Hi everyone and thank you for tuning in to the 26th episode of Awards Chatter,

the Hollywood Reporters Awards Podcast.

I'm the host Scott Feinberg and I am privileged to be joined on this episode by

J.J. Abrams, the man who is really the toast of the town at the moment because the latest movie that

he directed, Star Wars The Force Awakens,

just this week became the highest grossing movie of all time. Not only did it make a lot of

money, but it also received a lot of acclaim to the extent that the

AFI has included it on its list of the 10 Best Movies of the year and

the Broadcast Film Critics Association of which I'm a member chose it as one of its

11 Best picture nominees.

Will the Academy follow suit?

We're going to find out soon enough.

There's less than 24 hours remaining before Oscar nomination ballots are due.

We'll find out who the Academy chose on January 14th,

but in the meantime, it's just a treat either way to talk to

J.J. Abrams.

He's just 49 years old, but it feels like he's been around forever because for over 20 years

he's been turning out great work that people love. First it was on the small

screen with Felicity, alias, and lost. Then it was on the big screen with Mission

Impossible 3, Super 8, Star Trek, and now Star Wars.

There's a reason his admirers include the likes of Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas,

and there's a reason that Star Wars The Force Awakens has done as well as it has.

...