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Genevieve Bujold, the First Captain Janeway, Talks Career Choices

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By GustavoLeao / 03:05, 30 June 2009 / Voyager

French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold was the first choice of the producers of Star Trek Voyager to play Captain Nicole Janeway (see photo above). She quit after a day and a half of shooting the pilot episode, with the public reason being she was unaccustomed to the hectic pace of television filming.

The producers subsequently hired TV veteran Kate Mulgrew, and changed the captain's name from Nicole to Kathryn Janeway at Mulgrew's advice.

Here is excerpts of a rare interview with Bujold, conducted in 2007, in which the actress talks about her career, but does not mention her role in the creation of Voyager.

Box Office Mojo: You have been criticized for making poor career choices-


Bujold: The process is the process. I did Earthquake! for a contract and I loved doing that film. When I was [enrolled in Catholic school] at a convent-Hochelaga in east Montreal [Canada], they would show Ben-Hur [the 1959 version starring Charlton Heston]. It was wonderful, working with Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner in downtown L.A. We were very comfortable with each other. For me, it brought alive the days of Ben-Hur at the convent. Earthquake! was entertaining and people liked it.

Box Office Mojo: Why do you make so few movies?


Bujold:
I'm older, more aware, and I agonize more now. I stir myself. I want a director to think he'd like to work with me-and I have a life, really. My career isn't my life, which is why I don't work as much. When a part comes, I'm like a little girl. I boogie board in the summer for fun. I just live my life.


Box Office Mojo: Is that a lesson for aspiring moviemakers?


Bujold:
Yes. Stay with your baby and don't abandon a project. You've done it, you've shot it, you wrote it. Don't just forget it.


The full interview is here.

The 8-minute footage of Bujold as Captain Nicole Janeway (plus a video interview with Rick Berman) can be found at YouTube.



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RE: Didn't Bakula win a Tony award | Report this post to moderator
By: cdydatzigs (Odo's file, contact) @ 16:49:29 on Jun 30, 2009

Wow, I haven't seen more broad generalizing in one post before. Sorry prometheus 59650, we are usually allies but i'm going to have to call you on a couple of these points of yours...

- Scott Bakula is not only a decent actor, but he can demonstrate range. He didn't need to demonstrate such range in Enterprise because there was no need. He showed jovial moments and serious ones quite well. I don't think any fault could be found in Bakula's portrayal of Archer -- remember, that the main reason for the show's declining ratings had little to do with the writing, casting or production.

- Cuba Gooding Jr.'s problem isn't that he doesn't have range or that he's a bad actor -- on the contrary. He (like Eddie Murphy) has made some bad decisions in the last decade, in terms of the roles he has accepted.

- What about the triumverate of Archer, T'Pol and Trip didn't work? Noone will ever be Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley and considering the events the three pricipals of Enterprise had to endure, they did a fine job. Whether or not Braga ever watched TOS is irellevant because he did not write every word, of every episode.. far from it! You should keep an open mind, stop trying to compare them to Kirk, Spock and McCoy and get off Braga's back.

- The sexpot that you say they oogled saved that television show. She was an example of a ratings gimmick that actually worked. And you can praise Hoshi Sato for being the "asian girl next door" but Jolene Blalock is a San Diego resident and we have mutual friends. Her lips and breasts are not only very real, but she is an athlete who has competed in track and volleyball. "Skeletal" must be your way of saying "fits her catsuit like a glove."

- Robert Beltran (aka Chakotay) was just a victim of underuse. He wasn't a bad character, he just happened to be one of the least-compelling in the cast; with only Harry Kim being less so than he. He bitched about it and noone called him out because he was right. I think the weak relationship he was set up with Seven at the end of the show was the writer's way of "giving him something to do".

--------

-- Steve
"If a sixth Star Trek television series is ever realized, it will be set in the new universe." -- cdydatzigs, June 15, 2009.

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RE: Didn't Bakula win a Tony award by prometheus 59650 @ 18:41:17 on Jun 30
RE: Didn't Bakula win a Tony award by GustavoLeao @ 17:12:14 on Jun 30
    RE: Didn't Bakula win a Tony award by DavidDownUnder @ 17:25:43 on Jun 30

RE: Didn't Bakula win a Tony award | Report this post to moderator
By: Muldfeld (Odo's file, contact) @ 18:18:11 on Jun 30, 2009

Good points. I never realized the Enterprise triumvirate was meant to echo the original series' one.

Regarding awards, though, they call it the curse of the Oscar. Jodie Foster hasn't acted in ANYTHING good since "Silence of the Lambs". I assumed either that Gooding either was never that good or just hasn't found the right story. That said, I barely ever watched Quantum Leap, so I know nothing about they guy who played Archer. He was better than Harry Kim, though; now THAT was a terrible character!

I'll give Blalock credit, though, for criticizing the writing of her show. She wanted to do more and publicly resented being used as a sex object. For what it's worth, I thought she was very sexy. Terrible show, though. I haven't watched more than half of them.

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