Press Conference at Atlantic University - 1985

The host is beamed in front of the building to show the location where the interview is taking place. The question is: Why is Star Trek still such a success, even in syndication. One of the reasons surely is the portrayer of Mr. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

A clip from ST III is shown.

"The earliest we can start shooting will be October."

Leonard's directing of ST III and IV is mentioned. Will it be the TV-kind of Star Trek or is it going to be the big motion picture? (laughing)
"I hope it will have some scope to the story. It will be a sizable budget and it will deal with elements fans have been thinking about as a result of ST III. We left some loose threats behind in Star Trek III... They destroyed the Enterprise. We are outlaws, Spock's mental condition is somewhat questionable in the end of the story." (laughing)

Do you feel that Star Trek plays better on television? "No. Why would you say that?"
Well, they are selling the video cassettes... "There is a big market for video cassettes for all products... You can see it in the privacy of your home, when you want it, stop it, you can re-see a part of the story, stop it and answer the phone, that kind of thing... It does not mean that it plays better on television."

I know it is hard to say, but how long can you go? How many movies can you make? "I don't know. I never dreamed we would be at this state in our life, number IV, in 1966 when we started this whole thing. That 19 years later we still would be doing this, there is no way to predict that... Even when it played in theatre you might want a copy of it to watch it again."

(Repeating a question) "What I would do next in terms of acting? I've had such a tremendous variety of roles to play in the last 20 years. I had a great time doing all of them. I think my mind set now is probably more into, towards of directing... whatever interesting roles come along I play it... balance between acting and directing in the future. Bangles. "It was fun. They were family friends. They probably asked me to do that as a favor."

Music. "I like a wide variety of all kinds of music. I think the current scene has kind of left me behind. I like the lyrics. I like to understand what's being said. I like to have a point, you know? Probably I am not in touch with the current music as I'd like to be... I like to hear what's being said. That's my personal nature. That's my own choice."

Computer. "Oh, it's tough, it's tough. You have to make an investment and that is time and energy to do it. And I don't have that kind of time. And I am not the person who will work with the computer anyway, so I let the people who are going to work for me to spend as much time and use as much time as they can. It's been fun and I'll wait for the time I can talk to it and it will help me with suggestions. " (laughing) Poetry. "The poetry came from a part of my life I had a lot to say and time to say it..."

Standby, Lights, Camera, Action. Your feelings about it. "I love it. It is a great, great show. I will be doing some of those next week. It is a very successful show. That's because it's educational without being tough to take. It helps young people to understand the reality about how movies are made. We get a lot of wonderful footage from filmmakers from behind the scenes from their sets. And that's really the body of their show. There are people whom I interview. Casting people, make-up people... It is extremely helpful to people who want to make films or simply enjoy films more. … I am very proud of the show. And I don't take the credit for that. There are some great producers and writers who put the show together, and I arrive and they give me what I am prepared to be doing. They give me that actor or that wardrobe and we go in and tape it. So they set the tone of the show and they do it very well."

...

Q ... "I love change and get very bored in routine. Believe it or not, a television series can become routine... working on characters, television series is extremely restricting on that sense... I have seen people who were afraid that their television series might be cancelled after 12 years. I left Mission: Impossible after 2 years because I had enough of it. It is just a question of different personalities. My nature is that I want change. I won't go back to a television series again. Not one which is kind of that time assuming. I did In Search Of... for 6 years, but it did not take that much time, you see? I was able to do anything else that I wanted to and they would schedule around my schedule. And the same thing is with Lights, Camera, Action. I am totally free."

Do you still have the opportunity to watch much television? "Well, I'll tell you. I have got the opportunity, but I don't. I'm not terrifically excited about what I see on television. It is predictable, repetitious, most of it, … a lot of people working very hard trying to do good work, but I find it repetitious, not terribly exciting. Once in a while a special event.. Networks will be very angry with me saying that, but I am sorry, it is true."

Challenges. "Well, in the moment, the directing is the biggest challenge for me. And I am doing the directing now that I was hoping to doing 15 years ago. .. I was pretty much set on a directing course when Star Trek happened and became so successful as a director that it spoiled my plans... I was already involved in a director's training program named GM and I already have done a lot of theatrical directing... After Star Trek and Mission: Impossible I signed a contract and suddenly got very busy as an actor again... Very challenging. As a director in films particularly you are called and have an opportunity to make a contribution in every aspect of the work. The writing, the casting, the work with the actors, the set design … As an actor you're called in when everything is ready. I find it very challenging.

...

Having been an actor can be very helpful in directing. Makes you understand what the actor's problem's are.” Spock in ST IV. "We'll see a lot more of Spock in Star Trek IV."

How much of you is in Spock? "I am probably the least qualified person to answer that question. People who know me personally might answer that question very, very well because I am subjectively involved."

Changes in Spock. "That kept my interest in the character alive. If it had not changed I would probably be bored by now... I have allowed the character to grow older, I have allowed myself to think of the character as growing older. 20 years of change have happened to the character. It would be silly to fight that with the character."

Bill Shatner. "He is most probably the hardest working person I know... We get along very, very well... We spent a lot of time together laughing. His physical work is unbelievable. We had a couple of good ..?.. here, thank you very much.”