In the nine months since TrekMovie.com first revealed that Zoe Saldana may be the new Uhura for JJ Abrams Star Trek we haven’t heard a lot from the actress about Trek. But in a new interview with io9 Saldana gives her thoughts on favorite episodes, her approach for Uhura, her cast mates, and even her mini-skirt!
Saldana says she only watched a few episodes of TOS prior to assuming the role of Uhura, citing “Plato’s Stepchildren” and “The Savage Curtain” as her favorites thus far. Apparently she steered clear of total immersion on the advice of director JJ Abrams:
He said, “If I have to advise you guys at all, I would advise you not to watch [Star Trek]. Just inform yourself of the whole concept of Star Trek, if you’re not already a Trekkie or fan. I don’t want you to cloud whatever contribution you guys can make yourselves to the role that you are jumping into.” I thought that was very encouraging. And then I met [original Uhura] Nichelle Nichols and she practically gave me the same advice. So I thought that I needed to make the important aspects about Uhura a priority.
Saldana says she used her talks with Nichols and Abrams as well as reference pictures to help build her character, although things changed after she met and talked with Chris Pine (Jim Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock):
For some reason’s Zach’s Spock and Chris’ Kirk brought out my Uhura. The conversations and sharing the knowledge of Star Trek, it was all really good. And I saw all the physical things that were important about her that the fans need. It was a mix of all of that.
regarding who went through the biggest transition…
I think we all did because at times I would think that it was Zachary turning into Spock. But then Chris Pine would walk onto the set in the morning with his blown out hair doing the Kirk walk. We were all transforming ourselves into these characters
…and on those mini-skirts:
I’m actually still waiting for the phone call from Paramount producers saying, "You know what Zoe? That skirt wasn’t short enough." After watching the show…those skirts were pretty short. If you made them any shorter, it would be a t-shirt. I think they’re going to be happy. But the funny thing is, I don’t think we went far enough..
For the full interview, which includes a Q & A on Avatar, see io9.
Maybe not a mini, but Zoe shows off some leg at the Rogan For Target Debut at Barneys New York on May 15, 2008. (WireImage)
Saldana is hot!
Good stuff!!
Sounds like that will work fine.
she is very hot
“But the funny thing is, I don’t think we went far enough..”
Grrrrrrrrrrrr….
“For some reason’s Zach’s Spock and Chris’ Kirk brought out my Uhura.”
That’s what it’s all about…
And yes, hot
(we’re such geeks!)
Those skirts really weren’t short enough.
Cannot wait to see Zoe on the bridge in her boots and miniskirt.
blown out hair + kirk walk huh?
Mini-skirts? That makes me very happy!
I respect the advice given to the actors by JJ Abrams regarding their approach to assuming these roles. I have said before that I do not care to see the new cast imitating the old one. They simply need to do their characters justice. It is nice to know that Nichelle offered the same advice. It is up to the director to get what is needed out of the actor’s performance, and watching too much TOS in preparation for filming might cause the actors to (whether consciously or otherwise) have a tendency to imitate their predecessors more than is needed.
Clicking her pics brings up the OGAM preview picks :P
I’m glad that Chris Pine is doing the “Kirk walk” because Captain Kirk does kind of have a distiguishable type of walk that he does.
Kirk walk. You betcha buddy. That’s the way to go. Now I like what I’m hearing.
That T-shirt comment was hilarious. She obviously has a great sense of humor, among other things! :-)
She’s awesome in my book based on this quote from the interview that really shows they took the whole idea of making something that honors the original series to heart:
“You are trusted with this precious stone and you have to babysit and make sure you deliver it properly because it was created way before you. And it’s going to be living way after, so you need to deliver. That responsibility was kind of humbling.”
My mouth is watering in anticipation. I’m excited about the movie, too.
What does it mean “Blown-out hair?”
Gary, just like we had the Shat blow his feathers, Pine is following in said tradition!
What’s great to me is that, without my sounding overoptimistic, all the actors seem quite intelligent and aware of the importance of the job they have. There are so many flakes in Hollywood — yet none of them in the cast of this new movie, as we have seen. This is of historical value, surely, because it relates to their acting, which has wrapped for this movie. But it’s also of potential future value, because it tells us that if there should be another sequel — and let’s hope there will — then these are the kind of people we want to be associated with the Trek brand.
The fact that these high-quality actors have been associated with Trek is a compliment to the producers.
Yada yada yada
Stanky, you old horse-thief, you! How ya been?
Nice to hear from Saldana, but when oh when will we get soemthing from Chris Pine? He’s probably been the least vocal of any the cast so far.
