The Rise of J. J. Abrams

Motivational Tip: Reading for pleasure. As a class, discuss what you are reading for pleasure—not because you are assigned to read it but because you want to. When you choose to make reading a regular part of your life, you will find greater levels of satisfaction.

The Rise of J. J. Abrams

J. J. Abrams was born in New York City in 1966. Growing up, Abrams loved mysteries and magic tricks-anything that was unexpected. His favorite movies and television programs were science fiction ones like The Twilight Zone.

When he was 11 or 12, Abrams' grandfather gave him a movie camera called a Super 8. He used the camera to make short movies with his sister and their friends. From then on, Abrams' ambition was to work in Hollywood and make movies and TV shows. He soon got his first opportunity at 16 years old, when he wrote music for a movie called Nightbeast.

In college, Abrams co-wrote and sold a screenplay to a Hollywood production company. He started gaining popularity for his work, and his next two dramas—Regarding Henry and Forever Young—were hit movies. Abrams continued to write and produce screenplays throughout his 20s, the biggest being Armageddon.

But Abrams never lost his passion for the mysterious and wanted to create shows like the ones he enjoyed as a child. His next move was into television in 1998, when he helped create the popular TV series Felicity. Some of his shows became huge hits, like the spy drama Alias and the Emmy-winning mystery thriller Lost. Abrams made his movie directing debut almost a decade later in 2006, with Mission: Impossible III. He then went on to direct science fiction movie Star Trek in 2009. His movie success caught the attention of top filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Together, they created the monster movie Super 8, named for the camera both men experimented with when they were young.

The Super 8 camera has proved to be very influential in Abrams' life, but there is another special gift that has helped Abrams become who he is today. Not long after the camera, Abrams' grandfather gave him a box of magic tricks. Abrams calls it a 'mystery box,' because he never opened it. He says he wants to preserve the mystery, and remind himself to create unexpected stories. To him, the box "represents infinite possibility. It represents hope. It represents potential."

Abrams has even used the box metaphor to describe movie theaters. "What's a bigger mystery box than a movie theater? You go to the theater, you're just so excited to see anything... mystery boxes are everywhere in what I do." The box remains a source of inspiration for Abrams, and he keeps it on a shelf in his office.

At a dinner party in 1994, Abrams met a woman named Katie McGrath and they got married soon after. Today, the couple and their three children live near Los Angeles, California, where Abrams runs his own production company called Bad Robot. He keeps busy, usually working on many projects at once, and is always looking to create more and more mystery boxes.