It’s possible that you will know what Star Trek 4 is about before Chris Pine. According to the Captain Kirk actor in his new Esquire profile, the cast is always the last to know anything about the Star Trek films, joking(?) that the costume department read previous installment script drafts before he ever got one.
“I would say it’s frustrating,” Pine said about being kept in the dark about the pre-production process. “It doesn’t really foster the greatest sense of partnership, but it’s how it’s always been. I love the character. I love the people. I love the franchise. But to try to change the system in which things are created — I just can’t do it. I don’t have the energy.”
Granted, it might be even more frustrating this time around, because the fourth film is in a bit of development hell following Quentin Tarantino and Noah Hawley scripts that failed to launch, Matt Shakman joining and leaving, Anton Yelchin’s death, and Paramount dropping Star Trek 4 wholesale from its release calendar.
“I’m not sure Star Trek was ever built to do that kind of business,” Pine added. “I always thought, ‘Why aren’t we just appealing to this really rabid fan group and making the movie for a good price and going on our merry way, instead of trying to compete with the Marvels of the world?’ After the last one came out and didn’t do the $1 billion that everybody wanted it to do, and then Anton…passed away, I don’t know, it just seemed . . .”
Pine trailing off there seems symbolic of the franchise’s fate, but he makes a shockingly good point that will undoubtedly be ignored by executives.
(via Esquire)