Few will dispute the popularity of Star Trek and the late Leonard Nimoy’s vulcan icon Spock. Beloved by the world, Spock would become the face for logic and tolerance. And while it may seem that you know all there is about the highly exposed character and the actor behind the ears, filmmaker Adam Nimoy will likely prove you wrong.
In his new and illuminating documentary, For The Love of Spock, (in theaters September 8 and available on iTunes/DVD September 9), Adam Nimoy explores the timeless character, his father Leonard Nimoy and other Star Trek celebrities and fans (including the current Trekkie generation— Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana). But after the older Nimoy died in 2015, Adam Nimoy made the decision to also share a more personal story within the film. Seen through the lens of a boy growing up in a Spock-filled world, For The Love of Spock reveals the problems and the power of living in the shadow of Spock. Adam Nimoy joined me for my podcast Whine At 9, where we discussed his “Spock Doc”, his famous father and the unexpected and poignant lessons he learned from sharing his father’s story.
Listen to Nancy’s interview with Adam Nimoy on iTunes.
Father and son were both onboard when it came to making a Spock documentary to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series. “He was engaged in the idea immediately,” Adam Nimoy says of his late father. “He wanted to do it with me—so much so that at our next meeting, he had Googled ‘Spock’s ears’ and came back with 150,000 websites that referred to Spock’s ears. He was so proud of that and amused by that fact. So he was really in it…to begin with—before he passed away.”
Adam Nimoy admits that the later stages of the project, after his father’s death, were bittersweet. “It was a way to…go through the mourning process in a very unique way…kept him close to me, and it helped me kind of work through this process of grieving for him, and adjusting to a life without him. It was kind of a wonderful experience in a way.”
A “goodbye note” to his father, Nimoy also sees For The Love of Spock as a gift to himself with respect to the personal closure he was able to find, and to fans who will learn more Trekkie and personal details about the beloved actor and show. “We’re all collectively mourning the loss of my dad, and at the same time I wanted to collectively celebrate the legacy that he left behind.”
The older Nimoy had great faith in his son’s ability as a director which is reflected in the film. Adam Nimoy believes his dad would be proud of the final product. “I think he’d be satisfied that we got to the essence, and we stayed with the theme or the themes that we are really addressing in the film.”
Would Spock be happy? Adam Nimoy laughs. “That’s a complicated question. I think the human side of Spock would have an understanding and a sensitivity to what we were trying to create and I think the logic side of Spock would agree that we tried to execute this in a manner that would be both entertaining and informative for our audience. So I think Spock would be satisfied on certain levels as well.”
Watch the trailer below.
Listen to Nancy’s interview with Adam Nimoy on iTunes and follow the podcast on Facebook.
View the original at Parade or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+