J.J. Abrams Channels Amblin, Spielberg For His Next Trick

By  · Published on April 30th, 2010

In a lot of ways, J.J. Abrams is fast becoming one of the pop cultural icons of this early century. This might seem strange considering that his writing credits far outweigh his directing credits, but he’s delivered big budget action, revitalized a fan-favorite science fiction series into relevance, and helped deliver a television show that has captured the curiosity of the world that will probably end up being Hurley’s dream.

That’s why it’s interesting to see him pay homage to one of his heroes – an even larger pop cultural icon who has held onto that title for three decades. Vulture is reporting that Abrams’s plans on making his next movie one that would make Steven Spielberg proud.

This is incredibly exciting news. In fact, it’s so exciting that Spielberg himself may even be involved (whether it’s just being a sounding board for ideas or stamping his name under the Executive Producer tag on the credits). Not only is it great to see a director get to work with one of his idols, but it’s great to see Abrams of all people pump out a story that’s described as one of everyday people against the backdrop of something fantastical. Part of me hopes that Vulture’s Claude Brodesser-Akner’s joke about it involving sharks from outer space comes true.

This could be huge. A tag-team effort from the man who sculpted so many cinematic young hearts and minds and the man who continues to rise flawlessly through the ranks of the cultural landscape. I’m ready to be amazed.

Speaking of Spielberg, though, the roguish Mr. Beaks over at Aint It Cool raised a good point with his post – what is going on with Interstellar – the collaboration between Spielberg and Jonathan Nolan that picks up where Einstein left off? The people demand wormholes.

See? I read other sites from time to time.

What do you think?

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Movie stuff at VanityFair, Thrillist, IndieWire, Film School Rejects, and The Broken Projector Podcast@brokenprojector | Writing short stories at Adventitious.