Robert Meyer Burnett (Newsletter Interview)

The Bring Back Kirk campaign is once again proud to interview two of our biggest supporters in Hollywood, Writer/Producer Mark A. Altman, whom the LA Times called the number one Trekspert on the planet (fix that to match what they really said), and co-writer of Free Enterprise, and Writer/Director Robert Meyer Burnett, co-writer and director of Free Enterprise.

For those unaware, Free Enterprise stars William Shatner as a character known as "William Shatner" (ironically enough!). The Free Enterprise movie is an award winning independent project that was well received by both the critics and the public.

Below is the Bring Back Kirk Newsletter interview of Robert Meyer Burnett.

Bring Back Kirk: It's been a few months since we have spoken to you. Do you have any updates concerning your careers?

Robert Meyer Burnett: Recently, I've re-teamed with "Free Enterprise" producer Allan Kaufman, who just produced the Bruce Willis comedy "The Whole Nine Yards," to bring a long-time passion project of mine, an adaptation of the cult fantasy-horror novel "The Jehovah Contract," to the screen.

I'm currently writing the script, which tells the story of the world's greatest political assassin (he began his career at fifteen setting off firecrackers on the grassy knoll in Deely Plaza), who, after discovering he's got six months to live, is approached by the world's most famous television evangelist, actually Satan in disguise, to pull off one last hit...the Lord God Almighty. The payment: Immortality. So, with the help of a woman who may or may not be an angel and a twelve-year-old telepathic hooker who only makes her johns THINK they've slept with her, the assassin breaches the bonds of heaven and hell to pull the cosmic trigger. I like to think of it as a cross between "Chinatown" and Kevin Smith's "Dogma," with a twist...

I've also got another project I may direct called "Earthbound," which Wim Wender's company Road Movies looks like it may produce.

To pay the bills, I'm editing commercials for NBC...the network that originally killed Classic Trek...

BBK: When was the last time you spoke to William Shatner about returning as Kirk? In the past, you have indicated that he is very much willing and able to return, and the ball is in Paramount's court. Is that still the case? Have you ever spoken to him about the Bring Back Kirk campaign, and if so, what does he think about it?

RMB: It's probably been since the last Creation Grand Slam since we've spoken to Bill about returning as Kirk. Of course, it was always in the back of our minds while doing "Free Enterprise" to broach the subject with Bill. He expressed to us his regret about killing off the character, and admitted he'd come back under the right circumstances. However, the realities of the entertainment business being what they are, it's extremely unlikely this will ever happen. We'd love to see him star in TREK X (that's TREX - EX to us...), but only if someone other then Rick Berman shepherded the project to the screen. What Paramount needs is a Harve Bennett for the new Millennium. Mark and I are both willing to offer our services...

I've never spoken to him about the BBK campaign, but I'm sure he's aware of it...he's pretty hip for a dude who just turned 69...

BBK: What do you think of William Shatner's books, which allows him to keep the character alive?

RMB: I'll let all of your readers in on a dirty little secret of mine...I own every Trek book ever published...and almost all of them (with the exception of some of the early Blish adaptations) are first editions. Judith and Gar Reeves-Stevens, Shatner's collaborators, are my very favorite Trek novelists.

So, as you can probably guess, I LOVE Shatner's Trek books. In fact, I've spoken to him at length about the books, which he gets very excited about. He told me his idea for "Preserver" a year before he began plotting it. And while it's true Judy and Gar do the bulk of the writing (c'mon...do you really think Bill watches "Voyager?"), it's the main man himself who comes up with the ideas behind the books. He works extensively with the Reeves-Stevens, who once told me they get phone calls and long faxes of writing and notes from Bill no matter where in the world he happens to be.

I loved the first "Odyssey" trilogy, which I thought was brilliant (can you imagine the box office if they filmed "The Return," which, in another form, was Bill's proposed "Generations" sequel?). The "Mirror Universe" saga is also extremely entertaining (a stuffed Balok!), although I'm waiting to see just how it will end...

BBK: One of the biggest strengths of Shatner's books is that they appeal to fans of all four series'. In addition to reuniting Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty, in great 24th century adventures, these books feature the best of the 24th century, especially Picard and the TNG crew on the Enterprise E. Popular characters from DS9 like Garak and Bashir appear, and Shatner has even managed to work characters from Voyager. Nothing in Star Trek on the air reaches out to so many fans like William Shatner's books. And because Shatner's books are so fan friendly, they represent some of the most successful Star Trek books of all time. THE RETURN, which is the type of story our campaign is looking for, is THE bestselling Trek fiction of all time. Do you think that Paramount should follow Shatner's lead and do a massive crossover movie? Many believe that Generations only failed because of the way they mistreated Kirk, and that a good crossover will bring Paramount some much needed revenue. If you were writing the next Trek feature, featuring members from all four series', which characters would you choose, and why?

RMB: A crossover movie done in the style of Shatner's books would make little sense outside the fan base. The general public would just shake their heads, confused, and the film would gross about what Trek V did. What fifteen year-old mall rat would understand who Kodos the Executioner is? Why spend valuable screen time explaining it when you could use it to instead add to a new story? Crossover material usually does more harm then good. It's no surprise "The Voyage Home" is the most successful Trek film. All you need to know to enjoy the film is "here's the problem - these are the heroes." Even my Grandmother, who knows nothing about Trek, loved it. On the other hand, having Zephram Cochrane in "First Contact," played by an actor who looked nothing like Glenn Corbett, just pissed this long-time Trek fan off. For non-fans, he was just some funny, drunk inventor - the Doc Brown of the film - but for the longtime fan like myself, he simply WASN'T the character I'd already met during the second season of Classic Trek. I really didn't know why he was there. The attempt at crossover failed for me. Unless the crossover element appeals to both fans and non-fans, like the reappearance of Khan Noonian Singh, who everyone, fan or not, understood was a bad guy from the get-go, I'd suggest staying far, far away from it...

But then again, it's the great crossover material the Reeves-Stevens do so well which keeps me reading the books...so go figure...

BBK: When it comes to Trek books, there seems to be two sets of rules--general rules, and rules for Shatner. Shatner's books have been given some leeway which enabled him to bring back Kirk. Additionally, they pay close attention to current Trek continuity--even more so than the TV writers. Shatner's books could be inserted into the Trek universe quite easily. With all the success the Shatner books have achieved, and with the growth of the Bring Back Kirk campaign, why won't Rick Berman just make Shatner's books canon?