New `Star Trek' faces; old characters
By Rob Lowman, Entertainment Editor
Article Last Updated: 04/18/2008 10:06:10 PM PDT
Director J.J. Abrams promised Wednesday that "the movie we're making
won't feel like any other `Star Trek' you've ever seen."
Everyone involved is being closed-mouthed about plot points for the film
due out May 8, 2009, but Abrams, known for slam-bang action in his TV
series "Alias" and in "Mission: Impossible III," adds, "There hadn't
been this kind of action in a `Star Trek' movie before."
The new "Star Trek" is essentially a reboot of the original 1960 TV
series. It stars Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Mr.
Spock. Leonard Nimoy, who originated the role of Spock, will be seen as
well in the movie as an older Spock. The film, which is still in
production, had originally been targeted for Christmas, but Paramount
moved it when they thought they could make more money in the summer.
The 41-year-old Abrams, who is also behind the TV series "Lost" and was
the producer of the recent sci-fi horror hit "Cloverfield," was quick to
assure the legion of Trekkies about the franchise. "(The film) is being
true to the vision of our abilities and of what (creator Gene)
Roddenberry started. So it's this very interesting hybrid of honoring
its origins and also being something completely brand new."
Interesting, Abrams wasn't an avid "ST" fan. "`The Twilight Zone' was my
show. I appreciated `Star Trek' and I enjoyed it, but I was in no way -
you know - that kid! I've always been much more of a `Star Wars' guy
than a `Star Trek' guy."
Making the film has been interesting, though, says Abrams. One of the
writers knows "every arcane detail" about the franchise, while one of
the producers had never seen it. So it gave him a wide range of opinions.
"As a director, my sole mission was to make a movie that was
entertaining and emotional and funny and scary and all of the things
that I know I want to see when I go to see a movie. It's a huge
adventure. But because we've done a lot of work leading up to it, it was
already honoring `Trek' for those very vocal fans."
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