The View from the Bridge
November 23, 2018 6:39 AM - by Nicholas Meyer - Subscribe
A showbiz memoir by Nicholas Meyer, who directed Time After Time, Star Trek II, The Day After, Star Trek VI, and The Human Stain; co-wrote the screenplays for Star Trek IV and Fatal Attraction; and wrote the Sherlock Holmes novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and directed its film adaptation.
"A consummate motion picture professional. Nick Meyer tells it as it is with complete honesty and outstanding literary skill. His book is a must-read for anyone who wants to obtain a real understanding of the production process as it is reflected in a fascinating and personal story." - Walter Mirish, producer of In the Heat of the Night, West Side Story, Some Like It Hot, and The Great Escape
"A savvy insider's look at the great Star Trek legend that he helped create…and so very much more." - Larry Turman, producer of The Graduate, The Thing, and American History X
"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)
"The memoir is by no means all Star Trek. […] Meyer writes in a completely accessible style. His story makes him human, able to make mistakes, aware of his faults, but also proud of his successes. […The] juxtaposition of a personality at times arrogant and sure of itself and in others humble, even gracious—'I have to admit that I am not always the person I like to believe that I am'—makes the memoir a joy to read. Meyer is conversational in his style, but you are always aware that this man is both gifted, capable, and intelligent." - tor.com
Meyer promoting the book: Part 1, Part 2
"A consummate motion picture professional. Nick Meyer tells it as it is with complete honesty and outstanding literary skill. His book is a must-read for anyone who wants to obtain a real understanding of the production process as it is reflected in a fascinating and personal story." - Walter Mirish, producer of In the Heat of the Night, West Side Story, Some Like It Hot, and The Great Escape
"A savvy insider's look at the great Star Trek legend that he helped create…and so very much more." - Larry Turman, producer of The Graduate, The Thing, and American History X
"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)
"The memoir is by no means all Star Trek. […] Meyer writes in a completely accessible style. His story makes him human, able to make mistakes, aware of his faults, but also proud of his successes. […The] juxtaposition of a personality at times arrogant and sure of itself and in others humble, even gracious—'I have to admit that I am not always the person I like to believe that I am'—makes the memoir a joy to read. Meyer is conversational in his style, but you are always aware that this man is both gifted, capable, and intelligent." - tor.com
Meyer promoting the book: Part 1, Part 2
It's quite a good book. One of the things that I learned from it was, whenever you see a disclaimer on a DVD or other media bearing a director's commentary to the effect that it's their opinion and not that of the studio? That's Nicholas Meyer's doing.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:15 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:15 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's hard to put down, IMO.
And another thing I took away from it is that, due to the profound and documented effect of The Day After on Reagan, Meyer is one of the few directors who could plausibly claim to have saved the world. (Not that he claims that in the book.)
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:44 PM on November 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
And another thing I took away from it is that, due to the profound and documented effect of The Day After on Reagan, Meyer is one of the few directors who could plausibly claim to have saved the world. (Not that he claims that in the book.)
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:44 PM on November 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
I just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the backstory of some of my favorite movies and I always forget that he wrote the Seven Percent Solution.
posted by mogget at 4:03 PM on December 24, 2018
posted by mogget at 4:03 PM on December 24, 2018
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posted by mordax at 1:08 PM on November 23, 2018