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NOCC: Q and... A with William.... Shatner |
Company: Wizard World
Product: New Orleans Comic Con 2012 Coverage
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William Shatner. The Shat. From his memorable five (plus) year mission as Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the perhaps less memorable T. J. Hooker, Shatner shot the shat with the audience at the New Orleans Comic Con, fielding any and all questions. Given such an opportunity, what would you ask Shatner? Here's highlights from the Q & A session...
The opening question was whether William Shatner had ever hated Captain Kirk. Shatner admitted that it was a two-edged sword; it can be annoying to have everyone quote lines from Star Trek everywhere you go. But, he also pointed out that the role of Captain Kirk led to the existence of the roles of several other starship Captains, as spinoffs led to other spinoffs. In fact, William Shatner worked on making a documentary on the Captains of Star Trek named, simply, "The Captains." Further, he has gotten amazing opportunities that he wouldn't have had without the role of Captain Kirk. He shared with the audience one such amazing opportunity that deeply affected him.
In the course of working on "The Captains," he needed to travel to various places around the globe in order to interview the five other actors who played Star Trek Captains, such as Patrick Stewart in London, and he needed a private plane to streamline the process. When they got a quote on the usage of a private plane, the estimate was around $250,000 USD... which wasn't going to work, since that was about five times the entire budget for the documentary. So, he decided to call an airplane manufacturer, Bombardier, the largest airplane manufacturer in Canada (where Shatner is from) and asked to speak to the CEO of the company. They thought that perhaps he was interested in purchasing a plane, but when the CEO asked what he was calling for, he told him, "I'd like you to get me an airplane for a few weeks and fly me around the world." And the CEO said, "Of course! You're Captain Kirk." |
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Shatner also talked about the 1984 SNL skit where he tells convention-goers to "Get a Life!" At the time, he didn't think much about it; he thought the skit was funny, Gene Roddenberry thought it was funny and they sort of just forgot about it. Years later, when Shatner was signing autographs at a con, he started to wonder why people go to these conventions. As he started looking into it, he had a shocking revelation; they go for each other. Yes, it's great that stars from their favorite shows are there to sign autographs, but they know each other and they use the conventions to check up on each other. It's also a great place to meet new people interested in something you are. Not only that, the people who attend these conventions are all participating in a modern mythological ritual. As Shatner put it, "We, in this civilization, have no mythology, so part of (our response to) the need for mythology is our participation in the mythology of Star Trek and that the heroes, in the Joseph Campbell way of explaining this... the need for heroes is supplied, basically, by the Captains and the act of getting an autograph or buying paraphernalia of Star Trek is participating in the ritual of the mythology."
This revelation led Bill to start a documentary on just who goes to these conventions, entitled, "Fan Addicts." In fact, Shatner was at the New Orleans Comic Con for only one day because he was going back to the Xena Con in Burbank, California to do additional filming and interviewing for Fan Addicts. He said that there was a special feeling of family at these conventions and especially at the Xena convention, where loving relationships of various types abound. The 2012 Xena Con was touted as being the last one, but I noticed they had a poll as to whether it should continue and the results as of this writing, were overwhelmingly in favor of its continuation. |
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There were, of course, lighter moments, when the questions asked were a bit more tongue in cheek, such as:
- Q: Have you really ever "Boldly gone where no man has gone before?"
- Shat: It depends on the woman...
- Q: Which is better, Star Wars or Star Trek?
(Referencing an ongoing YouTube debate between Shatner and Carrie Fisher)- Shat: I thought that her push-up bra was unfair to bring viewers into Star Wars, whereas we had girls in green paint, and bikinis... and short skirts.
- Shat: Will T.J. Hooker ever make a comeback (repeating an asked question)
- Man in Audience: Right after Barbary Coast
Shat: You mock me, sir.
- Q: Out of curiosity, out of all the crew of the original Star Trek Enterprise, who made the food and who made the best drinks?
- Shat: That is the dumbest question... Well, I... I'm sure that some stuff was - I know that there was stuff going on behind the scenes that I was totally unaware of, so there was eating and drinking going on that I wasn't a part of, you know, you hear the gossip...
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When asked who his heroes are, he said that you find your heroes where you can, indicating the policeman standing on the side of the stage, Sergeant Luster of the New Orleans Police Department. However, he also named Billy Crystal, not as a hero, per se, but as a measure of success in the performing of his upcoming one man show. As he put it, "I remember seeing Billy Crystal do his one man show years ago and I was... my jaw dropped open. One guy, on stage - he had some background stuff that was really good and I don't have much, I have some clips, so it's just me telling stories about a horse, my mother, my dad, about Star Trek, of course, about life about death about how grief and humor are two sides of one coin, I mean all that stuff I'm doing in a one man show. But, Billy Crystal was phenomenal in his one man show. So, although not a hero, I will measure myself against him."
I didn't know what to expect of William Shatner in person, expecting that he might actually have a "Get a Life!" attitude. And, mind you, he did show up a bit late, pushing back other events and he had an opening band (Five Year Mission), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Shatner was warm and gracious, entertaining, thought-provoking and quick-witted. I would definitely recommend seeing Shatner in person, whether it be at a convention such as the New Orleans Comic Con or in his upcoming one man show. |
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-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins |
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