He’ll be awsome. He’s great in Heroes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Not knowing remotely anything about the guy, I’ll reserve judgement until I know a bit more about him, etc etc.

However, my first gut initial reaction is, no. He isn’t right for the part. My gut rarely if ever fails me. It would be a pleasant surprise to be mistaken.

Addendum:

The problem with casting Spock is the necessary gravitas and sheer presence required for the character of Spock. Spock has an aura about him that when you are in his presence you immediately feel you are in the presence of greatness. This is not a learned or practised ability. Certain people naturally have it, others do not. Leonard Nimoy has it.

Whoever is ultimately cast as Spock should be able to get a rooms attention with an “ahem.”

still can’t get my head around Shatner’s absence from the project…..

BEST!!

=h=

2,3
Perhaps he has the gravitas you require, we’ll wait and see.

Exactly Orbs, we’ll just have to see.

Think along the lines of Spocks entrance in TMP. The man commands attention.

Interesting… As the Comic Con gets closer I get more and more excited! What will we learn this week!

Aaron R.

you shouldnt really be thinking of Spock in TMP or of ‘gravitas’….this is young Spock. Spock grows into being that Spock, just like Kirk has to grow into being the captain we know.

in Casino Royale Bond was still working out how to make his drink order. characters have arcs…we are going to see the early part of that arc.

Oh I have to disagree completely with that assertion.

Spock is Spock, regardless of age. He is a vulcan, one of the most well known Vulcans in the history of Vulcan. Spock had gravitas and presence during his final appearance on TNG and had it during his first appearance on TOS. There is no reason to expect anything less if he is 10 years younger, and to suggest otherwise implies an unfamiliarity with the character of Spock.

I’m beginning to notice a certain defense of ANY of every decision the producers of this film are making, occasionally a blind defense it seems. They should have room to play naturally, but if they are going to perhaps neglect the very core essence of what they are playing with, and people will rise to defend that, then what is the difference between what we are getting now and Berman Trek?

If the characters behave and perform unlike what we are accustomed to, and it’s chalked up to being “they are just younger”, then it’s the Anakin Skywalker phenomenon happening all over again.

I’m essentially the same person now I was 10 year ago, so were you, why should Spock behave or react any differently?

Personality has nothing to do with experience. Personality is developed at three years of age.

I think he’s an interesting choice….he’s got some of the sharp, well defined features that most of the best Vulcans from trek have had….should be interesting.

I agree with Anthony…gravitas and a sense of bearing is something that is acquired….and yes, people change as they gain life experience. A perfect example of that is in TMP….Spock changes a great deal by the end of the film.

I think after the past 15 years of Berman era Trek it’s healthy to be cautious and skeptical and not immediately dismiss, nor laud, ANY creative decision made without seeing how it plays out first.

I really don’t understand peoples perception. Do you want Spock just because he’s young behaving like a pimply faced teenager?
What happened to protecting the integrity of the characters attributes?

Hell, even as a kid on TAS , Spock had presence and gravitas and carried himself with astute dignity.

I don’t care to see Spock bumbling around like a dolt just because he is fresh off the Vulcan turnip truck.

re: 9
“I’m beginning to notice a certain defense of ANY of every decision the producers of this film are making, occasionally a blind defense it seems.”

I have noticed the same…a lot of unquestioning acceptance and general kowtowing to the producers and writers (who have yet to prove anything when it comes to Star Trek.).

Unless the film is set during the Academy, which doesn’t appear to be the case, then Spock won’t be too radically different. A little more tight-assed than normal(remember, he was pretty tightly wound during the first two pilots as well as early episodes of the series), but probably nothing too severe.

If this were set during his early years at the Academy, we’d probably meet an alienated young man who basically ran away from home and against his father’s wishes and who is trying to somehow reconcile who he is. Hence, we’d see a radically different character. Either way, the whole project will be interesting. I have faith in Abrams and Lindelof. They know that if this doesn’t work Trek will go away for a loooooooong time.

Spock certainly displayed emotion in “The Cage,” like the scene where he smiled at the oscillating plant. But, I agree a young Spock shouldn’t be too much different than the Spock we know.

KEEP LOOKING!!!!! Boldy go….just not there!

#12

It’s not “kowtowing,” it’s accepting that this IS indeed a fresh start/reimagining of the franchise we’re witnessing, and that there are bound to be a ton of changes. Some of us are actually excited by that idea, but others here clearly have a hard time accepting that.

And yes, we have some faith in Abrams because we think he’s proved with Felicity, Alias, and Lost that he’s not a hack.

i am not sure how i am defending the producers since I dont know what direction they will take with the character. I have defended them recently against those who claimed they ‘lied’ about shatner in the movie…becuse they never did!

anyway my point is that TMP and beyond spock is different than TOS Spock…I suspect we will see a more TOS and maybe even proto-TOS Spock.

Kirk also changed during the movie era…so again I think he will be dif as well….but probably even more different. Growing into his role as the brash cocky captain. Esecially if they go as far back as the Faragut where he blamed himself for the loss of the crew.

If these characters never changed and didnt have arcs they would be less interesting. Although the Annakin arc in SW was dreadful, the Obi Wan arc was actually quite good.

