John goes in-depth with Nicholas Meyer on making Star Trek movies ... and exclusive tour of Whittier Boulevard in East LA with Charles Phoenix.
The Ashes of Oakridge
Less than a year ago, a wildfire devastated the Oakridge mobile home park, a small, tightly knit, and by all accounts idyllic community in Sylmar. Queena Kim and Frank Stoltze produced this documentary, in three parts, The Ashes of Oakridge.
Web Exclusive - Nicholas Meyer and John Rabe
KPCC's John Rabe talks with author and filmmaker Nicholas Meyer about his new memoir, the tasty and eminently readable "The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood." Here's the raw audio from the interview, much of which will appear on a later Off-Ramp. He's signing the book Wednesday (9-2) at Borders Northridge and Thursday (9-3) at Village Books in the Palisades. Come inside for "the shooting script" for the interview...
Note from John: Here's the script I worked from. I didn't ask all the questions. No time.
MEYER Q+A
Nicholas Meyer: The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood. (Born Dec 1945 – 63 now.)
Signings: Borders Northridge on Wednesday (Sep 2) and Village Books in the Palisades on Thursday (Sep 3).
This is Off-Ramp, I’m John Rabe.
One man injected new life into both the Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek franchises. Nicholas Meyer’s Holmes pastiche “The Seven Percent Solution” made the best seller lists, then got him an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. He scripted and directed "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan," widely considered the best in the series; co-wrote “Star Trek 4, the Voyage Home;” and directed and co-wrote “Star Trek 6, the Undiscovered Country.” He also directed “Time After Time;” “The Day After,” the TV movie about nuclear war; and “The Deceivers,” with Pierce Brosnan.
Meyer is out with his memoir of filmmaking. It’s called The View from the Bridge, and it recounts his entire career in Hollywood, including many tasty tidbits Trekkies will devour.
Nicholas Meyer, welcome to Off-Ramp.
You had dinner with Albert Einstein?
Did your parents get into your Hollywood career, never really understood it? (Frustrating that they didn’t get into it more?)
Your first big hit was the novel “The Seven Percent Solution,” in which Sherlock Holmes meets Sigmund Freud. You then wrote the screenplay for the movie, which came out in 1976. When did you start reading Conan Doyle? What was the attraction? You’ve got some great stories about the making of the movie, and your encounters with Robert Duvall, who played Watson, and Laurence Olivier as Moriarty. What did you learn about moviemaking from working on “The Seven Percent Solution?”
Let’s talk about Star Trek. The way you tell it, “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” was essentially 12 days from NOT getting made because they didn’t have a screenplay. This is one of the moments in your book that I could see as a movie, like Frost/Nixon, a behind-the-scenes, this is a crazy world kind of movie.
It’s true, isn’t it, that “Star Trek 2” saved the franchise?
Shatner and Nimoy are still around and doing well and can talk about themselves. But Ricardo Montalban, who played Khan, is gone, and he’s the one I find intriguing. (I know you’ve been sitting here across from me wondering, dying to ask. I’ll tell you: these are my pecs.)
110 – You write that the disgusting creatures Khan has put in Chekov’s ear – the Ceti Alpha 5 eels, were actually Andean shrimp, cousin of the armadillo, an endangered creature, and they were smuggled through customs for the movie by Ole Machiado. You made this up, right?
As you tell it, you fought like hell to keep the hopeful ending out of The Wrath of Khan. But 99% of Trekkies wanted Spock to come back from the dead. And I’m willing to bet you’re glad Doyle brought Holmes back from the dead.
A key moment in your book,The View from the Bridge, is the filming of Spock’s death scene, and the emotion in the room.
If Kirk is Horatio Hornblower, isn’t Spock Sherlock Holmes?
You made “The Day After” in 1983, the TV movie about nuclear war. A hundred million people watched it, and apparently even Reagan was affected by it. But you faced enormous opposition and criticism. How bad was it and why did they react that way?
156 - You say you’re not a creative genius of the first or second order. Quote, “I could never write the ‘Odyssey,’ but I could turn it into a very good screenplay.” Tell me more about this. Do you wish you were more like, I don’t know, Kurosawa or Kubrick?
When you write a screenplay, then start tweaking it through all the drafts, what’s the dialogue attrition rate? Why? Is this just you or is it the same for most movies?
You are in your mid 60s now. Why did it take you until now to write this memoir?
Thanks for joining us on Off-Ramp.
Nicholas Meyer, writer and director. His memoir is called “The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood.” He’s selling and signing copies at Borders Northridge on Wednesday (Sep 2) and Village Books in the Palisades on Thursday (Sep 3).
I’ve had to edit this version of our interview, but for the whole thing, go to kpcc.org and click on Off-Ramp. For Filmweek, I’m John Rabe.
This is Off-Ramp, I’m John Rabe. We’re talking with Nicholas Meyer about his memoir about filmmaking, “The View from the Bridge.”
More with Nicholas Meyer coming up, as Off-Ramp continues.
Nicholas Meyer, writer and director. His memoir is called “The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood.” To buy a copy online and have it benefit KPCC, go to kpcc.org and click on Off-Ramp. This is Off-Ramp, on 89.3-KPCC.
I have a theory that Frederick Forsyth wrote The Day of the Jackal after reading Holmes. Isn’t it “The Adventure of the Aluminum Crutch?”
