J.J. Abrams is one of the most successful director-writer-producers working in Hollywood, and now that he is being offered the chance to visit a galaxy far, far away to direct the long-awaited Star Wars sequel, his reputation is set to shoot ever higher.
Much like his hero Steven Spielberg, such has been Abrams’ success that he has himself become something of a brand, especially since his popular revitalisation of Star Trek as producer of the 2009 blockbuster, as well as its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness. However, in the early nineties Abrams began his career writing relatively average movie scripts, such as Regarding Henry and Forever Young, before moving into the world of TV with the college-based drama Felicity.
It wasn’t until the spy series Alias that his career truly launched. Since the early 2000s, Abrams has dominated genre-TV with the success of cult shows such as Lost and Fringe. At the same time, he found time for the big screen, directing Mission: Impossible III and his personal homage to Spielberg, Super 8 as well as producing the innovative monster movie Cloverfield. Then, not content with distinction in these two fields, 2013 saw the release of his first novel S. with Doug Dorst.
While Abrams sceptics note that not everything he has been involved with has worked – after a number of his TV shows have been cancelled and some of his films have received mixed reviews – there’s no question that Abrams is one of Hollywood’s most powerful people. Set to dominate the world of SF for years to come, this is the first biography of the cult legend.
He’s the man tasked with leading the charge into the future of the Star Wars galaxy with The Force Awakens, but there’s a lot more to Jeffrey Jacob Abrams than that. Neil Daniels unofficial biography looks at the road that led Abrams to the sands of Jakku.
By their very nature, unofficial biographies give their opinion and information from a distance and Daniel’s book is no exception, taking a glut of material and weaving it into a 261 page biography of one of the planets most in-demand writer/director/producers. For a man not yet 50, Abrams has enjoyed a storied career as a scriptwriter in the early 90’s, onto the small screen with his breakout hit Felicity alongside scripting such blockbusters as Armageddon and through to his big screen debut a decade ago with Mission Impossible 3, released in 2006. A likeable, talented multi-tasker Daniels draws the obvious comparisons with the most relatable auteur, Steven Spielberg and shows just how Abrams translates his multitude of ideas into reality.
For those of us more interested in his move to the galaxy far, far away then chapter 10, page 213 is the place for you. Don’t expect a huge amount of information – no doubt the garrulous and loquacious Abrams will tell his own Star Wars story sometime down the road and much of that information due to its secretive nature is hidden away from the public right now – but Daniels is able to eke to most relevant and pertinent facts out of what is ‘out there’ in interviews and articles. For us hardcore Star Wars fans the real treats are in the story of Abrams past and his own personal journey to The Force Awakens.
Hopefully at some later point Daniels will be able to return to J.J’s career (goodness knows he produces enough content to justify that) and give us more detail on this period of his career but until then enjoy this illuminating walk through Abram’s career to this point.
For more Jedi News non-fiction book reviews click here.
