Thread: 45 Years Ago!
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Old 09-09-11, 02:47 PM   #30
vienna
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On the other hand, I have a game-designer friend who worked with Paramount back in the early '70s on the very first Star Trek game project. He met the cast and even got to talk to them a few times, and his take was that William Shatner was the only one he would ever care to go drinking with. He thought Shatner was the only one of the group who didn't take himself over-seriously, or was remotely interesting to talk to.
On a one-to-one, Shatner is known to be capable of being charming; his problem is when it comes to the business side of Hollywood. The fact there are so many memoirs and biographies by former cast members, other production personnel, and other assorted associates of Shatner that paint a somewhat less than flattering picture of him is more than ample evidence he has alienated more than a few of the people with whom he has he has worked.

As far as the rest of the original cast, they have had to deal with the pains of type-casting and the inability to be really taken seriously as actors in other roles. It should also be noted that the producers and administrators of the Trek franchise (films, TV series, computer games, internet media, etc) have not exactly been generous in either their recognition of the original cast or financial dealings; this was especially true after the passing of Roddenberry when the management became even more "corporate" in mindset and practice. Various cast members have been kmown to have expressed dissatisfaction with their compensation, either in terms of respect/recognition or financially. I won't name names but my friend from Paramount told me of one rather acrimonious battle between a Trek cast member and the management that nearly scuttled a project; in the end, it boiled down to how the person was treated in past dealing more than anything having to do with a current situation. The "exile" of Shatner is really more of a matter of the management no longer wanting to deal with someone whose demands and requirements could not be reconciled with their goals.
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