Star Wars 7 Force Awakens: J.J. Abrams Nearly Done

Despite Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening in less than a month, director J.J. Abrams is still making final tweaks on the film's mixes. He revealed as much during a recent fundraiser for New Jersey's Montclair Film Festival in which he participated in a Q&A alongside Stephen Colbert. While some of the evening was spent reminiscing about their careers and the unexpected places they crossed paths, the conversation invariably turned to Star Wars.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker, and opens December 18th. See what Abrams had to say about the massive project below.

star-wars-the-force-awakens-john-boyega-j-j-abrams — Image via Lucasfilm

As Variety reports, Abrams confirmed that he's just about done with the final mixes of the film, which is good considering it opens in a few weeks:

“We were working on the final mixes at 2:30 this morning,” the helmer said. “I left with six very small, but important things that (still) need to be done because I said, ‘I have to get to the Montclair Film Festival.'”

During the Q&A, a fan asked if he was ready to just be done with the whole thing. Abrams was very candid about how he felt upon finishing Star Wars: The Force Awakens:

“I wish you could zip line down here and hug me,” Abrams said to the fan. “The truth is working on this movie for nearly three years, it has been like living with the greatest roommate in history for too long. It’s time for him to get his own place. It’s been great and I can’t tell you how much I want him to get out into the world and meet other people because we know each other really well. But really, ‘Star Wars’ is bigger than all of us. So I’m thrilled beyond words (to be involved) and terrified more than I can say.”

star-wars-the-force-awakens-j-j-abrams-daisy-ridley — Image via Lucasfilm

One reason that Star Wars has become so big is its captivating mythology, specifically around the mysterious use of The Force. Here's Abrams' thought on The Force:

“It is such a powerful idea. It’s a religion without a god. It’s a nondenominational, powerful idea that was very important to us, in this film, to bring back.”

/Film had a few more specifics from the event and Abrams regarding his infamous penchant for lens flares. Though they were present in the movie's trailer, Abrams is well aware that he has a habit of overdoing it:

“I’ve kind of pulled back. As you’ll see in the Star Wars movie, I’ve allowed lens flares to take a very backseat,” he said. “We’re making sure that it looks photorealistic and photoreal, but every time there could be a flare — because you know, I like to do that a lot — I would say ‘These are not the flares you’re looking for.'”

Getting away from the new installment for a fun question about his favorite Star Wars character, Abrams picked Kardue’sai’Malloc, an obscure alien that you probably wouldn't know by name (Abrams didn't, a fan in the audience provided it for him). He explained why below:

The first thing that comes to my mind, and I don’t know his name but I’m sure he’s got a novel written about him, was in the cantina, that guy who smiled. This guy with this amazing face, and I remember as a kid seeing it, and just being like, holy crap. It wasn’t just that it was cool-looking, but it was that little thing that was representative of what George Lucas was doing everywhere you looked … They were characters that told you there was life and character and drama happening beyond the borders of what you were seeing, and it was an inspiring, inspiring thing.

Be sure to head over to /Film for more from Abrams and Colbert, including just which J.R.R. Tolkien film adaptation they'd like to work on together.