As Bennett told StarTrek.com in 2010, “Leonard didn’t have a lot of experience directing, so I spent a lot more time on the set [of ‘Search For Spock’] than I would normally have […] But I think Leonard handled it very well.” The second time around, though, the actor-filmmaker was over it. “He got a little more resentful during ‘Star Trek IV’ because he figured he had proved himself. So we had a little friction there, but we resolved it and he went on to do a magnificent job on ‘IV.'” Nimoy didn’t dispute this in his own version of events, writing in “I Am Spock” that he “had more confidence after ‘Star Trek III,’ and therefore was more inclined to hold fast to [his] own opinions.” He also noted that the pair were naturally at odds with the film, as Bennett was used to working in television, where producers get the final word.
Hilariously, the pair’s friction came to a head over a memo that Nimoy says Bennett sent to Paramount, urging them to okay the crafting of some dialogue for a scene between whales and humans. Nimoy, who shares a “story by” credit with Bennett on the film, had pictured the scene with no subtitles, and appealed to the studio to leave them out. The pair endured several other highs and lows over the years, with Nimoy writing that it was Bennett who first asked him to direct. He also helped Nimoy earn a role in the film “A Woman Called Golda” (seemingly as part of his deal to star in “The Wrath of Khan”), but it was only after Nimoy got to set that he realized Bennett had done so against the wishes of the director.