Star Trek Host: Our live chat with Stuart Baird is now underway!

Q: Mr. Baird, are you a Trekkie?
qlotti

Stuart Baird: Well, I wasn't a Trekkie before I directed the movie. In fact, I really hadn't any prior knowledge, but maybe that was good. I came to it fresh and it all felt new and exciting to me. So after directing this, you can say yes, I am a Trekkie, a fully paid-up member.

Q: What was it like directing a Star Trek movie?
twinkletoes

SB: Well, it was like directing any movie, except that I was coming into a family of people who had worked together and developed relationships, not just on the screen, but also personally, so I was the new boy coming into class. And I did my best to make myself pleasurable to them. Apart from that, the challenge was to do justice to the previous films and perhaps to put my own stamp on it, my own vision of this particular story.

Q: Mr. Baird, what inspired the darker theme for "Nemesis?"
km1489

SB: What inspired the darker scenes was the script itself. The story is a dark story, so I wanted to give this movie a feel of threat and doom, photographically. From the very first frames, we set the mood of the movie to introduce the Romulan Senate being destroyed and even before that, the two planets, Romulus and Remus. The Remans have been described in the script as people who lived on the dark side of the planet, so I was determined to get a very interesting look for them and the sets and lighting. I took my inspirations for that from some German Expressionist movies of the 20s and 30s.

Q: I understand that you have already recorded an audio commentary for the DVD release of the film. Are you, or others at Paramount, working on additional special features for the DVD release, such as behind-the-scenes documentaries, additional commentaries, the inclusion of deleted scenes or bloopers, or a "special edition" or "director's cut" of the film?
Tom

SB: All of the above, except for the Director's Cut. The Director's Cut is the cut that you'll see at the cinema. I have added to the DVD some scenes that I deleted from the finished film. They work on their own, but in the film, they slowed the pace down and didn't add any additional information that was not already clearly indicated.

Q: Star Trek is known for integrating comedic moments in the drama. However, since "Nemesis" is a darker film, are there still many of those classic comedic moments?
cassiopia

SB: Yes, I've included as much levity and humor as I can, because I always believe that heightens the enjoyment of a movie. In fact, I constructed one scene in the first third of the movie which is on the Kolaran planet, when they go in search of these positronic signals, which is an action beat, but has a great deal of fun in it. It's really the first car chase in Star Trek movie history, actually. I thought it was important to get a burst of adrenalin as well as fun going early in the picture, because the real action doesn't start until about halfway through.

Q: How does your vast experience as an editor influence your work as a director?
davey1

SB: Well, being an editor gives me the confidence in the post-production that I can make the material that I've shot work. I used to joke, "I spent my life sorting other people's messes out, it was about time I had a chance to sort my own." But truthfully, one doesn't cut the picture as one shoots it, one makes one's cover of the scenes without a specific idea precisely how one's going to cut it together. But perhaps I have a clearer idea than some directors.

Q: I've got Film Review magazine in front of me now, it says you watched the previous Star Trek movies. Did you watch any episodes as well? Greetings from the UK, by the way.
gammaq

SB: Thanks for the greetings from the UK. Yes, I did look at some of the other Star Trek movies, but I didn't look at the TV show. I thought it was important to look at this script, I relied on Rick Berman and John Logan and the actors of course, to let me know if I was trespassing on any sacred Star Trek ground.

Q: What is your next movie?
kirk2234

SB: I hope my next movie will be a thriller — it's nice to try to do different styles of movies each time. I spent 18 months working on this, "Nemesis," so a change of pace would be nice. But I hope to do more science fiction movies in the future.

Q: Why the PG-13 rating? Was the decision to increase the adult content inspired by the success of "First Contact" (having the same rating of PG-13) as opposed to the PG-rated "Insurrection?"
CMujahes

SB: I think the material demanded that it was to be PG-13, we [would have] had to eliminate certain scenes from the story for a PG, which would have undermined the strength of John's script.

Q: Mr. Baird, will the avid Trek fan be surprised by anything in this movie?
cadetevon

SB: Oh, yes. There are a few big surprises in the story and I think the whole look of the film is a different one than there's been before. Certainly, I believe there's more action than ever before.

Q: What was it like working with John Logan and Tom Hardy, all new to the Trek movies, like yourself?
matt_lines

SB: John Logan isn't new to the Trek world, he is a huge fan, not to say fanatic. It was apparently a great ambition of [Logan's] to write a Star Trek script. Tom Hardy is, as far as I know, as virginal as I was to the Star Trek world. But he really didn't need to understand much of the backstory of the Star Trek world. I was much more interested in him concentrating on creating the character of this villain and focusing on the story John Logan created.

