Star Trek Beyond Begins Next Phase of Filming With Press Conference in Dubai

dubai_press

As we edge ever closer to the picture wrap of Star Trek Beyond, still very little information has been released (officially or otherwise) about the film’s plot or even its characters. The cast and grew gathered for an official press conference today at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. The event included director/producer Justin Lin, executive producer Jeffrey Chernov, writers Douglas Jung & Simon Pegg and actors Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin and Idris Elba. Hit the jump for video of the event.

As usual, the cast and crew didn’t go into much detail pertaining to the plot of the film. Mostly, they spoke to what positive experiences they’ve had with their fellow stars and crew and what shooting in Dubai will bring to the film.

“We came searching for the future and we found it,” said producer Jeffrey Chernov. “We’d drive around Dubai and look at things and we’d have to figure out how we can use those visual guides to tell our story. I’d see a building and say ‘we have to figure out how to put that in our movie.’”

Chris Pine agreed, adding that Dubai is like a “futureland” with an aesthetic that a future city might have.

Simon Pegg, co-writer and co-star of the film, talked about how Beyond will be like the Star Trek we grew to love on Television but also fit into the landscape of modern cinema.

“The film industry is ever changing, and this has to be a new kind of Star Trek. So, the challenge was to marry the two: the traditional Star Trek that everyone grew up watching, and our Star Trek, which is a much more new [sort of thing] very much represented by our presence here in Dubai.”

Pegg_dubai

 


 

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Is this our first look at the official logo for the film?

Well, here’s validation of the previous story some months back reporting the title of the movie as “Star Trek Beyond.” Apparently it’s official now.

So I guess that’s something. Though I doubt there will be anything “beyond” about this formulaic action movie. I suspect they’re calling it “beyond” for the same reasons that Fox News calls itself “fair and balanced.” Actually, didn’t someone turn up some info about the title “Beyond” having been chosen before the script was even written?

Whoa so many women there…

@1: That is merely a neutral, placeholder image.

But notice the title: BEYOND, no 50th Anniversary logo attached though…

Dubai… built by the slave labor of tens of thousands of mistreated and abused foreign workers. Homosexuality is illegal. The death penalty is one of the punishments for being gay. Repulsive that something as progressive as Star Trek is being made here.

Read about the lack of human rights in Dubai… The real crew of the Enterprise would be fighting these “bad guys” for justice if this were an episode of the TV show… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Dubai

Women can be arrested for being raped. There is the death penalty for speaking out against Islam. Being gay is punishable by death. Women are treated like property and need to get permission from a male “guardian” to marry. it’s against the law to marry a non-muslim.

#WorseThanTheBorg

Im sure Quinto is as thrilled with Dubai as Pine is.

I guess we know why Zoe didnt go. She wasnt allowed.

Anyway… so this film has avoided any real leaks. is that due to better secrecy or is it indicative of the lack of anyone giving a s#!t about it?

5 and 6, your statements reek of intolerance and ignorance. Please take your self-righteousness elsewhere.

@Silvereyes

People like you, who preach absolute tolerance will be the downfall of modern civilization. You have no spine, you have no culture and you have nothing that you value so dear, to be willing to put your life on the line for.

I fully expect this comment to be moderated because we live in a time where the lies of political correctness are valued more than the harsh, cold reality of the truth.

Wait. Being against Homophobia and the mistreatment of gays and women is called intolerance?? hahahaha wow.

Put me down as being intolerant of intolerance.

And Kim Davies met with the Pope. What a backwards world.

Hah! I love the lens flare in the logo. Why won’t Paramount listen to 40 year olds?

#8: So it’s intolerant to speak out against homophobia and the mistreatment of women? Wow. Your response is absurd.

Ok, Ok, let’s all calm down… Obviously I didn’t express myself in a cohesive manner. That’s what happens when you try to convey an opinion in one line of text.

I’m all for the intolerance against homophobia and the mistreatment of women and human rights… However, I’m also against those who preach, on one side or the other, and my reaction was a little too impulsive.

I will ALWAYS be against statements such as “People like you, who preach absolute tolerance will be the downfall of modern civilization.” and this is the BS that will always get a reaction out of me.

I apologize if I offended anyone…

Silvereyes… Dubai has a LAW that says that people like me a Quinto (gay people) should be executed. That means killed. That means murdered. This is something that everybody should be “intolerant” of and “preach” against. How is pointing that murderous homophobia and sexism against women and the massively documented human rights violations against migrant workers are subjected to a bad thing?????

It’s nonsensical to say that you are opposed to people “preaching” on “one side or the other” as that means no one should talk about anything. Or do anything about injustice. Being caught in your conformist, look-the-other-way mind must be a sad prison to be trapped in. My condolences that that is your lot in life.

