I'm pasting only stuff FRINGE related
IFMAGAZINE
Exclusive Interview: J.J. ABRAMS GIVES THE SCOOP ON 'FRINGE,' 'STAR TREK 2' AND THE NEW 'UNDERCOVERS' PILOT
The busy director and producer chats about all the various things he has in development By
ABBIE BERNSTEIN, Contributing Writer
Published 1/15/2010
J.J. Abrams is a very busy producer/director/writer, what with ABC’s
LOST ending, Fox’s
FRINGE continuing and the NBC spy show pilot
UNDERCOVERS beginning, not to mention two little movies,
STAR TREK 2 and
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE IV in the works. At a Fox party for the Television Critics Association, Abrams took the time to give us a little exclusive.
iF MAGAZINE: How hands-on are you with FRINGE these days? J.J. ABRAMS:You know, Jeff Pinkner and Joel [J.H.] Wyman run the show and are doing
an amazing job and I’m in prep on this pilot, so the fact is that
lately they’ve been running the whole show. Anything that people like
about the show I say is due to the work that they’re doing.
iF: Leonard Nimoy has reportedly said he might not be back as William Bell. Is that entailing any sort of change in storyline? ABRAMS: No, we’re right on track with the story that we’re going to tell, and there’s a strong chance he’ll be back.
iF: As the FRINGE
season progresses, can you say if it’s going to get any more
serialized, more stand-alone, or about the balance we’ve seen so far? ABRAMS:I think that they maintain a nice balance doing episodes that have an
overall stand-alone approach but thread in serialized stories. There
are some episodes that are more hard-hitting mythology. So I think
you’ll probably end up seeing, as it builds to the end, a few more
potentially mythology-focused episodes as the season concludes.
iF: Can you say if you’re ending on a cliffhanger or not this season? ABRAMS:There’s a great story at the very end. You might say that it’s a
cliffhanger, but it’s also a revelation. I think that it’s a story that
we’ve wanted to tell from the beginning of the season, so I’m excited
to see it.
iF: What have you been happiest about about FRINGE so far? ABRAMS:Well, I’m really grateful for the audience. It’s on in a very
challenging time slot [Thursdays at 9 PM] – the response that the show
has been getting, despite all sorts of massive competition, the work
that everyone has been doing, the cast and the crew, certainly Jeff and
Joel, the whole writing staff – I just feel like it’s fun to watch the
show find its rhythm. It’s frustrating that the live numbers are not
what the DVR numbers are.
iF: Is there anything else you’d like to say about FRINGE? ABRAMS:I would just say that I’m incredibly excited to see the second season
come to a conclusion. The story they’re working on is amazing.
J J Abrams on Star Trek 2, 'Fringe' and 'Undercovers'
The busy producer on his film and TV projects. by Fred Topel
Jan 25, 2010
So we know
Star Trek 2 is
coming out in the summer of 2012, so that must mean it’s J.J. Abrams’
priority, right? Well, he’s got a lot going on, including the ongoing
series
Fringe, and starting up a new spy show
Undercovers. He had a lot to discuss with the Television Critics
Association with a group of reporters surrounding him, but even they
wanted to know about Star Trek.
Q: On Fringe, where did the combination of outdated ‘60s technology and the future come from?
J J Abrams: Part
of it is I feel deleted. I love that feeling of anachronistic
technology. You know, the printing press at the office, I just love
that stuff. Part of it is to go the opposite of hyper f***ing floating
holographic technology and go back to insanely tangible steel pins,
pulleys, strings. I just love that.
Q: Is that more or less expensive to create?
J J Abrams: It’s
sort of a combo. It was well, you come upon something like oh my God,
look at this thing. Other times we make it, which is crazy, but it’s
always more interesting for me.
Q: Where will the second half of the season go? Will we see the “other” version of Walter?
J J Abrams: I
will say that the story we had at the very beginning of the season is
going to play out. There were some adjustments that we made along the
way, some things came up earlier than we thought, but what I think is
fun about where it’s going is on the one hand, there’s this inevitable
thing that will happen but I think there’s going to be a huge surprise
too at the end of the season so I’m really excited.
Q: When
we first saw the other world, it was better, with the twin towers
standing and Len Bias alive. Now is it a sh*thole and that’s why they
want to come over?
