was Tartikoff who had come up with the leap - frogging seven - season format of the modern " Star Trek " television franchise , " and " the start of " The Next Generation " movie franchise , though he had to leave the actual production start in February 1993 and oversight of what was to become the first " Next Generation " film , , to his immediate successor Sherry Lansing , due to his premature departure . ( " Star Trek Movie Memories " , 1995 , pp . 399 - 403 ; " " , pp . 154 - 157 ; ) " Voyager " itself was actually conceived to serve as the flagship of Paramount ' s second attempt of operating a television network , established in 1994 as United Paramount Network ( UPN ) by Lucie Salhany . Salhany had previously been recruited in 1991 by Barry Diller to head the by him established Fox Broadcasting Company , but returned in 1994 to Paramount to succeed where her former boss had failed back in 1977 . Unlike its unsuccessful 1977 predecessor , UPN fared somewhat better , only ceasing to exist in 2006 , after it had aired the fifth live action " Star Trek " series , . It was in this period of time that the most successful film set in the prime universe was released in 1996 , , even surpassing , both in critical as well as financial terms , the two hitherto most successful and beloved ones , " The Wrath of Khan " and " The Voyage Home " ( " see : " Star Trek " films : Performance summary " ) . It was only in hindsight that it became clear that " First Contact " represented the high water mark of what was then still called " The Franchise " . Demise of " The Franchise " in the prime universe . While " Voyager " was generally well received and considered successful by franchise management , its somewhat mixed reception already hinted at writings on the wall of , what " Star Trek " author and historian Larry Nemecek had referred to as " Franchise Fatigue " . ( ENT Season 4 Blu - ray - special feature , " Before Her Time : Decommissioning Enterprise ) And indeed , when " Voyager " premiered , " Star Trek " alumnus Robert Justman already observed , " " I think the show has been flogged unmercifully and its going to rebound . The reaction is essentially going to be a negative reaction . If it is around in another 30 years , I don ' t think it ' s going to resemble what it has been in the past . " " It later turned out that even co - creator and executive producer Rick Berman himself had reservations about the inception of yet another " Star Trek " reincarnation , so hard in the heels of " The Next Generation " and " Deep Space Nine " , essentially for the same franchise fatigue reasons . Yet , since it had slated the production to serve as the flagship for the studio ' s own recently established UPN television network , the studio had overriding , commercial reasons to push ahead with " Voyager " nonetheless . An aggravating contributor to the franchise fatigue , was the proliferation of " Star Trek " - related merchandise in that period of time , inundating and over - saturating the market . While profitable at first as related above , it has also caused William Shatner to exclaim , " " What the hell are all of you people buying , anyway ? " " in his autobiography " Get a Life ! " , having additionally observed that " because " of the merchandise proliferation " Star Trek " was no longer " special " by 1999 . Shatner appeared to have a point then , as licensees were already starting to dial down their " Star Trek " merchandise ; long standing " Star Trek " toy manufacturer Playmates Toys , for example , was already rumored to let its license expire without much further ado in December 1999 , which turned out to be true even sooner than expected on 17 September 1999 , when Playmates formally canceled all " Star Trek " lines ( though it has acquired a new license in 2008 ) . Likewise , Racing Champions who had acquired " Star Trek " merchandise producing companies AMT , Ertl , and Playing Mantis , immediately ceased and desisted any and all " Star Trek " product lines upon their acquisition in 1999 , the " Johnny Lightning " model toy line of the latter having been the sole exception . For AMT in particular , this was poignant , as it had been the oldest and truest known licensing partner of the franchise , courtesy the aforementioned Stephen Edward Poe , ever since it released the very first " Star Trek " model kit , that of the , back in 1966 ( though it too , under new ownership , has rekindled the license a decade later ) . However , the first clearcut and unmistakable sign that the franchise was in trouble came in December the same year when was released ; the movie was a flop , at that time the all - time worst performing movie in the franchise ever , and the first " Star Trek " film to turn in a net loss for the studio , and a substantial one at that . Even the hitherto most reviled