Greenwood: Star Trek Is Artistic February 29, 2008
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: ST09 Cast , trackback
Bruce Greenwood didn’t know anything about Trek before being cast as Captain Pike in the new Star Trek, but he does now. MTV caught up with the actor at the Independent Spirit Wards last weekend where he told them that after doing his homework he “became a fan pretty quickly.” Greenwood was keeping mum on the plot, but did talk a bit about his impressions of the film and his cast members…see below with video.
VIDEO:
Greenwood on the cast and artistry
MTV has more that isn’t on the brief video, including his thoughts on his cast, especially the new Chekov, Anton Yelchin
The kids are all great, good actors…smart. [Anton’s] a good chess player. He’s the best chess player on our set.”
Greenwood on if there is a ‘disconnect’ between the blockbuster Trek and the artistic films being featured at the Independent Spirit Awards
No..[’Star Trek’] stared with a very strong artistic voice, [and our movie] is a celebration of that
Greenwood and Bob Dylan
Greenwood was at the Spirit Awards for the Bob Dylan film “I’m Not There” in which he has a part. The film won the Robert Altman Award and co-star Kate Blanchett picked up Best Actress. More info at the Spirit Awards Site. More on the film and a trailer at the official site.
“I’m Not There” actor Marcus Carl Franklin, director Todd Haynes, actress Cate Blanchett, casting director Laura Rosenthal and actor Bruce Greenwood at the 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards (Wire Image)
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Comments»
This means the movie will be awesome!
Greenwood is a great actor! He’ll do well!
Great to have confirmation of what we’ve known all along :P
Anton is a good chess player, eh? I wonder if we’ll hear Pawn Checkov say his most famous line?
AAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
I don’t get those interviewers, don’t they know they have to hold the microphone near them when they speak, or we don’t hear what they ask? There was another video like this a few days ago, I think it was JJ’s.
Weird…
He’s great. He’ll be a perfect Pike!
Bruce Greenwood is a superb actor and I am glad he is playing Christopher Pike!
The more I hear, the more I believe this movie is in good hands.
I want to see his makeup job more than anyone else’s. He’s a great actor but looks nothing like Hunter. I wonder how important it was to have a likeness in other roles besides the famous 6.
canon or no canon or mostly canon, everything seems to be lining up great!!
Can’t wait until May of 09
hahaha, great stuff bruce!
He doesn’t need to look like Hunter.
Can someone please invent a time machine directly connected to may 2009? Vulcanista i’m gonna delegate that to you.. When you figure it out shout.
Sean4000, what I think is most important is that he will be able to channel Hunter’s attitude as Pike, which is a great contrast to Kirk. Based on his prior work, I can’t think of anyone I’d prefer in the role; I expect Greenwood to knock it out of the park.
That’s why I said he’s a great actor. I can’t wait to see a cast photo that’s all. For F-ing sake I’m not trying to step on toes. I just don’t see the strong resemblance like I see in all of the other cast members.
Zoe Saldana looks like she’s taken from Nichelle Nichol’s DNA.
Jeff Hunter didn’t look like Pike, or Jesus for that matter, and yet he managed to pull both roles off. Greenwood doesn’t look like Pike, Jesus or Jeff Hunter for that matter so that means he will be great in the role. Also, I hope there are no cannons in Star Trek. Cannons seem more appropriate on Sailing vessels. Why does everyone want all these cannons in the movie?
Greenwood is awesome, he did a fantastic job as Kennedy in 13 days. I’m really looking forward to seeing him as Capt. Pike.
Oh, and #12 – ‘Spock with a Crowbar’…. I just gotta know, how did you come up with a nic like that? Curiosity is killing me :-)
I never said he couldn’t play the part. I only stated that out of the chosen cast he’s the one that sticks out to me as the least “spitting image”
I’m sure he’ll play the part just fine.
#16
I’m confused by your post. It is illogical.
Video is not working for me. Loved Greenwood ever since I saw him in The Sweet HereAfter. NoWhere Man was icing on the cake.
The adventure continues…
this encourages my greatest aspiration for the film: an artistic approach. i’ve always wondered what were to happen if say, vim wenders were to take a shot at trek. what would phillip kauffman have done with the first film (as he nearly did)? what would david lynch do? i like to believe that the human condition can be artistically expressed very well through genre films, and trek is so versatile that way. there is a presidence: look at the the 70’s italian giallo horror films, where the stylization and camerawork alone are uncanny and striking enough to be museum pieces. i think j.j. decidedly has it in him, despite his populist status. and we also have kubrick, forbidden planet, etc.
but then again we also have ang lee’s hulk, so i suppose it requires a subtle approach.
oddly, a work like “transformers” actually gets my hopes up. although it was never fully realized, i noticed an amazing play on the surreal there that seemed to transcend what we would expect from the base material.
question for mr. orci: does this make any sense? can trek be slightly elevated and still be fun?
#19
Logic is a little bird singing in a meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad.
Does that help?
Captain Pike was such a great character, even though he had such limited screen time. It’ll be great to see him come back and command the Enterprise.
I hope the Enterprise has cannons.
Phase cannons maybe. lol
#25
You find out in about 15 months, now is that cannon or canon? LOL
If Ray Liotta were 20 years younger he would have the look nailed but for Pike I don’t think it’s that important.
‘phase II canon’; anything featuring “xon” but not “spock”.
If they ever do a movie about Johnny Carson, he would be a dead ringer!
