After wrapping in Vancouver last week, STAR TREK BEYOND has begun its next phase of production with a press conference held today at the Burj El Arab hotel in Dubai.
On hand for the first stop on the thirteen-day BEYOND Middle East tour was the all-male panel of executive producer Jeffrey Chernov, co-writer Doug Jung, director Justin Lin, and cast members Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin.
There was no sign of John Cho or female leads Sofia Boutella and Zoe Saldana, the latter of whom spent the week in New York City (according to Saldana’s social media postings).
Chernov launched the presentation by praising the city of Dubai and its aptness for Star Trek:
Dubai represents the future of what the frontier would be like in our film, and is an excellent place to shoot the movie as well as a special opportunity for all of us. This is not just the third of three movies, but has a new, refreshing twist, and Dubai’s great visuals really fit the story.
This sentiment was echoed by Captain Kirk actor Chris Pine, who likened his first-time visit to the ultra-modern city to a bit of time travel, and how the locals have welcomed the crew.
I love discovering new places and Dubai is such a stunning city – it looks like a future land! I am extremely happy to be here making this great film with Justin and the team, and so far my experiences have been wonderful, people have been gracious and welcoming.
Art is a wonderful equalizer and we can always count on art to remind us of our sameness.
Of course, co-writer Simon Pegg is no stranger to Dubai, who visited the area almost five years ago while filming Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol with Tom Cruise in 2010. The English actor commented on modernizing the Trek adventure with the traditional roots of the franchise:
This has to be a new ‘Star Trek.’ One of the reasons ‘Star Trek’ is so popular is it gives us a utopian idea of all of us living together. More and more filmmakers have the responsibility to show cultures in a full way.
‘Star Trek’ is the ultimate expression of bridging cultures; it imagined a universe where there was no conflict, and it has always been about bringing cultures together. It still offers that, which is why it is so beloved by people.
Idris Elba spoke a little more about his villain role, and what it’s like to play a character so different from himself:
Most actors will tell you that writers tend to really flesh out villains more because they just want to get stuff off their chest, and leading characters tend to take a safer line.
I enjoy the expressions you can take on in a villainous role because I’m such a nice guy in real life.
Finally, Jeffrey Chernov made the first public comments on that massive extras casting call from earlier this summer, confirming that over 200 people have made the cut to appear on-camera while STAR TREK BEYOND films in Dubai… and that another 600 people will be involved behind the scenes on the film while production is in town, including those participating in the local internship program we reported on in August.
Once BEYOND wraps it’s thirteen-day stint in Dubai, that’s the expected end of principle photography on the film, a coda to the three months spent Vancouver (which Zachary Quinto compared to a stint “at summer camp”). The Dubai production is expected to film at both Dubai Studio City’s soundstages and at several indoor and outdoor locations around the city before concluding the week of October 11.
We’ll continue to watch as things progress overseas over the next few weeks.
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