Keep reading for several interview extracts from the latest Star Trek Magazine from Titan Publishing…
Interview extract with Paramount’s production executive Marc Evans, featuring in issue #17 of Star Trek Magazine:
Star Trek Magazine: Leonard Nimoy said he was gratified that there was a story that understood the character of Spock so well. What was it about the story that sold it to you?
Marc Evans: There is this phenomenal thing in all of J.J.’s work, in Bob and
Alex’s work, in Damon’s work, that shows the massively personal inside the most exciting framework that it can be done in. J.J. is a guy who has done Felicity on the one hand, and Mission: Impossible on the other hand. Alex and Bob wrote the story for Transformers which is really just about a boy getting his first car. The Star Trek pitch and the Star Trek script had exactly those same things.
Star Trek Magazine: Outside the fans, with the general public, Star Trek has
gained a reputation of being for the “geeks and nerds” – is that a perception you want to change before the movie or are you hoping that the movie will drive that?
Marc Evans: The beauty of the movie, at least in my opinion, and in all of
my colleagues’ opinion associated with the movie, is that we all really believe that Trekkers are going to love it, and that we have created something for them. Bob and Alex, J.J., Damon and Bryan have all talked about this a lot – what was so great about the Supreme Court on this was
their varied acquaintance with the Star Trek Universe. Bob knows every single detail of the world, and has probably read every single Star Trek novel, but Bryan on the other hand I do genuinely believe had never seen an episode of the original show.
We have created a movie that is for everyone. The teaser trailer I thought was a stroke of genius, and then the trailer which went up with Quantum of Solace serves both purposes. Frankly I think there is very little work for us to do to define it one way or the other because I think that the film does that, and the materials that we will have in the marketplace do it for
it. I believe someone who has never seen an episode of Star Trek, who never
believed it was for them, will watch the trailer and want to go to the movie. Fans – and those people who maybe were fans at one point and then drifted away – are going to look at it and go, “I’m coming back,” or “Man, I’m definitely going to that.” I think we have such a great movie that it’s easy to create publicity materials from it which will tell everybody that the movie will appeal to all of them.
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An extract from an interview with April Webster, casting director of J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie – featuring in Star Trek Magazine issue #17:
On casting Christopher Pine as James T. Kirk: It became really hard to cast Kirk because you really need someone who had that cockiness that Shatner brought to it when he was hired. He was a theatre actor who had come from Canada. He gave a little smirk, and you knew exactly where James T. Kirk was coming from.
We saw a lot of really good actors, but what Chris brought to it was that sense of “I know how good I am!” Not that that’s how he is personally, because he’s not an arrogant guy at all – he’s really down to Earth. He’s so smart and such a good actor. I recently saw Smokin’ Aces again, and was blown away by the character he created there, so willing to go wherever he needs to go.
I’ve known Chris a long time. I used to know his father Robert when I was first starting out – his father is a wonderful actor himself, and you can see Chris, with his parents, had a good upbringing. He wasn’t a typical Hollywood kid, acting out all the time. He’s got a healthy narcissism, as opposed to a destructive narcissism: there is such a thing as someone who has a sense of himself and I think when you have an actor who has that, it shows up on the screen.
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Extract from an interview with Scott Chamblis, production designer on J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie – featuring in issue #17 of Star Trek Magazine:
On working with J.J. Abrams:
J.J. often uses the word “accessible” when we work together. No matter how crazy – Star Trek, outer space, future – he wants it to be accessible to the audience so it makes sense. Things like military transport shuttles, you believe that’s a military bus taking you some place. It’s got the textures, it’s got a little bit of peeling paint, the safety bars and the seatbelts that you just know makes sense in the world now, so will makes sense 200 years from now. I loved doing those little sets because they were so small, like little jewel boxes.
On his favorite sets from the movie:
I was really happy with the way the Bridge turned out. I guess I have three favorite sets: the Bridge, the whole Narada interior, which is minimalist, with excessive detail, and brutalist, and the Jellyfish, Nimoy’s little ship. That has a wonderful inside thing from J.J. and my years of working together. In the containment field in the ship is a big red ball. The “big red ball” has a lot of resonance for J.J. and I: we have one in virtually everything we do. It started with the Alias pilot. I always look at a script and wonder what the big red ball is going to be this time.
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Star Trek Magazine Issue #17
US – On-sale March 24
UK – On-sale April 9
For more information and to subscribe visit:
http://www.titanmagazines.com/startrek