It seems like we can’t go more than a few days lately without getting to chat with someone really cool, but yesterday was definitely a full-on thrill when we got to ask a few questions of the man, the myth, the legend…Mr. William Shatner. In addition to his ongoing role as Denny Crane on “Boston Legal,” the Shat-Man will be doing double duty for ABC as host of the network’s new game show, “Show Me the Money,” premiering tonight before settling into its new position as the Wednesday night replacement for “Dancing with the Stars.” We asked him about this new gig, got in the obligatory “Trek” question, and closed by asking about the status of his recording career.
Bullz-Eye: Hi, Mr. Shatner. Given “Show Me the Money,” “Boston Legal,” and the number of other projects you’ve got keeping you busy, was there ever been any point after you’d finished the “Trek” films where you considered following Leonard Nimoy’s lead and winding down from acting?
William Shatner: Um…no. Leonard’s older than I am, and… (Laughs) No, it never…it doesn’t occur to me. I mean, stop what? I’m having so much fun and making a great deal of money, and I still have time for family and friends. It’s great!
BE: Regarding “Show Me the Money,” do you have any game show host influences that you’re going to be drawing from…?
WS: People who’ve affected me as a game show host?
BE: Right.
WS: My father was. And my mother gave me… (Starts again) No, I think Howie Mandel does a really lovely job at being dignified and interested in the people and letting the people play, so I’m perhaps a more exuberant version. I haven’t seen Howie in some time at his show, “Deal or No Deal,” but…that show is based on greed, and it seems to me that the fascination is, how greedy will that person be before they take the money and run? In our show, the contestants get stuck. Once they’re on the show, they can zoom up to a million dollars but not be able to quit; they have to get six correct answers, and if they get an incorrect answer, sums of money are deducted from what they’ve won until, if they get more incorrect answers, everything is deducted and they go with nothing. And it has happened with the seven shows we’ve recorded; some people have gone home with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some people have gone home with nothing.
BE: Since someone’s got to ask it, what’s the latest word on you and the upcoming “Star Trek” movie with J.J. Abrams?
WS: Well…I met with Mr. Abrams, and they’ve got a really good plot going, and they’re trying to fit in Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk…the elderly ones. And how you get a dead captain to communicate with himself, younger, is going to be a very arduous plot…uh, plotting. And I’m going to be interested to see how they solve it.
BE: And, lastly, has Ben Folds pressed you for a follow-up to Has-Been (Shatner’s 2004 album, which Folds produced and arranged)?
WS: Um…I’ve not been pressed… (Laughs) …for a follow-up to Has-Been, but maybe “Show Me the Money” will excite interest in my recording career. I don’t know whether I’d be capable of putting out another record. We were so well-received with Has-Been, and I don’t know whether I’ve shot my bolt…but if Ben Folds were to agree to do another one, and somebody wanted to release it, I’d certainly be…they wouldn’t have to press me very hard.
BE: I could get behind that.
WS: (Politely chuckles at the blatant lyrical reference to a song from the album)
BE: Thank you. (Gets off line, then immediately performs The Victory Dance of the Geeks because he just got to talk to Captain freaking KIRK, baby!)
