Slashdot Mirror
William Shatner Replies
1) your reputation
by tps12
I happened to have seen both of your Twilight Zone episodes (the famous "something on the wing of the airplane" one and the less-famous-but-no-less-interesting one where you are obsessed with a prophecy-dispensing toy in a diner) recently. I have to say that in both episodes I was taken aback at the unexpected quality of your portrayal. Even though everyone associates your face with Captain Kirk, the characters in the TZ episodes came through loud and clear, drowning out my preconceptions.
For this reason, I'd like to ask what you think of your humorous reputation for bad acting. Would you blame some of the egregious hamminess of some of ST on the perception that TV (or SF) wasn't "real" acting or was it directing? Or some other thing?
Bill:
Of course, I don't hear the bad reviews or see them. All I know is the glowing notices that people read to me that some reviewer thinks I'm wonderful. So I've slowly come to think that I'm wonderful.
2) Favourite Parody
by hero
Star Trek has been parodied many times in many different formats; other television shows, movies, comics and so on. You yourself have probably been parodied as much or more in people's "Captain Kirk Impression" stand up skits and the like. My question is, do you recall a favourite parody for its comedy or cleverness of either yourself or the series?
Bill:
I think John Belushi probably did the best.
3) First Interracial Kiss
by Irvu
What was it like to do the first on-screen interracial kiss? How much effort did it take to make the studio go along with it, and how much of an effect did it have on you and the show as a whole?
Bill:
I think the whole interracial kiss thing has been overrated. Nichelle Nichols was a beautiful woman and her lips were full. I merely sought to make an impression.
4) Saturday Night Live
by billmaly
Years ago, when you hosted SNL, you participated in the now classic Trekkie sketch (actually, one of my all time favorite SNL sketches).
Was that sketch a catharsis for you, a means of finally casting off some chains and letting the world know what you think and feel, or was it just a sketch? I am not dissing you, your work, or Trek fans, but, let's be honest here, some people do need to, in your words, "Get a life!". Do you/did you feel that way, or was it just an act? Come on, be honest..... :)
Bill:
Ok, I'll be honest. It was a laugh. Pure & simple. You should have at least been mildly amused. It seems to me that you need to get a life.
5) MPAA
by jhines0042
Concerning the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Do you consider them to be a boon or a bane to actors and actressess?
Bill:
Actually, I don't think that actors think much about MPAA. They're more concerned about AARP.
6) Galaxy Quest
by vrone
I will preface this by saying I am a mild trekkie and as such, I immensely enjoyed the 1999 film Galaxy Quest.
I think everyone who has seen Galaxy Quest will agree that the show that it is based upon is, in essence, "Star Trek". It follows that Tim Allen's Character was essentially meant to be you.
So my two part question is this: Did you enjoy the show, and, how accurate was their portrayal of life after Trek?
Bill:
Yes, I enjoyed it. I think Tim Allen was very funny. As for accuracy, not at all.
7) Time at McGill
by peg0cjs
It's fairly well known (at least here in Canada) that you attended McGill University for some time. They even went so far as to rename the Student Union building the Shatner Building.
I've heard that you were invited to the renaming ceremony, but refused to attend. I've also heard that you generally speak very poorly of your time at McGill. What was it about McGill that was so dreadful/horrible/annoying/etc that has made you so sour on the subject?
Bill:
Oh Contrare. That's French, in case you need it, for 'to the contrary.' I had a great time at McGill. I did go to a ceremony at the student union building and my feeling about McGill is that it's a great university and it produced many great students. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.
8) Nerine Shatner Memorial Fund
by Tsar
After the tragic and untimely death of your wife Nerine, a recovering alcoholic, you took the courageous step of establishing a fund in her name to benefit Friendly House, an organization for recovering alcoholics. How is that work progressing, and has your involvement with this effort helped you work through this loss?
I know that this subject must be painful for you, but I'm sure there are many in the slashdot community who would benefit from your experience and insights here.
Bill:
Thank you for asking about Nerine's fund. It benefits a rehabilitation place called Friendly House. They do wonderful work. Nerine has a rehabilitation home with her name on it and my hope and sympathy is for these recovering women.
9) Seriously...are we cool?
by CleverNickName
Hey Bill,
Are we cool, or what? I mean, I always thought you didn't like me, but I had a good time with you at Weakest Link watching the World Series.
So are we cool, or was that just pre-game strategy?
Wil
Bill:
Dear Will,
We are so cool, we're beyond cool. We are in orbit man. I don't do pre-game strategy.
