'Star Trek Into Darkness' director J.J. Abrams has become the most powerful geek in Hollywood Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/director-abrams-powerful-geek-hollywood-article-1.1340799#ixzz2TAMSDwwP

'Star Trek Into Darkness' director J.J. Abrams has become the most powerful geek in Hollywood  

If J.J. Abrams ever develops a working time machine — which, given his career trajectory, may not be impossible — he could tell his 10-year-old self that he’ll grow up to both command the Enterprise and be in charge of the Skywalker family. “No, I never sat in the captain’s chair on the set,” Abrams, 46, joked to the Daily News after the London premiere of his latest directorial effort, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” which opens here Friday. “I let Chris Pine do that.” ZADE ROSENTHAL J.J. Abrams is director of "Star Trek Into Darkness," which is set to open Friday. His next enterprise? Helming 'Star Wars Episode VII," set for release in 2015. Still, the boy who used to run around with a Super 8 camera has grown up to be the most powerful geek in Hollywood. (Even as a kid, there were signs: In 1981, Steven Spielberg hired the 14-year-old Abrams to transfer Spielberg’s own 8mm childhood movies to video after Abrams won a contest.) As an adult, the New York-born Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions has filled the small screen with hits including “Alias,” “Lost,” “Fringe,” “Person of Interest” and “Revolution.” A new show, “Believe,” was just green-lit by NBC. But “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to the Abrams-directed 2009 reboot that beamed up $385 million worldwide and resuscitated a flagging franchise, is where the heat is now. ZADE ROSENTHAL Abrams and Chris Pine on the set of "Star Trek Into Darkness." RELATED: ACTRESSES STEP UP IN 'STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS' The success of its predecessor got Abrams the reins of “Star Wars Episode VII,” which is currently in preproduction for a 2015 release. To put it in perspective for those who don’t speak Klingon: Abrams is doing the geek equivalent of playing guitar for both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. ZADE ROSENTHAL/ZADE ROSENTHAL Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto star in "Star Trek Into Darkness." “The only overlap I can see between the two is, they’re both bigger than any of us,” says Abrams. “They are both these big entities that people care desperately about. “But I don’t think there’s quite a ‘one versus the other’ war, like Coke and Pepsi. There’s room for both — and I would hope there’s room for me.” It may seem incredulous now, but it wasn’t that long ago that many “Trekkers” were getting into a Vulcan nerve pinch over the hiring of Abrams, who’d once proclaimed himself more of a “Star Wars” guy. AP/20TH CENTURY-FOX FILM CORPORATION Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in "Star Wars." Now, most don’t want him to leave their corner of the universe. RELATED: 5 BEAUTIES WHO'VE MADE 'STAR TREK' SO BELOVED How did Abrams land these two prime gigs? For one thing, he put together a trusted team — producer Bryan Burk and screenwriters Damon Lindelof (who co-created “Lost” with Abrams), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman — to help steer the Enterprise. ERIC CHARBONNEAU/WIREIMAGE Abrams with Tom Cruise at L.A. premiere of 'Valkyrie' in 2008. Orci’s role, he says, was to make sure “Trek” didn’t set a course too far into the mainstream. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/director-abrams-powerful-geek-hollywood-article-1.1340799#ixzz2TAMhaDAQ


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