one , " The Final Frontier " had managed to break even . Still , franchise management decided to push the envelope even further , if only for the fact that " Voyager " had ended its run and that UPN was in need of another flagship . And so , yet another " Star Trek " live - action incarnation was ordered to premier in 2000 . Having had reservations on " Voyager " already , this time around Berman was near skeptical , as was later revealed by his partner for the new project , Brannon Braga , in 2014 , " Star Trek " was wearing out its welcome . Rick Berman didn ' t want to make a show so soon but Paramount did . I think it was too soon for another show . It was a quality show , but the ratings weren ' t really what they should be . And I don ' t think the network – the new regime [ at UPN ] – I don ’ t think they treated the show with the tender loving care that it needed to thrive . " " Not only that , but outside voices started to chime in as well ; when interviewed by " TV Guide " , Mark Altman , even though he was and is a life - long " Star Trek " fan , additionally expressed his great doubt and was not convinced of the viability of the franchise when a fifth , prequel series was announced , what eventually was to become " Enterprise " , being on record as having stated , " " People are sick of " Star Trek " . But rather than give the franchise a rest and re - launch in a few years when fervor has built again , Paramount is going to run it into the ground until it ' s dead . " " Having been given his marching orders , Berman had little choice , other than resigning , but to obey his superiors and set to work with partner Braga . " " Contrary to the people on the Internet who seem to think I never cared very much about the Star Trek franchise , I did and I do . I felt that if someone was going to keep it true to Gene Roddenberry ' s vision it would probably be better me than for me to bow out , " " Berman stated in this respect to . In order to set the new series apart from the others , Berman tried his hand at an entirely different approach , and it was exactly for these reasons that the series was simply called " Enterprise " , without the " Star Trek " prenom . Unfortunately , it did not work out as he had hoped . Debuting with a relatively large audience , " Enterprise " quickly lost viewer - ship and inspired criticism of both the series and its creators , with fans – and as it turned out after - the - fact by production staffers as well – criticizing alleged violations in established continuity , causing a polarization in the apparently dwindling " Star Trek " fan base . Enter in 2002 , pursuant the ending of the second season of " Enterprise " ; had the performance of " Insurrection " been dismal , the performance of " Nemesis " was even worse , considerably worse as it turned out to be , only able to earn back its production budget – barely ( " see : Star Trek films - Gross vs Net profitability " ) . Already up in arms over " Enterprise " , for outspoken critics this was , as far as they were concerned , the straw that broke the camel ' s back and the clamor for the removal of Berman started in earnest . The most partisan ones were united in the " The Star Trek Fan Association " ( STFA ) . A relatively small organization , it was at the time a very vocal one nonetheless , rapidly becoming the focal point for press and media alike , interested in reporting on what all the upheaval was about . ( " Star Trek and American Television " , p . 40 ) Nationwide attention the STFA garnered , when it very shortly after the release of " Nemesis " organized an online petition to Viacom President Sumner Redstone and Paramount head Sherry Lansing , calling for sweeping changes within the " Star Trek " franchise leadership ( not realizing that they by proxy also questioned the abilities of Redstone and Lansing as well ) and creative direction with the goal of " restoring " the franchise to Gene Roddenberry ’ s creative precedents . While the franchise usually ignored Trekdom entirely , this was media attention it could do well without , and it conceivably contributed to their internal decision to cancel " Enterprise " after its third season , which was at the time already in full pre - production . Therefore , while already indicating cancellation with the approach of the end of the third season of " Enterprise " ( though better , not that well received either ) , so too did Paramount and UPN indicate the apparent end of Rick Berman ' s tenure as the overseer of " Star Trek " productions . Berman himself divulged that , in the case of " Enterprise " , the relationship between UPN and " Star Trek " , which had been a warm one during the production of " Voyager " , had by then soured considerably and had taken a turn for the worst , " " Our relationship with the network was distant . And it