Nicholas Meyer
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter
, producer
, director
and novel
ist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
, and for directing the films Time After Time
, two of the Star Trek
feature film series, and the 1983 television movie
The Day After
.
Meyer graduated from the University of Iowa
with a degree in theater and filmmaking.
novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
, a story of Holmes confronting his cocaine
addiction with the help of Sigmund Freud
. Meyer followed this with two additional Holmes novels: The West End Horror
(1976), and then The Canary Trainer
(1993).
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
was later made into a 1976 film of the same name
, for which Meyer wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Herbert Ross
and starred Nicol Williamson
, Robert Duvall
, Alan Arkin
, and Laurence Olivier
. For his work adapting the novel, Meyer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 49th Academy Awards
.
Intrigued by the first part of college friend Karl Alexander's
then-incomplete novel Time After Time, Meyer optioned the book and adapted it into a screenplay of the same name
, consenting to sell the script only if he were attached as director. The deal was optioned by Warner Bros.
, and the film became Meyer's director debut. Meyer freely allowed Alexander to borrow from the screenplay and the novel was published at about the same time the movie was released. Time After Time
(1979) starred Malcolm McDowell
, Mary Steenburgen
, and David Warner
, and was a success with both critical reception and in box office returns.
At the behest of then Paramount executive Karen Moore, Meyer was hired to direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
.
Meyer later directed the 1983 television film The Day After
, starring Jason Robards
, JoBeth Williams
, John Cullum
, Bibi Besch
, John Lithgow
, and Steve Guttenberg
, which depicted the ramifications of a nuclear attack on the United States. Meyer had originally decided not to do any television work, but changed his mind upon reading the script by Edward Hume. For his work on The Day After
, Meyer was nominated for an Emmy Award
for Best Director. Afterward, he also directed "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", a 1985 episode of the television series Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.
He resumed directing theatrical films with the 1985 comedy Volunteers
, starring Tom Hanks
and John Candy
. After directing Volunteers
, Meyer returned to working on Star Trek, co-wroting the screenplay for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
(1986) with producer Harve Bennett
. Meyer's next directing job was the 1988 Merchant Ivory
produced drama The Deceivers
, which starred Pierce Brosnan
as British officer William Savage. Meyer later wrote and directed the 1991 spy comedy Company Business
, which starred Gene Hackman
and Mikhail Baryshnikov
as aging American and Russian secret agents. In 1991, Meyer once again returned to the world of Star Trek, co-writing and directed Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
, which became a swan song
for the original cast.
In recent years Meyer adapted the Philip Roth
novel The Human Stain
for the 2003 film of the same name. In 2006, he teamed with Martin Scorsese
to write the screenplay for Scorsese's adaptation of Edmund Morris's Pulitzer Prize
winning biography of Theodore Roosevelt
, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
. The story traces the early life of Roosevelt, originally a weak and asthematic young boy born to privilege but dedicated to personal achievement, political reform, and the heroic ideal.
, is one of two people credited with revitalizing and perhaps saving the Star Trek franchise after the problems of the first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, almost caused Paramount Pictures
to end the series. Paramount had been unhappy with the creative direction of the first film, as well as the cost overruns and production problems. However, the film was also a great financial success, and they wanted a sequel. Bennett, a reliable television producer, was hired to help.
Introduced to Bennett by Paramount executive Karen Moore, Meyer was hired as a potential director for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
despite never having seen the show. Due to problems with the early drafts of the script, with which no one had been happy, he almost immediately became involved in re-writing the film's screenplay. After meeting with Bennett and other members of the cast and crew regarding the script, Meyer impressed Star Treks actors and producers by delivering a superior draft of the script in only twelve days. The draft had to be completed so quickly, in fact, that Meyer agreed to forgo the negotiation of a contract or credit for his writing in order to begin work on the script immediately. This is why he is uncredited as a writer on the final film.
Meyer then directed the film, making stylistic alterations, such as adding more of a naval
appearance. Meyer and Bennett together created a film that was engaging while also reducing costs and avoiding the production fiascoes of the first film. The Wrath of Khan became a financial success, grossing $78 million in the domestic market, and is considered by many to be the best Star Trek film to date.
