Original article:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4558556a1860.html
Star Trek beams back
Urban says it's fantastic to be part of revival
By CHRIS GARDNER - Waikato Times
It's been the worst day of Spock's life. It started with his
fiancee cancelling their wedding and ended with him thinking
he has his killed his friend, Captain James T Kirk, in a
duel.
Discovering Kirk is not dead, but that Dr Leonard "Bones"
McCoy has injected him with a tranquiliser making him appear
dead, the ever-logical Spock excitedly grabs Kirk and
exclaims "Jim" with a smile.
"You can't tell me that ... you weren't on the verge of
giving us an emotional scene that would have bought the
house down," McCoy teases.
"It was merely my quite logical relief that Starfleet had
not lost a highly proficient captain," Spock, who has
regained his stoic composure, explains.
"Of course, Mr Spock, your reaction was quite logical ... in
a pig's eye."
The scene is from Amok Time, a 1968 episode of the classic
Star Trek television show which starred William Shatner
(Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (McCoy).
It's a favourite of Auckland actor Karl Urban, 35, who last
month completed five months of filming on a Star Trek
prequel in which he plays a young Dr McCoy.
"Amok Time's about the relationship between Kirk, Spock and
McCoy," Urban says of one of his two favourite episodes.
"And I like how Bones saves the day."
It's been 17 year since the original Enterprise warped off
our screens, after 78 episodes, 22 animated segments and six
feature films, leaving fans with spin-off shows The Next
Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Despite
interstellar improvements in sets, costumes and special
effects, none of the spin-offs held a star to the one that
started it all with Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
"The essence of what (the late Star Trek creator) Gene
Rodenberry created is worth pursuing," Urban, who was raised
in Wellington and now lives in Auckland, says. "With the
kind of advances with story telling technology there's a lot
more we are capable of doing these days. I think that since
it's been 17 years since Star Trek has been on the big
screen. It's the perfect time to bring it back and show
these characters in their early years and get a bit of a
back story.
"To be part of a new wave or revival of the old Star Trek is
just a really fantastic experience."
The new film also stars Chris Pine in one of his first major
roles as Kirk and Heroes star Zachary Quinto as Spock. Urban
regrets not having the chance to discuss McCoy with Kelley,
as Quinto did with Nimoy regarding Spock.
"I guess in terms of the qualities Kelley bought to the
role, what I really respond to is his sense of irascibility
with a real passion for life and doing the right thing,
which was a great thing for Kirk. We would have Spock's
logic and McCoy's moral standing which gave Kirk the benefit
of having three brains instead of just one.
"I am very thankful to have had such a legacy of work to
look at. It was really wonderful having Leonard Nimoy in the
film. He would not have been in it, and given the film his
blessing if he did not think it was a worthy project. We
were very privileged to have him."
The man directing the film, dubbed Star Trek XI, is Emmy
Award-winning film and television producer, writer, actor,
composer and director JJ Abrams, and the script is penned by
Transformers scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Urban says: "I have never worked on a film that's been as
funny as this one. We were constantly cracking up."
Urban is best known for his role as Eomer in Peter Jackson's
The Lord of The Rings trilogy. His early career included a
stint on Shortland Street.
"JJ is extraordinarily clever. He reminded me, as far as his
shooting style is concerned, of Peter Jackson in the way he
would place movement in the shot. He had a bit of a quality
that I respect in Peter."
Urban admits to having his own selfish reasons for wanting
to do Star Trek.
"I really want to be part of a film that my children can see
... there have not been that many."
Urban's oldest son Hunter, eight, is a fan, while his
younger son Indy, three, may well turn out to love the
fictional archaeologist he is named after.
Asked why he went for the role of a famously blue-eyed
character, the brown-eyed actor says it came to him.
"After meeting JJ he said, `I would really like to see you
for this character.' As far as the physical characteristics
are concerned, there are quite a few discrepancies. The
important thing is to create the very essence and spirit of
what these guys did back in the sixties and creating that
verve supporting this new interpretation."
While Urban is yet to see a rough cut of the film, he says
it will have the Star Trek feel while being like nothing
fans have seen before.
"If you were watching the 60s TV series it would be like you
were listening to it on the radio before and now you are
going to see it in high definition."
Urban's comments are particularly interesting since the
pilot episode, The Cage, was filmed in black and white, but
by the time the original series went into production
television had made the transition to colour and Star Trek
became known for its bright coloured yellow, blue and red
uniforms and control panels.
While the release of Star Trek XI is a year off, thanks to
the special effects required in post-production, Urban is
pushing for a New Zealand premiere in aid of the charity
KidsCan. And he won't rule out returning to the role for
future films, or even a new television series.
"I would dearly love the opportunity to carry on with that
cast.
"They are really wonderful, but it's a bit too early to
speculate on things. We really have everything going for
us."
Whatever the future may bring for Urban, he says he intends
to remain New Zealand based. "This is my home."
http://www.trektoday.com/news/240508_03.shtml
Urban on McCoy and 'Star Trek XI'
By T'Bonz
(...)
Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
http://www.trekbbs.com//showthread.php?t=55762
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4558556a1860.html
Star Trek beams back
Urban says it's fantastic to be part of revival
By CHRIS GARDNER - Waikato Times
It's been the worst day of Spock's life. It started with his
fiancee cancelling their wedding and ended with him thinking
he has his killed his friend, Captain James T Kirk, in a
duel.
Discovering Kirk is not dead, but that Dr Leonard "Bones"
McCoy has injected him with a tranquiliser making him appear
dead, the ever-logical Spock excitedly grabs Kirk and
exclaims "Jim" with a smile.
"You can't tell me that ... you weren't on the verge of
giving us an emotional scene that would have bought the
house down," McCoy teases.
"It was merely my quite logical relief that Starfleet had
not lost a highly proficient captain," Spock, who has
regained his stoic composure, explains.
"Of course, Mr Spock, your reaction was quite logical ... in
a pig's eye."
The scene is from Amok Time, a 1968 episode of the classic
Star Trek television show which starred William Shatner
(Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (McCoy).
It's a favourite of Auckland actor Karl Urban, 35, who last
month completed five months of filming on a Star Trek
prequel in which he plays a young Dr McCoy.
"Amok Time's about the relationship between Kirk, Spock and
McCoy," Urban says of one of his two favourite episodes.
"And I like how Bones saves the day."
It's been 17 year since the original Enterprise warped off
our screens, after 78 episodes, 22 animated segments and six
feature films, leaving fans with spin-off shows The Next
Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Despite
interstellar improvements in sets, costumes and special
effects, none of the spin-offs held a star to the one that
started it all with Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
"The essence of what (the late Star Trek creator) Gene
Rodenberry created is worth pursuing," Urban, who was raised
in Wellington and now lives in Auckland, says. "With the
kind of advances with story telling technology there's a lot
more we are capable of doing these days. I think that since
it's been 17 years since Star Trek has been on the big
screen. It's the perfect time to bring it back and show
these characters in their early years and get a bit of a
back story.
"To be part of a new wave or revival of the old Star Trek is
just a really fantastic experience."
The new film also stars Chris Pine in one of his first major
roles as Kirk and Heroes star Zachary Quinto as Spock. Urban
regrets not having the chance to discuss McCoy with Kelley,
as Quinto did with Nimoy regarding Spock.
"I guess in terms of the qualities Kelley bought to the
role, what I really respond to is his sense of irascibility
with a real passion for life and doing the right thing,
which was a great thing for Kirk. We would have Spock's
logic and McCoy's moral standing which gave Kirk the benefit
of having three brains instead of just one.
"I am very thankful to have had such a legacy of work to
look at. It was really wonderful having Leonard Nimoy in the
film. He would not have been in it, and given the film his
blessing if he did not think it was a worthy project. We
were very privileged to have him."
The man directing the film, dubbed Star Trek XI, is Emmy
Award-winning film and television producer, writer, actor,
composer and director JJ Abrams, and the script is penned by
Transformers scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Urban says: "I have never worked on a film that's been as
funny as this one. We were constantly cracking up."
Urban is best known for his role as Eomer in Peter Jackson's
The Lord of The Rings trilogy. His early career included a
stint on Shortland Street.
"JJ is extraordinarily clever. He reminded me, as far as his
shooting style is concerned, of Peter Jackson in the way he
would place movement in the shot. He had a bit of a quality
that I respect in Peter."
Urban admits to having his own selfish reasons for wanting
to do Star Trek.
"I really want to be part of a film that my children can see
... there have not been that many."
Urban's oldest son Hunter, eight, is a fan, while his
younger son Indy, three, may well turn out to love the
fictional archaeologist he is named after.
Asked why he went for the role of a famously blue-eyed
character, the brown-eyed actor says it came to him.
"After meeting JJ he said, `I would really like to see you
for this character.' As far as the physical characteristics
are concerned, there are quite a few discrepancies. The
important thing is to create the very essence and spirit of
what these guys did back in the sixties and creating that
verve supporting this new interpretation."
While Urban is yet to see a rough cut of the film, he says
it will have the Star Trek feel while being like nothing
fans have seen before.
"If you were watching the 60s TV series it would be like you
were listening to it on the radio before and now you are
going to see it in high definition."
Urban's comments are particularly interesting since the
pilot episode, The Cage, was filmed in black and white, but
by the time the original series went into production
television had made the transition to colour and Star Trek
became known for its bright coloured yellow, blue and red
uniforms and control panels.
While the release of Star Trek XI is a year off, thanks to
the special effects required in post-production, Urban is
pushing for a New Zealand premiere in aid of the charity
KidsCan. And he won't rule out returning to the role for
future films, or even a new television series.
"I would dearly love the opportunity to carry on with that
cast.
"They are really wonderful, but it's a bit too early to
speculate on things. We really have everything going for
us."
Whatever the future may bring for Urban, he says he intends
to remain New Zealand based. "This is my home."
http://www.trektoday.com/news/240508_03.shtml
Urban on McCoy and 'Star Trek XI'
By T'Bonz
(...)
Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
http://www.trekbbs.com//showthread.php?t=55762
Love the pic. Thanks.
It was a great read 
Great stuff!
