Blame Justin Lin For Destroying The Enterprise

The Star Trek Beyond director says he wanted to do something bold, in a new interview with Wired.

Wired sat down with Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin to talk coming onto Trek, destroying the Enterprise, and more.

“It was like, hey, this is a rescue mission,” Lin told Wired. “It was, ‘You’ve got six months.’”

When JJ Abrams picked Lin to helm the latest iteration of the Star Trek film reboot, he was looking for a director with “command of a large cast, a great sense of action, a sense of humor,” and “an ability to tell stories that would speak to cultures all over the world.” So, Abrams asked Lin to pitch him something “bold”. That’s when Lin got the idea to destroy the Enterprise. And, he is a stickler for getting it just right. As Wired describes watching Lin at work in the editing bay:

Justin Lin points at the long slender neck of the Enterprise on a monitor. It’s spindly, that diagonal piece leading up to the saucer section, vulnerable. As a kid, he always wondered, why wouldn’t you just attack there?

In a gobsmacking action sequence from Star Trek Beyond, directed by Lin, a fleet of ships attack in a swarm—shredding and slicing the Enterprise until it’s decapitated. Even though the frenzied scene is set in the vacuum of space, the action feels visceral, painful, and scary.

But in the editing bay, Lin is finding all sorts of minuscule problems. He asks to see multiple iterations of the swarm ships: 10,000, 20,000. His team animates the sequence, then reanimates it, over and over, as Lin adjusts the ships’ flight paths. Then he zooms in and critiques the exact locations of tiny thrusters and running lights, the smoothness or roughness of nozzle heads. He’s relentless.

This is likely a piece of a scene we’ve already seen in the first trailer where a swarm of small ships is relentlessly attacking the Big E.

ships1

ships2

…which is also likely the same swarm of ships seen on promotional material in Cannes recently.

zoe_poster

After a poorly received first trailer, Justin Lin will have an uphill battle showing the world that there is more to him than car chases. The trailer that debuted last year took heavy criticism for it’s action-packed style, particularly one scene of Captain Kirk jumping a motorcycle to the tune of The Beastie Boys.

Lin admits that he was hurt when some fans, including Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu (George Takei), condemned the trailer for being “Fast and Furious in space”.

“George has always handled things with class,” Lin says. “He was a huge part of my life, so for him to swing a sucker punch, that hurt.”

The film’s co-writer and co-star Simon Pegg (Scotty) has come out in defense of the trailer, reminding folks that it’s all about marketing and that it does not reflect the look and feel of the final film.

“[I’m] disappointed that Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt, and George Takei were slagging off the trailer,” says Pegg, “because they know a finished trailer is never a reflection of the finished film. Get a fucking clue! It’s really good fun: thrilling and heartfelt.”

Wired also brings us the latest promotional image from the film.

image

The piece over at Wired talks a lot about Justin Lin’s directorial style, his history in Hollywood, and even his childhood.

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The visual effects still look great, was a bit worried when I heard ILM were not returning for this one but fortunately it’s not 1989 all over again, phew!

I think there are now quite a few VFX companies that can deliver oustanding shots. It is no longer the case of getting ILM or having to settle with lesser effects. You just give them enough time (and money) and companies like Weta, MPC or Double Negative can do work that looks just as good.

Yeah it looks great, and I like that they’ve tweaked the look of the enterprise slightly for this instead of trying to replicate the lighting on the ship exactly, it’s a very subtle change but it’s there. I just remember being disappointed with the visuals for Insurrection when I first saw it in theatres, it’s grown on me over a few viewings, had an almost painterly quality on some of the briar patch shots. Not old enough to remember Star Trek V when it was released but I remember thinking somethings gone very wrong here when I was first discovering the Star Trek films.

Maybe Insurrection looks better to you now because the mushy, low-contrast, flat, “painterly” look is seen in most blockbuster movies today. We have simply gotten used to slightly crappy, video game-like visuals in movies.

But after the excellent physical model work on TNG and very limited use of CGI, the CGI effects on Insurrection and Nemesis were dangerously close to Babylon 5/SeaQuest DSV/Voyager territory for me back then. They looked like obvious cost-cutting measures for the most part.

Or 2002.

What else is Simon Pegg supposed to say? Aside from the obvious: “Wil Wheaton: You were spot-on about the trailer.”

he could have said nothing….

‘Get a f—ing clue!’ He comes across as a bit arrogant these days. Big fan of Spaced, and the Cornetto Trilogy, as well as his performances as Scotty. but it seems he’s lost his way a bit recently.

I just wish Peg could have refrained from the colorful metaphor. There are many other word choices that could express the same sentiment, without being a potty mouth.

That’s just the way they talk here. You’ll find it in all the literature of the period.

Excellent…..

Shane 3.20am 20 May, LOL

LOL – lest we forget…:)

Shane I wish the like button was still around to give you a thumbs up lol. Good job sir!

Maybe he should have said “double dumb ass on you” ;)

Didnt Pegg initially complain about the trailer?

Either way, if anyone needs to get a clue, it’s him. He’s criticizing people who didnt like the trailer, a feeling shared by a lot of people who are entitled to that opinion. And he is condescending. And yet he moronically then swears at them. Anyone with experience in marketing will be telling Pegg to get a clue.

Further more, Lin calling it a “sucker punch”…good grief, talk about needing to get a clue. The criticism should be directed to marketing who let that one, very different trailer stand as the only thing showing us the film for months.

If today’s trailer is more traditional, it will mean the studio listened to the criticism and Lin and Pegg can then go get a clue.

Uh Peg is the guy who told fans to go “F’ themselves when he heard a few Trekkies at a convention voted STID the worst Trek film in the series…and he was just an actor in it. I can ONLY imagine the baby fit F bombs this guy will be throwing around for the next year or so if fans truly hate this film and he had a direct hand in making it.

It won’t be pretty! ;) For his sake (and ours) lets hope its actually good.

Oh, you poor fragile rice cake.

He’s very loyal to his Star Trek directors. He attacked any who hates lense flare, too.

I think he’s a horrible Scotty.

Agreed. He was awefully miscast as Scotty. But you see, when you tot friends in high places, you get a pass in Hollywood. He has nothing on the late, great James Doohan.

