Star Trek Into Darkness' USS Vengeance Images

The Star Trek App latest mission has revealed the name and look of the mysterious and very large black ship that is shown dwarfing and blasting the Enterprise in the trailers. The USS Vengeance is a Dreadnought-class ship that apparently was built for war with a name to prove it. This also explains why the Russian name of the movie is Star Trek: Vengeance. While I think the name seems more appropriate for a Klingon ship, TrekMovie points out it has been used before in two Trek video games for Starfleet ships.

New Star Trek Into Darkness Images

As a bit of a Christmas gift, Empire Magazine has posted the covers and images from their Feburary issue that will hit UK newsstands on December 27th. The cover story is Star Trek Into Darkness so we get a cool new image of Benedict Cumberbatch and the Enterprise crew (Pike is ex-Enterprise but still counts). The article contains a few story details so spoiler warnings.

Highlights:
- John Harrison is ex-Starfleet who attacks London and a US state who is privy to some of Starfleet's secrets that motivates his quest for revenge.
- Pine: "[Harrison] is Kirk’s shadow of death, his Achilles’ heel. He is just a big mirror reflecting all of Kirk’s insecurities back at him. He is just as intelligent and logical as Spock, but is also one very bad motherf—er."
- Cumberbatch: "He’s sort of superhuman, pretty much unbeatable. Brainy and brawny. He manipulates situations. He’s incarcerated when Kirk is talking to him and yet he still gets Kirk to do his work for him. He pushes him into a corner where the only route to salvation is cooperation. There is a real Hannibal Lecter quality to him."
- Kirk's attempt to capture Harrison is to fix a mistake that may cost him his captain's chair.
- Lots of new locations including Kirk's apartment (maybe the Pike, Kirk conversation)
- plot:

...with Earth under terrorist attack from Benedict Cumberbatch’s ex-Starfleet employee John Harrison, Kirk is this time forced into a rash decision that breaks a critical Starfleet command, puts his crew in danger & costs him his captain’s chair. Now out of uniform and dressed down in space civvies of black leather jackets and boots, our three heroes have separated from the Enterprise and headed off on a mission to try and rectify his mistake…

Updated Star Trek Into Darkness Synopsis

Paramount has released a new synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness. Most of it remains the same from the first version except for the middle section. Before it said "When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction." The new version is essentially the same but not nearly as awkwardly phrased.

In Summer 2013, director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

About the only "new" information is apparently the Enterprise is recalled to Earth after John Harrison's act of terror, probably after their mission on the red planet Niburu (part of the 9 minute preview).

Eight Spoilers from Star Trek Into Darkness

Monday Paramount Pictures held a press event at Bad Robot's Headquarters in Santa Monica, California. On hand was JJ Abrams and a few cast members from Star Trek Into Darkness. The event was to help promote the teaser trailer (most screenings) and 9 minute preview (IMAX 3D only) that is coming out on December 14th with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. One of the spoilers was already revealed when Paramount revealed that the name of Benedict Cumberbatch's character is John Harrison. TrekMovie reveals 7 other spoilers including character names, locations and a few story tidbits.

1) Alice Eve is Carol Marcus
The beautiful short haired blonde in the teaser of the teaser is Lieutenant Carol Marcus. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the character was a civilian scientist working on instantly terraforming planets and was the ex-girlfriend of Kirk in his Starfleet Academy days from which she has his son. In the movie she is a member of Starfleet and probably does not have a previous relationship (or son) with Kirk until getting on board the Enterprise.

Star Trek Into Darkness Big Bad Gets A Name

Paramount Pictures has finally provided a name for Benedict Cumberbatch's big character in Star Trek Into Darkness. The name is John Harrison, who in the screenshot appears to be in the Enterprise brig while wearing a black shirt with the Starfleet logo. According to Memory Alpha, Harrison was a crew member that appeared in several episodes of The Original Series including being a near victim of Khan during his attempt to take over the ship in the classic episode "Space Seed." Really it was the same actor playing a variety of background crew characters depending on need of the scenes. This seems to be a third Khan related referenced already but in all cases without context so while tempting to read to much into it, just as likely Abrams and the writers are having a little fun with fans.

