Burton Talks Trek Freshmen

'Star Trek Nemesis' writer John Logan and director Stuart Baird acquitted themselves well on their first Trek project, actor LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) said Thursday.

"I love John Logan," Burton told fans during a chat at StarTrek.com. "He's not only a great writer, he's a real gentleman."

While this was Logan's first Trek feature, he had been a longtime fan of the franchise, and the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter seemed the ideal choice to pen the film. "There was a real sense of security knowing that John loves Trek as much as he does, and that the script couldn't have been in better hands. I think John's presence in the equation gave all of the cast members a sense that they could relax, knowing that the writing was handled."

On the other hand, 'Nemesis' was director Stuart Baird's first encounter with Trek, but Burton said he really gave it his all. "Stuart didn't know much about Star Trek when he first got there. So he had a pretty intense time getting up to speed with the universe of Trek, in addition to prepping a major motion picture. He did a really remarkable job. Sometimes it was a little frustrating having the guy at the helm not really be familiar with the universe, but after all is said and done, he had a very specific vision, and he was able to get that vision on film, to his credit."

While Burton wasn't giving too much away ("The universe is in grave danger. And the intrepid crew of the Enterprise comes to save the day" was his response to a request for spoilers), the actor did say 'Nemesis' was at least as good as 'Star Trek: First Contact.' "I think 'First Contact' will be pretty hard to beat and I'm optimistic that this will at least be on par with 'First Contact,' simply in terms of the storytelling."

And will 'Nemesis' really be the final voyage for the TNG crew? "That's what the advertising says..."

The full transcript, in which Burton also talked about directing Enterprise and the feature 'Blizzard,' is available here at StarTrek.com.

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