It's going to be so freakin' cool to see what J.J. Abrams ends up coming up with for Star Wars: Episode VII. The guy is a huge fan of the franchise, and he's not going to screw it up and let the rest of the fans down. The guy is going to give us the best possible Star Wars movie, and I'm incredibly excited for it! In a recent interview he discusses his love for the Star Wars franchise saying,
[Star Wars] did comedy, it did drama, it did romance, it did action-adventure, it did spectacle and scope and scale. When I saw that movie it was like another echelon of mind expansion. It balanced so incredibly character, pyrotechnics and groundbreaking visuals - but more importantly, groundbreaking ideas. You take for granted so many things about it that were really novel concepts, not just visually interesting things. The sets were incredible, the miniatures, what was done with opticals, what was done with matte painting on glass.
The truth is, it was so unbelievably ballsy and out-there. They combined every trick in the book, every technique. But more importantly, it was so deeply considered in terms of character. Whatever had been planned from the beginning or not, you cannot deny the attitudes of each of those characters - alluding to a world that you didn't really have to understand, but that you knew existed.
My favourite movie, Annie Hall or Jaws or whatever, those are brilliant movies, but Star Wars did so much more because its ambition was preposterously huge. So, while I don't think it influenced me more, it opened up another dimension of what was possible. But then I would say it doesn't easily lend itself to influence, frankly, because it is so unique in its existence.
He then talked about showing his kids the original movies...
There was really no debate for me. There was no wrestling. I showed them the movies in the order they were made. The originals, yes, This is critical.
That is exactly how I showed the films to my own kids. I've always thought that Abrams would be a great choice to take on this franchise, and his love and respect for it is just an added bonus that will pretty much secure the new film's awesomeness!