Jan. 13, 2012

The “Star Trek” sequel is still way off in deep space – it won’t reach theaters until May 2013 — but  there was a cosmic cast reunion Monday on the stretch of sidewalk in front of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf over at the Sony lot in Culver City.

Throughout the morning, the crew members of the Starship Enterprise were scheduled for fittings with the wardrobe department and the atmosphere was a bit like the first day of school with big grins, backslaps, hugs and handshakes. There was Simon Pegg (Scotty) and John Cho (Mr. Sulu) ducking into the coffee shop just before lunchtime and, on the patio out front, Bruce Greenwood (Capt. Christopher Pike) and cast newcomer Peter Weller discussing their golf swings and the enduring allure of John Le Carre novels. Pegg, with a toothy grin, stopped by Greenwood’s table to pay his respects: “Nice to see you!” Greenwood responded with a “My man!”

“The family deal that happened was just amazing,” Greenwood said. “I loved the first one and I loved making it too. Usually when you work on a job and you love the experience, it’s rare that the film matches the experience. You get one or the other but this was one of the few where it was all there. It was just great. I was talking to Anton the other day and he was saying that they all got together on the bridge a few weeks ago and it was just like no time had passed at all. None. I had dinner with Chris a few months ago and he said he couldn’t wait to get back with the gang of people that makes this work. The same with me. They’re wonderful people and the show is like the icing. What’s great is the family. I know it’s an overused term and people roll their eyes but it really feels that way to me.”

Greenwood said it’s clear already that the project has been worth the wait: “Everybody’s got their script – all printed on red paper with every actor’s name stamped across every page — and their brown bag and we’ve all signed these releases that are as long as your leg. The script is good, as you would expect.  You won’t be given anything by anybody when it comes to the movie. It’s easier to push the building than get anything out of anyone. We have a huge stage here, I haven’t seen it. It’s exciting.”

About half an hour later, it was as if the entire coffee shop had been transported to Federation space; there was Pine,  Zoë Saldana (Lt. Uhura), Karl Urban (Dr. “Bones” McCoy), Yelchin and Cho all parading by out front. “Hey man, you’re back!” Pine said to Greenwood, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Saldana chimed in with a “Welcome back!”

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