‘For the Love of Spock’ Q&A Remembers Leonard Nimoy, Talks Future of ‘Star Trek’ Franchise
Adam Nimoy remembered his late father, Leonard, during a Q&A that followed a screening of his documentary “For The Love of Spock.” The discussion took place on Monday as part of the Tribeca Film Festival where the film first screened two days earlier.
Variety‘s Gordon Cox moderated the conversation, which also included Zachary Quinto, EP David Zappone and film critic and self-proclaimed Trekker Scott Mantz.
Adam Nimoy, who wrote and directed the film, said that he had plenty of material. “A lot of things got left on the cutting room floor, unfortunately,” he said. But he added that his father would have approved of the final cut. “I think he would be very pleased and proud.”
Quinto, who narrates the doc, first played Spock in 2009 and will reprise the role for the third time in “Star Trek Beyond,” set for wide release this summer on July 22. But the actor admitted that growing up he “was more of the ‘Star Wars’ generation.” Still, he added that he has “a deep appreciation for [‘Star Trek’] now.”
The actor also gave a somewhat sobering answer to an audience question about the rise of nerd culture, like San Diego’s Comic-Con, to mainstream popularity.
“I think the crass reality is that people realized that they could monetize it and that there was a fan base that would pay money to go see movies, and that Hollywood studios could capitalize on that and make millions and millions and millions of dollars,” Quinto said. Later he added that he also thinks there’s a lot of potential for storytelling.
Quinto hasn’t seen the new Star Trek film, but hinted at how it could look under Justin Lin’s direction.
“I think that the 50th anniversary really influences this film in a way,” he said. The franchise first premiered on NBC in 1966. “I think there’s kind of a retro vibe to it — at least it felt that way when we were making it.”
Adam Nimoy shared that his fandom extends even before the general public met Spock nearly five decades ago. “I was there from the beginning. Before it even aired I was a fan,” he said, adding a final thought about his personal relationship to the documentary “It’s my gift to the fans to celebrate and to process the loss of my dad.”
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