15 years on from the release of the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot, Hasitha Fernando looks at the story behind 2009’s Star Trek…
Star Trek is an IP that requires little introduction. The iconic 1960s television series created by Gene Roddenberry became a pop-culture phenomenon of unparalleled proportions transforming the likes of Williams Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley and George Takei into household names. An entire franchise of feature films and numerous spin-off TV series further expanded the strange new worlds Roddenberry had envisioned. 2009 marked the glorious return of the IP albeit with a younger cast, a radical new story and an ambitious scope. With 15 years already elapsed since its release, we look at what happened during the making of this critically acclaimed sci-fi reboot…
J.J. Abrams wanted to make an optimistic Star Trek movie
J.J Abrams has been a great many things throughout his career. He started out his career as a writer penning 90s dramas like Regarding Henry (1991) and Forever Young (1992). In the early to mid-2000s Abrams was responsible for co-creating and producing several critically lauded TV shows such as Alias, Lost and Fringe. Afterwards the gifted creative made his feature film debut with Mission: Impossible III (2006), which breathed some much-needed life to the IP and resurrected the franchise.
It was around this time that Abrams was approached by Paramount to direct the reboot, with a script written by his Mission: Impossible III collaborators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Being a casual Star Trek fan Abrams was determined to make a broadly appealing optimistic film, since most of the big-budget tent poles of the time – like The Dark Knight – were serious character pieces which lacked the frantic energy and fun factor he was going for.
The writers stripped the movie of too much ‘Trekkiness’ to appeal to a broader audience
The writer duo Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman started collaborating with each other on projects as early as their schooling days in California. Their fledgling careers first started taking off with small screen efforts such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. After having successful collaborations with J.J. Abrams’ Alias, the pair worked with Michael Bay on The Island (2005), which was followed by the first two installments of the Transformers mega franchise. After co-creating the popular sci-fi TV show Fringe with Abrams, the two of them were hired to pen the script of Mission: Impossible III.
The resounding success of the Tom Cruise headlined actioner convinced Paramount to hire Orci and Kurtzman to develop a new Star Trek movie and from the very outset they were committed to making a film that the general audience would enjoy, as much as, hard-core fans. To accomplish this, they cut down on the overall technical terms, made the story more action centric and gave their effort the simple title of Star Trek – to indicated newcomers they don’t need to watch previous outings in the franchise.
Chris Pine’s first audition didn’t go too well
You may be surprised to hear that everyone’s favorite heartthrob Chris Pine didn’t quite nail his first audition for the Star Trek reboot when it came to his turn. The reason for this was Pine could not take himself seriously as a leader. But fortunately for the actor Abrams did not see this audition, and it was only after Pine’s agent met Abrams’ wife and gave his client a push that the director decided to give him another audition opposite Zachary Quinto.
Quinto was supportive of Pine’s casting because the pair knew each other well, as they worked out at the same gym. When he was successfully cast as Captain James T. Kirk, Pine sent a letter to William Shatner seeking his advice. Shatner simply replied back giving his “seal of approval” for Pine’s casting. Other candidates who were in the running for Pine’s role of James T. Kirk was future Star Lord Christ Pratt and Justified’s Timothy Olyphant.
Zachary Quinto got J.J. Abrams attention through an interview he made
Star Trek marked the feature film debut of Zachary Quinto, a small-screen actor best known for playing the villainous Sylar on the hit TV series Heroes (2006). The show even made which several references to Star Trek, and featured George Takei – the OG Hikaru Sulu – in the recurring role of Kaito Nakamura. During a behind-the-scenes interview Quinto mentioned he first heard about the Star Trek reboot and revealed his interest in the role in a December 2006 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and it was this article, which eventually was widely circulated, that attracted Abrams’ interest in casting Quinto in the iconic role. Quinto’s commitment to the part was such that even for the audition, he wore a blue shirt and flattened his hair down to resemble Spock better.
The new James T. Kirk was inspired by the likes of Indiana Jones & Han Solo
In preparation for the role of Captain James T. Kirk, Chris Pine started watching classic episodes from the series and reading encyclopaedias about the Star Trek universe. But after a while Pine felt that doing these things would hinder him from making the role his own. And the last thing he wanted was to come off as a cheap facsimile of William Shatner, in the eyes of the audience. So, Pine sought inspiration elsewhere basing his performance on Tom Cruise’s Maverick (Top Gun) and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) and Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark), heroes who Pine felt possessed the archetypal hero qualities Kirk has – humor, arrogance, and decisiveness.
Simon Pegg & Zoe Saldana got involved with the project in the most unconventional way
British comedian Simon Pegg came into prominence in the UK with the highly popular comedy sitcom Spaced. He later went on to star and co-write Edgar Wright’s Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy and made his Hollywood debut with Mission: Impossible III which J.J. Abrams helmed. So, when it was time to cast a new Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Abrams knew who exactly he needed to call… and that was precisely what he did. He contacted Pegg via email and offered him the part without an audition.