Charlie May 19, 2016 2:46 pm,

He sounds really rude, but you know if there was a group of fans like him sitting together, that phrase would probably be in the air somewhere. I tend to think of Pegg as a very outspoken fan. And his opinions and comments tend to veer here and there — not the model of a publicist or public figure, for sure.

Just glad he didn’t say that in the comments here, it’s pretty offensive.

I have no problem whatsoever with Lin destroying J.J.s ‘alternate Enterprise’…but I just hope he gives us a better-looking replacement design if he does!

By the way, I see that Pegg has tweeted today that the 2nd ‘Beyond’ trailer is dropping tomorrow. What’s the betting that ‘Keenser’ is gonna be featured heavily?…

Why in these alternate timeline movies is the Enterprise so weak? Every movie it gets its ass kicked and now it’s destroyed. It’s suppose to be Starfleet’s flagship which I guess doesn’t mean anything.

She definately takes a pounding. I for one wasnt a big fan of the design. Something just seemed way off about it. I think it’s the secondary hull..engineering. I do love the saucer and nacelles however.

Every Enterprise has got its “ass kicked” in pretty much every film, even the Enterprise E.

Where can I find the new one?

Pegg attacking Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt, & George Takei for “slagging off the trailer” is rather ironic since Pegg himself criticized the trailer!

““I didn’t love it,” he admitted. “Because I know there’s a lot more to the film. There’s a lot more story, and a lot more character stuff, and a lot more of what I would call Star Trek stuff.” He then asked Trek fans to “hang in there” and “be patient,””

http://www.avclub.com/article/wincing-simon-pegg-admits-he-didnt-new-star-trek-t-230006

He didn’t ATTACK them, he said he was disappointed. lol How is that an attack? He’s saying that as actors, they should understand marketing more than the average joe. I hated the first trailer, but from the side of an actor or anyone involved in the filmmaking process, I do get it that they’d also be protective in the same breath that they’re showing that they’re not stoked by something. Anyway, just my take on it.

@PEB,

So Pegg was “disappointed” that those actors didn’t like the trailer while he himself was disappointed as well with the very same trailer!!

And telling them to “Get a f**king clue!” sure sounds like an attack.

The 2nd trailer is coming out tomorrow, so we will wait & see what they will come out with.

“Get a f**king clue” sounds like an attack.

I was thinking the same exact thing…I hope this film turns out to be great, but that first trailer was one of the worst I have ever seen for a major release.

Have you seen the Ghostbuster trailer?

So saying he was “disappointed” is “attacking.”

Really?

LOL

Pegg tried to deflect. Its not about whether the trailer is a good representation of the finished film (and why on earth would he try to push a narrative that ‘yeah the trailer sucked but dont worry, its nothing like the finished product’…uh okay). Me thinks Pegg got some push back for his initial disappointment in the trailer and is now being a good little soldier.

Can’t wait for Pegg to tell fans to F off when they dislike the film too! But then what do we know about marketing? Telling people to F off seems like a great marketing gimmick! They should make that the tagline of the film. Star Trek: Get An F’N Clue

I like a dude who wears his heart on his sleeve….so refreshing compared to the usual standard responses of most in the movie industry. Pegg is the Charles Barkley of Hollywood!

Honestly is one thing. Unprofessionalism is another. I prefer someone thoughtful enough to tell someone to go to hell in such a way they enjoy the trip.

REALLY looking forward to your work Justin!

“So, Abrams asked Lin to pitch him something “bold”. That’s when Lin got the idea to destroy the Enterprise.” …Bold? Really? How about lazy and over used… Destroying the Enterprise in STIII:TSFS could be considered bold. Destroying the Enterprise in ST:Generations not so much, “lets make up a reason to get a new design for the TNG movies!” And now its bold because …we only had 6 months to come up with something? …we get to do cool special effects? How about coming up with a truly new plot device, maybe even one that makes us fall in love with ship? Its sad that the Enterprise in the Abrams movies is pretty much a punching bag, barely adequate “ride” for our heroes. Wouldn’t it have been great if this third time out the Big E would have instead come into her own? TOS: The Doomsday Machine, TNG: Best of Both worlds. STII:TWOK. Why can’t the Enterprise be treated more like the Millennium Falcon as less like the batmobile.

How else are we going to get a redesigned Enterprise-A that looks more like the one from the TV show?

I agree – destroying the Enterprise isnt bold at all. It’s happened in two prior films (even though one didnt count). Its sort of like patting yourself on the back for the bold decision to “homage” WoK and kill Kirk.

I have no problem with it. I think it will be a great scene and I have faith Lin will deliver a thrilling destruction. But “bold”? Come on. Bold would be creating a film that is deeper and more thought provoking with character moments and interactions that hearken to TOS. That would be bold.

I’ve felt the very same about the Enterprise. Her only meager “cool” action moments were covering the Jellyfish from a torpedo barrage and firing on a ship that was already doomed.

For the rest, she’s only been a victim. A “punching bag” as you’ve so eloquently said. I wish they’d have given us a reason to love her, to find her cool. Unfortunately, the Batmobile vs Millenium Falcon reference seems all too apt.

At this rate, I figure they’ll either find a way to rebuild it in the movie after destroying it merely for shock value… or let it go and go for another vessel. Might be even better for the reboot to step away from the Enterprise because they’ve rarely treated her with the “pomp and circumstance” she deserved. Maybe they could make the next ship the Excelsior and have a whirl with her – the Excelsior could use some love, and no one will mind as much if she’s just a punching bag (at least she did that well).

I doubt that I am the only one, but I do like the look of the alternate universe Enterprise. Its exterior looks better balanced than previous ones. I don’t like the interior much though.

They did give me “something to love”. It’s subjective anyway.

The main point is that this Enterprise is able to get our heroes from A to B, presumably has all the departments that help define what the Enterprise is supposed to be, like good medical facilities, scientific research etc and defensive capabilities should they need to be prevailed upon.

These guys didn’t get Star Trek from the beginning, what did you expect? It never even crossed their minds that a good story and character development that has 3 dimensions rather than 2 is the way for Star Trek to continue. No, it’s hipster nonsense, over-the-top CG, and mindless idiocy that will attract people to Star Trek. “If we destroy the Enterprise, people are going to HAVE to see the movie”. I can just imagine that meeting.

