VIDEO: Chris Pine Wants More Kirk Humor & “a shot” at Uhura In Star Trek Sequel July 23, 2010
by TrekMovie.com Staff , Filed under: ST09 Cast, Star Trek sequel (2013) , trackback
Chris Pine, Star Trek’s new Kirk, isn’t at Comic Con, but in a promo interview for his new play The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Pine talked about the Star Trek sequel. Chris wants more humor for Kirk and he has his eye on Zoe Saldana and the Kirk, Spock, Uhura love triangle. Watch the interview below.
Pine: Wants more humor for Kirk & ‘one shot’ at Uhura
On the Red Carpet interviewed Chris Pine and got him to talk about the Star Trek sequel. Pine started off saying he didn’t know about sequel shooting in January (a rumor TrekMovie already reported wasn’t true). But Pine did talk about what he would like to see for Kirk in the sequel:
Kirk is so much fun to play. He is such a fun bad boy. Kirk has got a great sense of humor and I would love to see that explored more. If I know JJ [Abrams] well, I think he would be willing to explore that. I don’t know what that means, but I think that…the great thing about Kirk is that he can fall on his face, pick himself up, run into a door again, pick himself up again, and you still hopefully like the guy.
Pine also talked about the "love triangle" with Kirk/Spock/Uhura, noting:
I know…I want at least one shot at Ms. Saldana, Please! God have mercy. Maybe her in her little Avatar outfit. But yeah, we will see what happens. That would be some good conflict.
Pine also talks about his film Unstoppable and the next Jack Ryan movie, plus his future goals of climbing Everest, and appearing in a Broadway musical. Here is the video.
VIDEO:
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Comments»
Hope to see him at some cons in the near future!
First!
Why is Chris Pine climbing a mountain? Because he wants to make love to the mountain.
Noo…no conflict between Spock and Kirk…nooo! We have been there in StT:09, nooow, Kirk, Spock and McCoy become this unbreakable trinty, a rock against which the waves of the universe break.
Plus we could do with more mature humour, not painful action movie humour. Kirk needs to grow into a Captain, he has to accept the responsibility he has, he isn’t a cadet anymore, the lives of everyone on the Enterprise are in his hands. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, but he has to be responsible. I guess what I am saying is we want Kirk humour (as in the Shat himself) not summer movie humour!
@ #2-Apollo
i was thinking the same thing
I hope Chris focuses more on getting the writers to tighten up plot holes and logical inconsistencies. Stylistically, I loved the first (new) film, but there were two things I just couldn’t swallow.
1) Kirk getting promoted immediately to captain from cadet just seemed so completely ridiculous that I’m still up in the air as to whether it ruined the entire movie for me.
2) The transporting onto a ship traveling at warp speed. It makes no sense, and had never been introduced as a concept before. The transporter was only introduced to save money on filming landings etc. in the original series… it’s use should be becoming more limited, not expanded. The idea that you can now beam onto a ship traveling faster than light is just stupid.
Uh, Kirk goes after the big shot women, not some yeoman under neath him, Pine.
I want Kirk to choose between his true love (The Enterprise) and Uhura — with Uhura having a moment, maybe recovering during a fight scene which Kirk saves her, shows a different side that cares deeply… and realizing they could be together, but his heart is elsewhere.
Given Kirk’s lusty ways with others, you could psychoanalyze his precocious nature for some time. But maybe Kirk is just seeking the “One” (who may be Uhura)… and can never have her. And his only love, the Enterprise, can never truly express that love back.
Twisted and weird, I know.
@3
I agree completely dear! We don’t need (nor want, for most of us) a love triangle. We have more than enough of those in everything else on film. The legendary Trek trio needs to come together, I think (hope) the next film focuses on that more in the next movie. And on how the crew grows into a family.
I think that’s what’s most needed. And it would give the characters more of a chance to become more serious. Yea, humors great and much loved, but the crew seriously being the legendary crew of the Enterprise would be fantastic.
#5
Yeah, really, what’s the point in having a starship if you can just transport at light speed to another star system? I want Starfleet, not the Iconians (see: TNG: Contagion, DS9: To The Death).
#9
Number five here. True that. Basically, in the new universe you can just beam from planet to planet.
#10
On the bright side, it is a lot like Sliders–a show I really loved watching as a young whipper-snapper. But it’s definitely not Star Trek. Bob Orci, are you listening?
What we need to focus is Pine’s Kirk to mature and the Kirk,Spock and McCoy triangle I have faith in the writers to do that
I’m still not entirely certain that Chris *gets* Kirk.
A “love triangle” with Kirk/Spock/Uhura in which Kirk and Spock are both fighting for the affection of Uhura, is probably the worst thing they could do in the next movie. It is so cliched! I really don’t want to see the two main male characters fighting for the love of the sole female character. It is not a romantic movie! If the two main characters are involved in such a love triangle, it will be automatically a major plot part and I really prefer typically sci fi aspects over love triangles!
Never mind what Pine said, but look at his appearance. At times during the interview, I was very much reminded of a young Shatner circa WNMHGB. Sideburns and all! Spooky!
And, yes, even more of a young Kirk clone now than how he looked in the movie!
A frickin’ love triangle?
No. Thank you.
This is Star Trek, not Young and the Restless.
Great idea Chris!
#5
“1) Kirk getting promoted immediately to captain from cadet just seemed so completely ridiculous that I’m still up in the air as to whether it ruined the entire movie for me.”
The next movie should hang a lantern on this and make it a point of story and character development. Maybe have it revealed that Kirk was only promoted to captain because of the intervention of Spock Prime. If they genuinely believe Spock Prime is from the future, then his opinion might carry weight – especially if Starfleet were trying to coax technological data from him (he already gave them an advanced formula for beaming).
