A few weeks ago we first reported that Clerks director Kevin Smith gave a review of his early screening of JJ Abrams Star Trek. Now MTV got the geek insider, who seems to see everything early, to talk more about the movie as well as the new Kirk (Chris Pine) and also the new Uhura (Zoe Saldana).
Smith on seeing Star Trek:
“It’s really strong, [J.J. Abrams] was rejiggering the opening few scenes. It’s one of those things where you first heard about it and were like no they’re not going to redo ‘Star Trek’! And then you see the movie and you think, wow he did pull it off! He turned it into a viable renewed franchise.”
Smith on Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana:
Chris Pine is fantastic. It is a star-making performance. From his first scene forward, this dude is not doing an impression of Shatner. He is doing young Kirk. He doesn’t have the slow delivery mannerisms of Shatner but it’s totally James T. Kirk, the bravado, the self-assuredness. It’s such a great performance. You can’t take your eyes off the guy. Anytime he’s not on the screen you’re waiting for him to get back. And the chick [Zoe Saldana] who plays Uhura is really great. They made Uhura really interesting
[Source: MTV]
Awesome. Only 8 more months to go!
Everyone has their impressions of Kevin Smith. But he has no real interest in this financially or anything, i tend to take this as a good sign!
Next time I see JJ Abrams, i’m going to shake a trailer out of him.
Promising…I’d like to hear about anything related to the Enterprise moreso than the characters while at this point in waiting for the movie.
I’ll take Silent Bob’s input over all others (except perhaps my own). Thanks Kevin. Now, if we can only get a guarantee of having the Hollywood premiere at the Chinese (the best theater on earth and THE place for boffo films!) BP
Glad the character of Uhura is getting some attention.
I, too, see this as a very good sign. If Smith saw it and thought it was “meh” he’d keep his mouth shut. He has nothing to gain by speaking out other than he’s an excited fan.
Personally, I find Smith’s films to be quite poor – however, he strikes me as a genuine “fan.” I’ve been to his shop in Red Bank, New Jersey and it is some hardcore nerdshit going on there. I even met him once very, very briefly and I didn’t want to bug him too much but I gave him a quick “Hey – how are ya!” and he was not at all an aloof celeb.
I’ve never seen a Kevin Smith film, so I’m not sure what to think about his opinion. But, since I have a positive attitude myself about this movie, I’ll take it as a good thing!
Does anyone else hate that “peering over the eyeglasses with a bemused expression” photo? Such a posed affectation.
That said, although as a comic fan I SHOULD like Smith, I can’t think of anything he’s ever done that I actually thought highly of.
I’m glad KS liked the movie.
But he also like Revenge of the Sith.
I hope he’s right this time.
Smith made “Dogma”…
Nothin’ like two angels from Wisconsin dukin’ it oot fur armageddon… which, by tha’ by, should be provided by those lads at CERN any second now…
Oh… this article is likely big news, eh? A wee specific on Pine’s performance… Up till now, I was thinkin’ he may come off as wooden…
Arrrrrrr…
Now that I’m going to imagine that only the original TOS series and the Movies before TNG are actually a different timeline, and that everything else is the product of ‘alternative’ timelines / ‘alternate universes’, I’m rather looking forward to this further Star Trek re-envisioning now.
Good to hear that Chris Pine is ‘not doing an impression of Shatner’ as Kevin Smith puts it, although it wouldn’t matter, as this Movie’s ‘alternative’ TOS universe is totally removed from my TOS series one, featuring an older Spock from an ‘alternative’ universe to my TOS series one too.
The Uhura that features in my still alive William Shatner Kirk original TOS universe is ‘really interesting’ too! ;)
11. Armageddon will be a few months away as that collider works itself up to light speed.
Why cant I get a private screening? Come on JJ if you read this, hook me up. You like magic… Im a magician…
The Uhura thing is necessary and expected. The glorified switchboard operator wouldn’t fly in this day and age… especially now that the average Joe understands how many different ways a network can crash and protocols between computers can slow communication… and the awesome complexity of a ‘Universal Translator.’
The only thing is, what other women will emerge as major characters? Although we know that the Transporter Chief is a woman, to date we’ve heard nary a beep on
Computer Voice
Nurse Chapel
Janice Rand
… though we know that Carol Marcus is on deck for a future film.
Great to hear about Pine.
Though, BND, a young James Kirk is probably “wooden” 3/4 of the day.
