sun is high

William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet – Nashville Film Festival – 4/17/09

I have always had a unique appreciation for William Shatner. He sits somewhere in the realm of Chuck Norris, Mr. T, and Christopher Walken. Such personalities so powerful and unique, they overshadow themselves. That said, the first time I heard the song “In Love,” his initial collaboration with Ben Folds, I was first struck with disbelief, and then a strange blend of humor and enjoyment. The band Hurra Torpedo struck a similar chord with me a couple years ago. His followup to that single, an album entitled “Has Been,” didn’t quite reach the same pinnacle as “In Love,” but I still thought it was a quality effort.

Ben Folds and William Shatner – In Love (from “Fear of Pop, Vol. 1):

Thus when I found out Shatner was going to be in town with Folds for the “world premiere” of his film “William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet” I knew this would be a curiosity I should make an effort to check out. The concept of the film is rather simple, although unusual. A ballet choreographer in Milwaukee New York heard “Has Been” and was so impressed with it, that she decided to make a ballet, set to the music of his album. The ballet was performed by the Milwaukee Ballet, filmed and then combined with interviews and footage from the creation of the album. The result is actually quite entertaining. I don’t consider myself a ballet fan in the slightest, but I actually found some level of appreciation for the ballet segments…sort of in the same vein as watching an extended music video. The part I found more fascinating was the interviews with him and others talking about the creation of the album, which helped provide context to everything. All in all, I don’t know that I would have gone out of my way to attend, if it had not been such a spectacle, being the premiere of the movie and all.

They presented Bill with a pretty sweet hand painted Gibson guitar before the film started, and then followed up with some Q&A with him and the production team afterwards. The first question was “What do you think of the new Star Trek film?” To which his reply was something along the lines of (jokingly) “I am enraged that they didn’t put me in the movie.” He said he hadn’t seen it, and that he is actually friends with JJ Abrams. Only a couple other questions followed as some of the production staff explained how some of the movie came together. It was shot on 4 DVX-100s during a live performance as sort of a last minute effort. The film turned out pretty decent. Some of the images and transitions looked a bit “After Effects-ish”, however the highlight, the interview with him came off really well. The Documentary Channel sponsored this one, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it airs there sometime in the future. It’s worth checking out if you are curious.