#5. Luke Montgomery – September 30, 2015

What is one to conclude about your accuracy in reporting Dubai’s laws with Quinto clearly still alive reportedly pictured at a press conference there?

Was the conference and its reporting of Quinto working there a Hollywood sham job a la CAPRICORN ONE?

We’re not just talking about the cultural differences of a Muslim country–Dubai is literally built and run by slaves.
http://www.vice.com/video/the-slaves-of-dubai

It’s a future more like the stratified city of Metropolis than the egalitarian world of Star Trek.

@2 (Cygnus-X1): Go sleep. You’re talking nonsense now… ;-)

@5&6 (Luke Montgomery): Dubai is a Muslim country, and its citizens can emigrate from there if they are not satisfied with it, or they can change it. Bottom line, you should mind your own business. The West has interfered in the affairs of others for too long, and we, in the West, have gotten into trouble because of our arrogance. You think YOU know better, than to tell people and their government what to do? How imperialistic of you, my friend. But to keep this on point, perhaps if the West had its own “Prime Directive”, perhaps the world could be a better place. Food for thought…

@dswynne

If Starfleet Captains obeyed the prime directive, you might have a point.

However, modern civilization has been built on the foundation of violence and conquest. If we all still lived as tribes in the bush, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. So take a moment to thank the greatest empire in human history, the English Empire, for giving us true civilization.

@silvereyes

You better get your eyes checked, you quoted my reply to you so that’s not an excuse what-so-ever. It also happens to be the truth.

I found myself with a big grin on my face as I watched the video. So lovely to see *most of the main cast altogether and all looking good. They were all speaking English but listen to all the various accents. I even heard one that I am a bit more familiar with…:) and Karl Urban brought his family to Dubai (good one, Karl – in NZ, it is school holiday time until 12 October).

Oh yes, Jemini, where’s all the *women? Sadly, no Zoe Saldana even…:(

(Even God needed a human woman to make himself fully manifest as a human being…)

Re – slave labour, sexism etc. Unfortunately, Dubai is not the only country to be this way. The Taj Mahal was built on slave labour and once the building was completed, as *payment*, all the slaves were massacred. India, like Dubai and other similar places, do well out of tourism because people want to see such structures, irrespective of who did the heavy labour and how such labourers were treated. People come because the buildings’ architectural, engineering and artistic value. Few, if any, of the thousands of slaves had anything to do with the design of these structures.

I am unsure about Dubai but I have read of a woman who was arrested and then convicted of being raped – the sentence – beheading. That occurred in Saudi Arabia but the west says little, if anything, about such unspeakable, unforgivable. atrocities, because the oil companies have deals going on with that country which means that they get cheaper oil…

Laws against homosexuality also occur in other countries as well and even in first world western countries up until about 25-30 years ago, men could still face imprisonment and/or enforced so-called treatments/cures to rid them of their homosexual tendencies, which rarely, if ever, worked. The treatments just sent the men insane/suicidal or made them very ill. For those few where such treatments did work, it was only because they were inherently bisexual – bisexual being the *dirty* word that much of the gay/lesbian community seem not to want to acknowledge the reality of, for some reason.

“It’s a future more like the stratified city of Metropolis than the egalitarian world of Star Trek.”

Like many other world structures – Taj Mahal, Sistine Chapel, Pyramids, various cathedrals and palaces – they were also built by thousands of ordinary labourers, along with some more skilled in certain crafts. Many were slaves or serfs, where pay was either nothing or very little and where conditions could be extremely dangerous. Many died.

However, it is the design – engineering and architecture that the film makers have been inspired by and if similar exists on some planet outta that way, there could be reason to believe that similar cities may have been built where decent wages/compensations and conditions were in the forefront when it came to construction – until/unless the writers say otherwise…

What’s inspiring about Star Trek (or could be) is that other worlds may do things differently, better, than humanity has done. This can show us now how we could be in the future…

17. dswynne – September 30, 2015

@2 (Cygnus-X1): Go sleep. You’re talking nonsense now… ;-)

Heh—I am actually quite sleep deprived.

Though I did watch the latest Star Trek Continues episode yesterday and found it very disappointing, I must say. If I missed the point of it, please someone set me straight. But, from what I saw it was kind of pointless. Very well produced, mind you. The STC crew has their craft down pat. But the script was garbage.

My advice to anyone associated with Star Trek Continues—and, as a reminder, I am a big fan and supporter—but, my advice to Vic Mignogna & Co. is to not produce any more episodes until you have a script worthy of your effort. As I said, you’ve got the production part down pat. Even the performances, typically the weakest link in Indie/fan Trek, were mostly solid in Divided We Stand—the one noteworthy exception being the doctor who fills in for McCoy, who was a bit shaky and not believable in the role. But, apart from him, the rest of the performances were solid. And the film looks great. But the script is garbage and the story is kind of pointless, by far the worst of the 5 STC episodes.

