As J.J. Abrams prepares to unleash another sci-fi reboot on the waiting world, he tells Michele Manelis he just wants his movies to kindle some human emotion.
Right now, director J.J. Abrams sits at the centre of the pop culture universe. Today's the day the director's Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits cinemas. Yes, there was some anticipation when he rebooted the Star Trek franchise for the big screen. But nothing like this.
A week out fromthe movie's premiere, TimeOut encounters Abrams at LA Convention Centre where he is pacing the length of the ballroom, talking loudly and animatedly on his mobile phone.
Rushing over, he apologises for the wait and launches immediately into his take on the franchise.
"George Lucas created unlimited opportunity in this very rich world. This extended universe proves there are many, many more stories to tell beyond the six films the world has seen. The idea of good versus evil is clear in the Star Wars legacy, a world in which the ongoing fight between the dark and the light has been battling for thousands of years," he says.
At 49, Abrams' fanboy enthusiasm for the world is evident, and probably essential too.
"When I knew that Lawrence Kasdan, who created the character of Yoda, was involved, and the fact that he wrote the best lines you've ever heard from Han Solo, the shoot from beginning to end was just incredible fun."
Star Wars meshes the old guard with the new, and icons Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill return as Princess Leia, who now goes by the name General Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker, respectively.
"Seeing Harrison and Mark and Carrie come back in the way that they have, and working with the new actors, it's really an amazing thing to behold.
"I think people will flip over the new cast members ... and understanding what happened to the remnants of the Empire and what became of the Republic is incredibly exciting," he says. "I think everyone will be very pleased with their performances."
The story picks up 30 years after the rebels defeated the Galactic Empire, with Han Solo and his allies facing a new threat from Kylo Ren and his squad of Stormtroopers.
The Force Awakens follows the prequel trilogy that ended in 2005 with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith . With a budget of approximately US$200 million, it was shot in Abu Dhabi, Iceland and Pinewood Studios in England.
Abrams used a combination of special effects as well as practical sets and puppetry. Perhaps it's a sign that modern cinema is returning to the older style of film-making and not merely relying on bettering the CG technology.
"The goal for us in making this movie was to move in two directions at once; to go forward and tell a new story, but also go backwards to a place and a feeling that we all had when we first saw Star Wars," he explains.
"So, in a way we're embracing old technology which was extraordinarily exciting and it let us go further forward than I ever thought we could.
Director J.J. Abrams with actress Daisy Ridley (Rey) on set.
"It's not just CG that has advanced, but puppetry has also advanced. We were really lucky to be able to use any resource necessary to help us tell the story. Part of that was complete old school primitive puppeteering but using technology that was brand new in puppetry - servos, motors, remote control - and then using CG in many cases to remove puppeteers."
It seems that for the foreseeable future, Abrams will remain in galaxies far far away, given that he is currently working in post-production on Star Trek Beyond, due for release next year. Does it get confusing working on the two mythologies?
"Despite perhaps their titles, Star Trek and Star Wars are as different as they can be. Star Trek is more science-fiction and Star Wars is much more a fantasy, a fairy tale," he explains. "I don't have a problem with any kind of overlap."
Back on Earth, there's a lot of pressure on Abrams for The Force Awakens to measure up to its epic past.
"Yes, there's a lot of pressure and expectations, but I'm married with children and know what real life is like. And so with all those pressures, you get very quickly reminded every single day of what really matters." To his credit, Abrams has resisted any advance screenings or trailers that reveal the entire storyline.
Says Abrams, "I will tell you that I've heard anecdotally and I've heard personally a number of times people saying, 'Thank you so much for not ruining this movie, thank you so much for not showing us everything, and thank you that I get to see the film and not feel like I've seen it already."
With early predictions suggesting the film will earn up to US$540 million worldwide on opening weekend, breaking the opening record held by last year's Jurassic World with US$521 million, is there a magic number Abrams would like to hit?
"I see projections that are impossible and I see numbers that are preposterous and ridiculous. Thousands of people have been working so hard to make something that I hope will be rousing entertainment. So what I would love, in all honesty, is to be able to go to a theatre and see people laughing and screaming and crying and cheering and going through these emotions that are the reasons we made the movie." He pauses. "In the very beginning of the process, we sat down and wrote, 'What do we want people to feel?' And if we can elicit close to those responses, then that is more important than any number."
Grab your copy of the TimeOut Star Wars: The Force Awakens special today. Inside, we've got interviews with Harrison Ford, director JJ Abrams, new villains Adam Driver and Gwendoline Christie plus a look back at the ten best Star Wars scenes - so far. And who is the NZ telly star only too keen to don the Stormtrooper helmet on our cover?
