20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
7. A Claustrophobic Shoot That Erupted In Flames
Though there was a single day of location shooting for Star Trek III, the bulk of filming took place on the Paramount lot. There were several reasons for this, though control was the primary one. Cinematographer Charles Correll spoke of the challenge in filming on location. The destruction of the Genesis Planet would leave fires raging throughout the sets, with rocks and plants being torn apart.
He had wanted to shoot much of the jungle scenes in Kawai, as they were lush enough to accommodate this. However, Nimoy wanted these scenes to have a far more alien look to them - cacti growing out of snowbanks, for example - so this was vetoed early on.
During production, a fire threatened to destroy the entire set. Everyone who was on hand jumped to action, including William Shatner. He jokingly referred to his own efforts to fight the fire as his way of making sure the film stayed on schedule, preventing any clashes with other filming he had lined up. The damage was covered with enormous black curtains, shutting the holes in the ceiling that threatened to let in sunlight.
Despite the damage, filming was able to continue almost immediately.