Shatner boldly goes to Kirk's birthplace

Published on 05/10/2004 00:12

WHAT was to have been the biggest moment in Riverside’s proud history has turned out to be nothing more than a cruel twist of science fiction.

Star Trek actor William Shatner persuaded the 930 residents of the tiny Iowa town, famed as the "future birthplace" of his character Captain James T Kirk, that he was filming a multi-million dollar Hollywood movie there.

But it was all a hoax. Instead of being a sci-fi blockbuster that Shatner allegedly wrote, directed, produced and shot in Riverside, Invasion Iowa was actually an elaborate prank for a reality television series. Duped townsfolk, who thought they would be appearing on the big screen, will instead be starring on cable TV early next year.

"They don’t understand that we opened our hearts to them," said angry resident Barb Simon. "Already on the news I hear them laughing. We’re the ones that will show up on TV."

The United States media was taken in by the story of Shatner’s $4 million (2.22 million) movie and many newspapers, including The Scotsman, reported how Kirk was heading to the town that prides itself on being his eventual birthplace.

Before filming, producers from Spike TV tried to keep the hoax within Riverside by making residents sign secrecy contracts, then called a press conference to announce the film and escalate the prank when reporters started asking questions after hearing Shatner was in town.

Mr Shatner admitted the con at a meeting attended by several hundred residents, and the cast and crew of the bogus movie donated $112,000 (62,000) to causes in Riverside as compensation for fooling them.

"I fell in love with the people of Riverside," Shatner said. "The hardest part of this whole experience was containing my empathy for the individuals who listened to and identified with the soap opera that we played in front of them."