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J.J. Abrams reveals Fringe, Trek 2 and MI4 news
By the time J.J. Abrams made his way down the red carpet for Fox's annual Fall Eco-Casino Party, a group of reporters had to share his limited time. Abrams tried to stall them by playing with their flip cameras and promoting his buddy Greg Grunberg's iPhone app Yowza. SCI FI Wire pressed hard for answers to questions on Fringe's second season, Lost's final season and film projects Star Trek 2 and Mission: Impossible IV. We picked up a few tidbits from the gaggle, too.
The season premiere of Fox's Fringe features Olivia Dunham's (Anna Torv) return from her visit "over there," the parallel universe. Future episodes promise to explore more about the Observer (Michael Cerveris) and his kind. Meanwhile, over on ABC, Lost leaves us wondering whether Juliet stopped the Oceanic Flight 815 crash.
All the while, Abrams and writing team Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof keep hinting at their development of a Star Trek 2 script.
The following Q&A features edited excerpts from the group interview with Abrams on Monday night in West Hollywood, Calif. Fringe moves to Thursdays starting Sept. 17 on Fox, and Lost returns to ABC in January. (Possible spoilers ahead!)
The season premiere of Fringe focuses on Olivia's return to this world. When will we go back to "over there"?
Abrams: Well, the first episode is sort of meant to kind of reset things, and for those who have never seen the show, offer a way in. It has the advantage of being almost better than the pilot. You never have to have seen the show to see the first episode and hopefully get sucked in. So what happens in the very beginning, this crazy sort of situation that she finds herself in is in a sense meant to be the premise for what this year is about. So what you're asking is really what happens over the course of the whole second season.
What will we learn about the Observers this year?
Abrams: Again, you saw in the first season, this guy who was around. You learn there is a relationship that this sort of oddball dude had with Walter [John Noble], but what he really did, what his purpose was, was not clear at all. This year we'll get behind that.
And we'll meet more of them?
Abrams: Check it out, you'll see. It's cool.
How is Lost going to make sense of all these timelines they've started and perhaps altered?
Abrams: Every Lost question should be directed to Damon [Lindelof], and I'll give you his home number later. He said any hours you can call him. I don't know what that means.
Could you come back to direct an episode of Lost?
Abrams: I'd love to direct another episode. It would be fun. You have to ask Damon, same thing.
Is there room in your schedule to do another show when you're already stretched so thin with movies?
Abrams: Well, sadly, I'm working on a couple things right now that will test your theory, but the fact is that I'm working with some people like Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman, who are running Fringe, though it's not quite the same thing as when I did Lost with Damon Lindelof. He really has run that show since the first year.
My involvement with Fringe, though, much more so than Lost, is, generally speaking, becoming less and less critical, because Jeff and Joel are there every day, and they're really running. So when I wrote the first episode and am involved in this season, they're doing an amazing job, which helps free up time to work on other things. I am incredibly ADD in that way.
Where are you in talks for Star Trek 2?
Abrams: We're hopefully going to have everyone, obviously, from the first cast. I keep trying to spread this rumor that I'm going to recast Kirk as Greg Grunberg, but no one ever prints it.
Have you settled on what direction you're going to take it?
Abrams: We're just starting on that. Yes, we know the direction, but it's very early. We're working on a script right now still. I can tell you it's cool. We have some really cool ideas, but it's too early.
So Orci and Kurtzman have physically started writing?
Abrams: No, but we've started talking story, and Damon's writing it with them.
Any momentum on Mission: Impossible IV?
Abrams: Yeah, we have a really cool story. It's being written right now by Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum.
What's your ETA on when you'll see the draft?
Abrams: We're hoping to get it soon, like by the end of the year.
Could it work out for you to direct it?
Abrams: I'm open to anything.
What about that secret romantic movie Morning Glory?
Abrams: Morning Glory is being edited right now. It comes out next year.
Does it have a release date?
Abrams: Not yet.
By Iso at 1:51 PM ON 09/15/09
I think he's cagey about Trek 2 (or 12 if you believe it even belongs in the established continuity) because Paramount are holding off to see how well it does on DVD before they commit to another Abrams Trek film, much the same as Fox are holding off on Wolverine 2. For all the fuss made about well Trek 2009 did in box office takings, that does not mean Paramount have made much of a return on their investment so far given the sky-high overall costs of the film.