wasn ' t embracing and warm and . . . a sense of working together that had existed in all the years before . " " ( ENT Season 3 Blu - ray - special feature , " In a Time of War " ) With the 2013 - 2014 releases of the sets , several of his former subordinates , both cast and production staff , have subsequently corroborated Berman ' s assessment , coming forward with tales which also pointed at studio politics detrimental to " Star Trek " in general , and serious mismanagement of " Enterprise " in particular , especially where ratings and demographics interpretation , as well as air time scheduling were concerned . In the latter respect , it exhibited disturbing similarities with what had befallen between " The Original Series " and NBC back in the 1960s . Exemplary of studio politics was , according to Braga , their decree , if the series was to be renewed for a fourth season – the network actually already of a mind not to do so – , to get rid off Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer , which Berman fought tooth and nail , successfully as it turned out ( though he had not been able to counter their decree to add " Star Trek " to the series title which was originally just " Enterprise " , as explicitly intended ) . ( ENT Season 4 Blu - ray - special feature , " Before Her Time : Decommissioning Enterprise " ) Whether or not influenced by the petition and though remaining credited , franchise management indeed virtually relegated both Berman and Braga to the role of figurehead at the end of the third season ( admitted as such by Braga in 2007 ) , and their places were " de facto " filled for , what turned out to be , the last season by Manny Coto and " his " second man Mike Sussman , under whose tenure much of the perceived continuity violation was redressed , aided by writers such as the Reeves - Stevens author couple , who , like them , had an equally thorough understanding of original " Star Trek " lore . That the series was renewed for a last season , was in no small part due to the fact that strong backing was received from an unexpected corner ; Scott Bakula has unequivocally cited Garry Hart , the former UPN head and " Star Trek " supporter , who had just been promoted to another position within the conglomerate , as the driving force behind the renewal , thereby thwarting the cancellation intents of his successor ( s ) at UPN , conceivably an instance of " studio politics " . ( ENT Season 4 Blu - ray - special feature , " Before Her Time : Decommissioning Enterprise " ) How eager UPN was to get rid of " Enterprise " , despite the last season being considered a triumph by staffers and fans alike , was exemplified by the fact that the last season ended four episodes shy of a full season . At the time UPN made it known that it was changing its focus by targeting an African - American audience and produced urban - themed situation comedies with African - American casts , as well as professional wrestling and reality shows . This change in targeted demographics and programming was by contemporaries accepted as the reason for the cancellation of " Enterprise " after only four seasons of a projected seven season run . No matter what cancellation considerations were in play ; prime universe " Star Trek " was finished , both literally and figuratively . Though not directly related , a further aggravating circumstance for " Star Trek " was , that in January 2006 , the former Viacom was split into two separate , independent companies : CBS Corporation and a new Viacom . The split resulted in an extensive " Studio Shuffle " with all the unsavory studio politics surrounding it , not unlike the one that had befallen the studio back in 1991 when " The Undiscovered Country " was in production , with executives fired , hired , promoted , demoted , reassigned , and not few of them hostile to " Star Trek " as has been , but ending up in places where it mattered to " Star Trek " nevertheless . Within a year , all executives , known , or even rumored , to have been " Star Trek " " friendly " , were either let go or reassigned to other positions within the conglomerate ; these included in addition to Garry Hart among others , Sherry Lansing , Kerry McCluggage and , ultimately , Rick Berman ( who , unlike every other " Star Trek " production staffer , had studio tenure ) as well . CBS Corporation was given ownership of Paramount Television , which until then had always been a dependent division of Paramount Pictures , and was renamed " CBS Paramount Television " , currently known as CBS Television Studios , incidentally terminating UPN in the process . It was therefore from now on CBS that exercised ownership of the " Star Trek " franchise and television series , while Paramount Pictures , now part of the new Viacom , retained the rights to the " Star Trek " films through a license