In the 2009 Star Trek movie actress Jennifer Morrison played Winona Kirk, mother of James T. Kirk. In a new interview the actress talks about her experience on the film and gives some interesting insights into the secrecy of a JJ Abrams production.
Morrison on Star Trek secrecy and giving birth to Kirk
In the last few weeks there have been various reports coming out about the Star Trek movie, but things are still being kept under wraps. We have learned that the actors (as of last week) hadn’t seen the script. In a new interview with the official Star Trek website, Jennifer Morrison goes into detail on the secrecy related to her auditions for the 2009 movie:
Morrison: They gave me sides that had nothing to do with the movie, that just had a lot of emotions that I guess would be comparable to what the character was going to go through in the movie. I went in and read for (casting director) April Webster. It was a crazy scene where I was supposed to be in some sort of water thing where the walls were closing in. It was me and my husband and we only had one air tank. I wanted him to take the air tank and he wanted me to take it. So I had to watch him drown while I took the air tank, and then I had to swim with him and get him to shore and then resuscitate him. I mean, this is a lot when all you have is a room and a chair and a camera. It was one of those things where you just had to completely go for it or you’re going to look like a crazy person.
It might be worth remembering how the Abrams teams operates as we hear reports from actors (and their agents) with regards to the upcoming sequel.
Morrison also talked about her playing such an important role in Star Trek:
Q: Did you have any clue that, in essence, you were giving birth to the renewed franchise?
Morrison: I didn’t think of it that way, but I’m thrilled that we succeeded in doing that. I just felt lucky to have been any part of that at all. It’s fun to be a part of that whole world. There’s a whole mythology to Star Trek. I was excited, too, because as far as I knew, no actress had ever played Winona Kirk. She’s been discussed in the mythology, but never played before. So it was fun to be the first actress to play her on screen.
Of course the name "Winona Kirk" had not appeared in any of the Star Trek movies before, but was another example of how writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman dipped into Trek’s extended universe. Kirk’s mother was first given the name Winona in Vonda N. McIntyre’s 1986 novel "Enterprise: The First Adventure."
Jennifer Morrison as Winona Kirk (with little baby James T. Kirk) in "Star Trek" (2009)
No word yet on if we will be seeing Kirk’s mom return in the Star Trek sequel. Both Morrison and Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk) gave breakout performances in the emotional opening to the Star Trek movie. Some fans had wondered why Winona did not appear in the final ceremony scene where Kirk was made captain and given command of the USS Enterprise.
For more from Morrison read the full interview at StarTrek.com.
I think she and Chris did a fantastic job. Would love to see Jennifer Morrison back as Kirk’s Mom and maybe have a little flashback scene with Hemsworth as George Kirk. Those two did a fantastic job. Brought tears to my eyes in that first powerful scene.
Have her come back!!
I must say, even if I sound like a hopeless fanboy, for me the opening sequence of “Star Trek” was one of the most powerful, dramatic and stirring things I’ve ever seen in a film.
“Morrison: They gave me sides that had nothing to do with the movie, that just had a lot of emotions that I guess would be comparable to what the character was going to go through in the movie.”
Interesting. You know when Weller’s agent said he be playing a CEO — I bet that they just had him audition as a CEO character, and he will not be a CEO in the movie at all.
How can a non-cannon film be considered as renewal of a franchise?
The article’s author is funny.
@5 Well you certainly are not funny.
3 – great scene with an amazingly moving score as well.
MJ that might be, I was thinking he just muffed the title C in C, like they used int ST VI.
#7 (rm10019): Right, the score was instrumental in making the sequence so powerful.
#3. I agree with you 100%. I get schoolgirl weepy every time I see it. Absolutely fantastic.
3. I’m trying to think of a better one and I can’t!
It’s not an exact comparison but the first 40 minutes or so of Saving Private Ryan is also extremely intense, and is likely my favorite 40 minutes of film.
The first 8 minutes of the movie could have been the best Trek movie by itself. My wife and I joke around saying that the opening scene is Star Trek I and whatever is after the opening credits is Star Trek II.
The opening scene is classic! As great as the movie was, none of the other scenes could match the moment when Winona gave birth while George flew the Kelvin into the Narada to save her, and their son, Jim.
I thought Trek ’09 was a mess, EXCEPT for the opening scene, which was very compelling and well done dramatically.
@5 – It’s canon whether you accept it or not, troll. Canon has an objective meaning, so it is not a matter of opinion. ST2009 is canon because it was produced and released by the owners of the franchise.
This kind of nonsense is like those Star Wars fans who try to claim Phantom Menace is not canon. It is canon, it’s just not *good*. There is a difference.
It’s also like those idiots who look at a Jackson Pollock and say “this is not art” instead of “I do not like this” – do not conflate subjective statements with objective facts.
“Some fans had wondered why Winona did not appear in the final ceremony scene where Kirk was made captain and given command of the USS Enterprise.”
Because JJ, Bob and Alex believe that movie mothers don’t contribute anything special for our heroes except giving birth to them and being emotional baggage? We didn’t even to hear their names spoken in the film. They were that disposable.
And it didn’t get better either. Just look at how well the mothers (or heck, all the female characters) were handled in JJ’s SUPER 8. One abandoned her family, and the other was dead. I am 110% certain that Winona Kirk will not only be absent in the next film, but won’t even be referenced.
@12: Agreed. You could probably narrow down, right to the frame number, when the Star Trek movie ends and the Star Trek parody begins by referencing the audio track. It’s somewhere early on in the logo reveal shot, I think. (I’m not watching it a third time to find out, mind you.)
@13: Well-put. ST09 is, indeed, the Phantom Menace of the Star Trek franchise. Doesn’t mean it isn’t canon; I’m sure there are people who wish Star Trek V could be considered unofficial, or certain episodes of Voyager and Enterprise, or whatnot. (Not that I’m one of those people, I’m just sure there are.) We have to learn to accept Trek’s failings along with its triumphs.
@5: Since when is it a non-canon film? Gene Roddenberry once said that anything that is on screen is canon.
Haters gonna hate, I guess.
” It was me and my husband and we only had one air tank. I wanted him to take the air tank and he wanted me to take it. So I had to watch him drown while I took the air tank, and then I had to swim with him and get him to shore and then resuscitate him.”
For my money, that bit of misdirection was far more interesting and dramatic than anything that actually took place in Trek 2009.
That said, the opening sequence certainly is the film’s high point, since (unlike the 90 minutes that follow) it at least connects with some honest, primal human emotion. But it’s also a primer for it’s weaknesses as well: poorly motivated villains needlessly directing things to explode; aggressive silliness (tossing holograms like softballs); dumbing-down of a venerable SF franchise (the earth-date stardates that would presumably mean less than nothing to a Romulan); and Big Emotional Moments that nonetheless ring false because they pay no dues to logic or internal consistency (why does Nero, commander of the most powerful ship in the known universe, just sit there like a fool when George Kirk begins his suicide run?).
As an actor, Ms. Morrison definitely drew the long straw in that production. Even so, she deserved better.
WOW stop hating on the damn movie, why do you even care about this website if you hate ST2009 so much? Obviously some people forgot to put their happy pants on.
Heh. Mine split at the crotch on May 7, 2009.
17. Michael… That scene already exists. It is in James Cameron’s “The Abyss” (1989), except it is the wife (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who dies because the husband (Ed Harris) is the better swimmer. That’s one helluva scene.
“Gene Roddenberry once said that anything that is on screen is canon.”
That was before THE FINAL FRONTIER, which Roddenberry described on at least one occasion as “apocryphal.” And of course, he never lived to see Trek 2009 grace the screen, which might be proof that he was wrong about at least one pretty important item: there is a God.
@ 20 Thorny
By Crom, you’re right! A pretty powerful scene indeed, and difficult for me to sit through, too. Even though the idea (which obviously pans out) is for her to be revived, as ways to go go, for some reason I have an especial fear of drowning.
I hope she comes back for the sequel. Lots of unexplored drama potential there!
@3, 8, 9, etc: Damn straight that scene was awesome, I still can’t get through it without at least a few manly tears.
@4: “Morrison: They gave me sides that had nothing to do with the movie, that just had a lot of emotions that I guess would be comparable to what the character was going to go through in the movie.”
Interesting. You know when Weller’s agent said he be playing a CEO — I bet that they just had him audition as a CEO character, and he will not be a CEO in the movie at all.
This is a good catch. This is a very, very good catch.
I thought they just took Winona Ryder’s name for convenience.
And I liked ST2009. A lot. Apparently I remembered my happy pants, Leen.
Jennifer Morrison and Chris Hemsworth gave the opening of the movie a perfect emotional resonance. They did so much in so little screen time. In just a few short minutes each, they moved me and set me up for a very satisfying film experience.
I thought that scene was wonderful. I also hope that Kirk’s dear mother makes a small reappearance in the next film for some reason.
27… Might be difficult. Morrison is currently starring in ABC’s “Once Upon A Time”.
That opening prologue of George and Winona Kirk aboard the Kirk just about rips your heart out. As a married man myself, I have to fight tears during George’s (Chris Hemsworth) last words to his wife (kind of reminds me a bit of “Ground Control to Major Tom”).
