'Star Trek' engages promo drive

November 21, 2008 Paramount already has hit warp speed with its high-profile relaunch of the "Star Trek" franchise. For its first 2009 tentpole, the studio has taken the unprecedented step of rolling out a full-scale promotional tour of the J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Trek" nearly six months before its May 8 release. Despite "Trek's" indisputable cultural brand and avid fan base, the filmmakers and the studio hope to bypass two potential obstacles on the way to blockbuster boxoffice returns: the MySpace generation's unfamiliarity with the series and genre and the franchise's typically anemic performance in the global market.

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