Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspeak!

[Kegek]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Starship Polaris said:

Christopher said:
Why Shatner gets singled out for it is bewildering.

Because what he does is noticable, distinctive and different from what other actors do. That is why it is recognizable, and mocked.

Indeed. Sure, Shatner has a point that sometimes people are a bit incoherent because they don't think their sentences through before speaking them, but I've never heard anyone speak in real life with those bizarre stops and starts that Shatner gives. It's more like that kind of meandering naturalistic acting you see, say, in one of those Cassavetes improvisational movies.

And while I've heard other actors read lines oddly, none have quite the quirky contrapuntal that frequently occupies Kirk's speeches.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Samuel T. Cogley said:
Either that, or you are just not picking up on what so many others are seeing (and hearing).

My mind is very attuned to detail, so it's generally the other way around. Particularly when it comes to sound patterns such as speech rhythms or music, I pick up a lot more than most people do, and I have what you could almost call a phonographic memory for sound patterns I've heard enough times -- and I grew up listening to TOS and memorizing its sounds. Trust me, I'm intimately familiar with Shatner's speaking style.

Starship Polaris said:

Christopher said:
Why Shatner gets singled out for it is bewildering.

Because what he does is noticable, distinctive and different from what other actors do. That is why it is recognizable, and mocked.

It's distinctive, but it isn't unique, and it isn't unknown in real life. There's no question that Shatner has a memorable way of speaking, but there are many great actors who do. And as already established in this thread, it's absolutely wrong to say he's the only actor in the world who puts pauses in his speech. Brando did it, Dwight Schultz does it, Scott Bakula does it to a far more extreme and irritating degree than Shatner does on his worst day. They don't do it exactly the same way he does (although Schultz comes damn close), but they do it, and Shatner is far from the most extreme example. He's just the most hyped example.

And there's no question that many people's perception of "how Shatner talks" has more to do with decades of comics making fun of him than it does with his actual speech patterns. Particularly since Shatner these days builds his entire career on self-parody, which serves to perpetuate the caricature.

 

[DWF]

Christopher said:
As for actors emulating Shatner's style, I think Dwight Schultz is a prime example. Not just the cadences of his voice, but his whole performance style seems very much like Shatner's from the '70s. Like Shatner, he's the kind of actor whose work is visible on the surface -- you can see him crafting his performance, shaping each syllable and pause with meticulous care.

Except that in Shatner's case it isn't a matter of meticulous care it's more a matter of his memory failing him something that he's freely admitted to in the past. Shatner can go over the top as an actor and he can't see it so he doesn't know how to correct nor can he see it when people inpersonate him since it's not always done on purpose.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Christopher said:

Starship Polaris said:
Because what he does is noticable, distinctive and different from what other actors do. That is why it is recognizable, and mocked.

It's distinctive, but it isn't unique...

Hence my eschewing the use of the term "unique" to describe it.

 

[Woulfe]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Most Shatner impressions are really of Jim Balushi doing him on SNL way back when, Jim based his Impression off of Shatner's 'Singing' style, if you can call it 'singing' that is

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Based on his own words (in my original post), Shatner seems less concerned with sounding "natural" or "real" than he does with "loosing the arrow" at an unexpected moment.

He wants the words to come out when you least expect it -- and when he least expects it, even. And since it's unexpected, it's odd.

You can say all you want about other actors' distinctive voices, or compare actors to non-actors. That's not really the point.

The point is that Shatner is trying to make the words come out of his mouth at a time that surprises everyone, including himself. It's almost an induced Tourette's.

 

[Plum]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Tourette's... oh man. Too funny STC.

No one could fault the Shat for being an artist in his craft. His velvet voice has graced so many documentaries, not to mention 911 (the show). Heck, Rocketman might be a laugh riot but, still, no one but Bill Shatner, with his Shatner voice, could get away with doing that!

Though, yea, he doesn't seem to articulate his technique. Man, would love to see him on The Actors Studio.

I wonder what his favourite curse word might be?

 

[siskokid888]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

I thought I remembered reading in one of his books - "Get A Life", I think, that his stilting style was due to the time constraints of TOS production and the fact that they would get their lines at the last minute - according to him he was pausing trying to remember his lines. Shat has been known to "adjust" a story or two over time.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

siskokid888 said:
I thought I remembered reading in one of his books - "Get A Life", I think, that his stilting style was due to the time constraints of TOS production and the fact that they would get their lines at the last minute - according to him he was pausing trying to remember his lines. Shat has been known to "adjust" a story or two over time.

I've read that too - it may have been in one of the "Star Trek Memories" books (I haven't read "Get A Life").

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

I've neglected the commentaries on my Special Edition DVDs, I must check this one out.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Don't get me wrong. I love Shatner, but left to his own devices, the guy makes no fucking sense without a script.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Samuel T. Cogley said:
Don't get me wrong. I love Shatner, but left to his own devices, the guy makes no fucking sense without a script.

Lots of actors are like that. Sean Penn sounds like a total moron without a script. For me anyways YMMV.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Jack Bauer said:
Lots of actors are like that.

Agreed.

Howard Stern is the master of playing previously recorded interviews with stars that showcase their inability to communicate effectively. Why should Shatner be any different?

 

[Plum]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Jack Bauer said:

Samuel T. Cogley said:
Don't get me wrong. I love Shatner, but left to his own devices, the guy makes no fucking sense without a script.

Lots of actors are like that. Sean Penn sounds like a total moron without a script. For me anyways YMMV.

That's only because you hate his politics. And him. Obviously, Sean Penn is intelligent and articulate. Jeez. Take it to TNZ.

 

[Kegek]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Lots of directors are like that. I listened to Ridley Scott's commentary on Blade Runner: The Final Cut, and while parts of it are interesting, there are whole segments of nigh-incoherency, rambling aimlessly or making very odd assertions. He was better in Alien where he was talking with some of the actors et al.

Shatner's comments on the DVD commentaries are usually really fun, though, including this example. He's never a dull moment, and for all his fabled Shatnerian effects, he's a fun guy to listen to. :thumbsup:

 

[Jack Bauer]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Plum said:

Jack Bauer said:

Samuel T. Cogley said:
Don't get me wrong. I love Shatner, but left to his own devices, the guy makes no fucking sense without a script.

Lots of actors are like that. Sean Penn sounds like a total moron without a script. For me anyways YMMV.

That's only because you hate his politics. And him. Obviously, Sean Penn is intelligent and articulate. Jeez. Take it to TNZ.

Nah, I had that opinion before I knew his politics. But let's leave it at that.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

Jack Bauer said:

Plum said:

Jack Bauer said:

Samuel T. Cogley said:
Don't get me wrong. I love Shatner, but left to his own devices, the guy makes no fucking sense without a script.

Lots of actors are like that. Sean Penn sounds like a total moron without a script. For me anyways YMMV.

That's only because you hate his politics. And him. Obviously, Sean Penn is intelligent and articulate. Jeez. Take it to TNZ.

Nah, I had that opinion before I knew his politics. But let's leave it at that.

I couldn't give a toss about his politics and he appears a little dry outside of a script to me too.

But besides that, I caught the commentary, quite a decent one too with Nimoy and Shatner together.

There was a touching moment when Nimoy wonders if he could have had Spock come out on top in a McCoy/Spock discussion, but he "left the moment to De"

 

[Plum]

Re: Shatner explains Shatnerspeak (sort of) using Shatnerspe

... like talking to windmills.