One of my favourite things about Star Trek (1966) wasn't just the overt banter but the humour in tha...
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One of my favourite things about Star Trek (1966) wasn't just the overt banter but the humour in that show about the relationships between the main characters and their reactions to the situations they would face; there was a lot of comedy in that show without ever breaking its reality.
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I try to work on shows that I would want to watch.
I try to work on shows that I would want to watch.
[on Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)] The thing that the great genre filmmaking has always done is tak...
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[on Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)] The thing that the great genre filmmaking has always done is taken issues of now and told them through allegory and made them palatable for larger audiences. But, you know, there are themes in the movie that were important to us: the idea of questioning authority, the idea that when the task you're given is morally questionable, what do you do? When protecting others, especially family, means making the ultimate sacrifice, what do you do? When you feel that desperate need for revenge and blood lust, what do you do?
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I've never done Twitter.
I've never done Twitter.
Star Trek (1966) was always a little bit closed emotionally. I never connected to the characters.
Star Trek (1966) was always a little bit closed emotionally. I never connected to the characters.
What I'm still grappling with and learning how to do is to be looking and thinking cinematically, ha...
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What I'm still grappling with and learning how to do is to be looking and thinking cinematically, having come from television.
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You never want to have that ticking clock and know that you had all this time and didn't use it.
You never want to have that ticking clock and know that you had all this time and didn't use it.
I try to push ideas away, and the ones that will not leave me alone are the ones that ultimately end...
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I try to push ideas away, and the ones that will not leave me alone are the ones that ultimately end up happening.
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Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focus that I like.
Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focus that I like.
I love recording music.
I love recording music.
The ability of a television series to make adjustments is something you've got to take advantage of.
The ability of a television series to make adjustments is something you've got to take advantage of.
We're living at a time where if you do a Google search for a "show, review and network", you'll get ...
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We're living at a time where if you do a Google search for a "show, review and network", you'll get the New York Times and Pete Billingsley from a town you've never heard of on the same results page. It's kind of democratizing the process so that everyone has access to a distribution system to express themselves.
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When there's an authentic mystery, as opposed to just a question being asked, that's what makes you ...
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When there's an authentic mystery, as opposed to just a question being asked, that's what makes you lean forward.
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Obviously with the Internet and increased access to other means of watching shows, the audience has ...
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Obviously with the Internet and increased access to other means of watching shows, the audience has dispersed and is all over the place and that is a challenge.
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I'm an impatient guy and tend not to like to stay with one thing for a long time. I'll never be able...
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I'm an impatient guy and tend not to like to stay with one thing for a long time. I'll never be able to write as many scripts as I did for Felicity (1998) or Alias (2001) ever again. I'm just too impatient these days. I want to get on to the next project.
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When I was a little kid - and even still - I loved magic tricks. When I saw how movies got made - at...
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When I was a little kid - and even still - I loved magic tricks. When I saw how movies got made - at least had a glimpse when I went on the Universal Studios tour with my grandfather, I remember feeling like this was another means by which I could do magic.
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Directing's the best part. Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focu...
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Directing's the best part. Whenever I've directed something, there's this feeling of demand and focus that I like. And secondly, it means that you've gotten through all the writing stuff, and the producing stuff, and casting, and prep, and all those stages that are seemingly endless. So directing is sort of the reward for all the work you put in before. And then there's the editing, which is another amazing stage of the process. It's incredible the moments you can create.
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It's a leap of faith doing any serialised storytelling.
It's a leap of faith doing any serialised storytelling.
I think when you're 10 years old, it's too much to see something with the threat of death in every e...
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I think when you're 10 years old, it's too much to see something with the threat of death in every episode. Kids are better left naive about certain things.
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Stories in which the destruction of society occurs are explorations of social fears and issues that ...
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Stories in which the destruction of society occurs are explorations of social fears and issues that filmmakers, novelists, playwrights, painters have been examining for a long time.
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Ratings have changed, viewer habits have changed and the options for the audience have grown enormou...
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Ratings have changed, viewer habits have changed and the options for the audience have grown enormously, but I don't think how you tell a story is fundamentally different.
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I'm a fast writer.
I'm a fast writer.
I don't try and write strong female characters or strong male characters, I just try and write, hope...
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I don't try and write strong female characters or strong male characters, I just try and write, hopefully, strong characters and sometimes they happen to be female.
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Pitching is always a weird, difficult thing.
Pitching is always a weird, difficult thing.
I've always liked working on stories that combine people who are relatable with something insane. Th...
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I've always liked working on stories that combine people who are relatable with something insane. The most exciting thing for me is crossing that bridge between something we know is real and something that is extraordinary. The thing for me has always been how you cross that bridge.
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Robotics are beginning to cross that line from absolutely primitive motion to motion that resembles ...
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Robotics are beginning to cross that line from absolutely primitive motion to motion that resembles animal or human behaviour.
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I find that it's hard to fully examine one's life and not have faith be part of the discussion.
