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STAR TREK Director J.J. Abrams: We Wrote A Scene For Shatner!! William Shatner: Nobody Told Me!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Both J.J. Abrams and William Shatner acknowledge that Abrams met with Shatner on the set of “Boston Legal” not long before Abrams was announced as director of the new “Star Trek” movie due next summer. But Abrams has long maintained that Shatner’s Jim Kirk will not appear alongside Leonard Nimoy’s Spock in the project.
Now Abrams says the original plan was to include Shatner in the project!
From a “Fringe” interview at AMC.com:
Q: How do you react to William Shatner's ire at not having a role in the movie?
J.J. ABRAMS: 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.
Would a smarter group of filmmakers have written a story in which an aged Spock travels back in time to Kirk’s Starfleet Academy days to avert some sort of Romulan mischief? Would those filmmakers have had Spock (since he’s gone to the trouble of jumping back to Kirk’s youth) maybe hand a Marty McFly note to young Kirk warning him to steer clear of the Enterprise-B’s maiden voyage? Would those filmmakers have shot a scene in which Spock returns to the future to greet a resurrected Kirk sharing a cocktail with Admiral Sulu? Would those smarter filmmakers go to elaborate lengths to keep 77-year-old Shatner’s appearance a secret?
I guess we’ll never know.
Shatner responds to Abrams’ AMC comments:
Dang! Abrams went to the trouble of writing a scene for Kirk, but couldn't be bothered to tell Shatner about it!
C'est la vie, I say!
Well, I'm off to re-watch Julianna Marguilies' last episode of "ER."
J.J. ABRAMS: 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.
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That is all.
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That's too bad.
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we'll see next year
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This Shatner bit is days old. Why no rantings about Spielberg and Jackson getting the wind knocked out of their sails...?
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fuck the shat
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Is that honestly how you would have had them do it, Hercules? Yeesh.
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still... fuck the shat
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...meh!
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He turned it down. Said the role of '70yr old paperboy' was "too cliche."
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Or "ABRAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMSS!!!!!!!!
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"PAUSE" WHY "PAUSE" JJ "PAUSE" WONT "PAUSE" MAKE IT "PAUSE" ALL "PAUSE" ABOUT "PAUSE" ME!
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SPOCK?
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I have to believe that a couple hundred years in the future (which is when even this "young Trek" story takes place, yea?) that they'd simply be able to exhume Kirk's body from his grave, take a DNA sample, and basically clone him so he could live again.
Of course the "slippery slope" I think you're creating with that logic is that you could obviously do that with ANY human being, and what would the rationale in a society be for who gets to be brought back to life and who doesn't. Hell here in 2008 we already have more than enough population overcrowding. -
link link link???
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I, for one, welcome our new JJ Abrams overlord. No seriously, this will be amazing. I've enjoyed everything Abrams has done or been involved in.
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I'd like to underline the fact that this particular slang phrase really irritates me. I'm unsure as to why. And yet it seems appropriate to insert it into this TB. Indeed it does.
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I am really looking forward to his comics! Here is the link:
http://www.bluewaterprod.com
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And less Prima Donna
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Shatner's bizarre explanation of a hypothetical scenario in which the deceased Kirk's "molecules" are reformed in a transporter room was pure comedy gold (in addition to being more than a little cringe inducing). Shat on!
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They write a scene without really informing the actor? Yeah, that speaks volumes about this piece.
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...he wouldn't be there to help Picard.
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Get the fuck over yourself Bill... If you wanted a piece of this so badly why didnt you fork up some of those millions and make it yourself.
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want to appear in a scene written by Kurtzman and Orci? Crazy guy.
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Even Mission Impossible III?
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Saying he's not is just a ploy to fool the internets and keep it a surprise.
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Great idea about slipping him a note not to go on the Enterprise B voyage then the whole shitty ass Next Gen movie era would have never happened.
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.....what ever happened to herc's coen brothers + "it's superman" pitch? did the article get pulled for some reason?
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...May 2009. Plenty of time to set-up a cameo for Kirk. I'm sure they're doing a few 'Pick-ups' between now and release date anyway. Be it as described by Hercules above (which I think would work very nicely) or involving Spock watching some archival footage from Computer Banks featuring Kirk (just before he goes on that faithful voyage of Enterprise B, Kirk can even say; "Hey Spock, they've asked me to do this thing with Enterprise B, what do you think?", or whatever) and himself talking about how they met in the old days, before we actually see that take place with the new cast playing their youngerselves. With all the money and talent at J.J's disposal, they could easily pull this off.
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Sep 20, 2008 4:19:16 PM CDT
I find myself not caring one way or the other
by the rabbit of carrot shaped doom
Whilst I've enjoyed the odd Star Trek here or there, i've never considered myself to be a "Trekkie".Thus I find myself in the position of being able to look forward to this new Star Trek movie but not caring about the inclusion (or the lack of inclusion) of Mr Shatner.I would say that the man's time has come and gone. It does not hurt to dust off the cobwebs and start again sometimes. I am more fearful regarding the fact that this new movie has been written by the imbeciles behind "Transformers" than any current casting issues.
