RIVERSIDE, Iowa (AP) -- Capt. James T. Kirk came home
to Riverside this week.
William Shatner, who played the commander of the
starship USS Enterprise in the '60s "Star Trek" series, arrived in Riverside
Tuesday to hold auditions for four small parts in a low-budget, sci-fi movie he
wrote with "Star Trek" co-star Leonard Nimoy.
The working title of the movie is "Invasion
Iowa."
Shatner called the film "his baby," and said he's
dreamed of putting the story on the big screen for 30 years.
The 73-year-old actor and more than 100 crew members
will be in Riverside for several days to film scenes for the movie.
Although Kirk's hometown was never mentioned in the
TV series, Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator and executive producer, wrote in
"The Making of Star Trek" that Kirk was "born in a small town in the state of
Iowa."
The Riverside City Council picked up on the idea in
March 1985, declaring a site behind what used to be the town's barbershop the
"future birthplace" of Kirk.
Shatner is a native of
Canada.