Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Forum emphasizes BRI cooperation between China and Arab countries
Rights to lower sleeper berths should be softened by empathy for fellow passengers
Sunday
- Subscribe
Star Trekker to Star Warrior
By Jill Lawless |
May 26, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
J.J. Abrams is master of one universe - and he's about to try conquering another.
The director who rebooted "Star Trek" for a new generation, sending the USS Enterprise out again to explore strange new worlds, has also been put at the "Star Wars" helm. Soon he'll direct a new film, the seventh, in the epic sci-fi franchise.
So while Abrams is in London to talk about his second "Trek" feature, "Star Trek Into Darkness" - released last week in US theaters - the topic inevitably drifts to a galaxy far, far away.
"I feel preposterously lucky," said Abrams, a self-declared "Star Wars" fanboy.
"I feel incredible disbelief that I'm actually answering questions about something that until recently I didn't know was going to come back as a series. And now I get to be involved in it."
Just how involved, he says, remains to be seen.
Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII" is part of big plans for The Walt Disney Co, which bought George Lucas' Lucasfilm empire last year for US$4.05 billion. The company plans three sequels and two stand-alone spinoff movies focusing on characters from the "Star Wars" universe.
Will Abrams direct the entire trilogy? Will he be involved in any of the spinoffs? Will George Lucas play a mentoring role? He can't say. "I never see myself doing anything more than what's in front of me," Abrams said.
"What the approach will be remains to be discussed, because it's in process," he said. "So it's a weird thing to be talking about. If I'm charging down the court dribbling the ball, it's hard to comment on the layup that's about to take place.
"I feel like the ball is just getting passed to me now, to complete the annoying metaphor."
But it's a suitably energetic metaphor for the prolific creator of TV shows, including "Felicity," "Alias" and "Lost," director of films "Mission: Impossible III" and "Super 8" and owner of Bad Robot production company. Upcoming projects include a movie about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Compact and voluble, in natty black-framed spectacles and a dark jacket, 46-year-old Abrams is the epitome of the geek made good.
By his own admission, he has never been much of a "Star Trek" fan. Roberto Orci, a producer and writer on both Abrams' "Star Trek" movies, jokes that the director "didn't even know that Spock was half-human."
Standalone 'Trek'
Abrams' distance may actually have been an asset. The "Star Trek" reboot works because it speaks to fans and newcomers alike. It's the work of a director who was not overawed by "Star Trek's" mythology or bogged down in its lore. "I think a lot of sequels make this weird mistake of assuming that you care about the world of the characters. My approach to 'Star Trek,' especially for 'Into Darkness,' was to make a standalone movie. You never have to have seen our first film or the originals. It's its own thing. If you have, you'll be rewarded, but you don't have to."
Abrams' characters are drawn directly from the original series, led by impulsive, cocksure Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and uber-logical Vulcan first officer Spock (Zachary Quinto). But the filmmakers gave themselves freedom to play with character and plot, using some alternate-universe sleight of hand.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" picks up where the first film left off, with the crew of the Starship Enterprise in the midst of a high-octane outer space adventure. Then a personal crisis shakes Kirk's confidence, and a terrorist attack shatters Starfleet. Soon the crew are off in pursuit of a villain - played with muscular menace by "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch - who may be an ally, or the enemy within.
Treats for fans of the original series are scattered about like Easter eggs - an iconic character returns, there's even a tribble.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" retains the social commentary that ran through the 1960s original, asking how far is it morally acceptable to go in waging a war on terror. But the film, shot in almost overwhelming IMAX 3-D, also announces its action credentials in a visually spectacular opening scene on an alien planet of crimson-red forests and roiling volcanic eruption.
If the stakes were high - first in reviving "Star Trek," then in trying to outdo the first film's box office of almost US$400 million worldwide - Abrams said he didn't notice.
"I was aware of the pressure but never really felt it, because I was not a 'Star Trek' fan," he said. "Working on it didn't have the same personal challenge of wanting it to meet a feeling I had had since I was a kid."
For "Star Wars" - which he emphatically has loved since childhood - the stakes are even higher. Abrams knows he has to find a new way to approach material that has seeped into the global bloodstream. He also has to erase the tang of disappointment that clings to the inferior second trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005.
Abrams says his somewhat similar to the one he took on with "Star Trek."
"No project can be or should be approached assuming that the audience has any investment," he said. "If they do, that's a bonus. But it doesn't preclude the required steps of reintroduction."
He is fairly certain about one thing - the worlds of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" will never meet. "One is a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. And one is us in a few hundred years," he said. "They could not feel more different to me."
He hasn't ruled out directing a third "Star Trek" film, though he acknowledges, "it feels unlikely - but it's a very bittersweet thing to admit."
Abrams insists he almost turned "Star Wars" down because he had enough on his plate already, but friends and colleagues scoff at the idea.