I might have a crewman get in his face about it and note that it was only politics and testimony about future returns that got him in the captain’s chair.
It would be nice to see punky-Kirkster – leader of Muppet Babies in Space show some humility, to see his uber cockiness recede in the face of what he comes to realize is a large responsibility, with many opportunities to screw up, and with many watching eyes hoping that the brash cadet-captain will do just that. It would be nice to see the triangle of Spock-Bones-Kirk form in the context of this maturation.
The problem with the Pine’s Kirk is that he is written and performed as the cultural bumper-sticker of James Kirk. We’ve spent decades joking about the womanizing, brash, prime-directive-be-dammed captain, that our collective memory has lost sight of the bookworm, work-a-holic, duty bound, by-the-book captain. Shatner’s Kirk, for example, hooked up with significantly fewer women than our pop-cultural memory suggests.
The new movie, however, is aimed at the center mass of our vague pop-cultural memory of the show, because its makers seem almost desperate to make Star Trek fun again. Unfortunately, our new Kirk is more like a frat boy than a Starfleet Captain. In fact, his character is somewhat off-putting. Kirk isn’t supposed to be heavily back slapping everyone in order to to prove he is the coolest guy in the room – he is supposed offer a glance and a wry quip because he is the coolest guy in the room.
Just compare the “bite-the-apple-because-I-am-so-dammed-cool” scenes from TWOK and the new film. In ST II, Kirk coolly remarks that he doesn’t like to lose and casually takes a bite of fruit. In the new film, Pine, dripping with hubris, violently bites a huge chunk out of an apple and chews it rather sloppily after making a “shooting-pistol” hand gestures at exploding Klingon cruisers. The former is restrained and cool and funny. It is one of the best scenes in the film. The latter is childish and overtly arrogant.
The next film really needs to fine tune the character of Kirk. A bumper-sticker is fun for a joke, but does not make for sustained reading. Pine’s Kirk has grow if he is to earn sustained viewing.
18
Well said!
“The former is restrained and cool and funny. It is one of the best scenes in the film. The latter is childish and overtly arrogant. ”
Step back from you’re hero-worship and take Kirk-Prime off high special place you for him for a moment and look at this rationally.
The several points of reference that you have given us are woefully out of context.
Reason Being: Kirk in TWOK (Which takes place in early 2285) had been in star-fleet nearly 30-35 years at that point. Logically, the person in question would be mature and seasoned, and quite frankly doesn’t act like a ‘frat boy’ as you put it, and rightly so, I might add.
But Kirk-09 isn’t the same Age as Kirk-Prime in TWOK. They haven’t had the same experiences (yet), nor do the two have the same upbringing, which has an even greater effect on how a person behaves in adult hood and some people take that for granted.
Kirk in the 2009 film is just that: A frat boy. A brash, young man who has a delinquent streak from growing up in a broken home, and from what I can gather from what his step-father said when he stole the car, an Abusive step-father as well.
The monumentally vast difference in Age and experience make comparing the two quite irrelevant. One is a Mature, seasoned veteran, the other is a Cocky Young man who’s Green as grass.
You can’t even compare the two in the same time frame the movie takes place in (2258) either, since the two took vastly different paths when they entered star-fleet.
The 2009 film finishes in 2258. Kirk-Prime at this point had already completed the academy (starting in 2250, graduating presumably 2254), attained the rank of Lieutenant and is serving on the Farragut. That means that Kirk-09 started the academy 5 years /AFTER/ Kirk-prime did (2255), completed 3 years (bringing us to 2258), and during a crisis, rose above and beyond what was expected of him and proved that he was capable of performing the task entrusted to him by Pike.
Speaking of his Academy training: We don’t know what kind of education Kirk-09 received before enlisting in the academy, but judging from his first conversation with Uhura and from the statement by Pike mentioning his “Aptitude” levels were off the charts and that he was a “Genius Level” repeat offender, it was substantial. Having gleaned that information, its plausible that he could complete his academy training faster then others.
Concerning Kirk’s promotion – I am under the impression that he, McCoy and Uhura graduated from the Academy as Lieutenants. A field promotion from Lieutenant to Captain seems a bit more feasible, Imho.
Maybe Harry Kim should have been born into that time(line). ^^
#5
The novelization of the film implied that Kirk was about to graduate from the academy and that upon graduation he was to become a lieutenant junior grade officer. In fact, I believe a number of the cadets like Uhura and Sulu got promoted to lieutenant as well. So the leap from lieutenant to captain isn’t as drastic as cadet to captain.
Pike says in the bar that Kirk could be an officer in four years and have his own ship in eight. He only takes three years to graduate the academy and obviously gets promoted to captain following his taking command and saving Earth in the movie. If Prime Kirk can be forgiven of his offenses from STIII by saving Earth from the Whale Probe and given command of the Enterprise, then surely ST09 Kirk can be allowed to keep command of the Enterprise after he saved Earth too. I’m sure both Pike and Spock Prime vouched for his natural command ability as well.
Plus, it might have also been a big PR boost to let the officer who saved Earth keep command of the ship he saved it with. Starfleet would surely need to recruit more cadets to replace the officers killed at Vulcan, and having Kirk as a role model would certainly make sense.
Regarding the transporter, only Spock Prime showed the ability to transport someone from one system to another or to a ship at warp speed. If you listen to Scotty, his theory was to transport someone from one planet to an adjacent planet in the same system. In the movie, we only see Scotty transport someone the distance from Saturn to Earth.
