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J. J. Abrams

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J. J. Abrams



 
 
Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an Emmy
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 and Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in film and television program....
-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film
Film producer

A film producer is someone who creates the conditions for making film. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors....
 and television producer
Television producer

The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking....
, writer, actor, composer, director, and founder of Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions

Bad Robot Productions is a production company owned by J. J. Abrams. It is responsible for the Television program Alias , Lost , What About Brian, Fringe , Six Degrees, and the feature length films Star Trek and Cloverfield ....
.

in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 and raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, he is the son of television producer Gerald W. Abrams
Gerald W. Abrams

Gerald W. Abrams is an American television producer and the father of J. J. Abrams. He graduated from Penn State University.Abrams began his television career in 1965 with WCBS TV as an account executive....
 and executive producer Carol. He attended Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence is a Private school, Independent school, Liberal arts colleges in the United States in the United States. It is located in southern Westchester County, New York, New York, in the city of Yonkers, New York, north of New York, New York....
.

ms' first job in the movie business started when he was 16 when he wrote music for Don Dohler
Don Dohler

Donald Michael Dohler was an United States film director known for making low-budget science fiction and horror films as well as work in underground comix and publishing....
's film Nightbeast
Nightbeast

Nightbeast is a 1982 in film science fiction film/horror film directed by cult film Film director Don Dohler. It is a remake/sequel of sorts to Dohler's first film The Alien Factor....
.






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Encyclopedia


Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an Emmy
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 and Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in film and television program....
-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 film
Film producer

A film producer is someone who creates the conditions for making film. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors....
 and television producer
Television producer

The primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking....
, writer, actor, composer, director, and founder of Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions

Bad Robot Productions is a production company owned by J. J. Abrams. It is responsible for the Television program Alias , Lost , What About Brian, Fringe , Six Degrees, and the feature length films Star Trek and Cloverfield ....
.

Personal life

Born in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 and raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, he is the son of television producer Gerald W. Abrams
Gerald W. Abrams

Gerald W. Abrams is an American television producer and the father of J. J. Abrams. He graduated from Penn State University.Abrams began his television career in 1965 with WCBS TV as an account executive....
 and executive producer Carol. He attended Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence is a Private school, Independent school, Liberal arts colleges in the United States in the United States. It is located in southern Westchester County, New York, New York, in the city of Yonkers, New York, north of New York, New York....
.

Career

Abrams' first job in the movie business started when he was 16 when he wrote music for Don Dohler
Don Dohler

Donald Michael Dohler was an United States film director known for making low-budget science fiction and horror films as well as work in underground comix and publishing....
's film Nightbeast
Nightbeast

Nightbeast is a 1982 in film science fiction film/horror film directed by cult film Film director Don Dohler. It is a remake/sequel of sorts to Dohler's first film The Alien Factor....
. During his senior year at college, he teamed with a friend to write a feature film treatment
Film treatment

A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture. It is generally longer and more detailed than an Outline#Outlining_stories and shorter and less detailed than a step outline, but it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits....
. Purchased by Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is one of several alternate film labels of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1984. Its releases typically feature more mature themes than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner....
, the treatment was the basis for Taking Care of Business
Taking Care of Business

Taking Care of Business was a film made in 1990 in film starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin. It was directed by Arthur Hiller.Taking Care of Business, or Filofax, as it was released in the United Kingdom, tells the story of convict and Chicago Cubs fan Jimmy Dworski ....
, Abrams' first produced film, which starred Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin

Charles Grodin is an United States actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host....
 and Jim Belushi
James Belushi

James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an United States actor, comedian and musician, best known for being the younger brother of late comedian John Belushi....
. He followed that up with Regarding Henry
Regarding Henry

Regarding Henry is a 1991 in film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Harrison Ford and Annette Bening. The screenplay was written by J. J. Abrams....
, starring Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an United Statesn actor. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, and as the Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones franchise#Films film series....
, and Forever Young
Forever Young (film)

Forever Young is a 1992 in film film, directed by Steve Miner, starring Mel Gibson, Elijah Wood and Jamie Lee Curtis. The screenplay was written by J.J....
, starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Officer of the Order of Australia is an Australian-American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter....
.

Abrams then collaborated with producer Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerome Leon Bruckheimer , better known by his professional name Jerry Bruckheimer, is an United States film producer and television producer....
 and director Michael Bay
Michael Bay

Michael Benjamin Bay is an United States film director and film producer. Bay is best known for making large-budget action films, such as Transformers , Armageddon , The Rock , Pearl Harbor , Bad Boys , Bad Boys II and the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen....
 on the summer 1998 blockbuster, Armageddon. In 2001 he co-wrote and produced the film Joy Ride. In 1998 he made his first foray into television with Felicity
Felicity

Felicity was a Golden Globe-winning United States primetime television series drama produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB network....
, which ran for four seasons on The WB Network, serving as the show's co-creator (with Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves

Matthew George Reeves is an American screenwriter, film director and film producer....
) and executive producer. Under his production company, Bad Robot, Abrams created and executive-produced ABC's Alias
Alias (TV series)

Alias is an United States action movie Television program created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006....
 and is co-creator (with Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof

Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the hit television series Lost ....
) and executive producer of Lost
Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American Serial television program. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial Oceanic Flight 815 flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the Oceania....
. He also served as executive producer of What About Brian
What About Brian

What About Brian was an United States dramatic television series created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot Productions....
 and Six Degrees
Six Degrees

'Six Degrees' was a short-lived United States dramatic television series about six residents of New York City and their respective relationships and connections with one another, based on the idea of six degrees of separation....
, also on ABC. His work in Sci Fi has earned him recognition by TV Week as one of the most important creators in the genre today.

Abrams contributed in the writing process in Superman Flyby. He made his feature directorial debut in 2006 with Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III

Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 in film action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of an agent of Impossible Mission Force, an unofficial branch of the CIA likely modelled after their elite Special Activities Division, agent Ethan Hunt....
, starring Tom Cruise. He is also directing the upcoming 11th Star Trek movie. Abrams is also the producer of the 2008 monster movie
Monster Movie

Monster Movie is the debut album by Can . Some copies of the LP bore the subtitle "Made in a castle with better equipment". Upon its release in 1969, the album became very influential in the development of Krautrock....
, Cloverfield
Cloverfield

Cloverfield is a 2008 in film monster movie directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.Before the film's release Paramount Pictures carried out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film....
. His partnership with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof is set to grow with the duo producing Star Trek together and also writing and producing an adaptation of Stephen King
Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an United States author of contemporary horror fiction, fantasy fiction and science fiction.Having sold an estimated List of bestselling fiction authors of his books, King is best known for his work in horror fiction, in which he demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the genre's history....
's The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)

The Dark Tower is a heptalogy written by American author Stephen King between 1970 and 2004. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror fiction and Western fiction elements....
 series of novels.

In addition to writing and directing, he composed the theme music for Alias, the opening theme for Lost and co-wrote both theme songs for Felicity
Felicity

Felicity was a Golden Globe-winning United States primetime television series drama produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB network....
 and Fringe
Fringe (TV series)

Fringe is a science fiction television series co-created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows an FBI Fringe Division team based in Boston, Massachusetts....
.

Abrams signed deals with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world's largest film producer of film and television.It is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York City....
 for new television shows and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production company and distribution company, located on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California....
 for new films worth around $50 million.

It has been reported that Abrams will direct a "dark, children's film" entitled Mystery On Fifth Avenue.

Frequent casting


Abrams often casts certain actors more than once in his projects. Keri Russell
Keri Russell

Keri Lynn Russell is an American actor and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the hit series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe Award....
, Amanda Foreman
Amanda Foreman (actress)

Amanda Foreman is an United States actress who became a regular on the college drama series Felicity . She is the younger sister of Julie Foreman, an actress....
, Greg Grunberg
Greg Grunberg

Gregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an United States television actor. He is currently starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes , ongoing since 2006....
, and Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner

'Jennifer Anne Garner Affleck' is an United States actor. She is best known for her role as CIA agent Sydney Bristow on TV's Alias , as well as for her roles in the films Juno , Pearl Harbor , Dude, Where's My Car?, 13 Going on 30, Catch Me if You Can, Daredevil , Elektra , Catch and Release , and The King...
 are amongst his most frequent of collaborators.
Actor Gone Fishin'
Gone Fishin' (film)

Gone Fishin' is a 1997 comedy film starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover as two bumbling fishing enthusiasts. Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, and Willie Nelson co-star....
 (1997)
Felicity
Felicity

Felicity was a Golden Globe-winning United States primetime television series drama produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB network....
(1998)
Alias
Alias (TV series)

Alias is an United States action movie Television program created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006....
(2001)
Lost
Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American Serial television program. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial Oceanic Flight 815 flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the Oceania....
(2004)
What About Brian
What About Brian

What About Brian was an United States dramatic television series created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot Productions....
(2006)
Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III

Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 in film action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of an agent of Impossible Mission Force, an unofficial branch of the CIA likely modelled after their elite Special Activities Division, agent Ethan Hunt....
(2006)
Fringe
Fringe (TV series)

Fringe is a science fiction television series co-created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows an FBI Fringe Division team based in Boston, Massachusetts....
(2008)
Star Trek (2009)
Keri Russell
Keri Russell

Keri Lynn Russell is an American actor and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the hit series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe Award....
 
Amanda Foreman
Amanda Foreman (actress)

Amanda Foreman is an United States actress who became a regular on the college drama series Felicity . She is the younger sister of Julie Foreman, an actress....
 
Greg Grunberg
Greg Grunberg

Gregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an United States television actor. He is currently starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes , ongoing since 2006....
 