End result is while Cumberbatch's big bad has A name, it is not THE name of the character. I think its just an alias for his infiltration of Starfleet. The main reason think this is I don't see JJ Abrams going through all this trouble to hide the character's name only to have it intentionally leaked by Paramount. Also the bag guy is supposed to be familiar to long time Trek fans and Harrison does not fall under that. Finally, Harrison is a normal human in TOS. In the trailer Cumberbatch demonstrates superhuman strength which means he is either Khan or a surgically altered alien (Vulcan, Klingon, etc.). As usual time will tell but based on reports of the upcoming teaser trailer and 9 minute preview, it will not be anytime soon as neither provide any answers.

Star Trek Into Darkness Plot Synopsis

In likely prep for the upcoming 9 minute preview with The Hobbit in IMAX 3D and trailer, Paramount has revealed the official synopsis for Star Trek Into Darkness.

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Some of the phrases are very stilted and strangely phrased suggesting this synopsis was very carefully crafted to reveal as little as possible yet allow fans to insert whatever assumptions they want while not being actually a lie once the full story is revealed next summer. For example "own organization" could mean Starfleet. It could also mean the Federation. The choice of "detonated the fleet" is also very odd as not something you would save when a bunch of ships get destroyed. Again the ships do not necessarily have to be Starfleet since the Federation as a whole has its own. How does destroying a fleet also destroy what is symbolizes? A Federation fleet for peace or exploration perhaps? Then there is the personal score. Why is it personal? Is the "one man weapon of mass destruction" an ex-member of his crew or from his past? Or like the Star Trek Prime Kirk, an attack on the Federation or Starfleet is by default personal? One thing for sure, it is clear that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was used as a blueprint as have a personal story around Captain Kirk and a threat to the Federation as an allegory to contemporary times. In this case can't get more contemporary then a terrorist using weapons of mass destructions leading to a hunt in a warzone. Lots of questions and no answers until next summer.

SDCC 2012 Karl Urban Teases Possible Trek Footage

Karl Urban might just be becoming a useful source for Star Trek info, or at least he enjoys pretending to release related info. Last week he might have accidently revealed the villain of the sequel. In a new interview with ComingSoon to promote Dredd, he said "I can promise you that before the end of [2012 San Diego] Comic-Con, some exclusive Star Trek footage, it's going to come out. You're going to find it. It's going to come out." This is despite Paramount's decision to skip SDCC. It would seem to be a wasted opportunity to not release something.

He also commented on the villain slip saying "I'm really not at liberty to discuss anything about Star Trek. All I can say is that I did that interview after a 22-hour flight from New Zealand. I literally hopped off the plane into the interview." The info has not yet been officially confirmed however.

Star Trek 2 Villain Is...?

Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy) may have accidently let slip to SFX who the main villain of Star Trek 2 is while doing marathon interviews to promote his movie Dredd. In the interview he said spoke of Trek and Benedict Cumberbatch saying "He’s awesome, he’s a great addition, and I think his Gary Mitchell is going to be exemplary."

Gary Mitchell was a character in the original series 2nd pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Mitchell was a long time friend of Kirk's who was also a crew member on the Enterprise. When the Enterprise attempts to cross the galactic barrier (border between our universe and space to next universe), Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner where given mental capabilities that grew in power with every moment. As if to prove the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely", the more power Mitchell had, the more corrupt he became until his humanity began to slip away. In a final struggle with Kirk and Dehner on a planet surface, both near gods were killed.

Orci Q&A Reveals Sequel Tidbits

While on a plane ride, Star Trek sequel writer and producer Roberto Orci engaged TrekMovie fans in an impromptu Q&A about the yet unnamed Star Trek 2 sequel. It occured on the site's post about the five Star Trek Captains panel that occured this weekend at the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con. He did reveal a few tidbits of info but for all intents the Abrams cone of silence remains intact. The full transcript is here. The highlight summary is below with my random thoughts in ().

