Akiva Goldsman has seen many ups and downs in his Hollywood screenwriting career. The writer won an Academy Award in 2001 for writing “A Beautiful Mind,” but previously received Razzies (honoring the worst in filmmaking) for writing the screenplays for “A Time to Kill” and the brutal “Batman & Robin.” was named. ” He has been deeply involved in major blockbusters and media franchises, writing “The Da Vinci Code,” 1998’s “Lost in Space” and “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.” He also wrote “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend ” and more recently also wrote “The Dark Tower”.
Since 2017, Goldsman has joined the “Star Trek” franchise, serving as one of the franchise’s executive producers and executive producer on “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard,” and “Star Trek”. Trek: Strange”. New World.” He has also directed five episodes, taking his new place at the helm of “Trek.” Goldsman is also working on other projects — he created the 2023 series “The Crowded Room” — but in “Star Trek.” Takes up most of their time.
Goldsman has been a longtime Trekkie, so joining the new wave of Paramount+-era shows was probably a dream come true for him. This was also, as it happens, not the first time the screenwriter got a chance to play in the “Star Trek” sandbox. In 2009, Goldsman decided to work with director J.J. Abrams – a friend of his – to make a small role in his 2009 “Star Trek” film. Look carefully at the image below, and scan the faces of the two Vulcan Tribunal members looking at young Spock (Zachary Quinto). The man immediately to the right of the central judge is none other than Akiva Goldsman in a wig.
Akiva Goldsman played a Vulcan in 2009’s Star Trek and an Admiral in Star Trek Into Darkness.
Below the “Star Trek Into Darkness” above, one can see Goldsman as a human Starfleet Admiral. He’s the bald man in the white-breasted uniform on the right side of the table.
Goldsman discusses his Trekkie credentials A 2014 interview with StarTrek.comAnd how did his cameo happen? The author grew up watching “Star Trek” and is such a big fan that he has an opinion on the “Trekkie vs. Trekker” debate. At that time he also used to go to conferences. He said:
“I’m a fanatic, fanatic, 1000-percent Trekkie. And I say Trekkie, not Trekker, and I don’t care what the nomenclature becomes. I think my first ‘Star Trek’ convention was right here in 1977 or 1978. I grew up in Brooklyn, and what you saw was on WPIX, Channel 11. Every night at 7 p.m. Don’t think I’m old enough to have ever seen it in primetime, but I picked it up pretty early on in syndication.”
Goldsman remembers the wild and woolly days of the 1970s when a group of teenagers could leave town alone, get a hotel room, and watch “Star Trek” and eat joints (mostly seeds and stems, he said). Couldn’t do anything else. On vinyl copies of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (recently EGOT by Elton John). It’s probably no coincidence that his production company is named Weed Road Productions. He said he connected “Star Trek” to his sense of teenage liberation, eventually finding his own “one thing”.
Goldsman said he followed all the strange legal battles instigated by Harlan Ellison, and he read all the design sourcebooks written by the show’s designer David Gerrold. When “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was released, Goldsman said he was in college and had fallen in love with Persis Khambatta. There was never a moment when trek was not a part of his life.
How Akiva Goldsman arranged his cameo
It seems that Goldsman, because he was a friend of JJ Abrams, was only able to call his friend and ask for a cameo. Abrams was co-creator of the 2008 TV series “Fringe” (with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci), and Goldsman served as a writer, consultant and producer on “Fringe”. Goldsman ultimately wrote 18 episodes of that show and also directed one. Knowing that Abrams was working on “Star Trek,” Goldsman reached out and subtly asked for a little help. Well, actually he pleaded. In the words of Goldsman:
“I introduced JJ to his wife. I introduced”fringesAnd so when he was doing it for the first time’star trek,’ I basically begged. That went well, so I guess it was probably a good idea to bring back all the people from the first one [for ‘Into Darkness’]I might have begged some more. And I was there. I couldn’t love it more. “I have a bubblegum card in my office at the Vulcan Council.”
Interestingly, Akiva Goldsman is not one of the many producers listed for the upcoming “Starfleet Academy” TV series, which is currently in development. “Discovery” and “Picard” have both ended, so in terms of “Star Trek,” Goldsman can focus all his energy on the upcoming season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” Its third year will start in the early months of 2025.
