Chris Rock is aSaturday Night Livealumnus , one of the great stand - up comic of all clock time , and the director of a few very good movies , include 2014 ’s autobiographicalTop Five . J.J. Abrams is the acclaimed writer - director - producer behindAlias , LOST , Mission : Impossible III , theCloverfieldfranchise , the currentStar Trekreboot , and a little matter calledStar Wars - Episode VII : The Force Awakens . Put them in a room , and you could only think where the conversation may go .
" Can you makeFantastic Four ? " Rock asked Abrams in a sit - down at New York City ’s annual Tribeca Film Festival . " WHY DO THEY KEEP FUCKING UPFANTASTIC FOUR . "
OK , maybe you could n’t imagine this conversation .
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Rock ’s interview with Abrams start as a half - serious chronicle through the power role player ’s life ’s work ( " You are now the most famous J.J. … you stole that diddly from a black man – Jimmie J.J. Walker ! " ) and terminate in a onslaught of nerd - level questions . It ’s clean Rock admire Abrams show business organization vitality and versatility , and vice versa , but after dredging up well - documented stories on the founding ofLOSTand working with Tom Cruise on theM : Ifranchise , Rock was hankering for screaming divine revelation . So he turn to his own electrocution motion , and a few supplied by his nerdy pal . Enter , Fantastic Four , a Marvel comic holding Rock ’s dying to see Abrams ( or himself ) rejuvenate . And then enterBatman v Superman : Dawn of Justice , which Rock would wish to never mean about again .
" Have you seen this Superman - Batman son of a bitch ? " Rock rhetorically require Abrams . " What the nookie was that ? Superman ca n’t fight someone who drives a car ! " " Neither humanity could explain why Superman would resist first-rate - punching his opponent and end all the shenanigans . Neither man bothered to form it out .
To assuage the nerds who might " kidnap [ Abrams ’ ] wife and commit you her ear " ( Rock ’s words ) , the wise - cracking moderator question Abrams on his experience withStar Wars . Mostly sticking to broad strikes , the conductor did let it slue that after Harrison Ford’swidely reportedankle injury pressure the movie to shut out down production for several weeks , he move back to the draught board on Han Solo and Rey ’s human relationship . He rewrite , redesign , sum up even more foster father textile . When they resumed shooting , Abrams argufy and reshot everything he already had with Ford .
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OK , OK , but who are Rey ’s parents ? , one child shout out from the peanut picture gallery . " Rey ’s parent are not inEpisode VII , so I ca n’t possibly tell you at this moment . But I will say : It is something Rey think about , too . " And if you think " not being inEpisode VII"gives anything aside , hold your space horses . Abrams travel along up withEntertainment Weeklyafter the outcome to clarify : " What I mean was that she does n’t discover them inEpisode VII . Not that they may not already be in her cosmos . "
The proceedings were raucous , but friendly , though Rock ask Abrams to atone for one hell : his excessive and ill-famed use of lens flares in the Star Trek movies . What happened there ? " We had an approximation that the future was so shining , that it could not be hold back , " excuse Abrams . " [ But ] onStar Trek , I overdid it . Then I kept doing it on another movie . The onInto dark … I went nuts . " harmonise to the director , there were scene in hisStar Treksequel that were so embellished by flare that his footage make out back looking like " TV from the day TV was invented . " He live out of his way of life to avoid lens flash inThe Force Awakens .
While Abrams was the homo of the time of day , with enough stories to play punching bag with Rock as a quick sparrer , the director did flick the table and wring news report out of the comic . During a word on how they find confederate , Rock admitted that once had to fire a director from set . " He did n’t likeAnnie Hall ! " he exclaimed , much to the film - go audience ’s delight . While it earned joke , Rock was dead serious . " Can you imagine take notes from someone who does n’t likeAnnie Hall ? "
Paramount Pictures
The night ended the only direction it could : an ex - Wall Street financier - turned - Star Warsblogger raiment in a Kylo Ren costumeasking J.J. Abrams about his belief in a higher tycoon . Abrams actually take it seriously , saying he believe in something similar to George Lucas ' concept of The Force . Everything is connected , and that ’s all he take to know . Which still did n’t explicate the existence ofBatman v Superman , but no one could bump him for that .
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