To give Comic-Con 2016 fans a sneak peek of “Star Trek Beyond” (released today in theaters), the cast and executives lined the red carpet on Wednesday night in San Diego, California at Embarcadero Park for the World Premiere. To take you there, watch my new VIDEO: Star Trek Beyond World Premiere Cast Arrivals at Comic-Con 2016.
Wearing a special black “Star Trek” pin, trekkie stars included Chris Pine (Kirk), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Simon Pegg (Scotty), Karl Urban (Bones), John Cho (Sulu), Idris Elba (Krall), Sofia Boutella (Jaylah), Shoreh Aghdashloo (Paris), Deep Roy (Keenser), and Jason Matthew Smith (Hendorff @StarTrekCupcake).
Everyone also cheered the team behind this legendary film: Justin Lin (Director), JJ Abrams (Producer), Doug Jung (Screenwriter), and Brad Grey (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Paramount Pictures). Rod Roddenberry (son of Gene Roddenberry, who created the original “Star Trek” TV series) was also there to celebrate the new movie and the Star Trek 50 anniversary.
It was not easy to get into this premiere. Fans with Comic-Con badges entered a lottery and drew tickets out of a hat. If you got a “golden ticket”, you got to go to this lifetime movie event.
When the sun finally set, all cell phones were turned off to prevent content leaks before the film was officially released in theaters today (July 22, 2016). Since most of the red carpet media had to leave before the movie started, we got the full report the next day during cast interviews at the Wired Cafe.
With a big grin, Jason Matthew Smith (Hendorff @StarTrekCupcake) from the cast shared, “It was quite an experience the whole night. We had drones flying overhead. We had an outdoor IMAX theater. We had a 90-piece symphony. We had a 100-person choir in back of the screen. Fireworks. Lasers. It was an amazing, emotional night. Very, very big.”
Caroline Williams from “Sharknado” was also on the red carpet, and described the premiere this way, “It was one of the most stunning spectacles I’ve ever seen. It was straight out of Old Hollywood. The special effects, lasers, light effects, fireworks. The most important thing that I got from it was a live symphony orchestra scoring in real-time as it played out on the screen. It’s one of the most fulfilling cinematic experiences I’ve had in a long time.” Caroline was excited to celebrate “Sharknado 4” at Comic-Con, and fans can watch it on the Syfy channel July 31, 2016.
Inside the San Diego Convention Center Hall, the Roddenberry booth is celebrating Star Trek 50 all weekend (July 21-24). Fans can collect “exclusive content” pins, t-shirts and more commemorative items from this display and others. And really everywhere at Comic-Con 2016, trekkie costumes are lining the streets.
In the words of the late actor Leonard Nimoy (Spock), “Live long and prosper”, and go see “Star Trek Beyond” – this weekend! And follow our Comic-Con 2016 content @LizHKelly.