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J. J. Abrams

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

J. J. Abrams
J._J._Abrams_San_Diego_Comic_Con_International_2015.jpg J._J._Abrams_San_Diego_Comic_Con_International_2015.jpg
BornJeffrey Jacob Abrams
1966-06-27
New York City, U.S.
🏳️ NationalityAmerican
🎓 Alma materSarah Lawrence College
💼 Occupation
  • Film director
  • film producer
  • screenwriter
  • composer
📆 Years active  1982-present
👩 Spouse(s)
Katie McGrath (m. 1996)
👶 Children3, including Gracie
👴 👵 Parent(s)

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966)[1] is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as Regarding Henry (1991), Forever Young (1992), Armageddon (1998), Cloverfield (2008), Star Trek (2009), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Abrams' films have grossed over $4 billion worldwide, making him the ninth-highest-grossing film director of all time.

Abrams has created numerous television series, including Felicity (co-creator, 1998–2002), Alias (creator, 2001–2006), Lost (co-creator, 2004–2010), and Fringe (co-creator, 2008–2013). He won two Emmy Awards for Lost – Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series.

Early Life[edit]

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born on June 27, 1966, in New York City, New York to veteran television producer Gerald W. Abrams (born 1939) of Polish-Jewish descent and Carol Ann Abrams (née Kelvin; 1942–2012), a Peabody Award winning television executive producer as well as author and law academic.[2] His sister is the screenwriter Tracy Rosen. His father worked at CBS in Midtown Manhattan the year prior to Abrams' birth. By 1971 the family had relocated to Los Angeles. His mother worked as a real estate agent while Abrams and his sister were at school.[2]

Abrams attended Palisades High School and after graduation planned on going to art school rather than a traditional college but eventually enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York.[3]

Film career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Abrams' first job in the movie business was at age 16 when he wrote the music for Don Dohler's 1982 horror movie Nightbeast. During his senior year at college, he teamed with Jill Mazursky, the daughter of award-winning writer/director Paul Mazursky, to write a feature film treatment.[4][5] Purchased by Touchstone Pictures, the treatment was the basis for Taking Care of Business, Abrams' first produced film, which starred Charles Grodin and James Belushi and was directed by Academy Award winner Arthur Hiller. He followed with Regarding Henry, starring Harrison Ford, and Forever Young, starring Mel Gibson. He also co-wrote with Mazursky the script for the comedy Gone Fishin' starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover.

In 1994, he was part of the "Propellerheads" with Rob Letterman, Loren Soman, and Andy Waisler, a group of Sarah Lawrence alums experimenting with computer animation technology. They were contracted by Jeffrey Katzenberg to develop animation for the film Shrek.[6] Abrams worked on the screenplay for the 1998 film Armageddon with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay. That same year, he made his first foray into television with Felicity, which ran for four seasons on The WB Network, serving as the series' co-creator (with Matt Reeves) and executive producer. He also composed its opening theme music.

2000s[edit]

Abrams at the 2010 Time 100 Gala in Manhattan

Under his production company, Bad Robot, which he founded with Bryan Burk in 2001,[7] Abrams created and executive-produced ABC's Alias and is co-creator (along with Damon Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber) and was executive producer of Lost. As with Felicity, Abrams also composed the opening theme music for Alias and Lost. Abrams directed and wrote the two-part pilot for Lost and remained active producer for the first half of the season. Also in 2001, Abrams co-wrote and produced the horror-thriller Joy Ride.[8] In 2006, he served as executive producer of What About Brian and Six Degrees, also on ABC. He also co-wrote the teleplay for Lost's third-season premiere "A Tale of Two Cities" and the same year, he made his feature directorial debut with Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise. Abrams spoke at the TED conference in 2007.[9][importance?]

2010s[edit]

Abrams speaking at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010

Abrams wrote and directed the Paramount science fiction thriller Super 8, starring Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning, while co-producing with Steven Spielberg and Bryan Burk; it was released on June 10, 2011.[10]

Abrams directed the sequel to Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, released in May 2013.[11] The film was interpreted as a loose remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.[12] Critics generally reacted positively to the film, while Nicholas Meyer, the director of The Wrath of Khan, called it a "gimmick".[13] Abrams was criticized for the film's treatment of classic villain Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). Many felt that much of the character, originally played by Mexican actor Ricardo Montalbán, had been lost, especially his ethnic identity.[lower-alpha 1] Two years after the film's release, Abrams said of the film, "there were certain things I was unsure of. ... Any movie ... has a fundamental conversation happening during it. And [for Into Darkness,] I didn't have it... [The weakness of the plot] was not anyone's fault but mine. ... [The script] was a little bit of a collection of scenes that were written by my friends ... And yet, I found myself frustrated by my choices, and unable to hang my hat on an undeniable thread of the main story. So then I found myself on that movie basically tap-dancing as well as I could to try and make the sequences as entertaining as possible. ... I would never say that I don't think that the movie ended up working. But I feel like it didn't work as well as it could have, had I made some better decisions before we started shooting."[15]

