Star Trek Into Darkness star Chris Pine: "It's Test-Pilot stuff"

In today's issue of TV Guide, Chris Pine--star of Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness--discusses what it's like to work with producer/director extraordinaire J.J. Abrams, who not only helmed both of those Star Trek films but also has been tapped for Star Wars Episode VII. "The exciting thign is there's a possibility for change at any moment," Pine told the magazine. "Because of [Abrams's] background in TV, there's a possibility of changing story, dialogue, character points, action beats--these are all up for review at all times. Nothing is sacrosanct, no one is safe. You have to walk in and be really nimble." He added that the filmmakers aren't content to rest on what they created last time and explore only characters, but that the action and effects set pieces are going to continue to evolve as well. "It was superscary," he said of watching Abrams and Lindelof struggling with a particular scene, "but it's a lot of fun. It's test pilot stuff." To that end, he promised "more action, amazing effects, and something like 45 minutes of IMAX footage." "We're like a bunch of theater-camp kids, a bunch of oddballs," Pine said of the cast. "The genius thing about J.J. is that if you're going to make a movie all about this family, it's a lot easier to pick a group that actually enjoyes each other's company. What did Abrams think of working with the cast? It's safe to say that it was an overall positive experience, but as the actors settle into their roles, apparently it's harder and harder to be an unquestioned auteur. "I would say all of the actors, uh, have more opinions this time," the director told EW. "The first time they were all kind of trusting of me and of the process. They hand't proven to themselves that they could play these characters. Now they've been these characters and they've been told -- by me and many others -- that they are loved as these ccharacters. So they came to the table with attitudes and opinions that in most cases were entirely valid and hugely important. And all of them are crazy-smart." Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters in May.