JJ Abrams news stories on Newser

Molester Helped Cast Hollywood Child Actors

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:02:05 CST

A conviction for kidnapping and molesting an 8-year-old boy in 1996 didn't prevent Jason James Murphy from forging a successful career in Hollywood casting—recruiting child actors for movies including Super 8 and Bad News Bears . Murphy, 35, moved to California after completing a 5-year prison sentence in Washington state....

Super 8 Almost Super

Matt Cantor — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:05:05 CDT

Super 8 is a fun summer blockbuster about kids, monsters, and filmmaking—but don’t expect a classic. Director JJ Abrams is “clever and sincere,” notes AO Scott in the New York Times , “but still, at least on the big screen, more student than master. Like his previous features, Super 8...

10 Fall Shows You Must Watch

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:34:10 CDT

It’s never too early to start scheduling your DVR for fall’s new TV. Entertainment Weekly critic Ken Tucker lists the 10 shows he’s most eagerly anticipating: Mr. Sunshine : Matthew Perry is the owner of a sports arena and has Allison Janney for a boss. Tucker calls the dialogue “sharp and...

NBC's Next Challenge: Fixing Prime Time

Nick McMaster — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:55:00 CST

Now that NBC is nearly past the Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien fiasco, the network is refocusing on the job at hand: correcting a 5-year slide in ratings. The Leno gambit, which CEO Jeff Zucker described as an experiment in the "economics" of network television, represented the network's hope that Leno could...

10 Who Died Too Young

Harry Kimball — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:58:37 CST

In looking back at the '00s, the sad tales of luminaries who died too young stand out. Newsweek asked friends and admirers for their reflections: Randy Pausch, d. 2008: "Despite it all," JJ Abrams writes, the "Last Lecture" professor "was radiant, kind, and good-humored." Tim Russert, d. 2008: "There aren’t...

Eastwood Is Top 'Badass'

Nick McMaster — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:33:53 CST

GQ has broken this year's Man of the Year honors into several categories. That's why Clint Eastwood is Badass of the Year, Barack Obama is Leader of the Year, and Tom Brady the Comeback of the Year. Click the source link for the full list, and see the photo gallery...

Shatner: Conan 'Holds Me Close'

Nick McMaster — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:01:23 CDT

William Shatner’s beat-poetry homages to Sarah Palin on Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show have become viral-video hits. Time magazine caught up with the actor and Priceline pitchman to find out about his off-camera relationship with O’Brien, Star Trek , and more: “It's great,” Shatner reports. Conan “folds me into his arms and...

Trek Lives Well, Should Prosper

Rob Quinn — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:12:58 CDT

JJ Abrams has boldly pulled off the almost impossible with his stellar reinvention of Star Trek and made a movie that will wow both newcomers and hardcore Trekkies, critics say. Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer : The prequel "is more exciting than the last four ST pictures put together, more fun than...

Summer's Film Fare: Prequels

Matt Cantor — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:55:00 CDT

Hollywood’s set for a summer of prequels, with the backstories of Star Trek , X-Men , and Terminator ripe for the telling. But how do you make a film exciting when everyone knows how it turns out? “We didn’t want to fall into the trap of the first three Star Wars movies,...