As Dennis Bailey says….we shouldnt have movies like comfort food, just giving us the same thing over and over again.

As for Quinto, I think he’ll be great. But I REALLY wish they’d stop using that manip at the top of the page. His bangs are way too low and his eyebrows aren’t the right shape at all.

#16

I agree completely. Some changes will definitely be made. We may not love all of them, but they’ll definitely be there. I’m going to go in with an open mind.

17. Anthony Pascale - July 23, 2007

I’m getting the “He-is-not-of-the-Body-McCoy ” vibe here.

Just kidding, I will not jump on that bandwagon.

Anthony, thanks for the work on maintaining this site. Great comments on Spock. Agreed, maybe even a proto-TOS Spock sounds like something we’ll see. There is plenty established by the TOS episode Journey To Babel, about his childhood, his skills.. Spock’s character is so developed that one can only look forward to what is in store for us with regards to him.

the quinto/spock we have was sent in by a user….I am too lazy to make a new one. If some one who is *skilled* at photoshop can send in a better one please do

Interesting points Anthony, but I think the initial post spoke to Quinto’s ability to pull off the gravitas of Spock. To me, gravitas is less a character development issue and more a character trait. Orson Wells, at age 25 had gravitas, has he did at age 65 - it was a trait of his and subsequently character portrayals.

I’m sure Quinto will be a fine Spock, but I also share a little skepticism, as Quinto strikes me as a little “wimpy.” But we shall see…..

#23

Anyone who saw Leonard Nimoy act pre-Spock would not exactly describe him as “manly” either….let’s give this guy a chance.

Freaking delighted

Intrigued. Looking forward to getting some real confirmation about things in this project! We’ve had something like a year of smoke and mirrors and rampant speculation. Now, finally, we’ll all have some concrete facts to argue about!!!

He has a very young voice.He needs to work on that .A little nasal too.Spock has a very distinguished voice.

24 - exactly. If you ever catch the Man from Uncle episode he did with Shatner pre-Trek, people would say he was an interesting character actor, not much more. Through the course of three years, Nimoy breathed life into Spock and achieved the depth of character we all know and love so well. But it was a process.

I agree with JC his voice work needs some training, but it’s not so far off that it will prove distracting (I don’t think at least).

Very exciting to be moving into the “real” phase of the movie!

Abrams is making a HUGE mistake by calling and casting this guy as a new Spock. Its sort of like this…You can call New York…New York - Miami and Vice Versa….two distinct people with the new actor taking over the role that was created for someone else. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Fine - have these guy be a Vulcan on a NEW Enterprise and etc but to expect him to fill in the role and boots of a unique character is simply asking to much. I can’t see anyone doing this role. As they took time to make Spock who he was they should do the same for this new guy - otherwise its not fair for all concerned. Either this guy will do a A-1 job or will fall on his face and have people laughing and wondering why Abrams didn’t properly go the more sensible route and just start out clean.
This applies to ALL the new actors filling for all of the old characters. Perhaps Abrams will wake up and make the right changes. Get a good story with the proper dynamics between the characters and just forget about bringing back old characters….its time to move on already so do it.

Quinto should be good at this. Great casting choice.

He’s got no more or less “gravitas” than Nimoy did as a young actor. Check out Nimoy on “Perry Mason” or “The Twilight Zone;” he was nearly typecast as a thug prior to Trek. Put pointed ears on this guy and let him act - that’s what it’s about, after all.

I am of mixed feelings on the movie thus far. I really am ambivilent towards JJ Abrams. I don’t like lost, but I thought MI III was a decent movie. I am not sure of a re-launch and re-casting of TOS is a godd idea…

But, I think that Quinto is a very good choice. His performance as Sylar on Heroes is great. He is an evil killer, yet Quinto makes him just sympathetic enough that he is not a one-dimensional menace. As Sylar, Quinto shows an ability to be a human that does not have/understand what it means to be a human being. He has no sympathy or compassion, yet he is portrayed as wanting those things (at least, up to a certain point). However, he just can’t achieve them, and fully embraces being a homicidal maniac.

Quinto may be the right man for this job. A great “character actor”, one whose name and reputation won’t overshadow Spock (which, I feel would have happened if Damon became Kirk).

Just my 2 cents anyway…

Abrams has a problem.

All the publicity (good or bad) regarding casting in this movie-be it about Quinto or Damon or whoever- is being DWARFTED by the buzz about Shatner and Nimoy. Just do a google news search for Star Trek XI and see how many times Shatner’s name appears to get some idea.

When mainstream theater goers hear that Quinto may be in the movie they go “Huh? Who?” “Really, a new Star Trek movie with new actors? Hmm. O.K.

When people hear that Nimoy or Shatner may be in this movie they say “Oh, Star Trek.” Yeah I like that show. When is it coming out?

#17…it think its quite the opposite. a young Kirk would be overly cocky . Over time and experience he would learn to temper that to the tos kirk we know. Just as Sock would show more emotion as he did in the cage and learn to supress it more as he did in tos. OMG did i just disagree with Anthony the Great? lol

#9 and 12 Stanky and Josh
Sorry, I disagree. Any defense of the writers and producers has been because they have come under undeserved fire from un-informed people. Most of want the movie to go well and there’s no point in being negative on them until we see a bad product..if we do.

