'Nemesis' Stars Take To The Red Carpet

The stars of 'Star Trek Nemesis' swapped their spacesuits for the very best in 21st century finery at the world premiere of the film on Monday night.

Cast members such as Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) attended the star-studded event at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, StarTrek.com reported.

They were joined by new Trek recruit Linda Park (Hoshi Sato), 'Star Trek: First Contact' actor Neal McDonough (Lt. Hawk), Enterprise executive producer Brannon Braga, Frasier's Jane Leeves, 'Galaxy Quest' star Tim Allen, and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Dr. Mae Jemison (Lt. Palmer in TNG's 'Second Chances').

Chase Masterson (Leeta) was on the red carpet conducting interviews for the official site. Oscar-nominee and 'Nemesis' scribe John Logan looked as if he was about to jump to warp when talking about the film.

"As you know, being from the Star Trek world, you know that I'm a fan, so to be here at the opening of the movie that I actually wrote and was a part of is like, unbelievable."

Gates McFadden was equally enthusiastic, and grateful to have had the chance to reunite with her fellow Next Generation cast members. "It's Michael's [Dorn] birthday today, too, and it's the opening of the film, it's really exciting, it's great. I feel totally blessed by it."

Looking somewhat less intimidating sans makeup was Tom Hardy (Shinzon), who was surprised when Masterson said his performance in 'Nemesis' had been compared to Ricardo Montalban's Khan in 'Star Trek II.' "Ooh! I didn't know that, so that feels great! It's nice, I like that!" said the actor, who acknowledged it was initially "terrifying" to act with Patrick Stewart.

When filming the picture, Hardy said he didn't dwell on all the fan attention that would shortly be coming his way. "Initially I didn't try to think of all that, because I had a job to do. It was terrifying enough turning up and trying to play a villain with a group of people who have been doing it for so long and are so good at it."

Fellow franchise freshman Stuart Baird, director of 'Executive Decision' and the Oscar-nominated editor of 'Superman,' talked about how he approached the task of helming the film. "I responded to John Logan's script, and thought it was a good story to tell, and it had some of my strengths. I'd done action pictures, and it had a lot of action in it, and it showed a different side of Picard, and the issue that it was about - this idea of this cloning, which is in the air. I mean, that's one of the strengths of Star Trek - it deals with contemporary issues reasonably seriously with a positive feel. So, you know, there's always hope in these movies, and there is at the end of this one as well."

Someone who has been with the franchise from the beginning - Star Trek's first lady, Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Lwaxana Troi, Christine Chapel) - was also on hand for the debut of the latest Trek feature. "I'm really having a lot of fun, because I've never seen this before. I look forward to something new all the time. Star Trek never disappoints me."

Roddenberry's on-screen daughter Marina Sirtis lit up the premiere in a stunning pink dress. The actress said her favourite part of the film was the wedding sequence, in which Deanna Troi and Will Riker finally tie the knot.

"It was the first scene we all shot on the movie, so we had a party for two days, much to Stuart's consternation, because he was like 'Arghh, what are these cast doing?' But it was great to start that way, because then it all got a little heavy after that."

Her co-star Brent Spiner (Data) had no trouble deciding which part of the movie he liked best. "I like the titles. I love seeing my name on a big screen."

A full report on the premiere, including video interviews with the cast and crew and a full photo gallery, can be found here at StarTrek.com. Further photos are available at Yahoo! Movies and WireImage.

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