I kids ‘cuz I loves…
arrrrr…
My trust in Kevin Smith’s opinions of what a good scifi movie is died when he said that Revenge of the Sith was the perfect movie showing how Vader came to be…
6
Yeah, I’m glad that “chick” is good.
#9:”Does anyone else hate that “peering over the eyeglasses with a bemused expression” photo?”
No. Life’s too short for such petty annoyance.
It doesn’t matter who Smith is or what he’s done – he’s seen the movie and we haven’t. His impressions of it, therefore, should be of interest to anyone who wants to find out *anything* about it.
FRINGE SUCKED, I hope they don’t screw up Star Trek!
#20-We have only seen one eposode of Fringe, give it time….
‘They made Uhura really interesting.’
Oh, dear. This is a chief concern of mine…respect the hierarchy, status, and dynamic of the TOS characters.
Can’t wait, can’t wait, cant wait……… I wish i was kevin smith..
I like what he has to say about Pine. Everyone talks generals like “he’s good”, but this is the first person to say that it is not Shatner, but it’s Kirk. I can’t wait to see the movie.
I only caught early bits of Fringe as I had other commitments. It certainly has potential. Don’t judge TNG by “Farpoint.”
My only complaint was the big block letters indicating locations which stayed in the shots, occupying physical space. That will get old with lightning speed.
Good to hear that after 40 years, Uhura will be interesting! Nothing against Nichelle Nichols, it’s just that she was never really given enough material to make the character come alive for me. uhura is LONG overdue for more development.
“Rejiggering” is my new favorite word.
#26: ‘Uhura is LONG overdue for more development’
What about Sulu? What about Chekhov? That neither of these is a woman should make no difference. And the great problems of the 21st century are racial and religious, not gender equality.
Alec/22:
I think many TOS fans regretted the inability of Trek to flesh out it’s supporting characters during the show’s run.
All the characters should be interesting, and it looks as if Uhura has to have extra pizzazz here. Otherwise, it’s a bunch of guys passing gas and telling dirty jokes on the Bridge of a starship while Spock looks on in perpetual dismay.
Uhura, as Nichelle Nichols played her, was about beauty, intelligence, confidence, grace, professionalsim, and some hopeless romanticism thrown in for good measure. If JJ and Zoe can catch all that in a two-hour film, more power to them.
#26
Trek tends to be weak on female viewership. In the past they concentrated on the male leads as being romantic figures to get the the ladies to watch. It did work, but the success of films like “Sex in the City”, display that women also identify with and follow female roles. Building up the character of Uhura has potential to bring in more female viewers. Of course they were smart in keeping the male leads as suave debonair, dashing romantic heroes for the ladies, but Uhura adds lots of potential to attract more fans.
I won’t give up insisting: WHERE IS THE DAMN TRAILLER?
26:
Sorry, John Trumbull.
I think Nichelle did wonders with the screentime she did have. She was inspired, and could chew up the scenery when given the chance (Mr. Adventure, anyone?).
I think the films, years of debate and written fiction have fleshed out all these characters more than the show did in its time. Uhura and Sulu both now have first names. Sulu has a command and a family. Chekhov is ambitious as hell, and a super pilot. I always thought Uhura wanted to fall in love, but loved the job too much.
#29
“I think many TOS fans regretted the inability of Trek to flesh out it’s supporting characters during the show’s run.”
It was done at times, “The Trouble With Tribbles” was I think the best episode for this. But TOS was never really an ensemble show. The fact is in the 1960’s most shows revolved around a star (or a few stars), and the supporting cast was just that: supporting. They were there to illustrate the diversity on the ship, answer hails, say “Aye, sir” and sometimes to provide improbable connections to the guest star. This format also gave rise to the very dubious Starfleet policy of allowing the three most important people on the ship to beam down together into dangerous situations.
I agree that more ensemble type shows would have been welcome, but you can’t fault the show for being a product of its time.
Next time I see JJ Abrams, i’m going to shake a trailer out of him.
—–
Ouch.
#29
“I think many TOS fans regretted the inability of Trek to flesh out it’s supporting characters during the show’s run.”
Not me brother. Only have an 50 minutes to tell the tale, I don’t want supporting players mucking up the waters. It’s always been about Kirk, McCoy and Spock. Fans of Sulu, Uhura etc must have gained those opinions from fanzines and novels because there sure wasn’t any air time on the show to latch on to.
