Adam Nimoy Interview: For the Love of Spock

My dad and I had such a great bonding experience making this [previous] documentary.

And what better way to celebrate or contribute to the celebration?

He just thought that was amazing.

Was he an internet person?

He was learning to be.

He dabbled in it.

And that was one of the great things about my dad.

He was very involved and just a very aware person.

And so this is really the genesis of this whole project, until he passed away.

I know youve spoken before about how the documentary changed after he passed away.

Could you speak a little about that?

To give the film more dimension, really.

It was so much material to wade through.

We had so much to edit.

Its very challenging when you have that kind of artist.

Because thats what makes it unique.

And how has that changed over the course of your life, your relationship to this character?

Well, up and down.

So, it was very uncomfortable for me.

I just wanted to get away from him because we were not doing well.

We interviewed them in Vancouver where they were shooting part ofStar Trek Beyond.

Their love and affection and support and feeling of reverence for my dad was like, Whoa.

He just had a tremendous impact on them.

Just [his] participating in the project made them feel completely validated in what they were doing.

That they werent just a sequel.

Theyre a continuation of the story.

He has really passed the torch to them.

And they said, Were feeling it now on this film, even though hes not with us.

We still feel him.

And its very inspirational.

And that was just like, you know, emotional.

How was it for you watching Star Trek Beyond and seeing the character of Spock still so included?

I mean they have little tributes to him throughout the film.

I think its beautiful.

They really do pay homage.

Its a great feeling to see that.

Its great to see Zachary [Quinto] play out his emotion, his connection to Spock prime.

You know, Zachary had a very close relationship with my father, and thats very unique and unusual.

They were both very fortunate to have that kind of connection.

And Zachary narrates the documentary, correct?

And I asked Zachary.

So, we initially thought he was going to narrate it.

It just seemed more organic to do it that way.

I know you raised money for the documentary through Kickstarter.

What was that experience like, incorporating that community into the making of the film?

These things, if theyre done right, these things are expensive propositions …

This wasnt going to be a home movie.

We wanted to make a feature film.

These things are expensive.

We conducted over 30 interviews, so just production time alone.

You did it very quickly.

We did it at a very fast pace, yeah, which was another whole issue.

That we knew what story we were going to tell.

We had an outline.

It changed and evolved over time and we had an absolutely outstanding production and editorial crew helping me.

So, going back to Kickstarter, it was just a great way to get funded within 30 days.

We met our goal.

It was challenging because we thought we would reach more people in the community, which we did not.

A lot of people said they didnt know about it.

But thats OK. We got the initial seed money.

We had a lot of licensing.

And I did get the Paramount family discount from CBS and Paramount, but it still costs money.

These things still cost money.

And have you started doing the backer screenings?

Yeah, we just did them two weeks ago.

We were in Chicago, we were in Boston.

We were in New York.

How did that go?

How was the feedback?

The backers are lovely.

It was great to have the community involved in making the film.

Were in it together.

Spock is a part of peoples soul, and they wanted to participate.

Well, one of the objectives of the film is to educate people.

I mean, my kids have not sat through an entire episode ofThe Original Series.

Its too slow for the next generation or something.

Were educating people about Spock.

But, also, its the journey of an artist.

And thats how he got to Spock.

He just had a dogged determination to succeed.

You understand what Im telling you?

And I love those stories, people love those stories.

It gives us hope that anybody can do it.

This is America, dammit, and he lived the American dream.

So thats another very inspirational part of the film.

And the third element is my relationship with my father because it was not pretty for many years.

Who the hell am I to tell him, We got a problem here and its not just me?

He was my go-to guy.

Thats a complete 180-degree turn-around.

And I think that also will give people hope not to give up on family.

Are you involved with the new TV series at all?

That Ill be an active passive participant, watching.

Im not involved with the new series, but Im anxiously awaiting how its gonna come out.

Are you a Bryan Fuller fan?

I think the guys a great pick.

Im sure hes gonna do a great job.

Hes the right guy, I think.

I think hes gonna be outstanding.

Im very excited about the prospect.

Nick Meyer is also involved.

It made money, but it was critically not well-received, and the cast didnt really enjoy the experience.

So, I think theyre gonna do really well with this series.

Im really excited about that project.

Well, I was big onNext Generationbecause I got my directing chops from that show.

I observed on that show for an entire season, learning to direct.

I was transitioning from practicing law.

And my dad was helping me, but he said, You go talk to Rick Berman.

You tell him you would really appreciate if he would allow me to observe Rick.

He was executive producer onThe Next Generation, and everything else that came out of that camp.Deep Space NineandVoyagerandEnterprise.

They were really true to what I think Star Trek was all about, and the writing was outstanding.

And its where I learned what directing was all about.

Come hell or high-water, my first two shows were directing episodes from that show.

[Nimoy directed Rascals and Timescape.]

I love Trek 09.

I love the reimagining.

Theres still just a lot of potential yet still to be explored.

I want to go to Mars.

My next project is my mission to Mars.

Ive always been interested in the space program, and Ive gotten more interested in it.

Ive been doing a lot of research on this mission to Mars thats going on.

The Rover missions are going on now.

This stuff is really fascinating.

Theres this whole new launch system thats hugely powerful to get the payloads out there.

Theres new orbiters that are being developed.

Was you dad interested in the real-life space stuff as well or is this more your passion?

Im much more passionate about it than he was.

And they were always sharing their information, sharing their studies, sharing their research.

And they often times asked him for their commentary.

Now, my father had a very fine mind, but he was not well-educated.

He had very little formal education.

He barely made it through high school, and that was it.

But he would always give them his stock phrase: Youre on the right track.

And that seemed to satisfy everybody.

I think Im more passionate and interested, really, in whats going on with the program.

Its not something thats been chosen for you.

Its something youve chosen for yourself…

I am choosing it, but it just makes sense because of the Spock connection.

When Im introduced to NASA people, they light up.

They just think that theyre somehow connected to Leonard Nimoys DNA, and it inspires them.

I dont fully understand it, but I can kind of understand it.

Its just very nice to be welcomed by these people who are freaking rocket scientists.

Do you feel like you have an answer to that question now?

Yeah, I mean there are many answers to that question.

Spock represented a lot of things to a lot of different people.

Early on, there was a huge reaction from women who were writing letters love letters to Spock.

They were turned on by him.

That was the big initial fan reaction that we sort of saw.

It was like, Holy st, what is this?

But the one thing that there is a consensus over is this idea of being the outsider.

That Spock, as half alien, was the real, quintessential outsider on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Its a human crew.

They come from all nationalities and races, but theyre a human crew.

What he had to offer as the First Science Officer and the First Mate on the ship.

I mean, they really respected Spock.

Im not with a group.

Im not with a clique.

Im on my own.

Im sitting by myself.

How do we relate?

How do we find our place, our passion, our purpose in life?

And thats a big inspiration for people.

For the Love of Spock is now in theaters, andavailable as VOD.

Check out the trailer below…