So I believe that the whole transporting at warp or between star systems was a onetime thing and it was obviously too dangerous to have practical applications as Scotty was obviously almost killed. If someone other than Spock had transported them, they might have materialized in a bulkhead or the engines or something.
The only thing they are capable of doing now is transporting over long distances inside a star system which is something Scotty would have probably figured out to do eventually, but Spock gave it to him a bit early. I believe this is what Kirk meant by Spock cheating by changing history, which was giving Scotty the knowledge to make his transwarp beaming work. This gave them a tactical advantage so the could beam onto Nero’s ship from a safe and undetectable position in the solar system.
A smoker should not try to climb Everest
Chris Pine was the wrong casting choice.
#2 – Because it’s there…
24. Why do you say that
Oh no, please no love triangle !
I think Chris Pine was a great choice. I think he pulled it off nicely as Kirk. He is no Shat but he did a great job.I think he should leave Uhurah alone and at some point he should realise that the Big E is his First Love. But I also think that he should meet Carol Marcus and have the love affair that will of course bring about David.
Kirk scores with alien women around the galaxy, not subordinates. He can’t love ‘em and leave ‘em if they’re on the ship!
Wow, tough to come up with new stuff to say.
I agree that Chris Pine is a great Kirk. (Not the Kirk I’ve love all these years, but still a great Kirk.)
I agree that the whole “Who’s nailin’ Nyota?” thing needs to quietly go away. Kirk’s romances should be organic to the story. They might even get him and the crew into trouble so we can watch them get out.
I very much agree that the next movie should be more mature. Let’s see one we’ll still want to watch 30 years from now.
Love triangle = lame.
Don’t let this become Star Trek 90210
Even Kirk should know enough to keep his pen out of the company ink.
One humourous bit or so is ok…but Star Trek should not be pure comedy. It’s not time for a Trouble With Tribbles or even a Star Trek IV.
The next one should be mostly serious. After they get a few of these under their belt…sure…why not? A light hearted one would be ok.
Right now, I want to see new aliens that they meet during a mission.
I think Chris Pine is just trying to be funny about wanting a shot at Uhura. I dont think this means there’ll be a “Twilight in Space” type love triangle either.
32 – He didn’t know enough in the cases of Dr. Helen Noel or Lt. Marlena Moreau, but they weren’t bridge officers.
yes throw in a young Carol Marcus that would be great :)
Yes, by all means, pass Uhura around like an old hat–NOT.
NO LOVE TRIANGLE. Under any circumstances.
My dad has a great saying–you don’t s**t where you eat.
Kirk, remember that!
“…I want at least one shot at Ms. Saldana, Please! God have mercy.”
You’re not the first guy to say that prayer buddy.
Maybe one of the few to have it answered though.
If I may suggest, Amber Tamblyn for Carol Marcus!
I think #34 Celeste is right, he was just joking, especially when he says “her in her little Avatar outfit.”
I am curious about what they will do about Spock/Uhura’s relationship. They can’t pretend like it didn’t happen. They have to either continue it or end it. I think they painted themselves into a corner with that relationship; I wish they had not gone there. The bridge crew should all be professionals, not banging each other (especially not Spock. Lord have mercy).
“not banging each other “, that’s Kirk’s claim to fame. Hated that about Star Trek, Roddenberry’s obsession with 60’s ‘free love’ nonsense. Kirk doesn’t love anyone but himself, whether it’s the Fat Shat version or the Chris Pine version.
Probably the wrong site to comment on Kirk having a sense of humor on, Chris. The majority of people on this site absolutely love Kirk as the hyper ego, over the top almost to the point of paradoy that James Cawley pawns off on the less then choosy fanbase.
@34: Joking?? But… but…. this is STAR TREK he’s talking about!!!! How DARE he!!!1!
I loved that Kirk is young a bit of a renegade: loose cannon getting into trouble with the law that shows he has flaws and will hopefully grow out of that Pine you were brilliant as the young Captain please keep the humour intact but be serious as well because that you are captain you have to
be responsible.
One of you guys pointed out how kirk’s cadet to captain trick should be a major subplot to the next movie. I think that that is a very good Idea…. and as far as bringing in previously done secondary characters such as marcus. I think that would be fine. Don’t base the movie on any previous threads or characters, but to have them as a subplot would be fine. Kirk talks about the woman in passing, or we see them together for a short scene, there is a whole minor subplot based on a budding relationship. that would work. If the whole story hinged on Marcus, or Kahn, or Sybok, or any other previously mentioned/done secondary character like that, I think that would be bad
(I just had to say something to #19 as well, just imagine that I wrote a really long post)
There is one thing we have to realize about NuKirk as people have been want to call him. First, Pine’s Kirk begins his adventures about 4 or 5 years earlier then Shatner’s kirk did (at least with the Enterprise). Two, NuKirk has been given a generally more rebelious nature do to the fact that his father died. in TOS, Kirk’s father was alive and kicking to see him through the acadamy. He probably had a steadying influence on the man, which gave willingness to buckle down and be bookish during the acadmy. I obviously don’t know your life but just imagine how things might be differently if your father had died when you were born, or your mother had….etc. I would probably affect your life quite a bit…don’t you think. Thus license for a different interpretation of the same genetic code (if you get my meaning)
OMG!!!……AWESOME CP!!!….I can’t wait for Star Trek Sequel!!!!
#46 indeed so. But is he still *our* Kirk given such changes in his background?
This still bothers me and I can’t comfortably circle it in my mind.
NO on a Kirk/Uhura romance
For the love of God, this is not the “Twilight” series. No love triangles or any of that crap.
Aren’t they supposed to be professionals, working together, rather than sleeping together?
