Beam me up, Chris.
Chris Pine, the bedroom-eyed actor who starred as wine-maven Bo Barrett in the locally-produced film “Bottle Shock,” is boldly going where no actor has gone before – well, no actor other than William Shatner.
Next year, Pine trades his wine glass for a phaser when he plays the young Capt. Kirk in director J.J. Abrams redux of “Star Trek” slated for an December 2008 release. Shatner is reportedly miffed because the actor himself has yet to be offered a part, though Spock’s Leonard Nimoy has already brokered an appearance.
Though Shatner’s portrayal of the swaggering Capt. Kirk has endured countless potshots through the years (the ubiquity of Shatner/Kirk impersonations has only recently given way to the deluge of Christopher Walken impressions), even his detractors must concede the role and the man represent something of a mind-meld. Shatner’s other culturual contributions, including a spoken-word rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (voted “worst Beatles cover ever” in a Music Choice poll in 2003), and the cult horror film “Incubus” (which remains the only feature film to have its dialogue performed entirely in the ill-fated “international” language of Esperanto), however, have not fared as well. Incidentally, nor did Capt. Kirk’s predecessor, Capt. Chris Pike who appeared in the 1965 pilot episode of “Star Trek” in lieu of the Kirk character.
Forever banished to the realm of Trekker trivia, erstwhile actor Jeffrey Hunter is said to have turned down an option to continue his role in the lucrative franchise, opting instead to star in the long-forgotten “Dimension” 5 as a secret agent trying to foil a plan by Chinese operatives to build an A-bomb in Los Angeles. Choose one: royalty check or reality check?
Also, has anyone noticed that the names Chris Pine and Chris Pike differ by only a single letter? That sure sets my phaser to stun.