J J Abrams: I
think the fun of there is this sort of growing problem and that there
is something brewing sort of between these two places, to me is just a
fascinating kind of premise. It’s so big and the key is how you make it
specific and how you make it personal. I think some of the stuff you’ll
be getting to with all three of our characters, I’m really happy with
where the story goes.
Q: Are there any more plans for Leonard Nimoy?
J J Abrams: I have tons of plans for him. Whether he’ll be part of them is another question but there are plans aplenty.
Q: I should say for William Bell.
J J Abrams: I would love him to return as a character and I think that there’s a chance that will occur.
Q: Are you satisfied with the ratio of standalone episodes to seasonal arc episodes on Fringe?
J J Abrams: I
think it will be somewhat consistent with where it’s been but I always
like a great standalone, but I’m also a sucker for that ongoing
serialized story. So I’m sort of in a place where I would be thrilled
with more serialized stuff but I also know that that’s a reasonably
difficult way of doing television.
Q: Are the two universes on Fringe finally going to start to collide?
J J Abrams: There
is some pretty cool stuff that’s going to happen, by the end of the
second season. Then again, Jeff [Pinkner] and Joel [Wyman], who are
really running the show, have threatened to kill me, if I reveal
anything. I will say that the plot that they had, at the beginning of
this season, that we all talked about with Akiva Goldsman as well, will
be coming to a really cool conclusion. I’m very excited about it.
Q: Would you like to direct an episode of Fringe?
J J Abrams: I
would love to. That was before Undercovers popped up, but that doesn’t
diminish my desire to do it. I never got a chance to work with Josh
[Jackson], Anna [Torv] and John [Noble], and get in there, so I would
still love to do that. It’s not something I’m ruling out at all.
Q: Do you feel like Fox is committed to doing a third season of Fringe, despite putting you on Thursdays?
J J Abrams: Despite
our time slot, which is always frustrating, they’ve been wonderfully
supportive. I have no complaints at all about how Fox has supported us
or dealt with us. Though there’s no official news about anything, I’m
hopeful that, despite everything, we’re holding our own with them.
Q: Is the season going to end on a cliff-hanger?
J J Abrams: It will not end concluding the series.
Q: Would you like to have a similar plan for Fringe, to end the show on a specific date?
J J Abrams:I think that would be wonderful. I don’t know how you go wrong when you
know exactly where it’s going to go. Some shows don’t require it
because they’re so funny that you don’t want them to end. But, with a
show like Fringe, at a certain point, you want to have a sense of how
long you’re going to be running.
Q: Do you have a sense of where you want to take the show?
J J Abrams: Oh,
yeah. We had some really good sessions, early on, about where this
thing could go, but no matter how much you talk about it, when you’re
in episode 40-something of a series, it’s telling you what it is too.
It’s evolved a lot, but any series does.
Q: What has happened this season that you didn’t expect?
J J Abrams: There
were certain stories, especially the Walter and Peter story, and things
with Olivia, that were actually going to play out longer, but that we
jumped to and did sooner. And, there are other things that we’ve talked
about, like her stepfather, that we’re putting off. There’s a lot of
opportunity for where we’re going beyond this season, and I’m going to
be optimistic about that. I feel like we have a long way to go still,
but the evolution was key. The show has found a rhythm that is nice to
see, and I’m really proud of everyone doing it.
Q: Were you aware that people were having trouble warming up to the character of Olivia?
J J Abrams: Yeah.
That was always a part of it. Her character is naturally someone who is
in this weird world with these characters and situations, and it’s a
little bit hard for her to be warm and cuddly in that role. So, it was
about giving her some vulnerability and uncertainty in her own life,
and where she’s from and where she’s going. That was one way in.
Q: Do you envision a six-year arc for Fringe, in the same way as Lost?
J J Abrams: With
Lost, we didn’t get to a place until the third season where we said,
“We need to know where half-way is,” and I feel like that’s something
that, if we’re lucky enough to continue going, it would be smart to
say, “Okay, let’s figure out what the actual date is, so we know how
far we should push things.”
Q: But, you’re not there yet?
J J Abrams: Not yet.
by 
Subject: JJ Abrams interview: Fringe, the Star Trek Sequel, more 
Bless his heart, he may be a powerful man in Hollywood now, but that picture says, "I can out-nerd ANYbody at San Diego Comicon!" 
