Trekplace Interview with Doug Drexler
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Trekplace Interview with Doug Drexler |
| Interviewer: | Greg Tyler |
| Interviewee: | Doug Drexler |
| Date(s): | March-November 2006 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | |
| External Links: | www.trekplace.com, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Trekplace Interview with Doug Drexler was conducted via email from March-November 2006. The interviewer is Greg Tyler at Trekplace.
Other Trekplace Interviews
- Trekplace Interview with Bjo Trimble
- Trekplace Interview with Doug Drexler
- Trekplace Interview with Karen Dick
From the Introduction
Doug Drexler's enthusiasm for Star Trek began with the debut of the original television series. The show inspired him to enter the movie and television industry. After winning an Oscar for his makeup work on Dick Tracy, Drexler joined Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he received two Emmy nominations. Drexler also contributed to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise -- for which he designed that series' titular spacecraft -- as well as Star Trek Generations, Star Trek First Contact, Star Trek Insurrection and Star Trek Nemesis. Drexler's Trek contributions also extend to the publishing world. He worked on one of the earliest licensed publications, the Star Trek Giant Poster Book, and he has contributed to more recent works such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual, the Ships of the Line calendars and the Ships of the Line book.
Outside Star Trek, Drexler has contributed to features such as The Hunger, Starman, Manhunter, C.H.U.D. and F/X. Drexler currently works as CG supervisor for the new Battlestar Galactica television series, for which he has received an Emmy nomination.
Some Topics Discussed
- when he became a Star Trek fan
- his work on various sets of Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dick Tracy, Battlestar Galactica
- his work in Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual ("I wasn't crazy about it. My stuff in it is mostly horrible") and U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual ("I was just a little better than I was in the Medical Reference.")
- what he'd ask [[Gene Roddnberry][ if he could
- one thing he DOESN'T talk about is his early work in zines
Excerpts
I'm a first-generation fan [of Star Trek]. Watched the entire first season in black and white. Now that's science fiction! Imagine after a year, seeing your first Trek in full color. It was "Amok Time," and that red Vulcan sky was incredible! But yeah, pretty much from day one. I say pretty much, because in 1966 my parents experimented with a "no TV policy" on school days. I saw press on the "New Season on NBC!". There was that great piece of early promotional art, which ended up on the first Trek anthology book by James Blish. I had to endure my sci-fi friends describing Trek to me. A quick note here about sci-fi on television in the '60s. It was a barren time, friends. Even admitting that you liked science fiction branded you as a kook. It's a whole different thing today. On the other hand, I find that people who are watchers of sci-fi movies today are not really science fiction fans, but fans of action/adventure in general. But I digress! Where was I? Of course ... television banned for Doug on school nites! So it was a Thursday night in 1966. I'm 13. My Mom's taking a bath. She can't hear what I'm doing, she can't see what I'm doing. I snuck downstairs to the den and turned on the B&W Muntz TV, full of glowing tubes and tangling wires. When the picture coalesced I saw it, it was "This Side of Paradise." Instantly I could see that this show was different. You know how the monolith in 2001 was "full of stars?" Well, this show was full of character. I was hooked, and lobbied my parents for an hour of TV a week. It took some doing. After that I sketched Star Trek, wrote Star Trek and built Star Trek. The most infamous thing my father ever said to me was, "If you spent half the time on your school work, that you spend on that TV show, you'd be ok!" I tease him about that now -- he loves it.
Undoubtedly [Star Trek inspire you to pursue a career in television and feature films]: I put it squarely on Stephen (E. Whitfield) Poe. He wrote the book that illuminated the world of film making for me, The Making of Star Trek. It should be required reading for all aspiring film makers. For the first time I saw budgets, call sheets and script notes. I discovered what made a movie company ... departments like makeup, visual effects and art.
I generally have always been a fan of any kind of effects work. The truth, however, was that I never grew up dreaming about being a makeup artist. It was Halloween, I had a terrific article I had saved from the original fan-published Cinemagic magazine. It spelled the entire prosthetic fabrication process out. I dove in, discovered for the first time that I had the ability to sculpt. Discovered what Dick Smith (the greatest character makeup artist in the world) calls "The Frankenstein effect," (that moment when the makeup becomes alive, and you become giddy!) and I was hooked. My first makeup, like many people, was a Planet of the Apes deal. A few months later, I ran into an old pal, Doug Murray, who just happened to have interviewed Dick Smith recently. Doug gave me his telephone number. With heart in mouth, I screwed up my courage and called him. Dick couldn't have been kinder, and actually kept me on the phone, giving me data and advice. He has always been well known for his generosity. A few months later, he asked me to come to work on Tony Scott's vampire opus, The Hunger. That was the beginning for me. It hasn't stopped for 26 years.