- Klingons are in film, have ridged forheads like in cut scenes from 2009 movie. (*see below)
- Official sub-title still being debated (Always hard to top Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country)
- No decision has been made yet on what Trek might do at San Diego Comic Con
- "The sequel was hard to get behind and figure out" compared to first in part due to "benefit of lower expections."
- No date on teaser trailer, "but super soon."
- "Harry Mudd is not the villain. (Thank god, always hated that character)
- Would not answer question if Leonard Nimoy is in film. (Easy to say no if he isn't...)
- Simon Pegg (Scotty) does more in this film as does McCoy.
- Orci open to participating in a Trek TV and animated series. (Neither is currently in the works and likely will not be until Trek 3 comes out years from now)
- Said there are "more than a few" hints in the comic books about the sequel.

* The comment about the Klingons suddenly gave me the idea that Benedict Cumberbatch could be a Klingon. One that was cosmetically altered to infiltrate Starfleet. It would explain ability to take on Spock since Vulcans and Klingons are about equal in strength.

Major Star Trek Spoilers Confirmed

AICN is reporting that they have rumors of three major plot points for the Star Trek sequel that is currently filming. One was leaked yesterday, another was assumed but never officially verified and the last doesn't come as a surprise because of interviews with the writers over the last few years. TrekMovie later is saying these rumors have been confirmed through their sources. Consider this your SPOILER WARNING!

Burk: "Original and Unique" Story

While making the rounds to promote Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Star Trek Bryan Burk spoke about the sequel. He told MTV that they have they are not going to re-set the characters but use Empire Strikes Back model of just diving right in from the previous film. He also avoided confirming or denying Khan (so that theory remains alive) but instead stated that they are going for "something that would be original and unique and different and again on paper I think we made the right choice." The video is below. (via TrekMovie)

Star Trek - What You Missed

TNMC.org has posted a summary of cut scenes and dialogue that was not used in the theatrical release of Star Trek (but might have been filmed and used as deleted scenes for the disc release). Click here for the full details but below is a summary which assumes you have seen the film already.

Deleted scenes:
- Film opens with birth of Spock and Amanda not please Sarek isn't present then goes to birth of Kirk (just before attack).
- After the Narada destroys the Kelvin, Klingon warbirds decloak and surround it leading to Nero's capture.
- Before Kirk's joyride we meet Uncle Frank (a douche) and brother George who is leaving and says Kirk's follows the rules to much. Later Kirk is washing the corvette and then the joyride (I guess to prove brother wrong).
- cut to Rura Penthe Klingon Prison with Nero and crew as caught trying to smuggle Federation maps to determine when/where Spock will emerge. A slug (like one used on Pike near film's end) is used on Nero to try and torture him into confession why he wants the maps. Nero's (now dead) pregnant wife is used to overcome the torture. Shortly after Nero busts out of the prison with ease to begin his revenge against Spock.
- Another scene shows how Uhura's roommate the Orion Gaila helps him hack the Kobayashi Muru test by opening a message at a certain time to unleash a virus on the program.
- A line is cut on the Delta Vega ice planet commenting on the improbability of the two meeting.
- On approach to Earth, Narada crew considers mutiny since destruction of Vulcan completes their revenge and they just want to return to Romulus. Nero kills Ayel (who lives in the final cut of the film) as he wants revenge against off of the Federation.
- The gun battle in the film originally had Spock getting cruelly violent with the Romulans.
- In Spock meets Spock Prime scene, the written Kirk Prime scene with a holographic video of William Shatner's Kirk singing happy birthday to Spock and congratulating him on becoming an ambassador. Shatner's refusal to do cameos put the kibosh on that scene.

TrekMovie Q&A Part 2

Trekmovie.com has posted the second half of the Q&A with fans on the site with Star Trek writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Part one can be found here. Below are snippets from it but the full transcript is here.

Data: Do you think of bring some characters from TNG era in future Star Trek?
BobOrci: If we can do it organically, perhaps.

TREKKIE369 : Have you guys ever considered bringing Vulcan and Romulus back? And if not, how many survivors are there from both planets?
BobOrci: Recall that in this new Universe, Romulus is still out there, as Captain Pike indicates. As for Vulcan, Spock, in his Captain’s Log, estimates that there are approximately 10,000 survivors.
BobOrci: ...Let’s just say then that the 10,000 does not count off worlders

Capt Krunch: ...why [built the Enterprise] in Iowa and on the ground?
BobOrci: The behind the camera reason related to our goal to connect a general audience to the idea that Star Trek is real and grounded (literally). The idea was based on a fan made picture we found on the internet depicting the USS ENTERPRISE in a shipyard. Alex and I showed this image to JJ, and he locked in on its value immediately.