I find that it's hard to fully examine one's life and not have faith be part of the discussion.
I think you have a passion and an obsession for something when it's not necessarily ubiquitous.
I think you have a passion and an obsession for something when it's not necessarily ubiquitous.
I hate to look at the stuff I've written and consider what it means or why I do it.
I hate to look at the stuff I've written and consider what it means or why I do it.
When you go to commercial, you want something to call the viewers back, and if you don't have a dece...
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When you go to commercial, you want something to call the viewers back, and if you don't have a decent act out, the audience probably won't be there in the numbers you want when the show returns.
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I love working with the right actor, and if the right actor happens to be unknown, that should be al...
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I love working with the right actor, and if the right actor happens to be unknown, that should be allowed, too, I think.
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Whenever a toddler sees a pile of blocks, he wants to tear it down.
Whenever a toddler sees a pile of blocks, he wants to tear it down.
Looking back on my childhood, I have a list of things that are massively important to me. Without qu...
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Looking back on my childhood, I have a list of things that are massively important to me. Without question, Star Wars was on the list, and Star Trek was not.
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Star Wars (1977) is probably the most influential film of my generation. It's the personification of...
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Star Wars (1977) is probably the most influential film of my generation. It's the personification of good and evil and the way it opened up the world to space adventure, the way westerns had to our parents' generations, left an indelible imprint. So, in a way, everything that any of us does is somehow directly or indirectly affected by the experience of seeing those first three films.
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You can never guess or assume what anyone is going to think.
You can never guess or assume what anyone is going to think.
I'm literally open to any medium that will have me.
I'm literally open to any medium that will have me.
When I was a kid, among the other embarrassing things I would do, and there's a list of stupid thing...
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When I was a kid, among the other embarrassing things I would do, and there's a list of stupid things, but I would make these dumb comedy tapes. I would often make prank phone calls, but I would also do it with friends.
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[on Kodak's new Super 8 camera] While any technology that allows for visual storytelling must be emb...
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[on Kodak's new Super 8 camera] While any technology that allows for visual storytelling must be embraced, nothing beats film ... The fact that Kodak is building a brand new Super 8 camera is a dream come true. [2016]
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We live in an age of instant knowledge. And there's almost a sense of entitlement to that.
We live in an age of instant knowledge. And there's almost a sense of entitlement to that.
[on producing both Star Trek (2009) and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)] There is ...
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[on producing both Star Trek (2009) and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)] There is no meta strategy to this, no Machiavellian plan. It was simply two opportunities to get involved in two disparate film series that are bigger than all of us. I don't feel any kind of Coke vs. Pepsi thing about it. It seems there is enough bandwidth for both of these very different stories to coexist. I feel incredibly lucky to be involved in either of them.
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My mother is the coolest, most amazing person I know.
My mother is the coolest, most amazing person I know.
When I was a kid and saw Star Wars (1977) for the first time, it blew my mind and around the same ti...
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When I was a kid and saw Star Wars (1977) for the first time, it blew my mind and around the same time, I had friends who were huge fans of Star Trek and I don't know if I was smart enough to get it, or patient enough. What I loved about Star Wars was the visceral energy of it, the clarity of it, the kind of innocence and big heart of it. Star Trek always felt a little bit more sophisticated and philosophical, debating moral dilemmas and things that were theoretically interesting, but for some reason I couldn't get on board. It really took working with all these guys and actually working on Star Trek for me to fall in love with that.
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I actually had to use Industrial Light & Magic to remove lens flare in a couple of shots, which is, ...
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I actually had to use Industrial Light & Magic to remove lens flare in a couple of shots, which is, I know, moronic. But I think admitting you're an addict is the first step towards recovery.
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I'd love to do a movie where the monster is human, where the issue is not otherworldly, or horror or...
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I'd love to do a movie where the monster is human, where the issue is not otherworldly, or horror or science fiction.
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I'm not trying to be coy or manipulative or Machiavellian, I want to spark people's imaginations.
I'm not trying to be coy or manipulative or Machiavellian, I want to spark people's imaginations.
With three kids you are just trying to survive. You can't be fastidious.
With three kids you are just trying to survive. You can't be fastidious.
Making movies was more a reaction to not being chosen for sports. Other kids were out there playing ...
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Making movies was more a reaction to not being chosen for sports. Other kids were out there playing at whatever; I was off making something blow up and filming it, or making a mould of my sister's head using alginating plaster.
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I think that even if you're wondering if two characters are ever going to kiss, drawing out the inev...
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I think that even if you're wondering if two characters are ever going to kiss, drawing out the inevitability is part of the fun. Whatever the genre happens to be.
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I love movies with spectacle but spectacle can be a performance, it doesn't have to be a creature.
I love movies with spectacle but spectacle can be a performance, it doesn't have to be a creature.
I don't think I have a signature.
I don't think I have a signature.
When you work on something that combines both the spectacular and the relatable, the hyperreal and t...
