An inventive screenwriter and producer who got his start in showbiz co-writing his first produced script while still in his early 20s, J.J. Abrams would go on to create memorable, star-making series with loyal followings ("Felicity"), cult appeal ("Alias") and massive ratings ("Lost") before debuting as a feature film director of big-budget action extravaganzas.
The son of prolific TV-movie producer Gerald Abrams, the New York-born and Los Angeles-bred Jeffrey dropped out of college to pursue screenwriting in the late 1980s. With Jill Mazursky, he wrote the screenplay for the comedy "Taking Care of Business" (1990, produced by Jill's father Paul Mazursky), a Jim Belushi vehicle about a stolen Filofax met with mixed reviews.
Abrams' next solo film was Mike Nichols' "Regarding Henry" (1991), in which the writer also played a bit role. and served as a co-producer. This Harrison Ford vehicle, in which a selfish yuppie lawyer becomes a better person after suffering gunshot-induced amnesia, did fairly good business, but the belabored and unlikely plot drew critical fire. A much bigger hit was the romantic fantasy "Forever Young" (1992), written and executive-produced by Abrams. This one starred Mel Gibson as a pilot frozen during WWII and thawed out by a young boy. Gibson's attempts to reclaim his now-elderly lost love (as well as dealing with new 1990s entanglements) were successfully heartwarming and well-scripted.
Abrams formed Abrams/Katims/Webster Productions with writer Jason Katims and producer Paul Webster. In 1996 the company produced the romantic comedy "The Pallbearer", which got much press for being the first post-"Friends" feature of actor David Schwimmer. Abrams' script combined wacky dark humor with an effective light comedy touch and the project was helmed by his long-time friend Matt Reeves. "Gone Fishin'" (1997), written by Abrams and produced by his ex-partner Jill Mazursky-Cody opened to dismal reviews but he fared slightly better as co-writer of the romantic comedy "Picture Perfect" (1997) starring another "Friends" cast member Jennifer Aniston. Now billing himself as J.J. Abrams, he was one of two writers who received screen credit for the script of the summer hit "Armageddon" (1998). He and childhood buddy Matt Reeves segued to the small screen as co-creators and executive producers of the highly-touted The WB series "Felicity" (1998-2002), which centered on the trials and tribulations of a college student in NYC.
In between television series, Abrams penned the script for “Joy Ride” (2001), a revenge thriller about two brothers (Steve Zahn and Paul Walker) on a road trip who, after playing a practical joke, are hunted down by a mentally deranged trucker. While finding middling success in feature films, Abrams sought the big time on the small screen. But instead of doing another sweet and charming show like “Felicity,” Abrams hungered for something full of action and bad guys. The result was his second series creation, “Alias” (ABC, 2001-2006), an action drama about a young woman (Jennifer Garner) who works as a double agent for the CIA trying to subvert a counter-government agency called SD-6. The show became a hit, turning Garner into an award-winning star and Abrams into the hit maker du jour (though ratings would be challenged throughout the series run due to frequent timeslot shifts as well as Garner's burgeoning film career).
His next series, the action-adventure phenomenon “Lost” (ABC, 2004- ), prompted calls from colleagues and critics that Abrams had the Midas Touch—a characterization he eschewed for fear of losing his talent. It all started when Abrams was approached by then-chairman of ABC, Lloyd Braun, with the idea of putting on a show about a group of people stranded on an island after a plane crash. At first, Abrams felt the idea was not right for a series, but later convinced Braun that the island “[couldn’t] be a normal island.” Braun agreed and gave him a week to come up with something. Abrams started work on a Monday, handed in an outline by Friday and had a green-lit show on Saturday. With $12 million and 12 weeks to prep and shoot a pilot—no easy task—Abrams cobbled together the necessary elements—cast, crew, script—and began work. The show received three times the audience expected, as the floundering network had a hit and Abrams cemented his reputation as TV’s golden boy.
Over the course of its initial season, “Lost” kept viewers guessing from week to week with thrilling puzzles, duplicitous characters and random events seemingly disconnected from the overall story—the 48 survivors of the plane crash landed on a strange island indeed. Meanwhile, characters were shown in flashbacks from their former lives, revealing them to be more than what they purported. As the season advanced, the show’s loyal audience stood around the water cooler Thursday mornings guessing what was really happening on the island: Where they all dead? Where they in purgatory? Are they unwitting victims of a government experiment? Where they in outer space? Though a new piece of the puzzle might answer a lingering question, several more would pop up and take its place. Meanwhile, “Lost” drew a large and rabid fan following, and won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series and Directing for a Drama Series.
Abrams then returned to the feature world to write and direct "Mission Impossible: 3" (2006), casting his "Felicity" discovery Keri Russell in her first major movie role, opposite franchise star Tom Cruise. As that film opened, news that Abrams was set to reinvigorate the "Star Trek" film franchise, long-considered dead by Paramount Pictures, sent Trekkie fans over the moon. Already a hit w/ the sci-fi/fantasy geek set, due to "Alias" and "Lost," Abrams could not have been a better choice for ecstatic sci-fi enthusiasts the world over. Details were sketchy, but news that Abrams was an original series Trekkie himself, led to speculation the film would detail the long-mooted concept of Kirk and Spock's youthful adventures at Starfleet Academy.