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The Future Begins
The greatest adventure of all time begins with "Star Trek," the incredible story of a young crew's maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the midst of an incredible journey full of optimism, intrigue, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals born worlds apart. One, James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy, a natural-born leader in search of a cause. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), grows up on the planet Vulcan, an outcast due to his half-human background, which makes him susceptible to the volatile emotions that Vulcans have long lived without, and yet an ingenious, determined student, who will become the first of his kind accepted into the Starfleet Academy.
Kirk and Spock could not be more different. Yet, in their quest to figure out who they really are and what they have to give to the world, they soon become competitive cadets-in-training. With their drastically opposite styles, one driven by fiery passion, the other by rigorous logic, they also become defiant, contentious adversaries, each equally unimpressed with the other, each going all out to be among the special few chosen to join the crew of the most advanced starship ever created, the U.S.S. Enterprise.
The crew is headed by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Joining him are the ship's Medical Officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban); the man who will become the ship's Chief Engineer, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (Simon Pegg); Communications Officer Uhura (Zoë Saldana); experienced Helmsman Sulu (John Cho); and the 17-year-old whiz kid Chekov (Anton Yelchin). All will face a harrowing first test that will set in motion the loyalty, camaraderie, daring and good humor that will bind them forever.
In the midst of it all, Kirk and Spock will come face-to-face with an undeniable destiny: a need to forge an unlikely but powerful partnership, enabling them to lead their crew to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present a Bad Robot Production "Star Trek" starring John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy. The film is directed by J.J. Abrams ("Mission: Impossible III," "Lost," "Alias") and written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman ("MI: III," "Transformers"). Based upon "Star Trek" Created by Gene Roddenberry. The film is produced by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof. The executive producers are Bryan Burk, Jeffrey Chernov, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The director of photography is Dan Mindel, ASC. The production designer is Scott Chambliss. The film is edited by Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. The costume designer is Michael Kaplan. The visual effects & animation are by Industrial Light & Magic. The music is by Michael Giacchino. This film has been rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence and brief sexual content.
Back to the Final Frontier
In its more than 40-year history, one that has impacted multiple generations, "Star Trek" has carved out an iconic place in modern pop culture as the only ongoing story that encapsulates the awe, wonder and bold audacity of the human desire to reach for the stars. With the indelible opening words of the original 1960s television series, "Space, the Final Frontier," a succession of journeys were launched across the cosmos that did and, to this day, still celebrate the thrill of adventure, the pioneering spirit of exploration and the drive to create an ever-more amazing future full of possibilities. The daring and provocative voyages of the Starship Enterprise, and the many ships that would soon follow in her flight path, have appealed to the stargazer in all of us, and our hopes and dreams that technological and cultural advances will bring out the best of our humanity.
The original TV series was not a hit when it first aired, but later caught on like wildfire among the ever-growing legion of fans who responded to its compellingly funny, contentious, charismatic personalities and its five-year mission to peacefully engage new worlds and cultures. But how did that mission begin? What brought together this disparate group of brash, brilliant, ambitious young men and women and drove them to explore new frontiers? And how did they forge that special chemistry and sense of purpose that would inspire so many discoveries and fantastic adventures for years and even centuries to come?
For director/producer J.J. Abrams, going back to the beginning after more than six television series and ten feature films was the only way to forge into the future. His vision was to literally start fresh, beginning with James T. Kirk and his one-day First Officer, the Vulcan Spock's advancement in the Starfleet Academy and their extraordinary first journey together.
Abrams came to the project with great respect for series creator Gene Roddenberry and all that "Star Trek" had achieved as the creator of an archetypal modern myth and cult phenomenon. However, he also wanted to take the story where it had never been before: making a state-of-the-art action epic about two heroic leaders as brash young men in the making.
"I was a fan of the original series, although I was never a Trekker," says Abrams. "Yet I always felt there was something that had not been done with 'Star Trek.' There have been ten movies, but this is the first time that a movie has dealt with the fundamental, primary story Gene Roddenberry originally created in 1966." Abrams continues: "What I hope with this movie is that you never have to have seen anything about 'Star Trek' before to really enjoy a comical, romantic, suspenseful adventure, but that it also does proud the lasting, brilliant world that Gene Roddenberry created. The brilliant thing 'Star Trek' brought to the world was a dose of optimism and I hope this movie continues in that tradition."
While many anticipated a total re-boot from Abrams, he was excited to go in an unexpected direction, heading way back, as it were, into the never-seen 23rd century launch of the U.S.S. Enterprise. When he brought the idea of a "'Star Trek' origin story" to producer Damon Lindelof, with whom Abrams (along with Jeffrey Lieber) created the contemporary television phenomenon "Lost," the producer was instantly taken by the idea. Explains Lindelof, "For me, the idea that no one has ever told an origin story for Kirk and Spock and all these characters was very cool. We had a great conversation about how this crew of people might have come together and learned to sacrifice certain parts of their personalities to get along. It was really fun and, next thing I knew, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman were writing a script."