“The majority of people on this site absolutely love Kirk as the hyper ego, over the top almost to the point of paradoy that James Cawley pawns off on the less then choosy fanbase.”
On the contrary. Cawley’s Kirk can be smarmy on occasion, but he’s a compassionate individual capable of re-evaluating his own prejudices in light of new information, and whose approach to problem-solving relies at least as much on intelligence as adrenaline. That’s much closer to the character as originally conceived by Gene Roddenberry and portrayed by William Shatner than what we got in Trek 2009.
#50 You don’t watch “Madmen” do you?
#50 – They can do both. They did in other Treks!
Kirk, James Bond, Indiana Jones, Han Solo: They may lose at first, but in the end, they always win!
#52
Somehow I think exploring the cosmos and defending the Federation is a little more professional than coming up with a jingle for Clearasil or Heineken.
#26 — Looks like “Lord Bridges” is just a one-line-wonder….
48
Buzz, if you think outside the “BOX”, you should be able to “CIRCLE’ it in your mind!
Michael, @ 51, your comments on Kirk are right on. Chris, KIrk may have been a “fun bad boy” at the Academy but now it’s time to grow up. Kirk (Trek ‘09) at the Academy was an insolent jerk and yes, we get the joke he was a ladies man.
Chris, your homework for the film is to view the following TOS (The Orginal Series) episodes.
1. “Arena” Kirk fights the Gorn and instead of killing him, he does the civilized thing and spares him. Arnold Schwarzenegger would never do that. He even questions whether the Federation was right in its actions.
2. “The City on the Edge of Forever.” We see an optimistic Kirk. Yet he will make a great personal sacrifice for the greater good.
3. “Mirror, Mirror” Kirk must use his intellect to survive an evil alternate universe and save an alien race. He later convinces “Mirror” Spock to do the right thing.
“So I believe that the whole transporting at warp or between star systems was a onetime thing and it was obviously too dangerous to have practical applications…”
Seems right. They might want to mention it however, and not just drop it. Something like that could render Starfleet useless.
#20
“Step back from you’re hero-worship and take Kirk-Prime off high special place you for him for a moment and look at this rationally.”
This is a bit unfair, as is the implicit function or your handle “pointing out the obvious” (apparently I have missed the obvious, right?). We are beginning from the assumption that I am plainly, woefully, perhaps even painfully wrong.
Actualy I would love some conflict between Kirk and Spock that is resolved by Uhura (and McCoy’s advice) straightening up those two, thus giving them “common ground” and “deeper” foundation for friendship.
Anything can be plot.
I think the point may be to make Kirk more in keeping with cultural mores. Today’s action hero isn’t devoted to books as much as to street smarts and derring-do. And if you think about it, most action heroes even in the past were two-fisted hell-raisers as much as not.
Let’s compare Kirk to the cinematic James Bond, for example. Connery’s early James Bond was nothing if not a slightly roguish bar-brawler who, however, had the consummate appearance of polish and intellect. I’m sure Bond was, in fact, quite intelligent, but his exploits were not celebrated for their Sherlockianism. The literary Bond might have even less disinclined toward physical action.
The same might be said for Indiana Jones, who was, in fact, a college professor. Quite the intellect, he, but again, the fun in his movies is expressed other than through implementing strategem through his wit and more toward strafing the villain with his whip.
What we should keep in mind, of course, is that Kirk is a much more complex character than those described above. Kirk is at all times in actual command of a starship and all hands aboard; he is looked up to by hundreds as a leader and must stand as a moral example. At times, he must be a diplomat representing the interests of billions — an ambassador, or a President.
There is therefore a balance that must be struck between Kirk-as-Bond and Kirk-as-President. The cinematic Bond must never make us lose sight of the fact that Kirk, even in this universe, is far more than just a bad-boy-made-good. He is, in fact, a good-boy-turned-bad-boy-turned-paragon — something more difficult to convey, but far truer to his original character than anything lesser can service.
#20
“The several points of reference that you have given us are woefully out of context.”
Please read the last line of my post again, the one about bumper stickers. Kirk needs to mature to remain interesting.
I don’t think any of us want to be arguing about how a first year captain would still be a brash punky frat boy after the next film. “It takes decades for people to mature” “Sub-prime Kirk’s childhood was harder than Kirk Prime’s!” “This is the younger unlikeable Kirk – he wasn’t likable until the time of TOS.”
As for your reasoning, I am afraid you are missing the point.
Consider this bit, where you apologize for sub-prime Kirk’s behavior on account of his rough childhood:
“A brash, young man who has a delinquent streak from growing up in a broken home, and from what I can gather from what his step-father said when he stole the car, an Abusive step-father as well.”
I tell you that the character is a bit off-putting and a bit of a caricature of the original, and you offer a “realistic” account of why, which misses the point. You are like the chef who offers a reasonable account of why a dish didn’t turn out right – “Well, we were short-staffed tonight, and I am tired, and we were overloaded on orders.” What matters to the patron, however, is whether or not the dish turned out right.
There is a perfectly reasonable account of why most of us (in the real world) are uninteresting or even unlikable, none of which, however, offer a good reason why we would make for interesting or likable characters in a story.
Indeed, the situation is much worse than that of the cook, because the cook is faced with real-world contingencies. Kirk’s rough childhood, however, wasn’t an accident, but a choice by those who made the film.
That Nu-Kirk had a rougher childhood is not an historical fact about a person. Kirk, young or old, prime or sub-prime, does not exist. The filmmakers made a choice that they thought would make the character interesting. Fine. My point is that if the character is to remain interesting and likable, he will need to grow up and that the narrative will need to focus on that growth.
I agree that it would not be appropriate to maintain a character arc that uses the new Kirk’s background as an engine for his actions.
