10 Star Trek Moments You Never Knew Were Improvised
6. Thrusters On Full - Star Trek 2009
Leonard Nimoy's final line in the 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek film was improvised. He says 'Thrusters On Full,' as he watches Kirk receive a promotion to Captain, with pride. There are a few interesting notes to this scene. First, this is perhaps the fastest progression through the ranks in Starfleet's history. Second, there were a few factors that allowed Nimoy to improvise this scene.
It goes without saying that Leonard Nimoy was the world's authority on Spock, so the producers were more than happy to allow him some leeway when it came to depiction and delivery. The film was also being produced during the 2007 Writers' Strike. This meant that, though Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci were writers on the film, they were allowed to remain on-set as they were also executive producers. This allowed them to covertly work with Nimoy on this final sequence, giving him the nod that it was ok.
There was a loss, due to the strike as well. Nichelle Nichols stated that she had talks with the producers about appearing in the film as Zoe Saldana's grandmother, but the strike meant that the scene couldn't be written and included.