03 Nimoy
directingon
TheSearch
forSpock...
04 ...and
working
withWilliam
Shatneronthe
samefilm.Risky Business
The emphasis might have landed on the
narrative, but it’s always risky shaking
upthestatus quo. One of Star Trek’s
principal and most popular characters,
Spock,would be notably absent for
themajority of the adventure (or at
least,his recognizable adult incarnation
wouldbe). However, Winter says that
plotpoint was deliberately conceived
formultiple reasons.“Th at was partially by design,
to lay the pipe for a series of fi lms,”
Winter reveals of the decision. “It
was also convenient for Leonard
directing. He didn’t need to be
on camera all the time. It was the
beginning of those origin stories and
building the anticipation for your
favorite character to come back in
at the end. Th at’s a common story-
telling technique.”“Leonardwasgreat.Hewaseasy.
Leonardwasorganized.Hewas
certainlyallabouttheactors,but
thoughtful.Bythetimehegot
todirectingthefourthmovie,I
thinkwebroughtthattogether
underschedulebya dayortwo.
Ironically,StarTrekIVwasa million
dollarsunderbudget.That’sreally
unusual.There’sa letteronmywall
fromtheheadofthestudioatthe
time.Theywereastonished.It was
notonlythehighestperforming
film,butit actuallycamein under
budget.Thatdoesn’thappen.We
didn’ttrytospendless.Wedidn’t
trytospendmore.Wetriedtotell
thestorybasedontheplanwelaid
outandaswegotthere,things
wentin ourdirection.”
Director,StarTrekIII:
TheSearchforSpock
RALPHRALPH
WINTERWINTER ONON
LEONARDLEONARD
NIMOYNIMOY
0304INTERVIEW