from CBS Television Studios , which remained the sole entity holding the copyrights to the " Star Trek " franchise . For the movies this meant that , with the exception of the direct box - office takes , the subsequent home media sales and the sale of television rights – though an undisclosed , but likely hefty percentage of these still have to be paid as license fees – , " all " other forms of revenues , most notably those of related merchandise , revert directly to CBS , not Paramount . An undesirable side - effect the split has caused , was the aggravation of the already controversial " Hollywood accounting " phenomenon . ( " see : Footnote 3 " ) Liquidation of assets . Whether or not the disappointment over the live - action production performances of the last three " Star Trek " outings , general animosity toward the phenomenon , simple harsh economic realities , or any combination thereof were in play , fact remained , the new owners came at the franchise with a vengeance . Firstly there was their decision to sell off Paramount ' s entire warehouses ' contents of " Star Trek " production stock assets in the 2006 - 2009 " " , and " It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction " wave of auctions , with the exception of those that were still on exhibition tour at the times . While CBS put a positive spin on the decision in wordings that amounted to " graciously allowing " dedicated fans the " wonderful " chance to own a piece of " Star Trek " history ( " " ) , it did not take a Nobel Prize laureate to realize that the primary reason was CBS ' rush to liquidate their " Star Trek " holdings as quickly as possible , making it abundantly clear that CBS was done with " Star Trek " as has been . There was a certain amount of cynicism involved surrounding the by auction house Christie ' s organized " 40 Years of Star Trek : The Collection " auction , as it was presented as the franchise ' s one of only two official events for " Star Trek " s 40th anniversary . Additional official events were absent , save for employing a barely observed . The contrast with the high profile , highly publicized Hollywood - style gala event for the 30th anniversary , registered as the " " documentary , could not have been any greater . To date , the 40th anniversary has been the least celebrated anniversary of all , ever since the franchise started to celebrate these in 1986 , having seen the conception of " The Next Generation " as part of that anniversary . If there had been any lingering doubt left within Trekdom about the intentions of CBS , then that bubble was popped less than a year later when CBS , cut the last line of official communications with the outside " Star Trek " world ( " Star Trek Communicator " , the official fanclub magazine , had already folded the year previously ) , when StarTrek . com , was taken off - line , almost overnight with its entire staff fired on the spot , effective immediately , as the result of " restructuring " at CBS Interactive . Over the years a substantial amount of behind - the - scenes production information had been gathered on the site , but CBS has not bothered to make back - ups of this material and as a result , a valuable cache of information was virtually lost to posterity . Next up were the former Paramount entertainment parks and attractions , CBS had acquired in the " divorce settlement " , with " Star Trek : The Experience " as one of its flagships . Within the time - span of two years all of these were sold to such third parties as Cedar Fair Enterprise , and by 2008 all " Star Trek " themed attractions had become defunct . The print franchise too , enjoyed the scrutiny of the new owners ; the number of " official " magazines had already started to dwindle under the previous owner Paramount to just the one , the British " Star Trek Magazine " , but now CBS went after the foreign language editions that were still in print , as Oliver Denker , the Chief Editor of " Star Trek : Das offizielle Magazin " ( a German language variant of " Star Trek Magazine " ) , could attest to . Denker had to renegotiate his license due to the new ownership situation in 2007 , only to find out that , much to his dismay , he was unable to and has cited a " mercurial " CBS Consumer Products as the reason for the failed negotiations . Denker had reasons to be dismayed , as the magazine was doing well , since Germany , along with several other European Union nations , enjoyed something of a " Star Trek " revival , due to the undermentioned syndication phenomenon . Denker was not the only one who found himself in this position , as by 2008 , with exception of two GE Fabbri publications , no other foreign language official magazine was still in print , leaving the British magazine the sole " official " survivor . The number of " Star Trek " books too was whittled