#33
Yeah I guess so. Remember that this is the same guy who reprogrammed the Kobayashi Maru scenario in order to win, no matter what!! I don’t think he should be too quiet/passive in this one…

#32: “When people hear that Nimoy or Shatner may be in this movie they say “Oh, Star Trek.” Yeah I like that show. When is it coming out?”

Nope, all evidence is that most people stopped doing that after the fourth TOS-based movie - the box office of the two TOS-based films following that were disappointing to Paramount, which is why they decided it was time to fold that tent.

Most people when they hear that another Trek movie is coming out say “Oh god, another one?” and if Nimoy or Shatner are mentioned there’s snickering about their ages - Hell, people even remember Jim Carrey’s parody of that. These two things are what the next movie must overcome.

I’ve watched Heroes since the first episode. As soon as they revealed Quinto’s face, my wife and I said (at the same time, mind you, which was really cool), “My God, it’s Spock.”

Having watched the series, Quinto has definitely got the chops to take this role. Agreed, his voice tends to be a bit soft, but then so was Chris Reeve’s before he won the role of Superman. He took voice lessons and solved that right away. If Quinto does the same thing, I believe he’ll make a very formidable Spock. Granted, he’s got BIG pointed ears to fill, but I think he’s up to the task.

Plus, I gotta support him because he’s from my hometown.

Now let’s get to the rest of the characters and the production design. I’m dying to see what the sets are going to look like.

#17-

Why do you think it’s called comfort food? BECAUSE people like eating it over and over again. That’s the essence of it.

Willing enough to welcome him into the role if he ends up looking EXACTLY like the mock-up photo above…uniform colour and all …I never did like the early muted ones of the “pilot” episodes.

I will be watching the start of “Heroes” here in U.K. for first time tomorrow, and look forward to seeing him in action over the series, and hearing how his VOICE sounds…

Not long now until “ComicCon” for the big Kirk revelations….or not…

If this movie takes place prior to WNMHGB, then I would expect to see a kind of vocal, louder version of our favorite Vulcan. He should not be like he was in TOS and the movies, which is really going to make it interesting to see how this Quinto plays the role.
That being said, I agree with the poster above who said he appears a little “wimpy”.

Excellent news. It will be “fascinating” to watch Zachary Quinto make the Spock character his own.

#38: “Why do you think it’s called comfort food? BECAUSE people like eating it over and over again. That’s the essence of it.”

Exactly so.

The problem is that not enough people like eating it again and again to make it worth Paramount’s investment in whipping up another batch of it.

See, the thing about comfort food is that folks take comfort in it because it’s familiar. They’ve usually been eating it since childhood.

What about all the folks who *haven’t* been eating it since childhood and can take it or leave it? Those are the people this movie needs to reach if it’s not going to be a colossal bomb.

Any movie aimed at the Trek “true believers” will fail at the box office.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g196/dennisbailey/quinto.jpg

At least Quinto isn’t 20…

re 9 & 12-

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Kind of recalls that leming-like mentality that pervaded Trek during the last decade or so, and much of the bleating echoing those sentiments are from the many of the same sheep who went down the chute willingly into Rick Berman’s MT Slaughterhouse, and we all saw how that ended.

Newsflash: That ain’t gonna work this time around, not with THIS Trek, it won’t. This ain’t BSG or [FILL IN THE BLANK]. No matter who’s in charge, there are certain liberties one doesn’t take with an institution, no matter the underlying reason or motivation. Star Trek is such an institution, and always shall be, because, unlike the rest, aside from a handful of hardcore proponents, society in general actually cares about what happens to this one, and they don’t want it messed with TOO MUCH for any reason.

Precisely.

re: #45

If that’s true, there’s no reason for Paramount to invest another penny in “Star Trek.”

#36 “all evidence …”

All evidence? Really?

O.K.

I stand corrected.

It is probably just a few of us here in my small town that think otherwise (Detroit.)

If Quinto is to be Spock, that is one less item of news that will be a surprise at comic con. So we will hope to find out 1. who is kirk. 2.what other characters we might see. 3. Official word on Shatner & Nimoy.

I don’t think we will learn all of this at this point. Hopefully we will. it will only generate more excitement and yet not give away too many plot details.

Oh and #43…

Nice job on the pic.

#47: “I stand corrected.

It is probably just a few of us here in my small town that think otherwise (Detroit.)”

And a few here in Washington, and a few in a lot of other places. And that adds up to…

A few million. That adds up to: A Bomb.

Anecdotal evidence - “All my friends agree with me” - is worthless to Paramount. They know good and well exactly where they’ve made money - and how much - and where they haven’t. That’s why they’ve given Abrams license to restart this thing.

