J.J. Abrams was a guest on the Stern show this morning on Sirius Satellite Radio. As usual, Howard asked all the questions that everyone else doesn't dare to ask on their lame Hollywood, FCC-controlled shows.
Here's a recap:
Producer/Director JJ Abrams Visits. 05/01/06. 8:10am
Howard had JJ Abrams there so he had him come in to talk about the hit shows he's had over the years. Howard said he met JJ back when he was doing ''Felicity.'' He visited him on the set of the show and had a good time. JJ said he was hanging with Howard back then and he was really nervous hanging out with him. Howard said he always pictured guys who have hit shows as being older guys. JJ is pretty young.
Howard said that JJ put his kids in an episode of ''Felicity'' and that made him the cool father. JJ said that he's 39 years old now and was about 32 when he was doing ''Felicty.'' He said that was his first big job in the business.
JJ told Howard how he used to mess around making little movies back when he was a kid. Howard pointed out that JJ also created ''Alias'' and co-created ''Lost'' and also directed the latest ''Mission Impossible'' movie. He wrote the movie ''Regarding Henry'' which Robin didn't like. Howard said he liked it though.
Howard asked JJ if he knew that he was going to be a filmmaker when he was growing up. JJ said he felt that's what he was going to do so he was always writing stuff when he was in college. He tried to have fun when he was in school, which wasn't a film school, but he was always writing stuff. He said that his father told him to go to school and learn what to make movies about instead of learning about how to make movies.
JJ said that his father was in the business so he was exposed to the industry from an early age. He told a story about how he had never been able to meet Michael Eisner even after he had done a lot of work for ABC/Disney. He said that Eisner called him one night and said that his father had spoken to him and heard that he hadn't heard from him so he should call him. JJ thought it was going to be some big moment but it turns out his father had called Eisner and told him to call. Howard said that Eisner called him and asked him to do his cable TV show but he turned it down.
Howard asked JJ how he got the big break and ended up with the ''Felicity'' gig. JJ said he wrote a bunch of screenplays when he was in college and they were pretty bad. Howard interrupted him and asked him about ''Lost'' and if they actually have an ending in mind for the show. JJ said that he had gotten a call from Lloyd Braun who had this idea for a plane crash show and asked him to come up with a bigger concept for the show. He had to do it within a week. JJ said he was hooked up with Damon Lindelof and hit it off with him. They came up with the outline for the show and they got the green light for the pilot at the end of that week. They had 11 weeks to write it, cast it, and film it. JJ decided to direct it himself. Then they started to cast it and wrote it around some of the people they hired for the show.
Howard asked JJ to back up and talk about whether or not they have something in mind for the ending of the story. JJ said he's getting to that and told Howard how they came up with a bible for the show where they have stuff where they will talk about where they want to go with the show. JJ said that they do have in mind what the Hatch is and what the numbers in the computer mean. They do have to change things along the way though. JJ said they may want the show to go on for 50 seasons so they have to make it work for a long time if they have to.
JJ said that they have to have a lot of things going on with the plot so they can have a few explanations for the stuff that happens. Howard wondered if JJ has told his wife what the end of the show would be like. JJ said he doesn't think she cares. Howard asked if Lloyd Braun knows the end of the show. JJ said that Lloyd is gone from ABC now. They had him doing the intros for the show back when they started it because it was his idea and he got fired before the show went to air.
Howard asked JJ if he would tell a dying kid what the end of the show would be. JJ said in that case they might tell him. He probably wouldn't want to do that because they will adjust the show as it goes along. JJ said that there are probably about 4 people who know the game plan for the show and what the ending really should be. They keep the writing staff pretty small so they can keep that stuff a secret.
Howard changed subjects and asked JJ about his life. He said that it appears that JJ has a crush on Keri Russel because he cast her in ''Felicity'' and even put her in this new ''Mission Impossible'' movie. He asked her if he would like to make love to her. JJ said that this was unbelievable and he's married. Howard asked him if he ever beat off to her image. JJ repeated the unbelievable line and asked Howard if he's ever beat off to Robin. Gary said that he has. Howard also said that he beat off thinking about many women in his movie.