From an in world story perspective, the idea is that George Kirk’s death caused Starfleet to commemorate his sacrifice with the Riverside Shipyards. We’ve heard the complaint that it is inefficient to build a space ship on the ground, but we figured that any ship that can literally cross the galaxy by warping space and moving faster than light is surely able to what the space shuttle can do — and that is, get into space easily.

MoPo: I understand it was a movie, but wasn’t giving a 3rd year cadet a promotion to Captain (one rank below Rear Admiral) after one mission a little rushed and forced just to get Kirk in the captain’s chair?
BobOrci: Yes it would be if there were no other extenuating circumstances (like saving the world, or the recommendations of Spock Prime and Captain Pike). People said the same about about a one term senator who jumped to the Presidency, (JFK, an inspiration for Kirk, as well as Obama).

Kirk1701: Is Kirk’s origin completely governed by FATE? Doesn’t that dehumanize him — make him more of a ‘tool of the gods’, rather than the blue-eyed humanist hero?
BobOrci: Question of fate has been touched on in article. In my mind, no, we are not relying on fate. Spock Prime pushing to place Kirk in the Captain’s chair is not based on the notion of fate, but on the proven empirical evidence ( from Nimoy’s past) that Kirk has an ability that others don’t.

Ran: As a fan, what were you thinking by destroying Vulcan, Romulus and killing Spock’s mother? Was it really necessary?
BobOrci: We knew it would be controversial for sure, but we wanted to make it clear that the rules had changed, and that we were DEFINITELY in a new time line. As for Spock’s mother… we haven’t mentioned this too much, but one of the inspirations for the Kirk/Spock relationship was the friendship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. In a way, they were opposites, but they bonded early in life because they both suffered through the loss of A PARENT in childhood.

Logan: How does the Stardate work in the new Star Trek-Movie? It’s shown quite diffierent in the ways seen in the past films and series.
BobOrci: The year, as in 2233, with the month and day expressed as a decimal point from .1 to .365 (as in the 365 days of the year).

Message of New Movie

Interesting question from Io9.com to the Star Trek writers. Since the Original Series episodes often had a message, what would they say the message was for the current movie.

One thing I always liked about the series were the moral lessons. Would you ever think about having a more challenging social message, maybe in the next Star Trek movie?
Kurtzman: The thing that is genius about Trek, and we've talked about this a lot, is that there was always a veiled message story. You never felt like you were getting beaten over the head by whatever the topic was. The bridge crew itself was this kind of idyllic world, there was a Russian, and in the middle of the Cold War everyone was working together. We feel like if you're going to tell a message in Trek you have to veil it in a really, really clever story.

So what was the message of this movie?
Orci: It sort of reflects where we are when Spock reflects at the end and kind of says, "I've kind of left you in a dark world, keep your chin up." The destruction of Vulcan in Trek lore to us is kind of the equivalent to a September 11th and the Holocaust all rolled into one. How does this crew deal with that? Is it a cynical decision that leads to a war with Romulus? Or is it a singular problem problem solving situation, with the person who really did it?

Are there any social issues you'd like to tackle in the next Star Trek movie?
Orci: It has to be a mosaic, we don't want to make anything a single issue. It would be a mosaic of... of our Southern California upbringing [laughs].
Kurtzman: Different philosophies... I agree, its hard to sort of pin point that we want to make a movie about one thing...

Orci: Adoption! [Jokingly]

Yep, as suspected there really isn't one unless you call good effects plus action equal good box office results.

The Planned Shatner Scene

It turns out that Star Trek writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote a rather clever scene that would have allowed for an appearance from William Shatner. It sounds like it would have been a great scene but since Shatner doesn't "do cameos"; well it’s no surprise why it didn't happen.