Focus on scriptwriting!! And then make another great episode, like Lolani and Fairest of Them All!!

P.S. What I mean is that Divided We Stand was the worst script/story of the 5 STC episodes. The production value was great. Direction and performances were solid. But the script was not worthy of your efforts.

http://sknr.net/2015/09/30/star-trek-beyond-press-conference-pictures/

Nice pics here. Have a look at where the conference was held. Just click on the picture…

So anyways, I heard they’re making another Star Trek movie…

@19 Navy
Your kind is a dying breed mate, an anachronism from a bygone era. Just look at the descriptions of Dubai as a ‘future land’ by westerners in the above article. Hollywood films are now written to please Shanghai and movies are now shoehorned with Chinese connections and story lines just so Hollywood can make a buck and stay afloat.
From an economic sense western governments are dependent on the east and that dependence will continue to grow as the years go by.
Putting up with cultural beliefs and practices of the east (morally wrong in some regards) is something westerners are having to put up with and tow the line, you can get used to it too son.

Luke Montgomery

As Trump would say, you are SO politically correct! Quit judging other cultures. That’s the foundation of The Prime Directive, BTW.

I just watched the video…

Dubai wanted the business regarding the film being made there.

Why does the cast feel compelled to kiss their a$$ by holding this press conference?

Pointless. Talk about wasting a half day of shooting schedule.

Morons.

I N C R E D I B L Y
E X C I T E D
F O R
T H I S
M O V I E
! ! !

dswynne, well said.

We better watch it in trying to dictate our Western morals to “moderate” countries in the middle east, because you can bet that ISIS will be happy to move in and take over if we withdraw our support for countries that at least try to meet the West half way like Dubai.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
18. dswynne – September 30, 2015
@5&6 (Luke Montgomery): Dubai is a Muslim country, and its citizens can emigrate from there if they are not satisfied with it, or they can change it. Bottom line, you should mind your own business. The West has interfered in the affairs of others for too long, and we, in the West, have gotten into trouble because of our arrogance. You think YOU know better, than to tell people and their government what to do? How imperialistic of you, my friend. But to keep this on point, perhaps if the West had its own “Prime Directive”, perhaps the world could be a better place. Food for thought…

@ Harry Ballz

Seriously dude, its obvious that you are kind of continually crapping on this movie because of the Orci thing (which I get, and agree with your anger on him on). I like you man, but you continual hate on this new team is kind of mystifying and irritating to me. You are sounding like Cygnus’s cheerleader these days….lol

@ Ahmed

DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU THESE DAYS?

I know we have had our differences, but this site is better when you participate!

@30

Prodigal Son, I will endeavour to do better. :>)

Countries like Dubai (which appears to be one of the more moderate Islamic countries) do frighten many people, Luke Montgomery being one of them because he is in a minority and in those countries, a feared, hated and shockingly persecuted minority at that. People like me, a human female, also share similar fears, because of how so many women get treated in these countries.

So, bottom line, as long as you are not gay or female, then life can be sort of OK…which means that adds up to a lot of people for whom life may not be so good at all, not at all.

As for being able to leave, well, perhaps for some, yes, but for a great many people, the answer is NO. Look what is happening in Europe when many ordinary people try to escape the hardline extremists like ISIS, where they are even killing their own people for being infidels because they don’t follow the *right* sort of Islam, let alone anyone who is not Muslim, like Christians and those few who have no particular religion/denomination.

The west has “towed the line” basically because most in the west are not informed and/or simply don’t care. It’s too far away, not our problem, except that now, it has started to become our problem. Just ask Austria, Germany and other European countries right now… What to do?

Just saying…

@ Keachick

So when is New Zealand going to pitch in and help with immigration. We in the states have tons of immigrants, both illegal and legal, which make up our culture. Same with Europe, who are taking in tons of displaced people now. I have been to New Zealand, and I must be honest, outside of Aukland, everyone is lily white with a perhaps a few Maori that you might see every now and then.

@ Harry Ballz

Cool ! You have always struck me as a fair minded person…probably more fair and level headed then me given some of my checkered past here…whoops! ;-)

It seems weird to me in the West that in the matter of the few decades, our societies choose to make a moral code change (e.g. gay rights), and then we IMMEDIATELY expect the rest of the world to follow suit, and if they don’t, we act so shocked and morally offended???

What trite low-level thinkers that think that a country that has a law that people being gay is both illegal and can be executed is somehow ok because it is also paired with an irrational and evidence-free belief in an invisible magic flying guy in the clouds.

“Culture” is simply an idea and many ideas are bad. Laws that criminalize being gay, allow the murder of gay people through executions are bad ideas that should be condemned and resisted. Laws that oppress women and that them as property should be condemned and resisted.