Regardless of background, responsibility confers gravitas. At any rate, it must do so. Officers in the military who are not much older than the raw recruits they command are called upon to make life-and-death decisions during war, and there is not the luxury of decades of character development upon which they must draw.
The same individual who, yesterday, put on a lampshade as a hat at his going-away party must immediately change his demeanor when he arrives at the base to report for duty. Any officer who cannot maintain this demeanor while on duty will not command others for long.
This reality is the truth for millions who have been in positions of responsibility, and being a frat-boy who had a difficult past will not be accepted as an excuse for immaturity while in any real position of power.
Besides, there are no frat-boys in foxholes. Only scared, brave men who are hard pressed to do what they must.
I can already see it in front of me. Spock and Uhura are in a relationship, but Kirk secretly falls in love with Uhura. Then Khan shows up as the ultimate evil villain. He kidnaps Uhura and kills her, and Spock blames her death on Kirk.
#13 Buzz Cagney
I’m not even sure that JJ, or the writers *get* ‘Star Trek’ either…at least not ‘TOS’-style ‘Trek’ that they’ve plundered to relaunch the franchise…
Honestly I wish the moviemakers and the actors well with the sequel, but they may have boxed themselves in with Kirk’s characterization. He can hardly be the TOS Kirk based on his new background. I just hope they can create something new and interesting with what they have. In any case, I never thought, IMHO, that any new Kirk, no matter who portrayed him, would be as dominant and central in any new films as Shatner’s Kirk was in his. Most modern films don’t follow that model anymore, for good or bad.
Well, 67, the Batman and Iron Man franchises still do, I think. As did the Superman films. Also the Bourne and Bond films, although with Bond there are always the femmes fatales.
Interestingly, JJ’s Mission Impossible III and Cloverfield were more ensemble-based, probably by necessity. Mission Impossible was always supposed to be an ensemble-based concept, anyway.
Hey 68 I don’t usually respond to posts, but the latest Superman and Batman were much more about Clark and Bruce than the superheros. What’s funny is the movie companies use the classic symbolism and costumes to sell the film, then deconstruct the character with the plot. Batman was hardly the driving force in Dark Knight, he showed up for the fights. Bourne and Bond I agree with you on those. Still don’t think we’ll be getting really strong Kirk anytime soon, but I could be wrong.
# 5 and I quote: “The idea that you can now beam onto a ship traveling faster than light is just stupid”
Its also called SCIENCE FICTION!
C’mon man.
#13 #66.
Guys- I have to respond to your posts
13. CP was given a SCRIPT with his lines already written. He also was DIRECTED by JJ.
I think an actor is given a role based on his ability to deliver what is on the page.
Here is a guy that’s an unknown and he’s given one of the most iconic roles in science fiction. He (I think) said he started to watch the Trek episodes and he realised it would be a huge mistake to continue. I tend to agree. He could have ventured into a parody of Kirk and the film would have suffered for it. Had he seen all the Treks he MAY have questioned how he was DIRECTED to play the role. Saying: “Kirk wouldn’t do this or he would do this” etc etc.
66. What part of Trek didn’t JJ and the writers get? The third season?
Some attempt to make Kirk remotely likable (and just maybe, a dude) would be a nice change this time. But all that is pie-in-the-sky stuff. Just challenge him this time, and the rest can wait for later.
#71 but i’m still not sure he gets Kirk. The way he describes him just doesn’t ring accurately to my ears.
Yes, I know, that doesn’t mean he can’t be directed and act the way he’s told to, but I just wish I had confidence that he *understood* Jim.
I still get the feeling he thinks he’s playing Indiana Solo!
I have no problem with his performance though, and agree a parody would have been terrible, but I have higher expectations for the next film. I’m really wanting to see more of the Captain we know.
Why would it be such a problem if he did, in the most diplomatic way, of course, question how JTK would behave?
Hell, the writers even want our suggestions for the next movie!
Oh please….no Kirk/Uhura romance. ((And no Spock/Uhura for that matter. xD ))
Hat Rick- I enjoyed reading your posts above.Good stuff.
The James Tiberius Kirk that commanded the Enterprise during “The Original Series” was a strong leader, not a badass. Though he had some badass moves like the “Kirk-Fu”. Also, while he was a ladies man, he rarely got involved with female crew members and when he did, it was out of romance and not just sex. When it came to dealing with conflicts, Captain Kirk was able to recognize when to use force and when not to. He was willing to listen to his crew, even when he disagreed with them.
He was tough to his enemies, but always showed a willingness to compromise for peace. But he was also able to recognize when he had no other option but to deter an opponent through use of force. Kirk embodied the logic of Spock, the passion of McCoy and balanced it out with his own confidence and reasoning.
This is the Captain Kirk we have all come to know and love. The Kirk we saw in ‘09 was young, immature and cocky. And the reasons for that were legitimately explained and shown in the movie. At the end of the film, we saw Kirk start to become the man Spock Prime remembers. I’d like to see a continuation of Kirk’s evolution as a man and a captain in the sequel. Therefore, I don’t want to see him chasing women. If he has a romance, I want it to be organic, something that would show the maturation process of our favorite captain. I know Bob, Alex and J.J really love the characters so I have confidence in them to do Kirk justice.
In fact I enjoyed all the posts.This is such a great site.
#77
I second that!
By the way, Harry Ballz has been relatively quiet on this thread. I hope he’s alright. :-)
I just spotted Harry in the latest Karl Urban story. He’s looking (and sounding!) in his usual good form.
Yeah, I just read his comments on that thread. Mr. Ballz is a cool and colourful guy.
I’m here boys!! Not too drunk just yet!
