More Pegg: On Doohan + Production Design

You would think after last month’s publicity tour for Run, Fatboy Run we have heard all we can hear from Simon Pegg, but in a new interview with the official Star Trek Magazine, the new Scotty talks about how he would have loved to hear on-set stories from the original Scotty and he also talks about the production design as well how the film will play with the fans.

Pegg on what he would have wanted to ask the late James Doohan:

I probably would have just wanted to hear some on-set stories. I think it would have been funny to have heard about what went on back in the day, and share some reminiscences with him. I’m sure things would have come up in conversation. When you sit down with somebody’s who’s played the character like that for so long you’re going to get some kind of insight — it’s a tragedy that he’s gone anyway, but it’s also a shame that I didn’t get to speak to him.

Pegg on director JJ Abrams and his vision for Trek:

In terms of working with J.J., he’s a very enthusiastic and really clever director. He really understands the show. He’s extremely thorough when it comes to the show, and extremely faithful to it. He loves it, and I think that’s very important. From what I have seen of the production design, it’s a fantastic merging of then and now. It’s a really fine line to walk — if you did have it completely as it was then, it would look out of place, so you need to bring it into focus a little bit. I think that’s been done just enough to make it work. It’s very much Star Trek and I think they’ve done an astounding job on it..

Simon Pegg is a self-described ‘geek’ and Trekkie, and after working on the film he feels that it respects his fellow fans.

There’s a lot to live up to. We’re very aware of the magnitude of what it is. It’s a big responsibility: it’s not the Starsky and Hutch film, some sort of cod nostalgia parody hokum. It really is genuinely a serious movie. It has elements of light-heartedness like all the Star Trek movies do, but there’s a lot of wonderful things which I think the Trek fans will get a lot of kicks out of, just the familiarity. There’s a lot of stuff in there for people who know the show. I think everyone is going to enjoy it, anyone who goes to see it, but I think it will be especially enjoyed by the Star Trek fans because there are many nods in there which are specifically for them.

The latest issue of Star Trek Magazine has much more from Pegg, as well as other good articles on the film, and much more. Pick it on newsstands now.

 

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Foist!! Pix please, JJ!

We don’t need pictures.

I want to see day after day of interviews about what they think of their characters.

There’s something to be said for fidelity to the original. It was cast in a time before existential angst became the norm for Americans which itself transmogrified into the self-hatred of the 1990s. It would be wonderful for this film to recapture that truly optimistic spirit of the orgininal – from a time when American culture, as the only expression of European culture not ravaged by the 20th C. wars and ideologies, went forward with self-confidence, self-respect, and a cocksure sense of right and wrong.

In a way, that was the whole point to the Scotty character. He was the best in his field. Scotty knew it and would prove it to whoever challenged him. He never took insults sitting down and never ran away from a fight. How many engineers do you know today with intestinal fortitude like Scotty’s?

Tax Dude…Star Trek’s sense of optimism can be attributed to the post war Eisenhower era which was known for it’s innocence and optimism.
You’re right about existential angst etc.Unfortunately our society lost alot of it’s innocence in the late sixties because social upheavel.
It’s a shame the only window some people have on that great era is from the TV shows.
I think JJ Abrams had it figured out because the trailer exemplifies the can-do spirit of that time with it’s voice-overs.

For God’s sake stop talking about how fabulous the production design is and show us something FFS! This isn’t Cloverfield, show us something! Please! Or behold the backlash from frustrated fans who are tired of being Pic Teased ….

re: 2. jason in ormond beach – April 26, 2008
“We don’t need pictures.
I want to see day after day of interviews about what they think of their characters.”

You must be in hawg heaven here then. ;)

Pegg is such a class act, it is a shame however that he is so closely linked to humour and comedy, as this IMO will make it less likely for me to take him seriously in the role of Scotty, who, ok, was a funny character, but was no comedian.

What everyone is saying about this new film really delights me, everyone is saying its ‘Epic’ or ‘Massive’ and every report seems to indicate that it will honour trek history and canon. Lets not forget that the actors have only seen bits of the film and script, except Nimoy. So if each actor is saying these things then it appears there is an underlying theme of continuity running through the film that we have nothing to be afraid of.

I trust JJ, his previous work is really top draw and he seems like a really genuine and honest bloke.

Bob Orci has gained my trust and respect over the last few months… at first i was abit anxious that he and kurtzman were writing trek as i really didnt enjoy transformers, however now i see that this was due to Michael Bay jail and from his continued communication via this site his comments have really relaxed my fears and i look forward to hearing more from him in the next few important months of post-production.