Bold is something we haven’t seen before and would NEVER expect. Like blowing up the big “E” in SFS. The next really bold move in a Trek feature was destroying both Romulus and Vulcan in Trek 09. Kinda hard to top that. Beyond that, the “bold” moves I can think of is to permanently kill a major character or totally change a character trait. Like have Sulu (or anyone major) betray the rest. Seems very lazy at this point to consider destroying the Enterprise as “bold”.

Looking forward to the new trailer.

Unfortunately, this is MY favorite Enterprise design. And hence I am not pleased

Top each his own. TMP/TWOK Enterprise, far and away, is my favorite.

NCC-1701-D all the way!

ONLY If it were real.

1701-D, The one true Flagship!

Yeah, I’m with you 100% on that. Sure, I love the refit A, we all do, but the ‘D’ is art in space. So bold, so unique. Love it to death.

Refit/1701-A is one of the most beautiful ships in all of science fiction. And I grew up with the 1701-D so she’ll always be a favorite as well.

@Roddy

There’s no accounting for taste, but I’d nevertheless say that you have a bad taste.

Roddy May 19, 2016 12:58 pm
Another fan of the new Enterprise! I commend you sir. I feel the same way.

It was an ugly version of the Enterprise anyway. But I wonder what this does to the “Enterprise” myth, with Enterprise being the first starship to return intact from the Five Year Mission project, and that’s why there was an Enterprise-A, B, C, D, and E, etc. Now that this Enterprise goes kaboom somewhere halfway through the Five Year MIssion, will the name Enterprise still have any mystique in the Abrams universe?

I thought it was more about the legacy and productivity of that ship and crew, not necessarily that it came back intact. If the ship in the prime universe had to be replaced, I mean with all of what they’d done and seen it’s hard to say that Starfleet wouldn’t produce another Enterprise. Who knows though.

There’ll be another Enterprise, but another NCC-1701? There have been plenty of ship’s name reused by newer ships, but few examples of an NCC- number getting a suffix. This “classic” Enterprise’s life is cut short half-way through its first mission, has it built enough history to warrant a suffix? I suppose saving Earth from Nero’s black hole compensates for no longer being around to save Earth from V’ger, so there might still be enough mystique for an NCC-1701-A.

This is one of the reasons why in the Prime Universe all of Starfleet officially adopted the delta from Kirks ship. He was one of the few constitutions to come back intact and his 5 year mission was historical. Alternate universe ruins all of that. NuKirk doesn’t really do anything awesome. He just gets his crap taken away from him every movie like a bratty kid.

I wouldn’t put it past them to use time travel…

This is an alternative universe. What happened in the prime universe isn’t a mirror for this one. The whole point of creating this alternate timeline was to do different things and not be constrained to Trek history.

@Harry – no that wasnt the point. The point was for Bad Robot to create a derivitiave that they controlled. They even pushed the idea that the universe would try to fix itself to explain away their fan-servicing gimmicks. The whole “we cant do this unless we rid ourselves of the canon” was a red herring from the beginning.

The writers love using canon to show their Trek cred and for every mistake and bad decision they can say “new universe”. I always felt it was lazy to a degree. I think the writers should have been challenged more to write a great film that fit into canon. The idea that Trek canon is overwhelming just isnt true if someone really understands the franchise.

That being said, if Im them, I end STB with the reveal of an Enterprise-A that looks remarkably like the TMP ship. They wont though because some of these film makers seem to think Star Trek exists for them to “fix” rather then to respect. Surely Lin, from his comments, wants a saucer section that sits right on top of Engineering. lol

Agreed

For me, it’s less that he trashed our beloved ship than it is that we saw her outgunned and savaged in each of the last two movies… not to mention SfS and GEN. Yes, I do and will blame Lin for gratuitous starship sodomy… unless the film ends with a NEW Enterprise that better respects the TOS aesthetic. (Slim down the bodaciously augmented nacelles!)

If she’s always outgunned, then I’m sorry but you’d think Starfleet, in any universe, would send out a ship that could explore yes, but also one that could defend herself. Hopefully the next one in the line represents that.

And that’s why I love the Enterprise-D: It actually had starship superiority. I always loved hearing Work say: “They are NOT a threat”. It almost always outclassed everything and when it didn’t, it made for awesome suspense!

Wasnt the “in universe” explanation for this Enterprise being so much bigger and more powerful than the original Prime Enterprise that they used scans of Nero’s ship and the threat of that ship to create new technology that otherwise wouldnt have existed? Yeah, silly. But they create this uber powerful ship that gets its ass handed to it all the time.

I think one of the core things about TOS was that the ship would just hold together when needed, be just pushed to its breaking point by Scotty and that Kirk was a master tactician who could out smart his opponents anyway. I hope we see THAT Kirk in this movie.

Exactly!

You just violated the new rules of conduct with your language.

At least it appears the Enterprise doesnt fight a bigger, stronger ship this time. Such an over-used cliche.

I will give them this… Instead of a giant overwhelming ship they are using a crap ton or tiny ships. At least it’s a little different…

So, er — repeating a plot point from “The Search for Spock” is “bold?”

Also, apropos of nothing, the reason nobody just attacks the skinny bits is deflector shields. If the shields are up, the entire ship is uniformly invulnerable. If the shields are down, it’s uniformly vulnerable.

My understanding (from the TNG Tech Manual) is that the deflector shields (via the deflector array) just pushes small debris out of the way so it don’t tear through the ship while it is moving. The shields they raise during red alert protect the entire ship. Once down, the ship is then vulnerable to attacks where hitting it in certain areas (like the neck or bridge or engines is then possible). Dont think each part is uniformely vulnerable at that point.

Well — in “Undiscovered Country” and “Wrath of Khan,” we saw that with the shields down, even areas that aren’t apparently “vulnerable” (i.e., thin) can be effectively obliterated by phaser and photon torpedo fire. I think that the power of 23rd century weapons is set by the need to fight ships with deflector shields. When the shields are down, all of the ordinary matter of the ships is about equally inadequate to warding off that firepower.

Well, I guess we can judge for ourselves on the release of the second trailer, tomorrow. While not reacting in horror to the first one, it did get the ‘what the heck was that’ juices flowing…..

