Shatner out, Takei in?

[Captain59]

I just read Takei's quote on Trek Today, and I think it could work. I have been so fixated on Shatner being in XI, I never considered another TOS actor.

I would guess Nimoy's Spock is going to bookend this movie discussing something. How about the movie opens with Sulu in command of the Excelsior, much like VI, and Spock comes on board for a visit, and the movie takes off from there?

It works for me, and will give all the Sulu fans out there who have wanted an Excelsior series something to chew on.

 

[RookieBatman]

I read the quote from Takei, and it seemed to me more like he was saying, "Me be in Trex XI? I wouldn't be surprised...because Sulu is Teh Hotness, and Trek wouldn't have worked without me." Or something like that. And yes, that is a bit of hyperbole, but what I'm trying to say is that Takei has a bit higher opinion of himself than many other people do, and I think when he said "I wouldn't be surprised," he didn't mean because there was any official word, but just because he's George Takei, and who wouldn't want George Takei in their Trek movie?
Again, I could be utterly wrong, but that was my first impression when I read it.

 

[Number_6]

Takei's been out for awhile now.

 

[Dale]

I don't see a place for Takei's Sulu in my envisioning of the new film. I expect Nimoy's contribution as Spock to be small-but-significant, but don't believe there'll be time for a whole "future" storyline with multiple TOS characters.
I agree with RookieBatman, Takei is simply being coy because as an actor he's a little hotter than he has been in a number of years... he's back on a TV set working fairly regularly and thinking forward instead of backward about his career... but in the end I don't think his comments have anything to do with reality.

 

[Outpost4]

Takei has had delusions of grandeur for quite a while now.

 

[STARTREK11]

Actors have be to egotistal,thats why they are actors.
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

I would love to see the Excelsior on the big screen one more time with Captain Sulu in charge and petty racism be damned.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

STARTREK11 said:
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

No.

 

[JBElliott]

Shatner's in. How could he be out? He'll be in the movie if he's still alive when it's made. There's no question about that.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Samuel T. Cogley said:

STARTREK11 said:
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

No.

The opposition to you, however, stems largely from the fact that you're none of those things - and more!

 

[Dale]

JBElliott said:
Shatner's in. How could he be out? He'll be in the movie if he's still alive when it's made. There's no question about that.

What color is the sky in your world?

 

[Dale]

STARTREK11 said:
Actors have be to egotistal,thats why they are actors.
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

I would love to see the Excelsior on the big screen one more time with Captain Sulu in charge and petty racism be damned.

And what color is the sky in yours?

 

[Cary L. Brown]

dalehoppert said:

STARTREK11 said:
Actors have be to egotistal,thats why they are actors.
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

I would love to see the Excelsior on the big screen one more time with Captain Sulu in charge and petty racism be damned.

ANd what color is the sky in yours?

Exactly. Apparently, now, it's fine to call a C-grade actor a C-grade actor... but if he can lay claim to any so-called "oppressed status" labels it becomes a "hate crime" to call him a C-grade actor? Sheesh...

I listened to Takei's autobiography... yes, I paid for the damned thing so I actually listened to the whole thing. Up until that point, I'd never had a bad opinion of him. After that, my opinion of him went through the floor. It had nothing to do with his ethnic background (by the way, he's NOT A FOREIGNER, just for the record... he's a natural-born American citizen!) and it had nothing to do with his sexual preferences (which I'd always sort of suspected anyway). It was his self-absorbed, "It's ALLLL ABOUT MMEEEEEEEEEE" attitude that just made me wanna retch.

Fact is, Takei is a C-grade actor... and the idea of him carrying a show on his own is laughable. He's not a "leading man" and he's not a "power costar." He's a CHARACTER ACTOR. Nothing wrong with being a character actor... unless the character actor has a chip on his shoulder and insists that the reason he's not playing "leading man" parts is not because of HIM, but rather because of "racial and gender-based discrimination." That's just nauseating.

 

[steveman]

^

Couldn't agree more Cary. I'm sure Shatner did some things that rubbed his fellow castmates the wrong way over the years, but with as much as Takei has drug his name through the mud, I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if a bit of that rep Shatner's gotten is un-deserved.

 

[Sec31Mike]

I absolutely adore George Takei. Every time I have met him, he was not only an awesome guest at the cons, he also was awesome with the fans. He takes the time to make sure everyone gets their money's worth, and is quite entertaining.