down considerably , with Pocket Books ceasing publication of reference books altogether , and the number of novels reduced to what was essentially a token number only . Within two years all " Star Trek " affiliated editors , most notably , Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark were booted out . Remarkably , one successful Pocket Books publication , the " " calendar series , was as late as 2012 sold to Universe Publishing and Andrews McMeel Publishing . The prevailing mood was not lost on other merchandise license holders either , and their exodus continued unabated , resulting in a 2006 - 2008 merchandise drought and a stark contrast with the merchandise situation a decade before . There was a single bright spot in this era however ; Art Asylum had only gained a merchandise license at the turn of the millennium , releasing products pertaining to " Enterprise " at first , and refused to give in to the pursuant general mood , stubbornly continuing to release " Star Trek " - based models and action figure s in a period of time that was virtually devoid of competitors . Art Asylum ' s faith in the franchise has paid off , as it still holds the prime universe license as of 2016 . There were however two franchise elements that escaped the scrutiny relatively unscathed . The first one was an obvious one as it had always been relatively easy money ; syndication . And as a matter of fact , CBS came in at the tail end of what was essentially a syndication bonanza , courtesy the European Union . From the mid - 1990s onward , the Union had ordained its member states to liberalize their broadcast landscape . Up till then , almost all European countries traditionally had their respective governments exercise control over the airwaves , but the member states had now committed themselves to allow commercial broadcasters unrestricted access to the airwaves as well . This sparked a boom in the number of channels all over the Union . However , there was in most countries a proviso ; in order to retain their broadcast license , a newcomer committed itself to broadcast a daily minimum number of hours . As virtually none of these newcomers had their own production companies yet in place to fill their time slots , a veritable scramble for 1980s - 1990s television productions ensued , Hollywood being the most obvious provider of these . With its impressive backlog catalog , " Star Trek " fitted the initial need for these newcomers perfectly . As a result , the European airwaves were for nearly a decade flooded with " Star Trek " , in most cases airing on a daily basis . In a country like the Netherlands for example , ( which had only aired part of the " Original Series " in the early 1970s up until then ) , all spin - off series were now aired on daily basis , sometimes concurrently on different channels . It should be noted that this was at the time a somewhat unusual situation , as all these series had already been made available to the Dutch public through both the rental circuit as well as the home media format market . The minimum broadcast hours proviso , has sometimes also led to odd situations ; at one point commercial broadcaster Veronica had to air " Enterprise " in the dead of night , when the country was asleep , only not to lose its license . For the most part this situation applied to the other countries as well , but it has also been a part of the reasons why Denker ' s above mentioned magazine was doing so well . However , by 2007 - 2008 , the new situation on the European broadcast landscape had settled , with production companies now in full swing , providing the commercial broadcasters with their own productions , and the after - market demand for " Star Trek " has dropped sharply since then , the movies excepted . The other franchise element that escaped " The Wrath of CBS " unscathed , for partly the same reasons , was the home media format franchise , particularly since it was the dawn of high definition television . In this light the survival of Fabbri ' s two publications should be considered , as both were a DVD / Magazine combination partwork publication , the DVD element being , quite literally , the saving grace . In effect , it was one of the very few areas , if not the only one , where CBS took affirmative action in that period of time , by commissioning the production of " The Original Series " remastering project . Favorably received , the remastering project stands out as the single bright spot , in what was otherwise the " Dark Ages " of what once was " The Franchise " . Incidentally and somewhat characteristically , CBS gambled on the wrong horse initially when it released the first season of the remastered series in the HD DVD format , the high resolution format that lost out to Blu Ray . Announced on 31 August 2006 , the project was the second ( and last ) of CBS ' s official events for " Star Trek " s 40th anniversary , and its episodes were first broadcast on television , before being disseminated on home media formats . Contrary to the Christie ' s auction , this project at least had a positive ring about it , lacking the cynical undertones of the former . Actually , the remastering project conceivably helped to keep " Star Trek Magazine " afloat , as CBS belatedly realized that they were increasingly left without any official communication channels to promote the project to the very target audience it was intended for ; the traditional " Star Trek " fanbase . Publisher Titan Magazines was allowed in late 2006 to launch the magazine in the US – having been devoid of " any " " official " print publication since 2005 – as well , its contents synchronized with the British source publication . Reestablishing itself in the alternate universe . While the last three live - action " Star Trek " productions had tanked , the same era also witnessed a remarkable upswing in other science fiction productions ; television had Ron Moore ' s critically acclaimed revamped " Battlestar Galactica " series , whose first regular season started its run , while " Enterprise " s last was being aired , but it was especially the big screen that saw a proliferation of genre feature productions , quite a few of them becoming box - office smashes , those stemming from the Marvel Comics universe in particular . It was after Paramount itself had a hand in four of them , " War of the World " ( 2005 as distributor ) , " Transformers " ( 2007 as co - producer ) , " Iron Man " ( 2008 as distributor ) and " Cloverfield " ( 2008 as co - producer ) , that the studio decided , even though it no longer owned the franchise , to give " Star Trek " another go and activate the license they held from CBS . In this it was very reminiscent of their decision to do " The Motion Picture " back in 1977 in response to " Star Wars " . In order to maximize the chances for commercial success they contracted " Transformer " scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci for the same chore , as well as the highly successful " Cloverfield " producer J . J . Abrams for that , as well as the directorial chores . In effect , it had been Abrams himself , after he had been signed by Paramount for a five - movie deal in 2006 – " Cloverfield " becoming his first one for Paramount – , who presented the idea of revisiting " Star Trek " to the studio . ( ) These men set to work to reinvent " Star Trek " , essentially recreating " Star Trek " from scratch with little of the philosophies behind the " Star Trek " universe as postulated by creator Roddenberry left intact – if any at all , exactly as predicted by Robert Justman back in 1994 , but fifteen years earlier than even he could have foreseen . It worked , the alternate universe feature film became a box office success , easily surpassing any of its predecessors by far . The 2009 film itself became surpassed by its successor , the sequel , also directed and produced by Abrams . Its sequel is slated to be the film . Yet , while hugely successful at the box offices , long standing " Star Trek " production veteran Doug Drexler spoke for many prime universe " Star Trek " fans , skeptical of the reinvented version , when he stated , " " Technically they are beautiful . . . the work is stunning . . . however . . . and I hope no one will hold this against me . . . I did not enjoy the last two films , and honest . . . I really wanted to . . . but for me , " Star Trek " has to have a philosophical , humanist bend to it . . . always making a point , or asking a question . It should be introspective , and self examining . That ' s the Roddenberry factor . The new films are devoid of Gene Roddenberry , and at the end of the day , I ' m not ok with that . " " Drexler ' s observation was more than validated when Paramount Motion Pictures Group President Marc Evans made the following comment in 2015 , " " I often think about the areas of the " Star Trek " universe that haven ’ t been taken advantage of . Like , I ’ ll be ridiculous with you , but what would " " look like ? Where is the of the " Star Trek " universe ? That fascinates me , " " a statement that flew straight in the face of Roddenberry ' s non - militaristic vision for his " Star Trek " universe – and which had actually already spawned some fan criticism when the MACO s were introduced in " Enterprise " . Still , the box office aggregates of nearly US $ 1 billion for the first two films alone ( nearly the same amount all ten previous " Star Trek " movies had made ) , as well as the partial resurgence of the overall franchise , indicated that revitalized " Star Trek " had attracted a new viewership that went well above and beyond traditional Trekdom . Studio executives actively involved