I love working with the right actor, and if the right actor happens to be unknown, that should be allowed, too, I think. J. J. Abrams More Quotes by J. J. Abrams More Quotes From J. J. Abrams When I was a kid, it was a huge insult to be a geek. Now it's a point of pride in a weird way. J. J. Abrams pride kids way When there's an authentic mystery, as opposed to just a question being asked, that's what makes you lean forward. J. J. Abrams mystery I work with really hard-working people who are really good at what they do. J. J. Abrams hard hard-work people I was more of a Star Wars kid, actually. I always thought Star Trek was a lot of talk, and it felt a little self-important. It was hard for me to get into it. J. J. Abrams stars war kids I feel like I learn every day how I can be a better producer or writer or storyteller. The thing that keeps me the most balanced is just going home every day and getting my ass kicked by my kids, and having a wife who is the most wonderfully/brutally honest person I've ever met. I think that that is always the first lens through which I see the world. For everything else, I'm just grateful for the people I work with. J. J. Abrams grateful home kids I'm obsessed with things that are distinctly analogue. J. J. Abrams analogue obsessed Whatever is being investigated, created or produced now, in movies or TV, needs to consider the context in which it is being distributed. It's not a vacuum. There are certain universal themes of love, conflict, loyalty or family that are everlasting and that need to be presented in a way that makes it feel relevant, even if it's a period piece. You need to consider what context that film, that story and those characters are being seen in. J. J. Abrams vacuums loyalty character Directing a movie precludes me from being involved in any greater way. But, the job was never to do more, it was always to enable. Sometimes as a producer, you're creating and writing it, or sometimes you're writing and directing it, or other times you're there from the very beginning. J. J. Abrams creating writing jobs One of my favorite things about 'Star Trek' wasn't just the overt banter but the humor in that show about the relationships between the main characters and their reactions to the situations they would face; there was a lot of comedy in that show without ever breaking its reality. J. J. Abrams stars character reality I love movies with spectacle but spectacle can be a performance, it doesn't have to be a creature. J. J. Abrams creatures performances movie-love My work isn't any more important than anything else in the family J. J. Abrams important Don't sell your story, just tell your story. J. J. Abrams sells stories All I know is that I've made some big screw-ups, and I've done some things that have done all right. I just keep trying to learn from the mistakes I've made. J. J. Abrams screw-ups mistake trying When I was a kid going into the movies, you weren't force-fed information everywhere you looked about what the movie was going to be. J. J. Abrams feds information kids Directing's the best part. Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focus that I like. And secondly, it means that you've gotten through all the writing stuff, and the producing stuff, and casting, and prep, and all those stages that are seemingly endless. So directing is sort of the reward for all the work you put in before. And then there's the editing, which is another amazing stage of the process. It's incredible the moments you can create. J. J. Abrams editing writing mean I'm not trying to be coy or manipulative or Machiavellian, I want to spark people's imaginations. J. J. Abrams imagination trying people I quickly said that, because of my loyalty to 'Star Trek' and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things. I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them. J. J. Abrams loyalty stars knowing Ratings have changed, viewer habits have changed and the options for the audience have grown enormously, but I don't think how you tell a story is fundamentally different. J. J. Abrams different stories thinking I'm working on the Star Wars script today and the people in my office have covered up all my windows with black paper. I guess they wanted to make sure no one could see what I was doing. It seems rather extreme. J. J. Abrams covered-up stars war It's what happens. You love, then you lose, then you die. Even if you survive, you die. J. J. Abrams dies ifs happens