Nimoy Talks Spocks [UPDATE: and Shatner]

CBS 2 in Los Angeles has put up more video from their interview with Leonard Nimoy, with this one focusing more on Star Trek. Although he acknowledges that he helped shape the character of Spock (and therefore all future Vulcans), the actor gives most of the credit to Gene Roddenberry. Nimoy also revealed that the original plan for Spock was to use red make-up, but it didn’t work well on black and white TVs which were still prevalent in 1966. Nimoy also spoke about coming back for the new Star Trek, revealing a small spoiler.

Three Spocks for ‘Star Trek’
Nimoy joked that (like Michael Corleone in The Godfather III) “they pulled me back in” to join the cast for the new Star Trek long after he had put Trek and acting behind him. Although he wouldn’t talk about any filming details, he did drop a spoilery nugget, saying

I am Spock, and there is another Spock and there is another Spock. There are a total of three Spocks in the movie and that is all I will say about it

Obviously one of the other Spocks is Zachary Quinto who is playing the young adult Spock. The third is likely a child or adolescent Spock. This makes the casting of the 36 year old Winona Ryder as Spock’s mother Amanda Grayson make more sense. Of course this will not be the first time we would see kid Spock. In Star Trek III: The Search For Spock a number of actors portrayed Spock as he rapidly aged on the Genesis Planet.


Carl Steven as 9 year old Spock in STIII

How many points of time are there?
A year ago TrekMovie.com first reported that the new Star Trek would be non-linear (as is the custom for Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman) and jump around to various time periods. This ‘3 Spocks’ acknowledgment is just the latest confirmation. It appears we will see the following points in time (at a minimum):

  • Kirk’s parents at the point of his birth
  • Spock and parents during his childhood
  • Kirk as he is a cadet at Starfleet Academy
  • Spock under the command of Pike on the Enterprise
  • Kirk and crew as he takes command of the Enterprise
  • Spock in a post-TNG future

From Zombies to Spock
Nimoy also talks about Vasquez Rocks (in general..not related to the new Star Trek), his history with the franchise, and more about his photography. He also shows off his last pair of Spock ears from 1968. Watch the whole “raw” web extra video at CBS2.com. Plus you can watch the edited version that aired on CBS 2 in Los Angeles, includes some classic clips of Nimoy from “Zombies of the Stratosphere” from 1952.


Nimoy shows off his ears

Nimoy in “Zombies of the Stratosphere”

UPDATE: Nimoy talks Shat and Sehlat
The actor also appeared Friday night on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Nimoy mostly spoke about his new book and photography show “The Full Body Project.” Before Nimoy came on, Lost actor Dominic Monaghan was on showing off a number of his favorite reptiles. Ferguson asked Nimoy if he saw the animals and Nimoy replied that he tried to bring in a Vulcan Sehlat but it wasn’t let in. Was that a hint? Might we see this new young ‘third Spock’ with the pet Sehlat discussed in “Journey to Babel”?

Ferguson also got around to talking about the new Trek movie. Nimoy described the new Star Trek as “a gigantic film.” He also stated that it was “spooky” for him to be wearing the Vulcan ears for the first time in 18 years. He also stated that William Shatner was not in the movie and that the reason was that his character “was killed off like four movies ago.” When Ferguson noted that he was killed off and brought back, Nimoy replied “I was resurrected immediately, he has been moldering for quite a while.”

UPDATE 2…VIDEO (sorry out of sync…deal with it)

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First!

Go Spock Go!

Don’t forget we also saw the animated kid Spock in the TAS episode “Yesteryear.”

Yay! The more Spock, the better! lol.

And the baby Spock in Final Frontier!

and baby spock i the final froniter.

“he’s so human.”

in*

#1 Johnnie F
Fine, you have confirmed you can count…up to a point. Did you HAVE a point other than that?

This is hardly new ground. I recall multiple Spocks being discussed a few weeks ago in here. This just confirms it

perhaps we will see the story of how spock used to run away into the hills in defiance of sarek as described by sarek from the next gen show. that would be interesting.

