With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness now playing around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with John Cho.  During the interview, he talked about making the sequel, how things changed on set, who was the one who broke the most while filming, his preparation process, did he take anything home from set, deleted scenes, and a lot more.  He also talked about the status of Harold and Kumar, Get a Job, working with Matthew Perry on Go On, Bryan Cranston, and working on the pilot for Sleepy Hollow.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

As someone whose only firsthand experience with the Star Trek franchise comes by virtue of J.J. Abrams‘ two Trek films, I know I’m in over my head when the topic presents itself. When you mention Trek, you’re referencing (either directly or indirectly) a rich legacy filled with peaks and valleys, genre-defining characters and moments, and an international fanbase that rivals any of pop-culture’s most enduring titles. And yet here I am, with two films under my belt (both of which I enjoyed), talking about it. Obviously, I have nothing at stake with regards to Star Trek Into Darkness. Whether you like it or dislike it is of no consequence to me. My only aim today is to extend a humble word of caution to the Trek fans who have years of equity built-up in their beloved franchise: be careful not to dismiss or begrudge it solely because it’s trying to appeal to the largest possible audience. Abrams’ Trek films aren’t above reproach, but they also aren’t void of redeeming qualities. Try to at least acknowledge some of those qualities when tearing into them or risk coming off as someone whose real issue is that a bunch of people now enjoy this thing that you once considered yourself unique for liking.

All preachiness aside, this week’s Top 5 includes several interviews from Star Trek Into Darkness, rumors surrounding Christopher Nolan being approached to direct James Bond 24, the first trailers for Marvel’s new ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, and new photos and a video from the set of director Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop remake. If I haven’t lost you yet, a brief recap and link to each of the above can be found after the jump.

With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness now playing around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Karl Urban.  During the interview, he talked about making the sequel, his reaction to reading the script, how things changed on set, who was the one who broke the most while filming, filming with IMAX cameras, the 3D, and more.  He also talked about the possibility of a Dredd sequel, his upcoming Fox TV show Almost Human, and The Loft.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

With J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, now open stateside, new information on John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) has leaked in the form of a redacted Starfleet Memorandum.  For those who have seen the movie already, feel free to read along as there are probably spoilers present.  You should also check out Matt’s review of the film here.  And if spoilers don’t bother you, then you might also enjoy these new behind-the-scenes character featurettes that highlight Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho) and Scotty (Simon Pegg).

Also starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Alice Eve and Anton Yelchin, Star Trek Into Darkness is now playing in theaters.  Hit the jump to check out the John Harrison documents and character featurettes.

With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness now playing around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Damon Lindelof.  During the interview, the Into Darkness screenwriter/producer talked about making the sequel, the length of the first cut, deleted scenes, how the beginning of the film changed during the editing process, whether an extended cut of Into Darkness will be on the Blu-ray, when a third film could possibly get made, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Star Trek is not iconography.  There are plenty of iconic moments, inside jokes, winks, nods, and more, but it all stems from an original story starring fleshed-out characters who answered the call of duty and the call of adventure in equal and enthusiastic measure.  Director J.J. Abrams only sees iconography, but it was enough to get him through 2009′s reboot.  The story was barely patched together, still filled with holes, and wrapped in coincidences, but Abrams’ talent as a director managed to bring the story and characters to life in a way that felt fresh and exciting.  Much like his take on Captain Kirk, it was slapdash, occasionally clever, frantic, and charming.  Unfortunately, a flashy smile and big set pieces can’t save Abrams a second time as his follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness, amplifies the shortcomings of his original effort, and removes the joy as the picture stumbles around looking for character arcs, themes, and a compelling, well-constructed plot.  But its greatest embarrassment is in trying to steal classic Star Trek moments without having a clue as to why those moments had meaning.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, our partners at Omelete recently sat down with director J.J. Abrams.  During the interview, they talked about what Star Trek mean to him, where he thinks Star Trek should go next and what he’s accomplished, and more.  In addition, with Abrams preparing to direct the next Star Wars movie, he talked about who shot first, his feelings on the Star Wars prequels, and what’s his favorite Star Wars movie.  Hit the jump to watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness  stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film is now playing in IMAX 3D and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening around the world, I recently landed an exclusive interview with Simon Pegg.  While we’d planned for an in-depth video interview in Los Angeles, his busy shooting schedule for his next movie turned our interview into an email exchange.  Since we covered so many different subjects, I’m breaking it up into two or three parts, and we’re starting with Trek.

