The cast of a new “Star Trek” movie, eagerly awaited by fans of the
science fiction saga, is to go where no USS Enterprise crew has been
before: Australia.
Despite last minute lobbying for the town of Vulcan, the movie’s creators have chosen to go down under.
Paramount Pictures Australia on Friday said the action adventure
movie by J.J. Abrams, director of “Mission: Impossible III” and
co-creator of the series “Lost,” would make its world premiere at the
Sydney Opera House on April 7.
This will kick off a world tour that touches down in Austria,
Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Russia, Spain and Britain.
“Not only are we honored to have J.J. Abrams and the cast here in
Sydney for the world premiere of the stunning new ‘Star Trek,’ we are
also very excited to present this event at one of Australia’s — and
the world’s — most famous locations, Sydney Opera House,” said Mike
Selwyn of Paramount Pictures Australia.
Earlier Friday it looked like Paramount execs may have had a change of heart.
Metro Calgary had learned that Paramount executives left a telephone message
with the Vulcan Tourism co-ordinator, Dana Dickens, early Friday morning,
indicating they wished to speak again about premiering the upcoming Star Trek
film in the town 120 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
The southern Alberta town — which has adopted the Star Trek theme because
of the name it shares with the home planet of one of the Star Trek franchise’s
most recognizable characters, Mr. Spock — has a replica of the Starship
Enterprise at the town entrance, a tourism station dedicated to the sci-fi
film, and an annual Star Trek convention that has attracted tens of thousands
of people since its inception.
On Thursday, Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, put his support behind the
town’s bid for the film premiere, which had already been declined by the film
studio.
A Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members has been set up to continue pushing
for the film premiere, which is expected to launch May 8.
