Happy birthday to the GREATEST...ACTOR...EVER!

Seventy-seven years ago on this day in the wilds of Canada the greatest actor ever to live was born. Star of stage and screen, William Shatner has redefined the art of the dramatic pause, the carefully enunciated delivery, the burly swagger and the skill of chewing scenery, pooping the scenery and then eating said poop-scenery again. Shatner can bring it dramatically or comedically (he's certainly not afraid of mocking his image...or shilling). But damn it all, Shatner is better than that, behold one of his finest moments as captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, James Tiberius Kirk:

Glorious. Shatner is so much more than a great actor, he's worked as a musician (his Ben Fold's produced album Has Been is a genuine delight), writer, director and producer. Good stuff. People forget that he is a Shakespearean trained actor and appeared in dramatic work like The Brothers Karamazov, Oedipus Rex and Judgment at Nuremberg. I would also make the argument that he turns in sterling work on a weekly basis on the David E. Kelly series Boston Legal. If only I could remember the name of the character he plays, want to help me out there Mr. Shatner:

Thanks Bill. Happy Birthday, live long and prosper and most importantly, Denny Crane!

Oh yeah well who's gonna save you JUNIOR?!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Indiana Jones and the Bazooka of the Quantum of Solace (or whatever the ridiculous second part of the title is) and despite all press reports to the contrary, despite a press release through Lucasfilms, I STILL think we will be seeing the dessicated visage of Sean Connery at some point in this movie. I mean it makes more sense for him to show up in the movie then say...Sallah (though that would be AWESOME). SPOILER WARNING: Consider that if the movie is about a father and son relationship (that would be Indiana and Mutt[Henry Jones III?]) then why not drive this point home by showing three generations of Jones. SPOILERS END Besides it would certainly be better for Sir Connery to go out on this film then in the unapproved by Alan Moore League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I'm not mad about these denials, if anything I'm appreciative. How often are savvy movie-goers surprised by cameos anymore? If it hasn't been spoiled on the internet (hello Ed Norton and Sam Jackson in Iron Man as the Hulk and Nick Fury respectively) or glaringly obvious (you mean Will Ferrel is going to show up in a VINCE VAUGHN MOVIE?!?!?! GASP) the audience rarely has a chance to rear up and be surprised. Lord knows my favorite part of the otherwise lackluster Pirate sequel was seeing Geoffrey Rush appear at the end. So kudos to Connery and the folks at Lucasfilms for perpetrating such a stunt (maybe).

And my God, if Abrams is secretly pulling this stunt with Shatner I will buy Cloverfield on DVD. I swear I'll do it.