Abrams talks more Shatner not in Star Trek!
AMCtv has recently talked with J.J. Abrams about the upcoming Star Trek film and discussed why William Shatner is not returning to his role of Captain James T. Kirk:
Q: How do you react to William Shatner’s ire at not having a role in the movie?A: It was very tricky. We actually had written a scene with him in it that was a flashback kind of thing, but the truth is, it didn’t quite feel right. The bigger thing was that he was very vocal that he didn’t want to do a cameo. We tried desperately to put him in the movie, but he was making it very clear that he wanted the movie to focus on him significantly, which, frankly, he deserves. The truth is, the story that we were telling required a certain adherence to the Trek canon and consistency of storytelling. It’s funny — a lot of the people who were proclaiming that he must be in this movie were the same people saying it must adhere to canon. Well, his character died on screen. Maybe a smarter group of filmmakers could have figured out how to resolve that.
Well I used to think that JJ and gang was a bunch of smart filmmakers and if you can take what he says at face value then this is disappointing. I mean has he ever seen an episode of Doctor Who, Buffy, Stargate, hell even LOST has brought people back from the dead and its not that hard to do. This is still makes me think that JJ isn’t being entirely truthful about the Shat being in the film…especially saying crap like wanting to adhere to canon and him dieing on screen. When has that ever stopped you JJ? So believe it or not. I’ll wait till May 2009 to find out!
Personally, I don’t see why Shatner needs to be in this movie. Sure they could find a way to put him in there, but is it really necessary?
Also, this is a feature film we’re talking about here, which is a much smaller canvas than a TV show like Doctor Who or LOST. If your film is already long, and something doesn’t need to be in there, chances are it’s going to get the scissors taken after in it post-production.
If they find a way to get him in there, good for them, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it if he’s totally absent. I’m just gonna sit back, close my eyes, and let JJ do JJ’s thing, and when I open them upon its release, I’ll either praise him or crucify him. Or both.
I am now more keen than ever to see this movie. I think Shatner is a self-involved cretin that wastes both tv and movie screen time.
It’s a blessing he won’t be in the movie.
Shatner is the one of the greatest living Canadians alive to day. IF you disagree, then you are just wrong.
This little blurb does demonstrate that JJ lacks a HIGHER VISION of things. He lacks the ability to think above and beyond his own duties, and this has cost his shows time after time.
The Shat is certainly one of the greatest living Canadians, however my vote for THE greatest living Canadian is reserved for David Cronenberg.
[...] The Set-Up - William Shatner has responded to JJ Abrams in his latest video blog, claiming that nobody ever offered him a cameo. This is a response to the comments Abrams made last week regarding him being in the film. [...]