The wildly successful Into Darkness…

Well I was liking Lin until now- Destroying the Enterprise, which is the heart of Star Trek as a Stunt for one film instead of maintaining the legend of the Enterprise & her 5 year Mission is simply the stupidest move possible. It ruines the film. Who wants to see a bunch of extras Running around Planet Caneda for Two hours?
Star Trek is the Crew Traveling on The Enterprise- seeking more than just the Next generic villain. The film is ruined before you even need to see it ( yes I will watch it once just to make sure it is the Turd it smells like so far)
BEYOND Dissapointed. Beyond Horrified. Beyond Pissed Off. BEYOND Caring Anymore. Happy 50th Anniversary.

BINGO!

> Star Trek is the Crew Traveling on The Enterprise

Or on the Defiant, or Voyager, or sitting on DS9

Hey! Deep Space Nine moved a couple times!

“Who wants to see a bunch of extras Running around Planet Caneda for Two hours?”

So I guess you’re not looking forward to the upcoming Star Trek show taking place on the Starship Toronto.

Just kidding.

How about: beyond caring about your juvenile rant? ;-)

The only juvenile response was yours, par for the course unfortunately. Try adding something relevant.

“yes I will watch it once just to make sure it is the Turd it smells like so far)”

Oh sure, I can see how you would find this mature. Yea.

One of the issues with this series has been the lack of understanding the Enterprise as a “Character” and not just a ship. Its harder, for sure, to explore that in two films as opposed to TV.

But when Kirk “got back” the Enterprise in TMP, even though she looked different, there was a sense of joy and we understood why it was so important for Kirk because it was important to us as the viewer too. When he destroyed it in TSFS, it was heart wrenching. Kirk’s lamenting of “what have I done” with the double meaning of stranding them and destroying the ship meant something to us because that ship meant something to us. And ofcourse, it could only be Bones who answered him simply, summing up the Kirk character’s sense of bravado and cowboy-ness in a thoughtful way, making the destruction meaningful and relevant.

So in destroying the ship this time, it wont mean anything past “oh now we dont have a ship”. Again, I have no issue with it. And quite frankly if Im the film maker, I WANT to do it because it’s an easy “big move”. I strongly suspect Orci would have done the same thing (he can confirm or deny if he has a chance).

Yes. I feel the same way. The Enterprise IS a character of the show to me. That is one of the myriad of reasons TVH was terrible for me. No Enterprise. That said, I will give it the benefit of the doubt and see how it works out with the rest of the feature. The new trailer has me jazzed again.

STB does not need to end with a new Enterprise. What’s Starfleet supposed to do, FedEx a new ship to the outer reaches of the galaxy?

The coda to Into Darkness was many months later, after the Enterprise had been repaired.

IDK… But in the prime universe apparently Starfleet had another refitted Constitution Class starship lying around doing nothing that they could simply repaint the number on….

So Lin’s big Contribution to the film is a childish desire to exploit a structural weakness of the Enterprise he dreamed about before realiseing the technological means to protect it? (deflector Shields?)

How’s that any different than ILM doing the same thing on TUC? VFX supe Scott Farrar asked ILM art director Bill George if there was anything he had always wanted to do to the Enterprise, and George said that he always wanted to see something blow up through that thinnest part of the saucer section. Hence the torpedo-cum-cannonball shot in TUC.

Thanks for the new screenname

That’s a mouthful …

Same think happened in the making of Trek VI. Learn your Trek history.

The same story could have been told with the Crew abandoning a severly damadged Enterprise & getting back to it in the end or the next film rather than destroying it.

@TRekboi – I’d be more annoyed at the Ship being crippled yet again and then fine by the end. The ship is a poor design anyway. Just show us a GREAT E-A at the end.

Yea, if we get a better ship, we all win.

I wish they didn’t destroy the Enterprise for this film, but its not a game-ender for me.

Some Trek fans are so funny… “NOOOO!!! You changed my Enterprise!!! I hate it!!!” … Followed immediately by… “NOOOO!!! You can blow up the new Enterprise! Nooo!!!”

Did anyone stop to consider what Justin said in a prior interview. He watched Star Trek as a kid with his family and wants to bring the show more in the direction of the classic series. The first thing that one should do for that is blow up the new Enterprise and introduce a more classic looking version. The sets that you complained about (Bud-gineering anyone) could be redesigned to look more like TOS to… I know that Naysayers are always gonna nay, but sometimes people seem to be searching for any little angle to complain about. Geesh.

I like Justin Lin he comes across quite well as a decent thoughtful person but sorry that first trailer was really poor the audience @ my TFA showing laughed in all the wrong places. Some people said that looked terrible & this crowd was pumped to see a space movie so Paramount missed a huge marketing opportunity there.

The new Spock image looks cool but the fan event tomorrow really needs to bring some serious TOS & mainstream elements to give this movie any hope of not bombing like the new Ghostbusters a few weeks earlier.

ID4 2 is also an issue its only a month before & mega budget sci-fi popcorn action. I just cannot understand how STB is going to fit into the summer releases unless its the same sort of experience ST2009 was. Epic, bold, brilliant & above all strong elements of TOS!!

No pressure but STB really above all else needs to be marketed as a must see event movie so lets all hope its that movie & not all hype otherwise the movie series is finished for now as STID still leaves a bad taste in many audiences as well so it has to overcome that & the release window & THAT teaser trailer!!!

Also, doesn’t anybody remember this deleted scene that would have foreshadowed perfectly what they are about to do??? They are already working on a beauty of a ship (NOT NAMED ENTERPRISE) that they can slap the 1701 – A on at the end of the movie. Tell me you wouldn’t cry a little bit about this. Of course, JJ Abrams is a planner and I think he was planning ahead for this when he almost put this scene in Into Darkness. I think the plan was always to get a new big E for the fans in the third movie.

NCC 0718? I think the point of this was to show the new timeline is ahead a few decades in technology from the prime universe. But I prefer your idea!

no, it wasn’t.

Ooh interesting…Cool thanks bob 👍

Bob, it wasn’t to show the tech difference or it wasn’t a foreshadow?

Aaron I assumed he meant my comment about the different route taken with tech was wrong? And is that boborci, the Roberto Orci from the actual films?!? 😃

Lol now I’m reading too much into this with your theory and Bob’s comment! Maybe u really picked up on something that could have been in the alternative Star Trek 3? Or not lol who knows now but Bob. Anyway looking forward to tomorrow 🖖🏼

Mikefly, I am a writer by trade (novels) and I write and direct indy film for fun. So… I kind of make a living thinking that way. I really admire Orci and co’s style (excited for Mummy) and was bummed that he didn’t get to direct. I hope my theory is right, although I am in the minority that didn’t have a problem with the JJ Enterprise.

