Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 10 2009

Greenwood’s ‘Star Trek’ and Egoyan’s ‘Adoration’ premiere together

By Duane Dudek of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: May. 9, 2009

Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan has the coolest name in show
business. His list of esoteric films include "Exotica," "Ararat" and
the still-stunning Oscar nominee "The Sweet Hereafter."

All three of those films also starred fellow Canadian Bruce Greenwood,
who also happens to play Capt. Christopher Pike in the new "Star Trek"
film. Coincidentally, "Star Trek" opens in some larger markets
opposite Egoyan’s new film, "Adoration."

"I told him we would crush him," Greenwood said during a recent phone
conversation.

Greenwood said he and Egoyan found themselves doing publicity for
their films on the same day in Los Angeles and managed to hook up.

"We literally managed to meet on a street corner in Santa Monica and
talk for a half an hour," Greenwood said. "I drove over to the street
he was standing on, and we stood in front of a bar."

Greenwood is less familiar for his roles in offbeat independent films
such as "I’m Not There" and "Capote" than he is for roles in
blockbusters such as "I Robot" and "National Treasure 2."

He said he is most recognized as the husband who framed wife Ashley
Judd for murder in "Double Jeopardy."

But regardless of the size of the film, he said, the work is the same.

Big film or small film, Greenwood said, "I deal with playing human
beings who are experiencing human emotions. So independent of the
environment, at the end of the day, it’s just how you’re feeling and
what you’re characters are reacting to.

"Whether you’re on the bridge of a spaceship or in a pickup truck in
the middle of nowhere, you’re still a human being trying to figure out
what the hell is going on."

Films don’t come much larger than "Star Trek," directed by "Lost"
creator J.J. Abrams, which shows how the original characters met and
features a new cast of young actors. Greenwood said he hesitated
calling it an action movie, "although there are tremendous action
sequences in it, and it feels huge."

"The sound design and art direction is spectacular," he said. "But
even though the environment is huge at its core, there are these
characters whose problems and trials are particularly human."

Greenwood’s character looms large in "Trek" mythology and in the film
gives command of the USS Enterprise to Capt. Kirk, played by Chris
Pine. He said the cast members did "tons of homework" on the show and
watched all the original episodes.

To make sure the film made no gaffes in mythology, continuity or
"protocol issues," the cast and crew had a "Trek" wrangler on set "who
arguably knew everything. And if he didn’t, it would take him 20
minutes to find out."

Greenwood said he believes that "Trek" played a role in the
progressive cultural evolution of its time because it portrayed "this
multi-ethnic, multicultural cast with women in authority. Today, we
take that sort of thing for granted."

And he said the new film is rooted in the traditions of the original
show.

"For people who have this long relationship with ‘Star Trek,’ there
are all kinds of things that will resonate for them. All sorts of
inside jokes and tips of the hat," Greenwood said. "But at the same
time, this movie exists on its own merits. And people who don’t know
anything about ‘Star Trek’ will be able to sit down and be captured by
the characters and shot into this incredibly fast-moving and involving
situation."

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