Alex Kurtzman: We had a scene with Shatner, and that ended up going.
Roberto Orci: Right, we had a scene with Shatner.
Orci: We wrote it, it was in the script.
Kurtzman: The very last scene when Spock and Spock meet each other, finally. And elder Spock is convincing young Spock that he couldn't interfere, because it would have diverted [Kirk and Spock] away from their friendship. And that their friendship is the key to the whole sort of shebang.
Orci: He gave him a recorded message from Kirk.
Kurtzman: He [elder Spock] said, "Don't take my word for it." And he handed him [younger Spock] a little holographic device and it projected Shatner. It was basically a Happy Birthday wish knowing that Spock was going to go off to Romulus, and Kirk would probably be dead by the time...
Orci: It turned into a voiceover, at the end of the movie.
Kurtzman: So It was a nod too, but it ultimately felt like a cameo, in a way that wasn't.
Orci: I still liked it [Laughs].

Star Trek Countdown Prequel Summary

The new movie is out in just two days so here is a summary of Star Trek Countdown from Wikipedia. The four issue mini-series prequel that helps bridge the gap between the 40 year old Star Trek (or Prime universe) and the new Star Trek (or 2.0 universe) that the new movie is kick starting. More specifically it explains Nero's motivations, how he gets the technology to exact his revenge and Spock Prime's part in the events.

The comic is set eight years after the film Star Trek Nemesis. Federation and Romulan tensions have generally subsided, with Spock the official Federation ambassador to the Romulans. Data is still alive and has become captain of the Enterprise-E after successfully imprinting his memories onto the prototype android B-4. Jean-Luc Picard is now Federation ambassador to Vulcan, Geordi La Forge has retired to develop his own ships, and Worf is a General in the Klingon Empire.

The galaxy is threatened by the Hobus star, which will become a supernova. Spock proposes that the Romulans transport the precious mineral Decalithium to Vulcan, where it can be converted into red matter capable of turning the star into a black hole, therefore ending its threat. The senate opposes Spock, but he finds a comrade in Nero, the leader of the miners.

Nero witnessed Hobus consume a planet first-hand and offers to secretly transport Decalithium, noting it would be better than doing nothing and then leaving his wife and unborn son to die. Nero's ship, the Narada, is attacked by the Remans, but the Enterprise rescues them and escorts them to Vulcan with Decalithium taken from the Reman ships. On Vulcan, the council opposes Romulan use of red matter, infuriating Nero; he vows if Romulus is destroyed, he shall hold them and Spock accountable.

Nero returns to Romulus to discover Hobus has gone supernova and destroyed his home world. Driven mad by his loss, he attacks Federation Olympic class hospital ships that have arrived to give aid, believing they have come to claim his people's territory.

He beams aboard surviving senators onto his ship and kills them for not listening to Spock, and then claims the Praetor's ancient trident, the Debrune Teral'n, which is the greatest symbol of Romulus.

He and his crew then shave their heads and apply tattoos to signify their loss. Nero goes to the Vault, a secretive Romulan base, and has the Narada outfitted with Borg technology to begin a rampage against his enemies.

With the supernova expanding, Spock decides to deposit the red matter weapon. He takes the Jellyfish, a ship developed by La Forge that can withstand extreme environmental conditions. The Narada goes about destroying and assimilating Federation, Klingon and Cardassian ships alike, wounding Worf and damaging the Enterprise in the process.

When Spock successfully destroys the supernova, the Narada appears to attack when the black hole flings it and the Jellyfish back in time (and an alternate universe), leaving Picard and the crew of the Enterprise as witnesses to Spock's sacrifice.

Leonard Nimoy Interview

The legendary Leonard Nimoy talks Star Trek, canon, Shatner, Fringe, Quinto and more with TrekMovie.com. The interview does contain spoilers. Parts of it is below but the entire interview can be found here.

TrekMovie: The thought I came away with [for the new Trek movie] is that this feels like 1982 again to me. It feels like when Nick [Meyer] and Harve [Bennett] came in and said "let’s shake things up."… They kind of created a new bedrock, a look and tone, that flowed through a series of films. You changed things up in the second one, but certainly that series in the 80s was more based on the 82 film [Wrath of Khan], than on the 79 film [The Motion Picture].
Nimoy: I think that’s fair…the second Star Trek movie put the franchise back on track. The first one derailed us, it didn’t do us any good. Perhaps some people made some money. The second one put us back on track and what happened, unintentionally, we didn’t realize that we were at the beginning of a trilogy. That the three films, II, III and IV, told a story that had and arc to day and they hung together in an interesting way. III was obligatory, we had to get Spock back and IV was the completion of that cycle. After that, the films became somewhat of ‘toss something in the air and see what happens.’ And were not so grounded in continuity. But I think this film — I am not saying it is going to start a trilogy — but I think it is doing just exactly what you are describing. It creates a whole new way of looking at Star Trek. A fresh revitalizing of the franchise.