Although he "refuse[d] to specialize" and so vowed to not work on another Star Trek project, Meyer subsequently co-wrote the screenplay for the fourth Star Trek film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
with Bennett. For that film, Bennett wrote the first and fourth acts
which occur in the 23rd century and Meyer wrote the second and third acts which occur in 1986 San Francisco. Meyer has stated that one of the most enjoyable aspects of working on this film was getting the chance to re-use elements that he had been forced to discard from his earlier film, Time After Time
. Star Trek IV proved to be successful financially, notable for being successful among general moviegoers as well as science fiction and Star Trek devotees.
Meyer worked for the Star Trek franchise again for the sixth film in the series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(1991). He developed the story with Leonard Nimoy
and co-wrote the screenplay with long-term friend and assistant Denny Flinn. He directed the picture, which was the final film to feature the entire classic Star Trek cast. This film was again successful financially, grossing $74 million in the domestic market.
.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
, and for directing the films Time After Time
Time After Time (1979 film)
Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
, two of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
feature film series, and the 1983 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
.
Meyer graduated from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
with a degree in theater and filmmaking.
Career
Meyer first gained public attention for his best selling 1974 Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
, a story of Holmes confronting his cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
addiction with the help of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
. Meyer followed this with two additional Holmes novels: The West End Horror
The West End Horror
The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, M.D. is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Nicholas Meyer, published in 1976. It takes place after Meyer's other two Holmes pastiches, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and The Canary Trainer, though it was published in between the two.The plot...
(1976), and then The Canary Trainer
The Canary Trainer
The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson is a 1993 Sherlock Holmes pastiche by Nicholas Meyer. Like The Seven Percent Solution and The West End Horror, The Canary Trainer was published as a "lost manuscript" of the late Dr. John H. Watson...
(1993).
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same name in 1976....
was later made into a 1976 film of the same name
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (film)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1976 Universal Studios Sherlock Holmes film, directed by Herbert Ross and written by Nicholas Meyer. It is based on Meyer's 1974 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier.-Plot synopsis:When Dr...
, for which Meyer wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
and starred Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
, Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
, and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
. For his work adapting the novel, Meyer was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 49th Academy Awards
49th Academy Awards
The 49th Academy Awards were presented March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, and Warren Beatty....
.
Intrigued by the first part of college friend Karl Alexander's
Karl Alexander (writer)
Karl Alexander is an American writer. He is the author of Time After Time, which was adapted into a successful film of the same title in 1979, and several other novels. Jaclyn the Ripper, the sequel to Time After Time, was published in March 2011.-External links:*...
then-incomplete novel Time After Time, Meyer optioned the book and adapted it into a screenplay of the same name
Time After Time (1979 film)
Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
, consenting to sell the script only if he were attached as director. The deal was optioned by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, and the film became Meyer's director debut. Meyer freely allowed Alexander to borrow from the screenplay and the novel was published at about the same time the movie was released. Time After Time
Time After Time (1979 film)
Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
(1979) starred Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
, Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard, which earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
, and David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
, and was a success with both critical reception and in box office returns.
At the behest of then Paramount executive Karen Moore, Meyer was hired to direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
.
Meyer later directed the 1983 television film The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
, starring Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
, JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams
JoBeth Williams is an American film and television actress and director, and current President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.-Early life:...
, John Cullum
John Cullum
John Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...
, Bibi Besch
Bibi Besch
Bibiana "Bibi" Besch was an Austrian/American actress.-Early life:Besch was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of theater actress Gusti Huber, who starred in German films during World War II and left Austria in the mid 1940s. Besch had a stepfather, Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former...
, John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, and Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg
Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
, which depicted the ramifications of a nuclear attack on the United States. Meyer had originally decided not to do any television work, but changed his mind upon reading the script by Edward Hume. For his work on The Day After
The Day After
The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
, Meyer was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Best Director. Afterward, he also directed "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", a 1985 episode of the television series Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.
He resumed directing theatrical films with the 1985 comedy Volunteers
Volunteers (film)
Volunteers is a 1985 comedy directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Tom Hanks and John Candy.-Plot:Lawrence Bourne III is a spoiled rich kid with a large gambling debt in the 1960s. After his father, Lawrence Bourne Jr...
, starring Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
. After directing Volunteers
Volunteers (film)
Volunteers is a 1985 comedy directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Tom Hanks and John Candy.-Plot:Lawrence Bourne III is a spoiled rich kid with a large gambling debt in the 1960s. After his father, Lawrence Bourne Jr...