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When you work on something that combines both the spectacular and the relatable, the hyperreal and the real, it suddenly can become supernatural. The hypothetical and the theoretical can become literal.
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All the times I've been lucky enough to be a part of a show that's actually gotten on the air, it's ...
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All the times I've been lucky enough to be a part of a show that's actually gotten on the air, it's always that same mixture of excitement and utter fear.
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My work isn't any more important than anything else in the family.
My work isn't any more important than anything else in the family.
[on Harrison Ford getting injured during the filming of Star Wars VII] When I was on the set of the ...
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[on Harrison Ford getting injured during the filming of Star Wars VII] When I was on the set of the Millennium Falcon and we started to do work with Rey and Finn, the first time we did it, it didn't work at all," "It was much more contentious. I didn't direct it right. It was set up all wrong, and when Harrison Ford got injured - which was a very scary day - we ended up having a few weeks off, and it was during that time that I really got to look at what we had done and rewrite quite a bit of that relationship. So when we came back to work again, we actually just reshot from the ground up, those scenes. It was an amazingly helpful thing to get these two characters to where they needed to be.
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I have no style. There are certain people who just have a visual sense that defines their work. You ...
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I have no style. There are certain people who just have a visual sense that defines their work. You could probably watch 30 seconds of anything they do and you'll know exactly who directed it. I don't have that skill.
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I've had the same friends since I was in kindergarten.
I've had the same friends since I was in kindergarten.
I was never really a comic-book fanatic.
I was never really a comic-book fanatic.
I have nothing against 3-D in theory. But I've also never run to the movies because something's in 3...
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I have nothing against 3-D in theory. But I've also never run to the movies because something's in 3-D.
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When I was a kid going into the movies, you weren't force-fed information everywhere you looked abou...
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When I was a kid going into the movies, you weren't force-fed information everywhere you looked about what the movie was going to be.
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I feel like obviously the standard for what television looks like changes all the time.
I feel like obviously the standard for what television looks like changes all the time.
I love the idea of anthropomorphizing machines. I love the idea of taking technology and giving it a...
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I love the idea of anthropomorphizing machines. I love the idea of taking technology and giving it a personality.
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The goal is always to do B material in an A fashion.
The goal is always to do B material in an A fashion.
As a director/writer/producer, all you ever want is to work with actors who make you look better, wh...
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As a director/writer/producer, all you ever want is to work with actors who make you look better, who make the work you do seem as good as it can be and even better than it is.
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You know, we've got to this place, where you go to a movie for one particular surgical fix. So it's ...
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You know, we've got to this place, where you go to a movie for one particular surgical fix. So it's like, I want the pulse-pounding action, or the insane falling-off-my-seat comedy, or the devastating, heartbreaking drama.
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The Internet now provides an immediate and very clear consensus of what it is that the audience is e...
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The Internet now provides an immediate and very clear consensus of what it is that the audience is experiencing. It's something that you should never let lead you, and yet at the same time, you should never ignore it.
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All I know is that I've made some big screw-ups, and I've done some things that have done all right....
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All I know is that I've made some big screw-ups, and I've done some things that have done all right. I just keep trying to learn from the mistakes I've made.
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There's nothing wrong with doing sequels, they're just easier to sell.
There's nothing wrong with doing sequels, they're just easier to sell.
To me the interesting main character is never the one without flaws.
To me the interesting main character is never the one without flaws.
[on missing writing Felicity (1998)] I miss writing for a show that doesn't have any sort of odd, al...
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[on missing writing Felicity (1998)] I miss writing for a show that doesn't have any sort of odd, almost sci-fi bend to it. It was just sort of pure romantic, sweet characters who had crushes on one another and were dealing with which party to go to and if they had a part-time job or not--stuff that was kind of fun to write about.
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I feel like in telling stories, there are the things the audience thinks are important, and then the...
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I feel like in telling stories, there are the things the audience thinks are important, and then there are the things that are actually important.
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I believe in anything that will engage the audience and make the story more effective.
I believe in anything that will engage the audience and make the story more effective.
I hope to make movies that are so small they don't need to make anything to be profitable.
I hope to make movies that are so small they don't need to make anything to be profitable.
There's something about looking at Super 8 films that is so evocative. You could argue it's the reso...
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There's something about looking at Super 8 films that is so evocative. You could argue it's the resolution of the film somehow because they aren't crystal clear and perfect, so there is a kind of gauzy layer between you and what you see. You could argue it's the silence of them. You could say it's the sound of the projector that creates a moodiness. But there's something about looking at analog movies that's infinitely more powerful than digital.
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What's a bigger mystery box than a movie theatre? You go to the theatre, you're just so excited to s...
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What's a bigger mystery box than a movie theatre? You go to the theatre, you're just so excited to see anything - the moment the lights go down is often the best part.
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I mean, my dad's a television producer, and I knew I could get a job as an assistant or a reader wit...
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I mean, my dad's a television producer, and I knew I could get a job as an assistant or a reader with one of his friends, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do.
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