By Primogen at 3:35 PM ON 09/15/09
There's no doubt that Paramount wants to do a sequel. I think he's being "cagey" only because the story is still in the development phase, and you don't reveal your ideas until they're ready to be revealed. In fact, you want to reveal as little of the plot as possible before the film premieres.
By Captain America at 3:58 PM ON 09/15/09
Nevermind Star Trek 2/12. I'd love to have a JJ Abrams produced Star Trek tv show. Make it so, JJ.
By Dr. Doomsayer at 4:04 PM ON 09/15/09
I would really love for someone else to come in and take over Trek. I can't seeing a new regime making things any worse than JJ and crew did. What an awful, overrated film.
By thirdintl at 4:22 PM ON 09/15/09
Please, NO MORE ROMULANS! I hope the next Trek film brings back the Klingons, we haven't seen them on the big screen since Lursa and Bator got blown away 15 years ago in Generations.
By Gilveron at 7:13 PM ON 09/15/09
There were Klingons originally in JJ ABrams' Star Trek, when the Romulan ship attacked Rura Penthe, but those scenes were cut. And of course, we saw simulated Klingon Battle Cruisers in the Kobayashi Maru scene. I agree with thirdintl about bringing back the Klingons, but only if Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman can make them cool, scary, thinking, believable villains again, instead of the silly, comical, one-dimensional, sword-waving-in-an-age-of-phasers ridiculous unbelievable villains they were turned into by Berman and crew.
By etsjedi at 7:58 PM ON 09/15/09
OVERRATED?? OVER-BUDGET???
Where did you get your info and JUST because YOU did not like it does not mean it is overrated and it had a good budget and made it's money -plus it di real well overseas a Star Trek first.
I have been a long time trek fan from the 70's syndicated and above. I don't know of any other way that you could bring back Star Trek and not have people destroy it. Abrams found a way and you crybabies need to get over what is now going to be Star Trek-which is no Rick Berman!
By Nick at 8:06 PM ON 09/15/09
Someone needs to tell JJ about the new very Whedonesque-y site thats been put up for him... ABRAMSology @ http:/www.abramsology.com
I think he's officially made it into the cult website world! hehe
By Tarc at 8:57 PM ON 09/15/09
Star Trek and Up were the only great films of the summer (with Harry Potter being a distant third in a very sad summer for film). I've actually seen Star Trek three times in the theater now, and it's even better when seen again. I'm really very interested in seeing where they take the new movie. Sure, there were a few changes I'm still not thrilled with, but the casting and tone was perfection, and the writing solid.
By Evan at 10:44 PM ON 09/15/09
@ Tarc
You mean you didn't enjoy X-men Origins, Transformers 2 or the depressingly successful box office hit The Final Destination!?
(Notice the sarcasm.)
By Killian at 4:38 AM ON 09/16/09
Heck, I'm going to watch Trek one more time but this time the IMAX version. Can't wait for the Blu-Ray to come out.
By baldheadman at 11:01 AM ON 09/16/09
I would love to see a tv show or movie centered around the Klingon's. Which would be a different angle than the starfleet captain and his crew saving the universe. What do you all think about that idea???
By Androo at 11:23 AM ON 09/16/09
There may be no doubt that Paramount *wants* a Trek sequel, but its another story about whether or not it'll be an Abrams one. Iso is correct....Abrams is being cagey about another film because the jury is still out on exactly how much of a real profit his Trek film will make. Don't forget Warners announced a Singer sequel to Superman Returns then changed their minds afterwards. I think everything rests on the DVD sales, much as it does for Wolverine 2 (which has already been reported on here).
By Rob at 4:17 PM ON 09/16/09
Of course the pic of abrams is him praying that real Star Trek fans don't beat him up. Again. For the hundredth time.
By Son of a Maui Portagee at 6:54 PM ON 09/16/09
@etsjedi
Real well overseas? You aren't adjusting for inflation,
www.slate.com/id/2222096/pagenum/all/
www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/business
TMP did foreign B.O. of $56,741,544
divide by the average ticket price for 1979
and you get an attendance of 22,606,193
Take 2009's foreign $126,385,382 and divide by the average ticket price for this year and you get an attendance of 17602421.
That's a loss of 5 million fans overseas in exchange for a modest gain of approximately 3 million U.S. and why TMP still rules.
2009's worldwide marketing and distribution was ballooned to $150 million dollars in pursuit of the foreign market and it failed.
By macmikey at 11:33 PM ON 09/16/09
@Son of a Maul Portagee
You've not considered the anticipation factor (which can't really be measured).
