Star Trek Into Darkness

[Carol the Dabbler]

I don't know if this has been covered yet, but the casting was inspired mostly by the fact that the original actor who was to play Khan dropped out a few weeks before they were to start filming and JJ was desperate to find someone who could walk in on short notice and do a job.  Finding Benedict Cumberbatch was a miracle for him.  He seems to think so, too.

 

The last thing on anyone's mind at that point was what genetic mix the actor was.   Though I presume they originally cast Benecio del Toro  with something like that in mind.

That's the first I've heard of Khan's last-minute casting. That sort of thing does seem to work well sometimes, though -- I've read that Alan Rickman was not the first choice for Snape (which I find hard to believe!), and the LotR commentary says that Viggo Mortensen was literally a last-minute replacement as Aragorn.

 

 

Can ear shape change with age? Sagging and stuff?

Oh yeah, for sure. I've read that even though most of the face reaches its maximum size at adulthood, the ears and nose keep growing slowly. And everything sags!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Just read that story "Sure, My Name IS Khan" hilarious to say the least. I like our discussions better though.

[Julia Mae]

That's the first I've heard of Khan's last-minute casting. That sort of thing does seem to work well sometimes, though -- I've read that Alan Rickman was not the first choice for Snape (which I find hard to believe!), and the LotR commentary says that Viggo Mortensen was literally a last-minute replacement as Aragorn.

 

They started shooting on January 12rth, 2012, if the report on TrekMovie was correct.  Benedict got the call to send tape to audition just before Christmas Eve, 2011.  I'm sure we all know the iPhone story.  JJ gave him the part on New Year's Eve, I think.  That's less than 2 weeks before they started.  Another bit of interesting stuff (well, to me, anyway) is that JJ didn't know who BC was, he was suggested by another director - can't recall the name -  who said, "Watch Sherlock."

 

JJ Abrams on Benedict Cumberbatch:

 

 

“Yes, Benedict has darkness ... He has light, brilliance, wit, sophistication, an imposing presence. He’s threatening; he’s physical. He’s also sympathetic. He does these things and makes it all look so damn easy. And the other actors … it was so funny. Every time we were doing a scene with Benedict, they were standing a little bit taller. He has a presence that is ridiculous and that voice, oh my God. There wasn’t a day working with Benedict that I didn’t think, this is insane. He elevated that moment. He made that thing that I thought was going to be really hard, authentic.

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Wow! Now there are some really great insights and mental images. Don't we all wish we could have that kind of presence and influence on people.

[Carol the Dabbler]

They started shooting on January 12rth, 2012, if the report on TrekMovie was correct.  Benedict got the call to send tape to audition just before Christmas Eve, 2011.  I'm sure we all know the iPhone story.  JJ gave him the part on New Year's Eve, I think.

That's pretty last-minute, all righty!

[Alex the Dabbler]

Amazon.com in the U.S. just dropped the price for preordering Star Trek Into Darkness to $14.96: http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Into-Darkness-Chris/dp/B00AZMFJYA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3B9Z6RAJ8CNAV&coliid=I1CGTIGX7HA58D

 

.  Their price guarantee means that it won't go higher than that when it is released, although it could go down.  I couldn't pass that up and ordered two (one for us and one for a gift) to get free shipping.  Hopefully it will have some good Special Features, like the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie had.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Hopefully it will have some good Special Features, like the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie had.

I'm hoping the same thing.

[Julia Mae]

 

Hopefully it will have some good Special Features, like the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie had.

I'm hoping the same thing.

 

 

I want it to include the iPhone audition.

 

[Alex the Dabbler]

Amazon just announced that the release date for the Star Trek Into Darkness DVD is September 10, 2013, so we don't have to wait too long.

[Carol the Dabbler]

But what has it got in its pocketses?  Oops, wrong movie!

