Written by: Samuel K. Sloan (Farpoint Media Exec. News Dir.)
Aint It Cool (AICN), legendary for purposefully not distinguishing the real news from fake, is making claims to the ownership of a leaked casting sheet for the upcoming Star Trek film to be directed by JJ Abrams.
Not much is learned from it. We already knew that Kirk, Spock and possibly McCoy and Scotty would be cast in this film. However, if the piece is to be believed, two other additions to the cast will leave little doubt as to the ship and exact time period the film will deal with.
According to AICN, actors are being persuded for the roles of both Uhura and Sulu. If this is true then the ship has to be the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 and the time, since Chekov was not mentioned in the casting sheet, would have to be sometime after the second pilot (“Where No Man Has Gone Before”) was shot (minus McCoy as ship’s doctor, Sulu at the helm or Uhura at the communications center), and before the addition of Ensign Chekov who appeared after Season One. Of course, the argument goes that in the first season Chekov was onboard the Enterprise but never seen because he wasn’t yet a bridge officer. In the film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” Chekov’s face is remembered by Khan, and “Space Seed” was an episode that happened in Season One of the 3-year series. Also, the real die-hard Trek fans (like myself) remind everyone that when “Where No Man Has Gone Before” aired, it was shot in such a way that it is obvious that Kirk has been the Enterprise commander for some time and is quite comfortable in the position, known and well-loved by his crew, which as any ex-military personnel knows, takes some time and a few missions under the belt for a leader to get that kind of respect from his/her subordinates.
What adds to the confusion for some was NBC’s 1960’s early Fox-like move to air the shows out of sequence. “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the actual first episode (and 2nd pilot) featuring William Shatner as Captain Kirk, was aired after “The Man Trap” and “Charlie X.” These two episodes prominently featured Dr. McCoy. The very first pilot, “The Cage,” starring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, never aired until 20+ years later with an introduction by Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Here is a copy of the alleged Casting Sheet posted on AICN’s website:
STAR TREK
Feature Film
SAG
PARAMOUNT PICTURES/BAD ROBOT
[JAMES KIRK] 23-29 Handsome,cocky self assured and earnest. Great physical condition. 6 ft or less
[LEONARD(BONES)MCOY] -28-32 Medic on the Enterprise. Smart, clever and a bit danger-loving. Dark hair, blue eyes.
[UHURA] 25ish -African American. Brilliant, beautiful, heroic and FUN!, Uhura is almost tom-boyish – as if she grew up in a houseful of brothers.
[SULU] 25-32 -Asian American male (preferably Japanese). Helmsman on the Enterprise. Extremely fit, capable and dedicated. A bit of a wildcat
[MONTGOMERY(SCOTTY) SCOTT] -28-32 a brilliant ship’s engineer. Must be able to do a flawless Scottish accent!
Am I the only one that vurped a little after reading this? I don’t have high hopes for this at all. Screams 90210 in Space
Dr. Beckett for Scotty!
I agree Jeremy. Paul McGillion would be perfect casting for Scotty.
I too endorse the idea of Paul McGillion as a younger Soctty.
Though it seems to me that any half-witted Star Trek fan could have faked that casting sheet. I have a really big grain of salt on hand for this bit of “news”.
I’m still optimistic that things are heading in the right direction with the actor who plays Sylar coming on to be the new Spock.
And, yes, this “casting sheet” doesn’t seem to really reveal all that much.
I’d just like to get a role on the movie myself. I’d even settle for Background.
Peace!
Sunshine