Feedback from the old guard?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

...people do love to claim that the Reeves-Stevenses are mere ghostwriters. Shatner is a dynamic part of the partnership.

Oh, they're not "mere" ghostwriters - the writing is the hard part. Shatner is "merely" the guy who talks into a dictaphone.

 

[Aragorn]

Therin of Andor, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're not writer.

 

[indranee]

In as much as you can believe what anyone says about these things, it's more than that. He sits down with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens and works out a very detailed plot, they do the writing and he has input throughout the process.

Much more than that. Shatner uses a dictophone and narrates into it the basic storyline, all the action sequences and all the Kirk dialogue. Then he passes the tapes to a secretary who types up a manuscript. That goes to the Reeves-Stevens who polish the tech - and the characterisations of TNG, DS9 and VOY guest stars, since Shatner doesn't watch those shows - and then the manuscript goes back to Shatner for more feedback and revisions.

This process has been described in numerous interviews but people do love to claim that the Reeves-Stevenses are mere ghostwriters. Shatner is a dynamic part of the partnership.

so they're writing the story. I mean, if he doesn't watch those shows, how can he write the story? unless, of course, it's a Kirk monologue.

 

[indranee]

I decided to get the book; after the movie leaves, I'll probably be interested in a story about young Kirk.

Collision Course (Star Trek Academy) at Amazon. It has 37 reviews, with a 4-star average.

well, Shatner or not, it's a Reeves-Stevens story. so it's quality entertainment. I'm not surprised at the high rating.

 

[Jeri]

Oh, they're not "mere" ghostwriters - the writing is the hard part. Shatner is "merely" the guy who talks into a dictaphone.

Therin of Andor, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're not writer.

That's a thing about the internets; there's pretty much an inexhaustible supply of toes.

 

[M'Sharak]

Regarding Shatner's book:

Do you think that they have killed off the original timeline stories? ... Will they still keep making TNG books, even though Picard may not exist in the new timeline?

I'm sure that the original (now Prime) timeline will continue to be alive and well in novels and short stories for years to come. They couldn't kill that if they tried, and I can't imagine why anyone connected in any way with Trek would want to.

Or have they just opened up more opportunities?

Yep.

 

[FailedLurker]

I decided to get the book; after the movie leaves, I'll probably be interested in a story about young Kirk.

Collision Course (Star Trek Academy) at Amazon. It has 37 reviews, with a 4-star average.

It's an interesting take, and some of the Kirk-Spock interactions are very entertaining. It's kind of like the new movie though - enjoy it for what it is and don't worry about how it "fits".

 

[Cakes488]

I decided to get the book; after the movie leaves, I'll probably be interested in a story about young Kirk.

Collision Course (Star Trek Academy) at Amazon. It has 37 reviews, with a 4-star average.

Oh good! I just got this for free from Shatners publisher who is in my building...I should start a little Cake-a-zon business....

 

[Jeri]

It's an interesting take, and some of the Kirk-Spock interactions are very entertaining. It's kind of like the new movie though - enjoy it for what it is and don't worry about how it "fits".

I read and enjoyed a number of the classic books, and they had some unusual stuff in some of them.

Oh good! I just got this for free from Shatners publisher who is in my building...I should start a little Cake-a-zon business....

Cool; whereabouts is that?

 

[Cakes488]

^^ It's here in NYC on 40th Street. They also gave me "up till now" and the the UK version of "up till now" which has a way cooler cover.

 

[DevilEyes]

Nichelle Nichols is proud of Zoe Saldana's Uhura:

She has played Uhura through six "Star Trek" movies, up to this summer's prequel. Even though she's not in this particular film, she did have her day on the set.

"While they were shooting, J.J. Abrams invited me to lunch and invited me to come to the set," she says. "I was so excited. The surprise he had going was that the young woman playing Uhura didn't know I was coming. She just gasped.

"As J.J. had planned it, she didn't have to shoot, so we sat for two hours and talked, and it was as though I had known her all her life. I was so honored. I thought I was seeing myself -- I knew I was in good hands. She just picked my brain." Nichols has seen the new "Star Trek" movie twice and says she'll probably see it two or three more times. She likes what actress Zoe Saldana has done with Uhura.

"When I see her come on, that's me and I'm living it," she says. "A little ways into the movie, I realized she had taken to heart what I said and became more reserved and tighter. I'm so proud of her. She took a role that was established and gave it life.

"Now I know who I was before I got on that ship for that first mission. It's so exciting for me and rewarding.

"J.J. and she did me honor," Nichols says.

"J.J. with his casting did all his characters honor.

It's so nice to see Spock back in the future." And does Nichols see herself in a "Star Trek" future?

"I don't know what will happen, as quiet as it's kept," she says.

BTW speaking of Nichols, here's also a video that has been on Youtube for about a month, Nichols giving a speech at a special screening of ST09 hosted by Rod Roddenberry on 9 May (that was before watching the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mESDoQ6TPvM

 

[indranee]

wow, that's so nice of her. it's very good to know she loved Saldana's Uhura and the movie. she's going to see it two or three more times?! way to go, Ms. Nichols!!

 

[trampledamage]

Very cool. I'm glad she liked the movie and how Zoe's playing Uhura.