Why thank you, Ryan! That is most kind of you!
Buzz/Ryan
you two should really join us over in “live chat”. We get away with murder over there!
Glad to hear from you Harry! What are you drinking? And what are your thoughts on Chris Pine’s Kirk so far?
Ryan, I’m drinking lots of red wine.
I thought Pine did a great job as a young Kirk. I’ve watched the movie 7 times so far and am still picking up on subtleties in his performance. I know we all loved the Shat in TOS, but this kid has considerable “acting chops”! He had big shoes to fill and did it very well!
What did you think?
Harry,
I agree wholeheartedly with you. But as I said in post #76 I’d like to see his Kirk continue to evolve into the Kirk we all know and love. It would give Chris Pine an opportunity to flex his acting muscles even more.
By the way Harry, just wondering if your favorite song happens to be “Red Red Wine” by UB40?
Might as well be tonight!
Your point in #76/86 is a good one. Pine is great, but he needs a great script to work with in order to pull off the next film.
I have the feeling Bob will write a great script and the result will be a classic sequel that even detractors like Jeyl will appreciate!
Some people will hate it no matter WHAT they come up with!
C’est la vie!
True. Even though miracles are known to happen from time to time, Jeyl liking a Trek movie directed by J.J Abrams might be too big of a miracle for any god to make happen!
Well, it’s 3:05 AM in Toronto…..crashing! TTYL!
I expect you’ve blacked out by now, Harry, but I’ve been giving your think outside of the box advice some thought (in fact I had to as when I got back to it Shatner was sitting in it!)
If they had given us a true origins story then we would have missed out on those incredible, amazing, gut-wrenching opening scene’s. And I wouldn’t trade those for all the tea in Picard’s replicator.
As long as they can find some way of carrying on the accelerated growth that Jim had to go through in ‘09 I think i’ll learn to accept him completely. I’m 95% of the way there, so it shouldn’t take much work as I already like Chris in the role just fine.
In 1978, Nichelle Nicholls was asked in a magazine interview whether a romance between Kirk and Uhura could/should have happened. Here’s what she said:
“I don’t think the characters of Uhura or Kirk would have put up with that and allowed it to happen, because this was his command crew.
It’s one thing if he’s seeing someone, even a member of the crew, outside; but this is his command crew and you can’t have that kind of intimacy with your command crew.”
So, Mr Pine, there you have it, from an Officer and a Grown Up. Captain Kirk has duties and responsibilities as well as hormones. Try more of the former and fewer of the latter, please, unless you want to move the entire plot from Science Fiction to Dire Romance.
Luckily, Pine won’t be writing the film.
I don’t mind humor, but swollen hands and numb tongue isn’t very funny to me. I hope the crew has matured a bit in the next film, and that Kirk doesn’t seem like a frat boy who’s been given the flagship of Starfleet. He should treat this incredible (and unbelievable) honor with due respect.
Boinking his subordinates would be a bad idea. Why not just take a cue from Eric Massa and do some “snorkeling” as well? Again, I repeat, thank GOD Pine isn’t writing this script.
#95: “Luckily, Pine won’t be writing the film.”
Probably true, but …
“I don’t mind humor, but swollen hands and numb tongue isn’t very funny to me.”
… unluckily, the creative team that spawned those moments of wry comic genius _will be_ writing the film.
I agree that Pine is a great actor. I loved his characterization of “young Kirk.” But, we need to see the beginnings of the mature Kirk as well, because integrity of character is vital to Trek.
We cannot take the risk that Trek may become a parody of itself. For that, we already have Galaxy Quest.
When STIV was released, I was not entirely comfortable with it precisely because it was too light-hearted. Even back then, I knew that preserving Trek meant preserving its solemnity. Star Trek is not, fundamentally, a comic franchise. I would not like to see criticism of Pine’s performances in the future akin to criticism of Roger Moore’s portrayal of Bond.
I would imagine that the Powers That Be might reply that nothing like Galaxy Quest is in the offing, but that we must remember that Trek has always had comic moments, and that we must appeal to the younger audiences as well as old. That may be so, but, in the same way that morose and depressing Trek (Nemesis) was nearly fatal to the film franchise, an excess of comedy may yield similar results. The solution is to see humor as a leavening — but only a leavening — to what should be a serious science-fiction action picture presented on an epic scale.
76. “I don’t want to see him chasing women.”
Kirk not chasing tail. Aw come on Ryan. You’ve been watching too much Picard. And Trek has always been able to laugh at itself…long before the movies. We’ve tried a serious sci-fi movie, the first one, and look how that turned out. Were talkin’ TOS Trek here. I swear, you kids today, with your spinoffs…
97
Boy, Hat Rick, did you ever nail that! I agree! Star Trek started going downhill with ST:IV. Too much forced humour!
I love it when you say, “what should be a serious science-fiction action picture presented on an epic scale”
EXACTLY!!!! I’ve been making the same argument for YEARS!!!!
The writers should have that statement blown up in big letters and hung on the wall of the room where they write as a daily reminder to them!!!
#98
What I mean’t was I don’t want Kirk to be obsessed with getting laid. During TOS, whenever Kirk was attracted to a woman, it was genuine affection and not just lust. I.e Edith Keeler. He knew not to get involved with Uhura, even though it was clear at times they had feelings for each other. This is what I want from Chris Pine’s Kirk in the sequel. He can have his romance; I just want the writers to remember that Kirk is a ladies man because of their attraction to him, not because of him wanting to get laid all the time.
But I also happen to believe that the Enterprise is his first, true love. His role as Captain makes it difficult for a long-term relationship with a woman. In fact, he broke up his relationship with Carol Marcus because of the demands of his job.
