Shatner's post-TOS Dog Days?
- Thread starter TiberiusK
- Start date
It has to do with the fact that the studio lighting for filming TOS used a lot of coloured gels, and very different lights are used for posed stills.
The best pic I've seen to give the idea that it's an almost-gold, almost-green is this one:
Shatner hawked some couches, so what. He had to eat. Acting & Music are hard gigs. Iggy Pop worked on an assembly line in Detroit for awhile.
Takei's comment is a tad negative, but he had his motivations. & he isn't a flawless halo bearing soul or something,none of us are. Easy to criticize from the bleachers. Gene Simmons made an interesting comment about critics. He said it doesn't count unless you've done something successful yourself. A neat point, how many records have the critics sold?
Takei's comment is a tad negative, but he had his motivations. & he isn't a flawless halo bearing soul or something,none of us are. Easy to criticize from the bleachers. Gene Simmons made an interesting comment about critics. He said it doesn't count unless you've done something successful yourself. A neat point, how many records have the critics sold?
Except critics take the position of someone in the audience, not someone onstage when assessing the quality of a performance. And using his own logic, Simmons can't criticize the critics unless he's successfully been one himself.
One doesn't have to be a master chef to determine the quality of a meal or a Formula One race driver to determine the quality of a car. "Artists" seem to only complain about the merits of critics when the critics point out the problems with their performances.
I fail to understand the logic of Simmons's point. You don't need to be a chef to know when a dinner stinks; you don't need to be an architect to notice the majestic bridge is collapsing; you don't need to be a general to recognize the army was marched into the valley of death. Why do you need to be a top-draw actor to tell that a TV show is incompetently made?
You don't have to have made a movie to be a movie critic, but you have to know something about movies.
Takei can't really criticize the relative success of Shatner's career... well... ever, because Takei's career has largely been abysmal. It's only recently, since he's been doing voice work, that he's had anything remotely respectable.
Takei can't really criticize the relative success of Shatner's career... well... ever, because Takei's career has largely been abysmal. It's only recently, since he's been doing voice work, that he's had anything remotely respectable.
Good Will Riker
Admiral
George Takei's "Hollywood career" has been abysmal, but quite accomplished in terms of longevity compared to "99.99%" of Asian American actors out there, which says a lot about how Hollyweird itself operates.
Mr. Takei himself has been quite active in American politics, and is one of the most visible and highest ranking Asian American activists around the world. He promotes so much when it comes to Asian American activism that his name is "always" at the top of the list when it comes to countless Asian American galas and events. As a board member for the East West Players (Takei is a member of many political and Asian American boards), he even helped promote my great aunt's critically-acclaimed play for the East West Players in Little Tokyo 8 years ago. I was quite grateful for that, and even thanked him by e-mail personally.
Yeah, people forget that roles for white actors comprise about 90 percent of the Hollywood opportunities, and it doesn't look like things will get better soon. Given that the only Asian American actor ever groomed to be a leading man by Hollywood was James Shigeta -- and that was almost 50 years ago -- maligning George Takei for squeezing out the best career he could in the rather limited and unequal circumstances is dumb. At any rate, he's accomplished enough to assess William Shatner's career, as would be any critic in business . . .
Good Will Riker
Admiral
Sessue Hayakawa during the 1910's - 1920's (Women really loved this guy! He was the immediate predecessor to Rudolph Valentino, who himself replaced Hayakawa for "The Sheik" which made Valentino famous.)
James Shigeta during the 50's and early-60's came out with films that tested the waters to see if the mainstream public would accept him as a "romantic leading man" in the style of Cary Grant. Many of his friends and acquaintances remarked that the only thing that held him back from being a romantic leading man was the fact that he wasn't white in Hollywood.
James Shigeta during the 50's and early-60's came out with films that tested the waters to see if the mainstream public would accept him as a "romantic leading man" in the style of Cary Grant. Many of his friends and acquaintances remarked that the only thing that held him back from being a romantic leading man was the fact that he wasn't white in Hollywood.
For all the talk about how 'politically correct' Hollywood is (and, of course, that's where the term became en vogue int he first place), it does remain the most racist place on Earth.
But, honestly, for all of Takei's merits, he's milked being a third string player on Star Trek a bit long now - much less shitting on Shatner for, ya know, being the actual star of the show and movies.
Good Will Riker
Admiral
"Barbary Coast," but that came out more towards the mid-70's actually -- after his camper days.
John Stewart of "The Daily Show" remembers running into Shatner on the set of "Barbary Coast" when he was 12 years old. Boy, was he disappointed to see "Captain Kirk" wearing a mustache and portraying a completely different character and personality at that time.
Good Will Riker
Admiral
Star Trek really saved this man's bacon.
Without it, he would probably be selling insurance or performing dinner theater somewhere.
Good Will Riker said:
Star Trek really saved this man's bacon.
Without it, he would probably be selling insurance or performing dinner theater somewhere.
^^^
You do realize he effectively did BOTH of those types of gigs while also doing bit part guest star roles of TV; and low budget TV movies of the week and small feature films; pretty much until ST:TMP came along and revitalized his career to a degree, right?
Good Will Riker
Admiral
^^ Of course, I am very familiar with Bill Shatner's biography having read "Star Trek Movie Memories," "Captain Quirk" (unauthorized biography), and "Inside Star Trek" (by Herb Solow and Bob Justman), watched Mind Melds (with Leonard Nimoy), a documentary showing Shatner and Nerine Kidd visiting his hometown and McGill University, and seeing a "Biography" special on him from several years ago, articles, interviews, his filmography listed at the IMDB.com, startrek.com and wikipedia entries, not to mention the man's own personal website www.williamshatner.com. 
Good Will Riker
Admiral
Bruce Lee was not groomed as the Hollywood romantic lead. He never was. He only appeared as the lead in 1 Hollywood film, and that was Warner Bros' Enter the Dragon. Lee's 4 other martial arts films were produced in Hong Kong. Notice how Lee's character in Enter the Dragon doesn't get to indulge in sex or have a woman like the way his white male co-star John Saxon does with Anna Capri?
Bruce Lee's worldwide cult-status and fame came about after Enter the Dragon premiered, which was shortly after his death. While Bruce Lee helped Asian men appear empowered through martial arts films, at the same time, this further perpetuated the stereotype in Hollywood of Asian men as martial arts experts. But, when not cast as martial arts experts, Asian men were typically cast as the dumb, nerdy, clueless foreigners or as delivery boys. Things haven't changed much since then and now, but that's Hollyweird for you. There just aren't enough Asian American writers working in Hollywood that are willing to champion Asian American causes, because they don't want to be fired and blacklisted from Hollyweird.
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