According to Vulture, J.J. Abrams has decided on his next directing gig and it appears it will be a tribute to none other than Steven Spielberg and “a tip of the hat to [Spielberg’s] movies of the ’70s and early ’80s.”
Of course, details on the film and even the title are being kept under wraps, but apparently it “will deal with everyday people whose personal relationships are tested when they are thrown up against extraordinarily fantastic – and possibly other-worldly – events” and will draw on “Jaws,” “E.T.” and “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” as inspiration. Not only that, apparently Spielberg himself will be involved in some capacity, most likely as an executive producer or adviser to the film.
While Paramount and DreamWorks are denying all knowledge of the film (naturally), the project is said to be surprisingly low-budget and will probably come in somewhere around $25 million. The latter point is particularly interesting since Abrams could easily command a much better budget and pretty much do whatever he wants, but our guess is this is probably a more personal project for the director. The smaller budget also most likely means second shelf actors or perhaps even unknowns as was the case for Abrams produced, and similarly budgeted “Cloverfield.”
Abrams has certainly had his pick of projects but we’re always pleased when a filmmaker with some clout opts for something smaller (and guessing by the budget, riskier) rather than taking the easy route by latching onto another tentpole or franchise. Speaking of franchises, “Star Trek 2” isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until June 29, 2012 so work on that film wasn’t expected to begin until next year anyway, and we imagine Abrams will try and knock this out quickly before he gets swept up in Enterprise drama.
We’re definitely intrigued by this, but we have to ask: is Spielberg ever going to direct another movie?
