Episode 87 – An Out-Of-This-World Chat with Author & Director Nicholas Meyer – Part 1

On the latest episode of Hollywood Obsessed, host Tony Miros interviews award-winning author, screenwriter, and director Nicholas Meyer – best known for directing “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country”.

During their conversation, Meyer shares fascinating anecdotes, including how he met Albert Einstein as a child, discovered his film idol Laurence Olivier and favorite playwright William Shakespeare at 12 years old when he saw the 1944 classic film “Henry V”. He also discusses how his love for the character of Sherlock Holmes inspired him to write the bestselling novel “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” (1974), which he later received an Academy Award nomination for its film adaptation starring Robert Duvall. Additionally, Meyer reflects on his experience directing his first film “Time After Time” (1979) featuring Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, expressing surprise at how the film has endured over the decades and how the non-Trek stories in his memoir, “The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood”, are far more interesting than his Trek stories.

NICHOLAS MEYER

An award-winning author, screenwriter and director. His body of creative work in publishing, film & television spans more than five decades. 

Meyer’s sixth Sherlock Holmes novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, was published August, 2024 by the Mysterious Press.   

He’s the author of 7 previous novels, including The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974), a Doyle tale in which Sherlock Holmes met Sigmund Freud. The novel sold more than two million copies, stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 40 weeks, & won the British Gold Dagger award from the British Crime Writers’ Association. Two years later, Meyer received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of the eponymous film, which starred Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave and Laurence Olivier. 

Meyer made his directing debut in 1979 with a film he wrote, Time After Time, starring Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen and David Warner. He went on to direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Other directing credits include Volunteers (Tom Hanks, 1986), The Deceivers (Pierce Brosnan, 1988), Company Business, (Gene Hackman, 1991), Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country (1992) and the HBO film, Vendetta (Christopher Walken, 1999). His screenplays include Sommersby (1993) and contributions to Fatal Attraction (1987) & Dreamworks’ Prince of Egypt (1998).  

His other books include Target Practice, which was nominated for an Edgar Award, and four other Holmes novels, The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (2019), The West End Horror (also New York Times bestseller, 1976), The Canary Trainer (1993) & The Return of the Pharaoh, (2022). His autobiographical novel, Confessions of a Homing Pigeon, was published in 1981. His memoir, The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood, was published in 2009.

Meyer directed ABC’s The Day After (1983), which remains the single most-watched television film ever made (100 million people in one night) and was nominated for 14 Emmys. Additional work includes a two-part miniseries, Houdini (2014) based on his father, Bernard C. Meyer’s biography. He is the co-creator of the Netflix series Medici—Masters of Florence, & worked on STAR TREK: Discovery.

Born & raised in NYC, Nicholas Meyer was graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in theatre & filmmaking. He lives in Santa Monica, California. 

Nicholas Meyer Website – 

https://www.nicholas-meyer.com 

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