Video Clips From Shatner’s Live Chat

Last week William Shatner participated in a live webchat on PalTalk.com. The first question he was given was actually chosen from the talkback in the TrekMovie.com talkback article announcing the event. Below is the answer to that question and a couple of other Trek related clips.

Congrats to Classic trek (aka Greg from Wiltshire) for getting your question picked. I chose the question because it mentioned Roddenberry and I thought that Shatner might talk about Gene, but unfortunately he took a pass on that angle. There were many other great suggestions and I want to thank everyone who put forward a question. Hopefully there will be other opportunities to have TrekMovie.com chats with Trek celebs.

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Numero Uno! Shat is the BEST

The Shat didn’t know Roddenberry very well? Doesn’t that seem odd?

He’s definitely lost weight, and if he wasn’t involved in some way, he’d say SOMETHING about what he and J.J. talked about.

Best to leave Old Kirk out of the new movie, otherwise his ressurection will HAVE to be the focus of the movie ( ala Spock’s resurrection in Search For Spock ), it would be too important an event to be a footnote.

As this new Star Trek is a kind of ‘soft’ reboot, so better that the film isn’t also bogged down with revolving around older Kirk or how he might ( purely speculative ) be returned from the dead….

We’ve got Leonard Nimoy – which is fantastic, and far beyond my expectations anyway, we don’t also right now NEED Shatner in this one too…

I DON’T want to start up the whole Shat thing with the movie again. I’d just like to add, that in 10 years or so I think that ‘Maybe’…just ‘Maybe’..the powers that be, will realize the missed oportunity of NOT having TheShat in their movie. There I said It.

Shatner talked at some length in his autobiography about the fact that he really didn’t know Rodenberry well.

5 ) There’s always Star Trek 2 ( 12 / XII )….?

#5 I don’t think that will happen. If they had a clue about what they are doing there would already be at least the slightest inclusion of Shat, if not an out-right original direction on the production. They think they are playing it safe for both a desire to bring in a new fan base, and an endorsement of the existing one. But much like B&B the next line of excuses after this failure will never be an admission to that… they will again blame the fans too.

My wife and I were watching Boston Legal a while back. She commented to me that if TheShat were to lose 30-40pounds He’d Look like Kirk from the last few Trek Films..I agree. I think that he should do it! If only as a New Years Resoulution. Happy Holidays All–and Happy New Year!

Derek

Well that was CRAP.

Well done Greg! Another Moonraking Trek fan here (from Swindon).
Where abouts are you Greg?

Darn it, Bill. Shut up. Just… shut up. And here I was cheering for you, and you went off rambling about how you’re not in the movie.

Shatner does not need to have inside information about the plot of the film to answer the question. He was asked “what do you think about [this movie]…relaunching the original characters”…

…It’s irrelevant what he talked with Abrams about. I’m sure Shatner has an opinion about going back to the TOS characters, just like I have an opinion, even though I have no inside information either. So, what the heck was his response all about? Couldn’t he just answer the question posed to him?

#16 he obviously answered the way he chose! Jeez, the Shat makes himself available to people (more than any other Trek actor) and they bitch cos they don’t like his answers!
Unbelievable.

11. You said it.

Again, Nothing new here. I love the Shat but this stuff is getting old.

Hmmm, that’s odd … I didn’t hear any whining or hoping the film would bomb in those clips. They must’ve edited those parts out to save Bill’s remaining scraps of dignity! Where is intrepid KGMB reporter “Sunrise” when we need him/her/it?

12:

I rest my case. Once again, Shatner is asked about the movie (by someone in these talkbacks might I add) and once again, he’s told he needs to stop talking about it (by someone in these talkbacks might I add).

“But…but…he wasn’t asked about being in the movie! He won’t shut up about it!”

Please. He was asked to speculate about what a dead guy would think about a movie that Shatner himself is not involved with, has no connection with, and so he all he could say is that “I have no idea, I’m not in it, I’m not involved with it. I’m not Roddenberry in case you haven’t noticed. Next question.”

Here’s a thought. How about everybody stop asking him about the movie, and then we see if he shuts up or not? That’s just crazy enough to work! After that we can complain all we like about him beating off on a dead tribble, or whatever that phrase was…

#14.

He was asked a simple question…”what do you think about this film going back to Star Trek’s roots” [paraphrased].
Shat’s response?: “I don’t know…I’m not in it” [paraphrased].

