J.J. Abrams

[Celebrity]

J.J. Abrams: TV Guide News

New Star Trek "Pines" for Kirk as it Casts Scotty, Sulu and Baddie | Today's News: Our Take | 10/12/2007
Gloucester, England-born Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) and Harold & Kumar's John Cho are boarding J.J. Abrams' Star Trek feature in the roles of engineering wizard/Romulan-ale enthusiast Montgomery Scott and Lt. Hikaru Sulu, says the Reporter. They join other future Enterprisers Zachary Quinto (as Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura) and Anton Yelchin (Chekov), while Eric Bana has been tapped to play the villain. I know what you're wondering: But who... has... the com? According to the trades, Chris Pine is... read more
J.J. Abrams' Top-secret Sci-fi Show Lands at Fox | Today's News: Our Take | 10/5/2007
Following a heated bidding war, Fox backed up the Brinks truck and made a series commitment to Fringe, which was until now a super-hush-hush new project from J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Fox reportedly will pony up some $10 million for a two-hour pilot — that's on par with Lost's own debut — as well as pay a sizable $2 mil-per-episode licensing fee to Abrams' Bad Robot.Oh yeah, the premise: Fringe concerns a young female FBI agent (my favorite kind) who in the name of... read more
In the Works: A Day in the Life of Dannielynn's Daddy? | Today's News: Our Take | 10/4/2007
Larry Birkhead tells the New York Daily News he has an agreement-in-principle with a television producer to do a series sharing a "day in the life" look at the biological father of the late Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn.... ABC has given a pilot order to an untitled drama penned by Grey's Anatomy's Jill Soloway and produced by J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot. According to Variety, the series revolves around a cable-access psychologist who is forced to become a mobile notary.... Comedy Central... read more
Trek's J.J. Abrams Tells Zoe Saldana "I Want U... hura!" | Today's News: Our Take | 9/18/2007
This new-old Star Trek flick is really starting to come together. According to the Hollywood Reporter, director J.J. "Just Jenius" Abrams has picked Drumline knockout Zoe Saldana to play Uhura. If he somehow includes "Uhura's Song," I may have to go all fanboy on him. In other movie news, per Variety, Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal are about to be perfectly cast as sibs in Jim Sheridan's Brothers, about a soldier (Spider-Man) whose ne'er-do-well bro (Donnie Darko) looks after his family... read more
Russell Crowe's Rumored Star Trek, More Film News | Today's News: Our Take | 9/12/2007
Will J.J. Abrams' Star Trek feature take its villainy to the Maximus? With the Enterprise's fledgling crew gradually getting cast — Zachary Quinto (as Spock) and Anton Yelchin (Chekov), to name two — there is a story in the New York Post that Russell Crowe is being courted to play the central baddie.... Per Variety, Fight Club members Brad Pitt and Edward Norton will reunite for an adaptation of State of Play.... Director Roman Polanski has pulled out of the $100-million Pompeii, and... read more
New Star Trek Film Checks Off Its Chekov | Today's News: Our Take | 8/8/2007
Russian-born Anton Yelchin, whose recent credits include Alpha Dog and TV's Huff, is in talks to play Pavel Chekov, the eventual navigator of the USS Enterprise, in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film, says the Hollywood Reporter. Unreliable sources tell me the audition process involved having a Ceti eel implanted in your ear. Yowch.Yelchin will join the recently cast Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy, who will both play Spock. Casting is under way in New York and London for Kirk (Josh Duhamel? Is... read more
Heroes Scoop: Cheerleader Exits, D.L. MIA and More! | Ausiello Report | 7/24/2007
Just back from the TCA-sponsored press event on the Heroes set with scoop galore. Let's get right to it.• Lyndsy Fonseca is out as Claire's gay cheerleader pal. No, not out like that. She's out as in, off the show. According to Heroes creator Tim Kring, Fonseca's role had to be cut short after she landed that series-regular gig on Desperate Housewives. "She wasn't a pivotal character," Kring says of Claire's pal, who will now appear in just one episode. "The idea was that that part would... read more
Heroes Baddie Is Logical Choice to Play Spock | Today's News: Our Take | 7/24/2007
So, Sulu is on Heroes and Sylar is off on a Star Trek? Is that how it's going to be? Zachary Quinto, aka the hit NBC drama's sinewy supervillain, has been tapped to slap some latex triangles on his ears and portray a young Spock in Lost boss J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek feature film, sources confirm. Presented with the casting buzz, Heroes creator Tim Kring told TVGuide.com that he would be "thrilled" to see Quinto get his Vulcan on.Officially, a rep for Abrams' Bad Robot shingle has yet to... read more
J.J. Abrams Trailer Teases a 'Field of Screams | Today's News: Our Take | 7/6/2007
"Smoke Monster Takes Manhattan"? A mysterious, Blair Witch-style trailer for a film titled Cloverfield and touted as "from producer J.J. Abrams" has the many folk catching Transformers intrigued. The film, directed by Felicity cocreator Matt Reeves and penned by Drew Goddard (Lost, Alias), is teased with a party scene set at a New York City bar, soon disrupted by the roar of some sort of monstrous entity, followed by flames and falling debris — including the head of the Statue of Liberty.... read more