During our interview, Pegg talked about finally being able to speak openly about the sequel, if he felt any additional pressure playing Scotty in the sequel, his preparation process, what it was like working on the huge practical sets, filming the bridge scenes first, lens flares, what he took home from set, who broke character the most on camera, what he remembers most about making both films, voicing the video game, deleted scenes, Trek 3, and more.  Finally, Pegg sent over a video he made on set with Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin using the Bad Robot’s Action Movie app.  You can watch it when he brings it up during the interview.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

While everyone associates Bad Robot with J.J. Abrams, he actually has a producing partner that rarely does press and usually stays out of the limelight: Bryan Burk.  If you look over his IMDb profile, you’ll see he’s tremendously involved in all Bad Robot productions and was a key component in both Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness.

With the movie getting ready to premiere around the world, I recently landed an exclusive interview with the busy producer.  During our wide-ranging interview, we talked about making the sequel, the editing process, the secrecy, the title, if we’ll get Star Trek 3 in less than four years, whether a new Star Trek TV show could happen in the near future, and more.  We also talked about other Bad Robot productions like Star Wars, Mission: Impossible 5, Infinitely Polar Bear,  Person of Interest, Revolution, Alfonso Cuaron‘s pilot Believe, Karl Urban‘s pilot Almost Human, and more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

There are those who boldly go where none have gone before on movie screens and those who do it in real life; you can chat with both during a Google+ Hangout with the cast and crew of Star Trek Into Darkness, plus real astronauts from NASA.  Director J.J. Abrams, writer Damon Lindelof and stars Chris Pine, Alice Eve and John Cho will join Chris Cassidy, who is currently on the International Space Station, and Earth-bound astronauts Michael Fincke and Kjell Lindgren to talk Star Trek fiction and NASA fact.  More importantly, this is your chance to ask questions of both sets of space adventurers!  (Just don’t ask what happens when you wring out a washcloth in zero gravity.  It’s been done.)  Hit the jump for all the details.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana,Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin and Bruce Greenwood and opens in IMAX 3D tomorrow, and in both 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 16th.

We’re just days away from the US release of J.J. Abrams’ sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and to mark the occasion Paramount has released a batch of high-resolution images from the film.  By now, you probably already know whether you’ll be seeking this one out or not, but if you’re a fan of Trek and just can’t wait another 24 hours before seeing the film, this image gallery should appease you for now.  We’ve seen some of these images before, but a few of them are new and all of them are in glorious high-resolution.  If you missed Steve’s spoiler-free video blog review of the film, click here.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood.  Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D tomorrow, and in both 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 16th.

J.J. Abrams was the guest on The Daily Show last night, and lest you think that host Jon Stewart is somehow not a nerd, the conversation between the two quickly delved into a Star Wars vs. Star Trek discussion that had Stewart lambasting Abrams for saying he wasn’t a fan of Trek growing up.  It’s a pretty great (and candid) conversation, and Abrams also talks a bit about how his approach to Star Wars differs to that of Star Trek.  Moreover, the two talk briefly about Stewart’s upcoming directorial debut, Rosewater, with Abrams revealing that he provided some input on Stewart’s script for the film, which is slated to shoot this summer.  Hit the jump to watch the full interview.

With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Zoe Saldana.  During the interview, she talked about making the sequel, how nice it is to finally be able to talk about it, whether Klingon or Na’vi is more difficult to master, filming the bridge scenes first, who the biggest joker on set is and who tries hardest to make the cast break on camera, script changes, and so much more.  We also talked about Nina, Out of the Furnace, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.  Hit the jump for what she had to say.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

So maybe you can exactly join Star Trek’s Starfleet just yet.  That doesn’t mean you can’t pretend to be a space explorer by boldly going where none have gone before.  And what better way to show off your elite status than with a custom email account?  You can choose from yourname@starfleet.com, yourname@toboldlygo.com or yourname@ussenterprise1701.com and slap that bad boy on your virtual holographic business card of choice.  Here’s the catch: Each email address is $15 annually, but also includes unlimited email storage, an anti-spam and anti-virus service along with choice of webmail or desktop clients.  Hit the jump for more.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, our partners at Omelete recently sat down with Zoe Saldana.  During the interview, she talked about what kind of personal challenges the sequel brought to her character, Uhura’s relationship with Spock, the pressure of playing such an iconic character, the level of humor in the sequel, working with the whole team again, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.