I think the comment was about the plan to replace the enterprise: and, yep, Bob’s often here.

Sucker punched?? is he kidding? So George has no class because he said he did not care for the trailer?

@Tom,

Guess his feelings were hurt when he heard Takei saying that STB didn’t look like a Star Trek movie.

George Takei: “It doesn’t have that element that made Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek what it was”.. “I didn’t, in the preview, note anything of the substance of what made Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek so engaging.”!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf3s_hIHEkg

I thought the teaser was a headache. He was asked for his opinion and after 50 years of being connected to Star Trek he’s more than entitled to it. It was just a teaser and most people were aware of that, just a bit disappointed. I’m looking forward to the new trailer tomorrow and have hopes that it will be an enjoyable movie but Pegg respect your elders 🖖🏼✌🏼

George has shown a lack in character in carrying on his attacks on Shatner.

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.

argh….you all know what I meant. LOL

Bold? There have been 2 Enterprises destroyed in the movies, one of them being the Prime universe’s version of the same exact ship. I’m still excited for this movie, but Lin comes off kinda bad here.

Keep in mind, its entirely possible Lin has no idea the Enterprise was ever previously destroyed.

Destroying the Enterprise in a film is a cliche at this point…It’s now been destroyed in 3 out of 13 films (23% of all Star Trek films) hardly a “bold” move.

Destroying the Enterprise almost never happens in the third Star Trek film. Whales and time travel in the next one right?

I hold to the belief that if they ever make it to a fifth movie and Chris Pine’s Kirk ends up asking “What does God need with a starship?” They could then bring in Shatner to answer that very question. One could dream, right?

LOL I only just saw your comments now after posting mine…but yeah thats what I thought! Whales in IV…lets hope not.

Pass

Oh yeah. Real “bold”. Destroy the Enterprise. Haven’t seen that move before.
But whatever…as long as they don’t do anything new I’m fine with the E being blown up. Again. Still.
Star Trek movies should be about seeing the same thing we’ve already seen over and over again. Glad these people get it.

I will wait to see what the new Enterprise looks like before I blame him for destroying this one.

I’m not sure the title of this article fits the story…for one thing it just sounds like yet another George Takei sucker punch to Justin Lin.

After many movies and the destruction of the Enterprise in 2 of them, I suppose it could be convincingly destroyed once again if it is done right. What I don’t get is Lin’s statement about the neck. Destroy the neck and the rest follows. Hasn’t he heard of the ship’s saucer separation?? And why is it the ship, yet again, succumbs without a battle royale..the ship should saucer separate. Why destroy? How about severely cripple?? You could have a few parts of the ship leftover and the vessel would need a reconstructive refit anyway. And weapons? You’d think a few high yield photon torpedoes would obliterate these thousands of mini ships. Ok, forget photon torpedoes. If you’re talking thousands and these miniships have some kind of impenetrable shielding or hull, you need a even higher yield weapon and one of the characters..either Scotty or the boy genius Chekov would conjure up some matter/anti-matter weapon in a photon torpedo delivery system to destroy the ‘thousands of miniships.’ You can’t outdo a matter/anti-matter weapon. It would be a great character moment to race against time while the ship is attacked until the Enterprise fires this weapon. If we were in the TNG-era, the crew would defeat these ships by introducing a nanite infection that would have the miniships attack themselves.

Maybe a …weapon of last resort?

“Hasn’t he heard of the ship’s saucer separation?? And why is it the ship, yet again, succumbs without a battle royale..the ship should saucer separate.”

The TOS Enterprise saucer section was not designed to separate from the rest of the ship. That development came 70-80 years later in the time of TNG series. Picard’s Enterprise’s saucer could separate but not the earlier Enterprise versions and these alternate universe stories do NOT take place in the TNG era. Yay for that.

From the little we have seen of STB – a few stills and a 90 second trailer, it appears that the Enterprise is destroyed or severely crippled, but (many/most of?) crew seemed to have survived and taken prisoner on a far off alien world and that appears to include the bridge crew, CMO and Chief Engineer. That has not happened before in any Star Trek story that I can recall. I am curious as to how many of the illustrious Enterprise crew manage to get free?

I am fascinated by the bike Kirk is riding and the reason that the Beastie Boys Sabotage song starts playing. I wonder – who decided to play that song? Just what does Krall or other know about the propensities of Captain Kirk, how and why?

Unfortunately, George Takei, along with others, responses sound altogether too clicheed after all this time. Sometimes I wonder if the negative responses might be the result of a little sour grapes and sadness on their part because of the passage of time.

Simon Pegg should pay attention to what he says, in terms of using the “f” word. I know that it has a fairly common usage and that many people are not bothered, but some are. Whether it is coming from Simon Pegg or Chris Pine or whoever, it does not sound or READ that well. Gentlemen, a little discipline, please!

Actually the refit in ST-TMP reflects the ability to separate, with color markings on the underdish indicating where landing legs deploy from, and that came about because co-designer Andy Probert remembered references in the series (THE APPLE) where they mention discarding the nacelles, which suggest the saucer and/or the engineering section were detachable. Probert even storyboarded an unfilmed ending in which the Enterprise separates after vger transcends and releases a klingon ship that fires on it.

So separation is not something that originates with 24thcentury trek unless you are being very strict about aired material.

This is one of the storyboard images! :-)

Karl 20 May 4:42 am,

That is not the TOS Enterprise. That is the TMP or post-TMP Enterprise.

Karl’s picture was referring to Kmarts talk about the unfilmed TMP saucer separation scene.

The only thing we can be sure about is what is AIRED material. What someone may have thought to do means nothing, unless you know about it, which I did not. I look at what was actually put on film, because, at the end of the day, that is the only thing that is truly relevant.

I missed the comment in the Apple episode (must watch again) which only “suggested”, ie perhaps a possibility, but the nacelles were not discarded, so there was never a saucer separation scene shown. It seems that this was never mentioned again, not until the TNG series.

