How did Steven Spielberg get J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Well it was not as easy as you would think.
Spielberg never wanted to direct the movie himself, but he did brainstorm potential directors with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. They both agreed that J.J. Abrams would be a good choice, especially after working in big action franchises like Mission Impossible and Star Trek, but there was a problem, as Spielberg explained, “I called J.J. and said ‘Would you do it if it was offered to you?’ He said, ‘I would but my wife won’t let me ’cause she doesn’t want me to restart any more franchises.’”
It’s funny that Abrams blamed his wife, then he later admitted he initially turned down the job because he wanted to do an original project after Star Trek Into Darkness.
Anyway, Spielberg came up with a pretty genius plan to test Abrams’ excuse: He offered the job in front of Abrams’ wife.
“So I take Katie Abrams and J.J. to dinner that night to Giorgio with my wife, Kate, and right in front of Katie Abrams I popped the question. I said to Katie, ‘I think there’s a chance that J.J. could direct Star Wars. What do you think of that?’ And Katie turned to J.J. and said, ‘That would be amazing. Really?’ And I went outside the restaurant, picked up my phone, called [Kathleen Kennedy] and said, ‘When can we meet with J.J.?’ And that’s how the whole thing began.”
That was pretty smart.
Related:
What do you think? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below.
