The space opera is coming back, bitches. Note the trends in all artistic media: Avatar grossed a small country’s GDP and is taking award season by storm, a slick Star Trek remake revitalized the famous series, two acclaimed new Flaming Lips albums (Christmas on Mars and Embryonic) boasted intergalactic narrative and sounds, and a sci-fi-adventure video game called Mass Effect 2 just sold two million copies in its first week and is already being hailed as the game of the year.
Vassar has a super cool opportunity to explore the roots of the sci-fi sub-genre that has made such a resurgence. The director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Nicholas Meyer, will visit and lead a Q&A session about his production career and the filmmaking process after a screening of his 1982 classic film.
When I say classic, I mean it: The Wrath of Khan is widely considered the best Star Trek film of the lot (sans remake) by film critics, consequently making it one of the most celebrated sci-fi films period. Truth: I have never seen this movie. Which is why I am SO going to this screening/lecture and you should too; not only will you get around to seeing one of the most important space operas out there, you will totally get insight on the film from the source.
I shouldn’t just frame this as a sci-fi event. It is also a screenwriting workshop, and for all aspiring filmmakers out there, know that Nicholas Meyer has chops. He was involved in the writing process for The Wrath of Khan, which sports the legendary and oft-quoted line from a dying Spock: “I have been, and always shall be, your friend.” Idk if Meyers actually came up with that line, but maaaaaaan that would be cool.
But of course he has racked up more credentials than Star Trek. He got an Oscar nom back in 1976 for his screenplay for The Seven Per-Cent Solution, and has received accolades for his writing on Somersby (1993) and Elegy (2008). Oh, and he directed the most-watched TV movie of all-time, a freaky nuclear apocalyptic drama called The Day After. I saw it in middle school, and its imagery still freaks me out to this day.
This is all part of an top-notch series by the Film Department on screen-writing. Professor James Steerman will be giving a workshop tomorrow evening, and Kelly Reichardt, who penned the charming Wendy and Lucy, will be swinging by for a lecture on Feb 24th.
Mark it down, and live long and prosper!
Hate to correct, but the event is put on by the Film Department and Vassar Filmmakers. The lecture Steerman gave was only done by Filmmakers. The Reichardt event as well is the work of both the department and Vassar Filmmakers.