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that the shatner wrote where he brought kirk back to life. the romulans cloned him and used him against the federation, he almost kills geordi and data. wasn't so great. then, next book, he goes to the borg homeworld and blows it up, killing himself in the process. also not so hot. i'm sure jj coulda thought of something better.
and for that matter, he's still in the nexus, they can always just go there to get him back. that being said, there's been plenty of kirk-free trek, and its done just fine without him, i'm sure this will as well. and i'm very excited to see this.
but he does rock in boston legal. . . -
Could Shatner even play Kirk again? I mean the guy has become such a national treasure it might be more weird than nostalgic to see him on the bridge of the Enterprise.
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or am i completely alone on this?
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...and with good reason. All the Universal Execs have done is fed data into a computer about previous mo-capped features like Polar Express & Beowulf, put in how much they cost vs how much they made and guess what?
On top of that; the teenage market is the biggest and how many teens do you know who've heard of Tin Tin?
Hell, I'm 33, love Spielberg, admire Jackson and I have absoloutely no interest in this.
Let it go guys. This ain't the project to combine your talents on. Last time Steve had a partner he came up with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tin Tin ain't gonna be better than that now is it? -
And has a huuuge fanbase in Europe alone. Shame though. But Universal isn't everything, Spielberg will get it financed.
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J.J.A. explicitly states that he wrote a cameo and it wasn't worth presenting it. The idea was shelved. He never said he offered to the Shat. He spared him the silly idea. Whats the reason for this clip, Shat? There's nothing to be defensive about. No one is being untruthful or insensitive. And J.J., you clearly thought Shat was wanting to be a central role--but it seems here he's ok with seeing your ideas for a cameo. DO THE CAMEO! You can figure it out. And Shat. Once again. You did the Kirk Dies movie. Have some finality and respect for that storyline. We paid money to see the end of Kirk It's not a creative issue. People die. It was....fun!
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The Abrams excuses are just lame. This is a Star Trek movie. Like it or not Shatner IS Star Trek. I am not even a big Star Trek geek and I know this! "He doesn't fit into the story that we are making" is such a stupid thing to say. Just make a story (or a small part of it) that he DOES fit into. It's not like its written in stone. I just don't get it. I am all for this new Star Trek movie and am looking forward to it but without the possibility that Shatner may show up as Kirk even for a line or two... it makes the movie less of an actual Trek movie.
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Just as we paid money to see the end of Spock in Star Trek II!
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At the end of the episode that was Juliana M's last ER episode, George Clooney made a surprise cameo.Is Shat giving a sneaky hint or just being a prick, when he says he's going to watch that show?
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Damn You Michael Bay
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To me the WORST offense of the entire pre-STNG ST franchise was bringing Spock back after one of the best, most noble film deaths of a character in film history. After that transgression, every film story involving the old crew lost any kind of relevance or poignancy to me. Bringing Spock back to life was a ridiculous (and absurdly far-fetched), crass, commercial decision.So why not bring Kirk back? The character's death was maudlin and unconvincing anyway. Forgive me for not giving a shit either way.
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I'm sad about the Tintin thing. I want to see Moffat written stuff on the big screen. Even if Spielberg and Jackson direct. Both have disappointed me.
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I thought that was Shat's comment, but I see now it was Herc's. Reading this on my blackberry and the format's all wacky.heh
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Proof is in his post time stamped 04:04:29 PM on 20 September. It is without a doubt the best point to be made in this TB.
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... was one of the most disappointing death sequences I have ever seen on screen. And why did he die? To save the crashed crew he never saw? To save a faceless planet's thousands of lives we never saw on screen? As far as I'm concerned, Picard and Kirk are still riding horses and having Christmas in the Nexus and none of those crappy TNG movies ever got made. How is it possible they could make a decent, movie-lenght final episode for that show, but couldn't create a decent movie for that crew? (No, the "Borgs in the Woods" one was not good. I don't care what other people say, I stand by my opinion.)
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You tell 'em Herc!
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and subsequent resurrection look pretty planned out to me (correct me if im wrong, plese), just look at the last shot in STII, it totally sets up bringing him back. but yes, he did have one of the best, most memorable death scenes in film history (i cried when scotty played the bagpipes, im not ashamed). and as far as trek movies sans shatner, look no further than first contact. AWESOME movie, and the highest grossing trek film ever, if memory serves. Nemesis wasn't too bad either.
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And by that I mean, Shatner plays a pile of bones. I never once thought he was a good actor, nor was I ever crazy about Kirk. Yet his ego is legendary, and decades later he refuses to let go of the role. A reboot is a reboot. Frankly, I don't think Nimoy should have touched this either.
If you're going to violate canon in every way possible, and have new actors with very different takes on the characters, then why saddle one new actor to effectively just do a Nimoy impersonation by including Nimoy in the reboot? -
Sep 20, 2008 5:11:17 PM CDT
Shatner's brilliant series of novels bringing him back...
by iamnicksaicnsn
with the TNG crew should have been made into movies. I know they wanted to distance themselves from TOS, but shit they would have been awesome.
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Sep 20, 2008 5:21:24 PM CDT
"The good Dale is in the lodge. Write it in your diary."...
by danielkurland
You mean, you'd like them to do that sort of thing, right?
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Me, me, me. Money, money, money. Me & money.
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Shatner's ego was too big for this movie. He wanted it to be about him. But that's not what this movie is about. They can't just change the whole thing and make it revolve around William Shatner because he said so.
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Not that I mind the 'spoiler' in this article much - there is no spoiler as far as I'm concerned. Just a 'what if' that never came to be. But DAMN - what is the point of a spoiler tag if you put the entire spoiler in the fucking headline? Just asking. And yeah, Spock pulling a Marty Mcfly would have been awesome. I always kinda assumed the movie would take this route too. Would have made for a killer final scene. Spock returning to the future, meeting up with his friend. A sparkle in both their eyes. A tear in the audience's eyes. Oh well.
