Montalban & Bennett Recall 'Wrath Of Khan'

Ricardo Montalban explained recently what it was that attracted him to the role of Khan Noonien Singh in 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.'

"Even when I was not on screen, they were talking about me!" Montalban told the Star Trek Communicator (via TrekWeb).

But it wasn't plain sailing for the star of cult series Fantasy Island. "I started articulating the dialogue," he recalled, "I thought, 'My God, I sound like Mr. Roarke! Nobody's going to believe me after six years on Fantasy Island! I'm going to make a fool of myself here.'"

Writer and producer Harve Bennett recalled his first meeting with Paramount executives. He was asked what he thought of the first Trek feature film - 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' "I say, 'Well' - gulp! 'I thought it was boring,'" Bennett said.

But 'The Motion Picture' provided the idea that germinated into 'Star Trek II.' "Near the end of the episode there's a musing by Spock; he says 'I wonder if a hundred years from now, will we ever see his like again?'" said Bennett. "I remember getting up, and I said, 'Alright guys, lights - that's it, that's what we're going to do'."

'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' will be re-released on DVD as a special director's edition on August 6th. The movie is available to pre-order at a special price here at Amazon.com.

The full interview with Harve Bennett and Ricardo Montalban will feature in the next edition of the Star Trek Communicator, which will be available to buy on July 16th. Alternatively, extracts are online here at TrekWeb.

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