#29
No offense, bu no. Bruce Greenwood does have a kind of old-school Anglo look about him (which is why he played JFK in Thirteen Days), but Carson had a much smaller, rounder head, closer-set eyes and a more puckish demeanour… Greenwood’s more classic hollywood leading man. (And Canadian, so at least there’s the tradition of a Canadian playing an American starfleet captain…)
#27–My sentiments exactly! Maybe Liotta coulda pulled it off, say, as a future alternative timeline where Pike doesn’t get fried?
DOWN, plot bunny!!
Hey, this guy is cute and has a great personality besides! A winning combination. His comment about this movie being artistic worries me, tho. Shades of STTMP??? Just give me a good story I can follow with great characters with chemistry and I’ll be happy, even if the fx are done with flashlights and laser pointers!
The more I see about this movie, the more excited I get. Star Trek is going to totally rock!!!
I don’t know about anybody else, but While I think he may be good acting the part, I think that Bruce Greenwood looks a bit older than Jeff Hunter was when he played the part. And isn’t it supposed to take place BEFORE all that? That is what confuses me.
yeah,keep up the good work Athony,,,I still just wanna see the freakin ship already…but thaught I’d drop a post….set phasers to maximum..out
I wonder if he has been shown the Cage before doing the role.. probably not, but one can hope… Although it may not make a difference.
34, This take place after the Cage episode how many year after we don’t know.
This guy seems like the perfect choice to play Pike, can’t wait!!!!
I don’t think Liotta ever played Christ, so he might not have been qualified for playing Pike.
#13
I’ll get right on that time machine thing. According my calculations, that should take, oh, say, about 15 months. :-)
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
Professor Peabody here… my boy Sherman has dialed in May of 2009.
Professor Peabody:
Take us with you.
Moose and Squirrel
Anyone notice Chris Pine has been hidden for a while now?? Are they trying to hide Kirk?
Sorry… A little off topic, but it bugs me. Go Greenwood. I still blame the strike for us having to wait longer for what we (I) want. (Major details)
Greenwood seems like a charming, amiable guy. If he squints, I could definitely buy him as an older Jeffery Hunter.
Looking forward to the movie more & more!
Greenwood’s brilliant work as JFK in 13 Days is essential viewing for all Trek fans. The film itself gives those of us who weren’t around at the time a glimpse into one of the most perilous moments in world history. I watch this film every 6 months and learn more about the extremely high stakes of the Cuban Missle Crisis, and thank God that JFK was able to turn off what could have easily led to World War III.
Did they even CALL Ray Liotta about this? If he was brought in and passed on it, that’s one thing, but did JJ even take a look at him?
He’ll be great.
37: How do we know this takes place after The Cage? There was speculation a while ago that Sulu may have been swordfighting on Rigel VII, which is pre-Cage.
I wonder if Pike will be shown “in a box” as the reporter asked.
He seems like a really cool dude. He’s got a good sense of humor.
Plus he was great in 13 Days.
“I wonder if Pike will be shown “in a box” as the reporter asked.”
I believe Bruce actually more or less debunked this a while back. The story was ran here on TrekMovie. For the goal of showing federation captains as being heroes or for lack of a better word, “badasses,” I don’t think they are going to portray that very well with him in a box haha. *Maybe* see him get to that point.
Bruce got some of his acting chops from an NBC series in the 80’s, “St. Elsewhere” along with other Trek alums Jane Wyatt (TOS), William Schallert (TOS), Norman Lloyd (STNG), Ed Begely Jr (STNG), Kate Mulgrew (Voy) and Alfe Woodard (First Contact).
I’m so stoked to see this movie…My feelings since they pushed the premiere back another 6 months, and the writers strike over, perhaps the Shat will be worked in the script somewhat. Notice in his recent interviews his attitude has softned and he isn’t so insulted and agast over his non-inclusion. Perhaps he is being stiched in somewhere with some set-up for the next movie.
JJ’s talking sequel for (augh) Cloverfield, so anything is possible!
I’d love to know which TOS episodes or movies Greenwood was asked to watch to introduce him to the world of ST before the filming started…
Someone brought out a point earlier that this might take place AFTER The Cage. I am just doing a little math. In the Menagerie, Spock said that these events took place 13 years ago, STOP. When the episode started Spock said he served with Pike 11 years, 4 months, 5 days. Roughly, he would be in his 1.5 or 2nd year of service with Kirk. So I think it is possible that we could have an interesting timeline
#16 – “Sir, step away from the Bong please”
22# – That strain your smoking must come straight from Krypton. Gimme soma Dat !!!
Bruce Greenwood is a great guy and a perfect choice for Pike. Excellent. I cant believe its still 14 months away…
#53—I think it’s safe to say that at least “The Cage”, and “The Menagerie Pt 1 and 2″ are among them, but if he really got the impression that Star Trek had a “strong, artistic voice”, I am sure it was more than that. Actually, since there are only 79 TOS episodes, it would not take long to watch all of them (a matter of weeks). I’m sure someone at Paramount could hook him up with a complimentary set of dvd’s! If he “instantly became a fan”, I’d think that would be somewhere on his priority list. If he doesn’t have that kind of time, I’d be happy to give him a good list of about 25 fantastic episodes from my own personal memory banks.
(#s16, 24, 25, 26. . . )
I hope the Pachelbel Canon is excerpted in the score.
#16:
No, no. They’re not ship-mounted cannons, but a retarded, hopelessly hypocritical Roman Catholic-based Canon.
Actually, I think Greenwood *does* bear enough of a resemblance to Jeff Hunter to make this believable… remember—this has to be an OLDER Pike, not the Pike we saw in “The Menagerie,” who was only in his mid-to-late 30s. Greenwood is the more mature, seasoned Pike who’s been through hell and is ready to move on to his desk job and tragedy.