As for the cast, i think everyone had their doubts, and I think its safe to say that Pegg was the cast member that everyone had mixed views and feelings on.

I am confident that this movie will rock and that all our fears and issues will be put to rest as mine have in the last few months… i know there’s a long way to go till May’08 but i feel that the news and comments will just go on getting better and better and hopefully even the purist of TOS purists out there will cream when this film releases.

Jay, UK

OMG, they’re changing something? I won’t go see it.

But seriously, this may be the best Trek yet, folks.

More trailers!! More trailers!! More trailers!! PLEASE!!

I’m personally happy to be teased. If the production can maintain the level of secrecy, that means there’ll be a few surprises when the time comes to put bums on seats. And since this is such a make-or-break project for Star Trek, the more bums get on the seats the better. Yes, I’m curious, but that adds to the anticipation.

Personally and potentially i will believe in the greatness of JJ Abrams and this movie the minute I see it on screen, and not one minute earlier.

There has been too much conflicting talk lately. Is it an action-driven popcorn extravaganza directed at the dumb masses? Capturing the spirit – and smartness – of the original? Or rather true to contemporary space (soap) opera? Listening to these people you gotta believe all this, and that it is the bestest greatest thing since sliced bread.

These people are at the risk of promising something they can’t possibly deliver. The producers of this seem to want to make it right to everyone. But it’s all talk by now. Their overhyping might just well backfire, as experience tells this is unlikely to be the Revelation itself to two diametrically opposed groups.

3 I know one person like that and they got fired for their fortitude.

SIMON PEGG: ROCKIN’ OUT WITH HIS SCOTT OUT!

That pic of Pegg is giving off an eerily Doohan/Scotty-esque vibe! Didn’t think he’d be able to pull off the “look”… guess I was wrong!

BEAM ME UP, JJ!!!

Can’t wait for this Flick. Long live Trek

#3 The thing that has me worried a bit is that JJ has made very good films, but none of them had the “hope” ST would need to have. Cloverfield, Alias/MI3 and, quite obviously, LOST, were/are based on angst and, for a lack of a better word, genereal feeling of being lost.

ST has some elemts of that, in the sense tha they are “out there” at the Final Frontier™, but the outlook was always optimistic.

It will be interesting if they pull that off. For me at least, that IS the whole point of ST.

It’s hard to fathom the level of attention that is being given this movie considering how far away it is (it being Star Trek is a given, though). This much focus is usually reserved for movies a couple months from opening. If we’re going to be teased with interviews telling us how spectacular things are shaping up to be, give us a little something. I hate being told how wonderful birthdays are and not being able to sample the cake a bit. Gimme a pic, release a new trailer, something!!!

Re: Post 12-
There’s definitely cause for caution and concern based on what’s been said and what happens to other franchises. My personal concern is that this film won’t do a Superman Returns. It had all the right bits, but they didn’t chemically come together and make magic.

There’s been a lot of good stuff coming from the cast and Abrams and especially Mr. Nimoy. I’m cautious too, but I am hoping and have faith that the film appears to be in the right hands.

12-

These people are at the risk of promising something they can’t possibly deliver. The producers of this seem to want to make it right to everyone. But it’s all talk by now. Their overhyping might just well backfire, as experience tells this is unlikely to be the Revelation itself to two diametrically opposed groups.

Quite perceptive. It’s a malady common to Hollywood, and it’s all too often self-fulfilling in many cases, especially when you live in a world of your own making, and worse, believe your own publicity.

You’d think this film was the next Citizen Kane from the hype, and, given my instincts, it’s anything, and will like prove to be anything but, and possibly worse.

You can smell a hit or miss nine times out of ten by one thing: Casting. The only decent cast member I’ve seen so far is Bruce [Greenwood} as Pike. Good, solid character actor. Dead on choice, and Zach Quinto, for no other reason that he resembles Leonard Nimoy at that age.
The others, well, you’ll see.

Eric Bana as the antagonist is without a doubt the worst casting mistake I’ve seen in 20 years. Good man, fair actor, but he can’t carry a movie the same way a Russell Crowe or Daniel Craig. He’s playing against type, and that’s poison if you don’t have the chops to pull it off, and he doesn’t..

Chris Pine. Not hardly. I wonder if he’ll punch out a superior his first scene? Oh, God….

They still use arc welders in the 23rd century, too, thank God.

The writers aren’t that good. I’m betting that script’s a rehash of one of the old giant Star Trek novels Pocket Books put out back in the eighties like Enterprise or Federation, only written less well. That, and the same theme folks have tried to recreate since TWOK: The quintessential villain Rick Montalban played so effectively. Meyer and Bennett, two of the Biz’s greats, knew just what they were doing, building things from the bottom up. They did their research, and it paid off.

