J.J. Abrams Discusses STAR TREK 2, The SUPER 8 Trailer, ALCATRAZ, ODD JOBS, UNDERCOVERS & FRINGE
J.J Abrams recently did an interview where he revealed his thoughts on his upcoming projets!
Abrams is so busy I wonder when he finds time to sleep. He is the executive producer for Fringe (moving to Friday nights on January 21st). He has a slew of new TV shows in development including, Alcatraz, Person of Interest, Odd Jobs and Pulp. Soon he will make the decision if he will be directing Star Trek 2.
Here are some of the tid bits of note from the Collider interview:
Fringe is one of my favorite shows on TV. Many fans have been concerned about it's move to Friday nights. Here is what Abrams had to say on the matter:
Oh, I’m horrified beyond belief, but as a fan of the genre and the show, I’m hoping that fans will tune in. I certainly can promise that it will be worth their while. The episodes that are coming up are spectacular. I guess you can just be hopeful and say that, if the work is good enough, it will find the audience. I think they’re doing better work now, even in the second half of Season 3, than they’ve ever done on the series. I’m just crossing my fingers that fans of the show, show up.
When asked if there was an upside to the move to Friday's he responded by saying:
Just in that I’ll start drinking more. No, I don’t see an upside because the audience on Friday nights is harder to find. But, that’s not to say that they aren’t there and that we might not be able to make it there. Certainly, I would be lying to you if I said I’m thrilled about the move. But, what I am thrilled about is that the network has been incredibly supportive and, despite its move to Friday, they’ve been nothing but encouraging of the show. It’s still on the air in its third season, and it’s not easy to do that. It’s not easy to get to Season 3 of anything. They’ve allowed the show to become truly great, I think. The question is, will audiences find a great show on Friday nights? I pray that they do.
Did you watch Undercovers before it was cancelled? I did not watch a single episode, it did not appeal to me in the slightest for some reason. I would much rather watch Burn Notice on USA if I want my spy fix. Here is what Abrams said about the cancellation of the show:
I’ve got to say, I feel like it was unfortunate. Of course, I completely blame myself for the entire thing. The conceit of the show was to do a much more frivolous, fun show, but ultimately, I think it was just too frivolous and too simple, and we didn’t go deep enough. We were really desperately trying to stay away from mythology and complexity and intensity and too much serious, dark storytelling and, ultimately, that’s not necessarily what I do best. I think audiences felt that it was a little bit lacking. I see that and completely take responsibility for its failing.
Here is what Abrams had to say when asked about his current TV projects:
We do. We have a few projects. We have a show for Fox called Alcatraz, that starts shooting on the 19th, which I could not be more excited about. And, we have a show for CBS called Person of Interest, that Jonah Nolan wrote. We have Odd Jobs for NBC. And we have a new script called Pulp, that was written by Alison Schapker and Monica Breen. That’s a spectacular script. We’re about to go out with that.
I am looking forward to seeing Odd Jobs, starring Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson. Abrams gave an update on that show by saying, "A script is being written right now. The intent would be to make the pilot for this season."
Another show I am looking forward to that stars another Lostie is Alcatraz on Fox. Here is what Abrams had to say when asked to describe the series:
I don’t want to give anything away because no one wants to hear that, but I will say that it’s a beautifully written and surprisingly emotional script, although not surprising when you know that Liz Sarnoff wrote it. She’s amazing. The show is about an incredibly odd and mysterious turn and secret about the prison of Alcatraz, and a modern-day mystery that involves something very odd that happened there 50 years ago.
As mentioned above, Abram's is not sure he will direct the Star Trek sequel and has not even read the script:
“I guess the idea of not wanting to choose to direct a film, for which I’ve not read a script. It’s a tough decision to make without seeing any pages. That’s not to say that I don’t have all the faith in the world in the spectacular writers. Damon Lindelof, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman are awesome. My hope is that they’ll write the script, it will be great and we can make a fun, exciting sequel to Star Trek.”
The film will begin shooting this summer, so the news should arrive soon if Abrams will not be directing. I am very excited to see all of his upcoming TV shows and have faith that they will turn out better than Undercovers.
What is your favorite J.J. Abrams project on the horizon?