William Shatner on Why He Has Not Seen J.J. Abrams Star Trek Movie

For over two years while the Star Trek movie was in development and production, much of the debate, news and gossip about the film was about whether or not William Shatner would be in it, something he contended would benefit the film. So it is a bit surprising that two months after its release, Bill has yet to see it. While co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly last Friday he explains why, details below.

Shatner concerned over ‘ridicule’
On the show during the ‘host chat’, Regis asked Bill if he had seen the new Star Trek movie, and Bill said he had not. Regis then asked him if he ‘cared’, to which Bill replied:

I do care, but here is the problem. If I go to the theater, it’s like, ‘there is the guy who thinks he is captain Kirk’ or something like that. Some ridicule is going to happen. So I have sort of avoided that. I don’t want to wear a hat and glasses and and a cane and a beard…just to see a movie. That is a lot of effort, I could stay at home to watch a movie.

CLICK TO SEE SHATNER ON REGIS & KELLY
(Select third video down w/ Shatner – Star Trek discussion around 7:00 mark)

Later in the show (video not available online), Ray Romano came on to promote Ice Age 3, but also talked about the Star Trek movie, saying he loved it, and also was surprised that Bill had not seen it.

Other Trek celebs have talked about seeing the film, including Nichelle Nichols who says she has seen it multiple times. Star Trek’s other movie captain, Patrick Stewart, also recently talked about going to see the film (with the general public). Mr. Shatner was invited to the Hollywood premiere of the film, but apparently he had a conflict and he sold his unused tickets on Ebay (for charity) after the event. There were also multiple showings of the Star Trek film on the Paramount lot, including the week when JJ Abrams and many of the cast and crew took time time out from their publicity tour to attend Shatner’s charity horse show in late April. Bill has recently said he would like to be in the sequel, so hopefully he catches the movie sometime soon to find out what it is all about. If Bill can’t arrange a screening on the lot, here is a list of theaters still showing the movie in the LA area.


http://trekmovie.com/2009/06/30/william-shatner-explains-why-he-has-not-seen-the-new-star-trek-movie/