The greatest of the Star Trek movies -- and one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made -- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan turned 35 this year. And to celebrate that anniversary, Fathom Events is bringing the film back to theaters for a two-day only celebration.
Icon William Shatner, who of course stars in the film as the equally iconic James T. Kirk, has recorded a new video interview for the event, which will feature the digitally remastered Director's Cut of Wrath of Khan. The screenings will take place on Sunday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 13th in more than 600 theaters across the U.S. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.
I spoke to Mr. Shatner recently about the film’s anniversary, his recollections about making it, how he felt about “aging up” Kirk, his relationship with Gene Roddenberry, and more. Read on for our full chat…
IGN: Mr. Shatner, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me. It's a real honor.
William Shatner: It's my pleasure.
IGN: So, we're gonna talk Star Trek II today.
WS: I know.
IGN: Yeah, the film's coming back to theaters, which is so exciting for fans. I was hoping maybe we could just start off a little bit by talking about your remembrances of when the project was being developed. Do you recall seeing a script in the early stages and what your take was on the project?
WS: Well, that takes me back. Did I know what was going to take place? Yes … I recall that they began to talk about the second movie, and the talk began to be about what segment of the 79 [TV episodes] that we shot would be useful. And I kept saying, why do we want to go to a segment? Why don't we invent something absolutely new? And the people in charge were much more aware than I was that the fans would be more sympathetic to… [it] would be a better vibration if it echoed a popular hour from the series, and make that, and then further the story as a film. And they were absolutely right that there was a ramification doing it that way, and the fact that the actor [Ricardo Montalban] was able to repeat his role was another singular advantage.
IGN: Yeah, sure. And I think one of the great things about the movie is the dynamic between you and Ricardo Montalban. And it's interesting, because you guys aren't even on set together at any point in the film.
WS: Right.
IGN: What do you think it is about Khan and Kirk that -- what is it in Khan that brings out such a powerful streak in Kirk [and] makes him really highlight Kirk's character the way he does?
WS: Well, it's a… I guess a known fact, it's a truism, that the more powerful the villain is the more powerful the hero. If the hero can overcome a powerful villain, look how much stronger that makes the hero. So the better the villain, the better the hero. Here was an enormously powerful individual, but even more than that… Ricardo himself, even though he was hurting with his legs, his upper body was so powerful, and he was such a good actor that he made a magnificent character.
IGN: What were your thoughts on giving Kirk a son in that film?
WS: I liked it. It hadn't occurred to us at that point, but it began to dawn on us, and especially the wonderful Nicholas Meyer who wrote and directed many of [the films], that the aging Kirk would have another life other than his love affair with the ship. So there was this son. And it was perfect. Subsequently, as the films went on and as the books I wrote after that about Kirk, all contained his emerging life as he aged. The books I wrote about Star Trek were, in some manner, autobiographical. So I reflected the drama in my life and gave it to Kirk with death and life and all that kind of thing.
IGN: It seems to me that the concept of letting you guys age, which really isn't a thing that would be traditionally done for an action hero, is what kept the franchise alive and really continued to make it interesting and give you more ground to cover.
WS: Or humanity, exactly. Because a series, you know, if you're lucky, goes five years -- there isn't an opportunity to show the aging. Although I don't watch these well-known series at all [today] so I have no knowledge of whether they're doing it or not. But if something that occurred in episode one teaches the people, the regulars in the series, something that they can reflect on in episode 14, I think that's really good. So let's not repeat the mistake that we made in episode one in episode 14. And that kind of experience added to your character begins to evolve you. I think that's really good. But in five years, you know, in the limited time the series is on, there's not much opportunity. But here, Star Trek goes on for decades. And you have to age the characters, because they're beginning to look a little funny as their jowls drop. Muscles become flaccid. [laughs]
IGN: Right. The costumes can only do so much, I guess, at that point. [laughs]
WS: Begin to need a little nylon support.
IGN: So obviously when you worked on the classic TV show, this is just the way things were done back then. They really avoided serialization like you're talking about. They tried to keep every episode as compact and self-contained as they could. Was that ever…
WS: That's just the way it was done.
IGN: Was that ever frustrating?
WS: That was the way of the world. The earth was flat, and there was no question about it. And then it evolved. The series Star Trek that I was in was so early on, there were no residuals. So none of us ever have received residuals; they came into being about three or four years later.
IGN: Oh, wow. Gosh. Do you recall rehearsing for or prepping for the Spock death scene in Wrath of Khan? It's obviously become one of the most iconic moments in movie history.
WS: Well, my memory of that is vivid. When I was sitting in [producer] Harve Bennett's office, and he was describing what they were writing, the scene that they were writing, and that Spock goes into this room, the shower. And as there's a clear plastic door between us, and he puts his hand up with the V, with that signal, I said, well, then I would put my hand up, and we'd slowly sink to the [floor] -- and I acted it out. The way I saw it. I acted out what I saw in the office, which was ultimately the way we staged it when we were filming.
IGN: Wow. So effective. To this day it's so powerful. Have you talked to Nick Meyer at all recently? Do you ever see him around?
WS: Nick Meyer went out with one of my daughters for a while there. He was a suitor. I dressed him down accordingly. But he married somebody else, and I dressed him down about that as well. [laughs] I congratulated both of them on the good luck that they had, but…
Continues
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire