Simon Pegg on writing Star Trek: Beyond

[Brian G Turner]

Interesting interview with Simon Pegg about the upcoming Star Trek: Beyond film, and the process of writing a script, and getting it produced:
Simon Pegg on Star Trek Beyond and Writing the Film

 

[the_evil_ted]

Excellent news, focus on Spock and Bones. Was very disappointed that Karl Urban didn't have more to do in the last one, he channels Deforest.

Two years into the 5 year mission and dealing with the stress of being far away from home? Probably going to be a scene or two... but cool none the less.

Hopefully we'll get something worth watching. Pegg's a fan boy, and as much as I dislike him playing Scott I'm still looking forward to this more than I did Darkness.

Very interesting read, thanks B.

Ted

 

[Wawona Girl]

I personally loved the first two Star Trek films with Chris Pine. But I didn't love Star Trek Beyond and I don't know why. For one, it's pace was too fast and furious. And for another, it plucked things out of the air. Things that were needed in emergencies without rhyme or reason. It made a hash of the whole movie. Please Simon, I have warmed to you as Scotty, but stick to the acting and leave the writing to the scriptwriters.

 

[Khuratokh]

I personally loved the first two Star Trek films with Chris Pine. But I didn't love Star Trek Beyond and I don't know why. For one, it's pace was too fast and furious. And for another, it plucked things out of the air. Things that were needed in emergencies without rhyme or reason. It made a hash of the whole movie. Please Simon, I have warmed to you as Scotty, but stick to the acting and leave the writing to the scriptwriters.

For me this was the first of the reboot series that didn't make me angry. Seriously into Darkness made me fume because all the stupid decisions that were made. Magic blood for instance.
I liked Pegg's effort especially considering the studio meddled with it. For the first time it felt like Trek and not a moronic rip off.

 

[Wawona Girl]

Now that's how the third Star Trek made me feel. The first two movies had a sense of pace and beauty to them. But with Star Trek beyond, it was almost as if they were making it up as they went along. As for Chris Pine on a motorbike speeding round the enemy's camp without getting shot, thanks to some fancy holo-imagery. Come on!!! Give me a break!!! Whatever happened to high-tech sensors? Are the enemy so stupid that they couldn't lock on to the right Pine? Or didn't that occur to them? And as for the poor Enterprise getting blasted to bits. That doesn't say much for her captain.

 

[Khuratokh]

Now that's how the third Star Trek made me feel. The first two movies had a sense of pace and beauty to them. But with Star Trek beyond, it was almost as if they were making it up as they went along. As for Chris Pine on a motorbike speeding round the enemy's camp without getting shot, thanks to some fancy holo-imagery. Come on!!! Give me a break!!! Whatever happened to high-tech sensors? Are the enemy so stupid that they couldn't lock on to the right Pine? Or didn't that occur to them? And as for the poor Enterprise getting blasted to bits. That doesn't say much for her captain.

By feeling more like Trek I refer to the character interactions. The stupid action setpieces I blame on the Director (fast and the furious) and the studio who felt Pegg's original script was too Star Trek for a mainstream audience.
Into Darkness redoing the Khan shout scene and Kirk dying instead of Spock "twist" only to come back to life ten minutes later. I know I was supposed to feel touched by that scene. But it only made me angry.

 

[Wawona Girl]

Except for one kiss that I seem to recall in the movie, thankfully, Simon Pegg didn't take Spock and Uhura's relationship to the next level. I'm sorry, but seeing as how I grew up on the original series, Spock and Uhura kissing always makes me grimace.

 

[Khuratokh]

Except for one kiss that I seem to recall in the movie, thankfully, Simon Pegg didn't take Spock and Uhura's relationship to the next level. I'm sorry, but seeing as how I grew up on the original series, Spock and Uhura kissing always makes me grimace.

Don't apologize. Spock and Uhura's relationship is one of my pet peeves,as they have little to no chemistry and in context it makes no sense for them to be in a relationship in the first place. At least in Beyond, Uhura actually contributes to the plot, instead of just throwing a hissy fit in Into Darkness.

 

[the_evil_ted]

Loved it, even the Beastie Boys didn't grate me like the first time I heard it. It was a bit stupid, but it was fun. Just like Tribbles.

