Star Trek III[]
It's stated in the DVD special features on either 2 or 3 that Alley's agent asked for a bigger salary to return for 3 and was refused as she was asking for more than DeForest Kelley was making. She didn't decline the invitation, she was refused. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.223.9.142.
- So, greed is not good.
- Ms. Alley of late is doing commercials for Jenny Craig. She's lost 75 pounds using their methods. In the latest ads, she's recruited actress Valerie Bertinelli, who wants to lose 30 pounds. By the way, Fat Actress was awful. - Adambomb1701 15:49, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
- That commentary reference is a load of bullshit, and if it is true someone said that on the commentary it could result in paramount being taken to court for defamation. According to her BIOGRAPHY which I watched on the BIO channel (not to mention every interview she's been in) Kirstie Alley's mother was killed by a drunk driver in a car accident in 1981, she had openly stated several times it was because of this that she refused to do Star Trek 3 (it was a very emotional time). Yes, I know, star trek 3 took place AFTER this happened, but the guilt of not being there is really what did it. She did very little during that period after she finished ST 2. I don't have time to look anymore of her family history up during that period but by all accounts money was not the issue.
- When Paramount asked her to reprise her role in Star Trek: TNG she was locked into an exclusive contract with NBC Holdings on Cheers. Anyone who knows about how NBC handles their "stars" knows they are more or less screwed once they get locked into a contract (see Pierce Brosnan's difficulty in becoming James Bond. Even after the series was canceled he had to wait nearly a decade before he was released). She could only work with "friendly" studios.
- Kirstie alley has repeatedly and openly stated that she cherishes her Vulcan ears. --71.218.239.24 04:33, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
- Alley did Star Trek II, One More Chance, Champions, Blind Date, Runaway, and TV's Masquerade all after her mother was killed and before Star Trek III was produced and released in 1984. So that's out as an excuse, methinks. Unless maybe she thought she couldn't play that specific role – that I could understand. But, again, Star Trek II was also made after her mother's death, and Star Trek III was three years after the tragedy. So, yeah. Keep in mind, though, that Alley herself probably didn't ask for a bigger salary; it appears to have been her agent at the time who demanded a higher salary. --From Andoria with Love 05:21, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
- By the way, Kirstie also said she turned down the role because she didn't want to be typecast as a science fiction actress. --From Andoria with Love 05:40, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
- Star Trek II has a copyright date of 1982, but she was already cast in the movie BEFORE her mother died. I can't remember the bio I watched too well, but I think she was on set or was already prepping for the movie when it happened because Gene's name did pop up in relation to her mother's death. Kirstie alley did a total of 3 things, all minor parts -from my understanding- in 1983. For an up and coming actor, that's not very active and looks to me like nothing more than busy work. Maybe the Bio people got it wrong, maybe it was her agent, maybe it was paramount lying through its teeth (they've lied before about these things). All I know is what I saw on T.V. (the Biography channel Biography, and her interview), suggests that from her point of view it was something else other than money that motivated her decision.
- Now, if she didn't want to be type cast, I can understand her passing on ST:3, but only for ST:3. However, I also have problems with the claims that she refused guest roles while she was during her run on Cheers because of that reason, mainly due to NBC contracts locking major actors in lead roles to "friendly studios", the fact she was doing everything under the sun to pad her resume in all genres, and the fact that Paramount was a competing studio to NBC and related holdings. That claim just doesn't fit. It's illogical. --71.218.239.24 18:36, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
- Star Trek II began production in November 1981; her mother may have died around that time. However, shortly after completing her work on Star Trek II in 1982, she took on the female lead in a film called One More Chance, released in February 1983. Before Star Trek III went into production in 1983, she accepted a lead role in a weekly ABC television series called Masquerade. That's not really a minor role or just "busy work." Masquerade didn't last long, but she couldn't have foreseen that. After the show was canceled, she took major roles in the films Champions and Blind Date and the TV movie Sins of the Past ... all of which were filmed (or started filming) in 1983. In other words... she kept working. Add to that the fact that Alley already admitted she didn't return for Saavik because of money (see link in article) and basically what we have is an actress either passing up a role or being rejected for the role because she or her agent asked for too much money. By the way, it was the film's director, Leonard Nimoy, who said that Alley's agent asked for a salary that was more than DeForest Kelley's, hence why he opted instead to recast the role. As for trying to bring her back to play Saavik while she was on Cheers, you're right, it could have been an issue with her contract with NBC. The fact that it was nothing more than a cameo probably didn't help matters, though. Then again, they got Kelsey Grammer with seemingly no issue. --From Andoria with Love 20:30, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
- According to Trek: The Unauthorized Story of the Movies, which has quite a large section on Alley:
- Kristie's agent requested a huge salary increase for Star Trek III. Harve Bennett and Leonard Nimoy dropped her. Alley later expressed surprise, denying Bennet's public remarks that she demanded a huge fee and pointing out that Paramount never made a counter offer. This may have been intended as an object lesson to the supporting actors, demonstrating that the studio wouldn't buckle under demands.
- Nicholas Meyer didn't like Robin Curtis as Saavik in Star Trek III and IV. He wanted Kirstie Alley when he returned to direct Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. She wasn't available, so he replaced Saavik with a different character. Roddenberry once said Alley was too Beverly Hills for Saavik.
- There are like five more paragraphs leading up to this on her being chosen for the role and her character that I may get to adding to both articles later. --Alan 20:54, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
"Weight problems"?[]
I'm not kidding when I say that's both offensive and stupid. --206.174.228.113 15:27, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
- It is a major part of her career, at this point, so it isn't stupid. I don't see how it is offensive, we aren't saying "fatty" or some such. That would be offensive. We are using as polite terms as possible to discuss what she has turned into a major part of her career. --OuroborosCobra talk 16:13, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
I wasn't objecting to discussing it. I was objecting to the use of the phrase "weight problem." At no point has Alley's weight been unhealthy. She's only overweight by Hollywood standards. --206.174.228.113 00:07, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
- First, she did a show called "Fat Actress". Second, she was quite clearly twenty pounds over weight, which is the scientifically decided upon point of "obese", which is an "unhealthy" weight. I'm not a skinny person either. But you aren't doing Kirstie, you, or myself a favor by being a member of the language police. Especially considering she capitalized on her weight difficulties (the aforementioned "Fat Actress"), I wouldn't think this should be *ANY* problem.Hossrex 00:27, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
- Not to mention what she has done with her current career by espousing health of losing weight and such with Jenny Craig (or whatever it is). --OuroborosCobra talk 03:23, 14 November 2007 (UTC)