The View from the Bridge
2009, Viking Press. 263 pages. $25.95
Nicholas Meyer
This book intrigued me for many reasons, some having to do with the Star Trek movies written and directed by author Nicholas Meyer (the best of the series, II and VI), and some not. I’ve been a fan of Meyer since the 1970s, when he wrote his popular Sherlock Holmes pastiches — The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The West End Horror and The Canary Trainer — as well as one of my favorite sci-fi films, 1979’s Time After Time. Toss in his script for the terrific telefilm The Night That Panicked America, his direction of the landmark TV movie The Day After and more recent scripts for things like The Human Stain and Elegy and his talent should be evident.
Much of Nicholas Meyer’s memoir about his Hollywood career, The View from the Bridge, recounts his involvement with the Star Trek series, and a central dichotomy: that he had never been a fan of the original series or Gene Roddenberry’s utopian vision of humanity, and yet became the person who, more than any other, sent the series in a new, vigorous direction precisely because he refused to be bound by the Trek mythos. Meyer did the unthinkable (in the twelve days he had to put together a workable script) — he was willing to kill off the Vulcan with the pointy ears, provided he was killed “well.” He re-imagined the voyages of the starship Enterprise as a space-based nautical affair, an updated version of old-fashioned naval sagas, which, to his surprise, was exactly how Gene Roddenberry had initially visualized the series. And he ditched the solemnity that pervaded Robert Wise’s first film in favor of a more relaxed, entertaining tone that made everyone more comfortable and pleased.
Meyer details the making of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in vibrant detail, along with his screaming denunciation of Spock’s ultimate rebirth in III (that little detail kept him from directing the inevitable sequel), his consultant role in regard to IV: The Voyage Home, and his return to the franchise for one final go-round helming VI: The Undiscovered Country. Meyer describes the hectic pace of filming with tight budgets, yet-unseen special effects and studio executives who always seem to get in the way of their companies’ best interests. Meyer is pretty candid about stuff, some of which is typical Hollywood insanity, some of which is simply beyond comprehension. And he doesn’t spare himself when criticizing, especially when his temper gets the better of him. All in all, this is an informative and very entertaining volume.
I also appreciated the amount of time spent with Time After Time, The Day After, The Deceivers and a few other projects, made and unmade, upon which he spent a great deal of time and effort. I actually wanted to know more about the film version of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (which gained Meyer an Oscar nomination for his script) and The Night That Panicked America, which he mentions only in passing. Talk about a lack of ego — Meyer doesn’t even mention the specific titles of all his novels, written in and around the film projects. I recently read one of them, a historical novel about rubber plantations in Brazil titled Black Orchid, but he doesn’t even mention that book in this book. Nor does he spend much time on his personal life, although by the end I think I understood why; he’s had more than his share of heartbreak.
What we do get as readers is a clear, reasoned view of a writer’s journey through the dark alleys of Hollywood. Meyer is clearly a smart guy and he neither camouflages his intelligence nor trumpets it. His tales of movie reviewing in college reminded me of my own modest efforts, while his precise descriptions of motion picture production are plain enough that anyone can follow along and appreciate the hard work that goes into making popular entertainment. Nuggets of wisdom are spread liberally through the book and occasionally it is darn funny. Nicholas Meyer is not a major figure in Hollywood history, but he certainly has earned a place of honor for his efforts as both writer and director. This book is yet one more example of his prodigious, welcome talent. My rating: Very Good. 16 October 2014.