I look forward to some personal time with you.
10) The balance between Hollywood and Real Life
by Geek In Training
As a normal everyday guy from Canada, it seems hard for "the public" to grasp the diparity between "Bill Shatner, age 61, three adult children, loves horses" and "Actor/Singer/Producer/Writer William Shatner blah blah blah fourth wife ... blah blah blah personal tragedy .... blah blah blah inside scoop" that Hollywood and the Tabloid press seem to turn everyone's life into.
At the end of the day, has the fame been worth the price? Is knowing that you've raised three daughters and entertained people for several decades worth the cost of your privacy? Do you feel that overall, you've gotten a fair shake, even after all the public airings of your alleged failings as a person? Are you going to continue to live in the limelight during your golden years, or settle in and call it good, letting the cards land where they may?
Do you feel you've finished your professional legacy and are ready to leave it for media history, or do you fret over whether or not that legacy is "good enough?" And the same regarding your personal legacy as a man, a husband, a father, a son? What advice can you give to others so that they don't have any regrets?
Bill:
Regret is the worst of human emotions. There is no going back with regret. There is no future with regret. Regret is not something I live with. If there is something I wished I hadn't done, I don't do it anymore or I forgive myself and try better.
My life is my statement and I try to be true to myself and thusly to other people. Whatever my failings are, they are human and I try to perfect it each day.
Oh Contrare. That's French
:-)
He actually misspelled "Au contraire".
But I appreciate he suggest some slashdotter to "get a life"
Trolling using another account since 2005.
...William Shatner Replies to You!
I'm amazed no-one asked about his singing career.
Although I guess that his cover of 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' is a crime against sound that we're all trying *very* hard to forget...
-Blacklaw
Is it amazingly cool or amazingly sad that Mssrs. Shatner and Wheaton communicate through Ask Slashdot? I dunno. I'll go with "cool for Slashdot" for now...
Dammit, Jim, I'm a slashdotter, not a trekker.
Seemed a little short and rude to me, but what do I know. Still, I appreciate the answers and the person behind them. Maybe he just had to pee really badly or something.
That man just rambles on and on. How did he send his answers? Morse code?
he's dead, Jim.
No, wait...That's just his career!
Dear Will,
We are so cool, we're beyond cool. We are in orbit man.
You'd think that if Bill was actually down with Wheaton, he'd take care to spell his name right...
I never understood the depths of this man until now. That you Bill (may I call you Bill?), your clever anecdotes and witty banter is refreshing. Great interview.
P.S. I liked you better when you were Kirk.
At the bottom in the quotes bit...
"He's dead, Jim."
I look forward to some personal time with you.
Is he calling you out or what, man?
This is one of the best slashdot interviews i've ever read. I think the fact every single response was a single cryptic sentence just makes it that much better. Explicated answers would have been neat but still, it's impressive that to get that much neatness most other interviewees had to talk for like a page per question. William Shatner, meanwhile, man, that cat is dense.
Maybe it's a zen thing.
Wil Wheaton
You may remember him as the kid on star trek who got abducted by the time-travelling child molestor.
Dear Will,
:-)
[snip]
I look forward to some personal time with you.
Jeez, those Wesley/Dianna...uh..."stories"...had it ALL wrong
Yes
I still giggle at the thought of Shatner sliding off the hood of the police car in "Showtime."
:)
So I've slowly come to think that I'm wonderful.
I merely sought to make an impression.
Damn wouldn't we all seek to make an impression on Nichelle Nichols... emmmmmmm.
I look forward to some personal time with you.
Whoa. A little too much info there.
Slashdolt:
"Mr. Shatner, I was wondering blah, blah, blah, blah (5 paragraphs later). So what are your thoughts?"
Bill:
I really don't think about that very much.
I thought so too at first. But then I went back and reread the replies as if he were actually speaking them (in.... that slow..... and..... choppy voice).
The replies were much longer that way.
Cool interview. Good to see "Clever" chime in too.
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
I wonder if he thought that we were just a group of a dozen pimply faced nerds not very far removed from Trekies/ers?
That would be a sad mistake to make, when in reality we're a group of a hundred thousand pimply faced nerds not very far removed from Trekkies.
He's had a talking computer for 35 years and his typing skills may have suffered.
Computer! control-A meta-cokebottle!
Computer! fill-paragraph!
Computer! dabbrev-expand SPANG!
and not a single mention of the PL supercomputer. I thought we were nerds here people, i want numbers! bandwidth, gHZ, specnumbers... number of leds, cans of spraypaint. teh important stuff!
