William Shatner has a message for J.J. Abrams
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Bill Shatner sat down for coffee with the Hero Complex a few days ago and made it clear that he feels left out because he wasn’t invited to be in the new ‘Star Trek’ film. So I was surprised when I read this quote from J.J. Abrams, the director of the new film, who was asked about Shatner’s ire during an interview with AMC.com.
‘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.’
This quote got back to Shatner and he has responded via video in an interview with his daughter, Elizabeth:
Clearly, Shatner is smiling through gritted teeth. He’s trying to chide Abrams but also sweet-talk the director into finding a last-minute spot for him in the film. I don’t think it’s going to happen (principal photography was completed in March) and it’s going to be an awkward situation for Abrams, who certainly doesn’t really need a 77-year-old Shatner in a film that follows young Kirk and his crew in their earliest adventures when they are fresh from Starfleet Academy.
-- Geoff Boucher
July 2008 photo of J.J. Abrams by Dan Steinberg/Associated Press