The director shared his experience in working on the seventh episode of the sci-fi franchise, saying that although he had some pressure to do the movie, it's still fun.
- Aug 19, 2015
AceShowbiz - As the release date of the first "Star Wars" episode in 10 years approaches, director J.J. Abrams shared his experience in working on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Abrams opened up about the pressure of directing the movie while also sharing his excitement over the project.
Ever since Abrams signed up to direct the seventh episode of "Star Wars" movie franchise, he knew that many of diehard fans would demand that he created an extraordinary work. He compared his work of expanding the franchise to adding another book to the bible. "You had to forget it was a religion for so many people, because in the moment you had to do the work," Abrams told PEOPLE and EW at the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center recently.
Working with Harrison Ford, an actor he idolized since he was a kid, was another challenge for him. "I think one of the biggest challenges on a daily basis was not considering the person you're talking to as someone who was an icon when you were a kid, or for me when I was a kid," Abrams said.
He also stated that being the director of the legendary sci-fi franchise was an honor for him. "I remember when I was 11 years old and I saw 'Star Wars' for the very first time and it didn't look like anything I'd ever seen," Abrams recalled. "So to get to play in that playground is an absolute honor."
Despite the fact that Abrams had to work extra hard to create a perfect feature, he pointed out that the work wasn't that stressing. "I think the most surprising thing was how much fun it was to do this movie. I knew it would be a lot of work and I knew it would be crazy stressful, but I didn't necessarily expect it to be as much of a joy to do," he said.
"The Force Awakens" stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew and Anthony Daniels. The movie is slated for a release in North America on December 18.
