Trek director reveals he's "more of a Star Wars man"

JJ Abrams made the revelation in an interview with film critic (and massive Trek fan) Tara Brady, for the new issue of Hot Press, in shops tomorrow.

With the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, the new Star Trek movie director was keen to admit that while he's "not a Trek Geek", he is a big science fiction fan, and feels he's made a movie that appeals to everyone.

“The movie is such that even if you’ve never seen Star Trek, you’ll completely get it," he says. "You don’t have to like science-fiction... you just need to like action, adventure, comedy, romance and you’ll like this movie."

Abrams – the name behind successful TV series like Lost, Alias and Fringe – took on the challenge of saving the ailing Trek franchise (the last movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, grossed an all-time low) because he admired the vision behind the original series.

"I had set out to make this movie that was all about getting back to Gene Roddenberry‘s great central idea," he tells us, "that if we can put aside our differences, we can literally shoot for the stars... It’s the idea that humans will not only survive but actually thrive and collaborate with other species. The notion of the final frontier in space exploration is so silly and clichéd in so many people’s minds, but when you actually stop to consider it, Star Trek is, whilst a fantasy, our future.”

Abrams also talks politics, admitting that the themes of hope and ambition which formed the backbone of the Obama campaign are reflected in the new movie, “It was only on election night that it hit me. If Obama doesn’t win, then I have really misjudged the mood and made the wrong film entirely... I just feel it would have been a flop under President Mc Cain,” he says.

Read the full interview – where Abrams talks about the making of Star Trek, and tells us what he thinks of Lost since he's given up writing and directing duties – in the new Hot Press, in shops from tomorrow, Thursday April 23.