If you’ve been following our STAR TREK BEYOND coverage, you know we kept close eyes on production from the first day of filming last June 25 in the Vancouver area, through the journey to Dubai in October, all the way to the final reshoot phase in March.
While we were watching from the outside, those who participated in filming both in-studio and on location had an entirely different experience – including one of our readers, who joined the Enterprise crew up in Vancouver last summer.
Their full story can’t yet be told, as non-disclosure agreements remain in effect until BEYOND hits theaters on July 22, but today we can share a preview of their Starfleet adventure!
If there was one word I can say about being involved with STAR TREK BEYOND, it was secrecy.
From the very beginning, everything was kept very under wraps: you weren’t there for STAR TREK, you were there for a WASHINGTON audition. While we quickly discovered that ‘Washington’ was the code-name for the film – even after every one of us knew – the process was never referred to anything other than auditions for ‘Washington.’
I wasn’t auditioning to join the Enterprise bridge crew, I was there to become an employee at the Oval Office – our group weren’t brought in as a group of “Enterprise officers,” we were “White House workers,” and so on.
From our audition to our wardrobe fittings, everything was kept secret – and if you dared breathe a word of anything seen or heard, you would be released from production… and we know that they weren’t kidding as some people had already been let go for that very reason.
The other word I’d use to describe my experience would have to be disbelief. Once I got conformation that I was cast in the movie, my first reaction was sheer joy – I’d be lying if I didn’t say I burst into tears of happiness – but that disbelief was still there, a little voice in my head, not sure if I was really going BEYOND.
I’ve been a huge Trekkie for a very long time, so this was truly a dream come true. On top of that, the opportunity to take part in a $200 Million production with top-tier stars was absolutely thrilling – but the secrecy and disbelief hit me hardest once I showed up to the wardrobe fitting.
No one had actually confirmed what production I’d be joining; they just told me that I would know what movie it was “once you get into your wardrobe.” I mean, that had to mean ‘Star Trek,’ right?
After the crew confiscated my phone and handed over the paperwork I needed to sign, all I could do was stare at the rows of blue, gold, and red uniforms, almost shaking at the realization of what I was seeing. There I was, staring at rows of beautiful costumes, knowing everything I was seeing was top secret – I was nearly in a trance, it was so surreal.
As I was being passed between wardrobe and hairstyling and the costuming seamstresses – fitting me into my own freaking Starfleet uniform – I felt like I missed every word they told me: I was about to be in STAR TREK!
Stay tuned for our on-set insider’s full recounting after STAR TREK BEYOND lands in theaters later this summer!