James Cawley returns to NV as Kirk!

Discussion in 'Fan Productions' started by PattyW, Oct 16, 2013.

  1. PattyW

    PattyW Commander Red Shirt

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    BREAKING NEWS : James Cawley will be returning to the role of James T. Kirk for A SPECIAL EPISODE of STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES! (note: we said New Voyages, Not Phase II!) The story will take place during what would have been the second season of TOS. This in no way affects or changes the plans of PHASE II, and it's current star Brian Gross.

    This is also not any Phase II or New Voyages started or planned episode/vignette. It's something entirely new...

    Keep watching for more information...
     
  2. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Hmm, is his ego maybe regretting giving up the role?

    It's a shame. Brian Gross is an improvement. Cawley never suited the role in my opinion and with solid competition now in the form of ST Continues I would've thought you guys would be going all out to have the best casting choices to outdo everyone else, rather than retread old ground.

    Well, good luck anyhow.
     
  3. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Tacky, Smoked. Plain tacky.
     
  4. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Honest.

    Honesty is the best policy. If people go around kissing each other's butts all day purely for reasons of politeness then people will have to reason to try and improve and improve.

    Surely it is in the interest of Phase II to be the best of the fan films out there? What better to help achieve that than audience feedback?
     
  5. PattyW

    PattyW Commander Red Shirt

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    Did you not read the announcement? Brian Gross is STILL Phase II's Kirk. This is a special, extra episode that has nothing to do with Phase II.

    geez...you think fans would celebrate even more Trek being produced.

    as to STC being "solid competition"...that's rather funny. The stuff they borrowed from Farragut Films (which was all built because of James Cawley's help to get off the ground - sets, costumes and props) yes. But the acting is entirely laughable parody. James, a professional performer and actor for over two decades, can act circles around the best of them just sitting on a toilet...
     
  6. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    ^^^I refer to this. That's mean spirited and unnecessary.
     
  7. Ryan Thomas Riddle

    Ryan Thomas Riddle Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It'll be interesting to see James back in the center seat. My frustrations in his performance weren't with all the cheap shots usually hurled at him. Rather I was frustrated that his performance was often pushed into moments of imitation, where he mimicked Shatner (looking at you "Blood and Fire"). I've always wanted to see him make Kirk his own. He'd get so close and then be asked to slip into imitation.

    Hopefully, he'll get this chance in this NEW VOYAGES episode. If this is James' last turn as Kirk, let's really unleash his performance and let him own the role completely. And in a script that has Kirk driving the action rather than reacting to it.

    (An aside: Would be wonderful if Jeff Quinn returned as Spock. Always liked his take on our favorite Vulcan, especially in WEaT. He played well off Doc John, who's performance is the one I enjoy most on PII because of sincerity Doc John puts into it.)
     
  8. Kelso

    Kelso Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Cool news. I like him.

    Is he shooting new footage or are you guys putting out existing footage that has previously been shot* under the New Voyages banner?

    *"Mind Sifter" is the example that springs to mind.
     
  9. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yes, I read it fine. But I'm not saying the reasoning behind him needing to do the extra episode when it is supposed to be set during Shatner's tenure. Why not just let Gross do them all now?

    So if something is churned out with the Star Trek name attached to it every fan is meant to swoon in delight?
    Isn't Vic what's-his-name also an actor of a good few years?

    I have no loyalty to either production and am not involved in fan films at all. I just see what I see when I see episodes and/or clips. I thought the acting in Continues was, for the most part, superior to Phase II, including their Kirk. Their only poor choices, in my view, were Spock and McCoy, who were woeful. Phase II's current Spock and McCoy are superior casting choices in these roles. Having said that I just watched the Kitumba teaser and I thought that everyone in it was delivering appalling performances, including the guest stars. It was almost amateurish.

    I absolutely respect and appreciate the effort that goes into these productions and the sets, costumes, effects and scripts are fantastic. But the acting and casting is not, and that applies to both Phase II and STC (and, indeed, some of the other efforts out there). Since I, as a fan for nearly 40 years, am the target audience, I don't think it's unreasonable to given an honest and unbiased appraisal.

    As for STC taking things developed by JC, I don't know anything about that I'm afraid. I just see what's on screen.
     
  10. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's a legitimate question. It wasn't a statement.
     
  11. Amaris

    Amaris Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I look forward to it! I'm always thrilled to see the next big thing coming from the people at New Voyages/Phase II.
     
