Entertainment Weekly interviews Abrams, Quinto, Nimoy

[Tralah]

So Zach...can you do the Vulcan salute?
QUINTO: I can do it on my left hand really well. That's pretty good, right? But I can't do it at all on my right hand, which is the one Nimoy uses. I put rubber bands around my ring finger and pinkie and have been doing exercises, so by November I'll be good to go.

Which one do you have to use?
QUINTO: Well, all the pictures I've seen of Nimoy are right-handed. So that's the one I have to worry about. And I'm sure in the mythology about Star Trek it's probably a profound insult if I do it with my left hand, so if I do it there might be an uprising.

I loved this part too! I wonder if Quinto is left-handed and Nimoy is right-handed. I can do the Vulcan salute with my right hand really well, and I'm right-handed. I can sort of manage it with my left hand but it's not as good and it's harder for me to keep it in shape long. I do think almost anyone can learn how to do it if they are persistent enough to practice with the necessary muscles. I couldn't do it with either hand at first when I became a Star Trek fan, but I practiced and gradually mastered it with my right. Yes, yes, I'm loser.

 

[Balthier the Great]

you had to master it? I can do it pretty naturally with either hand. I always figured anybody could.

of course, I can wiggle my ears, and nose and roll my tongue. Maybe I'm double jointed er something.

 

[RookieBatman]

I remember when I was in maybe third grade, putting a carrot in between my second and third fingers to stretch them out. Now I can do it with both hands effortlessly (not sure if that was actually why, or if normal growth just gave them the needed dexterity).

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

When I was thirteen I looked into the mirror and discovered that I could raise one eyebrow. I was very pleased.

 

[Aragorn]

MattJC said:
No, this is about cashing in off someone else's work.
Fucking asshole.

Was this intended to be ironic?

 

[Tralah]

BalthierTheGreat said:
you had to master it? I can do it pretty naturally with either hand. I always figured anybody could.

of course, I can wiggle my ears, and nose and roll my tongue. Maybe I'm double jointed er something.

Yep, you must be! My fingers did not want to part in the middle. I was 14 or 15 when I became a Star Trek fan and I had to practice with those muscles to be able to do the Vulcan salute.

 

[Aragorn]

I can do the Vulcan salute with both hands, no problem. Y'all must have some genetic defects.

Of course, I can only wink with one eye, and even though I'm right-handed, I can only shoot pool left-handed.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Spider said:
Now that you mention it, I think I have the same problem as Quinto. I can do the Vulcan salute with my left hand, but not with my right.

I'm right handed and it's the reverse for me. But I can do it with my left hand, just not as easily. I have to concentrate to get my fingers to cooperate.

 

[Lumen]

I can do the "Vulcan salute" effortlessly with either hand.

How did you prepare for the audition? Spend a lot of time in front of a mirror cocking an eyebrow?
QUINTO: Noooo. This is funny. I wasn't allowed to take the material away from the casting room. So when I went in, I had my bag and journal, and I'd take the material out into the hall, and as quickly as I could, I would transcribe it into my journal. I was like, how can I work on this if I can't take it home? So I did that and took it home with me.
ABRAMS: And the next day it was on the Internet. Weird.
QUINTO: Yep, that was me.

Oh, that's great.

And some encouraging words from JJ:

The specter of this massive fan base and their expectations... Look, there's no way you can please everyone. But we're going to do our best to make a great movie, and I hope fans of the series will appreciate the respect and awareness that we have of the thing they love.

That's exactly what I want to hear. :thumbsup:

 

[RookieBatman]

Aragorn said:
I can do the Vulcan salute with both hands, no problem. Y'all must have some genetic defects.

Of course, I can only wink with one eye, and even though I'm right-handed, I can only shoot pool left-handed.

I can wink with both eyes, but I can only raise my left eyebrow (I'm also right-handed).

 

[I am not Spock]

I can only do the Vulcan salute with my left hand, too. I can't raise only one eyebrow, though

 

[ancient]

Dang, you all sicken me!