As of writing Zoe Saldana has starred in four of Hollywood’s highest-grossing films of all time – Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. And the reason she came on board Abrams’ Star Trek reboot was because the filmmaker requested her to join the project, complimenting her acting prowess in past projects. “For an actor, that’s all you need, that’s all you want. To get the acknowledgment and respect from your peers,” she revealed during an interview.
Leonard Nimoy was impressed with the script
J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman personally called on Leonard Nimoy’s home to offer him the role. Nimoy, who played the original Spock in the TV series and movies, was initially bemused as to what Abrams & co. were trying to accomplish but when he went through the script he was most impressed by the story’s ambitious scope and its exploration of the character’s histories: “Previously we have dealt with Spock being half-human and half-Vulcan, but never with quite the overview that this script has of the character’s entire history, his character growth, his beginnings, and his arrival into the Enterprise crew.” This was all the convincing that Nimoy needed to join the project despite turning down previous opportunities in the Star Trek franchise.
Cameron Crowe couldn’t recognise Eric Bana underneath all of the makeup
Eric Bana gained international fame for his utterly transformative performance in Andrew Dominik’s Chopper (2000), where he portrayed the infamous Australian criminal Chopper Read. Interestingly it was Read himself who suggested Bana for the lead role after seeing one of his comedy skits on television. The performer then got his big Hollywood break with Ridley Scott’s visceral war actioner Black Hawk Down (2001) and capitalized on his success with the superhero flick Hulk (2003) and the sword-and-sandals epic Troy (2004).
To play the villainous Nero the Romulan in the Star Trek reboot, Bana fully shaved his head and donned facial tattoos and this radical changed in appearance bugged the hell out of Cameron Crowe who was shown a rough cut of the film prior to its release. The filmmaker kept asking Abrams who played the villain and was staggered when he was told its Eric Bana.
Heavy secrecy surrounded the film’s production
Primarily being involved in New Zealand based productions like Xena: Warrior Princess, during the early stage of his career Karl Urban eventually got his big break playing Éomer in Peter Jackson’s sprawling fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings. Following the success of his breakout role Urban starred in many sci-fi movies like The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Doom (2005) and Pathfinder (2007). The actor was also one of several considered for the prestigious role of James Bond, which eventually went to Britisher Daniel Craig.
Urban recalled the ultra-secretive nature of the reboot’s production during an interview: “There is a level of security and secrecy that we have all been forced to adopt. It’s really kind of paranoid crazy, but sort of justified. We’re not allowed to walk around in public in our costumes and we had to be herded around everywhere in these golf carts that are completely concealed and covered in black canvas.” Simon Pegg revealed that he had to read the script in the presence of security to avoid potential leaks and cast members like Jennifer Morrison were handed scripts containing only their specific scenes. In order to throw off potential leakers production even had a fake working title in place – Corporate Headquarters!
Box office success & unexpected awards glory
Made on a production budget of $150 million, Star Trek went on to rake in a respectable $385.7 million at the worldwide box office. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 355 critics’ reviews still remain positive, with the website’s consensus reading: “Star Trek reignites a classic franchise with action, humor, a strong story, and brilliant visuals, and will please traditional Trekkies and new fans alike.”
The chemistry between Pine and Quinto was well received by critics the world over. Ty Burr of the Boston Globe gave the film a perfect four star rating, describing it as “ridiculously satisfying”, and hands down the “best prequel ever”. Owen Gleiberman over at Entertainment Weekly gave the film an ‘A−’ grade, commenting that director Abrams “crafts an origin story that avoids any hint of the origin doldrums”. Similar sentiments were echoed by Rolling Stone journalist Peter Travers, who gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars. He felt that the acting from the cast was the highlight of the filming, asserting that the performance of Pine radiated star quality.
The reboot went on to be nominated for several awards, including four Academy Awards at the 82nd Academy Awards which were in the categories of Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Make Up and Best Visual Effects. The effort ended up nabbing the Oscar for Best Makeup, making it the first (and to date only) Star Trek film to win an Academy Award.
Sequels & the potential conclusion of the reboot film series?
In the wake of the reboot’s wild success, commercially and critically, two sequels were produced – Star Trek: Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond – which were released in 2013 and 2016 respectively. While the former was a box office winner receiving strong reviews for its story and Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of antagonist Khan Noonien Singh, the latter affair had something of a lukewarm reception and a muted box office return.
The fourth and final installment of the reboot film series has been in the works since Star Trek Beyond’s release eight years ago with talents like Quentin Tarantino, Noah Hawley and Matt Shakman attached at one point or another – the latest update being Steve Yockey, developer and showrunner of HBO’s The Flight Attendant and Dead Boy Detectives, is taking a stab at cracking the story of the potential sequel. ‘Till then… Live long and prosper!
SEE ALSO: To Boldly Go: Ranking Every Star Trek Movie From Worst To Best
What are your thoughts on 2009’s Star Trek? Are you hoping to see a fourth outing for the reboot crew? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
