The Costco Connection - September 2013

(Far left) Capt. Kirk (Christopher Pine) and Star Trek director J.J. Abrams. (Above) The U.S.S. Enterprise struggles to stay together.

(Below) Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Mr.

Spock (Zachary Quinto) share a moment. (Right) Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Kirk’s mysterious nemesis.

gest families reach out to try and better the rest of the world. There is an honor and respect that comes from having a family you connect with and respect. That’s definitely true for the Star Trek family, and it makes a lot of sense to me personally. My family means everything to me. We’re better together.

CC: It’s well known that you were not, particularly, a Star Trek fan growing up. Why board the Enterprise at all?

JJA: Part of why I chose to do Star Trek is because it felt like a chance to take on a challenging, rich, exciting world that was full of potential.

I didn’t really think of it as a franchise. I didn’t really think of it as a sacrilege or as anything dangerous to do. It felt like an amazing chance to make something that I never quite connected with into something that was fun, We did the best we could to respect what came before, but at the same time we didn’t feel especially beholden to every literal and arcane detail of the canon. That would produce a literal redundancy. We wanted to approach this from the perspective, this is not your father’s Star Trek, this is not your grandfather’s Star Trek.

We wanted this to be a breath of fresh air, while bringing back characters that are beloved, and to honor the elements that made those characters so special.

CC: Is there a Star Trek character that you
really identify with? Is that an “in” to the Star
Trek universe for you?

JJA: I’ve gotta say, I feel like I connect with all
of them. In some ways, working on a movie
requires being a little bit of Kirk and a little bit
of Spock. They really are the yin-yang of
those stories. That is to say, when you are cap-
taining a ship or running a movie set, you
have to be the impulsive and instinctive
shoot-from-the-hip guy, but you also have to
be logical, organized and practical too. Part of
the fun of those two characters is they sort of
complete each other. So I have to say, I really
do feel like a little bit of each of them.

CC: You’ve got an extraordinary villain in
Into Darkness, and a tremendous perfor-
mance from Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s often
said that a hero is only as good as the villain
he faces. What’s the key to a great villain?
JJA: First of all, Benedict Cumberbatch. That
doesn’t hurt. (Laughs) But you also want
to have a character who is relatable.
It’s the most unexpected thing
from a villain. Anyone can
do intense or intimidating
or scary or malevolent.
But to do relatable is the
real challenge.

What we were able to do with Benedict was create a character who was familiar to those who know the character he’s playing, but also give him sides you would not expect or anticipate. The beauty of having Benedict is he’s such a nuanced, brilliant guy that he allowed us to find moments of detail and emotion and vulnerability that change his character from being merely a villain into a fully realized human being.

CC: We’ve got Tribbles in Into Darkness. Everyone wants to know if the Tribbles will be back for Star Trek 3, and if you’ll be back too. JJA: (Laughs) I would say that it’s unknown yet about the Tribbles, but it would be fun to have some trouble with them, and in terms of myself, I will hopefully be on board for a third Star Trek film. I would be back as a producer, but not as a director.

CC: Last summer, George Lucas and Steven
Spielberg made headlines by declaring the
“imminent implosion” of the movie industry.
What are your thoughts on that? How much
will moviegoing as we know it change in the
years to come?

JJA: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are two very smart gentlemen, and I’m sure that they have very cogent and well-thought-out arguments on the subject. I would argue that movies, which continue to cost more and more, will need to check their costs, and I say that as someone who’s producing a $5 million movie right now and someone who’s been a part of movies that cost $200 million to make. I know how much things cost. The distribution and making of movies needs to work better than it does.

While there may be special-event movies and ticket-price increases and things like that, the key thing to me is the community of it— the actual physical community aspect of going to the movies and sitting together in the dark and having a story told to you, the campfire element. We need that. I hope that despite the ubiquity and high quality of home entertainment systems, seeing a film in a nice theater with an audience is an experience unparalleled. It’s something I hope will be around for a long, long time.

CC: You are well known for keeping secrets about the projects with which you’re involved, but we need at least one true thing about your upcoming Star Wars film.