J.J. Abrams was supposed to talk to the press to promote his new NBC series Believe, but we couldn’t resist asking him questions about some of his other projects…such as Star Wars VII. Getting any good responses out of him isn’t easy as we all remember with the secrecy regarding the last Star Trek move. Mr. Abrams is a master of obfuscation, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t try.
QUESTION: Where are you on the Star Wars script? Is it done?
J.J. ABRAMS: Yeah. We’re working really hard. We’ve got our script and we’re in deep prep. We’re full steam ahead. We’re working real hard on it and it’s quite a thrill.
Q: What are some of the craziest rumors you’ve heard?
ABRAMS: God, there have been so many of them. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s amazing to see how many there are. It’s really remarkable. But it’s sweet because it shows that there’s an interest in this movie that we all obviously know is there. It is an incredible thing to see how many crazy things get thrown out that people then often write commentaries about how happy they are or how disappointed they are about something that’s completely false. But it’s a lot of noise, frankly.
Q: Would you like to shoot it in IMAX?
ABRAMS: In the right situation I would. The problem with IMAX is that it’s a very loud camera. It’s a very unreliable camera. Only so much film can be in the camera. You can’t really do intimate scenes with it. It’s slow. They break down often. Having said that, they’re working on digital versions of these so there may be a version one day. But we’re going to be shooting this next movie on film.
Q: Is Jesse Plemons one of the actors you’ve talked to (to supposedly play Luke Skywalker’s son)?
ABRAMS: He is one of the actors that we’ve talked to, yeah. But it’s not often that I read about actors that I’m going to be meeting. I get to read articles about actors who were going to come in, so I get to see someone and say, “Oh, I read that I was going to see you. It’s very nice to see you.” It’s usually agents talking to people about what’s happening. It’s a lot of noise.
Q: Since you have a script now do you have an idea of the running time? Will it be 2 hours, 2 ½ hours?
ABRAMS: I promise you it will be movie length. (All of the reporters laugh.)
*******************************************
The still untitled Star Wars VII will be shot this Spring in London and is scheduled to be released December 18, 2015.
Believe will have a special premiere on Monday, March 10 after The Voice. Check out this sneak preview:
