Leonard Nimoy was a quiet titan. An actor, director, photographer and writer whose career spanned decades and epochal changes in Western society. He was a defining part of the industry I’ve loved, or worked in in some capacity, my entire life. On The Search for Spock he directed one of the most thrilling pieces of cinema I’ve ever seen, the theft of the Enterprise. In Star Trek IV, he gave every one of his colleagues a moment to shine and showed me the offhand, relaxed beauty of the Bay Area. I fell in love with San Francisco in that movie. Decades later, I’d find out he was telling the truth about the city and I loved it even more. Nimoy’s acting, and direction, on the end scene of both Star Trek III and Star Trek IV is note perfect and uses subtlety, implication and music to create immense emotional impact. The letter ‘A’ has never, and will never have again the emotional impact it does when the crew, and you, see it on the new Enterprise‘s saucer section at the end of Star Trek IV. You’ll see thousands of tributes to him over the next week and each one is deserved. Most will, deservedly, be his work across Star Trek II, III and IV. This one isn’t.
Nimoy starred in an alternate video to Bruno Mars’ ‘The Lazy Song’ in 2011. It’s mischievous, impish stuff that sees him have huge fun playing with the idea of his disreputable old age. May we all be so politely, gleefully subversive. This is your Sunday Moment of Zen.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dULOjT9GYdQ]