Maybe post tng script can open some other doors for future movie/series. Would be pretty cool I think to open all new doors to the star trek world.

Three Spocks in one!

Does anyone else still cry at star trek 2?? I just watched it again and i started crying.. Please oh please JJ continue this emotional attachment.

I love how no one ever says “post-Voyager era”. Everyone just likes to remember the good times. ;)

Three! Three! Three Spocks in One!

Star Trek: Attack of the Spocks!

Non-linear THIS!!

Let’s not forget the “crazy, shouty Spock” you see in The Cage and The Menagerie :P

That was a really nice interview. I tend to cringe, however, when people ask the same exact Trek-related questions that they’ve been asked for decades. It was nice to see some of his non-Trek work though… especially his first camera, and the photo of his grandfather.

Too bad cbs2 can’t spell N*i*moy correctly.

The raw footage is–dare I say it?–FASCINATING!

Unless, like the use of Brando footage in Superman Returns, we’re going to see JJ brilliantly incorporate some scenes filmed many years ago of a young Nimoy Spock?

Hmmm, here a Spock, there a Spock, everywhere A SPOCK SPOCK!! :)

Oooooh … Kid Spock
Vulcanian Badass!

Thats about 8 actors who played as Spock.

I read somewhere that mr Orci really likes Star Trek III

#23 –

Of course Orci would say that… TREK III was directed by Nimoy and it’s ALL about Spock! What’s he gonna say, that he really likes STAR TREK V and have Nimoy walk off the set??? :)

#24 Or he could say he really likes ST V and have Shatner walk ON the set!

Sorry. It has been awhile since I saw a pointless BBK thread hijack. I’ll go to bed now.

Don’t forget DeForest Kelley as Spock!

Hahahahhaa!!
He really looked like quinto in that “Zombies of the Stratosphere” clip

check out his eyebrow hehehe!

If only we could get Zachary Quinto to do a music video remake of “Bilbo Baggins”… just in time for the coming Hobbit duology ;)

Excellent confirmation of multiple timelines… I know recently there was some speculation that old Spock was being brain-drained by Nero, and not actually travelling, but “replaying” his memories… I’d rather see a Gary-Seven-esque bit of time-travelling anyway…

Funny indeed about the red makeup note… as if we haven’t known that since “The Making of Star Trek” came out in the late 60’s…

I’m kind of looking forward to the post-TNG aspect the most.

#24: It always *has* been about Spock. For me, at any rate. }:-)

Three Spocks, huh? Fascinating.

#20, Harry: “Hmmm, here a Spock, there a Spock, everywhere A SPOCK SPOCK!!”

Old man Roddenberry had a farm
Ee-yi-ee-yi-oh! :)

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|

For this movie to be entirely the reminiscence of Spock, whether voluntary or involuntary, every scene would have to be from the point of view of Spock and include Spock.

For example, Spock would have to be present at the birth of Kirk.

I just love Leonard.(sigh)

Awesome Mr. Nimoy!:) Thanks Anthony.

Kigs :)

Technically the Spock at the end of STIII and thereafter is not the same Spock who had died. His matter was reorganized into a baby of some sort by Genesis and regrown. His Katra was also not quite the same, as they establish in STIV that he had to retrain his mind. He had some of the memories, but I think they were more like echos or something. If the transfer was 100 percent, then Spock would have woken up and been totally himself. But he wasn’t.

Actually, as much as I love STIII, there are some serious plot holes with the whole concept of Spock being reborn. How old was he when he was recreated — was he literally a gob of cell and then a fetus? How would that even had been able to sustain itself inside the tube? Even if he was a baby or a small child, where did he get his nutrition in order to grow? Matter is just not created out of thin air, he’d at least need to be eating constantly in order to build up his mass in order to grow.

And since he was made with the same stuff as the planet, he should have kept right on aging like the planet and eventually died (just as quickly as the planet). Getting off the planet wouldn’t have made any difference. His matter would have been equally unstable.

