Friday, July 11, 2008

Star Trek

I'm glad I'm not a full-fledged actor anymore. Otherwise, I might get all up in arms about something I recently came across at work.

I'm privy to certain legal documents and one of those shows the credits order for the movie Star Trek, coming out next year. I already know who is playing Sulu, the Asian character made famous by George Takei. What gets me is that the guy playing the young Sulu is now getting first billing in the credits.

Why? Well, if you talk to an entertainment lawyer, you know there's two things that industry folks fight for most: money and credit, but not necessarily in that order. In fact, you might give up money for credit if it means further money and credit down the road.

In some cases, you have enough money already, so credit is really what you're fighting for in your career, as may be the case with John Cho, who's listed way above Winona Ryder in the credit list.

Why? It's a default first billing because it's an ensemble cast, which is actually listed in alphabetical order. But, hell, does anyone else know this besides a proofreader and maybe the studio lawyers? Probably not. But I bet Mr. Cho's agents and lawyers know this, and are breaking out the champagne as we speak.

As for me, well, as you can tell, I'm about as green as the woman who Captain Kirk slept with in the original series. Green with envy, of course. Ah, 'tis the painful part of my job.

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