Since I have been traveling quite a bit lately I have started reading more, to fill flight time. I have always been fond of biographies because they provide interesting “behind the scenes” perspectives, and I usually focus on biographies of actors and moviemakers because, well, I’m a geek. I just finished one biography and am working on another, and wanted to post my quick thoughts on both.
The View from the Bridge by writer/director Nicholas Meyer is a great look at his career, from writing the great Holmes novel The Seven Percent Solution all the way through his writing and directing of the Best Star Trek Movie Ever, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the subsequent sequel Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Anytime you hear someone say “only even-numbered Star Trek movies are good,” you can point to Nick Meyer as the main reason for that (he also co-wrote Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home).
Meyer is witty, self-deprecating and tells some great yarns about his career (his segment on how to direct Shatner is worth the price of the book in and of itself). If you are a Trek fan, or a fan of Meyer’s work outside of Trek (his Time After Time is an underrated classic), you need to get this book. Highly recommended.
Roger Moore has put out a great biography, My Word is my Bond, and if you know anything about the witty and charming Moore then you will know that all that brilliance is on display in his bio. From his early days as a contract player, all the way through the Saint and (of course) James Bond, Moore covers it all and is also very very funny. Buy it if you can.