J.J. Abrams next project is reportedly a tribute to and collaboration with Steven Spielberg. According to the report, the script is a “a tip of the hat to [Spielberg’s] movies of the 70’s and early 80’s.” If the project moves forward, Abrams would direct the film, based on his own script starting early this fall for Paramount Pictures, and wants Spielberg on board as an executive producer or an adviser, since “J.J. wants to make sure Steven is properly paid homage to.”

There are no plot details but NYMag is told “that like Spielberg’s Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T., the project will deal with everyday people whose personal relationships are tested when they are thrown up against extraordinarily fantastic — and possibly other-worldly — events.”