Shatner: 'Has-Been' Preferable To 'Not-Ever'

With the success of Boston Legal, the release of his CD Has Been and his presence on commercials and talk shows, William Shatner seems to be everywhere these days. Today brings the fourth part of a Q&A on his own web site, more attention from USA Today and comments by Star Trek: Enterprise executive producer Manny Coto.

• At WilliamShatner.com, Shatner joked that had he been in the Star Wars franchise rather than Star Trek, he would have wanted to play R2D2 "because he's cute" and said there were no more Shakespearean roles to which he would want to devote the study to play. He also joked that if he could meet Captain Kirk, he would ask, "What's with the pants and how come you talk so funny?"

  Shatner also joked about his co-star Leonard Nimoy (Spock), answering a question about whether anything extraordinary or inexplicable had ever happened while filming Star Trek. "Yes; mostly having to do with Leonard's acting," replied Shatner. He also said that he had not seen Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) in some time, but "she's still as beautiful as ever...she has a pile of energy and is as cute as a button."

• The Detriot News carried a longer version of a USA Today article on Shatner, citing the television shows, books, movies and commercials that keep him in the public eye, including the upcoming Miss Congeniality sequel and the reality show Invasion Iowa.

  "I kid him. I say, 'Bill, what's the matter? You haven't published a book in three weeks,'" the article quoted Nimoy as saying. "He's inexhaustible. I think there are several of him." Shatner himself resists talk of a comeback, insisting that he never went away, citing his appearances on Iron Chef and in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Noting that the rest of his life may be brief, Shatner said he is trying to think in terms of what he wants to do now.

  "Riding on their armchairs/They dream of wealth and fame/Fear is their companion/Nintendo is their game," the article quotes Shatner as singing about his critics on Has Been. He added that he would prefer to be a "has-been" than a "not-ever."

• And in the new Star Trek Magazine (excerpted at TrekWeb), Enterprise exec Coto stated that the show's producers have developed a guest role for Shatner but confirmed that Paramount and Shatner were wrangling over the actor's paycheck. "It's not the case that Shatner has asked for too much money or that Paramount doesn't want to pay it," he said. "Paramount had their number, which was a good amount as well. So it's just a case of finding the middle point. I'm still optimistic it will happen."

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