How does “I’m not in it” have anything to do with the original question. he does need to be part of the film to answer that question. How can you consider that making himself available to the public. Going by this video, his idea of making himself available is just a one way street.

He’s not making himself available, he’s just “granting them an audience”. Those are two different things.

That lady asking the questions is niiiice.

and i thought we were not supposed to ask anything about the new movie… that’s why i asked something different – and now a movie question was picked :(

#20 agreed, but as o’brien once told doctor bashir, “you do realise she’s using you to get to me” ;)

The Shat is the man.

#4 not if the plot of the movie is about Spock saving Captain Kirk from death in an altenative timeline– its entirely meaningful that he would return at the end. Kirk’s generations death was an alternate timeline (the original timeline picard failed to stop soran). To put history back to the correct timeline Kirk would have to live through both deaths. It is the only logical thing to do.

Personally, I think it’s rather silly to ask one famous person what they think another (deceased) famous person would think about some new development regarding something they worked on together some 40 years before………..Sheesh!

There were many better questions posted that could have been asked!

WOW! what an honour this was! my xmas present has certainly come early. what a fantatsic suprise to get my question put to william shatner. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
im totally blown away. good to see william shatner again as ever.
thanks again
Greg
wiltshire
UK
ps ive only watched it tem times so far!!!

#19 “He’s not making himself available, he’s just ‘granting them an audience’”.

Gosh, you’re right. Where were Bill’s manners? He should’ve invited everyone who asked a question over to his ranch to ride his horses, slept on the couch so they could all have his bedroom, and woke up early to make scrambled eggs & Canadian bacon for them. What a stuck-up jerk.

(rolls eyes and sighs)

From reading Shatner’s “Star Trek: Movie Memories,” my impression of Shatner’s impression of Gene Roddenberry is that he considered the revered Star Trek visionary, in his latter years, little more than a curmudgeonly, old kook who sat cloistered in his office, smoking Camel Unfiltered cigarettes and sending out ineffectual memos to the producers and directors of whatever Trek movie was being made at the time.

So, perhaps Shatner saying that he “didn’t know Gene Roddenberry very well” was his application of the mothers’ proverb: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

On the lighter side, man, that PalTalk interviewer was HOT. I’m not claiming to have seen anything, but if I had to guess, I’d say that she gave Shatner’s trousers a warp factor of at least 4.

I love you, PalTalk interviewer.

Good on you, Clasic trek! Too bad Shatner didn’t see fit to answering your question properly, as it was a good one and deserved a better response.

Didn’t know Roddenberry very well? That is kind of odd.

He’s really losing weight. Back into Kirk form!

I sense we’ll see at least one more shoulder-roll from Kirk-Shatner!

People might miss that this is a whole CHAIN of 3 interview responses, and not just a response to Classic trek’s questions…

The third vignette where he compares the Academy book he’s just written against the Abrams approach to pre-TOS Enterprise was fascinating…

I won’t be surprised if Orci’s constant reference to the novels being sometimes-useful-canon isn’t a veiled reference to the Abrams team having read Shatner’s latest novel, and basing some elements of young Kirk and Spock on it.

I was previously not interested in seeing Shatner involved, but after that third segment there, I think it would be wise to involve him: if anything as a consulting producer. He has had plenty of great ideas about Kirk’s history and background and motivations, all of which could still be useful as future films follow from this one.

He just looks thinner because he’s wearing a black shirt. If he was wearing a light colored shirt, then you would be able to see more of his girth. It’s common fasion sense that most of us girls know about.

#25 Classic Trek – “ps ive only watched it tem times so far!!!”
LOL – that’s cute.

thank you THX im glad you liked my question. i thought he might have had a view on what roddenberry would have made of this ‘relaunch’. after all it is his original vision that they are reworking to revitalise the franchise.

also i wondered what he thought of the old characters being resurrected in a prequal to the original voyages. i think i avoided the ‘are you in it’ question which he must be tired of by now.

i know he didnt aswer the question as it were but it was an honour to get picked and im thrilled to bits. still cant believe it. there were other great questions but i just got really lucky. hey i made bill laugh too! i think he looks great.

#29 id love to see one more of those shoulder rolls from the shat
#11 zoom- thanks for your kind words
cheers everyone for your kind comments
greg
UK

#26.

I don’t expect him to invite fans over for dinner. But if he SAYS he is going to answer a question, then maybe he should LISTEN to the question and actually answer it in a valid manner. It’s the polite thing to do.

