For the Love of Spock

For the Love of Spock is a 2016 American documentary film about actor Leonard Nimoy produced by 455 Films and directed by his son Adam Nimoy, who started it before his father's death on February 27 2015. It deals with the story of the character, its impact in science fiction and popular culture, and the burden its fame posed on Leonard Nimoy's personal and family life, from his son's point of view.

For the Love of Spock
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdam Nimoy
Produced byJoseph Kornbrodt
Kevin Layne
David Zappone
Kai de Mello-Folsom
Music byNicholas Pike
CinematographyKevin Layne
Edited byJanice Hampton a.c.e.
Luke Snailham
Production
company
455 Films
Release date
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film looks at the life and career of actor Leonard Nimoy,[1] and his iconic character Mr. Spock.[2] It includes interviews with cast, crew and people connected with Star Trek, fans at conventions, as well as personal memories.

As Odie Henderson from RogerEbert.com points out, "'For the Love of Spock' is more than just catnip for Trekkies. It’s also an often painful examination of the rocky father/son relationship that existed between filmmaker Adam Nimoy and his famous father, Leonard."[3]

Production

By Thanksgiving 2014, Adam Nimoy started working with his father in a documentary about Spock, to commemorate Star Trek: The Original Series’s 50th anniversary. After Leonard Nimoy's passing on February 27, 2015, the outpouring of affection from Star Trek fans prompted him to widen the film’s scope to encompass his father’s life and career beyond Spock.[4]

To license Spock's still photographs and film clips from television and feature films in time to complete the documentary by 2016, Adam Nimoy launched a Kickstarter campaign in June 2015, aiming to collect US$600,000 in one month[5] which attracted worldwide interest.[6][7][8] By the end of the campaign, 9,439 backers pledged US$662,640, making it the most successful crowdfund of the period.[9][10][11][12]

Production continued[13] with interviews of William Shatner, George Takei, Walter Koenig,[14] Nichelle Nichols, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Jim Parsons, Jason Alexander, Neil deGrasse Tyson and J.J. Abrams.[15][16]

Adam Nimoy appeared as himself in "The Spock Resonance", the November 5, 2015, episode of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, in which he interviewed Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) for the documentary on his father, who made a voice cameo in the episode "The Transporter Malfunction" in the series' fifth season.[17][18]

It had been stated that Quinto would provide narration for the documentary, but Adam Nimoy found that there were "so many archival interviews and voice recordings" that narration was not needed.[19]

The documentary's first trailer was released April 13, 2016,[20][21][22] and the theatrical trailer and poster on July 20.[23]

Release

A preliminary version of the film was screened on April 16, 2016, at the Tribeca Film Festival.[24][25] It was followed by a panel composed of Adam Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, producer David Zappone, Access Hollywood and critic Scott Mantz, within Variety's Gordon Cox as moderator.[26] The finished documentary's release was expected later in 2016.[27]

On June 2, 2016, it was announced that the worldwide rights to the documentary had been acquired by Gravitas Ventures, and the film was scheduled for U.S. theatrical release and VOD day-and-date on September 9, one day after the 50th anniversary of the Original Series.[28]

Since that date, the film has been available on iTunes,[29] Vudu,[30] Vimeo,[31] several other TV providers, Netflix[32] and Internet on Demand (national and international).[33] It is also available as DVD and Blu-ray.[34]

Reception

For the Love of Spock received universal acclaim from critics, and holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.34/10.[35] Metacritic reports a score of 74/100 based on 8 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[36]