Kirk goes back to the planet to retrieve Spock’s body — but when he shot the torpedo into space at the end of the previous movie, it was intended to decay in orbit. Hence, no body to go back and get, from his point of view. David and Saavik were suprised that the tube was on the surface, so why would Kirk even consider going back there — because it would have been pointless. In essence he was stealing the ship in order to go back to a place where the body had been destroyed. It was only a fluke that Spock was even there, or alive for that matter.

And when Spock put his brain into McCoy at the end of STII, the final exchange with Kirk and Spock happened after Spock melded with McCoy. So when the katra is put back into Spock, there should be no memory of the last words spoken between Kirk and Spock in the death scene. But those were the first words spoken by Spock after he had his katra put back into his head. (The only way around this is if Spock’s katra was somehow zapped into McCoy when Spock’s body died, and Spock had merely prepared McCoy for the soul implantation prior to going into the chamber.

Again, it’s one of my favorite movies — but when you stop and think about it, it doesn’t make a whole lot of logical sense.

#28
If only there was a mind meld available to erase forever from my memory the musical stylings of Mr. Nimoy’s “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.”
{{{{{{CRINGE}}}}}} It’s like the Eldar hearing the language of Mordor at the Council of Elrond in “Fellowship of the Ring.”

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|

34.: It’s called science-fiction. ;-) Just go with it.

and don’t forget “Coffin Spock ” from star trek 2-3 :)

#34

Honey, have some more popcorn and just sit back and enjoy the movie! Vulcan mysticism is not easily explained in 1.5 hours. :)

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista

!
}:-|

Wow! What a nice house and what a tour. Very gracious of Leonard. He looks great…must be pumping iron to be so fit.

The Cloverfield Monster is……………………………………….SPOCK!

Leonard sez Shatner not in the movie.

Not in the movie.

“And when Spock put his brain into McCoy at the end of STII, the final exchange with Kirk and Spock happened after Spock melded with McCoy. So when the katra is put back into Spock, there should be no memory of the last words spoken between Kirk and Spock in the death scene. ”

McCoy heard everything, so he was remembering the exchange via McCoy’s recollection. Ha!

Nothing new in the Craig Ferguson interview: it was mostly about the Full Body photography book (not that that was bad).

Then Nimoy gave the same “Shatner’s not in it, his Kirk died 4 movies ago.” and “His body’s been molding there for a while” in response to Craig’s pointing out that his Spock had died too and was brought back….

Okay, now I’m pissed off………just watched the Craig Ferguson Show and had to endure some young git from Lost coming out first before Leonard Nimoy! Nimoy has been around 40 years and even Ferguson introduced him as an “icon”. The snot-nosed brat from Lost has been on the scene for 10 minutes and HE gets the preferrential treatment of being the first guest to be introduced? Adding insult to injury was that the kid spent his entire segment time showing off snakes and bugs like he was at a high school science fair! All valuable time wasted where Nimoy could have had more air time to talk about what he’s been doing these last number of years. Outrageous!!!

Star Trek: Meet the Spockers.

#44

And what a load of crap we had to sit through to get there, although Dominick Monaghan was kinda cute with the animals and all.

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|

#45 Harry

Seems like the show had disintegrated before airtime. Comcast listed Dean Evans (? some of you young whippersnappers fill me in) and Harry Conick Jr. as scheduled to appear as well as Nimoy. I was actually looking forward to Conick appearing. Dominic Monaghan seemed like some kind of pull-our-asses-out-of-the-fire-till-Nimoy-gets-here situation.

Wonder what really happened?

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|

Don’t know……otherwise I like Craig Ferguson who is always clever and funny!

#43

And Spock heard it too. At the point of Spock’s “deathbed” conversation with Kirk, Spock’s katra had not fully glommed onto/with(?) McCoy. Full-on glomming takes place at the moment of death. Therefore, Spock’s final memories of that conversation would have been transferred to the katra residing in McCoy as Spock died.

As I stated before, Vulcan mysticism isn’t easily explained in just one full-length-feature movie. Oh, no. Not at all.

Well, that’s *my* fanwankery, and I’m stickin’ to it! }:-P

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|