Kirk tells Scotty to “jettison the nacelles” and get away with the main section in “The Apple.” But the bigger question is why aren’t the shields. Supposedly, nothing gets through those — unless its some kind of “shifting” weapon like the “Obsession” creature.

Who knows, maybe the engineering section survives and remains in orbit? We only saw the saucer section crash in the teaser.

Hadn’t noticed before that the new day uniform has cuffs. Also, is he analyzing the dirt bike’s carburetor? Also, I hope those wires don’t show in the final cut — I like my Trek tech to be nearly magical!

I was looking at that wire, thinking the same thing, then realized that it was a scanner wand hooked up to the mobile cart he’s using. You can see its lights on the side of the cart.

I’m just happy to see an image of our SCIENCE OFFICER doing his job, not screaming, crying, or beating the crap out of someone. It gives me a lot of hope for this movie. And I like the new uniforms.

LOL, screaming, crying or beating someone. This version of Spock is nicht gut.

Douchebag comments from Lin and especially Pegg…

We will see tomorrow

Come on, how is anything Lin said douchebaggy?

Since when is destroying the Enterprise a “bold” move? It has been blown up, beaten up and generally abused in just about every movie (by my recollection ST:TMP And First Contact were the only two movies where the E came out largely unscathed). In fact, this new iteration hasn’t really been around long enough for us to care for it all that much. When the original 1701 or the 1701-D went down in flames it was genuinely moving because we had gotten to really know those two ships; the same can’t be said for the JJPrise and its goofy Budgineering section.

I also don’t understand Lin’s and Pegg’s problems with people offering their negative opinions on that first teaser. It WAS terrible and it deserved all the derision that it got. I don’t see why anyone should censor themselves and not say what they really feel. Instead of crying about it, they should use it as motivation to make a better movie. Still not convinced they can but I continue to hope this next trailer will make me a believer again.

>I also don’t understand Lin’s and Pegg’s problems with people offering their negative opinions on that first teaser. It WAS terrible and it deserved all the derision that it got.

Probably the same reasons why critics of that terrible Ghostbusters trailer are being ludicrously branded as sexist or misogynist even for reasonable points raised. Pegg/Lin just don’t have social justice dirt to hide behind.

1701-E got half assimilated in First Contact. So really, the ship only pulls through unharmed in TMP. (Though we do get a few happy moments of 1701-A at the end of The Voyage Home.)

Pulls through or not, the older movie Enterprises WON fights. Often just barely, but whenever the Enterprise got walloped from TMP to Nemesis, it could say with pride “Yeah, well you should see the OTHER guy.”

The JJprize is only capable of saying “Please don’t hurt me.”

Marketing is everything.
Creating a sense of excitement is the key to getting people into the theaters to watch your work on screen.
Your making Star trek.
And Star Trek must be Star Trek.
It must be hip. It must be cool. And most of all it must be intelligent.
That is what separates it from the Star Wars and the recent endless parade of copy and paste superhero films.
To try and make Star Trek into something it isn’t just wont ring true to the fans.
Paramount must learn to not underestimate that the die hard fans are the foundation of their franchise.
And for the most part the very same fans that come out in troves to see virtually every scifi action fantasy film that achieves box office success.

But marking is everything.
Market something wrong and no matter how good your product is, it’ll be ignored for the perception it creates.

Paramount should know and understand that at this point to not only please the long time fans who are their base line audience, but also attract new viewers who might otherwise feel and see the marketing campaign and the eye cringing blatant rip off trailer of something that isn’t what Star Trek is about.

People actually do respect that vision of Star Trek, that perception of intelligent fun and character interaction.
So releasing a high octane trailer filled with ear splitting rock tunes that resembles Fast & Furious makes it all seem very out of place and if they are watching the trailer in ear distant sound of a moaning embarrassed to be a Star trek fan, they will find themselves with a back firing marketing plan.

You want to make a successful Star Trek film, them market it for the fans by honoring the 50th Anniversary of the franchise.

You didn’t see Star Wars pull a standard superhero trailer mixed with acid rock score.
No, they brought together everything from the Star Wars universe to blend with the old with the new, to honor what came before and create that sense of awe and wonder to lead to future excitement.

Basically th studio must ignore the temptation to reformulate what isn’t broken, we don’t need a new Coke Cola recipe, just the one we all know and love and always have on hand.
That’s actually not being boring. That’s using your brain and knowing what people like.

Make Star Trek as Star Trek and market it as it is, not what it isn’t.
That’s where the greatest success is and always will be.

On another note…wen the “F” is warmer weather getting here?
Honestly I’m freezing and my gardening is way behind.

I am getting a bit sick of “devoted”, “die hard” fans. Most of them are of an older generation and seem to come off as being grumpy old farts. Nor do any seem to acknowledge that it is the older generations that are partially responsible for what we have now that they see as being negative. The younger generation learn from the older and then use what they have learned, for better or worse. Their choices, or lack of, tend to get determined by preceding generations.

So JJ Abrams, Kurtzman/Orci, Pegg, Lin etc are younger and doing it a bit differently. That is to be expected and I would be more concerned if all they did was “grandpa’s Star Trek”.

The pace and competition in society has stepped up and this cannot help but be reflected in the arts of various kinds, including movie making. Star Trek is about the future, the unknown, hopefully a bright, healthy one and despite some of the dark aspects, all has ended wel/OK…so far. Certainly the last two movies did – as only can be expected in an imperfect world and universe(s).

Here here! I’m 41, so old enough to remember there only being one crew. I thoroughly enjoy the BR films. And I had no issue with the original teaser. Its tone was confident, which was a first for Star Trek film! Not all of us are old farts, but, then again, they say grandparents and grandchildren can engage in a way children and their parents sometimes can’t. I couldn’t engage with Berman’s Treks at all, but, as a TOS fan, I completely engage with BR Trek. I suspect too many fans out there these days come from a Berman Trek fan background and thus don’t have as much sympathy with the action adventure aspect of the original shows.

Lin and Pegg are right, I conclude. The critics all violated a variation of the Principle of Charity. Google it.

Don’t start off assuming the worst because you didn’t like the marketing angle of the first trailer. ESPECIALLY if you should know better, being in the business.

And it’s also mostly just lazy criticism based on Lin’s having done the fast and furious movies.

I completely agree with dmduncan and Jack.