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Sep 20, 2008 5:45:36 PM CDT
This is how Kirk could have been included. To Boldly Return...
by toddfluhr
Picture this.
Opening: Spock at last travels to Kirk’s grave to meet Kirk’s surviving friends in a planned private funeral service. (Would be nice if Sulu and other surviving old cast were rendezvousing for their own private service). Sulu asks Spock why he asked him to bring a portable generator, but Spock claims he doesn’t remember including that in his request to his friend,
The Nexus event is still “stringing” through time-space and present in the system.
Due to the proximity of the Nexus, when Time/Reality shifts to a Romulan-dominated universe, Spock and companions are immune in the Nexus anomaly stream. As the time stream adjusts, anomaly bubbles begin to expand and collapse around the Nexus.
It becomes apparent the romulans have used the nexus to travel into the past and kill the younger Kirk.
In a Nexus bubble Spock encounters Kirk’s “consciousness” incarnate: trapped in the Nexus due to his close proximity at the time of his death. Spock and Kirk plan to use Nexus string to travel to the past and stop the Romulans. But just as they are about to step through the bubble, a Romulan strike team arrives and attempts to stop them. Kirk pushes Spock through the bubble and remains in the “future” to cover his friend.
Spock arrives in the “past” and the plot of the film unfolds as written.
When the time-nexus event is averted, the bubble reappears briefly allowing Spock to return to the future, but not before mind-melding with his younger self to “repress” the memories of the Romulan plot.
Spock arrives back in the “future” exactly when he left, and assists as Kirk beats the romulan strike team.
Kirk bids farewell to Spock, but Spock slips his communicator on the essence of Kirk, and immediately instructs Sulu to lock on to the signal and transport. Back at the grave side, Spock uses the transporter to lock onto Kirk’s grave and with extra from the generator combines the essence of Kirk’s soul with the body. Kirk emerges alive from the transporter, and embraces his friends. Spock had left memories in his younger self to have Sulu bring that extra generator for then energy required to restore Kirk.
Kirk says he has boldly gone where no man has gone before, but there is no place he’d rather be in the universe then with his friends.
Now, I bet anyone a buck that with 15 minutes of extra script and footage, I can turn the “prequel” star wars films into an incredible work of art that fits perfectly in every way with the original films. Really. Email me if you’re interested. cfluhr@brother.win.net
- Todd Fluhr
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Sep 20, 2008 5:48:19 PM CDT
This is how Kirk could have been included. To Boldly Return...
by toddfluhr
Picture this.
Opening: Spock at last travels to Kirk’s grave to meet Kirk’s surviving friends in a planned private funeral service. (Would be nice if Sulu and other surviving old cast were rendezvousing for their own private service). Sulu asks Spock why he asked him to bring a portable generator, but Spock claims he doesn’t remember including that in his request to his friend,
The Nexus event is still “stringing” through time-space and present in the system.
Due to the proximity of the Nexus, when Time/Reality shifts to a Romulan-dominated universe, Spock and companions are immune in the Nexus anomaly stream. As the time stream adjusts, anomaly bubbles begin to expand and collapse around the Nexus.
It becomes apparent the romulans have used the nexus to travel into the past and kill the younger Kirk.
In a Nexus bubble Spock encounters Kirk’s “consciousness” incarnate: trapped in the Nexus due to his close proximity at the time of his death. Spock and Kirk plan to use Nexus string to travel to the past and stop the Romulans. But just as they are about to step through the bubble, a Romulan strike team arrives and attempts to stop them. Kirk pushes Spock through the bubble and remains in the “future” to cover his friend.
Spock arrives in the “past” and the plot of the film unfolds as written.
When the time-nexus event is averted, the bubble reappears briefly allowing Spock to return to the future, but not before mind-melding with his younger self to “repress” the memories of the Romulan plot.
Spock arrives back in the “future” exactly when he left, and assists as Kirk beats the romulan strike team.
Kirk bids farewell to Spock, but Spock slips his communicator on the essence of Kirk, and immediately instructs Sulu to lock on to the signal and transport. Back at the grave side, Spock uses the transporter to lock onto Kirk’s grave and with extra from the generator combines the essence of Kirk’s soul with the body. Kirk emerges alive from the transporter, and embraces his friends. Spock had left memories in his younger self to have Sulu bring that extra generator for then energy required to restore Kirk.
Kirk says he has boldly gone where no man has gone before, but there is no place he’d rather be in the universe then with his friends.
Now, I bet anyone a buck that with 15 minutes of extra script and footage, I can turn the “prequel” star wars films into an incredible work of art that fits perfectly in every way with the original films. Really. Email me if you’re interested. cfluhr@brother.win.net
- Todd Fluhr
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Can't film an aging robot I guess.
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I didn't mean to double post: I was trying to get paragraph breaks to work. Apparently I can write anything but proper paragraph breaks here. How are paragraphs broken in these posts?
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I thought MI III was the best of the three. For real.
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Nice way to break down what you heard this movie is about.
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Why should he be in it it's the young crew not try and squeeze the old duffers in again! they already did that to death saving whales and climbing mountain faces with rocket boots and dodgy hair pieces!Shatner my man I'd pay to see you runnin round in a Cop uniform as TJ Hooker the Movie though now that woul dbe funny as fuck!!!
