J.J. Abrams’ Magic Box

I recently had the displeasure of watching the new X-Men movie (or, actually, the new Wolverine movie).

Bryan Singer, who had made the first couple of X-Men movies, had the brilliant idea of focusing on the characters, the idea being that these mutants were actually people, real people, who were just trying to find their place in the world. His successors, however, disagreed and fucked up an otherwise wonderful franchise with some very un-special effects.

Don’t get me wrong: I love good special effects (and yes, I’m on line for Transformers). But flash should never supplant substance. Story first. Always.

J.J. Abrams talks about this very thing at TED. He talks about, surprisingly, childhood memories at Tannen’s magic shop on 25th street and how a Tannen’s Mystery Box shaped his creative perspective on film-making.

Abrams’ premise is this: with the Tannen’s Box, $15 buys you $50 worth of magic, only you don’t know what is inside. He’s never opened the box, because, presumably, the box itself is magical: it represents infinite possibility. It’s as if Abrams’ is saying, “why open the box when my conception of it is so massive?” Or, more generally: when you wake up in the morning, life is a blank slate — What incredible thing are you going to do — right now — to live up to the value of one entire day of your life?

Abrams’, through his Mystery Box, reveals layered, abstruse intelligence — indicative of his directing style (i.e., using character depth to generate mystery, which generates more depth), and, you know what? I’ve never watched Lost and never cared for Alias, but Mr. J.J. Abrams, my name is James, and I’m your biggest fan.