With Big Raises, Pine and Quinto Signing On for Star Trek 4

Paramount is doubling down on the rebooted Trek movie franchise – spurring lazy entertainment reporters around the world to reuse clichés about “boldly going.” The reboot actors – Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, etc. – originally signed contracts committing them to just three pictures, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment are in the process of signing them on for a fourth installment.

Chris Pine is getting a raise to the tune of $6 million for Star Trek 4 – note that this is despite the serious underperformance of every non-Trek movie Pine has ever headlined. His chance to really shine was with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and This Means War and both just barely cracked $50 million.

Now $6 million might be a lot of money to you and me, but it really isn’t in Hollywood. (I am sure Marvel Studios would love to pay Robert Downey Jr. a “measly” $6 million for a fourth Iron Man.) Given that STID pulled in $467 million worldwide, $6 million is pretty cheap for a leading man.

Zachary Quinto’s star likewise has failed to really rise since 2009 – his film career is so non-existent he doesn’t even have his own Box Office Mojo page. Simon Pegg is also enjoying more success than the two leads (thanks to his work in the Mission Impossible franchise) but adding him as a writer may have been enough to acknowledge his star power.

Actor budgeting is a two-edged for studios: on the one hand, they save money paying less… but less popular actors could mean weaker sales. Indeed, the reason Paramount might be going forward with a fourth Star Trek movie is specifically because its leading men have failed to become leading men. Given that the brand name of Star Trek is much larger than any of the actors who have ever been involved with it, the studio is probably happy with this arrangement.

The real trick for future Trek movies is Zoe Saldana, who also has Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy on her resume. Note if you look again at that Hollywood Reporter article, hers is the only name that’s hyperlinked: she’s the only actor who’s a big enough deal that the news site has done other articles about her.

hyperlink_business_ST4

No word from her Twitter feed about ST4 (probably too early anyway) but she did put out a nice Star Trek tweet this week:

She also said a nice thing about James Horner’s passing … but didn’t mention Star Trek:

If she gets too aggressive with salary negotiations, a Star Trek movie could conceivably go forward without an Uhura more than it could without a Kirk or Spock. However, she was not the lead in Avatar or Guardians and the rest of her filmography is no more impressive than Pine’s – so she’ll probably come back for a fourth film, especially since anything in the science fiction space (no pun intended) synergizes well with her other two big movies.

With the studio having not even officially revealed the title of Star Trek 3 (which comes out in just over a year), we certainly don’t have a title for Star Trek 4. So let’s refer to it under the working title of Star Trek Into Even Darker Darkening.

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“If she gets too aggressive with salary negotiations, a Star Trek movie could conceivably go forward without an Uhura more than it could without a Kirk or Spock.”

Or recast the role with someone else if Saldana was too busy with Avatar sequels & GOTG 2.

Cant see them having too much trouble bringing the rest of the cast back if they do go ahead with a Trek 4.

The other cast members are either not big stars and/or have expressed a fondness for making these films.

Its a real shame we dont discuss Urban as a “must” for a Trek 4 but such is the way Bob and Co. wrote his character in the previous two films. Because he’s so good at Bones (poorly written in STID notwithstanding), he’s the one I’d want back if we could only choose one besides Pine & Quinto.

Everyone else is replaceable which probably means they can be re-signed.

The next big news would be if Bad Robot makes 4 or if Paramount goes in a different direction.

Oh, the perpetual whiners here have to be choking on this. Someone had better put Oscar on suicide watch.

“The next big news would be if Bad Robot makes 4 or if Paramount goes in a different direction.”

Looks like they don’t since it was Skydance negotiating the deal.

Wow, interesting. I guess its really no surprise, it allows Paramount to be cheap again when the main cast haven’t had the type of success to demand huge contracts.

And I suppose this should put the kibosh on any new Trek series as long as Paramount makes movies.

