After a successful limited theatrical release in March, the feature documentary William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is coming home to video on demand this week.
You Can Call Me Bill on VOD
LegionM, the fan-owned producer of You Can Call Me Bill, has partnered with home entertainment distribution company DECAL for the release of the documentary which will be available everywhere for digital purchase and rental on April 26. The film is now available for preorder on Apple TV and Fandango at Home (previously Vudu).
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is the first official documentary on the legendary actor who first played the iconic role of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek. The widely praised documentary covers Shatner’s entire career and offers deep insights into his worldview and philosophy on a wide range of topics. Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, the doc boasts 86% from critics and 94% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
From You Can Call Me Bill (LegionM)
TrekMovie recently dedicated a podcast to discuss the premiere event in New York as well as reviewing the documentary.
LegionM released a video with highlights from premiere week where Shatner toured the country with the documentary…
And here is the trailer …
For more information on the documentary and updates on its release, visit legionm.com.
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Another of those Shatner Documenations… ;)
Looking forward to seeing this, but I’ll wait until it hits one of the streaming platforms I already pay for every month. No need here for a separate rental charge, I don’t think Mr. Shatner needs the money all that much…. :)
I hope Paramount or Paramount+ get Shatner involved in Star Trek again. Given the 60th Anniversary is on the horizon. It would be a huge missed opportunity if they didn’t . Considering how badly the 50th was handled, I hope they get it right this time.
As big a fan as I am of Shatner’s Kirk, I truly think that ship has sailed, both narratively and for the actor himself.
However, never say never I suppose…
Probably true. I guess I would be happy with him simply hosting some retrospective. Again. [shrugs]
While we’re on the subject of the 60th Anniversary, what I’d really like to see is a dramatization of the making of TOS. Doctor Who did one for their 50th and it was pretty good. About time Trek had one.
Yeah, they messed up the Kelvin movies with a weak installment that lost a ton of money.
I like Shatner, but he’s not acted as Kirk in so long and with Nimoys passing, sadly I don’t think he’d bring much to the table. Unless they remake the deadly years?
Beyond was the last chance to have had Shatner properly back in the franchise, Orci’s script was right there for a potential epic canon shattering anniversary movie about the threat to the kelvin timeline and the return of Prime Kirk (probably like how Wolverine is coming back for Deadpool3, no big deal when time travel is an established thing in the movies universe), expanding/connecting back to the acclaimed 2009 film, and they blew it chasing after Guardians (& Fast/Furious) fools gold: overdone action sequences, lame villain with lame motivations, aliens & starbase straight out of MCU, quirky ‘cool’ humour, rock songs, motor bike stunts. . I’m sure Shatner himself is most likely still scratching his head over how Paramount fubar’d the 50 anniversary movie so bad (relegating him to a photo cameo over a proper guest starring role)
Yup, pretty much spot on there.
This should be revisited for the 60th Anniversary. Especially since it is being labeled as the Final part of the reboot movies.
They could do, Shatner would probably have minimal screen time now though (maybe about same as Nimoy in ST09, I imagine he’d have had alot more in Orci’s ST3) and obviously would have to be defaked/deaged with stand ins etc . And as for the kelvin timeline I doubt it would be erased by the end (but it’d be a shocking surprise if it were!)
What, exactly, are you going to have a 94 or 95 year old actor do when principle photography begins? His action hero days are a distant memory now, and I’m not sure there’s much demand for him to be beeping one for yes or two for no.
That ship has sailed….
Ride a horse
It strikes me as silly whenever someone says this. Kirk died in 1994. A 90-year-old Shatner simply isn’t compatible with the franchise anymore.
I understand your point of view. I think that Shatner is not the average person in their 90’s though and could pull something off if written properly. Plus it’s the 60th and dead characters coming back are a Star trek tradition. That being said It looks like the studio is thinking more along what you are.
I saw in a theater last Month. I was disappointed to be honest. Perhaps I misunderstood what this was, but I was expecting a biographical documentary. What we got was “An Evening with Bill Shatner” where he is basically sitting in a chair, sharing some poignant insights on life interspersed with occasional clips from poetry readings, various TV shows and movies.
Thanks for telling us more about what’s in the documentary; this is a big help in deciding just how eager I am to see it!
Agreed, thanks!
I disagree. To be clear, I completely understand and respect your opinion — this is art after all, so I can love it and you can hate it and we’re both “right”.
That said, what I enjoy most about this doc is the fact that it’s not typical. I found it a lot more poetic and thoughtful than simply a biography. And I thought the director did a wonderful job of interweaving clips from his 7 decade career to illustrate the points being made.
Full disclosure — I’m one of the producers (with Legion M) so I admittedly have a bias. However the Rotten Tomatoes scores from critics (86%) and audience (94%) show I’m not alone.
In any case — thank you very much for coming out to see it in a theater! It means a lot to all those that have worked so hard to get it there. :)
I can’t wait. I’m a huge Bill Shatner fan and I’m looking forward to seeing what he has to say.
I have to say that that trailer was…moving.
Did they ever have a Nimoy documentary?