with " Star Trek " productions . In the list below , the name of the executive producers for any given production is also mentioned after its title . Formally , they are not part of the studio executive staff , but the creative managerial heads of the actual productions , and as such officially credited , which studio executives – " Original Series " executives Bill Heath , Herb Solow , Douglas S . Cramer and " The Motion Picture " s Lindsley Parsons , Jr . being the notably sole exceptions – are traditionally not . Yet , they " do " serve as the primary liaison between the actual productions and the studio oversight and consequently , they are answerable to studio executives . Note that even the highest Paramount executives had bosses ; Diller , for example , was answerable to Gulf + Western President Bluhdorn , who , while relatively far removed from the production , did make some momentous decisions concerning the " Star Trek " movie franchise , as related above , aside from being responsible for acquiring the franchise for Paramount in the first place . Also listed are the executives involved with the " Star Trek " television franchise , since these productions were until 2006 part of Paramount Pictures , as explained above . Historical overview . Founded by in , Paramount Pictures is America ' s second oldest , still - operating , motion picture studio behind Universal Studios . Its logo – the highly - recognizable , majestic Paramount mountain – has been part of the company from the beginning , thus making it the oldest surviving Hollywood film logo . Paramount Pictures was the company responsible for the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture , the silent 1927 World War I picture . Clippings of that movie were featured in the opening title sequences of the two mirror universe episodes . Since then , Paramount has produced the Academy Award - winning films " Going My Way " ( 1944 ) , " The Lost Weekend " ( 1945 ) , " The Greatest Show on Earth " ( 1952 ) , " The Godfather " ( 1972 ) , " The Godfather , Part II " ( 1974 ) , " Ordinary People " ( 1980 ) , " Terms of Endearment " ( 1983 ) , " Forrest Gump " ( 1994 ) , " Braveheart " ( 1995 ) , and " Titanic " ( 1997 ) . Among the other acclaimed films they have produced are " Double Indemnity " ( 1944 ) , " Stalag 17 " ( 1953 ) , " The War of the Worlds " ( 1953 , based on the book by H . G . Wells ) , " The Ten Commandments " ( 1956 ) , " Breakfast at Tiffany ' s " ( 1961 ) , " The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance " ( 1962 ) , " Once Upon a Time in the West " ( 1968 ) , " Chinatown " ( 1974 ) , " Saturday Night Fever " ( 1977 ) , " Grease " ( 1978 ) , " Top Gun " ( 1986 ) , " Fatal Attraction " ( 1987 ) , " Saving Private Ryan " ( 1998 ) , and " Zodiac " ( 2007 ) . Since " Star Trek " was owned by Paramount Television , many of Paramount Pictures ' classic films have been featured on , or referenced to in the various later " Star Trek " shows , including " I ' m No Angel " ( 1933 ) , " For Whom the Bell Tolls " ( 1943 ) , " Sunset Boulevard " ( 1950 ) , " Shane " ( 1953 ) , " To Catch a Thief " ( 1955 ) , and " Rosemary ' s Baby " ( 1968 ) . The former two are now under ownership of as they own most pre - 1950 Paramount sound features . Upon the acquirement of Desilu , Paramount Pictures turned two other former Desilu properties into franchises by releasing in 1987 an acclaimed feature film adaptation of " The Untouchables " , which was originally an older Desilu television series ( also referenced on " Star Trek " in and ) . But it was " Mission : Impossible " that truly fulfilled the hopes , Paramount had for it when it acquired Desilu back in 1967 . Already doing well in its original seven - season run ( totaling 171 episodes ) , a two - season ( totaling 35 episodes ) was produced in 1988 , though it suffered the exact same fate the " Original Series " third season did , through inept planning by network ABC . However , aware that " Mission Impossible " ( like " Star Trek " ) had for the longest of times been a sub - culture favorite , convinced Paramount to initiate the development of the first of what was to become the highly successful " Mission : Impossible " film franchise , starring himself , as well as staking out a considerable claim in them as producer " and " production company . The first film being successfully released in 1996 , to be followed with four others by 2015 , " Mission : Impossible " finally fulfilled its hoped - for potential by becoming a huge and profitable on its own , comparable to that of " Star Trek " ( huge , but still smaller ) , having been preceded by two television series . As a franchise , " Mission : Impossible " s history has shared some remarkable similarities with that of " Star Trek " . Other television series they subsequently produced