Agree with the above in terms that the character interaction was where the film excelled, I watched it in 3D due to a projector issue and I normally don't go for 3D but hey, it was free. Thanks VUE!

I did get a little lost in the space battles, maybe it was the 3D or just poor choreography and the only fisty cuff battle I truly enjoyed was the fire fight on the crashed enterprise. Maybe a bit gimicky but I hadn't seen the saucer flip like that before and didn't think of it myself.

The modified Citadel from Mass Effect, think it was the Yorktown but I have Georgetown in my head right now and that makes no sense - anyway, it looked the part of Star Trek.

I found out after the show that there were 50 alien species in the film, the most ever and done for the - yes you got it - the anniversary.

Sulu gay, handled brilliant in my opinion. The young girl was a great touch.

The ending scene where they toast lost friends, haunting - if it was luck Anton Yelchin ended up centre shot on that one my God.

Overall, for me at least it felt more Trek than the last two. Maybe not handled by the same quality director as the previous ones but well worth the money spent on the ticket. Which was (for those not paying attention) free.

 

[Khuratokh]

Loved it, even the Beastie Boys didn't grate me like the first time I heard it. It was a bit stupid, but it was fun. Just like Tribbles.

Agree with the above in terms that the character interaction was where the film excelled, I watched it in 3D due to a projector issue and I normally don't go for 3D but hey, it was free. Thanks VUE!

I did get a little lost in the space battles, maybe it was the 3D or just poor choreography and the only fisty cuff battle I truly enjoyed was the fire fight on the crashed enterprise. Maybe a bit gimicky but I hadn't seen the saucer flip like that before and didn't think of it myself.

The modified Citadel from Mass Effect, think it was the Yorktown but I have Georgetown in my head right now and that makes no sense - anyway, it looked the part of Star Trek.

I found out after the show that there were 50 alien species in the film, the most ever and done for the - yes you got it - the anniversary.

Sulu gay, handled brilliant in my opinion. The young girl was a great touch.

The ending scene where they toast lost friends, haunting - if it was luck Anton Yelchin ended up centre shot on that one my God.

Overall, for me at least it felt more Trek than the last two. Maybe not handled by the same quality director as the previous ones but well worth the money spent on the ticket. Which was (for those not paying attention) free.

I loved how gay Sulu was handled too, as it was almost a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. As In the Star Trek universe the LGBT community should be completely normalised.

While I liked the look of Yorktown and the epic score that was it's theme, I did not feel it fit at all within the design aesthetic we're familiair with the Federation and Starfleet. It just seems so fragile and an uneconomical use of space. If anything it reminded me of Stargate:Atlantis.

And why build it on the edge of fed space anyway? Nevermind.
I still liked it better rhan the previous two.

 

[the_evil_ted]

Never thought of that, it was built by Star Fleet wasn't it. Not a Joint effort, not UFP. Dammit I got caught up by the dazzling lights.

 

[EJDeBrun]

Overall I thought beyond was very bland. Like a glorified version of a tv episode rather than a film that gave the viewers something new about the characters or the missions or the federation. The other two had at least some character development to them. This was all over the place.

 

[Dave]

While I liked the look of Yorktown and the epic score that was it's theme, I did not feel it fit at all within the design aesthetic we're familiair with the Federation and Starfleet. It just seems so fragile and an uneconomical use of space.

Yorktown was too large for this early in the history of Starfleet/United Federation of Planets, and too close to the edge of Federation space. They were also building the new Enterprise A too quickly. 80 years later, the Enterprise D would take years to build and several more to fit out.

As for the script. It certainly was "all over the place". The dialogue was mostly filched from old TV episodes and sewn together again. Does Pegg have some computer program that mixes up dialogue and rewrites it at random? After creating a situation which was impossible to recover from, they then far too conveniently found the USS Franklin and somehow got that "jump started" by dropping it off a cliff! Why did it crash on the top of a mountain? Riding around on a motorbike that just happened to be aboard?? Beastie Boys as classical music is fine as a joke, but that they could disrupt the swarm behaviour of spacecraft is just nonsense.

 

[Vince W]

Pegg will never be given the opportunity to write another Star Trek script, no doubt, but he missed an amazing chance by not declaring that the classical music in question was either Mozart, Mendelssohn, or Motörhead.