A fan of "Star Trek" since childhood, Lindelof believes the story's premise and characters have continued to be so relevant for so long because they capture something essential about the space travel mythos: the sheer hopefulness of it. "Most stories we see now about the distant future are bleak, dismal and dystopian. The incredible thing about the initial 'Star Trek' television series is that it was so energetic, optimistic and cool. It presented the future the way we'd like to believe it will unfold. It's a future to aim for."
That view, he felt, was a great match for Abrams' exuberant style of character-and-action-driven storytelling. "J.J. brings innovation to everything he does, but also brings an ability to boil a story down to its most human elements and translate hugely complicated production challenges into something with mass appeal, and that was all necessary to go back to the beginning of 'Star Trek' with today's cinematic technology," says Lindelof.
Adds executive producer Bryan Burk, who has also collaborated with Abrams on "Lost," "Alias" and "Cloverfield": "We envisioned this 'Star Trek' as a truly grand adventure about two very different men whose destiny is not only to become true friends, but iconic partners, guardians and explorers.Ó
Executive producer Jeffrey Chernov, who oversaw the line production, concludes: "The film for me became not only a new look at the 'Star Trek' universe, but a kind of cross between 'The Right Stuff' and the original 'Star Wars.' It has that fresh, imaginative, intergalactic storytelling, but is also very grounded in the idea of young men and women with a lot of heart and camaraderie. When you add J.J.'s mastery of action and love of scope, you have something very fun and entertaining."
Inside Trek: The Screenplay
The characters of "Star Trek," especially Captain James T. Kirk and his loyal but contentious First Officer Spock, are among the most instantly recognizable fictional characters created in the 20th century. But J.J. Abrams needed writers who could take these well-established personalities and reverse engineer them to get back what forged their hopes, dreams and motivations in the first place.
To do so, Abrams went straight to a team he knew could attack the story with a high-intensity, suspenseful action style and an authentic allegiance to its legacy, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, whose partnership has produced memorable screenplays for such films as "Transformers," "Mission: Impossible III" and the current FOX show "Fringe." Orci, in particular, has had a lifelong passion for all things Trek. "When I met Bob in high school, one of the first things I remember about him is that he had an Enterprise phone and the Bridge would actually ring!" laughs Kurtzman.
And yet, when they were approached about "Star Trek," the duo admits they did not instantly jump at it. "We paused because we knew it would be such a huge responsibility," explains Kurtzman. "The whole Trek universe has kind of hit a crossroads at this point and we knew that it would take a lot of thought to really engage the next generation. The challenges were a bit terrifying. But when you're scared to do something, I think you also get the feeling that there's a personal challenge there you need to meet. After our initial trepidation, we began talking to J.J. about it and then decided to just sit down and dive in."
They did so with a die-hard commitment to following in the spirit of Gene Roddenberry's vision of an enlightened future. The pair began with a list of what they believed to be the "Star Trek" universe's greatest and most universally relatable attributes. Orci explains: "That list included the idea of a family of friends coming together; the way each character seems warm and human and real; the use of genuine humor, not parody or irony, that comes out of real situations; and then a thought-provoking story that is true science fiction, not impossible fantasy, but a vision of a future we hope humans can achieve."
Continues Kurtzman: "There was also something we wanted to capture that's always been very specific to 'Star Trek': men and women rising to the challenge of who they are as people by confronting what appear to be insoluble problems. Part of the irresistible fun of the original series was watching these incredibly intelligent and intriguing personalities work together and become the best of who they are. We felt that if we could take that spirit and put a fresh spin on it, you could advance the legacy of 'Star Trek' in this movie."
Starting from that base, Orci and Kurtzman were exhilarated by the chance to do two new things: imagine the never-before-seen youth of Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) and their development into friends and leaders; and devise the Enterprise's very first mission.
Exploring who Kirk and Spock were as adolescents helped the writers to get to the root of what has made them so consistently compelling: the idea of two wholly opposite men coming together like two lost halves and embarking on a perilous mission in a way neither one could have alone. Says Kurtzman: "It was really fascinating to think about young Spock, who is literally torn between the Vulcan and human world and, like any child, is trying to figure out where he fits in. That makes him extremely relatable. It was equally fascinating to think about young Kirk, who grows up a rebel, a kind of James Dean, while searching for his identity. When they meet at Starfleet Academy, they couldn't be more different in how they approach life, but they also each react to the similarities they see in one another. A big part of this journey is how they learn to use the best in each other to make command decisions that will help the Enterprise and the universe itself survive."
