My kid sister lives in St. Louis, far away from our little Tri-Valley, and yet she seems to know more than I do about the new Star Trek movie shoot, .
She's obsessed with the new movie, a sequel to J.J. Abrams's much-anticipated 2009 "re-imagining," which began filming in the area last week and is rumored to continue throughout the week.
Chris Pine (who plays Captain James T. Kirk), Simon Pegg (Scotty) and Zach Quinto (Spock) have so far been spotted at: the in downtown Pleasanton, Hooters in Dublin where they watched the Saturday night boxing match, Denny's, the Apple store, , the Regal Cinema in Dublin and in downtown Pleasanton.
The actors, to the delight of local Trek fans, are also tweeting their whereabouts, which is what sent my sister into a frenzy.
"You HAVE to get me a picture if you see Chris Pine ... just keep a lookout for the piercing blue eyes," she texted bright and early Saturday morning. And no, she's not 14. Not even close.
"And Zach's eyebrows will be shaved, but he wears glasses so you might not be able to see them," she added, forgetting that her older sister is actually a fan too (In fact, I may or may not attach a photo of myself dressed as a Vulcan in the late 1990s. And yes, I know that's a Kirk shirt and not a Spock shirt, but Halloween costume shopping in Lawrence, KS can be a little limited).
And here's where you'll be really jealous: Lee Ann Caldwell and her family ran into Pine, Zoe Saldana (who plays Lt. Uhura), Anton Yelchin (Ensign Chekov) and Pegg at the Rose Hotel. We are attaching a photo they took, as well as a YouTube video, where a very sweet and excited Lauren Caldwell, an student, scored a hug from Pine.
Caldwell said the actors came across as approachable, and humble. The family learned the actors were at the hotel, and they peeked in half expecting to not see them ... but there they were.
"They didn't mind shooting the breeze with those of us less famous," she said.
(I already apologized to my sis for missing the Rose Hotel outing, to which she replied, "It's OK. You're not psychic.")
Anyway, rumor has it the actors are coffee hounds, so keep a lookout at local coffee joints.
As for the filming itself, that seems to be a top secret operation. It even has a name — "the HH project."
Over the weekend, Livermore Patch editor Kris Noceda and I ran into some Livermore lab employees at the , who said that employees had to sign a confidentiality agreement when they found out about the movie filming. Now they can talk about it generally, but it sounds like the lab is keeping specifics super secret — employees aren't really getting to watch the filming, nor is the media. Not even a transporter will help in this situation.
The film's PR folks have said that the filming is taking place inside the lab's National Ignition Facility, where scientists experiment with ultraviolet laser light. And the wine festival goers said the spacious building is super futuristic, so that should be cool.
The movie, which as of yet is unnamed, will come out in May 2013, five years after 2009's "Star Trek," and you know it'll be good because a) the last one was, and b) anything J.J. Abrams touches turns to gold (Alias, LOST, etc).
Have you seen the actors? Were you lucky enough to get photos with them (or of them)? Please post them here — we'd love to see!
And if you want to get the jump on where they'll be next, you must follow them on Twitter. Simon Pegg is @simonpegg and Zach Quinto is at @ZacharyQuinto.
We will of course keep you up to date on Star Trek sightings, and we apologize if you go out to the Rose hoping to see them and they're no longer there.
Reach Patch editor Tanya Rose at tanya.rose@patch.com
Follow us on Twitter @PleasantonPatch, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/PleasantonPatch.
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