Would there be the same uproar if Shatner was in it but not Nimoy?

[Samuel T. Cogley]

In Trek Fandom you can never please all of the people - ever.

I strongly disagree!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

To be fair to Shatner, he's also still very active in show business, on a hit television show, known for those Priceline commercials etc., so there's really more opportunities for him to asked about not being in the movie.

This is what the simple, polite and upbeat comment is for.

You give it whenever you're asked.

After a while, most people stop asking and you can then move on to talk about whatever it is that you're there to talk about or promote or participate in.

I think Shatner has eventually gotten to this regarding Abrams' "Star Trek" movie, but it took him a long time for such an old pro - and I think the "controversy" about it has toned down quite a bit since he did.

Most well-known actors wind up being asked about and sometimes choosing to discuss parts they missed out on during retrospective interviews about their career if then.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

Nimoy would never be as publicly whiny as Shatner has been, so the uproar would have happened initially and then died to a hum.

Pretty much.

Note to Shatner: "Suck it up and drive on"

 

[Cary L. Brown]

Nimoy would never be as publicly whiny as Shatner has been, so the uproar would have happened initially and then died to a hum.

Pretty much.

Note to Shatner: "Suck it up and drive on"

Shatner hasn't been whiney. That image has been propagated by "fans" who hate the guy (and have since he made fun of their apartments in mom's basement all those years ago!) and really, really, REALLY want him to be unhappy and "whiney."

Seriously... the guy was asked on a DAILY BASIS if he was upset about not being in the movie, and his daily response was "no, nobody has talked to me about it, I'm not in it, I have no connection to it... I wish them all the best... now can we talk about Boston Legal?"

One time, though, an interviewer just would't let it go... asking the same dumbass question over and over, trying to get a reaction... and Shatner finally did his standard "standup comedian impression" and, deadpan, told that interviewer (after having said over and over that he hoped it would do well and so forth... you know, what Dennis just referred to as the "upbeat comment" or whatever), that "I hope that movie bombs."

And the "Shatner-hating" subset of fandom just lept all over it, claiming that this FINALLY PROVED that Shatner eats small children with maple syrup for breakfast.

Seriously... can anyone show ANY evidence of Shatner being "whiny?" Or is that just wishful thinking and a lot of projection goin' on there?

 

[intrinsical]

I don't know about others, but if Shatner's in and Nimoy's out, my level of interest would be much lower.

 

[Franklin]

If one is of the camp that Shatner (Kirk) drove the bus on stories in TOS and in the movies (not saying I am, but there are plenty of folks who are), I doubt there'd be any kind of controversy, uproar, dispute, ill-feelings, disgust, or whatever about Shatner being in this movie and not Nimoy. In other words, it'd make sense to have the "main" character in this movie. In fact, it'd probably have generated even more buzz than having Nimoy in it. And, that would've drowned out the "where's Nimoy?" crowd.

To that end, I think some of the "Shatner uproar" stemmed from fans of Kirk (and maybe even Shatner himself) trying to digest the idea that this big scale movie is a Spock-centric story. (And apparently with such an important role for Nimoy that the entire project presumed his participation.) The character of Kirk will obviously be important to the film, but this apparently is not his story to tell. This time, Nimoy (and Quinto) drive the bus.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I find it hard to believe that if this movie had Shatner but not Nimoy, that there would be the same uproar.

When Shatner agreed to do "Generations", Nimoy and Kelley surprised everyone by turning down their already-scripted roles in the movie. They both said - very politely - that they felt that they'd already had more worthy send-offs: Nimoy in ST VI and "Unification" and Kelly in "Encounter at Farpoint" and ST VI.

Nimoy's pages were handed to James Doohan. Kelley's to Walter Koenig. No fuss, no furore.

 

[TrekNut87]

I don't think there would be, simply because Nimoy is not the type of guy that would make a huge deal about it. He'd say something and move on.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

I don't think there would be, simply because Nimoy is not the type of guy that would make a huge deal about it. He'd say something and move on.

Nimoy would also have little opportunity to say anything that would be heard by anyone, because he is not currently on a hit show, and has very little else going on, so no one would be interviewing him anyway.

 

[Sector 7]

I don't know about others, but if Shatner's in and Nimoy's out, my level of interest would be much lower.

Agreed.

 

[Tralah]

I don't know about others, but if Shatner's in and Nimoy's out, my level of interest would be much lower.

Agreed.

Same here honestly. Spock has ALWAYS been my favorite character one of my biggest regrets in becoming a Star Trek fan when I did was that I never got to see Nimoy play Spock in an actual movie theater for a new Star Trek movie. The first Trek movie I got to see in theaters was First Contact. So while I'd certainly be interested in a new Star Trek movie with Shatner sans Nimoy, there is no way I would have been NEARLY as excited as I am now.

Perhaps there wasn't too much in the way an "uproar", though I do remember some very contentious threads about it awhile back. Reading through the old archives of Trekmovie.com, I actually gained some sympathy for those Shatner fans. For awhile there rumors were floating around that BOTH Nimoy and Shatner would be involved, so I can understand being disappointed when it turned out not to be the case.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

I think a lot of people like the person that they perceive Nimoy to be, and dislike the person that they perceive Shatner to be. And they let those feelings spill over onto the characters that the actors play.

Kirk, on the other hand, is far more entertaining than Spock. Spock works incredibly well as a straight man when playing against someone like Kirk or McCoy, but is terribly dry when acting without them. (See the terrible "Reunification" episode of TNG, although that may also have bad writing to blame.)

Spock in a vacuum is terribly dry. Let's hope that they have found a way to overcome that in Star Trek XI.

 

[EyalM]

Would there be the same uproar if Shatner was in it but not Nimoy?

Generations left a lot of fans feeling cheated because of Kirk's death. They feel that TPTB 'owe' them and when the opportunity finally arrives (allegedly) to correct Generations and the producers fail to exercise it, they pour all their anger over that mistake from 15 years ago on the new movie.