With the news that Superman Returns writers, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, are not returning to writing duties on Singer's Superman sequel, there's now a queue of writers lining up to land the assignment. I guess Singer knows who he wants, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's McQuarrie.

BUT…
…If I may throw a suggestion into the hat? Nicholas Meyer.

I had a conversation with Ray Morton, the author of King Kong and the forthcoming Close Encounters of the Third Kind book, which we'll talk about in a few days time, about structure, and he, and I absolutely agree with him, reckons Nick Meyer is a legend.

We briefly discussed Star Trek II. It's not just the best Trek film but one of the great American/Hollywood pictures of all time.

Structure holds up story. Structure is the skeleton. Flesh and Blood is story. Structure is KEY, and one of the best director/writers in the business who understands it is Nicolas Meyer. He has written uncredited material -- 007 Tomorrow Never Dies, Fatal Attraction and Star Trek II.

So I think Meyer is the man for the job, and I'll prove it --

-- by analysing one of his film's structure, Star Trek II. I wrote a whole bunch of notes whilst watching the film:

Friendship: The film's holy trinity, Kirk, Spock and Bones, are the core of the picture.
Relationships between the new and the old regime. Kirk and his son, David. Spock and Savvik. Khan and Joachim.
Death, Birth and Resurrection: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. Genesis: destroying desolate planets to create a new beginning.
Obsessive revenge: Hatred overcomes intelligence.

The first few minutes are vital and establish the core of the film:
At the beginning of the picture, trainee cadets are involved in the Kobayashi Maru exercise. It's a no-win situation.
Spock fakes death.
Kirk enters and explains that it's a test of character, not necessarily based on right or wrong.

The themes and how they are structured:

Midlife crisis/New beginning

Happy Birthday, Kirk.
Kirk is aging. He has a fondness for antiques. He's given glasses. Bones hands him a gift, Romulan Ale, takes YEARS to ferment.
Bones chastises him for hiding behind rules and regulations.
Some of the dialogue throughout the film refers to age.
David to Carol, "He's an overgrown boy scout."
Carol to David, "He was never a boy scout."
Khan to Kirk "Hello my old friend."

Kirk's response to Scottie's nephew "Space travel is a YOUNG man's fantasy."
Kirk doesn't necessarily see the cadets as a threat to his command but the beginning of a new era. He doesn't know where he belongs.
Kirk refers to himself as senile when he's attacked by Reliant the first time.
Khan demands the genesis plans when Kirk says he needs more time, "Time is a luxury you don't have."
In the beginning he feels old, but by the end he feels young.
Kirk tells the cadets that they must grow up sooner than they expected.

A test of character, not regulations

Throughout the film, Savvik questions Kirk on regulations. She's confused because she thinks inside the book. Kirk breaks regulations dependant on situation, and more often than not, it's in virtually every scenario he faces.

When Savvik asks the question, "How did you beat the Kobayashi Maru exercise?" He gleefully replies that he changed the conditions of the test. He got a commendation for ingenuity. He doesn't believe in a no-win situation. He couldn't face death. He always has to win.
Kirk notices Savvik's relaxed hairstyle, to which Saavik's retorts, "It's still regulation."
Savvik questions Kirk when he's hacking into Reliant's system.
Kirk doesn't raise shields when Enterprise approaches Reliant. Breaks a regulation. Scotty's nephew is a causality.
The no-no situation crops up again when Khan demands the genesis plans. Kirk uses experience to even the score at this point. Regulations serve no purpose; it's a test of character.

Savvik quotes fictitious regulation 15 "You can't enter a hazardous area without armed escort." To which Kirk replies, "There is no such regulation." Savvik shadows Kirk throughout the film.

Spock, over an open frequency, tells the crew on Regula 1 that it will take days to repair the ship's systems because of regulations. Khan listens in. When the Enterprise crew return to the ship, Savvik is surprised that they didn't follow regulation (sending coded messages), and points out they lied, to which Spock replies, "It was an exaggeration." Savvik is confused. She's a character who follows the rulebook, but doesn't know what to do when she doesn't have it. It's not about rules, it about the test of character - a conviction to know what must be done.

Obsession and thirst for revenge overcomes intelligence

Khan is an intelligent being, so you'd think he'd be able to overcome Kirk easily, but he doesn't, and here's why:
Ego. He wants to beat Kirk and everything he stands for.
Joachim, his henchman warns him not to follow the Enterprise into the Nebula, but ignores him because Kirk baits him. Thirst for revenge overcomes intelligence.
Spock tells Kirk that Khan thinks two dimensionally.
Spock says, "He's intelligent, you know," when Kirk counters Khan's attack by hacking into Reliant.
You can have all the intelligence you want but without experience, you can't use it. Khan has been marooned on a desolate planet for fifteen years.
Khan is determined to avenge his wife's death and later, Joachim, his henchman's death. He blames Kirk but never himself. The position he is in is of his own doing.

Death/Birth/Resurrection

Ceti Alpha 6 was destroyed, shifting Ceti Alpha 5's orbit.
Khan tells Chekov and Terrell "Live and Die by my command."
When Kirk and company beam into Regula 1, they encounter human death hanging off the ceiling.
Khan blames Kirk for the death of his wife.
Sacrifice is the true test of friendship
Terrell commits suicide to avoid shooting Kirk.
Chekov's resolve and strength for his friends overcomes his mental stranglehold.
Kirk warns Scottie that he needs Warp Speed, or we are dead.
Spock gets warp speed back at the expense of his own life. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
David Marcus tries to kill Kirk.
Khan commits suicide to avenge his enemy.
Spock dies nobly to help his friends thus learns to be human.
Spock reveals at the end that he never took Kobayashi Maru test, "What do you think of my solution?" Spock faced death which Kirk avoided, and now he has to face it.
Helped by David's outlook on life and heeding his advice:
"You never faced death....you knew enough to tell Savik how we face life is at least as important as how we face death."
The Genesis concept is life and death.

Star Trek 2 isn't just an exceptional piece of film magic, it's smart, multi-layered and has something to say to every one of its viewers. It balances comedy, tragedy and action exceptionally well. It's consistent and stays truthful every step of the way. Star Trek 2 is structure at its finest.

Nick Meyer's writing experience could bring vitality to Superman, and I know his name has been bandied around amongst fans for years, but through analysing his works, we have reason why he should be coveted for the Superman writing gig, at least. Singer has made no secret that there maybe parallels between the new film and Wrath of Khan...

<<<Special Features