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Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird (born 30 November 1947; age 76) is an English editor and director of Hollywood films. In 2002, he directed Star Trek Nemesis. He also voiced the Scimitar computer in the film.
Prior to Nemesis, Baird had directed the action films Executive Decision (1996) and U.S. Marshals (1998). The former featured Star Trek alumni Andreas Katsulas, Brad Blaisdell, Len Cariou, Tim Kelleher, Warren Munson, Richard Riehle, Eugene Roche, and Dey Young in the cast, while the latter had Daniel Roebuck. Jerry Goldsmith was the composer for both of these films, and would go on to compose the music for Nemesis. Whether by coincidence or design, both of these movies as well as Nemesis had air decompression sequences in which people are blown out of an airplane (or, in the case of Nemesis, a starship) due to sudden air decompression.
Baird's primary occupation, however, is that of film editor. It was in this capacity that Baird earned two Academy Award nominations: one for his work on the classic 1978 Superman movie and another for 1988's Gorillas in the Mist. He even co-edited Executive Decision (his directorial debut), working with Nemesis editor Dallas Puett. Other films he has edited include the classic 1976 horror movie The Omen (for which Jerry Goldsmith also composed), 1985's Ladyhawke (his first editing collaboration with Dallas Puett), and the first two Lethal Weapon films (1987 and 1989). He more recently edited such films as Radio Flyer (1992, again working with Dallas Puett), Demolition Man (1993, with assistant editing by Puett), Maverick (1994, also with assistant editing by Puett), The Legend of Zorro (2005), and the latest installment in the James Bond franchise, Casino Royale (2006).
Stuart Baird and Patrick Stewart on the set of Nemesis
In order to get the job directing Nemesis, Baird re-edited some scenes for the Paramount Pictures films Mission: Impossible II (2000) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001, working with Dallas Puett yet again). He also served as an executive producer on the latter.
After the release and subsequent failure of Star Trek Nemesis at the box office, actors LeVar Burton and Marina Sirtis criticized Baird for not being knowledgeable about the Star Trek universe and for not even watching a single episode of Next Generation. Sirtis said that TNG was about the relationships of the crew, and Baird did not take that into account. Burton remarked on how, during the first six weeks of shooting Nemesis, Baird kept calling him "Laverne" and kept referring to his character as an alien. [1] [2] Baird later defended himself, saying that he wanted to make a film "that stands alone and doesn't rest on all the past history." Baird told BBC, "I know the fans take it hugely seriously. I took it very seriously to give you two hours of entertainment, with as much bang for your buck, and thrills, spills, emotion, and humour [sic]. That was my task, and not to get too precious about it." [3]
Baird most recently edited the 2008 Columbia Pictures thriller Vantage Point, featuring Zoë Saldana.
External links
- Stuart Baird at Wikipedia
- Template:IMDb-link
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