Shatner On His Latest Projects

After appearing in a tell-all documentary, facing the stern Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link and hosting a gladiatorial-style cooking show last year, William Shatner (James T. Kirk) is planning bigger and better things for 2002.

First up is a series of 'Mind Melds,' which will take the same format as Shatner's filmed conversation with Leonard Nimoy (Spock). "I have plans to try and do 'Mind Meld' with Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine)," Shatner told StarTrekUK.com. "I have approached Kate, and she said she would, but she's in New York right now."

In addition to the big-budget comedy 'Showtime' with Robert DeNiro, Shatner has been working on the independent film 'Shoot Or Be Shot.' "I just came back from opening it in Austin, Texas and in Minneapolis, Minnesota," the actor said. "It had great reaction and wonderful reviews, and a very happy audience reaction."

Shatner described the movie's plot. "A totally insane writer escapes from an asylum with his movie script under his arm. What he wants to do is get his movie made and he discovers a movie company in the desert and he forces them to shoot his script. Therein lies the fun, and I play the crazy writer."

The actor has also been active behind the camera. "I'm working on producing and directing 'Groom Lake,'" Shatner said. "A woman is dying and she seeks affirmation that there's life after death by attempting to see or touch a UFO. So she goes to the area in Nevada where some of the UFOs have been seen, which is 'Groom Lake.' And that's her adventure. [...] It's very well written, it's done and it's in the final stages of post-production. It's a fun film, a very interesting film and I think your [the British] audience will like it."

Fans itching for more adventures of James T. Kirk will be happy to learn Shatner will be writing three more of his best-selling novels featuring the infamous Starfleet captain. However, his literary work doesn't stop there. "[I've got] a new book called 'I'm Working On That' - that's what Stephan Hawking said when he saw the Star Trek set. So I'm using that phrase as the title. And the other thing is my web site WilliamShatner.com, [which] will be launching in February."

The full interview with Shatner, in which he also discussed the late DeForest Kelley (Leonard 'Bones' McCoy) and his Weakest Link appearance, can be found here at StarTrekUK.com.

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