You are no friend to humanity, reason, justice and progress if you allow others to be killed and oppressed simply because the oppressors claim Santa, the Tooth Fairy, Unicorns, Bigfoot or some god character told them to do it.

If you want an example of how people should stand up to people’s oppression of LGBT people look no further that Riker breaking the Prime Directive beaming down to save Soren from the other J’naii who want to erase her gender identity in “The Outcast.” Maybe stop behaving like a 21st century human content to do nothing while others suffer and start acting like your 24th century heroes who do the right thing. :)

#4. Optimistic Doodle – September 30, 2015

Difficult to tell if that was Dubai Chamber of Commerce supplied backdrop or an official Paramount commissioned work.

Not sure what your point is regarding the film, Rose

Anyway, I agree with Harry about it being a waste of time doing the presser and should definitely anger some people that they would pucker up to a country like that. I wonder how Quinto felt sitting there. But such is the nature of the business.

@Prodigal – to be sure, there is a lot of work to be done in North America regarding Gay Rights. One only need to look at the lunatic Kim Davies and the fact she has elite supporters including a Presidential candidate on her side to see how much work needs to be done.

In my country, we’re in the midst of a federal election right now and one issue has been the wearing of the Niqab while taking the citizenship oath. Its a very small amount of people impacted but is seemingly of disproportionate importance to Canadians.

I debated the issue with a friend who’s opinion was “if they want to wear it then whats the problem.” And the problem is pretty clear. But the “white” western world isnt going to change the culture of the middle east.

Actually, the slaves in Dubai ate from Bangladesh and their passports are taken away, so they can’t leave if they don’t like it. It might be good to learn about this before forming an opinion.

It’s not the worst country on Earth, but it’s a deeply messed up place in a way that has nothing to do with religion, and it sucks that Roddenberry’s utopia is equated with a monarchs slave state just because Dubai had some cool skyscrapers.

40. Kane Lynch

Great points <3

@19 (Navy): Yeah, it’s built…on the backs of slave and indentured labor.

My point isn’t about historical revision, but that we, in the West, continually love to interfere in the internal affairs of others, either for a) profit or b) “human rights”. And then, we, in the West, tend to have selective memories about our past to the point of forgetting what happened the LAST time the West gets involved. Forgoing the political implication of my overall point, I am sick and tired of activists, on both sides, dragging everyone else into an untenable situation where the West is constantly being accused of imperialistic practices. And in the case of filming the next ST in Dubai, I doubt that this “Luke Montgomery” is fan of ST, and simply wants to use ST in order to push his own agenda. And to that, I say, NO. Stick with dealing with the politics within your own country, and mind your business. If you truly believe in the message of ST, then you have to embrace the idea of NON-INTERFERENCE, and let Dubai evolve and grow on its own time and path.

Sorry for the rant, but I’m just…ugh on how Western foreign policy has been “jacked” for the past twenty years, at least.

@Prodigal Son ~#31

I was recently wondering the same about Ahmed. I also was recently ashamed to have noticed that he and I am not Herbert disappeared about the same time…

Quinto should be ashamed of himself.

If Zoe Saldana isn’t in the country because she’s female, then why is Zachary Quinto there as he is gay? Is he not literally afraid for his life because his sexual orientation is very publicly known. This makes no sense.

I’m bisexual and I’d never go to a place such any country run by Islamic law. Just not safe.

A cooler place to film would have been The City of Arts and Science in Valencia, Spain.

UAE DUBAI FILM FESTIVAL (DIFF kicks off in Dubai with Hollywood stardom) 2013

American actor Martin Sheen, a multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award winner, best known for his roles in the iconic film, Apocalypse Now, and hit television series, The West Wing, was awarded a DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening night ceremony.

Others big names to walk down the red carpet were critically acclaimed actress, Cate Blanchett, who stopped to embrace fellow actor Michal B Jordan, star of the Cannes-winning film, Fruitville Station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyvTTUo6cSI

Hollywood star Eva Longoria headlines Dubai charity event at Diff 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-LvXXUYhw

Undoubtedly, Dubai doesn’t allow Hollywood actress into their forbidden land!!!

@ 43. DaiMonRon,

“@Prodigal Son ~#31

I was recently wondering the same about Ahmed. I also was recently ashamed to have noticed that he and I am not Herbert disappeared about the same time…”

Well, I guess that is a good reason to form a congressional subcommittee to investigate this serious matter right away ;)

@31. Prodigal Son,

I’m still around, don’t worry :)

I think that I posted just 2 comments in the ‘Star Trek Beyond’ release date thread. Not much is really happening with STB, beside the “groundbreaking” villain talk!! I didn’t feel like coming to TM as much as I used to.