Facing the fear of anchoring a flagship franchise proved to be the deciding factor in choosing between two movies for Chris Pine.

As reported at Entertainment Weekly, after years of playing supporting parts, Chris Pine faced a tough choice when offered two plum roles, the thriller White Jazz, which is based on a crime novel, and Star Trek XI. Deciding between the two films was "agonizing" according to Pine. "It was a great character role and I'd have had the chance to act with George Clooney," said Pine of White Jazz. "And then I got presented with this opportunity [Star Trek XI], which is really a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

The fear of going where one man had already gone before finally convinced Pine to choose Star Trek XI and the role of James T. Kirk. "It's such a challenge," he explained. "It's so scary. But everyone says the scarier it is, the more you should do it."

Even though Star Trek XI details are scarce due to the secrecy surrounding the movie, Pine mentioned the presence of young Kirk and Leonard Nimoy's Spock in the same scene. "I've met Mr. Nimoy a couple of times," said Pine. "He's been on set and we have a couple of scenes in the film, which will be nice, and I'm excited for those."

Even though William Shatner is not in the movie, Pine has had contact with him. "I have not talked to Shatner," he said. "I wrote him a letter early on in the process and corresponded that way. I got a letter back from him, which is very nice." According to Vancouver 24 hours, Pine said he "I wrote him a letter...just to explain my feelings about the character. I just tried to explain my respect for what he'd done. I want him to be proud of what I do because the man has been involved with it for going on forty years. He wrote me back and said he hopes the movie goes well and he'd like to meet sometime, which I would love. But you know, he's a busy man."

In addition to filming Star Trek XI, Pine has kept busy. His latest role is that of Bo Barrett, one half of a wine-making duo in the film Bottle Shock. Bottle Shock is the story of the early days of California wine making. To see a video where Pine explains his role in Bottle Shock, head to the link located here.

To read more, head to the articles headed here and here.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!