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Think that entitles them to always have a part in it, no matter how many years have passed? Just because I ate at Shakey's last weekend doesn't mean I can walk in there tonight and get my same table back.
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What a dude. Still, cameos' are wierd, I've never really seen a good one (other than Stan Lee in all the comic movies where he's in the background somewhere).
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I never got exactly why it was necessary to see a film legend die on screen in the first place. What purpose did it serve? I was much happier before not even thinking about what happened to Kirk. **** As many posters have demonstrated, Kirk could come back in any of 1,000 different ways. It doesn't take a genius to think of one. Personally, I like the idea of going back into the Nexus and retrieving him. Pretty simple. **** Of course JJ doesn't want to do that. BUT why does the cameo have to happen after Kirk's death? Why can't it happen right before Generations? Like during Kirk's skydiving adventure (as in the book)? **** Let's hope that JJ wises up and begs Shatner to appear. (The real) Kirk and Spock together again one last time would be bliss.
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there's no way Shatner is not in this movie.
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Sep 20, 2008 6:37:31 PM CDT
ohmyGOD ican'tbelieve THAT peoplethinkthat BILLS actingstylework
by samson_k
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first, approached or not, he confirms he would have rejected the idea of a cameo anyway so... moot point really...
MORE IMPORTANTLY some of us are interested in seeing NEW LIFE breathed into this ageing franchise and ok maybe you need a familiar face to tie in the old to the new - but a character who is NOT DEAD is a much easier way to do that - and you only need ONE...
I'll reserve judgement on how FNG does filling The Shat's shoes, but I'm much more interested in watching HIM than the old bastard... -
Shatner got a worldwide posse, yo.
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That's right, Shatner & Campbell. My God, imagine the possibilities...
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Sep 20, 2008 7:08:22 PM CDT
If Bill isn't in this new movie I will piss on the theater floor
by pixelsmack
And then hurl my own feces at the gates of Paramount.
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And probably not just a brief cameo either. Does it not occur to anyone that it's a little odd what lengths Abrams and Shatner are going to not only proclaim that he's not in it, but to really 'sell' that he's not in it. Especially when people stopped asking 'why isn't Shatner in this?' 6 months ago. When someone provides you with an answer to a question that you didn't ask, the answer is obviously ironic. Sort of like if you just pipe up in the middle of a room with 'I didn't steal any money!' and no one actually asked 'who took the money?', it's pretty obvious YOU took the money. And before anyone hits me with a wishful thinking accusation, I'd like to state for the record that I don't give a rats ass about Shatner, to the contrary, I'd rather NOT see his bloated swollen face on screen bobbing up and down under a piece of taxidermy. But marketing subterfuge is what Abrams does, and it's obviously what he and Shatner are doing with all this stuff.
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I disagree with all you have said there by completely nullifying it all. Alias was some of the best tv ever in the first 2 seasons and the 3rd season was pretty damn good too. 4 and 5 stunk but that doesn't mean these guys make show with no substance or style. Pure bullshit im calling on you. Lost also rules, you can't argue with this guys success. Fringe will end up being damn good as well , and yet right now I am not sold on it either to be honest. But anyway fuck off.
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The only reason I have any doubt is they want a wide audience and well the Shat has expanded his fanbase in a huge way since the last star trek movie he was in and is almost a household name these days even to people who could care less about star trek. I would think they would want him and his star power in there for that reason alone. But you could be right as well. Who knows..
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I think it was on Joblo or something. Talk about being late to the party...
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If the Nexus could send Picard back to any time, why the hell didn't he just go back to the time before Soren blew up the observatory, knock his ass out, then tell the crew what happened and lock him up in the brig? But oh no, don't be logical.
And why didn't Soren just shoot himself out of an airlock before the Nexus destroyed the ship he was on? -
It was established the nexus was some sort of transdimensional string spanning time as well as distance. Now, I fully admit the whole Nexus plot sucked worse than a black hole on crack, but I think there's enough wiggle room to say there could be temporal ripples or bubbles by someone using a modified star drive to "ride the fringe" of the nexus and pop out in different time streams / locations. I won't defend the nexus concept, but I will try to work with existing themes and plots to produce something consistent yet cool.
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..when Kirk died, not just because it was a death of a childhood icon, but because of the way he went out, "like some punk" in the immortal words of SLJ, just so damn lamn & nasty! I agree with the above, Abrams is good, but not great & the Shat IS Trek!!!
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You just solved the insolvable problem. That is just perfect. It didn't even have to be something overt- just a simple note handed to Young Jimmy Kirk. No more needed to be said. At the end of the movie, you see an older Kirk. Maybe at the end of the credits. Hell make it an extra on a dvd! DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I know,Shatner wouldn't do a "cameo". But if it erased that ridiculous death, you better believe he would have done it.
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...seperating the saucer section from the body of the Enterprise D, he was one of the last ones leaving & something got stuck, which required some manual leaver action (which was going on in generations in the seperation sequence) then there was a problem with a stuck hatch, Kirk could have saved the next gen crew with an "oh my" on the warp drive section of the D when it blew up (mirroring saving the enterprise B), allowing the saucer section to get away. A better sacrifice methinks!
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1. Hicks & Newt
2. Kirk
3. Darth Maul
(some additional mentions would be welcome) -
Glad you made that ER reference, because up until that point only people who had graduated 8th grade knew what you were implying.
