'Star Trek XI' Bakersfield Filming

[TrekToday]

Executive Producer Jeffrey Chernov spoke recently with KGET-TV out of Bakersfield, California, regarding the choice of Kern County, California as a shooting site for Star Trek XI.

As reported by KGET, Kern County is standing in for the Iowa birthplace of James T. Kirk. "We wanted something that looked like Iowa, and we also wanted to stay close to Los Angeles," explained Chernov. "So, we came out here and scouted and realized that we can kind of make Iowa out of Bakersfield."

Kern County is accustomed to being the backdrop for Hollywood films. In the past, films such as: Erin Brockovich, Deep Impact, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Armageddon, The Right Stuff, Jurassic Park and Planet of the Apes have been filmed here. Star Trek is no stranger to the area. Both Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek Generations were filmed in the county.

As reported yesterday in the article located at Trektoday, a site manager for Star Trek XI was involved in an automobile accident at the site recently. Footage filmed and available on YouTube picked up another interesting vehicle. A vintage red corvette from the 1960s was being transported onto the set for use one of the shots. A person was in the corvette, possibly a woman with blonde hair, but it is unknown who that person was.

To read more, head to the article located here. A video of the KGET story can be found here. The YouTube video with the red corvette can be seen here.

[Mr. Adventure]

Surely I'm not the only one who thought of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHp7QdwAApA

[Pioneer]

So if it's just like Iowa, living in Kern County, California must really suck.

[T'Cal]

Back in 2004, I took my family out west on a two-week driving trip. Our planned return time just happen to coincide with Riverside, IA's 20th annual Trek Fest so we stopped for it. It's a small farming community of less than 900 people and the downtown area was small but they accommodated quite a few people. It was kind of like a small county fair with a Trek theme. They had a parade with floats, a costume contest, fan-made props and sets, a crafts sale (Trek and otherwise), and in a barn they were projecting TOS episodes on a small screen. Of course they had food and some music. It was a very inviting crowd and the entire event was very Americana in its feel. I'm a bit disappointed that JJA didn't actually film there. Perhaps the townspeople don't want a film crew there, especially after the debacle that was Shatner's "Invasion: Iowa." He really pulled one over on a very nice group of people. It was embarrassing to watch how Shatner and his crew took advantage of their kindness and neighborlyness.

[T'Cal]

^ One last thing: they have a stone sign at the entrance to town, which reads,

"Riverside-
Where the Best Begins!"

However, the word "Best" is crossed out and in red the word "Trek" is chisled above it. There is also a large, red Enterprise swooshing over the text off of an extended leg in the R in Riverside. Here's a picture:
http://startrekblog.fanlib.com/wp-co.../riverside.jpg

[Pioneer]

T'Cal wrote:

---

^ One last thing: they have a stone sign at the entrance to town, which reads,

"Riverside-
Where the Best Begins!"

However, the word "Best" is crossed out and in red the word "Trek" is chisled above it. There is also a large, red Enterprise swooshing over the text off of an extended leg in the R in Riverside. Here's a picture:
http://startrekblog.fanlib.com/wp-co.../riverside.jpg

Holy crap, you weren't kidding.

I was in Marshalltown once. They had a wooden sign that said "Welcome To Marshalltown". It said the same thing on the other side. Also, the Marshalltown Public Library was closed. Someone had checked the book out. They'll bring it back after they've finished coloring it.

"There's nothing half-way about the Iowa way to treat you if they treat you which they may not do at all!"
-- The Music Man, Meredith Wilson, Mason City, IA