Infamous 1982 Star Trek Convention Disaster Getting New Documentary

Fan conventions are now big business, with big corporations snapping up local shows left and right. Decades ago, however, they were often small-time affairs, which meant that they could have a more authentic feel... or turn into total disasters. Now, one of the most infamous Star Trek con catastrophes of all time is coming to the big screen. Collider is proud to exclusively announce that a new documentary, The Con of Wrath: The Craziest Convention Ever! is now in production; we can also exclusively reveal the movie's first poster.

Back in 1982, Star Trek was riding high. The show's rabid fanbase and the general public had both loved that year's big science fiction blockbuster, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and were desperate to know what was coming next. HoustonCon, the annual science fiction convention in the biggest city in Texas, was looking to capitalize on that fandom. They'd arranged for almost the entire cast of the movie to attend, including stalwarts William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and DeForest Kelly, plus newcomer Kirstie Alley and the movie's producer, Harve Bennett. Dubbed "Ultimate Fantasy," the con had everything: a one-act play written by Koenig that the Trek actors were to perform, a laser light show, and even a rotating Trek-logo-shaped stage. And then it all went terribly wrong.

The Con of Wrath is directed by Larry “Dr. Trek” Nemecek, a longtime Trek fan and author who attended that ill-fated 1982 HoustonCon. He's spent decades looking into what went wrong and interviewing participants, guests, and attendees. Now, he's finally ready to detail the whole catastrophe in a feature-length documentary from the Nacelle Corporation. Says Nemecek:

"We’ve had big fan conventions, even big convention failures—but never anything like it, before or since. And when I realized so many ‘survivors’ were still here and eager to tell their story—not just our Star Trek legends but fans, vendors and the Houston crew—well, I knew we had to preserve their saga. Each in their own circles reacted to the fiasco to salvage it, and gave us so many crazy side stories too. And we also ask: would it happen the same way today?"

Nemecek will also executive produce the documentary, alongside Nacelle head Brian Volk-Weiss, Bailee Rackie, and Davina Dobrovech. No release date has yet been announced.

What Other Star Trek Creations Has Nacelle Been Involved With?

This won't be Nacelle's first foray into Star Trek documentaries. For the series' 50th anniversary in 2016, they produced the feature-length 50 Years of Star Trek, which aired on The History Channel. The company also produced The Center Seat, a series of short Star Trek documentaries that were initially produced for the franchise's 55th anniversary; a second season was produced this year for its 60th. They also have their own line of 6-inch Star Trek action figures.