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Laurie Strode: Halloween Resurection
Shepherd Book: Serenity
The Lone Gunmen.
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Sep 20, 2008 9:13:35 PM CDT
Dont forget the 20 minute death scene of "Trinity" in Matrix 3
by mike_d
the whole movie was pretty lame actually.
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He reminds me of that faggot Adam West. He did one damned thing in his whole career and wants to hold on to it forever. Then he gets all hurt when he doesn't get to be a part of the franchise anymore. What a cunt.
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and out of all the actors who wear toupe's, shats is the best....and stop ragging on him
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...as he confidently predicted that Shatner was secretly in the movie. Many knew better.
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Sep 20, 2008 10:05:14 PM CDT
This WREAKS of publicity stunts - Kirk IS in the film
by shiftyeyeddog2
from the very beginning every word from both abrams and shatner has all just seemed like one big misinformation campaign. Theyre hoping to surprise everyone when he DOES show up in the movie. Remember this post and mark my words.
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How can you forget the awesomeness that is "TJ Hooker?"
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Sep 20, 2008 10:13:49 PM CDT
Maybe Kirk fell off that walkway into an abyss with the Balrog..
by captain omega
Kirk/Shats is great. But, he isn't needed for this one. Neither it Nimoy. Just write something good, without gimmicks that play off of TOS actors. Same thing as the Terminator franchise. Same thing as the Alien franchise. You don't need Arnold or Sigourney for a good story. Just write a good story.
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they dropped a bridge on him
And then named the trope after it
He's really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really dead.
Really -
It looks like he was very care not to say that. He just said Shat was very vocal he wouldn't take a cameo, and he still is.
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I would love it if you were right. I really would. But do you remember when they made that PSYCHO remake a few years back? They went to great lengths to say, in the press, that it was a "shot-by-shot" remake. My friends and I were convinced this was all a cover up, because they changed something. Small, big ... I didn't know. That HAD to, right? Who the fuck wants to go see a shot-by-shot remake of PSYCHO?
I went to that movie convinced I'd been hookwinked. And then, when it unfolded exactly as they'd said, SHOT-BY-SHOT, my spirit fell and I felt totally duped. By myself, really.
Maybe this is a similar situation??? -
Next Generation, not counting Generations. DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. There's a hell of a lot more Trek without him than there is with him.
William Shatner is SEVENTY YEARS OLD, he cannot play Kirk any more. And he wouldn't do a cameo, so what the hell do you want? -
Well, maybe you Trekkies can, but I can't. Two words: Denny... Crane...
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As a time traveling Denny Crane! Or they could just bring him out of stasis because they have found the cure to his 'mad cow' disease.
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Sep 21, 2008 12:48:54 AM CDT
"Would a smarter group of filmmakers have written a story ..."
by geekgasm
Whatever the end of that question might have been, the answer is "yes". I wish a smarter group of filmmakers were making this picture. Although in fairness, I really respect that "Fringe" makes such an effort to respect the spirit and canon of "The X-Files". Hopefully they've written a part for a post-sex addict rehab David Duchovny that no one will bother to tell him about. And if we're *really* lucky, Roberto Orci will show up here to make fun of everyone for not assuming they're making the best Star Trek movie ever simply because they say so.
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Dammit, your Vulcan logic has me scratching my head at this flick now. Spock is going back in time to save young Kirk, but he's fine with letting old Kirk die on a shitty planet alone helping someone he met minutes before? When I see the new flick I'll be thinking, "Spock! Tell Kirk to stay off the Enterprise-B!" And I find it odd that Abrahms is bringing up the fact Kirk died on screen when his entire movie is based on saving Kirk from dying. The movie just lost a little something for me.
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Don't remember much from Enterprise, but I remember hearing that Archer's old feeble ass was at the dedication for the NCC-1701 and died shortly afterward. If Pike is in command of the Big E, and they're sticking with the loose storyline from Roddenberry that a Captain Robert April was the original skipper, than there probably won't be any Archer appearance. Of course, the writers will do whatever they want and I have a lot of really useless trivia.
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should be able to write a few fucking Trek films WITHOUT time travel. Especially because initially it was a TV budget shortcut/excuse to use the backlot.
And everyone, writers and fans alike should know that Kirk has died and been cloned a thousand fucking times. It's called the transporter. Those are not the same molecules at the other end. -
Either Kirk is in the film and J.J. is covering tracks or he's not and J.J. is trying to placate frothing idiot Kirk Trekkies. I don't care about the former and would hope he's above the latter. Because frankly Kirk Trekkies can go to hell. The swaggering, paunchy old douche can stay f'n dead for all I care. Kirk can rot in hell with Boba Fett.
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I can't work out if you're awesome for quoting the crappalicious old Hercules cartoon, or a complete moron for the "young people don't know/care about TinTin" idiocy. Based on that logic, no original story/film can succeed, because the audience doesn't already know about it. Whatever.
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Kudos to the director for not giving in to The Shat's whining!
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Will someone fucking talk to Shatner from the fucking ne wmovie about god damn fucking adding him in it for at least 3 minutes so all the fucking fanboys can jerk off and Bill can get his cool million and JJ can be the mother fucking hero of the god damn century with Trekkie fans? FUCK!
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They're setting us up for an actual cameo.