@Phil,

Add Herbert to the watch. Poor guy, can’t imagine the psychological trauma he’s going through right now. :-)

I actually want JJ to come back for the 4th one.

but not Orci & Kurtzman & Lindelof…

well.. crap.

i thought, and was hoping, this movie would be the last ‘jj trek’. i’m all for these guys if they want to a prime universe movie somehow.. but everything about this alternate timeline makes me sick the longer it goes on. whether it be the writing/story/plot holes, ‘bro-trek’, or a marvel universe wannabe, it’s not my cup of earl grey.

Aggghrrr! No more terrible ‘action packed’ movies please! Star Trek needs to be a TV series again.

Great work, Jared.

This is a smart business move. They get cost certainty with two members of the cast should they decide to go forward with a 4th installment.

One of the problems Trek pictures(both TOS and TNG) have had historically is that the above the line costs(actors, directors, producers, writers) soaked up a disproportionate amount of the budget, leaving a much smaller pot of money to actually make the movie with. By locking the two of them into this option deal, they already have that cost factored in if they make another film.

There will likely be a certain amount of recasting, due to money or lack of interest. Be interesting to see who stays and who goes…

…paramount (or BR?) had to spend *15 MILLION* more to get the cast back *AT THE LAST MINUTE* =P

translation: if u want us back for this crap-fest, *U MUST PAY* =P

(4th movie is all paramount could get out of the deal) =P

plus, the numbers for THIS installment are being SERIOUSLY WORKED from the back-end… (cost-cutting)(so much for that…) =P

also, still nothing official… it could still get torpedoed… =P

@ 7. David Oakes,

“I actually want JJ to come back for the 4th one.”

If ‘Star Trek Beyond’ grossed over $1 billion or more, it most likely that Paramount will bring back Justin Line to direct the fourth movie.

…they could kill off uhura this time, when pseudo-spock chokes the sh*t out of her in a fit of confusion/rage/humiliation =P

Any idea where Mr. Hinman got this notion that they already filmed scenes in Asia?

========================================

Filming is now underway in Canada, after some shots were filmed in Asia.

http://www.1701news.com/node/856/trek-3-actors-get-huge-payraise-sign-fourth.html

Ahmed: …old interweb articles? =P

I believe what you said was actually very logical. But, what about this? suppose you added a little content? I ain’t saying your content isn’t good., however what if you added a post title that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean With Big Raises, Pine and Quinto Signing On for Star Trek 4 is kinda plain. You ought to look at Yahoo’s home page and note how they create post titles to get viewers to open the links. You might add a related video or a related picture or two to grab people interested about everything’ve written. In my opinion, it would make your posts a little bit more interesting.

Ahmed –

Yeah, I’m all sorts of curious where he got that info. He didn’t refer to any source.

There was this https://trekmovie.com/2014/09/30/mayor-of-seoul-met-star-trek-2016-team-to-talk-about-filming-in-korea/, but that was back when Bob was still running the show.

It’s entirely possible they liked the location so much they decided to use it anyway, but I haven’t heard anything about it.

“Star Trek into Even Darker Darkening” LOL!!! But I reeeeeally hope the “grimdark” thing is over, cuz it sucks.

I hope the 4th is called “Star Trek Rox” or something.

Good for Pine and Quinto, and I hope they get Zoe Saldana too. It was upsetting to read that one of the studios (hopefully not Paramount) considered dropping her after she had kids and that she had to fight to get child care costs covered. It’s effing outrageous, considering all the things she has on her resume.

Star Trek (sic): Parroting WHATEVER the next big thing is… =P

I don’t know how good reboots 3 and 4 will be (I’m cautiously hopeful), but given that they’ll be made, I’m glad that Paramount has acquired Pine and Quinto for them, Quinto especially.

The problems I have with the reboot movies — especially reboot #2 — are all in the scripts; the actors are excellent. And since Quinto had a special connection with Mr. Nimoy, I’m hoping that playing Spock will be personally meaningful to him, in a way that it wouldn’t be with any other actor.

I wonder if they were shooting scenes in South Korea with actors, or simply filming shots of buildings and landmarks?

If I’m not mistaken, the main actors haven’t done much filming yet.

So if they had done shooting over there, it might have been with the supporting actors.

@ Ahmed

Said this is in anther article and will repeat here: under these very suspicious and vague circumstances, Star Trek XIV is just as much of a sure thing as The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4.