#97, 99
I happen to like “The Voyage Home”. There were great character moments, a great message and it was fun. But since it took place in San Francisco during ‘86 there perhaps is more cheesiness to this film than some of the other TOS films. What Kirk and Spock wore in the movie was a bit ridiculous. Especially Kirk’s red jacket, black pants and pink shirt.
100. I knew what you ment Ryan. Just conversing. :)
Meant
Compared to some of the humor in TOS, Star Trek IV might as well be Hamlet.
“… unluckily, the creative team that spawned those moments of wry comic genius _will be_ writing the film.”
Which is why, though I almost certainly will see the thing–they got me at “Star Trek”–dammitall–I just as certainly won’t be first in line, this time out.
Don’t get me wrong. Much of the humor DID work in Star Trek. Just not the swollen hands and numb tongue part. I’m never first in line, but I’m quite eager for a new film.
101 “Especially Kirk’s red jacket, black pants and pink shirt”
And that wouldn’t fit in to 1986 San Francisco how? :>)
That Spock and Uhura thing should not have happened
Oh yeah and Chris Pine has it right everybody knows that Kirk never liked to be outdone in anything And by the way What about Christine Chapel I thought she is the one who liked Mr Spock Star Trek was kinda backwards for me I have always thought Kirk was interested in Uhura I just kinda thought that would have been a good idea considering folks are still get mad at Bi racial BwWm couples if it was done that way it would show that civilization had overcome bigotry
#105: “Which is why, though I almost certainly will see the thing–they got me at “Star Trek”–dammitall–I just as certainly won’t be first in line, this time out.”
[nods in sympathy] They got _me_ at Karl Urban. And they still got me pretty much exactly the same way.
#107
“And that wouldn’t fit in to 1986 San Francisco how? :>)”
It fits with San Francisco of 1986. What it didn’t fit was William Shatner.
Might have worked better with George Takei though. ;-)
#109: “everybody knows that Kirk never liked to be outdone in anything”
Here’s one person who doesn’t “know” that; I consider it an overblown retcon from the movie era.
Thanks, 99.
101, I, too, liked STIV, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a bit too light-hearted, in my view. It was a good movie, but only about middle-ranking among the Trek movie series, as far as I’m concerned.
For example, I have trouble understanding how the very serious, very commanding Captain Kirk of TMP could have mugged the way the Captain Kirk of STIV did when he saw Spock in the whale tank communing with Gracie. Shatner was mugging for the camera; that snippet was pure slapstick. Also among the lesser scenes was the splish-splash horseplay among the actors — er, I mean, the characters — right after they saw George and Gracie exit the half-sunken Bird of Prey. That verged on being an outtake, in my view.
I realize that it actually wasn’t much fun filming those water scenes, as I understand it from the film commentaries, because the actors were quite cold from the wind machines and waterspray. That made the wacky nature of the BOP water scene all the stranger.
I hasten to add that I enjoyed STIV and think highly of it. Still, it was clearly the slaphappiest of the film series, and I don’t mean that in a particularly good way.
Funny, I always found the scene when they jump off the Bird of Prey into the water joyous. Brings tears to me eyes so it does.
Goes to prove we all look for something different in Trek I guess.
Well, I’m not saying it wasn’t joyous. It was. Too joyous, perhaps, in my opinion.
But, you know, in the final analysis, it doesn’t matter what I think of it. If you liked it, I salute you for it, and it goes to show that Trek works on many levels for many people.
excuse me John Ross obviously you do not know what you are talking about when it comes to trek you really have no clue of how Kirk was it appears Yea i said he does not like to be outdone in anything what is wrong with that statement – I guess you think you are the authority on how star trek should go The so called timeline is altered so I do not blame the producers and directors for taking star trek in an unexpected direction If Chris wants another shot at Uhura they should give it to him Sheesh stop your whinning and get a life it is only a make believe movie You folks will really make people lose their taste for Star Trek why do you hang on to every little thing the actors say even if they are joking ———- That Is NUTS
I kinda think Chris got a crush on Zoe
Quite possible, given that Zoe is quite the bombshell!
I wonder if will be an unstated, Shatner-Nimoy-esque rivalry between Pine and Quinto. Sans bicycle story, of course.
#115: “excuse me John Ross”
You’re excused.
Bones will be used for comic relief. Scotty will be used for comic relief. Chekov will be used for comic relief. Should Kirk be funny? Really?
The sequel in my opinion should show Kirk behaving more like a man than he did in the last film. He shouldn’t be walking into walls or have swelled up hands.
He should act like a man. A leader. Not some clown. And no going after Uhura. He wasn’t about relationships. He met the woman, they asked him what kiss meant, then he undoubtedly slept with her….and he moved on. This is the guy who didn’t know he was a father.
“then he undoubtedly slept with her….and he moved on. This is the guy who didn’t know he was a father.”
And how many confirmed instances do we have of Kirk having sex in TOS?
I recall the episode where he pulls his boots on – that’s one time. Maybe there is one more.
He knew he was a father – he stayed away because Carroll asked him to stay away.
I agree that Kirk should not be pursuing romance with those he commands (including Uhura), but the image you present here is part of the reason why we have the caricature in the last film (I.e., Kirk is a roving hormone).
#120: “Bones will be used for comic relief. Scotty will be used for comic relief. Chekov will be used for comic relief. Should Kirk be funny? Really?”
