Movies - TV
Jonathan Frakes Made A Mockery Of A Famous Star Trek: First Contact Line
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
“Star Trek: First Contact” turned Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard into an unusually angry man, and director Jonathan Frakes mocked one scene that epitomized Picard’s histrionics.
In a climactic moment, Picard loses his cool and raves to Lily (Alfre Woodard) that the Borg have had too many opportunities to attack Earth, and it’s time to stop them.
Stewart is over-the-top as he yells, “The line must be drawn here!” In Stewart’s autobiography “Making It So: A Memoir,” he reveals Frakes turned his dialogue into a running joke.
“Alfre and I recognized how explosive the scene was going to be. Jonathan supported the line we took, making us feel safe in [...] our characters’ feverish energy,” Stewart wrote.
The actor continued, “Under the spell of these emotions and Alfre’s intensity, I spat out the words ‘The line must be drawn here!’ like venom: ‘The line must be drawn h’yah!’”
“We all felt good about the scene after we shot it, but it was Jonathan who recognized instantly that my eccentric pronunciation was bound to achieve traction,” Stewart recalled.
“He started saying ‘The line must be drawn h’yah!’ in my voice, in all sorts of situations. [...] It has become [...] oft quoted and [...] I am all too pleased about it,” he added.