, Meyer returned to working on Star Trek, co-wroting the screenplay for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
(1986) with producer Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett is an American television and film producer and screenwriter.-Early years:...
. Meyer's next directing job was the 1988 Merchant Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
produced drama The Deceivers
The Deceivers (film)
The Deceivers is a 1988 adventure film directed by Nicholas Meyer. It stars Pierce Brosnan and Saeed Jaffrey. The film is based on the 1952 John Masters novel of the same name.-Plot:...
, which starred Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
as British officer William Savage. Meyer later wrote and directed the 1991 spy comedy Company Business
Company Business
Company Business is a 1991 spy film, written and directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov.-Plot:The film follows the exploits of Sam Boyd , a former operative for the CIA who is reactivated to escort Pyotr Ivanovich Grushenko , a captured KGB mole, to a prisoner...
, which starred Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
and Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
as aging American and Russian secret agents. In 1991, Meyer once again returned to the world of Star Trek, co-writing and directed Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
, which became a swan song
Swan song
"Swan song" is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan is completely silent during its lifetime until the moment just before death, when it sings one beautiful song...
for the original cast.
In recent years Meyer adapted the Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
novel The Human Stain
The Human Stain (film)
The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth...
for the 2003 film of the same name. In 2006, he teamed with Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
to write the screenplay for Scorsese's adaptation of Edmund Morris's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning biography of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of President Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. It is the first in a trilogy, with the second volume Theodore Rex published in 2001 and the third volume Colonel Roosevelt in late 2010.The Rise covers the time period from...
. The story traces the early life of Roosevelt, originally a weak and asthematic young boy born to privilege but dedicated to personal achievement, political reform, and the heroic ideal.
Star Trek films
Meyer, along with writer/producer Harve BennettHarve Bennett
Harve Bennett is an American television and film producer and screenwriter.-Early years:...
, is one of two people credited with revitalizing and perhaps saving the Star Trek franchise after the problems of the first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, almost caused Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to end the series. Paramount had been unhappy with the creative direction of the first film, as well as the cost overruns and production problems. However, the film was also a great financial success, and they wanted a sequel. Bennett, a reliable television producer, was hired to help.
Introduced to Bennett by Paramount executive Karen Moore, Meyer was hired as a potential director for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
despite never having seen the show. Due to problems with the early drafts of the script, with which no one had been happy, he almost immediately became involved in re-writing the film's screenplay. After meeting with Bennett and other members of the cast and crew regarding the script, Meyer impressed Star Treks actors and producers by delivering a superior draft of the script in only twelve days. The draft had to be completed so quickly, in fact, that Meyer agreed to forgo the negotiation of a contract or credit for his writing in order to begin work on the script immediately. This is why he is uncredited as a writer on the final film.
Meyer then directed the film, making stylistic alterations, such as adding more of a naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
appearance. Meyer and Bennett together created a film that was engaging while also reducing costs and avoiding the production fiascoes of the first film. The Wrath of Khan became a financial success, grossing $78 million in the domestic market, and is considered by many to be the best Star Trek film to date.
Although he "refuse[d] to specialize" and so vowed to not work on another Star Trek project, Meyer subsequently co-wrote the screenplay for the fourth Star Trek film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
with Bennett. For that film, Bennett wrote the first and fourth acts
Act (theater)
An act is a division or unit of a drama. The number of acts in a production can range from one to five or more, depending on how a writer structures the outline of the story...
which occur in the 23rd century and Meyer wrote the second and third acts which occur in 1986 San Francisco. Meyer has stated that one of the most enjoyable aspects of working on this film was getting the chance to re-use elements that he had been forced to discard from his earlier film, Time After Time
Time After Time (1979 film)
Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
. Star Trek IV proved to be successful financially, notable for being successful among general moviegoers as well as science fiction and Star Trek devotees.
Meyer worked for the Star Trek franchise again for the sixth film in the series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(1991). He developed the story with Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
and co-wrote the screenplay with long-term friend and assistant Denny Flinn. He directed the picture, which was the final film to feature the entire classic Star Trek cast. This film was again successful financially, grossing $74 million in the domestic market.
