It's not every day you get to sit down with the man you consider the most genius televisionary ever to grace the face of the planet. But such was my luck this week, as I met for an exclusive one-on-one with JJ Abrams to talk about the release of his first movie, Mission: Impossible III and, of course, the show that many of us live and die for, ABC's Lost. I should warn you, the first item on the agenda could prove to be a wee bit spoilery, so if you don't want to know, skip down to the Spoiler Free Zone.
I should also warn you that JJ and I go way back—not Greg Grunberg grade-school back but back to the days of the tiny Culver City shack where he shot Felicity, which (hopefully) explains our ridiculously informal banter. P.S.: I'm not gonna lie to you. The fact that he was wearing a faded black T-shirt that read Dean & DeLuca (where Felicity worked), actually made me choke up a little.
JJ had some great things to say about working with Tom Cruise and what he thinks of our newly redesigned E! Online, which you can hear all about in the video clip on this page. Just click on Play Video Now.
So, first things first. We need to talk about Lost. If you don't mind.
No, I'd be happy to, but is this about Mission Monday?
What's Mission Monday?
What's Mission Monday?!
Oh, you mean that huge sign over your shoulder that says, "Mission Impossible III DVD Comes Out Mission Monday, Oct. 30?" That Mission Monday?
Yes, Kristin, that Mission Monday. But go ahead. You were asking about Lost.
Sorry. I just want to get one thing straight with you. There are rumors that there might be some kind of death very soon. Maybe even this week. And I just want to remind you that when I last interviewed you in May, I warned you if you killed off Locke or Eko, I would call you some really nasty names.
Right. I remember.
Well, I want you to know, I am sticking to that.
I'm being threatened during this interview. This is great.
Aren't you so glad you came here today?
No, I'm thrilled. When you walked in, I was really happy. Things change so quickly. So, was there a question in there, or was it just simply a threat?
Just a threat.
Okay, cool. All right. [Laughs.]
But I guess I'll follow with a question. Is there anything you want to say about the possibility of a death on this week's Lost?
Well...I think the episode coming up—this Wednesday at 9 p.m. on ABC—I honestly think is incredibly cool. I don't want to ruin what happens, like you might want to, Kristin, but I will tell you it is good. And by the way, sticks and stones, Kristin. Let's be honest. I mean, please.
Really? There's no name nasty enough that could actually hurt you at this point?
Listen, if you are going to Barbara Walters me, I'm going to cry right now. And that would be so humiliating. I've got kids. I don't want them to see that.
Okay, JJ. For the sake of the children, we'll move on. Mission Monday.
Yes.
[OKAY, YOU'VE REACHED THE SPOILER-FREE ZONE!]
Your first movie, Mission: Impossible III, which I saw and I loved, mind you...
You're trying to suck up now.
Yes, but I really did love it! Mission: Impossible III is out on DVD. And I'm assuming, knowing what you did with the latest Lost DVD, that there are some very cool extras.
Kristin, there are so many extras. It is chock-full of extras. In fact, some of the same people who were behind the Lost and Alias DVDs were behind the Mission III DVD.
What's your favorite extra?
Well, for me, the fun thing is always how they do the special effects, how they pull off the magic trick of it. Some of the stunts Tom did were insane, and while he might have had a wire on for some here and there, they were still insane. And for me, I get a special pleasure in watching, like, a video scrapbook of the experience of making those scenes.
Looking back on the M:I:3 experience, obviously there was such a media blitz at the time over Tom and Katie. How was that experience for you?
The truth is, people have said, "God, was it really distracting when you were doing the movie?" And I was so focused on the movie that I knew stuff was going on, but I just couldn't let myself get distracted. I needed to do the job at hand. It's like growing up one of 12 kids. People are like, "Oh, my God, was that crazy?" And you're like, "It's all I knew." I'd never done a movie before, so I can't compare it to another experience. It was fun.
Have you gotten a wedding invitation?
Ever? Yes, of course. I've gotten some wedding invitations, and I've sent some out in my life, too.
Wow. You heard it here first, people. JJ Abrams has receieved and sent out wedding invitations. Okay, so you worked with Tom on Mission and also his cousin, William Mapother, on Lost. Is that just a coincidence?
The weirdest coincidence is both were named Ethan.
Weird! You're right!
I can't believe you didn't put that together, Kristin. Oh, my God.
Was that in their contracts?
Yeah, William was like, "I'm not going to do this unless I, too, am Ethan." I'm like, "All right." No, I wanted to cast William without even knowing he was Tom's cousin. I was like "that guy from In the Bedroom." And after our casting people got him, they're like, "You know he is Tom Cruise's cousin, right?" That was before I even met Tom.
It seems like you are very loyal to people you have worked with before. Obviously, Keri Russell in M:I:3, whom we all loved on Felicity.
She is the greatest. I love her.
And Ian Gomez from Felicity just showed up on Lost.
How great is that? Isn't that fun?
So, it seems when you find people you like, you like to keep working with them.
But don't you find that if it works, and you're having a good time, it's like, all you wanna do is keep doing it? I mean, I didn't get to see Ian when he did his Lost. They were shooting in Hawaii, and I was in L.A. But if I'm lucky, I will get to keep working with these people. Amanda Foreman is on What About Brian, along with Amy Jo Johnson. It's kind of fun to have a company of actors who know each other.
Any chance of Tom Cruise guest starring on Lost?
He keeps asking, and I'm like, "Tom, listen, man." [Laughs.] Wouldn't that be funny to have him on? Not distracting at all.
He could be Ethan's cousin.
Yes. Ethan's cousin Ethan.