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...erm, again, counting the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. We saw the Shat give it his final go in Generations, now it's Nimoy's time. You don't have to shoehorn them both in, because it really was Kirk/Spock/McCoy in TOS, and you damn well can't give Bones his send off, so give Nimoy a final kick at the can instead. (I'm predicting that Nimoy-Spock will bite it saving the future at the end of this one, by the way.)
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The problem with this project is, noone outside of Trek fandom much cares about Star Trek, its always been uncool.
Trek fans hardly ever go and see Trek films, Abrams knows this, its why he cast from pretty much every popular TV show going, the 'Oh look its Sylar' factor might help, but I don't know ANYONE that even cares about it.
Everytime i've been in the cinema, people groan when the trailer is on, I even heard on guy say 'Oh fuck off, why do they bother with this shit'. Shat or no Shat, noone really cares. -
These days, I think he's better off playing an overweight lecherous egomaniac with possible mental problems, than a dynamic galaxy saving starship captain.
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Here's one to get ya going - Pee Wee Herman in Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
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You're right, I'm awesome. By-the-way, I was quoting Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor and not the old Hercules cartoon. I know more about film than you do, so I'd relax with your views on Tintin. Universal have done the math, maybe you should too.
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I think with the Shat's permission(i.e. send him a paycheck), you could use any previous footage of Kirk and cut and paste it into the film. Have old Spock meet Kirk from the original Series era or something. Remember when they got Elvis to sing with Celine on American Idol? That was awesome!
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Keep the Shat away, make it feel like you are actually starting afresh and not having him turn up and ruin it with his attention whorish ways. Sorry but if he turns out to be in the new movie and all this was just to keep Trekkies second guessing it will blow ass gases in the faces of all those who wanted to keep him dead and buried....Trekkie/Non Trekkie alike.
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Say what you will about Shatner, but you know he plowed the shit out of that girl when that interview was over.
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And then he ate it! That fat fuck...
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that's booze bloat
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Sep 21, 2008 4:41:08 AM CDT
So some goddamn respect you retards. Shatner is a legend.
by harryblackpotter
But JJ was right to move in a different direction with the movie.
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That girl's his daughter dude. Gross,
Oh yeah, Shatner needs to be in this, got to see Kirk & Spock on screen one last time dammit. -
Canada's greatest living actor/ export. Can't be done. Sholdn't be tried. He should be in it...somewhere. Trekkies unite.
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Or travel in time to save him? Star Trek is so goddamned stupid.
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Of course they wouldn't appear together. If this is set long before Kirk was a captain, unless they met in passing anytime during their service, they never met until Kirk was given command of the Enterprise, and Spock was assigned as his first officer even though Kirk wanted his best friend Gary Mitchell, who died in the pilot.
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Seems to be a very bitter person. In every word he speaks, he just sounds bitter. He's a very rich man and he's made a career and life for himself. He should just let it go and move on!
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its shatners world we just live in it. Shatner wanted to do this movie. But abrams said no. Screw you JJ. and I am a lost fan.
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....putting Alec Guiness in The Phantom Menace. Totally fucking pointless. As much as I like Shat and Nimoy, I think a clean break is what's needed. When I heard Nimoy was in this it all sounded a bit hokey.
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and jj said no. then the shat wanted 12 million dollars and JJ still said no. and anyway Kirk is dead. he was killed off in Generations. By Soran. oh and by the way Malcolm McDowell did not deserve the abuse he got for that movie.
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You know, given the latest news elsewhere here on the site, I would have preferred that Paramount said "screw you" to TINTIN and decided to do motion capture and photo likeness work with TREK instead, for something down the road.Seriously, think about it -- couldn't they scan in Shatner's face NOW and then trim the fat off his body? And return him to prime glory? Man, if Paramount was smart they'd call in the Shat and Nimoy and get their faces scanned and get as many vocal tape tracks as they can store up now. I'd love to see a cool epic TREK done up BEOWULF style, but still starring Shatner and Nimoy.As for the new movie, I'm still holding back any judgment till I see the first real trailer. Personally, I don't think Abrams is as great as some make him out to be (I thought MI:3 was utter shit). On the other hand, it would be a nice surprise if this turns out okay. But I would agree with a point that someone made earlier -- if you're not going to have Shatner in this, then I wish Nimoy wasn't in it EITHER. If they wanted to restart TREK as a fresh new franchise then it should have been a clean break entirely, so you buy into it or you don't. Personally, the second I see Nimoy on the screen it's STILL going to pull me out of the movie and make me think "Hey, wait a minute! Shatner's alive too! So why the hell isn't he in this thing too?"Then again, this story is coming from the guys who gave us TRANSFORMERS (and I don't say that as a compliment...)
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The producer is saying he offered Shatner a part to cover his butt with Shatner's fans. He knows with Nimoy there people will want Shatner. They see him on Boston Legal every week. And once the reviewers finish talking about the villain called "Nero", they'll ponder the same question. There's nothing wrong with adding pretty faces and Maxim girls to Trek, but it's hard to see why a time travel movie couldn't include him. He died. Spock died. Heck, if the movie ditches all known Trek history, why does Kirk's death matter.,
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He's looking pretty buff in this video. He actually appears the fittest and healthiest I've seen him look in the last ten years. This could be a tell-tale sign that he got himself in tip-top shape for one last stint as Jim Kirk. These stories from J.J. and Shatner all seem like smoke and mirrors. Also consider that Nimoy is way more picky than Shatner is about Trek movies. If old Spock is in this thing, so is old Kirk. Don't be surprised to see Nichelle, George, and Walter too.
