We have heard a lot from Zachary Quinto since he was cast as the new Spock in Star Trek. We know about his DVD viewing habits (or lack thereof), his ear lobes fitting, his work on Heroes, and even where he went for his Thanksgiving holiday. But in a new interview with the official Star Trek Magazine, he delves into some detail into the how he sees the character of Spock and where we will see Spock in the new film. See below for quotes (minor spoilers):
Quinto on Spock:
He’s a genuinely magnanimous spirit. I think that he uses his logical perspective for good, and to improve people’s circumstances and situations which ultimately enhance the esteem of the universe. And I think he’s sort of constant. He can weather the pendulum swings of human emotions and he can see through things that other people might not be able to see through because they’re blinded by their own visceral or emotional reactions.
Their’s the gravity , the depth of his knowledge and the depth of his spirit that people really respond to and really respect, particularly because we meet this character at a time when he is younger than the Spock millions of people have come to know and love. it’s part of his story that we haven’t seen yet, and it’s a part of his story and a part of his life that certitude isn’t necessarily fully rooted. So there is a notion of conflict in who he is, and who he knows he can become, and that’s something which as an actor is always very interesting and fulfilling to play.
In a separate article on the casting for the film, Quinto was quoted on JJ Abrams approach to how he picked his actors:
He’s not looking for people to recreate the roles that were created by these actors 40 years ago. He’s looking for people that possess some of the same qualities as the actors and can bring some similar depth to these characters, but ultimately these characters will have a life of their own.
The latest issue of Star Trek Magazine has much more from Quinto as well as other good articles on the film, the new tour and much more. Pick it on newsstands now.
out of all the new cast, i don’t think i’m alone in feeling that Quinto is the one i am least worried about. and personally i like all the attention Spock seems to be getting in this film. the captain does not have to be the centre of every story.
Wow… I don’t really know Quinto, but I could hear Nimoy’s voice as I was reading that. They must have spent a lot of time together.
Quinto is a Pittsburgh guy…no worries. I anticipate an experience any true Trek fan can embrace.
Picards in it.
(Vulcan praise) “It would appear that Mr. Quinto will perform the character of Spock…..adequately”. :)
Quinto should quito! All he does is yack and yack….damn fool will say too much one day and end up spilling the beans to the point that nobody will bother to see the film. Like shut up guy!
He’ll be fine.
We need to know about the ship. And the gear. Or maybe that’s just me.
#4 – Scout.
Would you like to elaborate a little on your post? Picards in what?
I heard that George Takei is in it as Captain Sulu again. Is that true?
#5 Fascinating.
The character of Spock, IMO was the hardest to sell to us, the fans. I believe in his capturing – at least through these interviews– of our imagination, the first job of marketing this restart has been completed.
Supporting characters, most noticeably that of Simon Pegg, will be easier to acclimate too I think in part because we’re accepting Spock.
The next 2 big hurdles for the team:
2.) The Enterprise – we get a sneak peak of her this Christmas (oh, Goody) and she will get us all a flutter with anticipation. Even if she lacks …. flames and wings dammit!
and then…
1.) Captain Kirk – can’t wait to get a glimpse of who he was and what he’ll become. I’m familiar with the actor, but not enough to be as excited as I was with Quinto.
So if the Enterprise is cool… that would make this blogcentric rabid fan-bias score two out of a potential 3 Quatloos.
Nerds Rule
“The Enterprise – we get a sneak peak of her this Christmas (oh, Goody) and she will get us all a flutter with anticipation.”
Really? Where did you hear this?
#6 – Robodude
“Quinto should quito! All he does is yack and yack….”
You should be happy that Quinto is “yacking” about the movie. It is free advertising that will help draw attention and build public interest in the movie. It’s basic marketing!
Hopefully this will help to bring large audiences into the theaters for it. I’m not sure that Paramount would back another Star Trek movie for a long time if this one bombs as bad as Nemesis did.
+ It only seems like Quinto is talking so much because we get almost every interview he does. Most people will only maybe see one before the movie comes out. He needs to talk to lots of different reporters, so more people will see the interviews and be interested in the movie…
Just be glad we’re getting a new movie of some sort and not another (Yawn!) Next Generation installment !
It’s great that we’re hearing so much from Quinto, but I’d like to hear from the other cast members and see the ship!
We haven’t heard word one from THE NEW KIRK for example.
Quinto is the “Qunito-essential” New Star Trek expert.
Sorry, I’m just so sick off him. I fear this movie is going to suck for old timers like me. I just want the good old Enterprise without all the crappy CGI details and insane “die hard” type action.
