William Shatner Vents Over Being Excluded From "Star Trek" Film

[CatWoman]

this is just BLASPHEMY!!!!!!

Extra" caught up with William Shatner last night at a signing for his book, Star Trek Academy - Collision Course. He opened up about the fact that he was not asked to make a cameo in the upcoming Star Trek film saying, "How could you not put one of the founding figures into a movie that was being resurrected? That doesn't make good business sense to me!"

Leonard Nimoy and several past cast members have been offered cameos in the JJ Abrams directed film, which will tell the story of a young Kirk and Spock. Shatner told "Extra" that he would have been great for the film commenting, "I've become even more popular than I was playing Captain Kirk. I'm good box office and I get publicity.... But, they are going in a different direction and it'll be a wonderful film."

Shatner also revealed that the WGA strike has not yet halted production on his hit show, Boston Legal. Shatner says, "We've got two scripts. We will go to the Christmas break, then we come back for a week or so in January."

More with William Shatner Wendesday, November 21 on "Extra."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/21/william-shatner-vents-ove_n_73728.html

[ohiosmith]

1. Hey,.... Bill! SHUT UP!

[CatWoman]

2. DON'T TALK TO KIRK LIKE THAT!!!!!

:grr:

[ohiosmith]

3. That's not Kirk. That's Bill. Kirk won't be born for another 226 years.

:rofl:

[CatWoman]

7. !!!

:rofl:

[texas1928]

4. WHY... Would... They ....... Diss..........

Him....








Like ....


























That.......













I...







Mean...

























That... is....

















so...... Mean.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. He's right...

They're crazy not to have Shatner in the movie.

It's also insulting, since they invited other cast members to make cameo appearances.

[Kutjara]

6. It'd be tough to put him in.

The other cast members who'll be making cameos are "still alive" in the sense that they weren't killed off in the series or subsequent movies. Therefore, their appearances in the movie can be in the form of "flashbacks" or "reminiscences" from some arbitrary time after the movie's main events. It doesn't matter that they all look much older than the last time they appeared on screen - it's just happening many years later.

Kirk, unfortunately, died in Star Trek: Generations, when Shatner was in his early 60s. It would take some major retconning to explain a 75 year old Kirk making an appearance in the new movie. The scenes can't take place after he's dead (presumably), but setting them any earlier in the ST timeline would raise the question of why he looks so much older than the day he died.

I think the producers just decided to sidestep the issue altogether.

[Chovexani]

9. You say this like Trek actually cares about continuity anymore

:P

[Kutjara]

14. Oh I wouldn't put it past them...

...to make up some "alternative timeline" nonsense in which Kirk lives to a ripe old age. Indeed, Shatner himself wrote a sequel to "Generations" in which Kirk was cloned and then had his memories returned by Spock (sort of like the McCoy/Spock thing in Search for Spock), but nobody seemed interested in making that little bit of self-promotion part of the "canon."

Short of that, though, it's hard to imagine Kirk huffing and puffing around the set, pretending he's still 35.

Actually, it isn't hard to imagine at all. I think we've been spared something truly awful.

[Der Blaue Engel]

18. Since it's a prequel

I'm assuming the other cameos are not playing their original characters. That wouldn't really make sense. And if that's the case, there's no reason Shatner couldn't do the same.

[Kutjara]

23. I'm assuming they are playing their original characters.

My guess is that Spock, Sulu, Uhura and whoever else is in it will be playing their original characters, but forty or so years older. Maybe they'll be reminiscing about "the old days," which will be the cue to cut to the main "prequel" storyline.

If the actors are just playing any old characters, then of course Shatner could be in it, but it would be very weird to see such iconic faces as Nimoy, Shatner and Nicols onscreen as other people.

[idgiehkt]

19. dude, it's space.

quantum physics, and beyond. They could travel the line to the point where life and death intersect, to save the live/dead from the evil,conquering Croutons or whatever, and return with Kirk from the other side, righting the cycle of life/death in the process except for that one change, therefore altering the sequence of present/past/future for all eternity, including the past where the prequel starts. Actually, that's been done before, hasn't it. Probably at least three or four times, on that very show.

[Kutjara]

24. Agreed, and I think I said much the same in one of my replies above.

If they wanted to, they could monkey with the timeline, alternate universes, cloning, mind melds and whatever other mcguffin they liked. That would take the focus off the "prequel" and make it more of an original cast adventure, though.

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that the original cast will be "reminiscing" about the good old days. Their reminiscences will then form the core of the film's plot (with new actors playing the original cast's younger selves). If that's the case, Shatner would be hard to cast. Unless, of course, they "saved" a 75 year old version of him from an alternate timeline. And that would just be weird.

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. Instead of the star billing he deserves, he could instead play an angry French Restaraunteur.

[Writer]

10. Bill, old cast members appearing in remakes is a cheesy crowd pleasing tactic that ruins the film.

And if you're trying to resurrect a franchise in any meaningful way, you'll want to preclude any bit of the former interfering with your new version.

[xchrom]

11. funny. -- i love him. i think he's great. nt

[CatWoman]

12. the SHAT is all things

to all people :)

[CGowen]

13. to really piss him off .... just invite Picard (Patrick Stewart)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bcvbQAssGU

he can compete with his approach to women

[Kutjara]

15. Stewart was great on "Extras!"

I loved how every script he wrote revolved around getting his leading actress naked. :rofl:

[Bucky]

21. "You're not married, you don't have a girlfriend... and you don't watch Star Trek?"

"Good Lord."

[Kutjara]

25. Priceless!

:rofl:

[Fire Walk With Me]

16. He could have simply threatened to sing "Mr. Tambourine Man!" and they'd have done his bidding.

Obviously, they have no perspective on how nice he was being.

[CatWoman]

17. He packed his bags

:)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NN3MGN899yE

[YankeyMCC]

20. People seem to be blowing his reaction out of proportion

I heard him interviewed on Howard Stern recently and what he said there was basically he just doesn't understand why they would pass on including him in some way...just as a practical business decision. Just his presence would certainly improve the draw for most Trek fans and would not deter the "new" audience they think they'll get too.

Abrams approached him first and he said ok, they talked a couple more times, and then it turns out they decided not to use him. Now certainly there might have been something old Billy boy said or did that ticked off someone key involved in casting or producing the new movie but maybe they just decided they didn't want to pay him not thinking the including him would be worth it...and he (and I think he's right) disagrees. I don't think he's overly upset about it at this point given the state of his career these days, he doesn't need to be included - which again makes the point that as a practical business decision his presence would not hurt and probably help the movie...in terms of draw at least.

And this all matches what I've read in terms of confirmed quotes but a lot as has been taken out of full context to make it easy to make it sound like he's ranting.

[Bucky]

22. This new Star Trek is gonna be the best thing since... the "New" Coca Cola!

I smell a box office disaster.