Despite the hype [and bigger cast, budget] Abrams isn’t the right choice. You need a Meyer, Bennett, or, if you really want a good take, the Wachowski Brothers or a Peter Jackson. The biggest mistake, despite what some might think, is the decision to leave Bill Shatner out. That’s going to hurt. Don’t think for a moment pre-release PR can’t sink a film. That’s precisely what happened to Nemesis. That’s what’s going to happen again if this isn’t rectified. Folks will have a whole year to tear that film apart,

The right elements are everything. Iron Man’s a good example. That’s a solid hit in waiting. Jon {Favreau] is a solid visionary that Abram’s isn’t. Rob Downey’s perfect. The writing is top-notch. Abrams and his cronies will learn the hard way how not to do a film.

Congrats, Jon.

@20 (King Anthony… aka, Jon)

yawn…

Of course there’s hype. What else can there be right now? A tad over a year til release, it’s not as though they can afford to release any substantive information or (much as I wish) beauty shots of the E swwwwooooooshing across the screen.
So, these professionals are doing their job, right? Pimping a flick.

Wrong.

Their job WILL BE to pimp this flick about 9 months from now. Right now, the fact that they’re talking at such length about Trek no matter what project they’re actually PAID to promote tells me that a) everyone wants information and 2) these guys love this project.

I can’t know and you can’t know whether love = great movie. But, it’s one heck of a good sign.

Thanks, Simon. Or should I say, Thanks, Scotty!

Put another way, last December Will Smith did tag team interviews on how important a film “I Am Legend” was. It was his best film ever, he said. He had wanted to do it for year, he said. Did you hear any mention of “Hancock?” Even a hint? Yet, now, a mere four months later we’re to believe this is the apex of his career. THAT is pimping. Understandable, professional, but hardly done with a believable sense of love for the project.

Also, IMHO Hancock looks plain awful and dull. Just because CGI can make whales fly doesn’t make it film-worthy.

There is nothing to base the gloom and doom of previous posts on. While we are getting a load of positive, gushing interviews from actors and producers, they ARE the the people that were there. They’ve seen the dailies, the script and the work. IMO these people would like their work seen soon too. They don’t want us to wait, they are proud of what’s been done and are eager to show it.
Shatner’s participation has been argued here until most had enough. I’ll admit I don’t think he’s needed, the character is dead in old age and obviously not a part of this story as written because old Kirk IS dead after saving starship crews and world populations from death. For good or bad, nothing should be “rectified” now. This film is wrapped and in post-production. Far too late to attempt a “wet-bandage”. And for that matter, very much too late to demand a new director. JJ’s work is good, his movies and show’s are enjoyable. This is just a sour-grapes issue for some and same applies to the writing team and casting.
The same old arguments are being made that this will be a bad film and it’s still based on very little evidence and a lot of slanted opinion. The worst opinion I can see anyone having on this film is neutral. If there’s a another source of information out there that truly has seen the dailies, worked the set and can say that this sucks… show us.

22. CmdrR – April 26, 2008

Good point

I’m personally hoping to see more actors talking about what movies their trying to sell, and then be as vague as they can be and not gibing a single nugget of knowledge about the movie. Now thats real promotion. Thats how to treat the fans crew…

In fact next tell us how you responded with the original actors and other randoms who visited the set…

King Anthony –

You’re correct in that the right elements are everything. Which is precisely why we don’t know how these elements will do. The NFL Draft was on today, and that has proved more than anything that a good player can become a great player given the proper situation. Casino Royale is a good example. Two writers who worked on Day Another Day and The World is Not Enough and a director who hasn’t done anything outside of Goldeneye hardly sounds like a good recipe. The one bright spot was Paul Haggis, who revised the script. But things came together because of some excellent decisions. Hiring Craig and altering the style certainly lead that list.

Everything is riding on Abrams. I think he certainly has the profile to make this efficacious. He has proved that he can do humor. He has proved that he can do character stories. And he certainly has proved that he can do a mysterious science fiction type story. I am not perfectly sold on him (his Superman script comes to mind), but I think that it is an interesting fit. The Wachowski Brothers and Peter Jackson don’t necessarily embody the qualities that have been featured in any Star Trek story, and I think that they would be just as capricious as Abrams, if not more so. This will not be Meyer’s Trek. He was the perfect man at the right time to make the proper changes. But Star Trek needs something different now. This is a new cast in a new age. Meyer had his own vision. Abrams in some small way must recapture the elements of the original series in 2008. Though I liked what Batman Begins did most of all. Christopher Nolan was a near sure fire hit who had proved himself with smaller pictures. Bringing him on was genius.

