Re: H. Ellison says 'Guardian of Forever' is NOT in this fil
6th day of XMe$$ said:
As I understand it and as mentioned in Nimoy's I Am Spock, the dispute around the time of PhaseII/TMP was about Minoy's face appearing on lunchboxes, toys and billboards without his knowledge or approval. I am sure a deal was struck with Paramount as a condition to Nimoy's appearance in TMP and beyond, but the details of how much or a percentage is something that we, as outsiders, aren't privvy to. Since Trek is a Paramount property, they can legally do whatever they want with it. Asking Nimoy and Shatner's "advice" on the matter is a courtesy as well as a good PR move. I have no doubt that they would see a little something for themselves even if they weren't consulted at length.
I checked Roby's site and found the following partway down the page at :
http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lostbooks.html
(Image provided by Curt McAloney. Click on the image to see the back cover.)
In 1991, Pocket Books promoted an anniversary book by Gene Roddenberry and his longtime assistant, Susan Sackett, called Star Trek: The First 25 Years. It was to have been a heavily-illustrated hardcover book. In addition to listing the book in their schedule, Pocket advertised it in some of its other 1991 books. However, the book was never published, and no definite reason was ever given. Rumor had it that Leonard Nimoy had some kind of problem with some photographs in the book, but that was never confirmed. Until 2002, anyway.
Susan Sackett's book, Inside Trek: My Secret Life With Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry, has some information on the anniversary book. She had originally intended it for the 20th anniversary, but Pocket couldn't reach a deal with Paramount. Eventually, however, everything was cleared up for a 25th anniversary book, written by Sackett with a few quotes from Roddenberry. According to Sackett, the rumor that Leonard Nimoy was responsible for the book's cancellation is true. First he was late in signing off on photos of him in the book, and then he wanted editorial changes made to the text of the book. After a closed-doors meeting with Roddenberry, his lawyer Leonard Maizlish, Leonard Nimoy, and his attorney (but not Sackett), Maizlish told Sackett "that the book was on hold because Leonard Nimoy didn't think the prose 'lofty enough,' as Maizlish put it, and wanted it more in the style of someone like Bill Moyers." [p.189] Adding insult to injury was the later publication of the coffee table book Star Trek: Where No One Has Gone Before, with text credited to Trek novelist J.M. Dillard. According to Sackett, "an extensive amount of the copy was taken from my manuscript (which Paramount owned outright, since I was paid as a writer for hire). When I learned of the proposed book, I contacted Pocket Books, and they hastily cut me a small check and added my name on the front page in the first space under 'Additional Material by.'" [p.190] Inside Trek has a bit more information on this and other books by Sack
So it sounds like he has some kind of extraordinary clout, not just pertaining to his likeness, since according to this he could reject this thing on the basis of not liking the text.
I don't have the Sackett book, but TGT does, maybe he knows of some other relevant material.