#23—Keeping in mind the fact that he isn’t out promoting something else where he can be questioned about STXI in the process, I would venture to say that we will hear a great deal more from him (without breaking JJ’s secrecy edict) when promotion for the film’s release officially kicks off in high gear. It is still only slightly less than a year away, so shouldn’t they be saving the big guns (the actor portraying James T. Kirk himself) until the optimum time?
I think so…At least it wasn’t Yelchin again…
She quotes JJ as saying “…I would advise you not to watch [Star Trek]. Just inform yourself of the whole concept of Star Trek, if you’re not already a Trekkie or fan. I don’t want you to cloud whatever contribution you guys can make yourselves to the role that you are jumping into.”
This quote shows the reason JJ is the right man for this job. These guys (the new cast) became the crew of the E and did it with a fresh eye and new attitude that seems to honor the past and grow into the future.
.
And that is why this movie may break TREK out of the cult we live in and fully into the world at large…
I’m happy!
…with his blown hair…doing the Kirk walk….
(dying of laugher, tears in eyes) … No no, I won’t say it…:D
Seems I forgot the “out” after blown – must be a result of the convulsive laughter and doesn’t indicate anything…:)
I still say they should have made everyone watch every single episode.
Doesn’t she mean ‘Doing his Harrison Ford walk’?
#7, 10, 14
she can tell the diff in the skirts and so can we.
so why are the skirts longer then tos?
#9, 12, 13, 25
lets wait and see it so we can compare it to Cawleys :)
I think JJ gave all the actors a little phrase book to help them say the right things in interviews.
“citing “Plato’s Stepchildren” and “The Savage Curtain” as her favorites thus far”……Hmmmmm perhaps these episodes because one Uhura has inter-racial kiss with our beloved Kirk and Abraham Lincoln call Uhura a “nigress” and she stands tall and bespeaks of the blacks journey to the 23rd century?????????
She could of picked any other episodes showing her character also???
Anyone would care to speculate which other episodes showed another side of Niota?
The ‘Kirk Walk!’
Love it! I feel a new dance video on its way!
…the adventure continues….
32
Yes. It could join the Adam West “Batusi”
Saldana is stunning… both Nichelle and Saldana have made the name ‘Uhura’ synonomous with beautiful.
skirt not short enough?! That’s total BS. These guys f’d around with the exterior of the E, and now the skirt, idiots…
27: No he shouldn’t or else they would just be imitating the previous actors instead of making the characters their own.
She can open MY hailing frequencies…………(I have ABSOLUTELY no idea what that means!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!)
Hopefully the new miniskirts will be worn over a thing rather than the red panties Uhura used to flash!
#31. The word is Negress, a female Negro. Capitalized, and actually a very polite term *in the time of Abraham Lincoln*, the 1860’s. Geesh, don’t purport some sort of racial slur where there wasn’t one. IIRC, I believe the words used were “Nubian maid, taken on one of your conquests”? Or was that from “Squire of Gothos”. I don’t have my references here at work to check.
Also, the spelling is ‘Nyota’, from the Swahili word for ‘star’.
Hopefully the new miniskirts will be worn over a thong rather than the red panties Uhura used to flash!
Just wanted to clarify, the word “thing” was a mistake, I meant “thong” so I hope she’ll have on a thong over her thing!
Hello I am from Russian Federation. Everybody is so excite about new star trek film! It doesn’t get any hotter than this!!!
I dunno, I’ve seen some websites from within the Russian Federation that are pretty damned hot.
Actually, the third season skirts were way too long.
Now the first two seasons’ velour skirts that shrank each time they were dry cleaned were more like it!
The “Great Bird” really got those important little details right.
By “Kirk” walk, she must mean the swagger, stomach thrust out slightly.
haha, only 349 day to go till theKirk walk will hit the big screen! Fascinating.
#35
you forgot the interior corridor
#38, 40
well if the skirt is longer we might not see anything.
#44
so then this sounds like what? they are giving us a season 3 skirt in a pre season 1 origins story?
are they paying attention to details over there?
mayber their afraid of the impact the panty flash would have on the films
rating. I guess belly buttons are out.and the tinfoild bikinis are gone as well.
sad.
Dennis 43:
I am crying with laughter.
Andrus: If you’re really from the RF, welcome! This site is “cool,” not “hot.”!
Okhuyet’ mozhno!”
Nah, the skirts didn’t get shorter or longer – it was the effect of fluctuations in artificial gravity making the ladies’ LEGS get shorter and longer. ;-)
I blame drooling fanboys on the skirts getting shorter or longer.
Namely it’s all in your heads ;)
– W –
* Who’s pretty sure the skirts didn’t change at all from season to season *