#4

Before Eisenhower left office he warned the Nation of the fact that it was being seduced by the Military Industrial Complex. I would characterize Star Trek as not capturing that period, but that of Camelot and JFK. He was the one who ordered the landing on the moon and he is the one who was viewed as being a young and vital President who spoke eloquently about the future and the hopes for the world. I would say Kirk is most like JFK in not only appearance but also attitude. After all the Klingons were always meant to be viewed as Communist Russia and Kirk, despite the fact in ST III he hates Klingons in TOS he always danced a fine line with them and it was almost always political games and not all out war.

Finally, and this is just my opinion, but I look forward to this vision just as much as I look forward to a re-telling of my favourite Shakespeare play Hamlet. I am interested to see how JAbrahms will offer his own interpretation of the Final Frontier. I am far from being a purist or someone who relies on what has come before. I look forward to the evolution of Trek and seeing where he will take us.

#14 SIMON PEGG: ROCKIN’ OUT WITH HIS SCOTT OUT!

You Stole that From ME, “Effer”, and it only Works,(in this context) With “Spock” you Lame F***K.

oh and Yay Trek……

We keep hearing about how faithful it supposedly is. Pity we’ve got more than a year to wait before finding out if it’s true.

I really like this guy though. He rocks.

Now if only Karl Urban would be as prolific in talking about it as Simon is lately…..

#20
I agree. But then, I’m biased – let he/she who isn’t cast the first post. ;)
________

As for Pegg, I don’t know whether he’s playing the “good cop” in this scenario, but at least he seems to genuinely like some of the “baggage”, and that’s the reason why I tend to like him until further notice.

Mr. Orci,

The natives are getting restless. Throw them some meat, please!

I hope there is a second trailer for this summer. Or winter.

according to IMDB Lorenzo James Henrie is cast as vulcan Bully #1

refrence to STAR TREK TAS???

nice!

@ Simon Pegg: Why don’t you ask your buddy Chris Doohan about on-set stories from the original series? He was there at age seven or so. He should remember something :D Hehe

Simon Pegg, should have got Nick Frost a small part in the movie , first red shirt who dieds , and i went over to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/

and man i knew there where alot of parts , but good god people there are alot . my favrites will have to be

Kelvin Alien #1 ( what the f**ks a Kelvin ? …. do they mean Kelvan ? nah i doubt it )

Missile Launcher ( this guy has the coolest acting title ever lol)

Vulcan Bully #1 ( lol even better vulcans are bullies now ?)

oh and cant forget

The Green Girl ( i wonder what speices they are talking about ;) )

“In terms of working with J.J., he’s a very enthusiastic and really clever director.”

oh, thank god for more gushing, this beats divulging production sketches, set shots or character make-up tests and uniform shots anyday…

according to the headline for this entry, i thought we were in danger of actually seeing something from the movie…

whew! that was a close one!

for anyone interested, here is a very interesting series from the hilarious norman lovett (holly from red dwarf) (the funny one) featuring a young simon pegg as a hapless domino pizza delivery guy:

Asylum was a sitcom in 1996. Set in a mental asylum, it was to some extent an opportunity for stand-up routines by various comedians, mixed with an overall story involving much black humour. It marked the first collaboration of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, who would go on to make cult sitcom Spaced.

http://www.normanlovett.co.uk/video-asylum01.htm

wicked fun, really.

#38 Jeffery Wright

wicked *gg*

“Their overhyping might just well backfire, as experience tells this is unlikely to be the Revelation itself to two diametrically opposed groups.”

revelation??? lol erm.. don’t think anyones expecting it to be something of that magnitude, but ok.. “yes, that trek movie ranks right up there with the whole water into wine thingy..” haha..

“It’s a malady common to Hollywood, and it’s all too often self-fulfilling in many cases, especially when you live in a world of your own making, and worse, believe your own publicity.”

yeah, leave the back alley psychoanalysis at home please..

“You’d think this film was the next Citizen Kane from the hype, and, given my instincts, it’s anything, and will like prove to be anything but, and possibly worse.”

no, you seem to be drifting into your own little world now.. ahh, now i get the ‘King’ part.. that’s good..
I think you’ll find the majority of the cinema going public aren’t aware of the every single interview and internet article about this film, cos i would argue that they don’t visit trek forums everyday! As far as they are concerned, there is very very little hype for this movie as of yet..
and the whole Citizen Cane thing??? yeah, that really is pretty random…

“You can smell a hit or miss nine times out of ten by one thing: Casting. The only decent cast member I’ve seen so far is Bruce [Greenwood} as Pike. Good, solid character actor. Dead on choice, and Zach Quinto, for no other reason that he resembles Leonard Nimoy at that age.”

that’s your opinion, and that’s cool, everyone’s entitled to that…

“The others, well, you’ll see”

er, hang on mate.. i think you need to get off that pedalstal you seem to be perching on.. you’re starting to talk down at people now.. i think you need to think about what you’re writing..

