The Deceivers

Nicholas Meyer is probably best known for his involvement in the Star Trek films. According to his website, it was seeing his first movie The Beggar’s Opera (1953) that inspired him to become a filmmaker. He was fascinated by such literary classics as Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and made an ambitious 8mm film adaptation of “Around the World in 80 Days”. His start in the business included work as unit publicist for the Paramount hit Love Story (1970). From that experience he wrote “The Story of Love Story” using the income from that book to move to the West Coast. He parlayed his love for Sherlock Holmes mysteries into the novel, “The Severn-Per-Cent Solution” and adapted it for the screen: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976). He received an Oscar nomination for this screenplay. His collaborations with producer Harve Bennett and later Leonard Nimoy resulted in the most popular and profitable entries in the Star Trek features canon. In addition to directing Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) he also wrote the shooting script for that film (uncredited). This was done in the span of two weeks using material from several other writers occasionally attached to the ever-evolving project. His script contributions to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) involved the centre section of the film taking place in 1986 San Francisco. His brutally graphic nuclear war drama The Day After (1983) (TV) attained the highest ratings for a television movie. He has a keen sense of film history. This is evident in his films such as The Day After (1983) (TV) where at the end when the song “Waltzing Matilda” is played as it was in the classic post-nuclear drama On the Beach (1959). Though primarily a story-oriented director, his style incorporates busy visuals and flowing camera movement. Meyer also places a great deal of importance on the incidental music in his films, working closely with a composer to create themes to reinforce his vision of the story. He likes to maintain a sense of mystery in a story so that audiences will leave the film contemplating situations that are not fully explained. When approached by a film-goer and asked to explain such situations, Mr. Meyer’s characteristic response is “what do YOU think it means?” He can be heard on several DVD bonus tracks, including Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and the special edition The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) which was directed by fellow Trek alum Robert Wise. His commentaries are notably insightful and fascinating. —IMDb