Matt McAllister’s history of Galaxy Quest was published this week, telling the story of the genesis, production and aftermath of what’s regarded by many as the best Star Trek film ever. Paul Simpson chatted with him about never giving up, never surrendering…

How much did you know about the film before you started working on this?

I loved the film and I knew some of the story behind it. I knew that there was the whole controversy where there was originally a bit of swearing and violence and they had to tone it down at the last minute but I wasn’t really sure why. I knew there was a bit of controversy with Star Trek as well, that they couldn’t stick too closely to anything related to Star Trek because they were frightened they might be sued. So when I first took it on I knew the basics but obviously the more you delve into it the more you get to know the different layers that’s behind all of that.

Did you volunteer for it or were you asked to take it on?

I was asked if I was interested in taking it on and I love the film so it was a no-brainer really. It was a great project to have dangled in front of me.

Presumably you had plenty of cooperation from Paramount in terms of access to material…

Well, it wasn’t always straightforward. The book was licensed from Paramount, who unearthed some great photos and were really supportive. But I had to track down most of the interviewees myself.

Then ILM had their concept art, Stan Winston Studio had their concept art, and there were some other effects studios involved that had their art. Not all of it has been kept meticulously. It’s from before the time when everything was really stored in digital archives, things were just in boxes in warehouses. A lot of stuff is missing, but the more I spoke to the concept artists, the more that they found up in their lofts and their basements. Everyone loved the film and was really willing to support the book.

The other thing is, it was the time of Covid as well so the studios shut down essentially for a large period of that time and so I had to just be in those windows where people could go in and have a look in the basements and see what they could find in those studios.

It was a logistical challenge but that’s what makes it rewarding when you actually find stuff that people haven’t seen before.

What surprised you most?

It was really interesting to see some of the early concept designs for things like the pig lizard, rock monster, Sarris, just to see how many iterations there were of those characters. And things that didn’t make it to the movie: they walk through this field of man-eating killer plants in the original script, and there’s some concept art for that that was really cool. It wasn’t filmed.

Also some of the concept art where things were a bit gorier: in the original script there was some pretty gruesome moments and there’s some concept art from when they’ve captured Jason and they’re slicing little bits of his skin. It’s a little bit more gruesome than what made it into final film.

Things like that were really fascinating to see and also early iterations of the Protector and Sarris’s ship as well because some of them are very different from the final design. They went through hundreds and hundreds of iterations and loads of ideas before they nailed the final ones.

Were people generally happy to chat about it?

They were. There is a genuine love for this film and everyone just spoke about how much they love the film and also how much they enjoyed their time on it. They seemed to really gel together. I think there was an initial half jokey friction between Tim Allen and Alan Rickman, and then they became good friends during the film.

It sounds like everyone came at it from slightly different styles, whether that was stand up comedy or theatre, but they just really gelled and had an amazing experience. I got the feeling they just really love talking about the film, which you don’t always get when you speak to people about films from the past.

Did you have a clear idea how you wanted the book to be or was it a question of, here’s all the material, right what am I going to do with it?

I think my initial instinct was to go down the route we took. I think things like the monsters and the spaceships, people are so interested in those things, they’re a massive part of the movie and they’ve got their own story, like a story within a story.

I think it made sense, for me, to start off with the origins of the spec script and then the writing, the making of the film, the shooting of the film and then just to move onto the spaceships and the monsters and then come back to the end edit and the release.

Was there anything you would have loved to have been able to include but you just couldn’t get the background material or the illustrated material for it?

No, not really. There were times when I was working on the book where I thought that might be the case but everything came through in the end really. Some of the Protector pictures took quite a long time for the concept artists to track down and I was thinking ‘Are we going to get these in time? What about Sarris’s ship?’ And we did do some last minute changes with some of the artwork including all of that. But no, there was nothing that I felt we didn’t get and would have liked to have included which is a good position to be in.

Obviously the film changed tremendously and now that you’re steeped in the lore of it, what do you think the Harold Ramis version would have looked like? Do you think it would have had the same kick to it that this one had?

I think it would have had a different kick to it. From what I understand from speaking to people, it would have been a little more broader, maybe not quite so subtle, Maybe the comedy would have been a little bit broader from what I understand, not quite so subtle in some of the characterisation and the lines, but I’m sure Harold Ramis would have brought something else to it entirely.

He’s an absolute genius so it’s very interesting to speculate what it would have been like. I think it was a bit more adult in those early stages when he was working on it but whether that would have been toned down at the end anyway… It probably would have been. It’s very difficult to know really. It’s a question I asked a lot of the actors and they all love Harold Ramis as well but they can’t imagine it being any other way.

In many ways it’s quite a grounded film because Dean Parisot didn’t come at it from a blockbuster science fiction background. His biggest film was Home Fries, a rom-com at that point. So I think he definitely brought maybe a sweetness to it perhaps that wouldn’t necessarily have been there.

There’s a certain naivety about the aliens that walks a fine line – it could become cloying but never quite does.

Yes, it’s a film that could have quite easily been very sentimental and, as you say, it walks that fine line and yes absolutely pulls that balance off, it never slips too far into sentimentality or becomes maudlin. It plays its serious moments, like when Quellek dies, with genuine heartfelt emotion. But it doesn’t overplay them.”

You’re invested enough in the characters by that point that you care and then you’ve got it contrasted with lines like ‘Whoever wrote this episode should DIE!’

There’s always a funny line every few minutes, but not to make the characters themselves a joke. The characters feel like real people.

The whole point about Tim Allen’s Jason is that it might resemble a certain actor with a toupée.

Yes but he says that he didn’t really draw on Shatner although you can definitely see echoes of Shatner. Tim Allen says he drew on Yul Brynner and he was coming at it from a different angle but there are certain expressions and movements there where he does nail Shatner absolutely.

Oh it’s definitely [the Star Trek episode] Arena…

When Robert Gordon was writing that script he definitely was drawing on Arena, he says as much.

Have you rewatched the film since you finished writing the book?

I watched the film dozens and dozens of times while making it but it hasn’t put me off. I haven’t watched it since I finished writing, which wasn’t that long ago but yes, I could definitely go back and watch it easily. I think it’s just one of those films, it has so many classic lines, so many great moments, you can easily rewatch it.

What has been the most enjoyable bit about doing this?

Well, it was obviously great to speak to all of the cast and crew, including people like Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen and Sam Rockwell, and hearing their memories about working on the film. And just seeing the concept art and speaking to the artists and hearing about the work that went into creating every little thing.

I had a very long conversation with Robert Gordon and it’s just absolutely fascinating to hear about all the little influences behind every character and every moment that were going through his head as he was piecing it together – and the initial panic when he was given the project. It took a while for it all to come together and then suddenly it gelled.

It’s just really fascinating to hear those kinds of stories about the people putting the film together. Everyone has their own individual stories and then they all coalesce into this wonderful film.

Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story is available now from Hero Collector; click here to order from Amazon.co.uk