STAR TREK 2 - J.J. Abrams Talks 3D Post Conversion and Announces New Cast
J.J. Abrams gave an update on Star Trek 2 at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour yesterday. Abrams confirmed that he will shoot on film starting January 12, and then do a 3D post-conversion during post-production. He also talked about the original TV series, and announced two new cast members.
Thanks to Collider we have some cool quotes from the discussion:
We’re shooting on film [as opposed to digital 3D], and the reason for that is I wanted to shoot with anamorphic, and you can’t shoot 3D in anamorphic.
Abrams then talked a bit about why he chose to convert the film into 3D:
I did not fight for the 3D. It was something that the studio wanted to do, and I didn’t want to do it. And then, when I saw the first movie converted in sections, I thought that it actually looked really cool. So, I was okay with their doing it, as long as I could shoot the movie the way I wanted to, in anamorphic film, and then let them convert it. So, those who want to see it in 3D, which looked pretty cool, can do it, and those that want to see it in 2D can do that too.
Abrams then stated that none of the original actors will appear totally set in the new universe created by the first movie:
I think the job of the first movie was just to establish [the universe]. I don’t want to give anything away, but I would say that the burden we had in the first movie was just existing at all. With this movie, instead of having to stand on the shoulders of the original series, we built a little bit of a platform for us, with the last movie, to tell this story.
Two new cast members have been announced - Joseph Gatt (Thor) and Nazneen Contractor (24). According to Entertainment Weekly, Contractor will star as the wife of Noel Clarke's character.
Benedict Cumberbatch was on hand to discuss joining the cast. Here is what he had to say:
There’s a lawyer standing here saying that I can’t say anything. I’m hugely, hugely excited and I’m very, very flattered. I’m very, very excited, but obviously I’m not here to talk about that. I will, in the future, I’m sure. I’m just getting my head around the fact that it’s happened. If you’ll forgive me, I’ll pass on that. But my headline is that I’m over the moon.
Star Trek 2 will begin filming in the next four months to meet its scheduled release date of May 17, 2013. A trailer will likely arrive this summer. I am looking forward to seeing this film. What are your thoughts?