Is William Shatner Losing His Mind?
William Shatner is an eccentric and wildly popular cultural icon, known in Hollywood as much for his temperament as for his acting. He put together the only film done completely in Esperanto, the now dead "universal language." Shatner has been making some very strange public comments on his Web site lately, comments that don't seem to relate to reality.
For example, Shatner was asked to take a small role in the new Star Trek film that is under production, and apparently terms were not able to be reached. Depending upon who you ask, the answers as to what happened have more shapes than constellations. People involved with the film say that Shatner was not happy with the scenes planned for him, wanting a larger role. Shatner posted a video on his Web site recently implying that he had been cut out of the equation. And now, more drama from a man most famous for Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker, and Boston Legal.
Shatner has claimed for a long time he never got to know George Takei during their time on the set of Star Trek. Takei got married on September 14 to Brad Altman. The Associated Press reports that Shatner was invited, but he never replied to the invite.
Fast forward a few weeks, and Shatner posts another video to his blog. In the video, Shatner suggests that Takei has some long standing issue with him, and thus snubbed him from being invited to the wedding. Shatner even went as far as to suggest that Takei has some sort of "psychosis" and that he has a "sickness."
When asked about all of this, Takei told the AP, "It is unfortunate that Bill was unable to join us for our wedding as he indeed was invited to attend." This is the second time in a month that Shatner has reported on his Web site he's been passed over, first for a role in the new Star Trek film and now to a wedding of a former co-worker he claimed he never got to know. Of course, the other side of the story is different on both counts.
If William Shatner really is this outrageous, he might want to consider not posting it on his blog. Shatner has always been a bit of a cultural novelty, but nobody wants to hear a grown man whine, unless it's to mock him. We all thought it was funny to see people roast him for his notorious disposition, but that doesn't mean we want to hear him attack people (although it does make for an amusing watch).
As for me, if I want to hear ludicrous ravings, I'll tune in to Comedy Central News, not William Shatner's blog.
CORRECTION: I stated that Shatner starred in the only Esperanto film, and that it has become a dead language. According to Wikipedia, there have been four feature length films shot entirely in Esperanto, Angoroj and Incubus in the 1960s, and two more recently. Incubus was the Shatner film. Esperanto has also been used sparsely in several other films, including Blade: Trinity.
Futhermore, Esperanto is NOT a dead language. It has been spoken by over a million people in the last century, and is used in commerce, communication, travel, and media. Though China discussed moving to Esperanto after their revolution in 1911, no country has yet chosen Esperanto as their official language. Over 100,000 people can functionally speak Esperanto.