J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek 2, Fringe, Mission Impossible 4 And More
posted by Outsiders in movies at 01:03 PM on 2009.10.12
Speaking to members of the press at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams gave some insight into the plans for the forthcoming Star Trek sequel, the possibility of it being done in 3-D and what he sees his involvement with the franchise being, for the foreseeable future. And, with so many other projects on his schedule, the prolific storyteller also touched on Mission: Impossible 4, Fringe and his latest television pilot, just sold to NBC.
Collider got the chance to sit down and ask J.J. some questions about what is going on with the Director, the next Star Trek, Fringe and more. Below are some of the highlights to the interview. To read the full interview, click on the link above.
Question: Since you got to wipe the slate clean with your first Star Trek film, do you have any intention of using some of the old creatures or monsters, or do you plan to just bring in a whole new thing?
J.J.: In going forward, the fun of this movie series is that we will have the opportunity, given its alternate timeline, to cross paths with any of the experiences, places and characters that existed in the original series, but we have to be really careful, doing that. I don’t want to do something that is so inside that only die-hard fans will appreciate. We’re just now working on the script and just beginning the process of story breaking, but I guarantee you, whatever the story is and whatever the final movie ends up being, I know it will be something that will work on its own terms and be something that you don’t need to know and study Star Trek to get, but if you are a fan, there will hopefully be gift after gift of connections, references and characters that you hold near and dear. At least, that’s the intent.
How far ahead do you envision your involvement with the franchise? Is it a movie-by-movie basis for you, or do you see yourself involved with it for the foreseeable future?
J.J.: That’s a wonderfully optimistic question and I appreciate that, but the answer is that it’s obviously just movie-to-movie. The fact that we are now actively discussing the second film is surreal and very nice, and I’m thrilled. I hope that that results in something worthy of your time. But, it’s one of those things that you just don’t know. And so, I cannot presume it’s gonna be a series that goes beyond those. Do we have ideas for a few movies and have we discussed them? Of course. You can’t help but go, “Oh, it would be really cool, if we could do this, or if we can set that up there?” You throw those things around. But, we can’t presume it’s going to be anything more than now another film that we’re lucky enough to do.
With everything you have going on, for the next couple months, what will you be focusing on mostly?
J.J.: Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman are running Fringe very well. We’re still very involved in that, but they’re running that. We have a new series, that we just sold to NBC, that we’re going to be producing. It’s a pilot. And, there’s a movie that I’m writing that I would love to direct, early next year, so we’ll see if that comes to fruition. There’s a movie, called Morning Glory, that’s coming out next year, with Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton, that’s being edited now. Roger Michell directed that. And, we’re obviously hard at work on Star Trek 2 and Mission: Impossible 4. There’s a lot that we’re working on.
Any chance of you shooting the next Star Trek film in 3-D?
J.J.: Paramount talked to me about doing the first one in 3-D and, having it only be my second film, I was petrified just at the addition of it. I thought it would be another dimension of pain-in-the-ass. I was just like, “I want to make a decent 2-D movie.” I was so worried that, instead of being a decent 2-D movie, it would have been a bad 3-D one. I’m open to looking at it ’cause now I feel a little bit more comfortable. And, if I, in fact, direct the Star Trek sequel, 3-D could be really fun, so I’m open to it. What I’ve seen of Avatar makes me want to do it because it’s so crazy-cool looking.
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Speaking to members of the press at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams gave some insight into the plans for the forthcoming Star Trek sequel, the possibility of it being done in 3-D and what he sees his involvement with the franchise being, for the foreseeable future. And, with so many other projects on his schedule, the prolific storyteller also touched on Mission: Impossible 4, Fringe and his latest television pilot, just sold to NBC.