included " The Odd Couple " , " Happy Days " , " Taxi " , " Cheers " , " MacGyver " , " Wings " , " Frasier " , " 7th Heaven " , and " The 4400 " . They also continued to produce the news magazine " Entertainment Tonight " . In addition to " Mission : Impossible " and " Star Trek " , Paramount Pictures also holds the rights to such successful franchises as " Beverly Hills Cop " , " Friday the 13th " , " Indiana Jones " , and the films featuring ' s Jack Ryan character ( " The Hunt for Red October " , " Patriot Games " , etc . ) . In 2001 , Paramount Pictures relaunched itself , with a new CGI logo , nicknamed the " CGI Majestic Mountain . " Losing the television division . In , following the CBS / Viacom split , Paramount Pictures purchased the Steven Spielberg ' s production company ( co - founded in 1994 with former Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg ) . Yet , the split also meant that Paramount from now on was no longer a television production company for the first time in its history , in the process losing any and all title to the " Star Trek " television property , though retaining the right to produce " Star Trek " features through a license acquired from CBS . On 8 July 2007 , Paramount Pictures set the record for fastest studio to earn $ 1 billion at the US box office in a single year , reaching the mark after 189 days . This is the first time they have held this record since 1998 . This achievement is due primarily to the success of the Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks release of " Transformers " , written by " Star Trek " ( 2009 ) scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , and has been part of the reasons why the studio has decided to give the by then near defunct " Star Trek " franchise another go . The studio ' s 2008 slate of film releases began with the release of the J . J . Abrams - produced " Cloverfield " on 18 January 2008 . This film , which only cost US $ 25 million to make , earned US $ 40 million at the box office in its opening weekend – the best January opening on record . It was the studio ' s 10th biggest opening after " Shrek the Third " , " Transformers " , " War of the Worlds " , " Mission : Impossible II " , " Mission : Impossible III " , " Lara Croft : Tomb Raider " , " The Longest Yard " , " Mission : Impossible " , and " Deep Impact " . " Cloverfield " broke the Martin Luther King , Jr . weekend record , as well , with a four - day total of US $ 46 million . " Cloverfield " is also notable as the film to which the first official teaser trailer for 2009 ' s " Star Trek " was attached . Paramount ' s other films which opened in 2008 included " The Spiderwick Chronicles " , " Stop - Loss " , the highly - anticipated , but lukewarmly received " Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull " , the Marvel Comics - based " Iron Man " , the animated " Kung Fu Panda " and " Madagascar : The Crate Escape " , " The Love Guru " , and " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button " . " Iron Man " earned $ 98 . 6 million on its opening weekend , marking the studio ' s best opening for a live - action release . In 2009 , in addition to " Star Trek " , Paramount released films such as " Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen " ( also co - written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ) , " Nowhereland " ( starring Eddie Murphy , Vanessa Williams and Ronny Cox ) , and " G . I . Joe : The Rise of Cobra " ( starring Rachel Nichols ) . Paramount Studios sound stages . During production on " Star Trek " , Paramount Studios had thirty - two sound stages that varied in size from the smallest , Stage 22 , to the largest , Stage 16 , the former one never utilized by " Star Trek " . ( " " , p . 49 ) Backlots . Aside from the sound stages , several standing sets and other places located on the outdoors Paramount lot , were also utilized during the filming of " Star Trek " productions . The exteriors of studio office buildings were used for location shooting for and . The structure known as " B Tank " ( short for " Blue Sky Tank " ) was used as a filming location for , and . Prior to 1983 , the " McFadden Street " and " Boston Street " backlots were used in , while the " European Street " backlot was used in " Patterns of Force " . On Thursday , the Paramount lot was struck by a large fire , destroying most of its standing outdoors sets , including the by then 56 - years old " New York Street " set . The fire occurred while was being filmed , and it was the fire where William Shatner had famously claimed that he had served as a firefighter . The " New York Street " backlot was newly rebuilt and extensively used for the later " Star Trek " television productions . In 2016 , a street on the backlot was christened " Leonard Nimoy Way " at a fan event in memory of the actor .