The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood

by Nicholas Meyer

Overview

"Essential reading for any Star Trek and movie fan."
-trekmovie.com

When Nicholas Meyer was asked to direct the troubled second Star Trek film, he was something less than a true believer. A bestselling author and successful director, he had never been a fan of the TV series. But as he began to ponder the appeal of Kirk, Spock, et al., he realized that their story was a classical nautical adventure yarn transplanted into space and-armed with that insight-set out on his mission: to revitalize Trek.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101133477
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/20/2009
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,049,971
File size:	419 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nicholas Meyer is a screenwriter, producer, author and director, most known for his bestselling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and The Day After. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also been nominated for a Satellite Award and three Emmy Awards, and has won four Saturn Awards.

Editorial Reviews

Though the title plays up Meyer's work as writer and director on the second and fourth Star Trek films (arguably the best of them), there's plenty in this breezy, enjoyable showbiz memoir for non-Trekkers to enjoy. Meyer wisely focuses on the range of his Hollywood accomplishments, including devastating television movie The Day After and Oscar-nominated film The Seven Per-Cent Solution (adapted from his best-selling book). Ingratiatingly humble-"I assume that people who get to make a film are a) doggone lucky and b) doing this job because they want to do it"-Meyer's clear joy for his work never edges into ego-inflation or pretension. William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Mary Streenberg, Leonard Nimoy, Kirstie Alley, Gene Hackman and other stars pop in and out of his narrative, as does Meyer's family, but the films take center stage, as well as Meyer's grounded but exuberant affection for the community that allowed him to make them.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

"Essential reading for any Star Trek and movie fan."—trekmovie.com

"An engaging read that's all the better for his insights into directing The Day After... Meyer also writes about adapting his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, for which he was Oscar-nominated in 1977, and making his directorial debut with 1979's Time After Time."—The Gazette (Montreal)

From the Publisher

Though the title plays up Meyer's work as writer and director on the second and fourth Star Trek films (arguably the best of them), there's plenty in this breezy, enjoyable showbiz memoir for non-Trekkers to enjoy. Meyer wisely focuses on the range of his Hollywood accomplishments, including devastating television movie The Day After and Oscar-nominated film The Seven Per-Cent Solution (adapted from his best-selling book). Ingratiatingly humble-"I assume that people who get to make a film are a) doggone lucky and b) doing this job because they want to do it"-Meyer's clear joy for his work never edges into ego-inflation or pretension. William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Mary Streenberg, Leonard Nimoy, Kirstie Alley, Gene Hackman and other stars pop in and out of his narrative, as does Meyer's family, but the films take center stage, as well as Meyer's grounded but exuberant affection for the community that allowed him to make them.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reed Business Information

Narrating his 2009 memoir, Nicholas Meyer is every bit the storyteller, a skill honed from years of writing and directing in Hollywood. The title references his work on the Star Trek series—he developed and directed several of the franchise’s most successful entries. How Meyer came to have so much creative impact on the legendary series is almost accidental; he recalls not connecting to the “TV show with the pointy ears" but was able to participate in the fledgling film series after building clout at Paramount. Hearing Meyer describe how he lost and then regained the opportunity to direct a Star Trek film captures the spirit of working in the movie industry. Meyer’s performance expresses the endearing qualities of a seasoned pro. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MAY 2021 - AudioFile