I’m glad Smith liked it, but I consider him to be a lot like Harry Knowles in that hyperbole seems to be the norm with him. Smith is notorious for talking EVERYTHING up (he loved all the Star Wars prequels too). I hope the movie is great, but Smith’s word means little to me.
28.
But, Uhura never got anything to do in TOS–TV or films. Sulu saw action in a lot more episodes, and at least got promoted to captain, and saw major screen time in ST: TUC. Chekov, had one or two episodes devoted to him, plus saw major screen time in TWOK. Uhura got very little time…anywhere. Oh, I forgot, she did get that god awful dance sequence in ST: The Final Frontier–the worst TREK movie of all time.
Also, since TOS was so male oriented, and there appears not to be many major acting roles on the ship for females in this film, it was absolutely necessary that Uhura–a female get major focus. This film has to bring in the female demographic as well
I think a plank of wood has more credibilty than Kevin Smith.
I really don’t care for Kevin Smith or his boring movies. I’m glad he liked what he saw but really, who cares?
Well, I don’t agree with Kevin Smith overall about the STAR WARS prequels, but I do agree that Revenge of the Sith was a good movie, not great, but solid and entertaining.
#22:”‘They made Uhura really interesting.’
Oh, dear. This is a chief concern of mine…respect the hierarchy, status, and dynamic of the TOS characters.”
Nah. It’s time for something new. One of the TOS supporting characters is actually *interesting?* That’s *way* overdue.
Did anybody find it interesting that KS made no mention of Zack Quinto’s and/or performance as Spock? Seeing that this film is centered on Spock, that maybe a concern.
#36—A fair assessment, but it is certainly not a BAD sign…
#42—I think that’s because there is very little question in his fellow Trek fans’ minds about Quinto. Fans had very little trouble with that casting. The questions are almost always about how Chris Pine is going to measure up, so I think that’s why the focus of his review is there. He seemed genuinely surprised at how well he pulled it off.
It may not be completely reassuring, but it certainly doesn’t raise any concern either.
42. I am sure it was an honest omission. I wouldn’t read too much into it. SO much has already been talked about with Quinto’s performance. It’s nice to hear something good about Pine, which was the actor I was more worried about being able to pull it off. “That chick” playing Uhura. Oh, Kevin we fan girls will have to forgive you for that one.
42.
To importtant to comment on I guess.
Plus Smith’s comments will never be news to me.
#47:
I don’t think it’s something to be concerned about. It may just be that Smith wanted to comment on something else rather than on something that has been commented on and reported on extensively.
Cool! All the characters should be “interesting” otherwise why are they there? No one should have a monopoly on that. In fact, it’s often the supporting players that are the most interesting anyways. There wouldn’t be much fuss over casting them if all they did was count down warp factors or open hailing frequencies or fire phasers.
#44—“Plus Smith’s comments will never be news to me.”
You obviously read it and felt the need to comment…lol. As I said, it may not be totally reassuring, but it doesn’t indicate anything negative—which is a good thing.
#45—” It’s nice to hear something good about Pine, which was the actor I was more worried about being able to pull it off.”
Exactly my point in #43. There is very little worry out there about Quinto as Spock. Fans warmed up to that prospect long ago.
And it is good to hear praise for Pine’s performance from someone not tied to the project, no matter who it is…
My biggest concern about this new film is the filmmakers’ respect for Star Trek. They ought to respect the nature, dynamic, and hierarchy of the TOS characters. Uhura is a Communications Officer—not Captain of the Enterprise—and should be written and portrayed as such. She should not have a larger role, just because she is a woman. That is sexist. In my opinion, too much focus has been put on Uhura as a female character. Switch on your TV, and you will see that the great problems of our age are conflict and prejudice on racial and religious grounds.
The Woman’s Movement is a product of the sixties and feels anachronistic now. Perhaps women do not yet have full equality; however, it is very near. In fact, because of positive discrimination in society, in many ways, it is advantageous to be a woman. And it is not now strange to see, in our society, a woman, e.g., as a head of a major corporation. What about a person (man or woman) from a racial and or religious minority? Perhaps, for these reasons, Chekhov and Sulu should have larger roles?
No. Uhura, Chekhov, and Sulu are part of the ‘supporting cast’. Star Trek is, essentially, about the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Star Trek is also about equality, though. The answer: we should have other women and people from racial and religious minorities in the film! I.e., in the form of Instructors at the Academy, Captains, etc. Then, such people would have a right to screen-time.
Just so long as it’s not a “ninety minute long Kirk/Spock joke.” ;)