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So where was the scene in the original Psycho that showed Norman Bates jerking off? I don't remember that in Hitchcock's film. It was a "shot for shot" remake in the sense that if they could slip something puerile like some titty shots or Norman stroking his cock, they would. Which doesn't exactly constitute "shot for shot"
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Sep 21, 2008 9:55:40 AM CDT
I think it's completely acceptable for there to be no Shatner.
by rbatty024
Trek needs to move in a different direction, since it's been about a decade or so since it's been any good. The last two series were failures. If they can simultaneously bring the series back to its roots and add something new, then maybe they have a chance of reinvigorating Trek's dead corpse.
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but when I saw the original Psycho I remember them implying heavily that Norman Bates was jerking off when he was watching Janet Leigh through the peephole. Sure, they couldn't be as explicit as the terrible remake, but take another look at Anthony Perkins's expression during that scene. That man was wanking it.
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Sep 21, 2008 10:17:54 AM CDT
People. This movie is supposed to be REboot. It's not about Nimo
by :-o
You are the same people that pay money to see Ozzy in concert aren't you? What. Is. The fascination. With. Yesteryear. Move forward...
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in Futurama ..."Where No Fan Has Gone Before". Admittedly, the death in "Generations" was lame lame lame and in no way befitting a character of Kirk's stature, but David X. Cohen et al gave the whole TOS cast a great coda to end it on. Shatner and Nimoy appearing in this new reboot seems like a cheap plea for legitimacy from the overhyped JJ.
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"... when that interview was over."
That's his daughter, you sicko. -
As well it should be. I like the idea of Spock pulling a Marty McFly-ish move about Kirk's future. Lets all hope they pull it off and everyone has a great time at the movies and are entertained immensely.
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Cuz Kirk's son was queer. "I don't care is my boy WAS some kind of pansy! I love 'im, do ya hear?? I love my dead gay son!"
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I side with those who think there might be a surprise coming, but won't be dejected if there is none. That said, I'm thinking no full-on Shatner of course, but I think we would do in cameo if it was a show-stopper. Perhaps something Spock is able to do in the past (as various posts above have suggested) so at the end of the credits (as in the Pirate movies, Iron Man, etc.), we get a Spock greeting Kirk, alive in the 24th century, some years post-helping Picard (Because if he didn't Soran would've succeeded). Did Spock travel the Veridian to help them....maybe? Did he manage to warn Kirk what would happen and he didn't die in a scaffolding fall? Some more complex, yet workable? As I said, conjecture is fun -- for fanboys and girls of all ages. And those who poo-poo it, please leave the sandbox now and go watch "Gossip Girl" or some other crap like that. Meanwhile, my little boy likes Kirk best and mom can't stand him and goes for Picard. When she told him the actor also plays Professor X, he decided, "well, I like Kirk and Picard." And in a completely different side bar off-topic, my favorite new shirt spotted over the weekend: Pagan, not Palin. Hah!
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"You're dead, Jim".
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It is a little puzzling that one thing never occurred to TPTB... Holodecks!
I think it would've been the most fantastic scene. Open the movie (as we kind of know it does) in the 24th century. As Nero is about to launch his plan, we see Spock sitting down, having a conversation with Shatner-Kirk. As the conversation continues, we begin to wonder... how is clearly this very 24th century Spock talking to Kirk? Isn't he dead? Finally Spock, clearly kind of ruminating over a personal decision in his head and subtly seeking Kirk for guidance in what to do (whether or not to follow Nero into the past to stop what he's doing), resolves himself, bids farewell to Kirk, and heads to the door. He pauses a minute, says -- almost painfully -- "Computer, end program," and the whole simulation ends... as a smiling Shatner-Kirk dissolves.
Cue the rest of the movie.
It seems a no-brainer. -
It makes sense not to put him in a movie.
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They made Kirk tell you about Dish Network right out of STVI, and that was a few years ago (http://www.image-metrics.com/ and http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/movies/15waxm.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Santa%20Monica%20CGI&st=cse&oref=slogin). This is the place to go to reanimate old and dead actors so why not a real Shat-Kirk from his best days as a mid 30-something? With this flick's budget why the hell not????
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Even Leonard Nimoy is on record as saying that the film would be better if William Shatner was in it.
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That he's grown a bit more human in his old age... sentimental. What green-blooded Vulcan would think to recreate his dead best friend on a Holodeck and strike a conversation with him? Moreoever, it'd tell us that absolutely, Spock does miss Kirk.
And folks wouldn't realize it was a Holodeck until the moment Spock says "Computer, end program." -
"The shat wanted 10 million dollars "
Name your source or you made that up.
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Nobody's buying your bullshit you washed up hack. Between running MI & Alias into the ground and now this mumbo jumbo about a part not feeling right. Meh! I'm not a huge Star Trek fan but Kirk WAS ST. Period. And Spock without Kirk in a flashback movie??? Guy if you're going to bullshit tne entire ST fanbase, at least come up with something a little more convincing haha. Whatever, fuck this movie and fuck you. This is gonna go down with that god awful Enterprise series. Either way I'll waster my 10$ on Netflix. Just wanted throw in a useless 2 cents on this talkback haha. Adios......