JJ said that when you work with someone it's a totally different thing and he just doesn't do that stuff. Howard figured he had to have beaten off to Jennifer Garner but he denied ever doing that. Robin asked him if he still masturbates. JJ avoided answering any questions like that but Howard wouldn't stop. He told JJ that he must get tempted with some of the women he casts for his shows. JJ said that it's the greatest job ever to have actors come in and work with him.
Gary wanted to ask a couple of ''Lost'' questions. He asked JJ if he's irritated by the amount of repeats that ABC does. JJ said that does bother him because they show it a couple of times a week sometimes. He said that they do 23-24 episodes a season. Howard wondered if he's spreading himself too thin. JJ said he was able to walk away from both ''Alias'' and ''Lost'' and not worry about them because he had people to cover for him. Howard asked him if he was pissed when Jennifer Garner announced she was pregnant. He said it was inevitable that she was going to get pregnant eventually. He said that he was actually the one who let the cat out of the bag about Jennifer being pregnant when some reporter asked him about it.
Gary said that he has a problem with ''Lost'' and how the hot blonde is interested in the big fat guy. Gary also brought up how that the little elf guy is dating Evangeline Lilly but JJ said he's not talking about stuff like that because he got in so much trouble about the Jennifer Garner pregnancy thing. He said he hates to gossip about stuff.
Howard asked JJ if he's seen any of his hot leading ladies naked before. JJ said he's seen some of them in next to nothing but not naked. The guys also asked JJ about Michelle Rodriguez getting arrested for DUI and if she's going to be written out of the show. JJ said they're not writing her out of the show.
Howard asked JJ about ''Mission Impossible III'' and how that all came about. He asked him if Tom Cruise brought up Scientology when they were hanging out. JJ said that he got a call from Tom when they were shooting the pilot for ''Lost'' and was offered to do ''The War of the Worlds'' at first. He couldn't do it because he was busy with ''Lost'' at the time. He turned that job down but Cruise came back to him for ''Mission Impossible III.'' He said that Tom told him that he had watched every episode of ''Alias'' and wanted to hang out with him. He had a meeting with Cruise and Speilberg and it blew him away. He said it was mind blowing to him to be hanging out with the two of them in his office.
Howard was asking JJ if he met Speilberg's kids when he was hanging out with him. Artie started to do an impression of what his kids might be like and had everyone cracking up. JJ was barely able to speak because he was laughing so hard. JJ said that's the reason he bought SIRIUS, so he could hear stuff like that. JJ was also saying that he did meet Tom's kids but not Steven's kids. He said that Tom's kids were great and they weren't acting the way Artie was doing his impression. Howard asked JJ if he got to go to Tom's house. He did get to go there before the baby was born. He hasn't been since the baby came because it's a mob scene over there now.
Howard told JJ that he's not a ''Mission Impossible'' guy so he's not interested in this new one. He asked him how much they spent making this one. JJ said it was somewhere around $150 million. He said he co-wrote the script and he's thinking it's good. He told Howard that they have a team in this one, unlike the first one. He said he loved the team aspect of the Mission Impossible TV show so that's what he brought back in this movie.
Gary came in and interrupted and said that JJ had to get going, he had a plane to catch. Howard asked him if he's getting points on this movie or not. JJ said he got paid a flat fee but he's very happy with that. Howard wanted to know if he got paid over or under $5 million. JJ said he wasn't comfortable talking about that stuff. Ralph called in and said that this movie will be great because he always starts off good but then blows things. He thinks that he'll screw it up like he screwed up ''Lost.'' He also brought up ''Alias'' and said that he was going to start watching it again until he saw Jennifer Garner walking around with that big belly of hers. He turned it right off once he saw that.
Howard told JJ what a big fan of his he is and then wrapped up with him. He gave him a plug for ''Mission Impossible III'' and then went to break.
Source: MarksFriggin.com - Howard Stern Show News and MarksFriggin.com - Stern Show News - Archive
A shorter recap: http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1146466800
I'm sure J.J. will show up on Howard's TV channel, Howard TV On Demand, on digital cable systems only.
Edit: If you're smart enough you can find the audio somewhere.
