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Star Trek article + pics
Entertainment Weekly article link...
Romulan attack on the USS Kelvin
Eric Bana [Nero]
Kirk in trouble, again
(From left) Anton Yelchin [Chekov], Chris Pine [Kirk], Simon Pegg [Scott], Karl Urban [McCoy], John Cho [Sulu], and Zoe Saldana [Uhura]
On the bridge of the Enterprise
Spock loosing his cool
'Star Trek': New Movie, New Vision
Director J.J. Abrams has set a course to make the Enterprise cool again; here's the inside scoop on his surprising, idealistic odyssey, which may end up with Kirk and Co. driving next summer's box office juggernaut
Aboard a monstrous and gloomy interstellar cruiser — part Death Star, part Mordor — the man who would be the next captain of the starship Enterprise finds himself under fire from bald, blue-tatted alien brawlers. At the moment, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), the hotheaded, horndog hero of Star Trek, is still a fresh-faced space cadet. At his side is his young half-human, half-Vulcan BFF, Spock (Zachary Quinto), looking quintessentially Spocky with his black bowl cut, slanting eyebrows, and blue smock.
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Abrams made his perspective clear: ''We weren't making a movie for fans of Star Trek,'' he said. ''We were making a movie for fans of movies.'' From there, the team hashed out the specifics. Exact plot details are top secret, but there are a few things EW can tell you.
(SPOILER ALERT! If you want to know nothing, avoid the next paragraph; go back to the top of the page and click Next.)
Star Trek's time-travel plot is set in motion when a Federation starship, the USS Kelvin, is attacked by a vicious Romulan (Eric Bana) desperately seeking one of the film's heroes. From there, the film then brings Kirk and Spock center stage and tracks the origins of their friendship and how they became officers aboard the Enterprise. In fact, the movie shows how the whole original series crew came together: McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoë Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin). The adventure stretches from Earth to Vulcan, and yes, it does find a way to have Nimoy appearing in scenes with at least one of the actors on our cover — and maybe both. The storytelling is newbie-friendly, but it slyly assimilates a wide range of Trek arcana, from doomed Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to Sulu's swordsmanship to classic lines like, ''I have been, and always shall be, your friend.'' More ambitiously, the movie subversively plays with Trek lore — and those who know it. The opening sequence, for example, is an emotionally wrenching passage that culminates with a mythic climax sure to leave zealots howling ''Heresy!'' But revisionism anxiety is the point. ''The movie,'' Lindelof says, ''is about the act of changing what you know.''
History may be mutable in the new Star Trek, but the old characterizations remain the same: Spock is still logical and Scotty is still bitterly complaining about the ship's overworked engines. But Abrams did feel Trek's design aesthetic — which for him is largely defined by the lo-fi original series — needed a dramatic upgrade if the drama was going to be taken seriously. Case in point: The Enterprise still has a saucer front section and pronged rear engines, but now comes tricked out with credibility-enhancing details. During turbulence, the crew can now grab handrails to keep from falling. And Abrams has given the blah cardboard bridge a makeover. It still has the oval shape, the captain's chair, the giant view screen — but it's now blazingly white and glistening with light and glass. Apple Store, anyone? ''People would joke, 'Where's the Genius Bar?''' says Abrams, somewhat defensively. ''To me, the bridge is so cool, it makes the Apple Store look uncool.''
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Watching Pine and Quinto work on set — and seeing some of their work on screen — suggests both may deliver star-making performances. ''I think Zach had the toughest job, but he gave a performance that totally captured the character without resorting to impersonation,'' says Simon Pegg (Scotty). ''And Chris had that steely arrogance and wry humor you want in Kirk. He's also sickeningly good-looking and really funny. Talk about nature giving a guy too much.''
For Abrams, who shot for five months on the Paramount lot and around Los Angeles, the defining struggle was fighting through his non-Trekker prejudice. He succeeded, but that still didn't alleviate all of his anxiety. ''There were days when I would look around the set, with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet' — and I would start sweating,'' he says. ''But I knew this would work, because the script Alex and Bob wrote was so emotional and so relatable. I didn't love Kirk and Spock when I began this journey — but I love them now.''
Based on footage screened for EW by Abrams — the awe-inspiring introduction of the Enterprise; thrilling action sequences on a harsh ice planet and in the skies of Vulcan — the director has transformed Star Trek into state-of-the-art pop. Moviegoers will get a sneak peek when the first full trailer is released with the new James Bond flick on Nov. 14.