"I knew he loved 'Star Wars' so much that I first thought 'Oh my God, my friend is going to get to do what he's always wanted to do,'" producer Roberto Orci said. "On the other hand, I'm a 'Star Trek' geek, and I was like, 'You traitor!'"
The director who rebooted "Star Trek" for a new generation, sending the USS Enterprise out again to explore strange new worlds, has also been put at the "Star Wars" helm. Soon he'll direct a new film, the seventh, in the epic sci-fi franchise.
So while Abrams is in London to talk about his second "Trek" feature, "Star Trek Into Darkness" - released last week in US theaters - the topic inevitably drifts to a galaxy far, far away.
"I feel preposterously lucky," said Abrams, a self-declared "Star Wars" fanboy.
"I feel incredible disbelief that I'm actually answering questions about something that until recently I didn't know was going to come back as a series. And now I get to be involved in it."
Just how involved, he says, remains to be seen.
Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII" is part of big plans for The Walt Disney Co, which bought George Lucas' Lucasfilm empire last year for US$4.05 billion. The company plans three sequels and two stand-alone spinoff movies focusing on characters from the "Star Wars" universe.
Will Abrams direct the entire trilogy? Will he be involved in any of the spinoffs? Will George Lucas play a mentoring role? He can't say. "I never see myself doing anything more than what's in front of me," Abrams said.
"What the approach will be remains to be discussed, because it's in process," he said. "So it's a weird thing to be talking about. If I'm charging down the court dribbling the ball, it's hard to comment on the layup that's about to take place.
"I feel like the ball is just getting passed to me now, to complete the annoying metaphor."
But it's a suitably energetic metaphor for the prolific creator of TV shows, including "Felicity," "Alias" and "Lost," director of films "Mission: Impossible III" and "Super 8" and owner of Bad Robot production company. Upcoming projects include a movie about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Compact and voluble, in natty black-framed spectacles and a dark jacket, 46-year-old Abrams is the epitome of the geek made good.
By his own admission, he has never been much of a "Star Trek" fan. Roberto Orci, a producer and writer on both Abrams' "Star Trek" movies, jokes that the director "didn't even know that Spock was half-human."
Standalone 'Trek'
Abrams' distance may actually have been an asset. The "Star Trek" reboot works because it speaks to fans and newcomers alike. It's the work of a director who was not overawed by "Star Trek's" mythology or bogged down in its lore. "I think a lot of sequels make this weird mistake of assuming that you care about the world of the characters. My approach to 'Star Trek,' especially for 'Into Darkness,' was to make a standalone movie. You never have to have seen our first film or the originals. It's its own thing. If you have, you'll be rewarded, but you don't have to."
Abrams' characters are drawn directly from the original series, led by impulsive, cocksure Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and uber-logical Vulcan first officer Spock (Zachary Quinto). But the filmmakers gave themselves freedom to play with character and plot, using some alternate-universe sleight of hand.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" picks up where the first film left off, with the crew of the Starship Enterprise in the midst of a high-octane outer space adventure. Then a personal crisis shakes Kirk's confidence, and a terrorist attack shatters Starfleet. Soon the crew are off in pursuit of a villain - played with muscular menace by "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch - who may be an ally, or the enemy within.
Treats for fans of the original series are scattered about like Easter eggs - an iconic character returns, there's even a tribble.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" retains the social commentary that ran through the 1960s original, asking how far is it morally acceptable to go in waging a war on terror. But the film, shot in almost overwhelming IMAX 3-D, also announces its action credentials in a visually spectacular opening scene on an alien planet of crimson-red forests and roiling volcanic eruption.
If the stakes were high - first in reviving "Star Trek," then in trying to outdo the first film's box office of almost US$400 million worldwide - Abrams said he didn't notice.
"I was aware of the pressure but never really felt it, because I was not a 'Star Trek' fan," he said. "Working on it didn't have the same personal challenge of wanting it to meet a feeling I had had since I was a kid."
For "Star Wars" - which he emphatically has loved since childhood - the stakes are even higher. Abrams knows he has to find a new way to approach material that has seeped into the global bloodstream. He also has to erase the tang of disappointment that clings to the inferior second trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005.
Abrams says his somewhat similar to the one he took on with "Star Trek."
"No project can be or should be approached assuming that the audience has any investment," he said. "If they do, that's a bonus. But it doesn't preclude the required steps of reintroduction."
He is fairly certain about one thing - the worlds of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" will never meet. "One is a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. And one is us in a few hundred years," he said. "They could not feel more different to me."
He hasn't ruled out directing a third "Star Trek" film, though he acknowledges, "it feels unlikely - but it's a very bittersweet thing to admit."
Abrams insists he almost turned "Star Wars" down because he had enough on his plate already, but friends and colleagues scoff at the idea.
"I knew he loved 'Star Wars' so much that I first thought 'Oh my God, my friend is going to get to do what he's always wanted to do,'" producer Roberto Orci said. "On the other hand, I'm a 'Star Trek' geek, and I was like, 'You traitor!'"
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
