http://www.trektoday.com/content/2012/09/shatner-sued-by-ex-employees/ Wow, those people make Shatner seem like some kind of monster. I wonnder if it is true?
Rumors about Shatner and has ego have been going around since TOS's days. There's sh-loads of stories about him wanting more lines and story time given to Kirk at the expense of the other actors. Hell, him and George Takei have had a feud going on since those days. Shatner is awesome and I have all of the respect in the world for him both as Kirk and as an actor (see: Boston Legal) but he's also a gigantic ego.
I know about this ego, but this is taking it way too far. His ego is the reason why I don't want him in STXII.
He's already in ST:XII. Kirk.. you can't have Kirk without the legacy of Shatner. Did you see the way Pine sat in that chair at the end of ST:XI? That was pure Shatner. He could drop dead tomorrow and he'll still be channeled.
This. I'm the first to pounce on tyrannical bosses and am all in favour of full rights for employees but they do seem to have taken a long time in deciding that this particular workplace was intolerable.
I'll co-sign this. I think he did a great job in TOS, what I've seen of it, but I don't know about these new films... I think I read somewhere that Pine said he didn't try to emulate Shatner because he couldn't and it would just come off cheesy if he did. I think that was a good move on his part. They seem both alike and particularly different enough for me. Shatner's Kirk was glossier, and he loved to use charm. Pine's Kirk reminds you more of a frat guy who uses his "moves" too. I just didn't see the legacy of Shatner there, but then I'm not huge on TOS either. It could have been the straw that broke the camel's back. When you have a worker's comp issue, and your boss wants you to sign away your rights... I could see how that would be a problem, especially for an employee that faithfully served for 20 years.
Not to take a side on this issue because I have no idea what the truth is, but the lawsuit claims this all came about because of a recent workplace injury that Shatner wanted them to sign a waiver absolving him of all financial responsibility for, so things could have been perfectly amicable between them for the previous twenty years of employment and then went downhill after the accident. I don't know if he really harassed them until they had to quit, but there's nothing inconsistent with them having a problem now and not having one in the past, since the catalyst for the problem allegedly just occurred recently.
Couldn't Shatner counter-sue for the return of any incredible awesomeness that rubbed off on them while they were his employee?
Seriously, it took 20 years for them to realize he's an egomaniac? If I were on the jury I wouldn't give them a dime.
How could you find a jury that couldn't save money with Priceline? How could an attorney depose Shatner without cracking up when Shatner sits in the witness stand, looks out at the jury, looks down at the witness chair's armrests, and says, "Mine has buttons."
They're not sueing him for being a meglomaniacal asshat, as he clearly is based upon decades of stories about him as a human being. They're sueing him for the injuries they sustained working under him, and for his trying to force them to let him off the hook.
Bill has been putting on the pounds through the years, maybe that was the source of the on the job injury. Bill: "Getting too much sun, do carry me into the shade." Oscar: "Anything you (groan) say Mister Shatner." If this employee is legit, he should receive a reasonable settlement for his treatment. If this is just a case of someone who want money from a celebrity that they don't deserve, I hope Shatner toughs it out in court (doesn't settle) and counter-sues this guy for defamation of character.