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>
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Director J.J. Abrams has set a course to make the Enterprise cool again; here's the inside scoop on his surprising, idealistic odyssey, which may end up with Kirk and Co. driving next summer's box office juggernaut
Aboard a monstrous and gloomy interstellar cruiser — part Death Star, part Mordor — the man who would be the next captain of the starship Enterprise finds himself under fire from bald, blue-tatted alien brawlers. At the moment, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), the hotheaded, horndog hero of Star Trek, is still a fresh-faced space cadet. At his side is his young half-human, half-Vulcan BFF, Spock (Zachary Quinto), looking quintessentially Spocky with his black bowl cut, slanting eyebrows, and blue smock.
>
Abrams made his perspective clear: ''We weren't making a movie for fans of Star Trek,'' he said. ''We were making a movie for fans of movies.'' From there, the team hashed out the specifics. Exact plot details are top secret, but there are a few things EW can tell you.
(SPOILER ALERT! If you want to know nothing, avoid the next paragraph; go back to the top of the page and click Next.)
Star Trek's time-travel plot is set in motion when a Federation starship, the USS Kelvin, is attacked by a vicious Romulan (Eric Bana) desperately seeking one of the film's heroes. From there, the film then brings Kirk and Spock center stage and tracks the origins of their friendship and how they became officers aboard the Enterprise. In fact, the movie shows how the whole original series crew came together: McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoë Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin). The adventure stretches from Earth to Vulcan, and yes, it does find a way to have Nimoy appearing in scenes with at least one of the actors on our cover — and maybe both. The storytelling is newbie-friendly, but it slyly assimilates a wide range of Trek arcana, from doomed Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to Sulu's swordsmanship to classic lines like, ''I have been, and always shall be, your friend.'' More ambitiously, the movie subversively plays with Trek lore — and those who know it. The opening sequence, for example, is an emotionally wrenching passage that culminates with a mythic climax sure to leave zealots howling ''Heresy!'' But revisionism anxiety is the point. ''The movie,'' Lindelof says, ''is about the act of changing what you know.''
History may be mutable in the new Star Trek, but the old characterizations remain the same: Spock is still logical and Scotty is still bitterly complaining about the ship's overworked engines. But Abrams did feel Trek's design aesthetic — which for him is largely defined by the lo-fi original series — needed a dramatic upgrade if the drama was going to be taken seriously. Case in point: The Enterprise still has a saucer front section and pronged rear engines, but now comes tricked out with credibility-enhancing details. During turbulence, the crew can now grab handrails to keep from falling. And Abrams has given the blah cardboard bridge a makeover. It still has the oval shape, the captain's chair, the giant view screen — but it's now blazingly white and glistening with light and glass. Apple Store, anyone? ''People would joke, 'Where's the Genius Bar?''' says Abrams, somewhat defensively. ''To me, the bridge is so cool, it makes the Apple Store look uncool.''
>
Watching Pine and Quinto work on set — and seeing some of their work on screen — suggests both may deliver star-making performances. ''I think Zach had the toughest job, but he gave a performance that totally captured the character without resorting to impersonation,'' says Simon Pegg (Scotty). ''And Chris had that steely arrogance and wry humor you want in Kirk. He's also sickeningly good-looking and really funny. Talk about nature giving a guy too much.''
For Abrams, who shot for five months on the Paramount lot and around Los Angeles, the defining struggle was fighting through his non-Trekker prejudice. He succeeded, but that still didn't alleviate all of his anxiety. ''There were days when I would look around the set, with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet' — and I would start sweating,'' he says. ''But I knew this would work, because the script Alex and Bob wrote was so emotional and so relatable. I didn't love Kirk and Spock when I began this journey — but I love them now.''
Based on footage screened for EW by Abrams — the awe-inspiring introduction of the Enterprise; thrilling action sequences on a harsh ice planet and in the skies of Vulcan — the director has transformed Star Trek into state-of-the-art pop. Moviegoers will get a sneak peek when the first full trailer is released with the new James Bond flick on Nov. 14.
>
>
>
Romulan attack on the USS Kelvin
Eric Bana [Nero]
Kirk in trouble, again
(From left) Anton Yelchin [Chekov], Chris Pine [Kirk], Simon Pegg [Scott], Karl Urban [McCoy], John Cho [Sulu], and Zoe Saldana [Uhura]
On the bridge of the Enterprise
Spock loosing his cool
(jk)
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