J.J. Abrams says his wife told him to stop using lens flare

Director admits that the technique ruined an emotional scene from 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Even the best filmmakers can develop stylistic crutches, and for J.J. Abrams, lens flare had started to become somewhat of an overused visual signature.

During an interview on Stephen Colbert's chat show, the Star Wars director explained that he managed to kick the habit following a prod from his wife, PR executive Katie McGrath.

"Well, Katie's told me to stop a lot of things," Abrams told Colbert jokingly. "But lens flares, I was like, OK. She was right."

Recalling a particular scene from 2012’s Star Trek Into Darkness that made him realise he needed to stop using the technique, Abrams added: "There was one scene where you literally couldn't see what was going on, and it was a very important, emotional scene. Alice Eve, the actress, was somewhere behind this crazy lens flare, going… and Katie looked at me and said, 'OK, I think this is it.'"

The director has been in especially candid form recently, even pointing out a minor mistake he made while shooting last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.