The Films of J.J. Abrams

J.J. Abrams is a name that has become rather recognizable to the geek community, and is even become fairly well known to mainstream audiences as well. He created or co-created such TV shows as "Alias," "Lost," and "Fringe" and has directed key episodes of each series. As a producer he helped develop the monster movie "Cloverfield" and was one of the minds behind that film's creative and mysterious marketing campaign. Despite being a rather dominant creative force in Hollywood, Abrams has actually only directed three films to date, his latest being the recently released "Super 8."

After nearly a decade worth of work in television Abrams made the leap to the big screen with "Mission: Impossible III." He was brought onto the spy thriller franchise after the two previous directors had left the film. The word is that Tom Cruise personally selected Abrams as the next choice after watching a marathon of "Alias" episodes. Given his work on that spy theme TV show this did seem like a natural fit and a comfortable starting point for Abrams to work in film. He brought a grittier and more realistic edge to the franchise that many appreciated. However despite receiving the most positive reviews of any film in the franchise it was also the lowest earning entry when it came to the box office returns. To be fair that likely had more to do with issues regarding Tom Cruise's public persona at the time.

From there Abrams became involved in the reboot of the "Star Trek" franchise. Abrams himself was only a casual fan of the show and films and was rather open about the fact that he preferred "Star Wars." His initial involvement in the new "Star Trek" was as a producer, and he did it to support the writing work of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman who were the writing team he had worked with on "Mission: Impossible III." His interest in directing the project grew as the script took shape, which is something Orci and Kurtzman used as a sign that they were on the right track. The idea of the new film was to be able to reel in those who hadn't been "Star Trek" fans before, and by interesting Abrams enough for him to want to direct the film it was clear that they had accomplished that goal. Abrams was able to bring a more action oriented sensibility while still retaining the optimism of the property and that helped make "Star Trek" the highest grossing film in the series, both domestically and internationally.

"Super 8" marks the first film from Abrams that is not based on an existing property. Yet at the same time it is very much a homage to earlier films and a love letter by Abrams to the earlier works of Steven Spielberg. The film deals with young children and an encounter with a dangerous alien in their small town. Spielberg helped Abrams develop to the story of the film and serves as a producer. The film has been largely shrouded in secrecy leading up to its release, not unlike "Cloverfield." In fact some early rumors were that this was either a sequel or prequel or "Cloverfield," though Abrams did his best to squash that rumor quickly. As with his other films Abrams brings his own sense of style and storytelling to familiar elements and use them to create something that is at once familiar and new.