TrekMovie: In a sense your character is an embodiment of the single timeline from "The Cage" through to episode you did on The Next Generation ["Unification"]. And they tie into that in this film, with you left on Romulus and all that. But you go back and what they have done is this kind of alternative timeline. What do you think of this notion of going back, but also kind of creating this open-ended new Star Trek future?
Nimoy: Well the alternative timeline gives them license to escape from canon concerns. I can’t see people saying ‘they shouldn’t do that because…’ or ‘that doesn’t tie in to such and such’ because it is a different time and place. Am I right about that?

I don’t want to speak for JJ [Abrams] and Bob and Alex, they are certainly capable of speaking for themselves. There is no way in the world that a Star Trek film will please every Star Trek follower or fan, no way. And to try to would be a death sentence, you just can’t. You twist yourself into pretzels over ‘what are they going to say about this’…for god’s sake what are people going to say about Uhura and Spock having the relationship they have in this movie? What? I thought it was wonderful and touching and effective. I saw JJ quoted very recently on fan complaints of the kind you are referring to and what he said was something like "stay home and be angry" so just don’t see the movie, if that is what your life is about and that is the way you want to envision your relationship to Star Trek and the world, fine. This is a movie. It is a movie! You want to go see it — chances are you are going to enjoy yourself if you open your mind to it. If you go to see it to find fault and to point out the things you think are inconsistencies, chances are you won’t have a good time and you would have wasted your time and money so why bother? But if you go to it with an open mind, I think chances are very very good you will see very well made and interesting movie. The characters are all accessible. I think they are all well portrayed by very talented and intelligent actors. I’m impressed with every single one of them. I was shocked to see Winona Ryder so effective as Spock’s mother — I didn’t think it would work, I couldn’t envision her in the role. This really works — that wonderful scene between see and Zachary when he semi-apologizes for negating his human side and asks that she not take it as an insult, is so wonderful. They are both wonderful. I can’t see any reason to worry anymore about the people who are going to say this isn’t right. I am not worried about it.
[It is a reality a die hard trekker such as myself has to deal with. It is a whole new playground. Either enjoy the new digs or go back to the old playground. I plan to play in both.]

TrekMovie: ...you noted that modern films are much more complex these days. So in looking at this film, at the plot and the time travel, and how it is spanning over many years, how do you feel about the complexity of this film?
Nimoy: In January I bumped into an acquaintance who said "how is the Star Trek movie?" and I said "I think it is great" and he said "did you direct it?" cause he really didn’t know, and I said "I wouldn’t know how." Which is true. The technology is so advanced over what we were doing when I was directing, I’d have to take a training course. I’d have to sit down with people and say "how do you do these shots?" I could learn how to do it, but going in I wouldn’t know how. It is extremely complex and sophisticated now. The budgets are multiples of what we had to work with originally, even in the movies, and light years over what we had on the series. It is a different world. And I have said this about JJ and I think this is the rock bottom core about what is going on here — there are some directors who can do that very very big canvas, like a Michael Bay for example, stuff that is big and bombastic. There are some directors who can do intimate, inter-character relationship moments. And not a lot of directors can do both, and I think JJ can. He has a sense of the action and the vision of the size and the scope of the thing, and he also gets down and in touch with the very very essence of what is going on with characters, and he does it extremely well.

TrekMovie: The scene you had with Zach [Quinto], did you say that was your first day on the job? That very emotional scene?
Nimoy: Yeah, that made it difficult. I hadn’t found my legs yet as an actor in the movie. I was OK. I don’t think it created a problem, but it took some focusing to get grounded in that scene. I think it worked out fine, I think the scene is very good. [laughs] but at the time I wish it came later in the schedule.

TrekMovie: There is so much talk about you and Zach and how you guys are like adopted father and son. He says he made the role his own, which is true…Once you mentioned that he did something that blew you away. I am curious now that I have seen the film, what was it that you went ‘oh that is really interesting’?
Nimoy: His relationship with Uhura, he played something that I was quite touched by. So did she for that matter. They both were terribly available for each other. I was really affected by his final moment with the Vulcan council when he rejected their invitation to go to the Vulcan Institute, and the way he said "live long and prosper."

