I was talking last night to a group of friends about how we all really want JJ Abrams’ Star Trek to be good but with the casting announcements that have been made so far, I’m starting to get a bit worried. What happened to the days when Matt Damon was rumored to be playing Captain Kirk? I’m not saying that these aren’t capable actors, they just aren’t the level of talent and names that I think everyone was expecting.
So today’s Star Trek casting news revolves around a new villain named Nero, who is being played by Eric Bana. And other reports have Chris Pine (Just My Luck, Smokin’ Aces) is “in talks” to star as Captain Kirk. But apparent there are some scheduling conflicts that might not make this a sure thing. But honestly, what else does Chris Pine have going for him? The answer is Joe Carnahan’s White Jazz. Star Trek is certainly the higher profile film of the two, but White Jazz has the potential for critical acclaim. So what will Pine do?
Director Joe Carnahan has commented on the situation on his blog:
I will neither confirm nor deny that statement.
I’ll just say that it would be a pleasure to reunite with Pine on WJ and go out and kill that Junior role. It’s really the second lead in the film and the one that requires the biggest corkscrew to an actor’s performance. It’s a helluva hill to summit but Pine has true, natural, unforced ability and gifts.We’ll see how it all shakes out…
Am I the only one that is disappointed that the guy who potentially could be playing Captain f’n Kirk’s biggest role to date was in a crappy Lindsay Lohan movie? How did we go from Matt Damon to the guy from Just My Luck?
We’re still missing Bones, Scotty, and Sulu, and I’m sure we’ll hear some names attached to those roles in the coming weeks as production ramps up.
credit: Hollywood Reporter
October 10th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Don’t forget that Zachary Quinto (Sylar on Heroes) will be playing Spock. That’s one casting choice to be excited about.
From the AP (can’t find direct AP site link):
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9XFqTsK1DAwdIQWp4JlPPBlL1yw
October 10th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Chris Pine was also in The Princess Diaries 2, I’m sure you’ve seen that since you looooove Anne Hathaway.
October 10th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Who cares? This movie is going to bomb just like Enterprise did. Star Trek fans want two things:
1. To move forward, not backward in time
2. The cast and crew that we have come to love an admire
What a disappointment this is! Poor Gene would be rolling over in his grave if he were buried. :-(
October 10th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
William Shatner IS Captain Kirk.
This is an unfortunate problem for what the producers are trying to do with this movie. It’s going to be very very tough to surmount this.
October 10th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Well, if they go for less name actors (nb: I said nothing about talent) it becomes easier for them to negotiate multiple picture deals. Kind of important when you’re talking about an ensemble cast…
October 10th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Jamie is exactly right. Not only is the franchise a dead thing, but trying to go back and recast roles so clearly and memorably defined by other actors is absolute suicide. This is a tremendous mistake.
http://www.therecshow.com
October 10th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
While I can’t imagine this is going to be a popular opinion, it’s worth pointing out that Shatner hasn’t been Kirk for over 15 years (Kirk’s role in Star Trek 7 was pretty minor). This means that most of the 13-30 single male demographic haven’t seen Shatner as Kirk in theaters. While the cultural knowledge of the character is there, it’s worth pointing out that the other Bush was in office the last time Shatner played Kirk.
I think that it’s possible for the characters to be recast 15 years later successfully in the same way Bond is recast - actors playing the same character, without any overt attempt at reinvention. Especially given the time differential (playing a younger crew), it’d be like Batman Begins.
Notably, Brendan Routh took over as Superman, and by all accounts did a bang-up job. In many senses, there’s a bit of a parallel - stagnant, flailing series with a younger actor taking over an established character under an acclaimed director.
Point is, this has worked in the past, and can work again.
October 11th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Peter,
I’m going to have to disagree on this one. I would HATE to see a “star” in the role of Kirk. Especially in such an iconic role… it would be like “hey, there’s Matt Damon.”
I don’t know about Pine’s acting chops, but I think it’s a good call to go with relative unknowns. Personally I think this film has a good shot at re-invigorating the franchise.
Vic
October 11th, 2007 at 8:37 am
I have to agree with Vic here. I’m not sure that casting someone like Matt Damon as Kirk would be all that useful. I can sort of see the “look” side of it; Matt Damon could probably pass for a young Jim Kirk (if you think of how Shatner looked in the Original Series).
But I just think that a big-name actor here (who would be taking on, as Vic indicates, an iconic role) would simply stand out as that actor, rather than as the character.
That said, I have no real suggestions for who should play the part. Given that this role is so idiosyncratic, in a lot of ways, I think that would depend largely on auditions: who can truly immerse themselves in the “type” of character that Kirk was? If I was making this movie, that’s what I would be looking at. Who can seem like a reasonable Kirk persona. Now, on the other hand, given that this movie is trying to play to many audiences (not just the potentially built-in one) perhaps they’re going to be going for a new type of Kirk? (Is this a re-imagining of Star Trek? Uh oh.)
October 11th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I might not have been totally clear in my blog post, but my disappointment comes not in the name talent but the talent. Chris Pine was in Just My Luck and the Princess Diaries 2. From what I’ve seen so far, he’s not a very good actor. I’m not saying I would like someone like Matt Damon to play Kirk, as you suggest, that might be distracting. I would just like someone with some proven acting abilities.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Ah, gotcha. Maybe they’ll be able to coax a great performance out of him. As Jeff says, I don’t know which direction they’re going to go with the character portrayal. Shatner was pretty stylized.
Vic
October 12th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I agree that an unknown would be best for the role of Capt. Kirk ala Superman or even the relatively low profile of Christian Bale as Batman. But the person playing Kirk has to *look* the part, and Chris Pine doesn’t look right at all. I haven’t seen him act, but I wouldn’t buy him as Kirk like I would buy Zachary Quinto as Spock, for example.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Hopefully the movie will have the same aura as the 300
politics, econime , technology to match the time, real life and death circumstances, and the actors to solidify the plot. Why be vogue, be the ball just like the way life is in our present day reality’s. remember the British portray things very well visually and scriptualy
October 14th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I like J.J.’s work but I don’t think this is the right direction for Star Trek. This movie is going to tank just like “Enterprise” series. Re-casting the iconic original characters is a dumb idea and trying to portray the technology (as seen in the 60’s TV show) will be awkward and will just alienate the fan base. Just like Enterprise, this movie is going to trample on the continuity and canon of the entire franchise - a major reason to Enterprise’s demise.
We have had the original crew for over 40 years, through 80 TV episodes, 6/7 motion pictures and numerous appearances in other Trek shows/books/videogames/etc. - We know the crew and we don’t need to see them re-cast/re-invented or whatever. MOVE ON. Star Trek needs to take a break and move forward not go back and mess with the original characters/canon.
October 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Also since we know that none of the main characters die (for a long while), suspense surrounding their lives is useless. In regards to casting an “unknown” - don’t use Superman-Brenden Routh as an example because he was horrible as Superman, and the movie sucked. Christian Bale was an established actor before taking the role of Batman and he was great (so was the movie). If Chris Pine is cast as Captain Kirk this movie will TANK. The guy is way to ugly to play Kirk and he’s cock-eyed (take a look at his side profile) - not to mention his horrid acting ability.