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J.J. Abrams Gives Update on M:I IV and Star Trek 2
J.J. Abrams was at the CBS TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour last night to help promote his new TV series, Person of Interest. I took part in a chat with the always-busy writer/producer/director and got some info on this upcoming Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, which he's producing and which marks the first live-action film from director Brad Bird (Iron Giant, The Incredibles). We also spoke about the much-anticipated Star Trek sequel - which we recently learned will not be coming out summer 2012 as originally scheduled.
Q: Will Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol be the best one in the series?
Abrams: I think it's the best, I do. I think because first off, you've never seen a live-action Brad Bird movie and yet when you watch it, you go, 'This is a live-action Brad Bird movie!' You realize you've been watching Brad Bird films – they just happen to be animated. It's really fun. It's got a fun kind of intensity to it. That's Brad. It's the biggest one by far in terms of the stuff that happens in it. Also, there are other things like a big portion of it was shot in IMAX and there's a sequence on the tallest building in the world in Dubai, where Tom Cruise did I think five days of wirework outside the building that is so insane, you cannot believe the insurance company let him do it.
Q: The You Tube footage was insane!
Abrams: When you see it in IMAX, it's terrifying! It's crazy what he did. It really is unbelievable. And it's weird to be in meetings with him and think, 'That dude was running down the outside of the building!' I'm talking to him. He's in my office. He did that! It's weird. It's like talking to Buzz Aldrin. It's like, 'That dude was on the moon!'
Q: You don't want to be the guy who killed Tom Cruise.
Abrams: Well, you're always afraid of that, because Tom wants to do every stunt, but then when he does it, you realize he sort of can!
Q: We've heard you guys are looking to really buckle down now with the Star Trek sequel. Are you getting back in the Trek zone, as it were?
Abrams: Yeah. What's kind of fun about it is there have been a lot of things we've been working on, a lot of important elements that we just know we need to nail down and solve. Once you say, 'We're ready to go, but we don't have our finished script yet,' or, 'I'm directing the thing and here's the release date, but we don't have a finished script,' what starts to happen -- and I've seen this happen with a lot of friends of mine – is you're suddenly in production on a movie where they're thinking, 'Oh my god, we weren't really ready. We thought we'd get it done in time but we didn't.' So while we have the moment, to say, 'Let's get the important things figured out…' Then all the stuff, all the pre-production stuff, all of it will come. But I just want to make sure we're putting the story and the characters, the cast and the crew, and most importantly the audience, first – before we start talking about exactly which locations we're going to be shooting at and what the wardrobe and visual effects budgets are. It just seems important that we get the important stuff right first.
Q: Was it a difficult conversation or pretty easy, given your history with them, to say to Paramount, 'We're not going to make that summer 2012 release date, or the movie will be compromised"
Abrams: They so get it. I had this discussion very recently with [Paramount's Vice Chairman] Rob Moore. All they care about is that the movie be good. No one wants to take a step backwards, so they've been great.
Q: Have you officially signed on as director?
Abrams:No, but we're working very hard on it and hopefully we'll have something to talk about soon.
Source: IGN
Q: Will Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol be the best one in the series?
Abrams: I think it's the best, I do. I think because first off, you've never seen a live-action Brad Bird movie and yet when you watch it, you go, 'This is a live-action Brad Bird movie!' You realize you've been watching Brad Bird films – they just happen to be animated. It's really fun. It's got a fun kind of intensity to it. That's Brad. It's the biggest one by far in terms of the stuff that happens in it. Also, there are other things like a big portion of it was shot in IMAX and there's a sequence on the tallest building in the world in Dubai, where Tom Cruise did I think five days of wirework outside the building that is so insane, you cannot believe the insurance company let him do it.
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Q: The You Tube footage was insane!
Abrams: When you see it in IMAX, it's terrifying! It's crazy what he did. It really is unbelievable. And it's weird to be in meetings with him and think, 'That dude was running down the outside of the building!' I'm talking to him. He's in my office. He did that! It's weird. It's like talking to Buzz Aldrin. It's like, 'That dude was on the moon!'
Q: You don't want to be the guy who killed Tom Cruise.
Abrams: Well, you're always afraid of that, because Tom wants to do every stunt, but then when he does it, you realize he sort of can!
Q: We've heard you guys are looking to really buckle down now with the Star Trek sequel. Are you getting back in the Trek zone, as it were?
Abrams: Yeah. What's kind of fun about it is there have been a lot of things we've been working on, a lot of important elements that we just know we need to nail down and solve. Once you say, 'We're ready to go, but we don't have our finished script yet,' or, 'I'm directing the thing and here's the release date, but we don't have a finished script,' what starts to happen -- and I've seen this happen with a lot of friends of mine – is you're suddenly in production on a movie where they're thinking, 'Oh my god, we weren't really ready. We thought we'd get it done in time but we didn't.' So while we have the moment, to say, 'Let's get the important things figured out…' Then all the stuff, all the pre-production stuff, all of it will come. But I just want to make sure we're putting the story and the characters, the cast and the crew, and most importantly the audience, first – before we start talking about exactly which locations we're going to be shooting at and what the wardrobe and visual effects budgets are. It just seems important that we get the important stuff right first.
Q: Was it a difficult conversation or pretty easy, given your history with them, to say to Paramount, 'We're not going to make that summer 2012 release date, or the movie will be compromised"
Abrams: They so get it. I had this discussion very recently with [Paramount's Vice Chairman] Rob Moore. All they care about is that the movie be good. No one wants to take a step backwards, so they've been great.
Q: Have you officially signed on as director?
Abrams:No, but we're working very hard on it and hopefully we'll have something to talk about soon.
Source: IGN