WilliamShatner.com :: AN EVENING WITH WILLIAM SHATNER

AN EVENING WITH WILLIAM SHATNER
Posted by: Sandy.Moruzzi on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 11:39 AM

	The Learning Annex recently hosted an An Evening with William Shatner. Their catalogue said, "prepare to be entralled, amused and truly fascinated as you meet the real William Shatner up close and personal." And they were right! But it was really so much more...
<p align="right"><font size="2" color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">November 19, 2002</font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Learning Annex billed it as An Evening with William Shatner. The inside front cover of their catalogue said, "prepare to be entralled, amused and truly fascinated as you meet the real William Shatner up close and personal." And they were right! But it was really so much more. </font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Everyone in attendance was treated to a glimpse at Bill's wistful outlook on life, his passion for making every moment count, his yearning for the understanding of our spiritual journey and the role that death plays in our lives, and his humility in the realization that he's been "so blessed." You couldn't help but feel priviledged to have had been there...in the moment with Bill. He spoke with such openness and honesty.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Bill talked </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF"> at length about his writing career, how he wrote his first novel, Tek War, during some down time during the Writer's Strike in the late 1980's and how the books later evolved into a series. He touched upon the research process for his non-fiction books and how he realized that he really loved talking to people and interviewing them when he did the research for Star Trek: Memories. The sequel, Star Trek: Movie Memories and his subsequent books, Get a Life! and more recently I'm Working On That, were written in much the same manner. Last year, Mind Meld, with Leonard Nimoy, afforded both he and Leonard the opportunity to interview each other, something he greatly enjoyed.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF"> In contrast to Bill's appearances at conventions or on talk shows, this forum allowed Bill to delve deeper into the writing and filmmaking process. But his talk wasn't all serious. He related </font><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">several amusing stories about his adventures interviewing scientists and researching the science of Star Trek with Chip Walter for I'm Working On That. He freely admitted that he's a techno-nerd. (For example, he related that until very recently he used to think that burning a CD meant setting it on fire!) He wants technology to be user-friendly. And as we all know, more often that not, it's not. Why, for example, he wanted to know, were computers designed to be turned on with the push of a button, yet the shutdown procedure is so complicated?</font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> He also </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">talked about how his research for I'm Working On That gave him some spiritual insights and he came away from it believing that there must be more to life than what meets the eye. </font> <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF"></font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Bill spoke for over an hour, then opened up the floor to questions. One gentleman wanted an anectdote about the Star Trek animated series and Bill told him that oftentimes the dialogue was recorded while he was on the road, in restrooms. They had the best acoustics! Keeping with the Star Trek theme, Bill related the whole Saturday Night Live "Get a Life" story and how his utterance of the words "Get a Life" caused such varied reactions among fans, Studio heads and fellow actors that it led to the idea for his book by the same title. He said that in doing research for the book, he came to the realization that, for the most part, fans attend conventions to see each other, not necessarily to see the stars. </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">He seemed touched by that fact.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">One </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> particularly funny moment came when a young woman told Bill that while she considered him to be a father figure, she wanted to let him know that he made #2 on her website's list of the "Top 10 Sexiest Men." Much to everyone's amusement, Bill said "That's not bad," and then asked who number three was. We never did find out, but #1 turned out to be none other than George Clooney. So Bill's definitely in good company.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">One of the most moving moments of the evening came when a musician told Bill that his life had been saved by Star Trek. As a young man, he was surrounded by bad influence and was planning on going over to his cousins' home one evening when he noticed that the episode Turnabout Intruder was coming on TV. He opted to stay home and watch the episode, and everyone at his cousins' home died that evening. He lost several members of his family. He said that the event turned his life around. He cleaned up his act, went to college and is a successful musician today. It was a deeply moving moment.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Someone asked Bill what it was like being William Shatner. Bill said that he leads "one of the great lives on the planet," and that while he has suffered his share and paid his dues, he is blessed. He cherishes every moment. "I feel the pressure of time - and I have my whole life - the preciousness of the couple of hours that we're spending together. I'm reaching out and I'm telling you about some of the discoveries that I've had. I'm listening to your questions and you can feel that I'm not wasting our time by being casual or offhand or something. I'm trying to earnestly and honestly reach out to you," </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">he said. He went on to speak of the great pain and deep despair that he went through when he lost his late wife, Nerine...and how blessed he felt to have found love again with Elizabeth. Now, he's cherishing every moment that he can with her.</font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">In closing, Bill spoke in earnest, urging everyone in attendance to try to understand the very essence of life, which is love. "Love is what it's all about. Love is what makes the cold light of the stars roar...It's our magic, it's our imagination. You've got to bring that to every part of your life."</font> <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF"></font> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Bill signed copies of I'm Working On That and posed for photos after his talk. And, you've probably noticed by now that he was sporting a goatee. This was our first glimpse at his new look. He looks distinguished, don't you think? According to Robin, Bill's assistant, the goatee is for an upcoming role Bill has in an independent film in which he portrays a gay French dog groomer! We can't wait.</font> <p align="right"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Contributed by Sandy Moruzzi and Jane Singer</font> <hr /> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FFFFFF">Our next column will appear on December 3rd. Join us as we take a peek through the paintball porthole. In other words, we'll have some coverage of Bill's latest paintball adventure with JJ Brookshire (SPPLAT) and friends. Meanwhile, if you missed one of our past web columns, you can view them in the SFI Archive. </font> <p align="center"> <hr /> <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="" size="2"><font color="#FFFFFF">Shatner & Friends International is William Shatner's official fan club. We are a community of friends drawn together by an appreciation of William Shatner, the actor and the man. </font></font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">O</font><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">ur first newsletter, The Best of Times, is posted online. Each issue features the latest news about Bill and his activities, exclusive interviews, articles, lots of candid photos, charity updates and much more. The next one will be published in a couple of weeks.</font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> We will post time sensitive information concerning Bill's appearance schedule within Bill's online calendar. It's updated regularly, so keep checking back. </font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font size="-1">If you're interested in joining the Club, annual membership includes a beautiful autographed 8x10 photograph of William Shatner as Captain Kirk, a copy of Bill's credits, a short biography, a subscription to The Best of Times and the opportunity to participate in our annual Shatner Weekend. Membership also grants access to the Captain's Club, an exclusive members-only part of WilliamShatner.com which includes a bulletin board and Club merchandise. Click here to join.</font></font> <p align="left"><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We are excited to be part of WilliamShatner.com and we will be making regular updates to the website. </font>