Whittier Boulevard - Part 1
... in which John and Charles begin their tour of Whittier Boulevard. Where do they start? What is that behind Charles? How do I get there? Well, come inside!
In our photo (ABOVE), Charles Phoenix stands in front of the mural at Ruben Martinez Park at our tour's start. From Ruben Salazar Park, Off-Ramp's tour heads east along Whittier Boulevard. MAP OUT THE TOUR HERE!
Whittier Blvd Video - Ruben F. Salazar Park & Mid-Century Modern Bank
DIY - Take Your Own Whittier Blvd Tour
We've made an interactive map so you can take your own tour of one of LA's most vital, historic, and interesting boulevards. Come on inside, print it up, and explore your city.
Whittier Boulevard - Part 2
Part folk-art environment, part muffler shop, part tire store, part ice cream stand and part museum, it's El Pedorrero!
Team Off-Ramp -- (L-R) Julian Bermudez, Charles Phoenix, and Queena Kim -- peeks into Whittier Blvd’s most famous muffler shop. Pedorrero means “he who farts.”
Whittier Boulevard - Part 3
Off-Ramp and Charles Phoenix visits the Home Of Peace Jewish Cemetery.
The beautiful Moorish chapel at the Jewish cemetery, across the street from the Catholic cemetery. Carl Laemmle and many other LA luminaries are interred inside.
The Pilgrimage Continues
An official LA Archdiocese Catholic cemetery (containing John Barrymore's grave, for one) lies on Whittier Boulevard.
Whittier Boulevard - Part 4
In part 4, we visit Porky's Restaurant (est. 1957) famous for its carnitas by the pound.
Porky’s owner Mercedes smiles with tour guide Charles Phoenix. Inside, a bunch of ceramic pigs -- the ones that survived the Northridge earthquake.
Whittier Boulevard - Part 5
Whittier Boulevard: the ultimate staycation site?
Whittier Boulevard - Part 6
The team examines the historic Golden Gate Theatre, sister to Pomona's famous Fox Thatre.
The crumbling façade of the crumbling Golden Gate Theatre.
Whittier Boulevard - Part 7
In which John and Charles weigh the merits (or lack thereof) of the Chase Bank at 5301 Whittier Blvd. Massive terra cotta sunscreens finished in a crackly green glaze surround this ultra mod, mid-century worlds fair pavilion-style building.
Dream Burger
Tour guide Charles Phoenix proves that a Chroni's burger is worthy of a close-up.
Whittier Boulevard - Part 8
In which Off-Ramp visits Chroni's Famous Sandwich Shop.
Above, the famous Chroni's Sandwich Shop dog. When the sign was neon, the dog's tongue licked the hot dog.
UPDATE: Redevelopment might eat East LA's giant tamale building
UPDATE 4/25/2013: A few years ago, we toured Whittier Blvd with Charles Phoenix, ending our trip with the famous building built like a giant tamale. Now, esoutouric.com reports that the building is up for sale, and hints that it might be torn down unless someone - like LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina - steps in, as she did for the Golden Gate Theatre.
Although it's among the last of an indigenous California architectural form, unfortunately there is no structure in place for protecting or preserving the Tamale. Located in unincorporated Los Angeles County, it is not subject to the city's historic preservation guidelines. State and National monument status is dependent on the whim of the property owner. And so she sits, caked in plaster, under the blazing east side sun, waiting for something to happen.
Inspired by her commitment to protecting the murals on the facade of the First Street Store, we're reaching out to Supervisor Gloria Molina and asking for her support in ensuring that the Tamale is preserved, even if that requires moving the structure from its current location. If you agree that the Tamale is an important L.A. landmark worth preserving, you can share your thoughts with Sup. Molina's office via email.
That address is molina@lacbos.org.
Listen to my interview, top left, with esotouric's Richard Schave.
(Tip of the hat to LA Observed.)
Whittier Blvd - Jewish Cemetary and the Tamale
Sight Reeding
Meet the LA Phil's principal oboist, Ariana Ghez, one of the best in the country and not even thirty. She told Queena Kim the secret truth about playing the oboe: it's all about the reeds.
Haefele on Carey McWilliams
Off-Ramp literary commentator Marc Haefele says Carey McWilliams is required reading for anyone who is serious about understanding Los Angeles.
Baptism en Mass
Abel Salas takes us to a downtown LA church where hundreds of infants are baptized every weekend.
The photo depicts another mass baptism...in the Pacific Ocean circa 1930.
Books That'll Blow Your Mind
John talks with four experts at Comic Con so you can get up to speed on the latest and greatest Science Fiction books.
Here's the full list of recommended comics, novels, and graphic novels. Enjoy! (To buy the books, follow the links at left and a portion of the proceeds will go to KPCC.)
Douglas Wolk, comic book reviewer for the NYT and other outlets:
Omega the Unknown by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple
Superman Beyond by Grant Morrison and Doug Manke
A Maze of Death by Philip Dick
Graeme McMillan, weekend editor at sci-fi ezine io9.com
Wonton Soup by James Stokoe
100 percent by Paul Pope
Meredith Woerner, Associate Editor, io9.com
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
short stories by Isaac Asimov
Ubik by Philip K. Dick
Annalee Newitz, Editor in Chief, io9.com
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin