Roddenbery@ / biopic

No! I want him as Kolchak!

 

What I wonder is if we will find out any new stuff about him. I mean if they are talking about his time in the military and as a cop I would think so but when it comes to Trek it's pretty hard to surprise us Trekkies at this point I would imagine. Now that many of the people who worked on Trek over the years are dying due to the passage of time it's not exactly going to be getting easier when it comes to new info.

 

Given all that's been revealed by many people on this BBS: I'd be surprised if anyone who looked at the information over the years that's been amassed about Gene Roddenberry discovers anything new from said biopic.

I'd be surprised if they delve too deeply into his casting liaisons for example as I don't think they want to make a negative themed biopic that would definitely put him in the #metoo category of today.

 

I think they could possible go their since it was the 60s but maybe not. I mean even they should know at this point most fans are already aware of some of the more shady things connected to him so maybe they won't even feel they need to try and hide it. They could try and defend some of it or add context to it so people look at some of that shady stuff in a new light.

 

This is long overdue. I hope it's objective and honest, we're all old enough and ugly enough to cope with that, I think. Let's hope Rod Roddenberry doesn't try to gloss over some of the darker parts of the Trek story.

 

That sounds more like a kid thinking "Your job is stupid, dad!" not like someone having serious issues with it.

Anyway, about the movie. I'm not interested at all.

 

It's funny...the older I get, the less I care about the actual "people" behind the series. I am interested the mechanics of it, how it was made, the thought process behind the decisions, and what made them do this or that. But I really don't care who Roddenberry really was, or Shatner, or Takei or anyone (I don't wanna meet Shatner but I'd love to chat with Captain Kirk - except he ain't real). I love the show they all worked to create. But whether or not Roddenberry was a sexual predator who stole credit, Shatner was a line-counting egotist or if everyone hated Freiberger? Pffft. I'd rather watch "The Doomsday Machine" for the 18th time this year.

Hard pass.

Actually, if they did a special that really acknowledged Freiberger and Singer's contributions to the dying series which had no chance to survive in that final year without smearing them into inkblots, I'd watch. They are only ever mentioned when it's time to talk about how the show failed.

 

Was Singer ever interviewed? At least Freiberger got a chance to give his side of things.

 

As far as people involved in the show are concerned, I'd be much more interested in something about Matt Jeffries.
I'd like to know what inspired him when he designed the artwork.

Bill Theiss might be interesting as well. I really have to admire his costume work and would like to know what his inspirations were as well.

As far as Roddenberry goes: Well, if you didn't learn about what he was trying to say after watching the show, you never will.

 

I found a picture of Arthur Singer at Princeton University (class of 1931):
https://blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2015/08/proudly-we-can-be-jews-the-jewish-experience-at-princeton/

 

If they're going for a realistic depiction (which is a big "if") then it's going to be a tough role to cast. Roddenberry was a big nerd, trying to convince people that he was a genius and a savior, and it large part succeeding. Casting that role requires somebody who can simultaneously embody all of that. It's similar to Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, playing a character who is three levels deep and different at each level.

 

That's like maybe Bryan Cranston would be the perfect choice. He can do the serious and dark but also the silly and light as well.

 

Hope it's OK to bump this thread---seems there is still no release date on the biopic.

One thing I’ve sometimes wondered about, is whether Susan Sackett’s theory [Inside Trek] that GR was actually Jewish (or half Jewish) and kept it secret, could be true. She didn’t make a big deal about it, clearly adored him and was raised Jewish herself. Not that it makes much difference, but having inner conflict about his background would likely feed into his creative imagination, and his obsession with Spock’s hybrid character. People here are so knowledgeable about every detail of Trek history, maybe someone has further info on this.

 

Here's the thing about movie projects being announced.

Anyone can announce anything. Go through Variety and you'll see a hundred projects announced for every one that ever actually gets produced.

So many things have to line up just so to get a movie made that it's a miracle that any movie ever gets made. I speak from experience with a project that's been caught in development hell for a decade.