By now, anyone who follows movie news on an even semi-regular basis knows about the lack of William Shatner in the next Star Trek movie. The original Captain Kirk has been all kinds of vocal about this fact, which recently led him to a spot on Cinematical's Lame in 2007 list. Now, even though production is well underway, Sci Fi Wire says that there's still a chance. It seems that Roberto Orci, the co-writer of the latest installment, says that the first Kirk could still get a spot in the film, but that it's less of a possibility. Considering the fact that it didn't sound like much of a possibility to begin with, aren't we talking about almost none from almost none?

Although Orci says that they're still trying to find a way, they've struggled with the Trek sticklers and how to deal with Kirk's death in Star Trek VII. Now things are further complicated by the writers' strike -- they can't make script changes until the whole thing is settled. To me, it seems like they're just trying to appease Shatner as much as possible, although I don't see why. The way everyone is talking, you'd think that they're trying to figure out how to write a vampire into an historic war drama or something.

If they want to have Shatner at least pop up, without being able to write it into the script, they could always have Kirk look in a mirror, or some reflective surface and see Shatner, and what Kirk will become. Back when they could still mess around with the script, it wouldn't have been hard for Spock to muse about what his life would be like had Kirk not died, or the Vulcan seeing the different crew members morphing into his once-friends. Or heck, even a daydream where he talks with an imagined Kirk about whatever his role is in the film. But the "possibility" will probably just sit there until the production is finished, and when the Enterprise zooms onto the big screen once again, it will be without Shat.

I'm still holding out for the surprise announcement that William Shatner will indeed appear in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. In the meantime, though, I expect to hear another complaint from the original Captain Kirk after reading this juicy bit of goodness: George Takei has a cameo in the upcoming movie*, which will be a prequel-ish reboot of the TV and movie franchise. According to a Starburst magazine interview with the actor, Takei will feature in a flash-forward scene that will also showcase original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. From the sound of it, he will be returning to his iconic role as an older version of Sulu. Best guess is that Takei and Nimoy will be sitting in futuristic rocking chairs reminiscing about their beginnings at the Starfleet Academy, and this scene will be the prologue to the rest of the movie. Playing the younger versions of Sulu and Spock throughout the rest of the film are John Cho and Zachary Quinto, respectively.

Well, if Shatner doesn't put up more of a fuss, the fans should. After all, as long as we're getting two of the surviving original cast members, why can't we get the rest? Sure, it would be a sad scene, considering DeForest Kelley (Bones) and James Doohan (Scotty) aren't around to be a part of such a reunion, but the Trekkies would certainly appreciate seeing Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru), Walter Koenig and of course Shatner together again. Am I right? They could all have a few laughs while yelling at the kids to get off their damn lawns. And we could all feel better about having to accept all new actors as these beloved characters. So, who is going to start the online petition? Oh wait, that's already been done.

*UPDATE: Apparently this is just another rumor, one that has been debunked. According to TrekMovie.com, Takei will not have a cameo in the new Star Trek.

Let's see now, we've got a Spock, a Uhura and a Chekov. We still need a Kirk, a Scott, a McCoy ("Bones") and a Sulu. I feel like I'm collecting trading cards, but really I'm just anxiously awaiting more Star Trek news. The new sorta-prequel (aka Star Trek XI) is set to begin filming soon, so it's about time J.J. Abrams finds the rest of his cast. Or, if he's already found his stars, it's about time Paramount announced them. At least the rumors and unconfirmed choices continue to float around the net. In fact, this morning we have two fairly reliable sources reporting new names to place in the Kirk and Scott slots.

The investigative team over at IESB got word that Mike Vogel (Poseidon) is the front-runner to fill William Shatner's shoes in the role of James T. Kirk. The site attempted to confirm the rumor with both Paramount and Vogel's agents, but obviously neither would comment. But IESB did get a hint of nervousness from the latter, Gersh Agency, which was curious about where this news had come from. The way IESB's Robert Sanchez relays the encounter, it does sound like a slight, accidental confirmation. But we'll see. Vogel (who makes me think of Superbad's Fogel) is also co-starring in the Abrams-produced monster movie coming in January -- you know, Cloverfield, 1-18-08 or whatever it will be titled -- so at least we know the actor has an in with the director.

Movie memorabilia is an incredible after-market for popular films. Sites exist all over the internet offering to sell you pieces of your favorite film in exchange for large (sometimes mind-blowingly large) sums of your hard-earned cash. Additionally, fancy auction houses will feature big old-fashioned auctions of the non-internet variety* where you can go and enjoy the excitement of raising a little wooden paddle in the air before trading your piles of cash for a James Bond moonbuggy or Charlie Chaplin's cane.

