‘Trek’ team beaming
The director of ‘Star Trek Beyond’ tells Debra Craine why the TV series was so precious to him when he was young.
WHEN it was announced that Justin Lin, the director who took the Fast& Furious franchise to new heights of adrenaline-fuelled peril, would direct the 13th Star Trek film, my heart sank. What were we talking about here? Crazy car chases hurtling through a beloved and aspirational sci-fi franchise? Given that 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the television show that launched the Star Trek phenomenon, it seemed an especially unsuitable choice.
What I didn’t count on, though, was Lin himself. A film-maker with indie sensibilities, blockbuster credentials and a fabulous track record, he had one unexpected ace up his sleeve – he is a lifelong Star Trek fan. At the age of 44, and drawing on his childhood in California watching endless reruns of the original series, Lin has shaped Star Trek Beyond into a celebration of its founding spirit.
It takes a brave person to confront the legion of nerdy Trekkies, every one of whom has an opinion of how the franchise should be represented now that JJ Abrams, who rebooted the films in 2009, has left to join Star Wars (although Abrams is still involved as producer). Lin, I therefore assume, must have nerves of steel, although in person he comes across as modest and unassuming, chatty, amiable and easygoing.
When we meet in a central London hotel, Lin has just finished post-production on the film and the relief is almost palpable. He turned it around in record time – 18 months from signing on to delivering the finished product – and the film’s premiere is just days away.
‘‘I do have a reputation for embracing challenges,’’ Lin says, something of an understatement from the man who turned the Fast & Furious movies into a global brand. ‘‘But I don’t think JJ knew of my relationship with Star Trek.’’
That, as it transpired, was a spot of luck for the latest Star Trek film. ‘‘When I was eight years old my family emigrated to the States from Taiwan and my parents opened a fish and chip restaurant,’’ Lin says.
‘‘It closed at 9pm, we had family dinner at 10pm and Star Trek came on the TV at 11pm. That was our family time. The restaurant was open 364 days of the year and the only time I got to be with my parents, from 8 to 18, was Star Trek. It became part of our family. And it also became very special to me as an immigrant because you got a sense of family from the shared experience of people of varied backgrounds on the Enterprise.
‘‘Never in my life did I think I would be making a Star Trek movie, but when JJ asked me it brought back so many memories and I thought it would be cool to contribute to the legacy of the franchise.’’
Lin made four Fast& Furious films, but to dismiss him as an action director is to misjudge him.
‘‘It’s interesting that I have a reputation as the action guy because I come from the indie REUTERS world,’’ Lin says. ‘‘I never thought I would be making action movies, but those Fast& Furious movies were like an extension of my film school. I learnt that if you don’t have good characters those action sequences can be the most boring thing. In many ways those sequences are a great way for an audience to connect with the characters.’’
Star Trek Beyond has more than its fair share of dazzling action – Lin is Lin, after all – but the momentous stunts and resplendent special effects are matched by an affectionate script that is loyal to the utopian vision, resolute optimism and humorous interactions of the original TV series. In a classic Trek scenario, the crew of the Enterprise are trapped on an alien planet trying to foil the evil plans of a reptilian villain played by Idris Elba.
Of course millions of fans have their own relationship with the characters introduced in Abrams’s 2009 reboot, and for them it’s vital that young Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest remain central to the storytelling, which was high on Lin’s agenda too. During all those years as a teenager watching episodes in syndication, he says ‘‘I started thinking outside what was on the screen. Sulu and Chekov, for example – did they hang out together? I wanted to make sure that we had the time to spend moments with these characters that we never saw in the original series.’’
To do this Lin took the gamechanging decision to destroy the Enterprise and have its crew separated, thus bringing together characters, such as Captain Kirk and Chekov, who would not otherwise have related so closely. ‘‘It became clear to me that, as the film coincides with the 50th anniversary of the TV show, it was time to deconstruct Star Trek so that by the end of the movie we can reaffirm why it’s been so great and why we love it. Part of that was deconstructing the ship itself. It has become their home, their security blanket, so let’s take that away from them and see how they would react and interact.’’
The scenario gives Chris Pine, as Kirk, the opportunity to wax a bit dramatic, although he’s still basically the cheeky, impetuous leading man. The cast, including regulars Karl Urban as the wisecracking Bones, Zachary Quinto as the dispassionate Spock and Simon Pegg as the joker Scotty, also includes the Algerian actress Sofia Boutella as the alien warrior Jaylah.
As one of the most successful directors in the business, Lin represents an immigrant success GETTY IMAGES PARAMOUNT PICTURES story. How does he feel about the anti-immigrant rhetoric sweeping the US? ‘‘It’s sad. If we let fear and small-mindedness bleed us then we are not going to be America any more – we are going to be a piece of land with a bunch of people led by fear. I see that and it’s scary.
‘‘But I do think what’s happening now is temporary. When I was growing up there were people who were not so nice, but there were also amazing people who were friendly and helpful to my family. Where we lived, in the shadow of Disneyland, we were in a strip mall and there was a Mexican restaurant, a liquor store and a Middle Eastern restaurant. Crazy things would happen and the cops wouldn’t show up for an hour, but we had each other and we were there for each other. With all the crap that’s happening now, I like to believe that those people still exist in America. We all want to have hope, because hate is such an exhausting emotion.’’
Is there any sentiment more Star Trek than that?
‘ The only time I got to be with my parents, from 8 to 18, was DIRECTOR JUSTIN LIN
The Times