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I think CrankyOldGuy above might actually have it right. Yes, all this Abrams/Shatner stuff going back and forth is merely just a fun ploy to tease the fans. So here's what will ultimately happen...The movie starts with Nimoy/Spock realizing the Kirk assassination plot and thus he makes his cameo in order to time travel back and warn younger new guy Spock...The new cast then goes about the movie doing its thing...Nero is defeated, time (and Kirk) are saved...Credits Roll...And then at the end, ala the Samuel L. Jackson scene in IRON MAN, we'll see Spock talking to a very alive Shatner/Kirk. In fact, maybe because of this time traveling adventure and it's repercussions, JJ and crew can even send a big "fuck you" to GENERATIONS by stating that Kirk never died at all and that particular movie never took place. Hell, if they were bold enough to do THAT I'd actually clap and cheer in the theater!
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I stopped watching star trek when time travel became routine and that whole "Nexus" bit was used for all sorts of dumb gimmicks.
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and then drop an even bigger bridge on him
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Sep 21, 2008 10:19:53 PM CDT
I love that link to Shatner. Note for note what I thought he wou
by stormwatcher
which means i gave this forward thought. I bet its subturfuge, probably not spelled that way though, JJ should direct the penultumate episode of Lost and then Jack Bender directs the last hour, would be fitting. Damn I miss Lost
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If you knew more you'd be quoting the original Lewis version or the cartoon. ;)
"Universal have done the math". Is that supposed to be reasoning? Because this is the whole braindead argument I'm talking about. If everyone "did the math" then Paramount (here's the irony) would have pulled the plug on Titanic. Because Cameron went 100 MILLION OVER budget (double basically), and that was back in the nineties. If you remember (obviously not as you quote the Murphy version of NP rather than the Lewis - I guess you're too young), there was a week where it all came to a head before progressing with Fox. And following that supposedly responsible line of reasoning, they would have not only been over 100 million in the hole with no film, they would also not have shared (with Fox) almost 2 BILLION in receipts (and who knows how much on home video). So that tells you how rubbery "doing the math" is and how nobody knows anything, as the Hollywood saying goes. I bring Titanic up because all the idiot fanboys argued the same old "we know the ending", "they already made this", and "WHO iS INTERESTED IN THIS" (to which the answer is teenage girls along with ironically the widest demographic ever, obviously not including talkbackers) inanities. Note I never said anything about whether Titanic is 'good', just threw your math thing back to you.
And if we listened to you guys with your "who cares" and "we know the ending" we never would have got things like Lawrence, or any other Lean movies for that matter. Or Star Wars. This is the problem with thinking like suits. You get lowest common denominator shit that you already had, and almost no chance for art. Remember how film is art?
Besides, if you're on that tack, I'm not American and I do like Tintin. Cheers mate. -
" Would those filmmakers have had Spock (since he’s gone to the trouble of jumping back to Kirk’s youth) maybe hand a Marty McFly note to young Kirk warning him to steer clear of the Enterprise-B’s maiden voyage?"
If you really want to talk continuity here, then no, as his "death" on the Enterprise B is necessary for Generations to turn out well for Picard and crew. -
Artificial conflict created to sell more tickets upon resolution. Shat will be in it. I wouldn't be surprised if they CGI Deforest Kelly one last time either. There are three reasons to enjoy TOS, remember? BTW There's been some great sequence pitches on this site lately. Fanboys aren't as dumb as you think.
-End of Line. -
..but I say bullocks to Shatner in the new movie. It's like Shatner is the Scott Baio of Star Trek and no new Trek material can be made without him fucking it first. I love the guy but let it go Bill, I still maintain the only true Trek is OS and everything else is just merchandising, but there's a whole generation out there that won't watch the old series no matter how much you tart up the effects, breaks my heart but it's true. In with the new, give someone else a shot, couldn't be any worse than Rick Berman.
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Err, bullocks?
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The Jesus. The Shattner. And the Chachi. Why don't you guys know this? Sure the "Don't fuck with Chachi" part was added in the last 30 years but does that make it any less significant?
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Sep 22, 2008 2:07:50 PM CDT
optimus122: "Agent Johnson is right!!!" (after "Blazing Saddles"
by mbeemer
I disagree with all you have said there by completely nullifying it all. Alias was some of the best tv ever in the first 2 seasons and the 3rd season was pretty damn good too. 4 and 5 stunk but that doesn't mean these guys make show with no substance or style."
The only problem with that is that in the beginning Abrams claimed to have the whole thing plotted out on a basic level - ALL THE WAY TO THE END - and was only adding the specifics
as he began each season to keep it fresh. As time went on, it because clear that he was making it up as he went along, resulting in a muddled confused mess. Either he had a plan or he didn't, and it appears that he didn't. "Alias" showed such promise early on that the disappointing realization that the emperor had no clothes has soured me on all of the (heavily-hyped) projects he has done since.
Not sayin' it can't be good, but I'll wait to until I hear that instead of running out to see it with eager expectations. -
classic, just made me laugh.
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Master of Minutae! Can you even misspell slang? is that possible? I've seen it spelled both ways, I guess I've never cared enough to determine which was correct, but now I know and when the next blue moon wanes and I use the term again I'll come correct.
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...Half Vader has a point. HF, I am very impressed with your response. I thought I knew some stuff but you have shown me the error of my ways. Never again shall I cross swords with you on the subject of Jerry Lewis, Hergé, James Cameron or anybody else. You have proved yourself more than worthy an adversary. My hat's off to you.
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Hire James Horner to do the Soundtrack, I beg of you!
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