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner

'Jennifer Anne Garner Affleck' is an United States actor. She is best known for her role as CIA agent Sydney Bristow on TV's Alias , as well as for her roles in the films Juno , Pearl Harbor , Dude, Where's My Car?, 13 Going on 30, Catch Me if You Can, Daredevil , Elektra , Catch and Release , and The King...
 
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn

Terrance "Terry" O'Quinn is an Emmy Award-winning United States actor. He made his debut in a 1980 TV Movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year, since then O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and tv movies such as All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet, Places in the Heart and Between Two Women....
 
Ian Gomez
Ian Gomez

Ian Gomez is an American actor, perhaps best known for his recurring TV roles, most of which are comedies....
 
John Cho
John Cho

John Yohan Cho is an United States actor and musician of Korean descent, best known for his roles in the American Pie films and the Harold & Kumar films ....
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg

Simon Pegg is an award-winning England actor, comedian, writer, film producer and film director. He is best known for his starring roles in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run, Fatboy, Run, and for the comedy series Spaced....
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Arquette

Rosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and film producer....
 
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick

Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor, born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Desmond Mobay/Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the Lost and Lost of Lost ....
 


Filmography

  • Taking Care of Business
    Taking Care of Business

    Taking Care of Business was a film made in 1990 in film starring James Belushi and Charles Grodin. It was directed by Arthur Hiller.Taking Care of Business, or Filofax, as it was released in the United Kingdom, tells the story of convict and Chicago Cubs fan Jimmy Dworski ....
    (1990), writer
  • Regarding Henry
    Regarding Henry

    Regarding Henry is a 1991 in film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Harrison Ford and Annette Bening. The screenplay was written by J. J. Abrams....
    (1991), writer
  • Forever Young
    Forever Young (film)

    Forever Young is a 1992 in film film, directed by Steve Miner, starring Mel Gibson, Elijah Wood and Jamie Lee Curtis. The screenplay was written by J.J....
    (1992), writer
  • Gone Fishin'
    Gone Fishin' (film)

    Gone Fishin' is a 1997 comedy film starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover as two bumbling fishing enthusiasts. Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, and Willie Nelson co-star....
    (1997), co-writer
  • Armageddon (1998), writer
  • The Suburbans
    The Suburbans

    The Suburbans is a 1999 drama that satirizes the 1980s revival hype around the turn of the century. It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Donal Lardner Ward, who also co-wrote and directed the movie....
    (1999), producer
  • Joy Ride
    Joy Ride (film)

    Joy Ride, also known as Roadkill, is a 2001 in film horror film/thriller film/suspense film road movie. The film was written by J.J....
    (2001), writer, producer
  • Mission: Impossible III
    Mission: Impossible III

    Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 in film action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of an agent of Impossible Mission Force, an unofficial branch of the CIA likely modelled after their elite Special Activities Division, agent Ethan Hunt....
    (2006), director, co-writer
  • Cloverfield
    Cloverfield

    Cloverfield is a 2008 in film monster movie directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.Before the film's release Paramount Pictures carried out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film....
    (2008), producer
  • Star Trek (2009), director, producer
  • Cloverfield 2 (TBA), producer
  • The Dark Tower (TBA), co-writer, producer
  • Untitled Hunter Scott Project (TBA), director


Television

  • Felicity
    Felicity

    Felicity was a Golden Globe-winning United States primetime television series drama produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB network....
    (1998-2002), co-creator, writer, executive producer, director
  • Alias
    Alias (TV series)

    Alias is an United States action movie Television program created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006....
    (2001-2006), creator, writer, executive producer, director
  • Lost
    Lost (TV series)

    Lost is an American Serial television program. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial Oceanic Flight 815 flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the Oceania....
    (2004-present), co-creator, writer, executive producer, director
  • What About Brian
    What About Brian

    What About Brian was an United States dramatic television series created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot Productions....
    (2006-2007), executive producer
  • Six Degrees
    Six Degrees

    'Six Degrees' was a short-lived United States dramatic television series about six residents of New York City and their respective relationships and connections with one another, based on the idea of six degrees of separation....
    (2006-2007), executive producer
  • The Office (US) (2007), guest director
  • Fringe
    Fringe (TV series)

    Fringe is a science fiction television series co-created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows an FBI Fringe Division team based in Boston, Massachusetts....
    (2008-present), co-creator, writer, executive producer
  • Anatomy of Hope (2009) director & executive producer


Awards

  • 2002 Emmy Award
    Emmy Award

    The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
     Nomination, Outstanding Writing for A Drama Series (
    Alias)
  • 2005 Emmy Award Winner, Outstanding Drama Series (Lost)
  • 2005 Emmy Award Winner, Outstanding Directing for A Drama Series (Lost)
  • 2005 Emmy Award Nomination, Outstanding Writing for A Drama Series (Lost)
  • 2006 Golden Globe Award Winner, Best Television Series — Drama (Lost)
  • 2007 Golden Globe Award Nomination, Best Television Series — Drama (Lost)


External links