Leo Tolstoy said the purpose of art is to teach you to love life. And that's what I want. Nicholas Meyer More Quotes by Nicholas Meyer More Quotes From Nicholas Meyer Audiences may be stupid, but they are never wrong. Nicholas Meyer audiencestupidmay I was always a filmmaker before I was anything else. If I was always anything, I was a storyteller, and it never really made much of a difference to me what medium I worked in. Nicholas Meyer moviedifferencesinspiring If you look at the heroes of antiquity and myth, they all have flaws. It's something that they have to overcome; their flaws are something that they have to act in spite of. The challenge is not to defy your fate, but to endure it. That is heroic. Nicholas Meyer fateherochallenges The truth is that I used to read J.J. bedtime stories. He came up to me at the FOX commissary about four years ago and he said, "Do you remember what you gave me for my Barmitzvah?" I said no. He said, "You gave me the annotated Sherlock Holmes and my son is reading it now." It was the gift that kept on giving. Nicholas Meyer readingyearsson Roddenberry had his own utopian vision about he perfectibility of man, and I never really believed that. And I don’t think the show demonstrates that. I think it is about gunboat diplomacy. In the final analysis, the Enterprise fires. They’re always shooting and bringing civilization, and coming to worlds where they don’t approve of tyrannical enterprises – no pun intended – and they substitute their own quote unquote enlightened version of how society is supposed to work, which is essentially American. Nicholas Meyer firementhinking Once you decide that you're going to have the death of Spock, then how does that affect the other people? Why is it there? I got a lot of stick from a lot of people from the very beginning about the idea of killing Spock. Somebody said, "You can't kill him." And I said, "Sure you can; the only question is whether you do it well." Nicholas Meyer dyingpeopleideas Art doesn't just happen by accident. It is about pulling out new tricks and trying new things. Nicholas Meyer trickstryingart There are movies I've made that I think no celebrations are in order. Nicholas Meyer celebrationorderthinking There are moments in one's life where you look back and you say, 'Well, I wish I had done this differently. Nicholas Meyer donewishlooks No rock and roll ensemble, however inspired, can deliver the kind of musical variety obtainable with the resources of 110 instruments. Nicholas Meyer rock-and-rollrocksmusical The first thing that put me on the map was my Sherlock Holmes novel. Nicholas Meyer holmesmapsfirsts First of all, I should preface this by the observation that artists are not the best judges of what they've done and the word definitive does not belong, in my opinion, in any conversation about art. When somebody says it's the "definitive" something, I'm always recoiling. Nicholas Meyer judgingdoeart Actors will change their face, will change their hair, will change their voice, will disappear into the role. A movie star doesn't disappear. Nicholas Meyer voicestarshair What’s the difference between and actor and a movie star. An actor is someone who pretends to be somebody else. A movie star is somebody who pretends that somebody else is them. Nicholas Meyer differencesactorsstars The director is a bit analogous to the conductor of a symphony orchestra. It's a collaborative adventure. Nicholas Meyer symphonyadventuretravel My father's book is about is about a number of things, but about Houdini's rage to not be a failure like his father, and it's also about converting X-rated material, namely bondage, into family friendly safe fare, which is what he did. It's also about death and resurrection, and rising to live again another day when everyone thinks you're dead. Nicholas Meyer fatherbookthinking Art and commerce are not irreconciliable, they are inextricably intertwined. Nicholas Meyer intertwinedcommerceart Schools and libraries are the twin cornerstones of a civilized society. Libraries are only good if people use them, like books only exist when someone reads them. Nicholas Meyer bookpeopleschool As a writer, you have control of the words you put on the page. But once that manuscript leaves your hand, you give control to the reader. As a director, you are limited by everything: weather, budget, and egos. Nicholas Meyer weathergivinghands So the Lincoln movie gets trashed because Connecticut voted for the amendment - not to mention how the people in Connecticut feel - but there's a lot of that. And I think it precedes from a fundamental misunderstanding of cinema. They are entertainment. And I'd like to say that entertainment isn't a synonym for disposable or mindless or stupid. Hamlet? Pretty entertaining from where I come from. Nicholas Meyer stupidpeoplethinking