I may have missed this, since this thread grew whilst I slept. But…
Is it possible we are going to see 30-ish Spock? There’s a never-explained during TOS age difference between Kirk and Spock. Spock was already Pike’s bridge officer 13 years before the events of TOS. TNG added the annoying and hard-to-support idea that all of our beloved TOS characters should live waaaay past 100. (I didn’t like that idea with Vulcans and it really sucked with McCoy.) In TOS, Sarek is 100-something.
Point being, how old is Spock? How established in his ways is he? Do we get a character arc, and should we expect it to go the same exact place as TOS? It seems as though Spock should be a decade or so older than Kirk. That, as much as his Vulcan heritage, explains his ability to keep his cool while Kirk tends towards the impulsive. But, who knows. This take on the series could have them be the same age. I’ll also be watching to see what Quinto does with his human side. In TOS, some of the fun was calling BS on Nimoy/Spock’s logic. It was pretty convenient at times for him to “logically” choose to be emotional. I always felt that logic for Vulcans was a tough choice, they strive for but never quite got. I think that’s what Roddenberry had in mind, so that the human audience could relate to Spock.
Anyway, cool choice!

Oh, and I just have to:

Zpock Lives!

I hope to find out at the comic con:

a) the main cast b) the era of the story c) Shatner and Nimoy d)maybe abit of design art/another teaser poster.

By the way, does anyone know just how TALL Quinto is?…I’d like my Spock to still be a bit taller than the rest of the main crew to accentuate that much needed “presence”.

ZACHARY QUINTO is a cool sounding name by the way, unusual in the way that LEONARD NIMOY sounds. It should look good in the credits. If this Movie DOES hit big, with successive sequals, this role could make him HUGE to a wide age group. Let’s hope he wears the ears well.

54 - according to imdb ZQ is 6′ 2″

says Nimoy was 6′ 1″

so close enough

hope they have found a shorter guy for Kirk - he’d need to be about 5′ 10″ (or 5′ 11″) - and around the same age as ZQ (late 20s early 30s)

Orbitalic

Glad you liked it. I’ve decided to polish it up a little, and add just what would come immediately next, as I was very rushed the day I posted it.
I will try to do it tomorrow, before the craziness of the “ComicCon” revelations.

[…] When the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets a scoop that is completely unrelated to the latest Steelers signing or Pirates trade I become slightly hesitant. According to their website, Zachary Quinto will be Spock in JJ Abram’s reboot of Star Trek. Zachary who you ask? He’s best known for portraying the super powered baddie on the completely underwhelming Heroes. TrekMovie is also linking to the report and one from E! Online which indicated the deal is as good as done. There’s even a photochop of Quinto as spock (very nicely done). […]

Shatner wore lifts.

Oh, and if JJ is picking alumni, then Billy Crudup for Kirk

HOW TALL WAS SHATNER REALLY THEN? (think hes down as 5′ 10″ )

#55 snake

Thanks

Those sultan heels in the boots work wonders.

William Shatner — Height: 5′ 9½” (1.77 M)
According to http://www.allmovieportal.com/c/williamshatner.html

I’m 5′8″ and I recall him standing a bit taller than me at a convention in Sacramento back in the mid 80s (can’t find pic - but at least 1-1/2 inches taller and he had tennis shoes) soI suspect this is accurate.

Celebrityheights.com has him at 5′9″. I think he is a bit less now in his 70s.

Justman says in Inside Star Trek that he wore lifts to reach his advertised height of 5′ 11″ (p341)

A famous “lift man” allegedly said he gave Shat 3″ extra, but I think that is an exaggeration.

Take a look at his big shoes in the scene in STIII when he is kicking the Klingon off the cliff if you want to see the extent of his heels (plus an internal lift)

46. Bailey

“If that’s true, there’s no reason for Paramount to invest another penny in “Star Trek.””

If they made major changes with a different ship, crew, and era, it wouldn’t bother me. Messing with stuff that I know what it looks like and sounds like already bugs the heck out of me.

I don’t give a rat’s ass if Paramount makes a dime or wants to do more movies if they are going to mess with this recasting/probable excessive redesign stuff.

Those of you who can get excited over major changes could just as well latch onto something else since you don’t seem to care what it will be like other than “a good story.”

I don’t know this guy as I’ve not seen Heros. Will wait for the DVD’s and check it out. I have no feeling for or against Quinto.

Of course this is still rumour and not concrete fact yet. If Quinto is 30, and Nimoy was 35 in 1966, seems that they may be going for the time of early TOS right before or at the time Star Trek first airs. So it could be on the Enterprise’s first missions with Kirk in command. All conjecture. I always see Corbomite Maneuver as an early or nearly first mission given the way they all interact.

anyone else amused by the fact that there is a website Celebrityheights.com

WEBSITE NOTE: anyone have issues with page loads? anyone getting blank pages (you need to hit refresh if you do)

the site is still propegating its new location across the DNS servers of the web so it should all be fine, but any trouble send to me via
tonyp - @ - trekmovie.com

67 - yes i keep having to refresh several times to get a page (any page) to show up…at first it was just a blank page and i was like ‘oh well TM.com is down I’ll come back later’ but then it was still the same so out of anger i refreshed about 10 times and it came up…

This aint the kind of malfunction you want what with it being so close to Thursday!!

OK I just made another fix that should solve any blank page problems

if anyone else has blank page problems from now (9:40 Pacific) onwards email me

#65: “Those of you who can get excited over major changes could just as well latch onto something else since you don’t seem to care what it will be like other than “a good story.””

If it’s a good story, not a lot else matters too much.

In any event, while we *could* just as well latch onto (that is, “take an interest in”) something else - and do - we have the opportunity to “latch onto” the new “Star Trek…” so we will.

