Comments on: Grunberg Wants To Be Vulcan – Says Trek XI Script Almost Done

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:00:29 +0000

#56 Buckaroohawk
You bring up some good points. Personally, I enjoyed Brandon Routh’s performance as the Man of Steel. Where I had problems with that movie was the stupid plot. Once again having Luthor attempting to score big in real estate? Boring and insipid! How about Brainiac trying to conquer the world and showing off the city of Kandor to Supes? Now that we could get our teeth into. As to Kirk, there must be an unknown out there who would be perfect for this opportunity. Just surround him with a great cast backed up by a killer script! There are always possibilities…

By: Buckaroohawk

Buckaroohawk — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 07:13:16 +0000

Michael,

Consider any and all potential axes buried. I prefer carrying an olive branch anyway. They’re a lot lighter.

Anyway, on to your question. For me, the actor chosen to play Kirk doesn’t have to look so much like Shatner as he has to be able to portray the kind of person Kirk was (or is, or will be…whatever). Beyond being a male with short, medium brown hair and brown eyes, he doesn’t need to be a spot-on likeness for me to buy into him as James T. if he can bring the character I know to life. On the other hand, I want the actor to bring something new to the role as well. The problem I had with Brandon Routh in “Superman Returns” is that he was trying too hard to be Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent and Superman. He didn’t (or wasn’t allowed to) put anything new to the role, and the film suffered for it. Whoever becomes Kirk v2.0 needs to have the courage (and talent) to be the Kirk we all know, plus a little bit more. A daunting task to be sure, but not an impossible one.

All this talk reminds me of a mock movie poster I made in PhotoShop about six years ago for a faux movie that re-cast the original crew with new actors. At the time, I chose Casper van Dien as Kirk, Billy Zane as Spock, and Ron Livingston as McCoy. I don’t think those choices would hold up today, but at the time it seemed to work. I’ll have to dig through my archives to see if I can find it.

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:44:16 +0000

#54 Buckaroohawk
Nicely put! Before we all get our “knickers in a knot ” let’s all remember (what you quite rightly point out) that this is simply a forum to express our opinions, subjective as they are. I also love when we chat about all things Trek so I apologize for taking this discussion off on a needless tangent. If people love different actors for different reasons, so be it. It would be a pretty boring world if we all felt the same way. Now, back to the point at hand. I’ve been burning up brain cells trying to think of a suitable actor to play a young James Kirk, so far nada. Do you think it’s possible that they can find a mucho talented unknown actor who bears a striking resemblance to Shatner in his youth? Thoughts?

By: Buckaroohawk

Buckaroohawk — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:32:56 +0000

Indeed, I was incorrect regarding which film Wayne won his Oscar for. Mea Culpa. I didn’t, however, say that Cruise won anything for “Born on the Fourth of July.” I used that as an example of his acting ability, nothing more.

This all falls into the area of opinion anyway. Mr. Appleton doesn’t appreciate John Wayne’s work. I do. No big deal. He may well know a great deal more about filmmaking than I do, as well. I’m no slouch, but there are plenty of people who are far more educated than I.

I was just trying to show Mr. Appleton that there are some with a differing viewpoint on certain issues and back up my stance as best I could. I never for a moment believed I would change his mind about anything. Why should I? Anybody who can manage to use the phrase “Tom Cruise; a talentless f**k” so cleverly obviously has much greater wisdom than I about what makes a good acting performance.

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 05:26:12 +0000

#45 and 52 Xai
You say, “a few here haven’t seen (John Wayne) the body of work and are ill-informed”. On the contrary. I HAVE suffered through Mr. Wayne’s body of work (kept waiting for it to get better, but to no avail) so I’d say you’re the one making sweeping assumptions, not me. I then, quite rightly, pointed out how your pal Buckeroohawk was wrong on the simple facts in his therefore flawed argument. My facts were correct and his were incorrect and that makes me the bad guy? My we’re getting pissy, aren’t we?

By: Xai

Xai — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:03:16 +0000

#50… how do you KNOW you’ve forgotten more about film than someone else? Do you know Buckaroo… or me? Don’t make claims you can’t back up.
And it’s time to step BACK… to Grunberg and his possible Trek casting.

By: Canonista the Cultist

Canonista the Cultist — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:47:18 +0000

OMFG…This is the sensitive guy from Felicity…Wait a minute…all of them were sensitive guys on Felicity….

Oh well…I hope “Felicity Trek” brings in that “mainstream audience” Paramount is banking on. Don’t quite see him as a “blood and guts” action guy..so maybe that’s a good sign for fans.

By: Michael Appleton

Michael Appleton — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:49:53 +0000

#46 Buckaroohawk
Oh, puhleease…I’ve forgotten more about film then you’ll ever know in your lifetime! John Wayne won the Oscar(undeservedly) for True Grit (1969), not The Shootist. As to Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July, don’t make me laugh! That was 1989 and Daniel Day Lewis (a REAL actor!) won the Oscar that year for his brilliant performance in My Left Foot.
It’s absurd in the extreme to try to hold up Mr. Cruise’s posturing, mechanical one note performance (of someone in a wheelchair) against Daniel Day Lewis’s brilliant acting. Of course, ever since Art Carney won the Oscar for Harry and Tonto beating out Jack Nicolson in The Last Detail, the Oscars have lost all meaning anyway. Awards aren’t the point, it’s the quality of the acting craft itself. Get it through your skull, just because someone is a “big name”, doesn’t necessarily make them a good actor! Nuff said!

By: Trevok

Trevok — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:00:24 +0000

33 does the phrase those that can do, those that can’t critisise, mean anything to you.
John Wayne made 172 movies how many have you made?

By: Orbitalic

Orbitalic — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:54:58 +0000

#20 Bobby…. “Treak is great “… Trek is too.
The naysayers here are outnumbered… but their opinion has to be heard too.