J.J. Abrams Turned Down Directing New Star Wars Movies

[Erttheking]

Can someone tell me why the new Star Trek was shit again? I thought it was pretty good.

Mostly, the story made little sense (as another poster pointed out). Destroying Vulcan is beyond stupid, the lens flares were out of control, Nero was really just Shinzon, the Spock/Uhura thing was unwanted.

It was fun on it's own (the first time) but as a Trek movie, it simply doesn't measure up. The new timeline really comes down to this movie not meaning anything in the end. Which lore would a Trekkie prefer, the one with Vulcan that has been established over 4 decades or JJ's timeline? You can't have both.

I am surprised Leonard Nimoy agreed to be in this movie.

It didn't seem that bad in terms of making sense. Guy with grudge against the federation travels into the past and starts blowing up planets. The lens flare aren't really that bad, I don't see the connection between the two, and I actually kinda liked that.

It feels like a fresh breath, and I don't see why both be canon. Isn't this the Star Trek universe where they go to the mirror dimension every five episodes? Can't it run on the DBZ time travel rules?

 

[Epona]

Can someone tell me why the new Star Trek was shit again? I thought it was pretty good.

Mostly, the story made little sense (as another poster pointed out). Destroying Vulcan is beyond stupid, the lens flares were out of control, Nero was really just Shinzon, the Spock/Uhura thing was unwanted.

It was fun on it's own (the first time) but as a Trek movie, it simply doesn't measure up. The new timeline really comes down to this movie not meaning anything in the end. Which lore would a Trekkie prefer, the one with Vulcan that has been established over 4 decades or JJ's timeline? You can't have both.

I am surprised Leonard Nimoy agreed to be in this movie.

It didn't seem that bad in terms of making sense. Guy with grudge against the federation travels into the past and starts blowing up planets. The lens flare aren't really that bad, I don't see the connection between the two, and I actually kinda liked that.

It feels like a fresh breath, and I don't see why both be canon. Isn't this the Star Trek universe where they go to the mirror dimension every five episodes? Can't it run on the DBZ time travel rules?

"Guy with grudge wants to kill everyone" is a bad Trek story. Even JJ Abrams admits that the lens flares were out of control.

http://io9.com/5230278/jj-abrams-admits-star-trek-lens-flares-are-ridiculous

Trek has always used a reset button to make it clear which timeline is the correct one, this movie is in conflict with the canon. No, mirror dimension episodes are pretty rare in the grand scheme of hundreds of episodes.

I looked it up, there are 9 Mirror universe episodes out of 694 total episodes. Of the ones I remember, there is never any question of which timeline is real and which one isn't.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Even if I was the geek cred havingest awesome sci-fi directingest most "One of us" directors who ever lived I still wouldn't want to direct the new SW movies.

And not out of spite...just mean that the project has career ender written all over it. People are going to strut into that theatre out for blood.

 

[Notsomuch]

I can't help but imagine how a Star Wars movie directed by Quintin Terantino would turn out.

30 minute Cantina scene with Han and Greedo playing pictionary.

Alien feet. Everywhere.

Kirk NEVER had sex with anything in the original series.

Not true. He made love to the camera.

 

[Beryl77]

I liked the new Star Trek movie. It may not be true to the original Star Trek movie but they didn't intend to do that, they even said that it's not going to be like the old Star Trek. It wasn't aimed at Star Trek fans.

Anyway, at this point I have no idea at all whether it's going to be a good movie or not. It can't get much worse than the prequels and there are many director who could at least make a decent sequel but if he doesn't feel like he can, then that's fine. To many the franchise is dead anyway and I doubt that there are a lot of fans who have much hope in this, unlike back then with the prequels.
I'm just really curious what Disney exactly intents to do with the franchise and how the movie will turn out.

 

[launchpadmcqwak]

I can't help but imagine how a Star Wars movie directed by Quintin Terantino would turn out.

It would be...incredible.

 

[afroebob]

Disregard the Star Wars fanboys hatred of Star Trek and the Star Trek fanboys hatred of lens flares and (depending on the style and theme of the script) JJ Abrams could have been a great choice. However, I'm still putting money on this being good because BILLIONS of dollars rely no this movie being good. Yes, if it is bad it will still make a lot of money but Disney spent 4 billion dollars on buying this franchise and they are looking to make thrice that in the long run, but if they mess this movie up they will be losing more than just some box office money. Fans will completely give up, that means they will give up on buying the games, buying the toys, buying the action figures, shit they will even give up on buying the Bobba Fett bed sheets. Its all or nothing so I'm guessing Disney is going to be pulling out all the stops.

 

[Epona]

I liked the new Star Trek movie. It may not be true to the original Star Trek movie but they didn't intend to do that, they even said that it's not going to be like the old Star Trek. It wasn't aimed at Star Trek fans.