I’ve had the page-reload thing happening for about three days (Firefox browser, Mac system), fyi. I’m sure it will clear up as the servers catch up.

WIth the Quinto news seeming to have worked its way through channels to the media, how is it we don’t have a clearer bead on the new Kirk? I can’t believe Hollywood types are as tight-lipped as all that. Maybe they’re still looking?? Or maybe Damon will be the guy after all, in spite of all the protestations?

re: 70

Well, Lah-ti-freepin’-dah !!

And whatever you just did seemed to fix things Anthony, majorly faster loads now…

yeah AP - the mains are back on line

i just moved the make the site work better switch into the ON position

actually i rewrote some code in one of the cache PHP files due to the upgrade to PHP 5 (if you care)…god I hate programming crap!

“Sylar” even sounds kind of Vulcan. Like a “Sybok”, crazed Vulcan.

gosh i wonder who Kirk is gonna be eh?

Chris Evans? (Sunshine/Fan Four)

Ryan Phillipee?

Leo Dicaprio?

James Van der Beek?

WHO damnit!?

actually what about - Colin Farrell? he can camp it up a little like Shatner - is a similar height and build - dosnt look a million miles unlike the 1960s shatner - plus (like Shatner) has played Alexander The Great (yep Shatner did in a tv pilot)

Plus he’s a ‘name’ that could help with the box office maybe?

actually regarding me on 77 - I think Van Der Beek looks a bit like a young Scott Bakula (Capt Archer) so maybe not…

78 - what about - Colin Farrell?
Can he stay sober long enough to get through a scene? Did you see Miami Vice?! Colin Farrell isn’t a young William Shatner. He’s a young Mickey Rourke.
All I ask of the new Kirk is that he NOT do a Shatner impression.

#65: “Those of you who can get excited over major changes could just as well latch onto something else since you don’t seem to care what it will be like other than “a good story.””

We don’t just want to see a new ship and new actors though. We want to see what a reimagined and modernized version of the CLASSIC show would look like.

Abrams believes that at the heart of Star Trek are these original characters and this original ship, which most people would agree with. Jumping further into the future with random new characters and aliens would just be “more of the same.”

80 - yeah i saw Miami Vice…

imo they’d be lucky to get Farrell as Kirk.

BTW, I’m still not clear on the timeline. Is this a movie about Kirk’s first command? His first mission on the Enterprise? If that’s the case he probably shouldn’t be TOO young, should he?

Having not seen Quinto in action much, I’m not ready to judge about the casting. However, I will say that since Leonard Nimoy has signed off on the script, I don’t worry so much about a mis-characterization of the Spock character. Nimoy was always very protective of the Spock character, so if he signs off it’s definitely a good thing!

83 - i imagine it’ll be events leading up to his taking command of the Ent…so hopefully Kirk in late 20s/early 30s

maybe they’ll flash through the Academy ‘The Departed’ style…

Hopefully we’ll find out at the comic con what sort of era it’ll be set (dosnt have to give away the story does it..)

snake –
I’ll grant you Farrell’s pulling down some paychecks. I’ll stop slamming him. But, I will say that his “type” in Hollywood terms appears to be the troubled bad boy. If not a young Mickey Rourke, maybe he’s a young Richard Burton. I like Burton, although even if you cloned his dust I don’t think he’d be right for Kirk. Cocky? Electric? Sure. But, those words don’t describe Farrell, who is more Smoldering and Dark.
That’s my opinion, not hard fact. Take it as you will, or not.

Spock’s encounter with V’Ger forever changed the character. As Spock said in Star Trek VI: “Logic is the BEGINNING of wisdom.” When Spock encountered V’Ger he discovered that there was more to existence than just logic…

Billy Crudup or some other alumnus of a JJ movie. I bet you.

Good casting choice.

Let’s hope Abrams and Co. continue to make decisions of this caliber — or better.

whoever it is has got a MASSIVE task on stepping into The Shats shoes…

as big a responsibility as Routh had with taking over Reeve in Superman Returns…

even more so due to the nature of Trek fans

If JJ goes with one of his boys from one of his shows (Lost, Alias, Felicity, What About Brian, Six Degrees) then the list of actors close to 30 who can play a white guy from IA are:
Barry Watson: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005538/
Matthew Davis: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205127/
Bradley Cooper: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177896/
Scott Speedman: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005454/
Ian Somerhalder: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0813812/

I’ve read several comments about gravitas. Looking at the age of Vulcans, Spock could very well be 50 or 60 Earth years in age, before he even joins up with starfleet. That’s a lot of your under the belt, even for a Vulcan. So it is concievable that Spock would have some gravitas. however at this stage there would still need to be a heavy dose of Spocks internal struggle. he doesn’t learn to live with both halves until TMP.

After some thought I think Quinto is a pretty good choice.

Although, as other have mentioned I still want the Shat in the film.

he will certainly need some pretty major eyebrow work!

yea, we heard

To add a #3 to your original list, Anthony–

the casting also means:

3) If other leads follow suit, lack of a Big Name also means this cast might consider a series, and not automatically rule it out.

