Monday, 10 December 2012

Star Trek Into Darkness Revelations

We went to a press event today at Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot production company where we got a behind the scenes look at the upcoming sequel.

We were only asked to not divulge one thing we saw on today's visit; the rest we're free to reveal. That said, we're still issuing a SPOILER WARNING given how sensitive we know fans are about any little reveal.

A couple of newsworthy things were revealed while we were there. First, Benedict Cumberbatch's villain is named "John Harrison," although more than a few reporters still speculated (or cited "sources" who told them) the character would ultimately be revealed as none other than Khan. We'll take a wait and see attitude on that one.

The other revelation was that Alice Eve is playing Dr. Carol Marcus, Kirk's ex-flame introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan who would also bear his son, David.

Oh, and there are indeed Klingons in the movie, including a visit to the Klingon home world of Qo'noS (pronounced "Kronos"). The Qo'noS scenes are the ones in the trailer where the Enterprise crew are garbed in those funky grey/black casual outfits. A few of the Klingons sport hair, while others rock the bald look of General Chang from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. They have ridged heads in keeping with the modern interpretations of the Klingons. Some also wear helmets reminiscent of those briefly seen by Nero's Klingon captors in the 2009 reboot.

There are other alien species depicted in the film, including the Nibiruns who are the aliens seen in the forthcoming IMAX 3D preview to be shown before select screenings of The Hobbit. (One unique looking actor served as the model for the makeup to be worn by all the Nibirun performers.)

We got to tour Bad Robot and visit the costume, props, visual effects, and makeup departments, as well as chat with composer Michael Giacchino. We later got to mingle with director J.J. Abrams, screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, and cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban. Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Cho, Alice Eve, and Bruce Greenwood.

The coolest thing we saw ... we can't talk about. At all. But it was frickin' awesome. Sorry, but J.J. Abrams himself made us promise not to reveal anything about it.

The Starfleet dress uniforms in this movie are somewhat reminiscent of Soviet air force dress uniforms, grey uniforms with officers' hats.Admiral Pike's dress uniform is not too dissimilar from the one he wore at the end of the previous Star Trek movie. Kirk's dress uniform can be seen in the trailer, while Carol Marcus' has a grey skirt rather than pants. The uniforms have ranks on the shoulder boards as well as the cuffs. The Enterprise crew also have special suits they wear underwater, for ultra-hot environments (such as Spock's "lava suit"), and for certain off-ship duties.

Composer Michael Giacchino told us he still hasn't read the script and won't see a rough cut of the film until probably January, at which time he'll start to compose the rest of the score. He's only scored the first nine minutes -- the IMAX 3D preview -- so far. With that footage now done, he and his staff can refocus on the entire film.

The biggest challenge cited by all the creative personnel, from music to costumes to screenwriters, was to honor Star Trek lore while also putting their own unique spin on things. Some of their flourishes have led to both fans and reporters wrongly believing there are "nods" to past Trek films or the TV series where none were meant; the music cue from the IMAX preview that IGN and other sites have remarked was similar to one from Wrath of Khan was refuted by Giacchino, who said that's not the case nor was it his intent to directly pay homage to such a specific score.

Look for more from our visit to Bad Robot for Star Trek Into Darkness, including interviews, in the days ahead!

Star Trek Into Darkness opens May 17, 2013.


Source : ign[dot]com

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