Preston Neal Jones Preston Neal Jones is the author of the reference book " " from Creature Features Publishing . The writing he has done for this book actually stemmed from the work he had actually already done thirty - five years earlier , when he was hired as a freelance writer by " Cinefantastique " magazine for an intended 1979 / 1980 themed double - issue on . Actually , in a move that was somewhat reminiscent to the one granted two decades earlier to his predecessor Stephen Whitfield for his " The Making of Star Trek " , thereby slated to become his successor , Jones was given full unrestricted access to the production of " The Motion Picture " , while that feature was still being produced . Yet , due to editorial problems , not in the least due to the volume of copy Jones himself produced , neither that issue , nor Jones ' potential stature , ever came to fruition , or as Jones himself had put it on the occasion of a subsequent possibility to have his copy yet published , as the eventually unrealized 1991 Image Publishing release , " This work began in the summer of 1979 as a commission from Frederick S . Clarke , the editor of " Cinefantastique " magazine , to create a double - issue honoring the imminent " Star Trek " movie , similar to previous special issues covering " Star Wars " and " Close Encounters " . Given to understand by my " Trek " fan friends that they would wish to read as detailed an account as possible , I interviewed sixty participants in the creation of this film , from Roddenberry and his original cast to director Robert Wise , science advisor Isaac Asimov , composer Jerry Goldsmith , screenwriters , set designers , special effects technicians and on and on , up to and including the young Executive in Charge of Production , one Jeffrey Katzenberg . I edited this material like a montage of memories , as if all sixty people were holding a round - robin seminar about the making of the movie . Wherever possible , I let them tell the story in their own words . [ . . . ] " Even given that it was impossible to complete this magnum opus in time for the film ' s opening in December of 1979 – as I ' m sure your readers are well aware , the special effects teams were working on ST - TMP until literally a few days before its premiere – my editor still had cause to regret the great amount of time I took on this assignment . By the time I was finished , the picture was long gone from theaters , and the completed manuscript totaled some 1 , 800 pages – more than enough for three books , let alone one . " Cinefantastique " kept promising its readers that it would print " Return to Tomorrow " , but this never happened , for reasons known only to Fred , now sadly gone from the planet . My book was never designed to be a muck - raker , but it was an honest , straightforward account of the amazing series of crises and difficulties encountered by this particular big - studio production . One reason why I believe the book should finally be published is that it examines a major motion picture in more detail than any previous book of its kind . Now that a few relatively honest books on the " Trek " universe have been published in recent years , with no resulting collapse of Gulf and Western or its assets , my hope is that " Return to Tomorrow " can finally take its place among them . " Career outside " Star Trek " . Jones ' first book , " Heaven and Hell to Play With : The Filming of The Night of the Hunter " , earned him the Rondo Award for Book of the Year from the Classic Horror Film Board . His writings have appeared in " Cinefantastique " and " American Art Review " , and he is active in the film and TV industry . Jones has served as creative advertising executive , script analyst , and production assistant , introduced film screenings at American Cinematheque and the Los Angeles Film School , and contributed entries to " Groves ' New Dictionary of Music and Musicians " and " The St . James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture " . Jones has penned liner notes for recordings of music from a number of Golden Age film composers , such as Alfred Newman , Hans J . Salter , and Frank Skinner . Jones has lectured on the subject of film music at UCLA , and on the topics of " The Night of the Hunter " and " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " at Roanoke College in Virginia , where he was writer in residence .