Oh, come on now. I think there’s a very good chance that Sulu will be, too :)
there has been a timeline change in this timeline Kirk might not have even had a son and you cannot expect the characters to act same way as they did before the timeline change That would be silly everybody is fighting and yelling about how these characters should be and trying to say they should act the same way in the former timeline that would not make a good story and it makes no sense whatsoever
Out with the old in with the New
#123 but how far can they change the characters before they cease to be the characters we care about? I don’t want to see a different Kirk and a different Spock. I can accept they are younger therfore may behave in a more impetuous less considered way, but ultimately I want to be able to recognise them.
Luckily I’m sure the writers and performers understand this. Even though certain among them can’t seem to verbalise it in interviews!
#123: “everybody is fighting and yelling about how these characters should be”
Point to one person, anywhere on the planet, “fighting and yelling” about it.
A love triangle would be silly and take Trek down a OneTreeHill road.
121. YARN – July 26, 2010
Yeah, I’m sure that he had sex just the one time. That’s why there are all of the jokes of Kirk being a cosmic horn dog. It was the 1960s. Most people were shown sleeping in seperate beds. But there was no sex. Back then, the basic rule that writers followed romantic slow kiss=sex.
Puritans would allow that he had sex the one time so that he could conceive David!
John Ross U lol But you see the characters are differerent since the time line change hate to say it but its true that is why he put the timeline in the new trek the characters personalities are quite different from the original ones Spock would never drop Kirk off on a planet not caring what happened to him and Uhura is totally out of character she teased but she did not go that far with anyone she was totally respectful to folks and the James Kirk character is totally different Kirk was a respectable ladies man not a jerk
Bones as far as i am concerned is the only one in Character let me not forget Chekov and Mr Scott and I only seen the back of nurse Chapels head in sick bay and did we not forget That Mr. Spock is married so what is he doing messing with Uhura I just don’t get it yea this trek was off base from the original in this one i guess spock ain’t married and I guess there is no Carol Marcus or David cause everything is changed so well Chris might get his way with zoe
Maybe there can be a contest between new Scotty and new Kirk to see how much ‘funnier’ each can be. Then Kirk can spend the rest of the film chasing the communications officer around the ship. What a GREAT idea.
No; Chris Pine definitely does not ‘get’ the Kirk character yet.
Please. A good story with solid, involving dialogue….Please.
Don’t much care with what they do with the love story. The fact that they put Spock and Uhura together was unexpected in the first place. So who know what will happen.
I don’t mean to be a douche, but I hope they do better with the Kirk character next time around. I liked 09, it was fun, but I really didn’t get Kirk from Pine, and I think it was as much due to the writing as the acting. The character doesn’t even resemble Kirk from the series. Kirk was a bookworm that became a courageous independent thinker, not a frat boy that got a ridiculous promotion.
I think Chris Pine was joking about Kirk /Uhura action. Forget Uhura, she’s taken, and it seems that Zoe is as well. Oh dear, poor Chris Pine. I’m sure he is among many thousands of men who have similar wishes!
I don’t want to see any Carol Marcus in the next movie. She was horrible. Actually Kirk did know he had a child but Carol did not want the boy “galavanting around the stars with his father…”. Kirk says in TWOK to Carol in the Genesis Cave, “I did what you asked. I stayed away.” What Kirk did not figure was that Carol would lie to their son, David, about his father, telling David that he was dead and refused to tell David who his father was. It was not important. Of course, today, she wouldn’t be able to do such a mean, bitchy, nasty thing…but that was the ’80s when TWOK was made. So NO Carol Marcus ever! (The only other person who knew about Carol and the baby was Dr McCoy, because he delivered their son).
Kirk in TOS did not get laid as often as people like to imagine. I think the writers should develop the friendship between the three main male characters, Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
However, I have always felt it seemed a bit “off”,this “love affair” or perhaps more correctly , unhealthy obsession Kirk had with the Enterprise. He needs a good woman – someone real, living, breathing, thinking, feeling and LOVING. She does not need to live with him (all the time) on the Enterprise – she has her own home planet, but she should be a part of his life, as well as the Enterprise and its crew. It could be an open relationship – an intimate friendship…
I loved Chris as Kirk. I don’t think that the young Kirk was just a bookworm in the prime timeline and it’s always been evident that Kirk had a mischievous side to his nature and perhaps that is what Chris Pine would like to be able to bring out. I’m for that.- I think Chris would be so good – love it! Kirk became a (more) courageous, independent thinker as he got experience commanding the Enterprise. The Pine/Kirk has just started on his journey…These are the early days, and an alternate reality, so there is no reason for not seeing some good work from this Pine/Kirk in the movie sequels.
Does Chris Pine smoke? No doubt he’ll quit in order to get into proper shape for that big Everest climb, or he could quit now, so he’d have a good head start.!
Chris is looking so lovely, and happy. I like his hairstyle – it really suits him. I am so pleased that all appears to be going so well for him in his theatrical work. Wish I could see him as Padriac on stage but live on the other side of the Earth and he has obviously not got onto Scotty to fix those darned transporters…:) but I’ve read that this character, Padriac, is a very demanding and crazy individual, so I guess all is forgiven!
No, no, no – I liked the Spock/Uhura relationship; it had depth & interest. We all know Kirk is on his way to being the Casanova of the Alpha Quadrant, and I think Uhura sees right through him !
can all the Trekkies all please calm themselves about chris not “getting” kirk. part of the reason nobody used to like star trek is because kirk was kind of annoying. chris is making him more real and honest and modern. that doesn’t mean he wants to make kirk some action movie clown. but he’s replacing the 80’s-esque dramatic pauses with real dialogue, and some humor because yes, kirk is still young, and yes he’s going to get beat up and make his sexy “i’ve just been punched” face and it will be slightly funny but you will also sympathize with him and want him in your pants. but star trek is finally, like, good. rejoice. and spock is a sexy beast.
Douche.