We are 315 days away from the release of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and director J.J. Abrams is already being honored for the sequel to George Lucas‘ original films. The Visual Effects Society presented Abrams with their Visionary Award both due to his use of practical effects in the upcoming STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS but also for everything he has pioneered with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, SUPER 8, and both STAR TREK films.
Being presented with the award by Zoe Saldana, who thanked him for giving Spock a girlfriend and giving her a job, Abrams was humble but appreciative.
“Spending the last two years in the world of light sabers and tie fighters has been absolutely challenging and a dream come true. [Being chosen for the VES Visionary Award] is clearly a clerical error. But mostly, I just work with a whole lot of incredible VFX artists. This is what made me want to get involved in movies.”
Abrams may be divisive as a filmmaker for many fans but the guy is truly a movie fan at heart. He has been making films since he was a kid and idolizes the greats like Steven Spielberg and Douglas Trumbull. He went on to thank his family for encouraging him to “blow shit up” but also for fostering his love of film.
I am sure we are all going to have our own reactions to STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS once it opens in theaters but there is no doubt it looks very well made thus far. Even though Abrams is not returning for EPISODE VIII or IX, I think he is opening the floodgates for any number of directors to do what we have been waiting to see the franchise achieve for decades.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens on December 18, 2015.