You can read Chris’s interview in its entirety over at PressTelegram.com, which I highly recommend doing if you find what you read below of interest. It’s a great interview. 🙂

One of the contributions that Chris Pine made to his new film “People Like Us” was to suggest a location for a key scene – Henry’s Tacos in Studio City.

“We used to go to Henry’s Tacos all the time when I was a kid,” says the now 31-year-old Pine, who grew up in North Hollywood and Studio City.

“People Like Us,” opening Friday, is the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote it with Roberto Orci. The script is a bit of a departure for the longtime writing partners whose films include “Transformers,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Star Trek” and the upcoming “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Partially based on Kurtzman’s own life, “People Like Us” is about a high-energy New York City wheeler-dealer named Sam (Pine) who returns to Los Angeles when his estranged father – a successful music producer – dies. There he finds out about a half-sister, Frankie (Elizabeth Banks), he didn’t know he had.

The film is also an L.A. story, with action taking place downtown, up Laurel Canyon and in the Valley.

There are few films set in the city that really show more than Beverly Hills, palm trees and the Hollywood sign, notes Pine.

“I love the fact we used the real places like the Laundromat in Tarzana. There are all these places in the Valley that I remember as a kid.”

The actor knew Kurtzman a little from the first of J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” movies (“I kind of had my blinders on in that film. I just wanted to do a good job and

not get fired.”) He says he’s not sure why the director thought of him for “People,” but was glad he did.
Pine says his attraction to the film was that it was a well-told story.

“That’s just a rare thing. I liked the journey Sam goes on, from day one as a selfish, emotionally detached person to someone who is at least working toward being real and authentic and communicative.”

Still, Pine was a bit concerned that the drama of the situation might overwhelm it. So he talked to Kurtzman about trying to bring as much humor as he could to the film. The director agreed.

“Alex also had Liz Banks, who is incredibly funny,” adds Pine, “and sometimes he would just let us rip on one another, like in the scene at Henry’s.”

I’ve added 218 HD Captures of Chris from his appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which aired last night. And for those of you who missed it, or live outside of the United States, you can watch his interview below.

A big thank you to my good friend Pedro of ChrisEvansHQ.com for the video!

Gallery Link:
– Guest Appearances > 06/22/2012 – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Be sure to check out the interview in full over at AccessAtlanta.com

Q: Chris, even though you’ve done a lot of stage work, people are used to seeing you in action movies or romantic comedies. Was it hard for you to get into this role?
A: [Pine] When I began acting, I began doing stage, and onstage your theatrics are limited. It was by no means easy, but it’s harder to get used to doing these bigger films. Those are larger shoes to step into. This was a difficult piece, but I relished the opportunity to do something on film that I felt like I had done onstage before and to get a chance to work those muscles that oftentimes, with these bigger films, are harder to exercise. This is basically an independent movie within the studio system.

Q: The character of Sam is a bit of a jerk in the beginning. Chris, how did you approach getting into the role?
A: [Pine] I’m very protective of Sam. I never read him as the jerk many people see him as. I read him as a guy who clearly makes mistakes, and the largest is that he violates the trust of the woman who is his sister. If anyone goes into this movie judging Sam and being self-righteous, they better take a long look at how they act and how they approach people in their lives. None of us are without fault and none of us are without the ability to grow and mature.

Q: You filmed this over a year ago, but the movie is coming out while Elizabeth [Banks] has been on a roll. What was she like to work with?
A: [Pine] Elizabeth is an intelligent, focus-driven woman. You get the sense she’s been her own woman for a long time. With her being so talented, if you’re not up to the task, she can just railroad over you! But I loved sparring with her. One of my favorite scenes is at [Henry’s Tacos] because it’s a microcosmic moment for these people. There was a lot of improv and I loved doing that with Liz because she’s a great comedian.

For those of you who would like to be involved, The Pine-Nuts are collecting for a new project titled ‘the Orangewood summer project’.

This project is to collect and donate school supplies to children in orphanages and foster care. If you would like to donate money for items to be purchased, please contact Holly at holly@chris-pine.org for information on how to donate. She will need all monetary donations by 7/20. If you would like to mail her items you have purchased yourself, please e-mail her and she’ll give you the Project Pine-Nut address. She needs these donations to be delivered to her by 7/25. Thanks guys! 🙂

I’ve added 24 photos of Chris visiting the Tonight Show with Jay Leno from earlier this evening. Check back later for captures and video of his appearance on the show.

Gallery Link:
– 2012 > 06/22/2012 – Visiting The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

You can check out the interview in full over at NewsDay.com

You come from a tight-knit family — actor father Robert, psychotherapist mom Anne — the total opposite of the fractured group in “People Like Us.” How do you, as an actor, manage to relate to such a situation?
There’s a fair bit of imagination involved. Even if you don’t relate specifically to this story, to that unique experience, what you do share is the source of where you come from, a family. And even if they’re around or not, everyone has a certain drama in their family, there are secrets in their family, and one of those is when you view your parents as human beings, rather than super people. That’s the resonance there.

Your dad was one of the stars of the old TV series “CHiPs,” and has been a working character actor for decades. What kind of advice did he give you when you decided to pursue an acting career?
My father leads by example; I’m the son of a working actor, a blue-collar actor. There are good years and bad years, the business is a fickle one. He stuck with it through thick and thin; I’ve seen every good and bad thing the industry has to offer. my parents were blue-collar actors . Some years we had good money, some years bad money. I had no rose-colored glasses regarding the business I was getting into.

What’s it like being part of the “Star Trek” universe? And did you really understand what you were getting into when you accepted the role of Kirk?
I don’t know if I had any sense of what I was stepping into, not being a fan when I got into the process. I watched that documentary “Trekkies” and thought, “Wow, I had no idea how the fans were so loyal and related to the world.” Because the fans loved the original actors so much, we were afraid we would not live up to their expectations. We all wanted to do well by it. But after it came out, people seemed to be pretty receptive to it. Although some people had a problem with my version of Kirk that was more rebellious than Shatner’s Kirk.