 

[Caya]

There's a short behind the scenes video about the Spock-Khan brawl here on yahoo!Movies     

 

 

I found it interesting because it shows the intensity of that fight very well (and makes it clearer just how Spock managed to break Khan's arm, which I'd been wondering), plus it got some Quinto and Cumberbatch, which is always a bonus .   On related yahoo news, this article claims that the reason there's no accompanying television series is due to a rights dispute.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Undead Medic
Embedded Video.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Huh. Will be interesting to see if CBS somehow tries to get into the swing if there is actually a renewal of interest in all things Star Trek based on this new time-line.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm probably just as glad that Abrams is not doing a Trek TV series, etc., on top of doing the movies.  That much Trek might just Trek a person out.  On the other hand, I do hope he keeps the movies going.

 

The whole rights thing reminds me a lot of what Peter Jackson has been going through for the Tolkien movies.

 

[Caya]

Seems STID is already available on direct video, and that has caused a couple of featurettes to be released.

 

This one is mainly about whether or not Khan is the real villain (ha! vindication), while this one's mainly about how Mr. Cumberbatch was chosen for the role in the first place.

 

Also, tumblr blogger deareje has made a set of HD screenshots.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

       On Facebook someone posted an interview with William Shatner and the son of Gene Roddenberry. They both say it's time to bring Star Trek back to television. They also both agree that if that happens that it should be set in the JJ Abrams Reboot timeline and not the TOS.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Have we all heard about the "neutron creme" prank that Pegg and Pine pulled on the rest of the cast?  Apparently the whole thing was captured on film, and someone's posted a video (information thanks to Sherlockology):

 

Here's a link to the original poster.

 

 

Safety First

AKA: The infamous Neutron Cream prank. Simon and Chris get Zach, Zoe, Benedict, Jon, and Karl.

[Julia Mae]

 

Have we all heard about the "neutron creme" prank that Pegg and Pine pulled on the rest of the cast?  Apparently the whole thing was captured on film, and someone's posted a video (information thanks to Sherlockology):

 

Here's a link to the original poster.

 

 

Safety First

AKA: The infamous Neutron Cream prank. Simon and Chris get Zach, Zoe, Benedict, Jon, and Karl.

 

 

I'm not sure what the deal is, but this video never loads for me and it's not on YouTube.  Just FYI if anyone can't view it.  Possibly, Tumblr put a copyright block on it?  Someone did a little photoset, though of him reading the letter with everyone watching...

 

Someone else posted the audio, he reads it at breakneck speed and right when he gets to "does not exist--" he says "WHAT?" 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I couldn't get the video to work, either, but that's about par for my course.  Is it working for anyone here?

 

Maybe it'll be on the DVD (right after the shower scene).

 

Meanwhile, thanks for that photo!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Amazon just announced that the release date for the Star Trek Into Darkness DVD is September 10, 2013, so we don't have to wait too long.

 

It'll apparently be in the stores a week from today.  Add in a couple days shipping ....

 

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

The video worked for me. A lot of buffering but the audio was pretty good. And the part where he is reading the note played the best. So I could hear and see his reaction.

[Carol the Dabbler]

The video worked for me. A lot of buffering but the audio was pretty good. And the part where he is reading the note played the best. So I could hear and see his reaction.

 

Thanks for that info, Fox!  Dunno why some of us are having problems.  Maybe the video's a bit flaky, or maybe it's some sort of compatibility issue.

 

Right now, I can't even get that page to load -- no idea why, since my internet connection is screamin' along at 24 Kbps tonight!

 

[Caya]

If it's any consolation, it doesn't work for me either, so it's not solely a bandwith-related issue. Have some tumblr gifs instead (I know, no audio ).

 

And I hate to break it to you, but I don't think that the shower scene is on the DVD - if it were, there would have been gifs all.over.the.internet again, I suppose.

[Carol the Dabbler]

And I hate to break it to you, but I don't think that the shower scene is on the DVD - if it were, there would have been gifs all.over.the.internet again, I suppose.

 

Has the DVD been released anywhere yet?  It won't be available from Amazon for almost a week.

 

[Caya]

No, but it's been available on iTunes and other places for a while now afaik, and they probably got the same bonus scenes as the DVD.

 

eta: YouTube to the rescue! Neutron cream prank starts around 28:15.

[aely]

I just saw the Star Trek: Into Darkness dvd in my local supermarket... I didn't buy it. Yet.