I’m not saying that he is too stuck up to answer the question, but he obviously has “I’m not in it” so engrained in his brain that he can’t even answer an unrelated question without that idea getting in the way.

Maybe this is all part of some Abrams/Shatner ruse, and the Shat (being the ham that he is) is overplaying his part of the ruse — but even if that’s the case, I find it very impolite to elicit questions, then decide to answer in such a way that ignores the original question, and only advances his own agenda.

He looks like he’s about to have a heart attack.

Seriously, these are telling signs. The man needs to see a cardiologist, and soon.

Congratulations, Greg!

Well done. :-)

Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|

Well, since Greg won and by winning showed that Shat won’t really answer any questions — at least not in a way most people who are not Shat can understand — then to Greg goes all the glory!

Wow. I think Shat is running for president, we just don’t know it yet.

There’s your Shatner not giving a shat about your question because he has a big ego and hes not in the film.
:).

His big ego is whats keeping him alive, without it he’d be long dead.

Yep he’s losing weight. You can see it in Boston Legal as well.

Looking good better at 76 than many I know half his age, can’t wait to see him in the movie!

#18- Well said, in fact it’s worthy of being repeated:

“Please. He was asked to speculate about what a dead guy would think about a movie that Shatner himself is not involved with, has no connection with, and so he all he could say is that “I have no idea, I’m not in it, I’m not involved with it. I’m not Roddenberry in case you haven’t noticed. Next question.”

Some of you people REALLY need to unload your Shatner baggage. The constant attacks to try and tear him down are pretty sad.

Shatner always looks like he’s about to throw up, not just this interview but in many I’ve seen the past 5 or 6 years, anyone else notice it?

Hey, Shatner says he’s not in the movie! That’s fascinating! Did anybody know that? :-)

Greg, congrats to you!

Yes, unfortunately, Bill Shatner didn’t really answer your question, but as I understand it he didn’t want to comment on the relation the movie might bear to Roddenberry’s vision as he actually doesn’t know anything about the film’s real intention or direction yet. IMO, this is quite comprehensible.

#41

He’s been looking like that for 5 or 6 years and still hasn’t done it in public? Amazing resisting power!

But I’m a bit worried about you – you must be quite enfeebled from that kind of record keeping for the last 5 or 6 years.

43. About as enfeebled as any poster on this board who can’t quit posting on how much Shatner should be in the new movie.

the vulcanista #35
cmdrR #36
thank you both very much

iowa girl#43 thanks to you too. really appreciate it. yes it was a pity he didnt really address the question i think if he had it would have been very interesting. however as you can imagine im thrilled to have been able to ask him anything!! watched it about 100 times!! have to pinch myself too!

i think he looks great. there was post on here which said that in ten years time on reflection (if shatner isnt in this film) it will looked at as a missed opportuinity. i agree with that comment.

thanks again
greg
UK

#40 “Some of you people REALLY need to unload your Shatner baggage. The constant attacks to try and tear him down are pretty sad.”

Very. Speaking of which …

#41 … Maybe he’s been reading your posts?

#44
Maybe right – on the other hand, positive posting in favour of somebody you wholeheartedly support might turn out to be less wasting.

Anyway, we’ll wait and see who’s gonna throw up first.

#45
See to it that the replay button is functional all the time! ;-)

And I, too, agree to the term “missed opportunity”, should the answer be no.

You go Iowagirl!

HERE’S A GREAT IDEA!!!:

Going to the end of the movie, The Old Spock mind melds with the New Spock about Kirk’s death. Then, in the next scene, we revisit the “Generations” ending that as Kirk was about to fall, Spock appears and catches him!!! Kirk was surprised to see Spock, and Spock tells him candidly, “You should not have been alone.” That would send the entire crowd in a joyous uproar. Remember, in Star Trek, anything is possible.

iowa girl
LOL
my replay button is getting worn out!!!

glad you agree- this film without shatner will almost definately be deemed a missed opportunity on reflection in years to come. im so excited about this new movie. i really am and not since star trek 6 have been excited about a trek movie. ive not enjoyed any of the ‘trek’ series which followed the original one. i know they found their own fan base but the only thing i was ever interested in was classic trek.

i never thought i would be seeing kirk spock and mcCoy etc with different people playing the parts. im open minded about that – as much as i love shatner, nimoy and the rest who i regard as LEGENDS. but trek needs this-badly. i think the whole franchise lost its way so its good to see trek ‘come home’.

cheers
greg
UK