Oh man, I’ve turned into an old guy now–bitchin’ and moaning about nothing.
#16- I am an old timer, and I concur with your last sentence.
Quinto consistently comes across as thoughtful about the character of Spock and he seems to really understand the specialness and specific strengths of the character.
BTW what happened to the Nimoy blog? I thought there would be more installments by now – is this still going to happen?
got this in the mail today and its awesome!:)
Kigs
#16…
“You young whippersnappers with yer young new actors, your fancy-schmancy “see-gee-yii” effects! Why, when I was a kid, we had to watch Star Trek on the small screen! And the effects were done with wooden models, and the sets were styrofoam and tinfoil! And we LIKED it that way!
The more I read about his take on Spock, the more I like the fact that he hasn’t watched any of the episodes. I mean, young Spock wouldn’t know what happened in those “future” episodes, so why should Quinto?
I think they got the right guy, and with Nimoy’s input, I expect he will do a great job.
#20
Took the words right out of my dentures :)
LOL at Janeway being front and centre on that magazine cover! As for Quinto- I’m bored. I want to hear from Pine now.
#20
AND when Star Trek was over, we had to get up and cross the room to the TV to change the channel!
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
We only hear about Quinto because he is the only one who has an inmediate media relevance ouside of Star Trek right now (meaning that he has a daily presence on TV because of his role in Heroes).
The rest don’t have an inmediate media relevance and are probably too busy actually working, but he has a lot of social and media events to cover because of Heroes that forces him to appear in a lot of places independently of if he is actually talking about heroes or not (for example, paparazzi sites are actually caring about taking pictures of the desperate housewives shopping and such)
We won’t probabbly hear much about the rest of the cast untill they are done filming or the actual promotion of the movie begins unless some other previous work of them gets released.
Yet, it would be very nice to hear a word or two from our new Kirk…
I really hope that the main emotional focus that Shatner focused when he played Jimmy T is taken care of (an endless joy of living and a cherish of the fun of live itself as a way of life) and would really really love someone to sit the two actors together at least for a dinner so Shat can share some of his love for the character with his heir.
I almost feel like campaigning so the two of them are at least introduced to each other even if for a few seconds in an elevator.
Also. I honestly believe, regardless of my love for him, that Shatner is being kept without knowledge of the plot at all because he isn’t known precisely for keping his mighty mouth shut.
You know what, I’m an original viewer of Star Trek, so I’m freaking old, and I hope they don’t try to do the movie like the series. I don’t care if the Enterprise has more detail, or if there is a lot of action. This movie is being made to attract new people, and not to please the old farts who can’t take change.
Singer made Superman Returns look just like the Christopher Reeves movies and it SUCKED! I hope for Star Trek’s sake that Abrams makes a lot of you unhappy, because that will probably mean he did a great job.
This film has a huge budget, its being made for a large audience, whether it works or not remains to be seen.
26: You are right about Superman Returns. Except for the airplane scene.
I watched Trek on a B&W TV in the kitchen over dinner in the ’70s, and was completely hooked to TNG. DS9 was a notch down. VOY another notch, and ENT 3 more notches (except for season 4).
I think many here are OK with change, unless the story sacrifices character development for action and spaceships. If Abrams can create moments as poignant as the death of Edith Keeler, or when Spock saw Kirk alive in Amok Time (with McCoy watching). If he can show the spark that got Kirk, Spock and McCoy together, and do it well with new actors, it will ease us into the newly polished universe he has created.
Quinto seems to understand what Spock is about. I agree with others here that it’s time to here from Chris Pine, and also Karl Urban, about their perceptions of their characters.
I’m worried about the Enterprise, but I’ll get over it.
Old Farts Unite!
At 12 I saw the first airing on Sept. 8, 1966 and was stunned!
Dad-burnett! We have kept it alive when there was NOTHING between it cancellation in June 1968 til its first syndication on 16mm film…Dad-Burnett!!!!!!!
Was at the FIRST Star trek Convention ever…Dad-Burnett!
WE HAVE A RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP WITH THIS SHOW!
We bought ever little piece of it from tapes now DVDs, 16mm, 35mm film clips from Lincoln Enterprises, albums (and later CDs), comic and coloring books, fanzines, t-shirts……..the list goes on.