William Shatner Is Nimoyed by Star Trek Film Dis | Today's News: Our Take | 6/21/2007
Steam me up, Scotty! William Shatner is reportedly flipping his wig over Leonard Nimoy apparently being offered a cameo in J.J. Abrams' planned Star Trek feature film (a prequel to the TV series, by all accounts). The erstwhile Captain Kirk "is very upset," a source tells the New York Post. "[He] has been lobbying for a role [for himself]." Asked about the supposed dis, the Shat's rep tells the tab, "I don't know that to be the case, so I can't comment." OK, fine, break out the mind meld.... read more
Six Feet Under Vet Teams with J.J. Abrams, Grey's | Today's News: Our Take | 6/5/2007
Writer-producer Jill Soloway, who since Six Feet Under's demise has been working on features, has inked deals to develop a one-hour comedy project with J.J. Abrams and join Grey's Anatomy as a consulting producer. Per the Reporter, should the Abrams project go to pilot, Soloway will focus on it full-time; if not, she will continue on at Grey's as a co-executive producer. "I feel like the luckiest person in the world," Soloway tells the trade. "I've loved [Abrams] since Felicity" — this... read more
J.J.'s Anatomy: Cast Revealed for Abrams' Latest | Today's News: Our Take | 5/15/2007
The cast for The Anatomy of Hope, an HBO medical-drama pilot from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) that explores cancer battles from the patients' point of view, includes Chris Messina (Six Feet Under) and Simon Callow (The Phantom of the Opera) as oncologists, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Also on board, playing cancer patients past, present and potential, are John Ortiz (Miami Vice), Valerie Pettiford (Half & Half), Matt Craven (Disturbia) and Daryl Edwards (Rent). read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 3/30/2007
Greg Grunberg, who stars as telepathic Matt Parkman on NBC's Heroes, is using his real-life powers for good, not evil, b read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 3/23/2007
It was a long six months ago that Six Degrees debuted on ABC. Spinning the separate-yet-sometimes-intertwined stories of read more
TV Guide Interviews & Features | 3/20/2007
The origin of Jack's tattoos? Puh-lease. On this Wednesday's Lost (10 pm/ET, on ABC), longtime fans will get the answer read more
At the Movies: Abrams' Trek Is a Christmas Present | Today's News: Our Take | 2/28/2007
Per Variety, a Christmas Day 2008 release date has been set aside for the new Star Trek feature to be helmed by J.J. Abrams, produced by Lost cohort Damon Lindelof, and penned by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci (Mission: Impossible III).... Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III) will direct a remake of David Cronenberg's Scanners.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Alan Arkin will reunite with Little Miss Sunshine costar Steve Carell when he plays "Chief" in the big-screen Get Smart.... M:I:III's Michelle... read more
It's Official: J.J. Abrams to Direct New Star Trek | Today's News: Our Take | 2/26/2007
Though news of the project first broke back in April 2006, J.J. Abrams only this past Friday officially signed on to take the com as director of a new Star Trek feature film, sources tell the Hollywood Reporter. The man who gave us M:i:III (oh, and Lost), Abrams has been developing Star Trek XI — which reportedly concerns Kirk and Spock's early years at Starfleet Academy, and which I have to believe is very tentatively titled — for months, as a producer and writer. read more
February 22, 2007: Cocktails | Kate's Office Blog | 2/21/2007
Office fans, unite. It's Kate Flannery with the latest on-set dirt and such. First of all, many thanks to all the fans of Dwight, Meredith and the bat from last week's episode, "Business School." I got so many bat calls and bat e-mails that I have to answer a few Frequently Asked Bat Questions:• Yes, it was a real bat in the room. • No, it wasn't a real bat in the bag with my head. There were bat wranglers and puppeteers, and our director, Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame,... read more
At the Movies: J.J. Abrams to Climb Dark Tower? | Today's News: Our Take | 2/14/2007
Many Dark Tower fans have deemed it a Mission: Impossible, so.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Lost boss J.J. Abrams and Stephen King are in talks to bring the Dark Tower novels to the screen. Thus far, it is unclear whether the project would definitely be theatrical, given the sprawling breadth of the seven-book saga, or a TV mini.... The Departed's Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg will reunite in The Fighter, a boxing film based on the life of "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his brother/trainer... read more
December 18, 2006: Jumbo Jets, Funnel Cakes and Karma | What About Brian | 12/19/2006
Well, the players may have changed, but the Brian group is still commencing for group dinners, watching sports and small talk in the kitchen. Sure, Heather may be no Marjorie, and Ivy puts a twist in the normal girl gab, but I like the changes and how this group is constantly mutating and conforming to the present situation. And presently, we've got an uncomfortable mother-to-be with "full-on Sydney Bristow kicks" — I wonder if co-producer J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias) snuck that in... read more