J.J. Abrams apparently left the set due to the Star Trek crew’s propensity to goof off.
Star Trek 2009 is a movie that a lot of fans of the franchise like. Sure, it wasn’t a “Star Trek film” in the conventional sense, relying far more on huge set pieces, and heavy action, but it was still an enjoyable entry into the canon of the franchise. A big reason for the film’s success came down to the fact that the cast, for the most part, was perfectly selected.
Leading the way was Chris Pine who took over the role of James T. Kirk from William Shatner. Then you had Leonard Nimoy’s replacement, Zachary Quinto playing Spock. Zoe Saldana was the new Nyota Uhura, while Simon Pegg played Montgomery “Scotty” Scott as well as anybody. The late Anton Yelchin brought Pavel Chekov to life for a new generation, and John Cho was the next incarnation of Hikaru Sulu. Last but not least was Karl Urban playing Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and boy did he hit the role out of the park.
The men and women playing these roles really nailed it, so much so that it was the cast that drove the new franchise. The cast had great chemistry and it showed during filming, but it also showed in between takes as well.
The Star Trek 2009 cast annoyed J.J.Abrams
According to Female Magazine (via Slashfilms), the crew of the film got so hard to deal with all of their tomfoolery, that J.J. Abrams, the director of the film, actually walked off set. In the interview with the magazine, Abrams explains why he left the set that fateful night;
"…It was really late. It was just, we were way over schedule. We had all this work to do. The next day it was going to be a disaster. And it was one of those few scenes on the bridge where they were all together. Because a lot of times it’s like, two actors here, three actors here. But it was one of those scenes. And they were just all in the mood to goof off.“[T]he first AD, whose job it is to make sure that we make our day and ride me so that we finish scenes, was looking at me like, ‘We’re screwed.’ Like, ‘This is a disaster.’ And the actors were literally — they could not get through their lines without laughing….“[F]inally, I was like, ‘When you guys are ready, come get me.’ And I just walked off."
Honestly, if the biggest issue Abrams had was their goofing off, that’s not the worst thing.