Here’s hoping JJ pays homage to us old F*(^%)#s and keep the heart and feel of STAR TREK>>>>>>>>Keep On Trekking!
no.20:
Im afraid times have a changed and i think people should accept that things have to move on otherwise they get left behind – Star Trek was doing that, being left behind by the likes of Star Wars, and being over taken by whippersnapper’s like Hero’s, Battlestar Galactica, Lost and Stargate SG-1. now you might say but Star Trek was never in that league but i beg to differ, Trek is indeed in that league and its at the bottom of the pile, this movie – a beginning, is set to stun its audience with i think an amazing cast, and a rumoured story that sounds fantastic.
#30
Star Trek was allways in that league. Most times it was very intelligent TV (what Stargate SG-1 never was), TNG was the absolute scfi-show, very optimistic und positive about humanity and characters (what hero’s is not and BSG is especially not. I would never watch Star Trek again, if it changes it’s major themes in the BSG-direction!). DSN was a very intelligent and good made TV-show too.
But VOY and ENT was not. Most storys of both shows where remakes of TOS and TNG-themes or episodes. And with the lack of new exitng adventures, they lost the audience. ENT was a mistake from the very beginning. It lost me shortly after the pilot, but I returend to ENT in the 4th season – too late I have to say.
And about Quinto. I think we heard and read enough of him these days. No day without him. I want hear something from Pine or Greenwood or from Simon Pegg or anyone else of the cast.
But I mostly looking forward to hear something from Ryan Church, the man how re-designed the good old Lady Enterprise.
“But I mostly looking forward to hear something from Ryan Church, the man how re-designed the good old Lady Enterprise.”
I mean of course WHO redesigned the Enterprise. Damn keyboard…
I have come around on Quinto.
At first I was a unsure about him. As time has gone on and I have seen more of his work I think he will do a fine job.
re: 26
“Singer made Superman Returns look just like the Christopher Reeves movies”
If he was trying to make it look like them, then he did a very poor job…Bad movie. Good example of recasting not working.
Perfect! I think Zach-san going to be great in the new movie. To me, it seems he can really take on this role, and end up pleasing everyone without really trying to. I think Spock is safe in his hands. Yay!
#34
It’s not the casting that made Superman returns bad. It trying to make it look exactly like the others. And he actually did a pretty good job of it, much to the movie’s detriment.
If Abrams does the same thing with Trek, it will fail. That’s why he’ll have to go with his own vision, while honoring the old. If he tries to make it look like TOS, he’ll just be doing an expensive version of Star Trek: New Voyages. We don’t need THAT in my opinion.
No matter what it looks like, someone will be disappointed. Few of us seem to agree on what’s good, what’s bad, etc.
I seem to be in the minority in liking ENT over the other spinoffs. It did come across to me as a great deal like what i would have expected that period to be. I liked the evolution of the earliest Earth allies into what we knew of them from TOS. I liked the realistic uncertainty and wild-west attitude that had been missing from the franchise for so long (really since TOS).
I want to see the essence of TOS in this movie. However, its essence was never in its cheap props, cheesy costumes, or bad special effects. It was all about relationships, good stories, and social politics, all along a backdrop of groundbreaking Sci-fi.
It wouldn’t hurt to see Jim Kirk and Gary Mitchell trying to nail every skirt on the bridge, either.
#36- Unfortunately, it seems that some of the old TOS fans won’t accept anything that doesn’t look like a 1960’s tv production.
I am an old-guard TOS fan, but have never been afraid of progress or change. I am willing to accept a whole-new look. Worried about costume continuity, or refusal to make the bridge look like it was decorated with my kids’ toys? Then you are worried about the wrong things. The essence of Star Trek was never in its polyester clothing or wooden/plastic props. It is in the characters, storytelling, and social commentary.
Do I want the Enterprise to come out looking like a stealth bomber? No, of course not. But some of this fear is just irrational.
Closetrekker!
Yeah, I love TOS as well, and I hope they trick this baby out with all kinds of new things. This is a Star Trek reboot, after all. I don’t want it to look like the old show. Nostalgia for the old fans’ sake would only make the movie suffer, and alienate the new audience that Trek needs.
I DO want them to stick to the basic Enterprise design, i.e. the saucer/nacelle/hull elements. I love that ship. And miniskirts for the women. Gotta have the miniskirts. Actually, I doubt they’ll do that again, and it’s probably not very practical for actual space travel. I suppose I could forgive them if the short skirts go away. But it won’t be quite as fun if they do.
Agreed, Trek’s essence was never in the cheap production values, yet so many seem to want them back just for nostalgia’s sake. That’s pretty selfish really. And sad.
