I’m not sure if William Shatner is actually crazy, or it is a persona he’s created to play upon his on screen roles, but this particular rant on YouTube adds fuel to the ‘time for some psychological help’ fire.
William, who wasn’t invited to fellow Trekkie George Takei’s wedding and was left out of a role in the latest film (due to his character’s death) decides to rant on George Takei, telling an interviewer that he doesn’t understand why George had to tell the media all about not inviting him to his wedding, and that he wasn’t fun to work with due to ego issues.
“There’s such a sickness there, it’s so painfully obvious that there’s a psychosis there, I don’t know what his original thing about me was, I have no idea, I didn’t read his book that was printed many years ago…
“I didn’t know him very well on the series, he’d come in for a day or two, as evidenced by the role he played…
“He was obviously hiding his sexuality…
“There must be something else inside George that is festering, and it makes him so unhappy that he takes it out on me, in effect a total stranger.
“Why would he go out of his way to denigrate me?
“It’s sad, I feel nothing but pity for him.”
[Transcribed from interview with William Shatner, shown above]
Will, he’s basically said nothing about you, and called the feud ‘media hype’. As you point out yourself, you barely knew each other, so why would he invite you to his wedding?
As to George’s comments on William Shatner’s on-set Star Trek antics, those comments have been echoed by other co-stars, so I’m beginning to think that he might have been something of an ass.
The new Star Trek film, directed by J.J Abrams of Armageddon fame, is coming out in May 2009 and is a prequel to the earlier films. My resident Trekkie says that odd numbered films ‘suck’ and even ones are good, but this film is the eleventh Star Trek film so we could be in to break the ‘curse’. I’m not sure what is going to end the curse within my own house, however.
J.J. Abrams says the new film promotes unity.
“I think a movie that shows people of various races working together and surviving hundreds of years from now is not a bad message to put out right now,” he says. “In a world where a movie as incredibly produced as ‘The Dark Knight’ is raking in gazillions of dollars, ‘Star Trek’ stands in stark contrast. It was important to me that optimism be cool again.”
Abrams also says ‘my favorite thing is turning on YouTube and seeing William Shatner talk to me,’ commenting on Will’s YouTube rants.
Check out some pictures of the young Spock and company. The new Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams is due for release in the US in May of next year.
William Shatner and his wife Elizabeth are shown below at the “5th Annual Runway For Life Benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital” on 10/11/08. Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos
I love William Shatner – especially on Boston Legal – but I can see where he may have an ego so big that he can’t see any fault within himself.
That said, if the video was a joke, it could be amusing 😉
I disagree that odd numbered films in the series suck. In actuality, they all suck. I liked the original series, but these movies–and all the spin off tv shows–are horrible. I’ve seen a few of the movies and they are just truly awful.
Oh, and yeah—Shatner is legendary for his huge ego. At least it seems that he is aware of it and has no problem making fun of himself, so that softens it and makes him more likable to me.
And BTW, I had the pleasure of meeting George Takei, and I can say that he is a fine, friendly, charming gentleman. It’s hard for me to imagine why anyone would dislike him.
The curse has already been broken. While it’s true that most fans consider the even numbered movies to be far better than the odd numbered, don’t forget that ‘The Voyage Home’ was Star Trek IV. This is the one that involved traveling back in time to save whales. While the idea was a lovely sentiment the film might as well be a spoof of Star Trek, the movie offers nothing but a few sad comic moments. So have hope, the evens carry a little dead weight, maybe the odds will finally gain something that picks up the slack.
Jesus, Shatner. I hope I’m never bitter like that at that age. Cor blimey. Talk about “festering”. i believe the appropriate response was “No Comment.”
I mean, all he’s saying to me in this video is, “All those times George and I fooled around in my trailer, I tried and tried to convince him to let me tell the world, but he always shut me down, each and every time, until finally I just gave up on him, and now he goes and gets married?”
As if there was ANY taboo of homosexuality on the set. All characters got caught in the crossfire of Spock and Kirk’s burning glances at one time or another.
1- Baited question: doesnt mean he had to bite the hook. The interview seems clearly structured to cause controversy. Did he make it himself? Or is it a real interview?
2-I actually think that he is just ramblimng – he doesnt seem to know exactly how to answer the question so he is kind of running 2 or 3 threads together and having trouble to explain any of them.
just fyi his wife died, so i don’t why you are putting pictures of his wife on here….seems kinda weird is all…
i wonder why shatner won’t just ignore his ass…
i THINK THEY ARE PLAYING A BIG JOKE ON US. I DON’T THINK THERE IS A FEUD. CPT Kurk and MR Sulu are messing with our heads.
1. Learn to spell.
2. Turn off the all caps.
3. On the topic: whatever draws attention to the upcoming new Star Trek movie is good publicity these days.
Shatner is so bitter he once was the guest speaker at a Star Trek conference and all he had to say to the fans was “Get a life”, then he walked off stage. To be so mean spirited to people who have gathered to admire his work is just appalling
him telling everyone to get a life was a JOKE.