So as long as you proclaim something, it is above reproach?

 

[wottabout]

I liked the 2009 Star Trek. It was flashy and fun and shallow, and that was all I wanted from it. I have only seen a few episodes of Star Trek, but my parents and several of my friends enjoyed it while still being fans of the original. Maybe it wasn't a great Star Trek movie, but it was still a good movie, in my opinion. Then again, I also thought Super 8 was good, so take that as you will.

Still, I'm fine with Abrams focusing on Star Trek. Honestly, I would kind of like to see some less well-known directors working on the Star Wars sequels, if only for variety's sake.

 

[Olrod]

After "Lost" and "Revolution" I'm so very very glad that he's keeping well away from ruining Star Wars even more than Lucas' prequels did.

And he's already shown that he can't do big-budget films after messing up something as simple as Star Trek.

 

[SamFancyPants252]

I'm glad we dodged this bullet. Now, let's just put the whole franchise into the trusty hands of M. Night Shyamalan

That could work.

In the end we find out...... The prequels never happened.
.

That's probably the greatest thing that could occur in the eyes of most moviegoers

Someone hire Shyamalan. Now.

 

[viranimus]

I say force him to do it, Kill off the abomination hes making out of the Trek franchise. The sooner TOS story arc is put to rest the better.

Actually for Wars... seeings how everyone else is throwing out directors.. I think I would like to see Danny Boyle's take on it. Sure it wont negate the cancer of the house of mouse. But it couldnt hurt after some of the things the new films have been lobbing around.

 

[RA92]

As someone who had never seen the original Star Trek in any incarnation at all (the 2009 film being my first exposure to the franchise), I thought the J.J. Abrams Star Trek film was brilliant, with well fleshed out characters, a decent enough plot, and it was well paced with solid directing (with the exception of the lens-flare porn).

Star Trek has always been about diplomacy, ethical dilemmas and new discoveries. It wasn't usually very violent, and frankly isn't a good source material for a Hollywood action movie. The JJ Abrams reboot was akin to a mediocre FPS remake of a beloved strategy franchise.

*Eye-roll* And the old-time Star Trek fans start raging. This may come as a shock, but the original Trek cast was TV pretty for their time and giant, rubber suits are not passable special effects 50 years later. Oh.. and there's young, attractive men and women in the space-military and they're letting their emotions and physical desires manifest? The hell you say? Good there our military is nothing but fat, ugly slobs who are certainly not attractive nor ever having sex. Who-ever heard of women finding a man in uniform sexy. I know I haven't. Kirk NEVER had sex with anything in the original series.

Obviously they should have had the original cast reprise their roles for this movie with the same budget and effects people they had in 1965. I'd love to see Nimoy and Nichols making out and Shatner banging some green chick. That'd be so hot.

Hey, Trekkies, appreciate what you got. At least your child-hood memories aren't in the hands of Michael Bay. I'd happily trade a little lens flare if it meant I didn't have to see Devastator's scrotum.

If that's all what you think consists of the Trekkies' complaints, you're either being disillusioned or disingenuous.

 

[Tumedus]

I was never a hardcore Trek fan. I had seen the movies and enjoyed a few of them, but never been really big into the TV show. And I too thought Trek '09 was bad. And it wasn't because it betrayed the values of Roddenberry's vision (although it did that too), it was because it was just terribly written.

Just as a couple of examples if you were even remotely trying to pay attention to the story: Kirk daddy needs to stay behind because the auto-pilot is broken. He then proceeds to have a 5 minute conversation w/ the missus in the middle of a firefight before going to the nav computer entering the coordinates and then sitting down to watch the ship auto pilot itself into destruction. Then Pine-Kirk is supposed to be 7-8 years late to Academy compared to Shatner-Kirk yet all of his crew, who had no time altering mishaps in their family histories, are all at the academy with him* (with one exception) and his first supervising Captain turns out to be the same guy on a ship that his alternate wouldn't get for another 6 years.

I know JJ was trying to make a point about destiny and whatnot but please.

It keeps the action pacing going, but even the action is pretty weak and uninteresting (how many times can Kirk get beat up and/or run away from things).

I can safely say I am excited by this news he won't be a part of this. I am saddened to find out that even tentative proposals were made, however.


*which also makes the whole Spock inventing the Kobayashi Maru scenario even more stupid.

 

[Your Gaffer]

I like the new Trek movie BUT it is waaay to action heavy for me. They are basically putting a scifi dressing on a standard adventure movie. The original series actually had a lot of hard scifi scripts. I hope they get some real scifi stuff going in the upcoming movie but I am not hopeful.

 

[LordMonty]

Um I was thinking of child friendly directors and failed as I perosnally would love Fincher to do them it could only end well, maybe with an oscar and an R-rating/18 rating

 

[katana-409]

Thank Heavens, I've never liked a single one of his movies. -.-