Nicholas Meyer was born on December 24, 1945 in New York City, and is probably best known for his involvement in the Star Trek films. According to his website, it was seeing his first movie The Beggar's Opera (1953) that inspired him to become a filmmaker. He was fascinated by such literary classics as Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and made an ambitious 8mm film adaptation of "Around the World in 80 Days". His start in the business included work as unit publicist for the Paramount blockbuster Love Story (1970). From that experience, he wrote "The Story of Love Story" using the income from that book to move to the West Coast. He parlayed his love for Sherlock Holmes mysteries into the novel, "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" and adapted it for the screen: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976). He received an Oscar nomination for this screenplay.
His collaborations with producer Harve Bennett and later Leonard Nimoy resulted in the most popular and profitable entries in the Star Trek features canon. In addition to directing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), he also wrote the shooting script for that film (uncredited). This was done in the span of two weeks using material from several other writers occasionally attached to the ever-evolving project. His script contributions to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) involved the centre section of the film taking place in 1986 San Francisco. His brutally graphic nuclear war drama The Day After (1983) attained the highest ratings for a television movie. He has a keen sense of film history. This is evident in his films such as The Day After (1983) where at the end when the song "Waltzing Matilda" is played as it was in the classic post-nuclear drama On the Beach (1959).
Though primarily a story-oriented director, his style incorporates busy visuals and flowing camera movement. Meyer also places a great deal of importance on the incidental music in his films, working closely with a composer to create themes to reinforce his vision of the story. He likes to maintain a sense of mystery in a story so that audiences will leave the film contemplating situations that are not fully explained. When approached by a filmgoer and asked to explain such situations, Meyer's characteristic response is "what do YOU think it means?" He can be heard on several DVD bonus tracks, including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and the special edition The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) which was directed by fellow Trek alum Robert Wise. His commentaries are notably insightful and fascinating.
Known For
Credits
Cast Credits
The Real History of Science Fiction (2014)
Guest starring as Director - Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan
- Episode 1x02: Space (Apr 26, 2014)
Crew Credits
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Show crew as Consulting Producer
(15 episodes)
- Episode 1x15: Will You Take My Hand? (Feb 11, 2018)
- Episode 1x14: The War Without, the War Within (Feb 4, 2018)
- Episode 1x13: What's Past Is Prologue (Jan 28, 2018)
- Episode 1x12: Vaulting Ambition (Jan 21, 2018)
- Episode 1x11: The Wolf Inside (Jan 14, 2018)
- Episode 1x10: Despite Yourself (Jan 7, 2018)
- Episode 1x09: Into the Forest I Go (Nov 12, 2017)
- Episode 1x08: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (Nov 5, 2017)
- Episode 1x07: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (Oct 29, 2017)
- Episode 1x06: Lethe (Oct 22, 2017)
- Episode 1x05: Choose Your Pain (Oct 15, 2017)
- Episode 1x04: The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry (Oct 8, 2017)
- Episode 1x03: Context Is for Kings (Oct 1, 2017)
- Episode 1x02: Battle at the Binary Stars (Sep 24, 2017)
- Episode 1x01: The Vulcan Hello (Sep 24, 2017)
Medici (2016)
Show crew as Creator
Episode crew as Story
- Episode 1x01: Peccato originale (Oct 18, 2016)
Episode crew as Teleplay
- Episode 1x01: Peccato originale (Oct 18, 2016)
Episode crew as Writer
- Episode 1x02: La cupola e la dimora (Oct 18, 2016)
Houdini (2014)
Episode crew as Writer
(2 episodes)
- Episode 1x02: Part 2 of 2 (Sep 2, 2014)
- Episode 1x01: Part 1 of 2 (Sep 1, 2014)