TrekMovie: He almost said it as if there was a word that was supposed to come after, like "you bastards."
Nimoy: Or go f–k yourselves, to be specific

TrekMovie: but you were OK with that?
Nimoy: It caught me by surprise, but I thought it was terribly effective.

Star Trek Writers Talk Romance

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman spoke with io9 about love story in the movie between Spock and Uhura.

How did you go about deciding and executing such a huge canon-changing relationship?
Orci: A lot of the things in the movie could conceivably match with what happened in any Universe. We know that Kirk cheated on the Kobayashi Maru, [for example]. In the original series, the first interracial kiss was Kirk and Uhura. One of the things we tried to do with this movie was, try to play with keeping some things the same - and other things, maybe the exact opposite.

That was one of those scenarios where we thought, "If that's in the original universe, maybe this one becomes Spock and Uhura." It brings out his human side, it fits Spock's arc for the surprise of the fact that he does share humanity and in the revelation that his father did love his mother, and therefore Spock himself is then capable of that and you see that with him and Uhura. It fits him.

Kurtzman: Knowing that it was a really controversial decision, the most important thing for us was, to not be cute or try to be clever about how we were going to reveal it, but to actually provide genuine emotional context. And I think whether or not you agree with our choice, what you can't argue with is: You just watched this man, who you really care about, show that he's struggling with his identity, lose his mother, and watch his planet blow up. And because he's a Vulcan, he has to be stoic about it.

When you as an audience want somebody to give the man a hug, you want some connection for him. So when Uhura does that, you're simultaneously taken aback, but also a bit relieved that he has somewhere to take that. So we felt like that would be the best access point to reveal that to the audience. We built it up in those earlier scenes, [so] you get that sense. There are little seeds planted along the way.

Zoe Saldana also commented on the romance:

They locked us in the office at Bad Robot, so that we could read the script, and I dropped it and grabbed my Blackberry and kept saying, "This man's crazy! J.J.'s out of his mind. I'm not that aware about Star Trek, but I do know that [Spock and Uhura] never mingled. It's crazy!" But once I finished the script, it just made so much sense. They have the most similar characteristics. I almost feel like she had this admiration for Spock because he was older and sort of like a teacher, and there was this crush or platonic infatuation with someone that's wiser, wittier, handsome and had pointy ears. Why not?

Abrams on Trek Deleted Scenes

Turns out there are a few deleted scenes that will have to wait until the DVD/Blu-ray release to be seen according to director JJ Abrams via TrekMovie. Most of the removed scenes (some seen in the trailers) are Kirk, Spock and Nero's back stories.

For Kirk and Spock, the stories involve some childhood scenes including the birth of Spock with Winona Ryder (Amanda) and Ben Cross (Sarek). There was also a scene with Kirk's abusive uncle that probably helps explain the chip on his shoulder. For Nero, the lost scenes mostly involve his escape from the Klingon Prison Planet Rura Penthe (last referenced in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). The story beat is still in the movie but more as a passing reference then a specific scene.

Below are two videos were Abrams talks about the cut footage. The first one he references baby Spock and the second is Nero's prison break.

A Negative Star Trek Review and Story Summary

It took a while but someone finally posted a negative review of Star Trek. Be aware that the review includes a complete summary of the movie including some really bad news for Vulcan. Overall, as a Trekkie, I think it is probably a good thing that this movie takes place in a seperate Star Trek 2.0 universe from the Prime universe as the changes (and ignorance of canon) are rather substanial in scale.

Initial Thoughts:
Hmmm.... First off, I have to admit that every time i've walked out of a movie I have never been totally impressed. I think it may be due to all the excitement.
I hated Transformers and Wrath of Kahn, but over time they grew on me. Now I love TWOK and am OK with Transformers. I think it just took time on me. So understand that my initial reactions may be premature.

My first thoughts on the film is that it's OK. If you are a trekie and you want to see star trek, then see it. However I was expecting more. If I was going to rate it compared to the other films, i'd put it above The Voyage Home but below TWOK/FC. It is most akin to "The Undiscovered Country" in that it's fast paced but not too serious.

