Shatner May Ride Again in 'Free Enterprise 2'

Director Robert Meyer Burnett, who recently recorded a new commentary track for Free Enterprise (story), revealed that he is trying to produce a Free Enterprise 2, which he hopes will debut in 2006.

In an interview at The IESB, Burnett said that his plans for a sequel had been delayed by his work on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but said that he is very happy with the script and hoped to make "a much larger film" to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek. "I'd love to make it for Paramount Classics, so we can finally use proper Star Trek iconography," he added. "I'd love to have the entire original cast return...plus a few crucial additional cast members."

Burnett added that Free Enterprise was "the Spinal Tap version" of his own life and that of the other characters in the film, including William Shatner who plays a star named Bill based on himself. After sitting down with the original cast to record the commentary for the new DVD edition of the film, he noted that they had not changed much: "Even Denny Crane himself seems like a slightly older version of the Shatner character in Free Enterprise."

Though the new DVD is listed for release on May 17th, Burnett said he thought it might not actually come out until May 31st "to give everyone a chance to get over their depression watching the downfall of Anakin Skywalker." He said that he was very pleased with the anamorphic recording and the addition of "gratutious CGI" to the as-yet-unseen Logan's Run dream sequence.

As for the follow-up, Burnett joked, "I said to Shatner...at the climax of the sequel, you have to eject out of an Israeli fighter jet, parachute to the outskirts of Las Vegas...jump on a horse and gallop down the middle of Las Vegas Blvd. so you can make it in time to preside over a certain wedding. How does that sound to you?' After a long pause, Bill says, deadpan, 'Well, Rob, it's nothing I haven't done before.'"

For more, including Burnett's other film and DVD work, see the original article at The IESB.

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