SR: do you think they’ll keep the music that was just used?
Chris Pine: I hope so. It was pretty good, wasn’t it?

SR: How does it feel to take on the role of Kirk?
Chris Pine: Challenging.

SR: So are you signed up for more?
Chris Pine: It’s a standard three picture deal. But it depends on how well this one does, if there’ll be more.

Kevin Smith is just about the luckiest guy on the planet and I’m pretty sure he’s aware of it. His filmmaker buddies have always seemed more than willing to share their upcoming works well in advance of their release dates. He saw “MI:III” early as well as “The Dark Knight,” and here in mid-September of ‘08 he’s already seen two must-sees for ‘09! That would be “Watchmen” AND “Star Trek.”

When I met up with Kevin in Toronto this week to chat about “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” (a mature flick that’s actually most reminiscent of “Chasing Amy” despite what you may assume) I just had to pick his brain about “Star Trek” and he told me quite a bit.

“It’s really strong,” said Smith. “[J.J. Abrams] was rejiggering the opening few scenes. It’s one of those things where you first heard about it and were like no they’re not going to redo ‘Star Trek’! And then you see the movie and you think, wow he did pull it off! He turned it into a viable renewed franchise.”

Who stood out among this new cast, I asked him. “Chris Pine is fantastic,” he gushed. “It is a star-making performance. From his first scene forward, this dude is not doing an impression of Shatner. He is doing young Kirk. He doesn’t have the slow delivery mannerisms of Shatner but it’s totally James T. Kirk, the bravado, the self-assuredness. It’s such a great performance. You can’t take your eyes off the guy. Anytime he’s not on the screen you’re waiting for him to get back. And the chick [Zoe Saldana] who plays Uhura is really great. They made Uhura really interesting.”

TrekMovie previously reported that JJ Abrams has completed a first rough cut of his Star Trek movie and now it appears that he is showing it off. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back director Kevin Smith was a guest on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean show this morning and the subject of the new Star Trek movie came up with Smith giving a positive review of the movie, but in a roundabout way.

Kevin talks about what he can’t talk about
Although it was never said explicitly, it appears Kevin Smith was given an early viewing of Star Trek, but he was very much trying to deny that he had, or at least not come out and say anything that would break the ‘cone of silence’ around JJ Abrams ultra-secret project. Early in the show when Kevin joined in, one of the hosts said “somebody’s seen the new Star Trek movie, I understand?” At which point Smith sardonically dismissed the question. Then much later in the show, after recounting his thoughts on his early screening of the Watchmen movie, Smith was asked if he has seen anything else. Here is the exchange:

More videos after the cut 😀

MoviesOnline sat down with Bill Pullman and Chris Pine at the Los Angeles press day for their new movie, “Bottle Shock,” directed by Randall Miller and shot on location in California’s wine country. Based on a true story, the film reveals America’s initiation into and contribution to vinification, along with the enterprising and passionate artisans who bottle it.

It’s 1976, and Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) is struggling to create the perfect chardonnay at Chateau Montelena, his vineyard in the not-yet-famous Napa Valley, where he has jeopardized everything for a dream. His son, Bo (Chris Pine), at first glance doesn’t seem to have inherited his father’s love for the family business, and the two of them are often found duking it out in the backyard boxing ring, each trying to knock some sense into the other.

Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman), a British expatriate living in Paris who owns the strugging Academie du Vin, develops an idea to educate Parisians on the new wines coming out of California. A twist of fate along a dusty road brings the floundering vintner and the struggling shop owner together and forever changes both their lives and the wine industry.

Here’s what Bill Pullman and Chris Pine had to tell us:

Head to Head on the bridge of the Enterprise with the newest Captain Kirk! We had a chance to catch up with Chris Pine at a recent junket in LA and talk to him briefly about his work on the upcoming Star Trek Movie. He was able to give us insights on the look of the movie, his portrayal of Captain Kirk and most importantly.. if he managed to score any green or purple babes. Here is what he told us;

What did you bring to Star Trek because J.J. Abrams has been marveling about the character relationship in that movie?

Chris Pine: I think what’s new about this particular version of Star Trek and what J.J. and Bob (Roberto Orci) and Alex (Kurtzman) were able to bring to it that’s new and really exciting is an incredible amount of humanity to the roles for a project that could be so…you know there’s a lot of spectacle to it, there’s explosions and graphics and computer graphics and yet it’s really character driven and you really get to see why Kirk is Kirk, why Spock is Spock, how this crew got together.