It’s a powerful hook to the movie, and Jennifer Morrison should be proud of her role in it. I think it was instrumental in grabbing the hearts and minds of non-Trekkers everywhere and made them love this movie; which had a very human heart at it’s center. It made Star Trek 09 more of a raw emotional experience for the non-converted and a bit less of a ‘secret handshake’ kind of movie (as the Next Gen movies were particularly guilty of).
Now, to Bob Orci, Alex Kurtzman and JJ Abrams; hurry up with that sequel… the natives are getting restless! ;-D
29.
Self-edit:
Oops! I meant to say ‘aboard the Kelvin’, not ‘aboard the Kirk.’
At the time, James Kirk was aboard the Winona Kirk….
;-P
@# 28 – Thorny
Mmm, you never know. People have been known to work the schedules just right. ;-).
Anyway, a girl can hope.
“Heh. Mine split at the crotch on May 7, 2009.”
And it seems that you have been wearing those same split at the crotch pants ever since. The chafing must be something terrible but I have to come to learn that some people thrive on being miserable.
Now, you could take off those ripped and smelly pants and underwear and go get yourself a brand new set. Of course, there is always the risk that you might not feel so miserable anymore. But, hey, life is a risky business, so I’m told.
And I thought it was just me who preferred the first scene to the rest of the film!
I don’t hate ST2009, but I sure don’t love it.
Wow… I had forgotten how full of hate these boards get. It’s more than a little disheartening.
I would not rank ST2009, but it’s in the top 3 for me. For all its flaws, it’s still a fresh take on Star Trek… I dare say it’s the freshest take on the franchise since the Original Series. And the quality of the acting is solid, start to finish. Morrison and Hemsworth are excellent, but so are Pine, Quinto, Urban, Saldana, Cho, Yelchin, and Pegg – as well as Nimoy and Greenwood. (The only acting job I found lacking in depth was Bana’s, especially since I have a high regard of him as an actor in general.)
I do like the opening scene, but it’s not my favorite, per se. From a cinematic perspective, it’s a well told, well edited, well paced entertainment flick. It succeeded as a film unto itself, rather than just as the latest in a series of films. Its cinematic qualities, as opposed to its “trekiness”, is what makes a strong entry.
That is why I have confidence that the Bad Robot team will not just tap into the “old chestnuts” like Khan and the Klingons. (Though I could be wrong, especially about the Klingons, though I’d still expect them to do a fresh take on them.)
^ correction: “I would not rank ST2009” _as the best_.
I wholeheartedly want to see Jennifer Morrison cameo in the sequel. Star Trek Magazine did a great article after the film’s release questioning why Winona didn’t reappear.
Maybe Winona is the villain in the next one: The Wrath of Mom. ::ducks::
Even as a kid I thought that scene in ‘the Abyss” was incredibly stupid. Ed Harris waits for whats her face to drown then starts swimming for safety. Wouldn’t have made sense to start swimming before she stops breathing, as to minimize the effects ? Eh, it was pretty much a piece of shit movie top to bottom so whatever. On topic: the prologue of ST 09 was easily the best part of the movie. God I wish they had cast Hemsworth as James T. I pretty much loathed Chris Pine.
I’ve watched the movie several times and I cry during that opening scene every time. I’m sure it has something to do with being a father myself now… but man. get’s me. Fantastic performances!
The opening scene was perfect. Easily the best part of the movie. Yeah, it was cliche with the father saving the ship, talking to his wife via communicator giving birth, and saying “I love you” right before the ship blew up, but it works like gangbusters. Very well acted, directed, edited, and written.
Morrison did a tremendous job.
I am not a big fan of Abrams’ whole mystery-box-secrecy of his movies, though.
Another ditto to #3!
I love the “Oh S#!T!” look on George’s face, first when he’s told he has command and then again when he learns the auto pilot is out… perfect!
@40: I like that Abrams keeps everything secret for several reasons, the first one being that I like to be suprised. What’s the point of seeing a movie that you know all about before you even get there? Where’s the fun in that?
The second is that the secrecy keeps outside influences to a minimum and protects the integrity of the work in progress. In short, you minimize the influence of nosy fanboys on the production as it’s being made.
Third, the secrecy focuses the people who are involved. They are not going to post things to Facebook, tweet, make the talk show rounds, or otherwise create a stir by blabbing details to the world. They know they can’t, so they curtail such distracting activities.
Fourth, I believe it helps create a better team. Again, Abrams is creating a temporary closed society. The people involved can only talk to each other about what they do every day, so they build better relationships which, I also believe, makes a better end product. Chemistry is essential in a project like this.
So, hooray for the secrecy!
That opening scene was pure cinematic gold.
No iconic character has ever been given a greater introduction into the universe than these guys gave james T Kirk.