#31 Completely incorrect on Star Gate statement. Most people will agree that SG-1 was on for ten years without any techno bable episodes that always worked their way out with techno nonsense endings that felt empty as hell. I dare anyone to go watch ANY season of Voyager garbage formula shows and count how many quality episodes took place in a season. Then go watch ANY season of SG-1 and tell me how many were character driven and entertaining.
I am a huge Trek fan since I was five. Other than a select number of TNG stories and Deep Space there is absolutely no comparison in overall quality. You people did not even understand that the BEST trek in years was Enterprise by far! The problem was that by the time they finally got it right no one was watching! I am thrilled that creative people such as J.J have taken over for the horrible Berman regime.
It’s truly amazing reading the close mindedness of most Trek fans. The majority of you guys would only be happy if you the same actors forty years later with the same uniforms in a ship that used 1960’s special effects! Wake up! The rest of us have evolved and are comfortable that science fiction and story telling have also graduated to a new level.
Just four years ago the same clowns were complaining about a new ‘re-imagination’ of Galactica. The show has revolutionized the acceptance of science fiction on TV with incredible human stories. I guess most of you people would have been happier with them pasting in Lorne Greene and a bunch of fat old actors with nothing new to say.
Jack,
No one really has requested 1960’s SFX. We (mostly) would love loyalty to the basic ship design, and a great character story, and all on an epic scale.
Also, the original BSG was a Star Wars rip-off (a la Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) with an interesting premise. BSG today very much benefits from TNG, which in 1986, was unique in that it “revolutionized the acceptance of science fiction on TV with incredible human stories.”
Only difference is, BSG is a niche product, and TNG redefined TV SF forever, and paved the way for such shows in the 1980s-’90s, and in the 2000’s. Trek is iconic, and BSG is not.
Point, counterpoint, the internet gets pretty boring after awhile.
Personally I bet many of us wouldn’t mind seeing TOS up on the big screen intact but I doubt it will happen, I’ll just have to get used to it, same with everyone else.
Oh surprise… it speaks again. Sure seems a lot is being said to convince what would surely be obvious if there was merit.
“He’s a genuinely magnanimous spirit. I think that he uses his logical perspective for good, and to improve people’s circumstances and situations which ultimately enhance the esteem of the universe.”
Esteem of the Universe? WTF? Quinto does lay it on thick. I guess his take is as essentially correct for Spock as for any other Trek character – they’re all braving the dangers of space and laying their lives on the line for others… and they don’t even get money for it.
“And I think he’s sort of constant. He can weather the pendulum swings of human emotions and he can see through things that other people might not be able to see through because they’re blinded by their own visceral or emotional reactions.”
Here I think he’s missed the mark, because as much as Spock pretended to be above all that emotional stuff, he was in no way immune to the frailty of his human half and keeping it suppressed was much more difficult than he let on. There was always a hint of sadness and loss about Spock, yet as Quinto sees him, Spock would have no internal struggle and would not be nearly as dynamic or interesting a character.
“There’s the gravity , the depth of his knowledge and the depth of his spirit that people really respond to and really respect, particularly because we meet this character at a time when he is younger than the Spock millions of people have come to know and love. it’s part of his story that we haven’t seen yet, and it’s a part of his story and a part of his life that certitude isn’t necessarily fully rooted. So there is a notion of conflict in who he is, and who he knows he can become, and that’s something which as an actor is always very interesting and fulfilling to play.”
This section is a little muddy. He does mention conflict, but it seems more related to Spock ultimately achieving his full potential… or something.
I get a little worried at Quinto’s crazy, new age speak for all things Trek, but hey, he’s an actor and at the end of the day I’m sure he’ll play it in a way that matches our perceptions. After all, he does actually have to match up to Nimoy in the film, so he can’t stray to far in his portrayal.
45: I think the “sadness and loss” of Spock was revealed in TMP, and it justified his actions in TWOK.
I am just happy that JJ et al are using the series AND the TOS films for their re-start.
Nah, it was certainly shown in “Journey to Babel”, “The Paradise Syndrome”, and “The Naked Time”.
I don’t suppose they will, but I’m still hoping they’ll have the miniskirts. They’re one of the icons of the original series that have awareness in the general culture- Kirk, the pointy eared guy, “Beam me up”, warp drive, transporters, the enterprise, and the miniskirts. The male uniforms aren’t particularly iconic, but the female ones are.
It’d be nice to think we got past that stage of juvenile political correctness that swamped us some time after TOS and resulted in the teeth-grindingly dull TNG. Let’s have some of that 1960s fun again.
It’s not hard to imagine another sexual revolution in the 23rd century.
The pendulum swings.
Lucky pendulum……………….oh, yeah, BABY!! :)