WASHINGTON — It may not be the final frontier, but it’s a must-hit event for pop culture fanatics.
The third annual Awesome Con convention returns to the Washington Convention Center from May 29 to 31 with a chance to meet none other than Captain Kirk.
“It should be awesome,” William Shatner tells WTOP. “Maybe the purest form of enjoyment I get in going to (these events) is the time I spend on stage with the audience. We connect, and they tell me what they want to hear, and I tell them what I want them to hear, and we have a time together.”
Shatner leads a celebrity guest lineup that includes Sean Astin (“Lord of the Rings”), Ralph Macchio (“Karate Kid”), Judith Hoag (“Ninja Turtles”), David Yoast (“Power Rangers”), Brian O’Halloran (“Clerks”), Dana Snyder (“Squidbillies”), Emma Caulfield (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Kristin Bauer (“True Blood”), WWE Champion Seth Rollins and Shatner’s co-star George Takei (“Star Trek”).
While Shatner and Takei are sure to please the Trekkies, this will be the first Awesome Con since the death of “Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy (a.k.a. Spock) back on Feb. 27.
“It’s something to lose a guy you’ve known 50 years, shared so much time, but not just time, pressured time, time that was filled with dire consequences of a bad script or an ugly director or something that went wrong,” Shatner says. “And of course all the good things, the successes and all the laughs that Leonard and I shared on stage and at dinners at home. It’s a real hunk out of your life.”
Still, Shatner admits he’s lucky to have he and Nimoy frozen in time together on screen.
“I was someplace this past weekend, getting up and getting ready, and somehow I was on a station where they were playing one of the ‘Star Trek’ movies that J.J. Abrams directed, and on the screen appeared Leonard, latter-day Leonard,” Shatner says. “I had a line for him in which I said, ‘You know you’re old when you go back in time and you’re still old.’ And it came to mind that I got a big laugh for him on that line as I was watching him frozen in time that morning. … It was like a ghostly presence.”
Shatner says he’s pleased with the recent “Star Trek” reboots (2009-2013), starring Chris Pine in the role that he made famous decades ago.
“Chris Pine’s wonderful,” Shatner says. “J.J., I think, has got a hold of the secret of making ‘Star Trek’ a popular success. … He directs so well these action sequences and you go along with the ride … and it’s borne out by the fact that his box office far succeeds any of the movies that I was in.”
That may be true in sheer dollars, as Abrams’ “Star Trek” (2009) grossed $257.7 million compared to $82.3 million earned by the original “Star Trek” (1979). But if you adjust for inflation, the original “Star Trek” would have grossed $268 million in today’s dollars, making both rather comparable.
“Inflation, both currency and ego I hope,” Shatner jokes.
Either way, next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Gene Roddenberry’s 1966 TV series.
“It’s unimaginable, a blink of an eye,” Shatner says. “I looked around and I was Captain Kirk, and the next time I looked, I wasn’t.”
Prior to the 1966 TV series, Shatner had already accomplished a lot in showbiz.
After years of performing Shakespeare in his native Canada, Shatner moved to the U.S. and was soon starring on Broadway in plays like “A Shot in the Dark,” across Julie Harris and Walter Mathau, as well as major movies like “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961), working with massive stars like Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland and Montgomery Clift.
On television, he appeared on “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and the famous “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode of “The Twilight Zone.” Then came the phone call that changed his life.
“I remember getting a phone call saying, ‘come on and take a look at this pilot we’ve made called ‘Star Trek’ that NBC didn’t buy, but they said re-cast it. We’d like you to do the role of the captain,'” he says. “I went to see the pilot, and it was really good. I was enthralled and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do this.'”
Now, Shatner is trying to devise a 50th anniversary tribute show, but the details remain a secret.
“I’ve got lots of talks on that,” he says. “When I’m ready, I’ll call ya and let you know.”
Until then, he’ll keep fueling pop culture with Emmy-winning TV roles like “Boston Legal,” guest roles on “Fresh Prince,” cameos in Brad Paisley music videos and commercials like his Priceline negotiator.
“I just sort of blunder around and I don’t have a plan,” Shatner jokes. “I keep hearing about people who have plans … I have no idea what they’re talking about. … If you think you have control of your life, you’re sadly mistaken, and that truth doesn’t seem to occur to many people until too late.”
Shatner appears at Awesome Con on Friday and Saturday. Click here for ticket information.
