For film viewers, J.J. Abrams will probably be known as the person who brought back Star Wars, raising it up before smashing it to pieces. For crew, Abrams will be known for working with 1st Assistant Director Tommy Gormley to create the nicest sets to work on. Abrams prepares, and Gormley schedules each day so that there are rarely tough days to come to set. Abrams also exploded the Food Truck craze, proving that a well-fed crew will often be a happy crew. Before Abrams, food trucks paid for by the production would only visit sets on rare occasions, like the final day of filming. Abrams turned it into a contest among the cast and crew to see whose truck would be the best, and soon his sets would have a different food truck every day. Word spread to other sets, where crews would also benefit from a dramatic increase in food trucks serving free food.
Abrams other talent is casting, which could be applied to The Force Awakens, but is also noteworthy with Star Trek. Abrams gets actors either right when they’re about to explode – Oscar Isaac, Benedict Cumberbatch, Elle Fanning – or perfectly suited to the part. Star Trek introduces Chris Pine, makes Zachary Quinto appear like nobody else could play Spock, adds Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Chris Hemsworth, and even Tyler Perry. The film is a hot fudge sundae of a Summer blockbuster, rebooting a dead franchise and creating waves of new fans while also pleasing legions of die hards. In a ranking of franchise reboots, I would put this above Casino Royale and right behind Batman Begins.
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