Christie's auction house in New York is just such a place, and they recently held a Star Trek event featuring over 1000 pieces of Trek related swag from all incarnations of the franchise (read a more detailed report here). After a full three days of waving wooden paddles and cutting huge checks, geeks from across the globe went home more than $7 million poorer, but clutching onto such fabulous pieces of movie history as Dr. McCoy's spacesuit from "The Tholian Web" episode ($144,000), a model Klingon ship from The Search for Spock ($307,000), and and Enterprise-D model from TNG ($576,000). Seriously, who on earth has over half a million bucks to spend on a toy spaceship? We may never know, because the winner of that one (a private American bidder) is undisclosed. The total take on the auction was more than twice what had been anticipated.

If you could have bid on and bought any piece of Star Trek history, what would it be?

*You know ... what they did in the pre-Ebay days.

The rumor mongering regarding the next Star Trek has been fast and furious for quite some time now. Back in June, word surfaced that Matt Damon was being considered for the role of a young Captain Kirk -- the part originated by William Shatner -- piggybacking on the popular rumor suggesting the new flick feature a young Kirk and Spock in Starfleet Academy. At a press junket in New York, IESB flagged Damon down and questioned him about the summer rumor. Damon denied everything, saying he'd heard nothing about the part. His publicist jumped in to explain what had happened: According to the publicist, director Abrams had mentioned Damon's name during a Q&A as a response to a generic "what actors would you like the chance to work with some day" sort of question, and the rumor grew from there. To drive the point home, the publicist noted that not only has Damon heard nothing, Paramount has heard nothing, the publicist has heard nothing, and Endeavor (Damon's agency) has heard nothing. This covers the field rather well, so I suppose we can officially take Damon's name out of the rumor mill, at least for now.

Tales of a return to their roots for William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy may be highly exaggerated, according to Shatner himself. Despite numerous reports of Shatner and Nimoy heavily hinting the possibility during Chicago's recent Star Trek convention, Shatner now looks to be disavowing all knowledge of a reunion. What follows is the text of a post made by William Shatner on the WilliamShatner.com message boards this Thursday:

"There are lots of underground rumblings about STAR TREK. Some of it is burbling, some of it is barely noticeable. I know nothing except that where there's rumblings, there's gas and in this case, the gas is coming from JJ Abrams and none of it seems to be directed in my direction. If any gas comes my way, I will post it immediately and you all will know. Until then, hold your breath--because this gas is odiferous.
My Best, Bill"

That would certainly seem to be a very good indication of events since it came straight from the horse's mouth, as they say. So what really is the truth when it comes to J.J. Abrams and his efforts to bring Captain Kirk back into the Star Trek fold? Abrams seems convinced it will happen, and although Shatner reportedly alluded strongly to it himself, he is now denying any current plans. Stay tuned to Cinematical for further events as this complicated relationship unfolds.

Look, I know the guy is immortalized among the highest icons of American pop culture for being the fictional captain of a spaceship which flew into each and every corner of the known and unknown universe. So naturally, when we hear that William Shatner (Star Trek's Captain Kirk) turned down an offer for a free ride on Virgin Galactic's first ever passenger flight to outer space (roughly a 150,000 dollar value) our first reaction to this is, "oh, c'mon man! Don't be a pansy!" It strikes us as odd that the man wouldn't want to boldly go ... eh, you get the point.
But let's cut the man a break -- after all, he is 75-years-old. I mean, it isn't like he's in the prime of his physical life here, and space voyaging is a daunting task for anyone. Shatner's explanation? He's old, doesn't want to throw up in outer space, and has no interest in a "fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me." Hmm, sounds logical. In another display of rationality, Shatner said "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back." Would I want to go? Oh yes, yes I would. I'd jump at the chance, and I envy those who will get to do it. But I certainly can't blame an old man for being a bit scared of the idea. You?

This is a wacky one, but it's kinda fun. I'll stipulate up front that I'm only a mild Trekkie -- I dig the series but I'm unfortunately not a fanboy. Real fans, feel free to share your opinions on this one, I'm really anxious to hear what you've got to say. Here's the scoop: In 2004 there was much ballyhoo and rumor about a possible Trek film sequel, from producers J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel. Obviously, the sucker never got the green light, but for whatever reason the two have decided to share their dead-in-the-water concept with us now, to let us know what might have been.

Straczynski and Zabel wanted to approach the Trek world with what I've taken to calling the "reset button" approach. That's right, the duo wanted to re-imagine the whole universe. They'd take the Big Three (McCoy, Spock and Kirk) and put them in a "Universe B," telling their story as it might have been in a slightly different parallel world. The primary mission of the Enterprise was to be a quest to discover knowledge about an ancient life-form that "had a hand in creating the numerous species throughout the universe." Zabel summed up the plans by saying: "We wanted to do what they do in the world of comics, create a separate universe so we could embrace the good stuff, banish the bad, and try some new things. We wanted to use Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but show them off as you'd never seen them before."