“Eric Bana as the antagonist is without a doubt the worst casting mistake I’ve seen in 20 years. Good man, fair actor, but he can’t carry a movie the same way a Russell Crowe or Daniel Craig. He’s playing against type, and that’s poison if you don’t have the chops to pull it off, and he doesn’t..”

now.. carry a movie??? have you even done any research before posting here??? Bana himself, in an interview, has said he is glad his role is not that big, and that he WON’T be carrying the film…

“The writers aren’t that good. I’m betting that script’s a rehash of one of the old giant Star Trek novels Pocket Books put out back in the eighties like Enterprise or Federation, only written less well.”

aww, did you want to write it??? thrown your toys out of the pram?? cos’ you’re starting to sound like a sulking child now.. but it’s an entertaining read!!! but, where are you going with this little rant????

“the decision to leave Bill Shatner out. ”

ahh, and there it is… again… oh dear..
ok, let me say this… if Bill Shatner was unfortunately no long with us, and this film was going ahead… would you still be a stroppy little whining brat??? Shatner is not Star Trek… are you even Star Trek fans? you see, i think you may be a little confused, and you’re really just a Shatner fan?

“Folks will have a whole year to tear that film apart,”

run for the hills!!!! lol

“The right elements are everything. Iron Man’s a good example”

awww… dude, it’s time for you to leave…

now, i don’t usually post on these threads.. mainly because of the pathetic rants that you see everyday… seriously, every thread has another sad account of how this film is gonna be the start trek doomsday or something! and it’s only just finished filming, and is still over a year away, yet somepeople are writing like they have already seen it…

give it a rest.. i know you won’t.. and i’ll carry on enjoying the flawed rants and childish arguments and pointless bitching like the one i just read…

#29 –

I didn’t steal anything… “rockin’ out with your (insert) out” has been in the lexicon for probably at least 10 years now. Did you create this particular saying?

Yeah, didn’t think so.

Makky:

Thanks for the burst of reality. Trek’s doomsday passed already, and Shatner was a willing participant. Amongst other things. Come back more often!

#40 ” Shatner is not Star Trek… ”

No, but he was the star of it. That’s more than any of the actors in any of the subsequent spin-offs can say.

And I’m loving what I’m hearing about the production design staying close to TOS and bringing it into “focus”. Sounds like many of the classic aesthetics of TOS have fine tuned with greater detail a larger scope for the big screen.

And why anyone expects any kind of pictures or imagery from a major motion picture that is over away from being released is beyond me. Ain’t gonna happen.

SHOW US THE DAMN SHIP ALREADY!!

My god there are alot of cast named on the IMDB site!! its interesting to see these peoples proffessions, could give some of the story away prehaps ??

More vague talk…I demand proof! I’m not just going to take these guys at their word, I want to formulate my own opinion based on cold, hard evidence.

#43

yes, but that is not what i said…..

but i stand by what i did say, no actor is bigger than the show…
anyways, Nimoy was the star!!!! haha…. ;-)

i totally agree with you on what you say on the release of any imagery/pictures… and if they did start releasing stuff now… you’d be bored of it within a few days, because it wouldn’t be the ship or the crew, and it would continue for the whole year.. and by the time it came out.. you’d have seen it all…

one of the best things about going to the cinema as a kid, was that you got a 2min trailer, and a big cardboard cut out and a poster in the foyer… and that was it…

Great… we are back to demanding Pictures, clips and stolen props.
Wait 6 to 9 months and you’ll likely have your fix. I suggest patience..find something to occupy your time… like, hmmm… real life?

Guys, there is a chance that they might not show us ANYTHING from Star Trek until Comic Con. Might as well be patient. :(

“King Anthony” ranted and ranted. It’s all bad, he sez! He has many targets and accusations. But then toward the bottom of his rant I found the REAL REASON behind all his angst: The Shat isn’t in it! Which is getting so, so tiresome. The Shatner devotees have to realize something: he is NOT a box office draw. This movie will not sink or swim because he is or isn’t in it. His hardcore fans probably number in the thousands. This movie needs to make $250 MILLION worldwide to be a success! So, King Anthony, you need to get over it and get on board.