If you were to ask me if I was happy with it, i'd say "No"
but when I think about it, i guess i'd have to say "Yes"

THE STORY (in brief detail, I do miss some plot points):
The basic breakdown is this.
Nero's ship appears in front of the Kelvin from a singularity. It attacks the Kelvin, but Kirks dad takes command and saves the fleeing crew, including the unborn James T Kirk.
Cut to the future. Kirk gets in a fight. He gets told to join starfleet by Pike. Three years later (again... another jump in the future) the Narada picks up Old Spock who also appears out of a singularity
Kirk has now finished 3 years of training. He beats the Kobiyashi Maru when suddenly Vulcan is under attack. A fleet is assembled and they all go to Vulcan and get killed, except for the Enterprise.
Pike is captured, Spock takes command and the Enterprise flees at low warp. Vulcan is destroyed by a black hole weapon. Kirk gets angry and fights Spock as Kirk wants to fight Nero. Spock abandons him on a Vulcan moon.
On the moon, kirk meets old spock (who tells him the future... yada yada yada) and they also meet scotty. They beam back onto the Enterprise and kirk forces spock out of the command.
So kirks in command, the Narada is at earth and it is trying to blow it up using the black hole weapon. Young spock blows up the weapon while kirk fights nero.

Everyone cheers and the Enterprise goes to warp with the overtune of "Space the Final Frontier"

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT
It's like Transformers, just in the Star Trek universe.
It's fast, too fast. They rush into the story, don't lay any foundations (for the average viewer) and most of the movie is about meeting the characters.
You barely see Nero before he is killed.
The movie is action packed. Lots of fast paced fights, lots of CG and, well, just watch Transformers and you'll know what i mean.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT
The references to Trek. If you are a trekkie, you will LOVE the references. Lots of stuff like "i'm a doctor, not a physicist" and all that kind of stuff. That was great.
The music was ok, but the sound effects were awesome. Going to Warp was AMAZING!
The graphics were also pretty good - you get the feel from the trailers.
The movie is also a bit more 'real' in the sense that they have NOKIA phones, Engineering looks like a factory (like in TOS) with pipes and nuts and bolts, and the ENTERPRISE looks very cool, especially when it warps into Titan and emerges from the atmosphere.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
It was too fast. There was too much focus on action and not enough on the story. Like the latest Indiana Jones, most of the movie was spent doing stuff that didn't matter, like HOW Kirk met Scotty.
Also, you barely see the Enterprise. There is barely a space battle.

NOTES FOR FANS:
- The enterprise fires phasers and torpedoes (which are blue), the first time the 1701 has done so in a movie since Star Trek 2

OTHER BAD STUFF
The Federation know who the Romulus are before Nero appears in front of the Kelvin! This is ****. They arn't supposed to know for a few more years. Yet spock already knows that Vulcans and Romulans are the same species.

Physics goes out the window. True trekies will be pissed off about the Black Hole weapon as it destroys Vulcan but none of the other planets are affected. A convenient super weapon... pft.

There is also a **** ending with the Enterprise ejecting the cores (yes, it has about 5 mini-cores) to escape from the black hole - ala Insurrection.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I was left wanting more. Not more of what I was given, but more from the movie itself. It didn't offer a STAR TREK experiences, instead just a group of people that just happened to be called Kirk and Spock
The story is utter crap and the movie is only saved by the premise of the film itself, that it is a re-boot.
JJ will have to have a much more developed, interesting storyline if he is going to keep the attention of the traditional fan-base, because "STAR TREK" is not aimed at us.

5.5/10

I had a huge rant prepared because I am more than a bit annoyed at some story beats, how Navel ranks (and the experience they imply) are completely ignored disrespectfully for the easy of a story point and other issues but decided not to bother as what came before is sadly irrelevant.

It is a whole new tapestry. The movie is defining 2.0 canon in whatever way the writers and directors see fit and die hard Trekkies will have to accept it or get out of the way. Despite claims, this movie isn't for them; the Prime universe was left mostly alone for that purpose. The movie is for the casual fan that wants an action fix and has casual awareness of the franchise. If the reviews have proven anything, that goal may just be achieved.