He has, in fact, been typecast his whole career, which would not have allowed him to show the full range of his acting abilities.

Judging from personal experience I think he had a lot of potential that was unused.

I have always thought of him as a great man and actor, and I will continue to do so.

 

[jimbo1973]

I've heard that the ME thing bout tekia too..but a good buddy of mine says he's really cool at conventions...

 

[StarMan]

The only other Original Series actor I can seriously see participating in the movie alongside Nimoy is Shatner. If Shatner's not worked into it (which seems doubtful at this stage), I believe Nimoy will be the only one representing the old guard.

Nimoy as Spock is special; Nimoy as Spock alongside Takei as Sulu just seems wierd, and is not exactly what I'd describe as a dynamic or relevant relationship.

 

[STARTREK11]

Cary L. Brown said:

dalehoppert said:

STARTREK11 said:
Actors have be to egotistal,thats why they are actors.
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

I would love to see the Excelsior on the big screen one more time with Captain Sulu in charge and petty racism be damned.

ANd what color is the sky in yours?

Exactly. Apparently, now, it's fine to call a C-grade actor a C-grade actor... but if he can lay claim to any so-called "oppressed status" labels it becomes a "hate crime" to call him a C-grade actor? Sheesh...

I listened to Takei's autobiography... yes, I paid for the damned thing so I actually listened to the whole thing. Up until that point, I'd never had a bad opinion of him. After that, my opinion of him went through the floor. It had nothing to do with his ethnic background (by the way, he's NOT A FOREIGNER, just for the record... he's a natural-born American citizen!) and it had nothing to do with his sexual preferences (which I'd always sort of suspected anyway). It was his self-absorbed, "It's ALLLL ABOUT MMEEEEEEEEEE" attitude that just made me wanna retch.

Fact is, Takei is a C-grade actor... and the idea of him carrying a show on his own is laughable. He's not a "leading man" and he's not a "power costar." He's a CHARACTER ACTOR. Nothing wrong with being a character actor... unless the character actor has a chip on his shoulder and insists that the reason he's not playing "leading man" parts is not because of HIM, but rather because of "racial and gender-based discrimination." That's just nauseating.

Right and if you were interviewed you would not talk about you and your talents but other peoples?
It's well established Shatner tried to steal everyone's lines.
In TNG every character has at least one episode to their name.Troi in the Tal Shier episode in which she shocked us and excelled in and was amazing,Beverley in the warp bubble episode and in the final episode of TNG and so on in contrast to TOS.

1) Who decided George is "C" grade?

2) What do you have to have to be a leading man?

2) Why are you all praising him in "World Enough and Time",
if he is so bad?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

steveman said: I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if a bit of that rep Shatner's gotten is un-deserved.

How much of it has to be true for it to be reprehensible?

Because quite a bit of it is true.

 

[NoCedarFair]

When I saw that quote it reminded me of his interview on the Star Trek VI dvd extras. Takei talked about how every time he thought Trek was ending for him, something else came up, his recent comments seem to be along those lines. Although it would be great to see him and some of the other TOS actors again, I would be surprised if Abrams includes more than Nimoy (and maybe Shatner).

 

[Captaindemotion]

STARTREK11 said:
Actors have be to egotistal,thats why they are actors.
The opposition to Mr Sulu stems largely from the fact he is Japanese,gay,non-white and a foreigner and also because of Pearl Harbour.In other words it's just petty racism.Quite sad.

I would love to see the Excelsior on the big screen one more time with Captain Sulu in charge and petty racism be damned.

This, frankly, is nonsense. I'm a typical lefty liberal and admire Takei greatly for the campaigning and political work he has done regarding equality for gay people and to highlight internment of Japanese people during WWII. But there's no doubt that he, like the other 'small four' of Star Trek greatly over estimate their own importance to that series and their status as actors or icons. Too many years of people coming up to them at conventions and telling them how great they are have warped their egos.

ST was not an ensemble show and they were not the stars, they were supporting actors. They did not lose screen time because of William Shatner's ego, they got all the time that the producers and writers allocated them.

FWIW, I would like to have seen a Captain Sulu series or direct to DVD movies (still would), but this latest pronouncement sounds like wishful thinking from George.