On January 25, 2013, Disney and Lucasfilm introduced Abrams as director and producer of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh entry in the Star Wars film saga,[16] with Bryan Burk and Bad Robot producing the film.[17] Following this news, speculation arose as to Abrams's future with Paramount Pictures, under which he had released all of his previous feature work as a director, and which had a first-look deal with his company, Bad Robot. Paramount vice-chairman Rob Moore stated that Abrams would continue to have a hand in the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises going forward.[18]

2020s[edit]

In September 2019, Abrams and his Bad Robot company signed a $250 million five-year deal with WarnerMedia, including HBO and Warner Bros. Pictures.[19] In April 2020, it was announced that Abrams would be developing three new shows for HBO Max: Duster, Overlook, and Justice League Dark.[20] Since then, the latter two have been scrapped.[21]

Personal Life[edit]

Abrams is married to public relations executive Katie McGrath and has three children.[22][23] His daughter, Gracie Abrams, is a pop singer-songwriter.[24] He resides in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California.[25][26] He is Jewish and his wife is Catholic, and he sometimes takes his children to religious services on Jewish holiday.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Augustyn, Adam. "J.J. Abrams". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Carol Ann Abrams dies, producer, author was mother of J.J. Abrams". Variety. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ J.J. Abrams: On Filmmaking. BAFTA Guru. May 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ "J.J. Abrams". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 25, 2011. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ Natale, Richard (July 2014). "Paul Mazursky, Director of 'Unmarried Woman,' Dies at 84". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  6. ↑ The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks pgs. 55–56
  7. ↑ Warner, Tyrone (May 11, 2010). "J.J. Abrams not worried about writer's block on 'Fringe'". CTV. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2011. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  8. ↑ Neil Daniels Abrams – A Study in Genius: The Unofficial Biography at Google Books
  9. ↑ "J.J. Abrams's mystery box". TED. March 24, 2011. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  10. ↑ Pamela McClintock (May 6, 2010). "Abrams, Spielberg confirmed for 'Super 8'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ "J.J. Abrams Will Direct STAR TREK 2". NextNewMovies. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ "The Wrath of Khan director wasn't impressed by Star Trek Into Darkness". Flickering Myth. November 27, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Wrath of Khan Director Disappointed by Star Trek Into Darkness". Screen Rant. November 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ Blauvelt, Christian (May 18, 2013). "A 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Fan Review: Your 'Star Wars' Prequel Anger Is What I Feel Now". 2. Khan. Hollywood.com. p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  15. ↑ "The Triumphs And Mistakes That Got J.J. Abrams Ready For "Star Wars"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ "It's official: Abrams to direct new 'Star Wars' film". CNN. January 26, 2013. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  17. ↑ "Star Wars Is Being Kick-Started with Dynamite J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars: Episode VII". StarWars.com. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  18. ↑ "J.J. Abrams directing 'Star Wars': What happens to 'Star Trek'?". Los Angeles Times. January 25, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  19. ↑ "J.J. Abrams signs exclusivity deal with WarnerMedia reportedly worth $250 million". theverge. September 12, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  20. ↑ "J.J. Abrams Sets 3 HBO Max Shows: Justice League Dark, 'The Shining' Spinoff, 'Duster'". The Hollywood Reporter. April 16, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  21. ↑ Porter, Rick (February 16, 2023). "'Duster' Series from J.J. Abrams a Go at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named college2
  23. ↑ "EW Gets the Stories Behind Those Goofy TV Production-Company Logos" Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly, December 7, 2001: "The title came to creator J.J. Abrams during a writers' meeting, and he recorded his children, Henry and Gracie (ages 2 and 3), saying the words into his Powerbook's microphone. 'That day in the office while editing,' says Abrams, 'I put together sound effects on my computer, burned a QuickTime movie on a CD, gave it to postproduction, and three days later it was on national television.'"
  24. ↑ "Her famous dad's a fan. So is Phoebe Bridgers. But Gracie Abrams has a voice all her own". Los Angeles Times. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Jj Abrams, Katie McGrath 4th Annual Pink Party to... – Picture 2072721". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  26. ↑ Director J.J. Abrams and wife, actress Katie – Media (3 of 46) Movie Premieres: 'Star Trek,' 'Angels Archived May 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, "Director J.J. Abrams and wife, actress Katie McGrath, parade on the red carpet as they arrives at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for the premiere of the movie 'Star Trek' in Los Angeles on April 30, 2009.


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