Crudup actually doesn’t look too far off Shatner

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/billy-crudup-mission-impossible-iii-los-angeles-premiere—arrivals-yvVt5f.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.exposay.com/mission-impossible-iii-los-angeles-premiere—arrivals/p/3621/1/%3Ff%3DBilly%2BCrudup&h=620&w=418&sz=43&tbnid=NoI_EdAqWpaALM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbilly%2Bcrudup%26um%3D1&start=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1

i did what i think is a pretty good photoshop of quinto as spock but i have no idea how to get it on here

#90

I honestly don’t think it’ll be that big a deal. Everyone thinks of Shatner as always being really bombastic and theatrical, but if you look at Kirk in the early episodes he was actually pretty subdued and low key. He frankly could have been ANY good looking, square-jawed actor early on.

I don’t think it would be that hard to find someone to capture that younger version of Kirk.

^^ Host it on a site like http://imageshack.us/ and post the link here.

Here is my try, not the best work, but I have to study…

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/2350/spocksz0.jpg

I’m not a huge fan of current TV, too many ‘”reality” shows, but I do watch Heroes, and this guy is pretty good and very self-contained. Plus, he kind of looks the part. You can’t get Shatner-Nimoy again; those guys were on stuff like Outer Limits and Twilight Zone, Thriller; Shatner did sci-fi on radio for goodness sakes. Plus they worked with major screen actors. This is a different time. But I think whoever plays Kirk is very important , maybe more, to the show, especialy since they’ll likely ramp up the action times 5. What would be interesting is if it goes back to TV again and he ends up with two jobs.

I just watched WNMHGB last night and noticed that Nimoy isn’t exactly a study in subtlety. Was that a smile and a frown I saw? He delivered his lines a bit fast, and oh my goodness, was he loud.

My point being, Nimoy DEVELOPED his character of Spock over 30 years (now into 40 years). If one were to make a snap judgement, perhaps they wouldn’t care for Nimoy’s interpretation in the early phases of Star Trek. But then it wouldn’t be as much fun as complaining about things that haven’t happened yet. Quinto hasn’t said a line, not a frame has been filmed, and already some of us have labeled the movie a bomb. Are we really this negative all the time? Why bother getting out of bed in the motning; it’s just going to disappoint you.

#91 That’s a pretty interesting list of potential Kirks, Anthony. They all look the part, to one degree or another. Wouldn’t be too surprising to see them go with another one of the JJ pack… Crudup too, but he’s a bit on the wrong side of the age line, based on what we’re hearing.

That’s it! A transporter malfunction splits Kirk into six parts. Five are young and hip. One is your drunken grandfather. And bingo, Shatner’s back!

Whomever they cast, I hope he can bring something special to Spock’s voice.

Besides Nimoy’s acting talents, a huge part of Spock’s presence and gravitas was that stentorian voice. He spoke from your very marrow. Watching New Voyages really drives this home — Jeffery Quinn give a lot of care to the character (sic), but he can’t vocalize with Nimoy’s effortless profundity.

RE: 96
that is true Larry, but it is likely the actors will do the usual 3 picture option with Paramount. After that I am not sure they would really want to go back to TV and I am not cure that CBS and Paramount would agree to it anyway.

I would not be surprised if CBS Paramount TV did what Paramount TV did after the successful trek movies of the 80s…and launch a new show in a new era with a new cast. This allowed the movies to continue (V and VI) without any conflict with the TV show.

Has Paramount just decided to do a Trek movie every few years and it’s done with the TV side of Trek? Trek for TV is getting expensive to make right? Isn’t about $2 Million per episode? I guess if they did do a new Trek series TrekMovie will have the news on it.

We’ve already seen Quinto shift his voice in different ways on Heroes, so I’m sure he could pull of the Spock voice. You can be sure he got screentested to death by Abrams and the studio before getting the part.

Josh T is completely Wrong.

Actually, Chris Evans is a good choice for Kirk. Stole the show in Fantastic Four, has classical actors training, and he has the athletic bod for the role.

Very happy. I’ve been trumpeting him for the role for some time!!!!

An Italian Spock!!!!

Now if James Franco is Kirk we’ll have an Italian Captain as well. The Star Trekpanos!!

Very excited!!!!

As people pointed out, Spock was different in “The Cage” and “WNMHGB”, but I don’t think those two episodes should be relevant when considering Spock’s personality traits.

I don’t see those epidodes as the “development of Spock as an individual”, but instead I see them as “Roddenberry’s attempt to develop what he thinks the character of Spock should be”, thus the true TOS Spock is the one that was in the next-produced episode “The Corbomite Maneuver”

I personally choose to ignore his seemingly un-Spock like behavior in from “The Cage” and “WNMHGB”, and attribute those differences as ‘Roddenberry’s work in progress’ that culminated with “Corbomite”.

Josh Duhamel from Transformers as Kirk

I think that the Cage and WNMHGB are problematic. They are clearly two ‘trial runs’ at the show. And so setting something before them you have the issue of which to you harken back to more…the show as they wanted it to be (eg; the next 78 episodes) or just the two practice runs. I think some of the two pilots may end up getting ignored. I am sure that just like with the changes from the pilots to the show the changes from the movie to the pilots will all be explainable via ‘fanon’

RE: spock
i agree with those above who agree with me! Spock did change in TMP and beyond….this is TOS and before Spock. The point of comparison will be more first season spock than any movie version.

