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TOS Remastered Producer Dave Rossi on Recasting Kirk for Star Trek XI

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By GustavoLeao / 13:38, 30 April 2007 / Star Trek: Nemesis

Here are excerpts from TOS Remastered producer Dave Rossi column from the latest issue of Star Trek Magazine, in which he gave some thoughts on some the hassles that producer/director J.J. Abrams will no doubt have when it comes to recasting the role of Captain Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek XI movie.

"Star Trek fans want to like Star Trek." wrote Rossi "If the stories are good, if the characters are compelling, if there's balanced doses of action, humour, and drama, people will watch. Not surprising then that Paramount chose to go with Star Trek The Original Series and moreover Mr. Abrams. It's not quite that simple though. While there are a lot of factors to consider in an undertaking like this, one of the biggest is casting."


"The Shat Factor ranks pretty high. You're recasting a role that has become synonymous with William Shatner. His mannerisms, his inflections, tone; all these things make up what we know as Captain Kirk. I think it's deadly to cast someone with the instructions to ‘play Shatner playing Kirk'. Can't be done. No sir. That begs the question: Can the millions of ST: TOS fans wrap their heads around, not just a new Kirk, but a new everybody? I'll admit that if I like this movie, I'll feel a little dirty for doing so knowing that someone else is playing Kirk. But I want to like this movie."

"Having worked on this Remastered project, I know that the die-hard fans will ultimately pick this new movie apart regardless. It 's the nature of the beast. And while the nit-pickers do what they do best, I hope the rest of us will look at this with fresh eyes and a nod towards what Roddenberry was going for: not that Shatner was Kirk and Nimoy was Spock, but a story about heroes thrust into extraordinary adventures, armed only with their humanity (okay, and phasers too) as a guide."


More from Rossi can be found at Sci Fi Pulse.

To read the full article, get the new issue of Star Trek Magazine at your local newsstand.



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RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! | Report this post to moderator
By: dwd201969 (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:08:05 on May 01, 2007 | Edit History (1)





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RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! | Report this post to moderator
By: ericerickson592 (Odo's file, contact) @ 23:05:34 on May 01, 2007

I dont think that most people seem to grasp the concept that you are not able to replace the TOS actors with new ones and just sale it to the public. Espically a star trek audience. Lets face it.... the last couple of movies have been a vary big dissapointment. So it would be nice if the studio would listen to its audince for once. As for the idea that you can replace batman, superman, james bond, and battle star galactica. Those are easy to replace. How many of those people played the same iconic characer for over 40 years? None. I for one think that they are taking a wrong turn. If the studio thinks that they can bring back star trek and its audince by bringing back the old characters they are wrong. Star Trek needs a fresh start... not an old one. But on a side note what actors do you think would make good replacements for the TOS crew. How about Christian Bale as captain Kirk and Halle Berry as Uhura?

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RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! by Glassman Cometh @ 11:12:19 on May 02
RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! by falcon @ 10:00:29 on May 02
RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! by dwd201969 @ 09:59:51 on May 02

RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! | Report this post to moderator
By: dwd201969 (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:19:03 on May 01, 2007

Agreed. I think that Trek has a better chance to find it's footing again if there are only theatrical releases for a while. After a long period (many years)of re-establishing, I could see the introduction of another series (that was very different from the films).

As for the idea of this film possibly rocking? You bet it can rock. It may also be abismal too. We'll just have to wait and see. I for one like the idea of a reboot/reimagining. Just think. By not being tied to so much continuity baggage, we could have Khan again or see Kirk up against the Borg. May have happened in novels, I don't know, but I'd like to see it on screen. Shatner and Nimoy were awesome in their roles, but let's be honest, they aren't exactly mind blowing actors. It would be cool to see more skilled actors whose training is more deeply rooted in realism to take on these characters.

"Nature abhors a vacuum" Didn't Spock say something to that effect?

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RE: What if the new STAR TREK...is great! by Glassman Cometh @ 12:32:18 on May 01
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