Lance Ulanoff of Mashable said in his review that "There’s no way to fit 83 years into a rather fast-paced 100 minutes. As a consequence, huge swaths of Nimoy’s life and career are mentioned all-too-briefly … This doesn’t diminish For the Love of Spock. Instead, it keeps the narrative more firmly focused on Spock himself, and Nimoy’s emotional connection to his craft and those around him."[19] Frank Scheck in his review for The Hollywood Reporter said about the film, "That actor Leonard Nimoy lived a rich and full life is made vividly clear in Adam Nimoy's loving documentary about his father and his most famous, iconic role."[37] Sarah Lewin of Space.com said that "The documentary explores the fans' love both as a destabilizing force in Adam Nimoy's life and as a powerful statement of the character's universality. Indeed, besides Spock and Nimoy himself, the fans are the third main character in the film."[38] Max Burbank of chelseanow.com said: "Loaded with archival stills, restored original footage, interviews with original and reboot cast members, family, celebrity superfans …, scientists … and astronauts, this is the Spockfest everyone wanted, a claim for which there is empirical evidence."[39]

Awards

For the Love of Spock won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.[40]

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References
  1. "Leonard Nimoy, New York Times Obituary". Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  2. "President Obama's statement". Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  3. "For the Love of Spock". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  4. "For the Love of Spock - A Documentary Film by Adam Nimoy - Youtube video". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. ""For the Love of Spock" - A Documentary Film By Adam Nimoy". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  6. "Leonard Nimoy's son launches Kickstarter campaign to fund For the Love of Spock film - The Independent, UK". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  7. "Le fils de Leonard Nimoy lance un appel de fonds pour son documentaire sur Spock - Le Figaro, France". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  8. "Lanzan campaña para financiar documental "Por el amor de Spock" - El Mercurio On Line, Chile". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  9. "For the Love of Spock! Leonard Nimoy Documentary Surpasses Kickstarter Goal - Space". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  10. "'For the Love of Spock' Becomes Most Successful Crowdfund - Indiewire". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  11. "Leonard Nimoy Documentary 'For the Love of Spock' By son Adam Fully Funded - People". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  12. "Hijo de Leonard Nimoy hace documental sobre Spock - El País, Uruguay". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  13. ""A Nimoy back on the bridge: Cruising the con with Mr. Spock's son" - Los Angeles Times". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  14. ""Leonard Nimoy's son beams up 'Mr. Spock' documentary" - Mashable". Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  15. "'For the Love of Spock': Leonard Nimoy's son honors dad with documentary - Nola". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  16. "Tribeca Tune In". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  17. "Adam Nimoy, Wil Wheaton To Appear On New Episode Of The Big Bang Theory - CBS". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  18. "The Big Bang Theory Recap: Emotions in Motion - Vulture". Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  19. "'For the Love of Spock' is a moving love letter to an icon and a father". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  20. "Tribeca 2016: See the exclusive trailer for Leonard Nimoy documentary, For the Love of Spock - Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  21. "For the Love of Spock's First Trailer Is as Heartwarming as You'd Expect - Gizmodo". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  22. "New FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK Trailer Will Hit You Right In The Feels - TrekMovie". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  23. "'For the Love of Spock' Trailer: Remembering the Original Spock, Leonard Nimoy - Yahoo Movies". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  24. "Tribeca 2016 Announces the Festival's First-Ever Tribeca Tune In Program, Dedicated to TV". Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  25. "Adam Nimoy's 'For The Love Of Spock' To Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  26. "Adam Nimoy and Zachary Quinto led a heartfelt tribute to Leonard Nimoy at Tribeca 2016". Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  27. "Interview: Son of Spock actor Leonard Nimoy making doc about his dad". Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  28. "Gravitas Ventures Boldly Goes 'For The Love Of Spock'". Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  29. "For the Love of Spock. Adam Nimoy". Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  30. "For the Love of Spock". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  31. "For the Love of Spock. Adam Nimoy". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  32. "For the Love of Spock (2016)". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  33. "Official website. Watch". Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  34. "Official website. Store". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  35. "For the Love of Spock (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  36. "For the Love of Spock". Metacritic. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  37. "'For the Love of Spock': Tribeca Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  38. "'For the Love of Spock': New Film Honors Leonard Nimoy's Legacy". Space.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  39. "Spock Doc Earns an Emotional Response". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  40. "Fantasia Festival: For the Love of Spock wins Best Documentary". Retrieved August 4, 2016.
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