Teleportation really has no more secrets for him: more than fifty years after being transported to distant planets in the Star Trek series in the guise of Captain Kirk, William Shatner appeared in the form of a hologram during a demonstration in Sydney. The 92-year-old actor was the star of a publicity convention in Australia, where his image appeared in a giant action figure-style box despite being in a California studio. “You are 7,000 miles (about 11,260 kilometers, editor’s note) from here and I am here in Los Angeles”, he launched to the public. “And you can hear every word I say. It’s as if I was there, in the telephone booth.
This technology from Proto, based in Los Angeles, projects a high-definition 2D image, to which shadows cast in the studio are added to create the illusion of a three-dimensional volume. Displayed on a human-sized screen, which occupies most of a 2.2 meter device, the result is quite realistic, without being free from a few hiccups. The demonstration witnessed by AFP initially failed and the audience was left in front of a blank screen, while Shatner gestured in vain to create a hazy illusion reminiscent of teleports from “Star Trek”. “There are always risks when using new technology,” evacuated the actor, when he appeared in Sydney moments later.
Presenting this new technique, called “holoportation”, with the interpreter of captain James T. Kirk was obvious, according to Proto boss David Nussbaum. “William Shatner imprinted the idea of holoportation in our imaginations through his performance in Star Trek and he can now teleport anywhere on Earth, anywhere in the world,” said the entrepreneur.
Star of this cult science fiction series, which followed the adventures of a crew and their spaceship across the galaxy, the Canadian actor is the oldest person to have been in space, boarding aboard of a Blue Origin rocket in 2021 – Jeff Bezos’ space venture. Self-proclaimed fan of new technologies, William Shatner believes that Hollywood, currently shut down by the strike of actors and screenwriters, must adapt by leaving room for everyone. “We can’t do what we were doing last year or six months ago,” he told AFP. “Artificial intelligence, 3D, streaming are all new ideas”, which require “a new protocol”, according to him.
The use of AI is currently one of the points of contention between studios and creatives, who fear that robots generate scripts or clone their voice and their image, without fair compensation. The studios are “fighting because they don’t want to pay”, regretted William Shatner, hoping that actors and screenwriters will “not shed too much blood” in this conflict.
