Members of bridge crew of the new Starship Enterprise were on hand at Shinjuku Milano One in Tokyo for the Japanese premiere of the new JJ Abrams film Star Trek which opens in the Land of the Rising Sun on May 29. Here are a few pics from the red carpet arrivals at last night’s premiere (which, due to the time difference, actually took place “today” in Japan):

Yes, that is a replica of the USS Starship Enterprise NCC-1701 on the red carpet with the actors. These pics were too fun not to post … you can tell that everyone was very happy to be promoting the film in Japan … and with good reason. It’s doing very well here in the US. Folks in Japan have a great movie to look forward to. I’ve already seen the film twice and I’m itching to see it one more time … in IMAX. I’m anxious to see that Chris Pine underwear scene on the jumbo screen ;)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

So … last night David and I were invited to attend the Hollywood premiere of the new JJ Abrams-directed Star Trek film at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and we JUMPED at the opportunity. As a long time Trek fan, I was very anxious to finally see the movie that I have heard so many good things about. I am happy to report that all the hype and the great reviews are absolutely justified … I loved this film. There is so much for old Trek fans to feast on in this film but also much for new fans (or those who aren’t even fans all) to enjoy as well. I suspect that this film will do very well with everyone … it’s got movie blockbuster written all over it. If you wish to remain unspoiled by my review, I suggest you skip over the next part and just go down to see my pics from the premiere after party instead:

Man … where to begin. The story is really superb. The film opens with an action sequence that really sets the pace of the film and clues you in that Abrams means business … he is intent on revamping the entire series into a new, modern version that remains true to the classic series while injecting enough excitement to make it all fresh again. There is action, there is humor and there are pretty fantastic acting performances that are sure to please pretty much everyone who sees the film. Each character gets to shine in this film and each one is infused with enough of their classic mannerisms and catch-phrases to appease the most ardent Trekkie in the audience. I will reveal that a warp core does get ejected somewhere along the way … it wouldn’t be a Star Trek movie if not.

Now, the one thing that I’m not sure that I like. AND THIS IS THE SPOILERY PART SO DON’T READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN UNSPOILED! As we should all know by now, JJ Abrams loves to play with time travel … and time travel features heavily in this film. Without going into any details, I will say that a time shift alters the Star Trek timeline and the events of this film break off and head in a different direction than the timeline we know from the classic Star Trek series. This is why I don’t think the movie should be marketed as a prequel. History is changed and a new alternate timeline is created. To me, the movie is more of a sequel to all of the previous TV series and movies that we’ve already seen. That said, this new alternate timeline opens up WIDE the ability to create entirely new stories and wholly new adventures without having to worry about staying true to the original Trek timeline. Again, I’m not sure how I feel about this exactly. There are major changes in this film that drastically alter the Trek universe. I’ll be very interested to hear what others think about this after they see the film (so, please, feel free to email me when you see this film).

But, as I said, I absolutely loved the film overall. Zachary Quinto’s Spock is excellent and he is, IMHO, the star of the film. I was just so impressed … I’m dying to see the movie again already.

After the movie, we made our way to the afterparty that was held off site from the theater and we got down to celebrating the film. After the jump, check out a bunch of photos of some celebs posing in a fun Star Trek photobooth and see some of the cool folks I got to meet last night …

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Sydney, Australia was the lucky city to host the official world premiere of the new JJ Abrams prequel film Star Trek last night but the folks in OZ were not the first ones to be able to watch the film in full. An even luckier group of folks in Austin, TX who were told they’d be seeing a preview of clips from the film were treated to a full showing of the film … AND Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) was in the hiz to introduce the screening. But, we’ll get to that in a sec. Co-stars and jogging buddies Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto were joined by Eric Bana, John Cho and Abrams on the red carpet in Sydney last night … here are a few photos:

The 11th Star Trek movie in 30 years had its world premiere on Tuesday, its markedly younger cast boldly going along the red carpet to a makeshift cinema in the Sydney Opera House. Chris Pine, 28, who plays a cadet-aged James T. Kirk, admitted he’d never met William Shatner, who starred as the original Captain Kirk in the television series dating back to 1966 as well as the first Star Trek movies. But he said he watched the TV show “quite a bit.” “All it was doing was making me think about what the best way I could do a William Shatner impersonation,” Pine said. “It wasn’t helping bringing this story to life.” Hundreds of fans, including one wearing “Spock” ears, waited for hours to meet the leading men who spent nearly an hour walking the red carpet, signing autographs and talking with journalists. “It’s hard to believe Eric Bana plays a meanie when he comes across as such a nice guy,” said Alicia Wetherley, who drove from central Australia to the Opera House for the premiere. Bana plays Nero, the film’s heavily-tattooed Romulan villain bent on avenging the destruction of his planet. He said all the film’s cast “did everything they could” to come up with something fresh this time around. The plot follows the young lives of the original cast from Gene Roddenberry’s TV show as they find their places on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise as junior officers. It was directed by J.J. Abrams, director of “Mission Impossible III” and “Lost.” “I was never a huge Star Trek fan growing up and so what I hope people will experience when they see the movie is one that stands on its own,” Abrams said. “It’s a huge action spectacle but at the core it is got a big heart,” said Abrams. Zachary Quinto plays Spock, the role made famous by Leonard Nimoy, 77, who has a cameo in the film. Nimoy had joined a campaign for the movie to hold its premiere in the small farming town of Vulcan in Alberta, Canada, that was unsuccessful, partly because the town has no cinema.

LOL! Well, since Nimoy couldn’t get the premiere to take place in Vulcan, he decided to surprise a group of fans in Austin, TX for a screening of Star Trek that took place even before the Oz premiere went down:

While a world of Trekkers believed the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek would premiere in Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Leonard Nimoy made a surprise appearance in Austin, Texas Monday night to screen the film for an unsuspecting audience. A theater full of Trek fans showed up in the Texas capital thinking they were going to see a new print of the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and 10 minutes of Abrams’ reboot, all organized by Ain’t It Cool News. But, Nimoy shocked the house by announcing they would in fact see the entire new movie just hours before it made its international bow in Sydney. The early fan reviews on Twitter are running almost entirely positive so far.

Click HERE to read some of the Twitter posts that came from last night’s Austin surprise. Kudos to Paramount for really capitalizing on getting the buzz for the film going right. Orchestrating a splashy premiere and a surprise screening on opposite ends of the globe all almost the same time is pretty brills. I know I’m amped to see the film … even without all this hoopla … but the word of mouth can only help the film when it opens in May. I’m sure we’ll be seeing the new Trek crew trek the world for other premieres in the weeks to come … but it’s all foreplay to me. I want the real goods and I want them now!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source, Source]