I want 2D games back.
You should have at least been mildly amused. It seems to me that you need to get a life.
;-P
Oh my god, Shatner telling Slashdotters to get a life. What do ants do when someone steps on their anthill? What do shaolin monks do when raiden destroys the temple? Doom is all around and i can't get a foothold anywhere.
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Finally we have someone who, upon seeing Marcelo throw down the gauntlet and declare his interview to be unbeatably bad, take the baton and run with it.
Well done Bill. Well done.
Hey, now I get it!
Thanks. That actually works!
Mod the parent up!
I would have paid good money to hear him go "Shut Up Wesley."
That would have been sweet.... 2/5 captains... I hope they send questions to Kate Mulgrew next week :)
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
I was thinking that, reading the whining comments, but couldn't think of a polite way to put it.
Thanks.
Star Trek made me the person I am today...of course several people think I should hunt all people down responsible and kill them slowly because of that, but i'm of the opinion that things could have been much, much worse.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
"I'm a doctor, not a gynecologist... ah, well, maybe just this once..."
-- parody by Kevin Pollak (I think)
My cube. My friend. My solace. My prison.
Actually, I envision a scene from "Airplane!" re-enacted on the original Enterprise's bridge:
"So, Wesley, do you like gladiator movies?"
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The questions wanted him to have deep thoughts about parodies, interracial kisses, etc. He just doesn't seem to be the type of guy who gives a rats ass about these topics, so his answers were short and sweet. Not like he really dodged them.
That was my impression of him also based on questions asked during a trek convention. He is not a "deep and ponderous" guy for the most part, but one that seems to go with the flow and enjoys the moment with energy.
The interracial kiss to him was just a great opportunity for a regular horny guy to suck a sexy face that turned out to be an historic event after the fact. (What a bonus!)
That is why my question was about who bagged the most babes back stage, not ponderings and musings about bagging babes. But some pondering-hoping shmuck modded it down the last minute. Pox on your house. Now we will never know.
Table-ized A.I.
"Wil" isn't the correct spelling either. Whil Wheaton has been misspelling his own name his whole life long. I should know. I'm his mother.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
In the spirit of Statistical fairness, the next interview will be with Jon Katz, thus bringing the arithmatic mean interview length back to normal.
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
Ok, who's the wiseass who put "He's dead, Jim." for the quote at the bottom of Slashdot?
Coincidence? I think not.
Her lips were full and I wanted to leave a lasting impression!? What the hell is that? That is great man! /.ers....that is why you don't get chicks. Thier lips ain't full.
Take note
War Tux!!!
"He likes me! He really likes me!"
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
is the one in that family guy episode where 'Shatner' does fiddler on the roof...
;)
'A fiddler on the bla bla bla...'
-shatner trembles-
'KAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
Anyway I rather liked it
The way to corrupt a youth is to teach him to hold in higher value them who think alike than those who think differently
The random quotation at the bottom of the comments when I first read this story was:
"He's dead, Jim."
Kinda cool, I thought.
"We are so cool, we're beyond cool. We are in orbit man. I don't do pre-game strategy."
Uh... were these questions accidentally submitted to Zaphod Beeblebrox instead?
Or as dead.
Regret is the worst of human emotions. There is no going back with regret. There is no future with regret. Regret is not something I live with. If there is something I wished I hadn't done, I don't do it anymore or I forgive myself and try better.
My life is my statement and I try to be true to myself and thusly to other people. Whatever my failings are, they are human and I try to perfect it each day.
So anyone know which Star Trek episode this quote is from?
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
CleverNickName: Are we cool, or what?
Shatner: Yeah Wil, we both are really cool... bu,...your character...you played...on Star Trek.......was a real dork!.
"Tintinitus."
Tintinitus? What is that? The sensation of little french dogs yipping in your ear all the time?
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
Find it yerself.
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
You mean 555 is the area code?!
All this time, I've been thinking it was the exchange.
No wonder none of my calls ever get through.
Oh well, at least every car I hop into has keys already in it, and I never need change from a cabbie.
I must admit, when I saw that not only had my question been answered, but answered in the affirmative, I did a stupid little geek dance, with a nerd flourish at the end.
Thank you, Slashdot.
No, thank you! I...thank you!
Well, quasi-geek. I'm sorry, Wil, but anybody whose photo has been in Teen Beat has a limit to how purely geek they can be.
Hey, I was young and I needed the money.