Personal life
Meyer has three daughters; Rachel (changed name to Dylan), Madeline and Roxanne, with his ex-wife Stephanie. The family resides in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
As director
- Time After TimeTime After Time (1979 film)Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
(1979) - Star Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
(1982) - The Day AfterThe Day AfterThe Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
(1983) (TV) - Faerie Tale TheatreFaerie Tale TheatreFaerie Tale Theatre is a live-action children's television anthology series retelling popular fairy tales. Shelley Duvall serves as narrator, host and executive producer of the program, and occasionally stars in episodes...
, episode "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1985) (TV) - VolunteersVolunteers (film)Volunteers is a 1985 comedy directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Tom Hanks and John Candy.-Plot:Lawrence Bourne III is a spoiled rich kid with a large gambling debt in the 1960s. After his father, Lawrence Bourne Jr...
(1985) - The DeceiversThe Deceivers (film)The Deceivers is a 1988 adventure film directed by Nicholas Meyer. It stars Pierce Brosnan and Saeed Jaffrey. The film is based on the 1952 John Masters novel of the same name.-Plot:...
(1988) - Company BusinessCompany BusinessCompany Business is a 1991 spy film, written and directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov.-Plot:The film follows the exploits of Sam Boyd , a former operative for the CIA who is reactivated to escort Pyotr Ivanovich Grushenko , a captured KGB mole, to a prisoner...
(1991) - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(1991) - VendettaVendetta (1999 film)Vendetta is an HBO original movie based on actual events that took place in New Orleans on March 14, 1891. Eighteen Italian-Americans were falsely accused of the murder of the police chief...
(1999) (TV)
As writer
- Invasion of the Bee GirlsInvasion of the Bee GirlsInvasion of the Bee Girls is a 1973 science fiction film. The first film venture for writer Nicholas Meyer, it was directed by Denis Sanders and stars William Smith, Victoria Vetri and Anitra Ford.-Synopsis:...
(1973) - Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders (1974) (screenplay)
- The Night That Panicked AmericaThe Night That Panicked AmericaThe Night That Panicked America is an American made-for-television movie that was originally broadcast on the ABC network on October 31, 1975. The movie dramatizes events surrounding Orson Welles' famous - and infamous - War of the Worlds radio broadcast The Night That Panicked America is an...
(1975) - The Seven-Per-Cent SolutionThe Seven-Per-Cent Solution (film)The Seven-Per-Cent Solution is a 1976 Universal Studios Sherlock Holmes film, directed by Herbert Ross and written by Nicholas Meyer. It is based on Meyer's 1974 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier.-Plot synopsis:When Dr...
(1976) - Time After TimeTime After Time (1979 film)Time After Time is a 1979 American fantasy film written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. His screenplay is based largely on a novel by Karl Alexander and a story by Steve Hayes. It concerns British author H. G...
(1979) (screenplay) - Star Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
(1982) (screenplay - uncredited) - Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage HomeStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
(1986) (co-wrote) - Fatal AttractionFatal AttractionFatal Attraction is a 1987 American thriller blended with horror, directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. The film centers around a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end, resulting in emotional blackmail, stalking...
(1987) (additional material) - Company BusinessCompany BusinessCompany Business is a 1991 spy film, written and directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov.-Plot:The film follows the exploits of Sam Boyd , a former operative for the CIA who is reactivated to escort Pyotr Ivanovich Grushenko , a captured KGB mole, to a prisoner...
(1991) - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(1991) (co-wrote) - SommersbySommersbySommersby is a 1993 romantic drama film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman and James Earl Jones.Set in the Reconstruction period following the U.S...
(1993) (co-wrote) - The InformantThe Informant (1997 film)The Informant is a 1997 cable TV movie produced by Showtime, starring Cary Elwes and Timothy Dalton. It was directed by Jim McBride and written by Nicholas Meyer based upon the book Field of Blood by Gerald Seymour.-Plot:...
(1997) (screenplay) - The Prince of EgyptThe Prince of EgyptThe Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
(1998) (additional material) - The Human StainThe Human Stain (film)The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth...
(2003) (screenplay) - ElegyElegy (film)Elegy is a 2008 drama directed by Spanish director Isabel Coixet and based on a Philip Roth novel, The Dying Animal. Staring Penélope Cruz and Ben Kingsley. The film is set in New York City, but was filmed in Vancouver.-Plot:...
(2008) (screenplay)