Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130021
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IAN SPELLING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some fans consider it the worst of the lot - all special effects, no story or heart. Others regard it as an ambitious film that reunited the beloved original cast.
One thing everyone agrees on, however, is that the movie helped launch the ``Trek'' juggernaut that resulted in five more original-cast films, the series ``Next Generation,'' ``DS9'' and ``Voyager'' and the new film ``Generations.''
``It's hard to believe 15 years have passed since I directed `Star Trek,' but it's also hard for me to believe I've been in pictures for 60 years,'' Robert Wise says during an interview at the Lotos Club, a literary club in Manhattan where he is staying while visiting his daughter and grandchildren.
The soft-spoken director, whose ``West Side Story'' (1961) and ``The Sound of Music'' (1965) earned him Oscars as Best Director, is 80 but looks far younger.
He remembers coming to ``TMP'' production at the last minute, after Paramount decided to switch its latest ``Trek'' from a weekly series to a feature film.
``I wasn't a Trekkie, though I'd seen a few episodes,'' he says. ``The reason I did it was I'd done [the sci-fi classics] `The Day the Earth Stood Still' [1951] and `The Andromeda Strain' [1971], which were Earthbound, and I thought it was time I got into the heavens.''
To prepare for filming, Wise screened ``Trek'' episodes, conferred with producer Gene Roddenberry and considered ways to create a ``Trek'' film without Leonard Nimoy, who wasn't included in the original script. When Wise's family argued that a Spockless ``Trek'' wouldn't fly, Wise and Roddenberry met with Nimoy and convinced him to beam aboard.
``By far, and for various reasons, it wasn't one of my favorite experiences,'' Wise says of his work on the film.
``The day to day on the set, directing the actors and working with Gene, was fine, but we were rewriting the script every day, to the very last day of shooting.
``We only had a third of it in good shape when we started. David Livingston did the major part of the work.
``Gene had some licks at it, but his writing was long and overdone. Frankly, he was almost pushed to the side during the latter part of filming.''
Then there was the special-effects nightmare.
When Wise viewed the opticals created by a group Paramount had hired before his involvement, he was not pleased. He told the studio that the only way to meet the film's December 1974 release date was to sign up a new firm and start over.
Fortunately, Oscar-winning effects wizards Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra - who, respectively, had given ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind '' (1977) and ``Star Wars'' (1977) their pizazz - saved the day.
``Because we were so delayed, we ran their crews around the clock for months,'' Wise says. ``That ran the budget up by millions and millions of dollars.''
Ultimately, ``TMP,'' in which the Enterprise crew averts the devastation of Earth by a deadly cloud, received mostly negative reviews. Nevertheless, Trekkers transformed it into a hit.
``I was pleased with the film,'' Wise says. ``We could've had a better film if I'd had more time to cut it, but the studio was afraid word would get out if we tinkered with it.
``When it came on TV, they added 12 minutes, which we'd cut for a reason. I hated that version.
``It holds up better than I anticipated. The fact that we came in, got it done despite the problems and made the release date was really quite an achievement.''
Today, Wise likens himself to a human guinea pig used to see if ``Trek'' could work on the big screen.
``We proved it [could],'' he says. ``I sure had no idea it would spawn all those films and series.
``They're up to what, a seventh film? And another series. That amazes me.''
These days, Wise lives with his wife Millicent in Century City, Calif. He's currently seeking financing for a World War II film drama set in Poland.
``I've had my successes, mediocre films and lousy films,'' he says. ``But, by and large, it's been a pretty productive career.
``I've done 39 films so far. I'd like to make a 40th.''
If you have Trek or science-fiction news or trivia to share - or if you have questions relating to ``Star Trek'' - write to Ian Spelling, care of the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like a reply.
by CNB