I can understand Justin Lin’s frustration/hurt over the “fast and furious” comments. They are lazy and quite insulting. Pegg was not happy with those comments either, for good reason. They show a basic disrespect for Justin Lin. Every time I read someone writing that, I think “what a stupid comment”.

Justin Lin is a director, who has worked on films/TV series within different genres. I am sure that he is able to tell the difference between one franchise and another and I give him the credit that he is able to treat each accordingly and has a basic enough nous not to get them confused. I also credit JJ Abrams with that same ability.

Some franchises may have similarities but they are not the same and I credit that these professionals know the difference. JJ Abrams was able to and I have no reason to believe that Justin Lin is not just as discerning.

Holy Obtuse batman. Referring to the trailer as F&F is insulting? lol. To whom, the director of F&F??? Huh??? If Justin is proud of F&F shouldn’t comparisons to such be a compliment??

Again, why are certain people trying to insult and beat down the opinions of others? I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the F&F remarks.

It is insulting because most of the people who refer to the trailer as being (like) “fast and furious” are denigrating the trailer. By referencing the Fast and Furious, they are denigrating that franchise of films as well.

No, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why so many people make reference to the Fast and Furious films, however, director Justin Lin is NOT making a Fast and Furious film so why the bleedin’ reference all the time? If it had been any other director making this film, it is unlikely that “fast and furious” anything would be used to describe these trailers. That’s the point!

Some people may not mean anything bad by making those references/comparisons, but unfortunately, that seems to be rarely the case here.

Destroying the Enterprise isn’t bold, it’s become cliche. But if it serves the story, I’m OK with it. I have no emotional investment in the ship. Not that I don’t love it, is different and fresh…but it’s on!y 4 hours old. In Trek 3, it ripped my insides out because it was THE ship for almost 20 years of reruns and movies. Kirk loved her and so did I. 4 hours on the movie screen can’t build that attachment. No fault of JJ…you just can’t do it. I also have no problem with Pegg not pandering to the hard core fringe fan base and slinging it right back…so what if a few get butt hurt…they don’t and won’t make or break the current franchise anyway, there are more desirable demographics to be worried about. But Spock’s ears, the iconic pointed ears… as evident in the new image are horribly done. A new makeup team, apparently…sigh. How hard is it to look at images from the first 2 movies and match the character design?? Regardless, I’ll be there front row and center when the time comes!
STAR TREK LIVES!

I would just assent to the following points already made by other commenters here.

So, Abrams asked Lin to pitch him something “bold”. That’s when Lin got the idea to destroy the Enterprise.

I didn’t know anything about Justin Lin prior to STB, other than that he’s directed Fast & Furious movies, but this comment by him does not instill me with confidence for STB. I mean, really? Seriously? His big brainchild is to blow up the Enterprise, a plot point that has already been done twice in past Trek movies?!? That’s suggestive of very poor creative thinking. Frankly, it’s the sort of idea that Kurtzman & Orci came up with for their BR Trek movies. Their original ST09 script actually did have the Enterprise destroyed, but they changed it after the studio disapproved. Still, they blew up Vulcan and Romulus for reasons that would appear similar to Lin’s rationale for blowing up the Enterprise in STB: it’s a cheap, easy way of getting the audience to care about the story. Very disappointing. All of the “I grew up watching TOS” PR and other comments about Lin from people here had actually raised my expectations a bit.

No. The big brainchild is to tell a story about a stranded, seperated crew prevailing.

The film’s co-writer and co-star Simon Pegg (Scotty) has come out in defense of the trailer, reminding folks that it’s all about marketing and that it does not reflect the look and feel of the final film.

Hey, we’ve made this great new movie that we want you to pay money to see, and here’s a preview of it that LOOKS AND FEELS NOTHING LIKE THE ACTUAL MOVIE WILL WHEN YOU PAY TO SEE IT IN THE THEATER. Either Pegg is wrong, and the trailer is a fair representation of the theatrical cut of the movie; or, he’s implying that they made the trailer explicitly for non-Trek-fans, just as the last two BR Trek movies were explicitly made for non-Trek-fans, and STB was in all likelihood also made for non-Trek-fans. Or, to put it another way: HEY, TREK FANS — WE’RE SO CONFIDENT THAT YOU’LL LAP UP ANYTHING WITH “STAR TREK” WRITTEN ON IT, THAT WE DON’T EVEN FEEL THE NEED TO MARKET THIS MOVIE TO YOU. Message received. Loud and clear. Yet again.

“It was like, hey, this is a rescue mission,” Lin told Wired. “It was, ‘You’ve got six months.’”

So, here Justin Lin is saying that he was hired to “rescue” the new Trek movie from the people who screwed it up, namely Bob Orci et al. I’m surprised at this candid admission, but I appreciate Lin being so forthcoming. Stories about his “work ethic” and how much time he spends trying to get the CGI right don’t impress me in the least, however. I expect a director hired to make a $100M movie to be industrious and attentive to detail. What I’m still waiting for is for someone from this movie to address the issues relating to complaints from the previous two BR Trek movies—that they are shallow, superficial, overly reliant on action scenes, and don’t bother trying to be faithful to the values and sensibilities of TOS. Certainly the trailer doesn’t inspire confidence with regard to the aforesaid. And neither does Pegg’s, “Oh, the real movie will be totally different than this preview.”

Vanguard May 19, 2016 10:31 pm

And this blog post: http://simonpegg.net/2015/05/19/big-mouth-strikes-again/

And the fact that Simon Pegg has publicly lied on many occasions in regards to Star Trek. And the fact that David Ellison was praising Justin Lin on adding [action] “sequences”. And the fact that the trailer borrowed many elements from GOTG, a movie Paramount was rumoured to (and confirmed by Pegg!) wanting to copy.

Glad to know that 2013-2015 just never happened I guess.

Look at the other early Trek trailers – they focus on battles, explosions and actors.

Everyone here seems incredibly determined that beyond turns out to be terrible and a Trek-killing failure.

Jack Today 6:17 am

It’s not just that the trailer has a lot of action; it’s that it doesn’t have anything else. It doesn’t have any compelling themes or even plot points. Contrast it with the WOK trailer, which presents a fantastically intriguing character (Khan) and main theme (revenge), along with plenty of action. Maybe the STB trailer is satisfying to you. Maybe you don’t need anything more in the way of themes or plot points. But, I do. The STB trailer is about as interesting to me as a mediocre TV commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOIYaRb6XpQ

Memo to marketing department on the Cannes signage: Never a good idea to cut the top of Uhura’s head off so a beam can pass through it. She should have been scaled down so that her head remains whole.