Q: Were you interested in the movie the first time you read the script? Or did it take more work to get you involved?
trumpett

SB: I was interested in the script right away. Directors are always looking for good, strong stories, and John Logan had written a very strong story, regardless of it being in the Star Trek world or not. The intricacies in the confrontation between a man and what he discovers to be his clone, to a man who has not had a son or any children, is a very interesting dynamic, especially as he is seeing the dark side of his own psyche reflected back at him.

Q: Mr. Baird, we all can't WAIT until the 13th — what are your plans on that day?
blueshift

SB: On the 13th I'm traveling to London for the London premiere. We open across America on the 13th, then we open it in London, where there'll be a big premiere. There are millions of Star Trek fans in England, as you guys probably know, and in fact, there is a large Star Trek exhibition in the center of London in which the premiere party will be held, in Hyde Park.

Q: What scene took the longest to film? Was there a certain line anyone couldn't get right?
corpo

SB: I suppose the Kolaran sequence took the longest, because it was on location and involved a lot of stunts. Everybody forgot all their lines all the time. No, they didn't really. (laughs)

Q: Would you be willing to direct another Star Trek movie?
cia1209

SB: Yes, if the story was as good as this one, absolutely. But maybe the studio will feel that bringing in a fresh eye each time might be a good idea, so each new episode has a fresh eye to it. But I would be pleased to do another.

Q: Did Jonathan Frakes give you any hints about directing a Star Trek movie? It must have helped having the director for the previous movies there.
qlotti

SB: No, we didn't speak of it at all. Jonathan was playing his character, and he understood that I was directing my version of Star Trek. I prepare very carefully for movies, so I have a very clear plan for how I'm going to shoot each sequence. Jonathan was very professional and understood this was my turn to bat.

Q: How do you feel about the "Nemesis" script being available on the Internet way before the film's release? It's a bit of a spoiler!
gareth

SB: Yes, it's disgusting! I don't know how it happens, obviously there are a lot of copies printed for cast and crew, but it does give the game away. However, reading a script is a very different experience than seeing a movie. Making a film has four distinct processes — scripting, casting, shooting and then editing. And in each of those processes, the movie changes. It's a living organism that constantly changes itself. And one hopes that as a director, even if the audience has read the script, they will be so engaged in the experience of watching and involving themselves in the movie, the experience of the movie, that it won't be such a negative thing.

Q: Where did you film "Nemesis?" What was your favorite location?
alex2003

SB: There was only one location, the desert outside Los Angeles, Palm Desert, about two hours outside LA. The rest of the movie was shot entirely inside the studio.

Q: What inspired you to become a director?
whynovoyager

SB: Movies. Watching movies. Hundreds and thousands of movies, and I still do, not just new movies out, but my old favorites, from before there was sound, right up to today. Also, foreign films, Italian films, German films. One of the wonderful things is that soon, every movie ever made might be on the Web, because there are so many thousands of movies that most people haven't ever seen that are much better than movies are today.

Star Trek Host: What are some of your favorite movies?

Q: Who is your favorite movie director?
matt_lines

SB: I don't have a favorite film or director, but lots of favorites. "The Godfather" and "Chinatown," "Shane," "The Searchers," "The Wild Bunch." Practically anything Kurosawa made, "The Seven Samurai." One of my favorite films is "Undivided." Also, a Polish film called "Ashes and Diamonds," directed by Andrzej Wajda. And when I took on this job of directing "Nemesis," I looked at that picture and I looked at a bunch of Kurosawa's pictures as well, because they have an operatic quality, especially the late Kurosawa pictures, because the Star Trek pics have an operatic quality, and I wanted that feel in the confrontation between Shinzon and Picard.

Q: Overall, did you find working on "Nemesis" an enjoyable and rewarding experience to add to your career as a director?
who_cares

SB: Oh yeah, I had a good time. I had a wonderful cameraman, Jeffrey Kimball, who was a friend of mine before the movie and a firmer one now. I had my storyboard guy with me, Tom Southwell, costumes by Bob Ringwood, the casting ladies ? these were all people I brought in with me. But then of course I met Mr. Westmore, who comes from one of most famous makeup families in Hollywood history, a dynasty of makeup for movies. And then Herman Zimmerman and Rick Berman, you know, we all had, I think, a great time, and I hope the movie justifies the energy and passion we all put into it.

Star Trek Host: We have to wrap up the chat with Mr. Baird. This will be the final question.

Q: What would you say is the most memorable piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?
gul_ferris

SB: Keep going. Persistence is the greatest virtue.

Star Trek Host: Everyone please thank Mr. Baird for joining us today!

SB: Oh yes, my goodbye message is: I hope I have enhanced in some way the Star Trek legend, and that you'll all have a great time at the movie. Thank you all.

Bye Stuart, thanks for coming!
mn_cobra:

Thanks for chatting with us!!! Greetings from Germany!
caro

Thank you — Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Baird!!!!!!!!
gul_ferris

Thanks — hope the film is as good as the chat!!
nx74205

YOU ROCK
blueshift

Star Trek Host: Thanks for joining us!