@ 16. Brian Drew,

“Yeah, I’m all sorts of curious where he got that info. He didn’t refer to any source.”

I guess he forgot to vet his own article :)

@22. Eric L.,

Perhaps but I guess it is all depends on STB performance at the box office. If it made over $1 billion, then it would be no-brainier for them to go ahead with #14.

On a different note, I hope Urban will get a better deal & bigger role in the upcoming movies.

@ Mad Mann

Glad you enjoyed the joke. I am looking forward to the day when I can buy dark, gritty sandwich bags. #sandwichbagsintodarkness

@ 24. Ahmed – June 26, 2015

If it made over $1 billion, then it would be no-brainier for them to go ahead with #14.

My money’s on definite-brainer then. :)

On a different note, I hope Urban will get a better deal & bigger role in the upcoming movies.

Wholeheartedly agreed; this (along with improved Spock and Kirk) should be the minimum requirement for character development improvements in new films.

Is all future news going to be reported with such bitterness and anger? The truefans are done now. Dismiss Whitely and anyone else who can’t keep op-ed separate from reporting.

@ 26. Leon – June 26, 2015

I don’t see what you mean. There may be some snark in the tone and (very) mild speculation, but for the most part he has reported the facts of the situations at hand.

I’m sorry if reality seems bitter and angry to you.

Wonder how much Pine’s stock rises if he does get the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern role for Justice League.

Make no mistake, this news is sweet music to my ears!

But there will always be a part of me that wishes this crew could have made it to television. I think all of the actors, including PIne, after his last movies tanked, could’ve been lured to the stability of a quality, short term, 13-episode series…freeing up the rest of the year for movie-making.

And as far as Zoe goes, like the original series, the supporting cast need not be present in every episode, which allows even more freedom to pursue other projects. But the ownership issues of Trek are so jacked-up I realize that it would never happen. Darn shame…this crew, these actors and their dynamics, deserved to have their stories told and to be explored more than 2 hours every 2 or 3 years. Too bad it will never happen…not even in novel form, it seems. At least the movies keep on keepin’ on!

This is wonderful news, but I hope Paramount (and CBS) can put together something of a greater cinematic universe with the franchise in the coming decade.

If Zoe becomes a problem just recast Uhura. Zoe won’t be missed. The big three are the ones to focus on. And none of their careers have really shot through the roof.

PS… Avatar was over hyped fairy excrement.

@28. Agreed – asides from Kirk and Spock, none of the others are indispensable.

All –

Peter Sciretta from Slashfilm spoke to the heads of Skydance, and they mentioned, among other things, that filming will also take place in Dubai. Updated the “STB Begins production” story accordingly:

https://trekmovie.com/2015/06/25/star-trek-beyond-begins-production-with-outdoor-shoot/

@26 Yeah, the tone of the article is puzzling. This is great news. Hopefully this cast will continue to boldly go for many years to come.

The writer calls these movies a reebot. They didn’t reboot Trek. The prime time line is still there. This is an alternate universe.

@ 28. jonboc,

“But there will always be a part of me that wishes this crew could have made it to television. I think all of the actors, including PIne, after his last movies tanked, could’ve been lured to the stability of a quality, short term, 13-episode series…freeing up the rest of the year for movie-making.”

That would be great & will give them chance to develop the characters; however I don’t see Paramount putting any thoughts into that, at least for now.

As for Saldana, she is more successful than the two leading men. So it is only fair if she ask to be paid the same or more.

Replacing or writing Uhura off would be a terrible idea not just because the actress is popular and in big franchises, but because her character is too iconic and important. She isn’t a protagonist like kirk or spock but she IS the female lead character of a cast filled with guys. reboot Uhura IS Zoe it’s one of the characters she’s the most identified with. In avatar and gotg she’s blue or green, trek has a bit more representation for poc than the others.
I wouldn’t want anyone to get replaced but I honestly think losing a Scotty or Chekov or Sulu or have them recasted would be way less bad than losing Kirk, Spock, Uhura and Mccoy and the dynamics the last two have with the two protagonists. I don’t think I’ll ever bother watching if they change actors, unless they make a completely new reboot.
I don’t see her trying to get more than Pine anyway. If Saldana cared about money too much she wouldn’t have a career now abd wouldn’t accept roles in low budget indie movies too just because she wants to play a role. Hollywood is sexist, it doesn’t make it fair but it’s the way it is. Actresses get payed less than actors even when they are more famous and have a better career in their resume.