She looks like a shaved top samurai from a Kurosawa movie. Awful.

dmduncan May 19, 2016 8:43 pm

That’s funny. She does look like a samurai.

I really want to reserve judgement. Perhaps the loss of the Enterprise will have the weight it had in ST3:TSFS, a heartfelt loss after a valiant effort against odds and in service of a larger goal. I very much want to be wrong, that there will be a larger meaning of the sacrifice, that the producers understand that the big-E means something to the fans and is not disposable tech like a random Marvel Quinjet. We can complain about details (bud-gineering, warp core inconsistencies, side torpedo tubes) but many of us want to love the new Enterprise. The first time you see an actual naval vessel the sense of awe and respect is visceral, there is a reason we all anthropomorphise these ships. To quote Bones: “You treat her like a lady… and she’ll always bring you home”.

If new “Ghostbusters” is any indication, a new and better trailer can radically change one’s perception of a film (Ghostbusters just went from “just awful” to “potentially salvageable” when their new trailer went up). Lin’s comments here hit home even more than Pegg’s, and I am therefore temporarily retiring my curmudgeonly attitude to all things Trek until I see what he has to show us in the theaters.

“If new “Ghostbusters” is any indication, a new and better trailer can radically change one’s perception of a film (Ghostbusters just went from “just awful” to “potentially salvageable” when their new trailer went up)”

[Citation needed]

The new trailer is current on set to have another massive negative rating on YouTube.

The only thing “salvageable” about Ghostbusters for movie watchers is mocking it relentlessly (after vast quantities of alcohol or hallucinogenic drugs of course).

The name “Enterprise” needs to mean something. It does to me. In the 60s perhaps it was more on the public consciousness from WWII (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CV-6)). Then the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65)). The Navy seems to realize this (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-80)). Star Trek builds on and benefits from this respect. She is our ship, she is powerful, she is there for us, she is a symbol of our human ability and evolving know how to face the needs of exploration and self protection. In the recent ST movies she has been pretty much relegated to a sign of our inability to be prepared for the challenges we may encounter, never up to the task. Perhaps true but not why I go to the movies and have enjoyed Star Trek since I was a kid in the 80s wondering why the captain Kirk I saw on afternoon TV looked different than in the the one in the movies (Dad: “He’s older now…”).

You’d think a man who lost a valued collegue and friend to a car wreck might be a little more sensitive about depicting horrific vehicular crashes on screen.

I really like what I’ve read so far about Lin and his direction of the movie. I’m also a fan of Simone so this could turn out to be something cool. Cant wait to see it.

I really like what I’ve read so far about Lin and his direction of the movie. I’m also a fan of Simone so this could turn out to be something cool. Cant wait to see it.

Hugh, if you’re a fan of Pegg, why the unrequested sex change?

Harry LMAO. That’s what happens when you decide to comment tired and its late. Plus he is kind of a cutie, :]

True, dat, Hugh!

I’m tired of seeing the Enterprise get beaten up and blown up. It really feels like JJ and now Lin just don’t care about the Enterprise at all and are doing everything they can to get the show away from space and down to a planet surface so Kirk can ride around on a motorcycle while Beastie Boys plays.

I’m with the Trek vets; The first trailer was awful and I am not excited for this movie at all. I got more excited by the recent teaser for the new Trek TV show, and that was just a generic CGI fly-by of planets and stars.

Enterprise was trashed in WOK, TSFS, TUC, GEN, NEM. Half of the first 10 movies. Its nothing new. Tired maybe, but nothing new.

I don’t blame him, I commend him. Destroying the abramsprize is probably his first good idea.

“We’ve got no ship,,,” ,,, That one line tanked the hole movie for me right there.
“The Star Trek Beyond director says he wanted to do something bold,,”
Man,,stop trashing the Enterprise,,thats not bold.

:o(

Just stop calling those new films “Star Trek”. It isn’t. It would be bold to admit that. Destroying the Enterprise (again and again and again) is not bold but trite.

Star Trek II: Enterprise shot ready for scrapyard
Star Trek III: Enterprise destroyed
Star Trek VI: Enterprise shot ready for scrapyard
Star Trek VII: Enterprise destroyed
Star Trek X: Enterprise destroyed
Star Trek XII: Enterprise shot ready for scrapyard
Star Trek XIII: Enterprise destroyed
Star Trek XIV: Let me guess…

Can anyone remember when we used to be explorers?

What happened to the teaching of the English language and people’s understanding that different words often have DIFFERENT meanings?

Decommissioning a ship is NOT the same as being destroyed.

After TWOK, the Enterprise was to be decommissioned, however Scotty was able to make repairs that enabled Kirk and a skeleton crew to take the ship back to the Genesis planet. They could not do that with a destroyed ship.

Decommissioning was also to be the fate of the Enterprise at the end of TUC, however Kirk ignored orders to return to Earth and pointed “thataway”. Clearly the ship was operational.

Part of the Enterprise was destroyed in Generations, ie the saucer section, but the rest was still functional.

The Enterprise was badly damaged in Star Trek, but it had not been destroyed. Perhaps decommissioning it was considered.

In STID, the Enterprise was definitely NOT destroyed, because Kirk realigned the warp core…

Anyway, since when did just simply being explorers ensure that the ship might not get destroyed? There are all kinds of natural powerful forces and energies that might disable or even destroy a vessel, now and in the future. That is why exploration of the unknown has always been a risky business, but as a young Captain Kirk once said, “Gentlemen, risk is our business!”

The Apple© bridge/interior will be destroyed? Well, that’s a good news.

I don’t “BLAME” Justin Lin for destroying the new Enterprise, I congratulate him! Honestly, of all the hero ships in Star Trek, this new Enterprise has been the least appealing to put it mildly. I loved Doug Drexler’s NX-01 from the get-go and Andrew Probert’s Enterprise refit is still as legendary today as when it first graced the silver screen back in 1979. However, as much as I tried to I never could like the “JJ-prise.” Thank you Justin! Can’t wait for the new trailer to be released soon! :)