J.J. Abrams on Life After ‘The Force Awakens’
J.J. Abrams hasn’t let the success of “Star Wars: The Force
Awakens” go to his head. Just before the 49-year-old director’s on-stage conversation with
Chris Rock at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday, Abrams spoke to Indiewire about
the prospect of having all of his future movies compared to the hugely
successful “Force Awakens.”
“Any success means inevitable failure,” Abrams said.
“The phrase is not, ‘What goes up must go up.'”
READ MORE: The Best Director Reactions to the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer
Asked which of his many upcoming movies he’s particularly excited
about, Abrams responded that he has several “cool” projects in the
works, but is especially looking forward to producing “God Particle,”
a sci-fi thriller about a team of astronauts fighting for their survival. The
Bad Robot production will be directed by Julius Onah, whose debut feature
“The Girl Is in Trouble” (2015) was executive produced by Spike
Lee.
What kind of role within Hollywood does Abrams see his company,
Bad Robot, playing in the future?
“I don’t know where we stand in relation to other places, but
when you see another company or another filmmaker doing something that you
admire, it’s always inspiring, and you try to course-correct accordingly.”
Perhaps surprisingly for Abrams, the experience of directing
“The Force Awakens”— whose budget stood at nearly a quarter of a
billion dollars — hasn’t made the idea of directing a low-budget indie
unappealing.
“I would love it,” he said. “Having worked in
television…you see what it’s like to work with much more limited resources, and
limitations are actually a very valuable thing, so I enjoy them.”
Watch the trailer for Tribeca entry “Elvis and Nixon” below.
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