34… Destroying Vulcan just really keeps ST2009 from being a great movie or great Trek in my opinion. If ever there was a case of “just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD”, this is it. If you want to call that ‘hate’, fine. But to me it is up there next to the relaunch of “Mission Impossible” turning Jim Phelps into the bad guy in the Bad Ideas Hall of Infamy.
The other problems in the movie (Kirk’s insta-captaincy, Nero’s motivation and the Narada evidently sitting around in a Klingon impound lot for 20+ years, and Kirk/Spock Prime in the mother of all coincidences on Delta Vega) are lazy writing, but easily forgivable in a popcorn movie.
I hope Star Trek 2013 is a better movie, as Trek II was better than TMP, or Dark Knight was better than Batman Begins. But I won’t be putting money on that being the case.
I’m not seeing hate here, but some valid criticisms.
My wife and I both felt the film had a strong opening. We both loved the Pike character, particularly his speech in the bar. Pike was easily the most powerful presence on screen.
However, there were some weaknesses. After decades of waiting to see Kirk take “the test”, it was little more than a joke. It would have been nice to see the Kirk character take the test one or more times, make an effort to pass, then resolve to change the test because he feels it is not valid.
The “insta-captaincy” mentioned by 44 could be made more interesting if the next film shows a consequence of that decision. Losing 12 years or so of real world experience before being promoted could lead to some nice drama next time around.
In my opinion, “insta-captaincy” was a safe writing decision. It would been riskier and more interesting to leave the issue of who becomes captain unresolved or to have Pike continue as Captain with Kirk as first officer and Spock as Science Officer. That leaves you in a position of wondering where things are going to go and wanting to find out in the future. Instead, everyone safely ends up in their traditional roles.
Nero had a great deal of potential. Had we seen more of him prior to going back in time, it would have given Nero some additional depth. Unfortunately, the audience doesn’t really have time to get to know him.
As far as destroying Vulcan goes, I actually consider that another safe decision. However, t has the potential for some great drama down the road if the writers choose to explore it. A truly risky writing choice would have been to destroy Earth instead.
I really would liked to have seen much more Greenwood. He was certainly Obi-Wan to Kirk in the film. The actor was stellar in his speech in the bar. Probably the most unforgettable moment in the film for me.
One thing I do miss is the more theatrical and cerebral Star Trek.
Really, compairing Trek 11 to Phantom Menance? That’s a new low for even the most nitpicky trek fan. That’s retarded. Phantom Menance was boring, Trek 09 was a great film. Not the best Trek movie, but it was a ton of fun, and it took risks without resorting to using the lame and overused reset button that past Trek always used to avoid upsetting the zealous Trek dork.
Get a clue people. This flick, while not “perfect” for some trek fans, brought this franchise back and to levels that NONE of the TNG movies and even TOS movies ever came close to accomplishing. Star Trek was dead..again, in no part to Enterprise, Voyager, Insurrection, Nemesis and Burman. This flick too some risks. Destroying Vulcan was a great story point that will, hopefully, drive home some great plots in future stories. It was gutsy and it worked. Kirk as Captain so early…worked. I’m glad they did not spend 3 movies getting him to the center chair. They did that with Anakin Skywalker to Vader in Star Wars and you know what..those flicks sucked.
For those who complain about action flicks and how we “need” a adventure movie…we had that before. Go back and watch Trek 1, 5, 7 (to an extent) and 9. What did they have in common? They sucked! They were terrible. Bad horrible flicks that could of and should have killed Star Trek over and over. If you want your adventure, go watch those and the many episodes still on DVD. YOU NEED movies that appeal to EVERYBODY for this franchise to survive. We proved that Trek fans alone cannot keep a franchise alive..just go ask the cast of TNG. Trek flicks need to be bigger then that. Trek 11 did just that. The flick was not perfect, but it sure was better then most TNG, Voyager, Enterprise, Treks 1, 5, 7, 9, and 10.
Trek 11 was the Phanton Menace of Trek….stupid. Plain stupid. Grow up people and be glad that there are Trek flicks being made.
@ 42: To each their own, I guess. But I prefer filmakers like Peter Jackson who like to show the world what they are doing via video blogs and have journalists follow the production and write about it.
Yeah, I don’t want to know everything, but would like to know something. I mean, they could at least give us a quick one or two sentance blurb of what the new movie is about, major characters, etc. Abrams is way too overly concerned with secrecy. But, whatevs, he’s the director so he can do what he wants. At least he makes good movies.
The scene she read was Ed Harris in ‘The Abyss.’
Apologies to Thorny. You had already posted it was ‘The Abyss.’
Damn….just heard on NBC4 in Los Angeles….Spock has been taken to the medical bay in critical condition.