The principle cast, along with a few folks from previous incarnations of the franchise as well as a few celeb fans, made their way out to Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA last night for the Hollywood premiere of JJ Abrams‘s new Star Trek film (tho you may recall that the film already premiered in Sydney, Australia and London, England). Hollywood Blvd. teemed with Trekkies and celebs alike clamoring to be a part of the big party … and David and I were lucky enough to be among them. Here are a few pics of the new cast of Star Trek making their entrances on the red carpet (which was actually black and silver) and some deets from last night’s affair:

In 1966, “Star Trek” was launched on television, then unceremoniously canceled due to low ratings. In 2002, fans mourned the death of the franchise after a movie and new TV series were both poorly received. In 2009, a time-traveling reboot has relaunched the Enterprise — and filled Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with fans renewed in their belief that “Trek” will live long and prosper. “I’ve only seen about half the movie,” grinned Leonard Nimoy on the movie premiere’s massive black carpet, admitting that the emotion of passing the Spock torch to Zachary Quinto left him unable to sit through the film’s heart-tugging second half with dry eyes. “I’m very proud of him.” “I couldn’t love him any more; I’ve just been so honored to get to know him,” Quinto returned, adding that Thursday night’s celebratory atmosphere would even prove infectious for the logical character the two men share. “Spock loves to party; he loves to let his bangs down every once in a while.” In addition to the movie’s stars, such proud Trekkies as Amanda Bynes, Neil Patrick Harris, Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson and Heidi Klum walked the event’s massive stage shaped like the “Trek” logo. “This is like Cinco de Mayo and Yom Kippur all rolled into one for me,” “Inglourious Basterds” actor Samm Levine marveled. Director Robert Rodriguez was equally excited, saying he was torn over his favorite “Trek” character: “I love Captain Kirk, but I love the Vulcan grip too, so I’ve gotta go with Spock.” New Kirk Chris Pine insisted that the film, which comes out May 8, stays true to Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a harmonious future. “To present a positive image of the world, there’s nothing better than that,” he said. “I can’t believe this amazing series has lived for 40-something years,” beamed Zoe Saldana, the new Uhura. “And now we’re here.” “This is definitely the craziest premiere I’ve been to, and definitely the biggest,” explained Rachel Nichols, one of the movie’s sexy alien green girls. “It’s the hottest ticket in town.” The death of “Trek,” it seems, was greatly exaggerated when the series hit a speed bump in the early part of this decade. And down to a person, all the new crew members credited the well-reviewed 2009 film to the brave resurrection efforts of J.J. Abrams and his creative team. “Three years ago, J.J. called me and was like ‘Is “Star Trek” dead?’ ” recalled Damon Lindelof, a producer on Abrams’ “Trek” and “Lost,” as hundreds of pointy-eared fans shrieked at the stars. “Now, three years later, we’re here.” “‘Star Trek’ is cool again,” said an amped-up Karl Urban, who plays the new “Bones” McCoy in the film. “It’s hip; it’s sexy. It’s ballistic.”

Gene Roddenberry‘s vision for Star Trek was to create a series where hope, prosperity and unity were the hallmarks of a bold new vision of the future. When Star Trek was created, there was still so much racial unrest in this country that it seemed like absolute science fiction that people of different races (and species) could co-exist in a semi-peaceful future landscape. You may know that the original Star Trek series provided US television with its first interracial kiss (between James T. Kirk and Uhura). So much has happened since Trek first blazed its way on our televisions. Abrams‘s new vision for Star Trek is nothing short of epic … but I’ll get to my review of the film a little later on. After the jump, check out which Star Trek stars from days of yore came out for the premiere and see which celebs count themselves as rabid Trekkie fans …

Here are a few of the Star Trek actors that we already know and love:

It was a thrill to be able to see Leonard Nimoy, George Takei and Walter Koenig all together in the same place. They are sci-fi icons and being that close to them was an absolute thrill. In the lobby, I found myself standing next to Johnathan Frakes (who played First Officer William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation) and almost lost my shizz. He is a very tall man and still looks damn good. He came to the premiere with Marina Sirits, who played Counselor Deanna Troy also on ST: TNG. But, they weren’t the only celebs in the hiz last night … here are a few pics of some of the celebs who came out for last night’s premiere:

As you can see, it was a who’s who of celebs on the red carpet. I was able to chat for a bit with Trent Reznor (who is also a huge Trek fan) and his guest Mariqueen Maandig and we all agreed that we loved the movie. I tried not to geek out too much in front of them because I really don’t like embarrassing myself … but it invariably happens all the damn time.

I will go into more detail about my thoughts on the movie a bit later on … I will say now, tho, that it is a bit misleading to call this film a prequel. Because of things that happen in the film, I think it’s more correct to refer to the film as a new sequel to the Star Trek timeline … or at the very least, a fresh and totally new reboot. I will explain more on that later ;)

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]