Yes, I don’t think we’ll hear the new Spock shouting out things like, “deFLEC-tors FULL intensitY!!” in the new film. But, the charactor SHOULD be a proto-Spock-as-we-know-him, without question.
Now, Quinto’s voice, that could be a problem. He’s going to need coaching/practice. Otherwize, he’s GOT the look!
And how Abrams deals with the human/vulcan age issue- that’s a REAL problem.

The “human-vulcan age difference” is only a problem in terms of “fanon.”

There’s no on-screen reason to believe that Spock is any younger or older than he appears; the fact that Vulcans supposedly live for a long time tells us nothing about the rate at which they mature.

Human beings in many countries right now live *longer* than folks of a century ago, and mature physically at an *earlier* age than they did.

Further, we have to look at the apparent age of Spock’s *human* mother when considering his likely chronological age - Wyatt was in her mid-fifties when she played Amanda Grayson, and the character looks it.

There’s no onscreen continuity - so-called “canon” - that places Spock at any older than his mid-thirties during TOS.

For those who think Trek MUST adhere to the pilot’s canon

http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/continuity.jpg

TVGuide.com is now reporting that Quinto is going to be Spock:

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Heroes-Baddie-Logical/800019188

We must all love the new and improved Star Trek because it is new and improved. It says so right on the box!

Are you going to like it. I’m not going to like it, you like it. Let’s get Stanky to like it. Stanky won’t like it, he hates everything.

He likes it! Hey Stanky!!

#119: “We must all love the new and improved Star Trek because it is new and improved. It says so right on the box!”

No, we mustn’t. People will like what they’ll like.

That said, for those of us who are looking forward to it there’s not a single good reason to be moved or disheartened by the fact that some people don’t.

Good grief, I think it was better before we knew some casting.

The hunk version of spock… Good!!

This is going to be argued about right and left for the next year…

After watching the clip, I can see some of the possibilities for Quinto–in normal conversation his voice seems to lack the weight necessary, but his screaming and anger moments cross over into that Nimoy range a little bit more. He practically has Nimoy’s “Cage” eyebrows now!

I understand the skepticism–this is very much like the attempt to recreate Superman in Superman Returns, only the Trek fanbase has watched and rewatched the Shatner/Nimoy episodes about a thousand times more than fans have watched the original Superman. I guess we have to hope that the spirit of the thing, and enough details for it to at least “feel right” are retained, and acknowledge that of course it’s not going to be the original Star Trek, because until CG image and vocal recreations of the characters are acheived, that’s simply going to be impossible to recreate. But I agree with the idea of going back to the essence of what this show was, the dynamic between Kirk, Spock and eventually, McCoy.

#70-

“Latching” onto, and holding onto are two different things entirely.

[…] Trek Movie Report and E! have reported, and TV Guide has since confirmed, that Zachary Quinto of “Heroes,” fresh from his role as the supervillain Sylar, will play Spock in next year’s big-screen Star Trek.  With producer/director JJ Abrams slated to appear on the Paramount panel at Comic-Con, fans expected big casting news this week, and one would have to think that Abrams would make any official announcement then.  StarTrek.com reports that executive producers/writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and producers Bryan Burke and Damon Lindelof will also attend the panel, and theorizes (as much as an official site can theorize) that their announcements should be “substantial.” […]

The New and Improved Star Trek - Now with Anti-Oxidants and Omega 3 Fatty Acids!

125. Shadow6283
““Latching” onto, and holding onto are two different things entirely.”

People latched onto “New Coke” for about a week. But then they didn’t hold on.

It will be very important to the advertising campaign to make sure that it says, “New and Improved” as much as possible.

“Star Trek - Now with New and Improved Bridge with No Bridge Railing.”

Stanky, if we were able to remove the sarcasm from your posts would there be anything left more interesting than “I don’t like it?”

Quinto’s good enough as Sylar, but he doesn’t impress me enough to be Spock, nor does his face have the favored angular shape of a Vulcan.

Oh well.

re: 129

“Stanky, if we were able to remove the sarcasm from your posts would there be anything left more interesting than “I don’t like it?””

Kind of funny, because it seems to me one of the criticisms of your episode reviews by certain posters is that you were too sarcastic.
I was not one of them.

I have explained my position regarding this movie numerous times in numerous threads. If you didn’t read them or if you don’t remember, that’s fine. If you want to judge me on just a portion of the total, that is your prerogative. I don’t remember much of what you have said, either. I mostly get a general impression of a sarcastic air of superiority when I see your name.

yes. you have explained you fear change…we get it. There is no way they can make a movie to satisfy the uber ‘change nothing’ purists like yourself. So at this point you are just a troll stinking up every thread about the film because you have already decided you will hate it

it seems to me that some people think that they should make $200 million version of the Cage…in exact detail from the railings to CGI recreations of the actors.

you have your old DVDs….if you want the same thing over and over and over again…watch them

I for one am ready for something new and interesting….and no that doesnt mean I want Beonce (sp?) as kirk or an Enterprise shaped like a doughnut….but it means that the rest of us are ready to be challenged and to have our minds blown away…instead of just being fed what we know and expect to exact details.

/rant

After seeing Matt Damon’s interview and thinking about it a while-and knowing Quinto’s age-I watched it again.