When the Enterprise comes under attack, the leadership styles of Kirk and Spock gradually emerge. Orci explains: "The rules of duty on a Starship come from a rich history of the actual rules of naval engagement; it's all about code, honor and the chain of command. Yet, within that atmosphere, Kirk is always looking for opportunities to break the rules in order to win, while Spock believes in the logic of adhering strictly to order. That is their major argument with each other and we felt very strongly that they both had to have a point. We didn't want either one to be right at the expense of the other. Kirk and Spock are truly facing a moral dilemma but come to realize that only by finding a way to work together can they actually move forward."
For J.J. Abrams, this was one of the most vital elements to get right. "In a larger sense, I wanted the movie to be a journey of the heart and the mind coming together. The beauty of Kirk and Spock has always been their relationship, but here we had a chance to explore not just the humor and fun of that tension, but also how they first became brothers in arms. It was to see how they were thrust into an adventure that not only tested them, but bonded them for life."
The stakes for Kirk and Spock become unimaginably high as they begin to understand the agenda of Nero (Eric Bana), the fuming, merciless Romulan. As a newly introduced character, the writers spent an equal amount of time developing Nero into a worthy adversary for the Enterprise crew, one who is full of tricks, savvy and unpredictability. "In the best tradition of complex villains, Nero is someone who legitimately feels he has been wronged and believes he has a genuine bone to pick with Starfleet," says Orci. "His drive to destroy goes beyond intergalactic politics to something deeply personal. He's frightening, yet there's something in him to which you can relate."
In rounding out the cast, the filmmakers sought out one of the original Enterprise crew members, the legendary Leonard Nimoy. "We felt so strongly that he had to be in the movie. We wrote him in as a key part even though we knew he might very well say no and we'd be back at square one," says Orci. "And then when we sat down with him, we hit a hard eight. We couldn't believe our luck. Just to get his input was an incredible boost."
"We wanted Leonard because we wanted that link to the 'Star Trek' canon," explains producer Lindelof. "But it was a real risk to go to Leonard Nimoy, because he had said he would never do another 'Star Trek' again."
As they got deeper into the meat of the story, Orci's depth of familiarity with the volumes and volumes of Trek lore was a huge advantage. "Instead of having to look up things in a book, we had the freedom to come up with cool storylines and play with them without worrying if we were getting the details right," says Orci. "But, while we were always very clear about writing a movie that would appeal to everyone, we also wanted to satisfy longtime fans and reward their knowledge of the franchise. It was important to us that the story include in its very fiber and fabric all that had come before. We made lists of certain things we knew people would want to see: a red-shirt crew member, a green Orion girl, Spock playing his harp, the kinds of things that would excite the fans and be fun for people new to the adventure as well."
Whenever there was the slightest doubt about Starfleet rules or the history of an alien race, the writers didn't hesitate to consult with the legions of Trekkers who have a passion for finding those kinds of answers. "The fans have been the stewards of this franchise for the last four decades, and they are also some of the smartest fans in the world," Orci says. "So if there was a question, we knew that any fan worth his salt would invariably know the answer. And they did."
The writers further relied on the skills of researcher Sean Gerace, who assured that, nothing in "Star Trek" would be in conflict with the long future of Starfleet already depicted in the movies and shows like "Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine." Gerace was faced with such unusual, though fun, tasks as writing a detailed report on Romulan mythology. He also watched each of the original series' 79 episodes and all the motion pictures, taking detailed notes on personal histories and personality nuances. The filmmakers were especially interested in "The Wrath of Khan," widely considered the most emotionally exhilarating of the earlier motion picture series.
As Orci and Kurtzman neared a finished draft of "Star Trek," they also got a lot of support from Abrams and the producers, who were ready and willing to debate the finer points of character and plot development at every turn. "Working with Bob and Alex and the producing team on the screenplay was an effortless exchange of ideas," says Abrams. "What was great is that we all had different gradients of experience and knowledge. Bob Orci was a complete Trekker, who knew every detail and also knew whether fans would be angry if you did X, while Bryan Burk had never even seen the original series and came to the story from that perspective. That allowed each of us to have a unique voice in what would work for different audiences. It was a kind of checks and balances system, so we had the excitement of total newcomers yet were true to all that came before."
READ MORE ABOUT SHOOTING THE FILM AND THE DESIGNS
READ MORE ABOUT J.J. ABRAMS (Director/Producer) and screenwriters ROBERTO ORCI & ALEX KURTZMAN
READ MORE: At Warp Speed: Pushing the Visual Scope of Star Trek
READ MORE ABOUT: The Maiden Crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise
THE ART OF REMAKES
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