I don’t get the comment in this article about her not mentioning trek when she made a post about James Horner. Like what??? Why should she mention trek 4 in posts over her twitter that have nothing to do with trek?
So far only Quinto and Saldana made posts about filming trek 3.

———

Anyway this doesn’t paint Paramount so good. You’d think the studio is poor or something if they are so greedy and can’t be in par with other studios in terms of salary and perks. Like really paramount, should I feel compassion for you all because you apparently don’t have enough money to pay the actors? ^^’

Saldana should be paid as much as Quinto and Pine. But not more, despite her “Avatar” success which is separate from her importance to the reboot Trek movies.

And I would also like to see more McCoy. Karl Urban really nailed it as McCoy in the first two films.

Fascinating, Ellison appears to have confirmed that “The exact status of it [STAR TREK television] is absolutely something being worked on.”

@ 37. Red Dead Ryan – June 26, 2015

“Saldana should be paid as much as Quinto and Pine. But not more, despite her “Avatar” success which is separate from her importance to the reboot Trek movies.”

Guess you forgot that she was in a small movie called ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’!

If “Beyond” is successful, I wonder if Paramount would re-consider the idea of a Captain Sulu spin-off, this time as a movie starring John Cho?

A new tv series doesn’t look likely for the next several years at the very least, and Paramount could continue making movies.

A Sulu movie (aboard the Excelsior in the nutimeline) would expand the reboot universe, and Cho showed some pretty good acting chops during the scene in STID where he briefly took command of the Enterprise.

Pine is a better Kirk than Qunto is Spock. But Im used to him now and the nature of his character, it would be jarring to recast. Im glad they are both secured.

I wonder if Paramount worked in any clauses for TV cameo’s….

ttp://www.slashfilm.com/skydance-interview-david-ellison-dana-goldberg/2/

ELLISON: “…It’s amazing, the television show explored these incredibly deep phenomenal themes that we would absolutely love to do and be a part of, and we wish it was entirely up to us.”

Peter Sciretta: “… you would think that they’d get their head out of their a$$ and do something with it.”

=P

..people saying that Uhura is replaceable but not Mccoy. You aren’t objective.
It makes more sense for people to say they only need kirk and spock. But I’d say that even replacing Mccoy would be less bad than replacing or writing out their leading lady. In a cast full of men and with two male protagonists I’d think losing ther only female lead (who also happens to be the actor with almost an A list status) would be a bigger problem and more noticeable than losing one of the (many) secondary males.

Also, putting aside my love for Karl Urban I’m starting to think you guys unfairly overrate his performance against the others. You like him because he does, for the most part, a good impersonation of the original character and those who dislike the reboot and are tos purists think he did his job the best but maybe this actually makes him the weakest because unlike Quinto, Saldana and Pine he isn’t adding too much making this HIS own Mccoy that people will remember as THIS particular reality/version of Mccoy. Remember that Nimoy himself didn’t want to influence Quinto and he loved his Spock precisely for the NEW things added to the character, not for trying to impersonate his portrayal of Spock. It’s not entirely Urban’s fault but making impersonations is not enough for me, especially in context of THIS trek that makes a point about being, well, an alternate reality.

This news comes as a shock to no one!!!

Karl Urban has not been given anything other than brief scenes or lines which mimic McCoy. How can he make McCoy his own, which I am sure he could do, when he is given so little? And that “little bit” are lines which merely mimic McCoy like a bad cartoon.

It might be Pike for the series. I think they would keep Sulu in the movies. He was just pretending to be dead. ;-)

Well finally I can say, CALLED IT!

So many news in just one day, gotta love Friday news dump :)