ST12 had a HUGE disadvantage in that a) no one really knew what JJ would do to it; b) ST11 got such horrid press (though I didn't think it was that bad, and no one who rants on this board about how rotten it was EVER substantiates their opinion) and c) movies in general are not doing as well overseas as they used to, for the same reason they're not doing as well here--bad economy.
What did ST1 have against it? 1) 11 years of Treklessness that served to fuel a blitz to the theaters--oh, wait, that's a good thing. Okay, scratch that...
Okay, I got one: 1) A return of the original cast, 11 years older--oh, wait. They didn't look too much older, and were completely accepted by the fans with nary a "They're 11 years older! They can't be the original cast!" crap. Rats...
All right, this should do it: 1) No internet to spread around bootleg versions of the film to encourage ticket sales--oh, wait. Bootleg versions of American films overseas generally depress ticket sales.
Hmm... seems like apples and oranges. I think Paramount will be happy to make any profit in this economy, in this movie season. ST12 may have been expensive--perhaps a bit TOO expensive--but going into Trek again after the way everyone skewered the last ones was major risky anyway. They probably considered it a smashing success when they made their money back.
Third Captcha. Come on, SciFi. Learn how to implement this thing. It isn't rocket science! Two monkeys and a trainee could do it.
By macmikey at 11:37 PM ON 09/16/09
Aaargh! I screwed up the quote. That last line should read: "Two trainees and a chimpanzee could do it."
What was I THINKING?!
By Smiller at 12:42 AM ON 09/17/09
Thats great that there is a Star Trek 2 and not too excited for MI 4, but one problem. WHERE THE HELL IS OUR CLOVERFIELD 2 THAT HE PROMISED US A YEAR AGO!?
By CuriousBovine at 5:39 AM ON 09/17/09
I would love to see something come out of the Larry Niven's Ringworld or Man/Kzin wars universe. Talk about something new a refreshing - with a whole range of characters and plotlines to explore. More Star Trek? Bahhh. Star Trek is to SciFi what Microsoft is to software. Move on people...get out of your ruts.
By Son of a Maul Portagee at 5:10 PM ON 09/17/09
@macmikey once said "All right, this should do it: 1) No internet to spread around bootleg versions of the film to encourage ticket sales--oh, wait. Bootleg versions of American films overseas generally depress ticket sales."
It's odd how people imagine that the past couldn't be anything like the present. They forget that we made do "networking" with the telephone, CB radio, the telegraph and even snail mail, that we didn't have just one type of video tape format but TWO, and that movies on videotape were SO expensive that bootlegging was very much en vogue.
Here's another blast from the forgotten past:
"A second Star Trek adventure is in pre-production, probably because the first Trek flick scored well with European audiences (Americans remained relatively loyal to the syndicated TV series.)" - Robert Alan Ross, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, November 8, 1981
news.google.com/newspapers?id=KfQNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PHsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6061,5858891
People have forgotten that the core group of domestic ToS film-going fans that Paramount built the movie franchise on did not (and still doesn't) include all American Trek fans. And because of that its domestic performance was considered a disappointment. It was TMP's unchallenged-to-this-day overseas performance that got the whole thing going in the first place.
I have said before and I do again that I believe that 2009's numbers within a margin of error in adjusting for inflation merely show that Paramount successfully re-energized their founding TMP movie going base worldwide. Now, I agree with you that that's nothing to sneeze at, but I think all the other exorbitant claims being made about this picture to date is little more than overblown hype and cheerleading.
By Renewed Fan at 2:11 AM ON 09/21/09
Rob. I'm a real Star Trek fan and I LOVED this movie, as did most real fans. Just because you're a close minded, uncreative loser, don't lump all of us into your sad little world.
By Sanzar at 9:28 PM ON 09/22/09
I've been a fan of ST since the beginning and have seen all of the TV episodes of the various series as well as all of the movies. I think the latest update was Super & look forward to several sequels.
By phoenixjpb at 5:14 AM ON 10/07/09
Loved the new Trek! Multiple nerd-gasms if the new movie featured the Mirror Universe!
By EPEER at 4:23 PM ON 01/14/10
What is wrong with evevryone. Star Trek was good and we thankful it wasnt the same bad film as the last one.
As for Harry Potter, I guess box office disagrees with those who didnt like it..since it almost made a BILION BUCKS..HA
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EPEER:
What is wrong with evevryone. Star Trek was good and we thankful it wasnt the same bad film as the last one. As fo...More »