A very happy 81st birthday to Bill Shatner from all of us! On this illustrious occasion, the William Shatner School of Toupological Studies humbly publishes the following open letter:
March 22nd, 2012
To: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof and Paramount Pictures.
Subject: William Shatner honorary epilogue.
Dear Trek producers,
What if there was a way to honor William Shatner by having him make a very small but significant contribution to the new Star Trek movie currently in production? What if that way presented no storytelling or logistical or financial headaches? Simply put: what if it was win-win all the way?
Here goes...
Why not give the iconic member of the Trek family the opportunity to once again record his famous "Space, the final frontier..." narration at the end of your movie? Remember how Leonard Nimoy got to read the famous narration at the end of The Wrath of Khan? Wait a minute, wasn't Spock dead? What did it mean? One thing, it turns out - it was a nice, touching moment...
On August 10, 1966, Bill Shatner was rushed off the set of Star Trek and into a sound studio to record what would become an iconic coda for a franchise that still flourishes 45 years later. It only took two takes. Add some shots of stars, Alexander Courage's "ping...." and a legendary prologue to endless cosmic adventures was forever seared into the collective imagination.
"Space --- the final frontier. These are the voyages..."
Wouldn't it be a nice little tribute to Bill Shatner to have the actor come in and record that coda again for the very end of the new Trek movie? What will it mean? How will it be explained? That's the beauty of it - as with TWOK it won't have to be. It will just be a very touching nod, a salute, a passing of batons, an awesome moment...
Surely that's a win-win...
William Shatner has reached 81 years of age full of strength and vigor in part thanks to an attitude of always enthusiastically and energetically saying "yes". In that spirit, we humbly offer the above suggestion.
Shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com
Like the idea? Please feel free to link to or copy and paste the letter to your blogs and websites...
#Shatnersepilogue
Thanks!
im hoping they go one better and actually have him in the film as Jum Kirks grandpop - Tiberus Kirk :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Bill! Your toup doesn't look a day over 50!
ReplyDeleteThe 1st Abrams reboot had a scene at the end where old Spock stands off to one side alone, observing. Wouldn't it be nice to edit in Shatner beckoning to Nimoy from the Nexus?
ReplyDeleteI'Am very behind the thought of having, bill play jim kirk shat toup!! It would be only fair. Maybe, he can appear in the latest star trek movie, as spock appeared, in the last movie, as kirks older self helping his much younger self. (Chris pine now looks like shat, when he was, still just about toupless.) another great post.
ReplyDeletewhat about if Shatner played Kirks grandpops - but without the toup? that way itd be like wow it obviosuly isnt old Jim Kirk as the guys bald but would have some of the Kirk like features in the face so youd know he was part of the family line. what a way to finish his movie career!!
ReplyDeleteand if he put in a typical powerhouse performance - full of emotion, regret, etc then its possible shat would be called upon to dust off his tux come oscar time!
Thanks for your comments! One key issue is that with a script locked into place and filming already underway, there's very little chance that a live-action Bill Shatner appearance could or would be incorporated into the movie at this late stage.
ReplyDeleteThe voice-over option, we feel, is perhaps an easily doable and effective move the producers could undertake to bring Bill Shatner into the movie.
-ST
Great idea to have him in the movie, but despite his motto of saying 'yes' to everything, in this case I doubt Shat would say yes to anything less than the type of role Nimoy got in the last movie.
ReplyDeleteI think that's so unfair. bill is captain Kirk, he made that part, and if you count generations played that part on and off from 1965 to 1994. So why is it so hard, to give shatner a role. When they had old Spock, in the last movie, it added so much to the movie, so why not old Kirk? Indeed it would, be quite a nice, thing to have the the old crew back (those who are left alive that is) but alas it's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Shatner putting on a furry, brown costume and playing an actual evil toupee that can attack the enterprise?
ReplyDeleteParamount pictures missed a great chance over the last 20 or so years. Shat at 81 is as vibrant as ever and could easily have played Kirk well into his 60's and 70's. He is by no means an old man and I can only image the great Kirk roles he could have played. Shat Toup, its a well crafted letter, I can picture Abrams reading it thinking its a great idea. The problem when he gets to end and reads "from Shatnerstoupee" might discount the whole idea.
ReplyDeleteNo, the days of Shatner adding something to Star Trek have been long gone. At his age, he just adds nothing of value to Star Trek as it is now. The average man in the street would do as much for a Star Trek movie. He and the rest of us must move on.
ReplyDeleteSluggo, like a poor marksman you keep missing the target! The Toup and Shat are One! There can be no Shattoup without both Shat AND Toup! Without Shat, the toup is just worthless ball of fur that is of no interest to us here. Without the toup, Shat is just an overacting ham. Put them together and you get magic. And that toupological glue is what holds TOS together. Now I could order you to understand this, but I'm not.Toup!!! ShatToup IS our business!
ReplyDeleteNo, unless he wears the JKL toupee, the magic ain't there anymore for Star Trek.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree that the JKL was great but there were some terrific Shatnerian moments in all six movies. If Shat drew all his power from the JKL they would have all been disasters (excluding the ones he directed of course) No my friend, there was magic in the TJ Curly. Maybe not as much as the JKL but it was still there and a force to be reckoned with
ReplyDeleteI have a credible idea to get Shatner in the new star trek film. Chris Pine as the new kirk discovers to his horror his hair is thinning, he is distraught, will women fancy him anymore, will enemies respect him with thinning locks. As a form of a ghost Shatner appears as prime Kirk, reveals his toupee secrets and how he applies his wig. We see Shatner without his wig. The new Kirk feels youthfull and vigourous again. Then the Klingons get wind of this and want to know the secret. The Klingons for years have been battling a receding hair line, thus starts the intergalactic war for Shatners wig
ReplyDelete