Ryan Britt chats with the legendary The Wrath of Khan director about the new Star Trek TV series.
Interviewers note: This interview took place over the phone on 2.27.2016.
Mr. Meyer was at his home in Los Angeles.
Make no mistake: Nicholas Meyer is the reason whyStar Trekmade it out of the 80s.
If Nicholas Meyer was your parentsStar Trek, then your parentsStar Trekwas awesome.
Nicholas Meyer:No.
No ones ever asked me!
How much do you know about the new show?
What can you tell me?
I cant tell you anything!
But if I told you, Id have to kill you.
What will be your new role in the writers room?
Will you be writing individual episodes?
Or larger story arcs?
If Im lucky, Ill get to write episodes.
If Im less lucky, Ill just get to sit in that room with all those other clever people.
How big of a writers room do you think its going to be?
Will this be the case?
I think its going to be a differentStar Trek.
It will go in a different direction.
And I think that is probably good.
Because the thing that mainly troubles me aboutStar Trekis the fear of it being maybe re-treads of itself.
And if youre not fooling around, then things can become stale.
Different is what got me interested.
Is that sense of difference the most exciting thing about this?
I like to go boldly where people havent gone before!
Whats the biggest challenge or fear?
The same fear and challenge of every project.
Are we going to see more of that this time?
What kinds of references might we see in the newStar Trek?
What people take to be my penchant for literary references, is just me free-associating.
It isnt as premeditated, or as thematically bound-up as I think people might think.
If its trademark you’ve got the option to blame my high school and the University of Iowa.
Its just sort of how I think.
But as an after-effect, for someone like me, its a bonus.
[Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, et al.]
Whether that is the case, or whether its recognized when it happens remains to be seen.
Im not a silver bullet… Jack Warner said this of screenwriters: They were just schmucks with Underwoods.
You know what an Underwood is?
Im not sure…
[Laughs] It was a typewriter!
I should have known that!
So, the politics of bothStar Trek IVandStar Trek VIare what make those movies what they are.
Is there something from the existing political landscape that might make its way into these new Star Treks?
Lets put it that way.
How soon are you going to be getting to work?
[Laughs] Im waiting for them to tell me!
What can you tell fans of Star Trek or fans of yours to look forward to?
Tell them to cross their fingers!
- main image courtesy ofStarTrek.com*
