By GustavoLeao / 08:25, 15 April 2008 / Feature Films

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TV Guide posted an exclusive interview with the two Spocks from the new Star Trek movie, stars Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto, conducted at the Grand Slam XVI convention. Here are few excerpts.

TV Guide: When J.J. approached you, what were your thoughts about reviving the character?

Nimoy: I was very flattered. I respect [Abrams] a lot. I respect his work. And he was very flattering with his thoughts about Star Trek and my involvement in it and what I might be able to contribute to the next film. We had a couple of exciting and very interesting meetings. He then sent me a script and it was unlike anything I had ever read before, Star Trek or otherwise. It was just so loaded with exciting ideas on a big scale and action and great characterizations. I said to him, "I think you've got the characters wonderfully, but I'd be lying to you if I said I understood everything I just read." We talked a little about my questions, about what was happening, and I signed on. Obviously I'm very glad I did, because I think it's going to be a great movie.

TV Guide: What do you think J.J. brings to Star Trek?

Quinto: Everything. He brings his ability to execute his vision - which is basically unparalleled - a really generous spirit, a lot of respect for the people he works with and the people who work with him, a sense of humor and some mad beat-boxing skills. In between takes, actually.

TV Guide: Is this a crazy movie to promote, because of all the secrecy?

Nimoy: There's always been an issue of trying to protect the secrecy of the next Star Trek movie, whichever one it was. There are people who make it their business to try to get their hands on the script and be able to say, "I got it and I can tell you what's happening." In this particular case it's been a very special effort on the part of those people to break through the security barrier, and as a result the security has been stronger than it ever has been before.

Quinto: I think the speed with which people get their information now makes it more of a problem. The first day I shot the movie, before it was over J.J. came to me with his phone and showed me a picture that he had downloaded from the internet of us standing in the room that we were still shooting in. It was already on the Internet! That's actually what instigated the heightened security. The next day I showed up and we had floor-length vinyl jackets with hoods [to cover costumes] and golf carts that were completely enclosed in black tarp. That persisted through the entire shoot, even when we were on the lot at Paramount. People were worried about camera phones and digital cameras and it's understandable because there were a couple of times that a background actor or someone who was working on the crew would snap a couple of photos and they would inadvertently end up on the Internet, and that's just a headache for the legal departments. People think they want to know, but they don't want to know. It's going to ruin the experience for them.

TV Guide: I hear there's a storyline about the way Spock deals with being half-Vulcan/half-human...?

Nimoy: We have dealt with aspects of that storyline before but never with quite the overview that this script has of the entire history of the character, the growth of the character, the beginnings of the character and the arrival of the character into the Enterprise crew. And there are wonderful people involved. Winona Ryder as Spock's mother is spectacular, Ben Cross as Spock's father is wonderful, and Zachary does great work as Spock. It's going to be a very exciting story overall.
 
The full interview is here.