Does anyone else think he looked like he was acting?
I suspect he may be Kirk after all. He seems like he is really trying to deflect the notion of playing Kirk.

His take on Will Hunting was fascinating. Here he is, some local yokel at a prestigious educational institution, looked down upon as an ignorant outsider. He turns out to be a closet genius with a bit of an attitude who shows up the rest of the students.

Now imagine Kirk after meeting Carol Marcus for the first time, talking to some upperclassman (Finnegan perhaps?)

“Do you like Andorian apples?” [Kirk shows them Carol’s phone number} “Well how do you like THEM Andorian apples!”

Just food for thought…

an Enterprise shaped like a doughnut

Mmmm, doughnut!

#131: “I have explained my position regarding this movie numerous times in numerous threads.”

Yes, over and over and over - it never did boil down to any more than “they’re changing stuff and I don’t like it.”

Evidently finally you got tired of that, because now you just make pointless and sarcastic general remarks while other posters discuss news.

It really bothers you that much that *other* people are looking forward to this film? That’s sad.

re: 132

There is no fear. I don’t buy that argument. What is there to be afraid of? Not liking changes or having the opinion that something should not be messed with does not necessarily indicate “fear” of change. Not a proper description of what I think about this project.

I see you are ready to be challenged. I hope you are equally as ready to be disappointed if it doesn’t turn out the way YOU want it.

By the way, I do not own the DVD’s.

Oh, and sorry for the smell. We “trolls” hate to offend you people who get all excited about new things.

I guess since I have nothing to say, I will just go away for awhile.
No Problem.

The “change” will probably do me good.

Jeez. Lot of contention over a film of which not a single frame has been shot, let alone seen. A film based on a property whose effect was to make folks feel good about their lives, and the human condition. That’s quite a shame, and I hope not a preview of what’s to come.

“Looking at the age of Vulcans, Spock could very well be 50 or 60 Earth years in age, before he even joins up with starfleet.”

Then how old is Amanda, especially in Journey to Babel and The Voyage Home?

In Stanky’s defense, he has made some interesting points regarding the inherent hurdles in a project such as the new Trek movie. JJ Abrams and his team have a very thin tightrope to walk here and it would be very easily for them to slip, fall, and take Star Trek with them.

On the other hand, his obstinate refusal to accept any potential positive attributes of this film did sometimes grate on the nerves. He doesn’t want to see Trek messed with any more than it has been, and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, he’s just not willing to believe that the new film might not do that.

Stanky, I for one hope you’re not gone for good. You and I have had our differences, but you’ve been far more intelligent in depicting your viewpoint that some others here. Even if you don’t post for a while, I hope you’ll drop by and continue to read the posts. In any case, I wish you the best as you surf the ‘net.

#128-

The Force is strong with that one.

Methinks, misplaced may be their confidence in JJ, as is their faith in the Dark Side of “Situational Expediency.”

Abrams isn’t really getting off on the right foot in certain respects. If he’s not careful, he’s gonna end up in the same fix Devlin & Emmerich found themselves in after “Gadzilla.” Yes, I said “Gadzilla.” Because it sure in as hell wasn’t “Godzilla,” and the B.O. proved it. No matter the reason, things people remember fondly from many years, are quick to balk at something that deviates from it too much.

The Gamesters of Paramount are rolling the dice. While there’ll always be a certain number of Thralls to stampede each other to cry havoc in the arena, many more will take a wait and see attitude, and those outnmuber the former by far greater numbers that cannot be ignored. And it shall be they, and not the Slaughterhouse Gang who ultimately determine STXI’s success or failure.

In the end, whatever one thinks, it’s all just entertainment. If it succeeds, fine. If not, so be it. Life goes on.

I am still amazed that this film has been doomed to fail by some posters because it doesn’t fit exactly what they want to see and yet what do we as fans truly know?..
As reported by Trekmovie (and I might have skipped something..)
Christmas ‘08 release
Directed by JJ Abrams
Written by O&K
A Paramount picture
likely an early TOS period movie featuring Kirk and Spock
Nimoy’s likely in, Shatner, likely not (still rumor)
partly filmed in iceland
Zach Quinto will likely play Spock
…I know there’s more but the point is that we could well be looking at a very good movie and to assume it’s bad before it’s filmed, edited and shown is very closed minded. Everyone’s entitled to opinion but at least have a vaild reason.

I’m worried about the Christmas Day release…is that a good day to release a film?

It’s kinda traditional to release Trek flicks during December (ish):

Title Release date
Star Trek: The Motion Picture December 7, 1979
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan June 4, 1982
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock June 1, 1984
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home November 26, 1986
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier June 9, 1989
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country December 6, 1991
Star Trek: Generations November 18, 1994
Star Trek: First Contact November 22, 1996
Star Trek: Insurrection December 11, 1998
Star Trek: Nemesis December 13, 2002
Star Trek XI December 25, 2008

#143 John
Christmas time is an excellent release time…kids out of school, etc

Ya, but to release it Christmas day….seems kind of odd

#141: “In the end, whatever one thinks, it’s all just entertainment. If it succeeds, fine. If not, so be it. Life goes on.”

Absolutely Right(TM).