A Brief Guide to Star Trek

the captain of the
Enterprise
was Matt Damon, who met with J. J. Abrams to discuss the role. Deciding that Damon was too old for the role of Kirk as written, the pair discussed having him play Kirk’s father in the opening section of the film, a part that Damon turned down and went to
Thor
’s Chris Hemsworth instead. The new Captain Kirk was to be played by Chris Pine, then best known for romantic comedies like
The Princess Diaries 2
(2004) and
Just My Luck
(2006). Abrams had not seen Pine’s initial audition for the part (a performance Pine had described as being awful), so re-auditioned him alongside Quinto (by now already cast as Spock). Quinto and Pine already knew each other as they frequented the same Los Angeles gym. Havingwon the role, Pine sought (and obtained) the approval of Shatner, and then immersed himself in studying
Star Trek
history. He finally gave up researching and watching old episodes, as he feared his performance would become an imitation of Shatner’s when what he wanted to do was explore Kirk’s ‘humour, arrogance and decisiveness’, while bringing a touch of Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford to the character.
    One of the last parts to be filled for the movie was the final piece in the puzzle of the central
Star Trek
trio, Dr McCoy. Among those considered for the role were Oscar-nominated Gary Sinise, who, like Damon, was eventually deemed too old for the role. Abrams chose
The Lord of the Rings
star Karl Urban, who’d previously worked with writers Orci and Kurtzman on the TV series
Xena: Warrior Princess
. Urban had been a fan of
Star Trek
all his life, setting out not to provide a ‘carbon copy’ of DeForest Kelley’s McCoy but instead to honour Kelley while ‘bringing something new to the table’. For Abrams, Urban was a man of previously hidden talents: ‘Karl Urban surprised the hell out of me by coming in and being crazy good and funny in a way I never thought or knew he could do and blew my mind. He is far more versatile than anyone knows.’
    The second tier of characters was filled by a range of actors, including Zoe Saldana as Uhura (she’d never seen
The Original Series
, although her mother was a fan, and the actress had played a
Trek
fan in
The Terminal
(2004)); English writer–actor Simon Pegg as Scotty (who based his Scottish accent on that of his Glaswegian wife); Asian-American John Cho as Japanese Sulu (his casting was approved of by George Takei as he said Sulu represented all of Asia on the
Enterprise
); and Anton Yelchin as Russian Pavel Chekov (whose character hadn’t appeared on the
Enterprise
until the second year of
The Original Series
). The villain of the piece was Romulan Nero, played by Eric Bana heavily disguised under a series of facial tattoos.
    Star Trek
opens with the Federation starship USS
Kelvin
investigating a ‘lightning storm’ in space. The vessel comes under attack by the Romulan mining ship Narada, whichemerges from the spacial disturbance. During the battle, first officer George Kirk replaces the dead captain, evacuates the ship and loses his life taking the ship on a collision course with the Narada, just as his son – James Kirk – is born aboard an escaping shuttle.
    Years later, troubled Jim Kirk joins Starfleet at the urging of Captain Pike, who challenges him to live up to the example set by his father. Kirk falls in with half-human, half-Vulcan Spock, cantankerous medical man McCoy and languages specialist Uhura. A distress signal sees an under-prepared
Enterprise
, led by Pike, embark on a mission to investigate a new space ‘lightning storm’. Recognising the phenomena from the time of his birth, Kirk finds his way onto the ship. The
Enterprise
discovers the Romulan ship attacking Vulcan. The planet is destroyed, killing most of the population, including Spock’s mother. An argument sees Kirk marooned on Delta Vega, where he encounters Spock Prime. Both he and the Narada have travelled from the future, where Nero’s planet Romulus was destroyed before Spock could prevent a supernova. Blaming Spock and the Federation, Nero is out to change the future and save his planet. Picking up Scotty, Kirk returns to the
Enterprise
, takes command and with Spock’s help attacks the Narada and defeats Nero. Kirk is unexpectedly promoted to captain of the
Enterprise
, and he, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew are ready for new adventures . . .
    Shooting on the movie – under the dummy title
Corporate Headquarters
– took