  12. Barbreader

    Barbreader Fleet Captain In Memoriam

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    There are dozens of original series era fan films. Take a peek: http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/2.html Blogs 20 through 55 all have fan film producers who have produced Fan Trek set at the time of the original series or the original series' movies. That doesn't include short films, or very old films, e.g. http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/204.html (See also other lists in Blogs 205-208), and many more are in the works. The fight about this is dumb. The TOS sets in upstate New York could probably be used to produce more than a dozen films a year, and there are sets in Georgia and Oklahoma which are also very good, there is a lower quality set on Long Island and a movie era set, in Albany, Ga. Then there are green screen productions. Geez Louise, one person playing Kirk at this point no more means another won't than one person playing Hamlet means another won't.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2013
  13. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    That too was rude and unnecessary. You needn't tear down other people to say you think someone else is good, now do you?
     
  14. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    I admit, I haven't been much of a fan film viewer for more than a few years, but aren't there more episodes starring Cawley that haven't been released yet?

    For fans of Cawley, it's nice that he's doing one more, but as the saying goes, you have to go away to come back.
     
  15. jamesmc

    jamesmc Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    First off, this thread should not even be here. But, since it is about me I will add my two cents. Me doing this role one more time is about me getting to share some time with some cherished friends and nothing more. There is no drive or competition between myself and anyone else. As to what anyone else is doing with their, time, money and talents, I don't give a s#%T! I have had my fill of this type of thing on Trek boards. Sniping at others for doing something they like to do is just plain RIDICULOUS! AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
     
  16. GSchnitzer

    GSchnitzer Co-Executive Producer In Memoriam

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    Harvey:

    Our shot-but-still unreleased episodes are (in filming order): "Kitumba," "The Protracted Man" (aka "Origins") "Mind-Sifter," "Bread and Savagery," and "The Holiest Thing." The two lattermost episodes star Brian Gross and post-production should be completed on those fairly soon. (I think we have a couple of pick-up shots to get for both episodes, but they are largely done.)

    "Kitumba" is all shot out and should be released soon. We've done the Starship Exeter routine and have been putting out the episode in pieces--e.g., Teaser, Act 1, and Act 2 so far. (There was some acrimony that the director of "Kitumba" leaked out a fully finished "director's cut" of the episode because "the fans are entitled to see it" and, in so doing, "wrecked" the episode. We, on the other hand, are doing something different: we are putting out the episode in pieces, with each piece not having its final sound done, and not being fully color corrected because "the fans are entitled to finally see it."

    I hear "The Protracted Man" needs to be-shot in its entirety. Doing so might be a lower priority than shooting new episodes, so I don't know what the thinking is. (Tobias Richter completed much of the VFX for the episode; it would be a shame to scrap those and I'm sure he would be unhappy.)

    About half of "Mind-Sifter" was shot--the stuff on board the Enterprise. None of the "Kirk trapped in the past" footage was done. It would be "easy" to get Brian Gross to do all those Kirk scenes, since we essentially shot around James' unavailability. The larger problem (I guess it's a problem) is that much of the shipboard stuff that we did shoot included Mr. David Sherin as Doctor McCoy--instead of John Kelley--when John became unavailable at the last minute. So I'm not sure if we now have to re-shoot the McCoy scenes or if we'll, instead, release the episode with David Sherin (or if we simply are unlikely to ever finish the episode and release it, I suppose).

    A comment that I often make regarding the "James is too much like Shatner"/"James is not enough like Shatner" issue: it's always hard to know how much to "emulate" Shatner and how much to avoid emulating him regardless of how much contortion is necessary. "Look--he pushes the chair's comm button just like Shatner!" (as if James should use his nose instead, in order to avoid the inevitable Shatner comparisons). But an important thing to remember is that James is often given direction on how "Shatner-like" to be by the episode's director. Sometimes James' portrayal of Kirk has been a directorial choice, not an action choice.
     
  17. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    If it's just for your own enjoyment, why bother releasing it to an audience?
     
  18. DCR

    DCR Commander Red Shirt

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    Thank you.

    I've enjoyed what you've done in the past, and look forward to seeing you returning to the center seat for your swan-song.

    As a fan, I'm just glad that people such as yourself are willing to share the love you have for the franchise with the rest of us in such a tangible way. I really appreciate it.
     
  19. HarryM

    HarryM Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    James, you and all the other volunteers have done an AMAZING thing with NV/P2, don't let one troll get under your skin.
     
  20. Sean_McCormick

    Sean_McCormick Captain Captain

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    To allow others to draw enjoyment from watching it?

    Why do you seem to feel the need to prevent its release?