I can salute, wink, nod, raise eyebrows and do anything else menttioned here with no effort. Y'all need to loosen up!

...I any case, it seems that everything is going pretty well at camp Abrams...looking forward to story/casting details.

 

[Franklin]

I am not Spock said:
I can only do the Vulcan salute with my left hand, too. I can't raise only one eyebrow, though

I can do the Vulcan salute with either hand and do it with four fingers crossed (middle over index, ring over pinkie).

 

[the_wildcard]

Hmmm good to see Quinto is doing so much research. He knows Trek fans will pay attention to all details, lol.

 

[Just_Bob]

MattJC said:

Plum said:

JJ said: "This isn't about pleasing the fans, this is about making a great film."

No, this is about cashing in off someone else's work.
Fucking asshole.

I enjoyed this thread up to this point. Sheesh.

Dennis, thank you for posting the EW interview link. It is "all good."

 

[Jack Bauer]

UWC Defiance said:
They had to tie Shatner's fingers together with dental floss for the "how many fingers do I have up" scene in "Star Trek III." Apparently the Vulcan salute is like wiggling the ears or rolling the tongue - some people just can't do it at all, and some can do it easily. Celia Lovsky, "T'Pau," couldn't do it unassisted either.

I'm one of those. No matter how much i've practiced it I cannot do the Vulcan salute for the life of me.

 

[Crazy_Uncle]

Tralah said:

So Zach...can you do the Vulcan salute?
QUINTO: I can do it on my left hand really well. That's pretty good, right? But I can't do it at all on my right hand, which is the one Nimoy uses. I put rubber bands around my ring finger and pinkie and have been doing exercises, so by November I'll be good to go.

Which one do you have to use?
QUINTO: Well, all the pictures I've seen of Nimoy are right-handed. So that's the one I have to worry about. And I'm sure in the mythology about Star Trek it's probably a profound insult if I do it with my left hand, so if I do it there might be an uprising.

I loved this part too! I wonder if Quinto is left-handed and Nimoy is right-handed. I can do the Vulcan salute with my right hand really well, and I'm right-handed. I can sort of manage it with my left hand but it's not as good and it's harder for me to keep it in shape long. I do think almost anyone can learn how to do it if they are persistent enough to practice with the necessary muscles. I couldn't do it with either hand at first when I became a Star Trek fan, but I practiced and gradually mastered it with my right. Yes, yes, I'm loser.

After reading that article I am more at ease than ever that this movie will turn out really good. I like that JJ has a story to tell and that he knows that he can't please everyone. I also like that Zach seems to have a lot of respect for Nimoy and is really interested in learning more about the character from actor that originated him.

Not to go off topic but is there anything in trek mythology that says that doing the vulcan salute left handed is insulting? I consider myself quite versed and can't seem to come up with anything.

Oh and I can do the salute with both hands but trying to raise either of my eyebrows is like trying to make a pot of water boil by just thinking about it. It just makes my head hurt.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can't do the eyebrow thing either. Wiggle nose, yes. Ears, no.

I like how this thread has degenerated into "Which Body Parts Can You Wiggle?"

TELL US WHO KIRK IS ALREADY! We're goin' crazy here...again...

 

[number6]

I can do the eyebrows and the salute. I only wiggle my privates in public, in front of old ladies and small children

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Personally, I haven't heard anything about being left-handed as insulting. I do remember a cartoon in Starlog some 20 years ago where the first pic had a Vulcan saluting 2 humans and saying "Live Long and Prosper." The second pic had him doing the same salute except with his whole hand was turned upside down so that the fingertips were pointing down. He flashed this greeting at some Klingons and said "Die immediately and decay." For some reason, it still sticks in my head to this day.

Chalk me up as another one that can do the hand salute with both hands and arch either eyebrow up on cue. I must have had WAAAAAAAY too much time on my hands as a kid!