J . J . Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams , better known simply as J . J . Abrams , is an American writer , producer , and director from New York City , New York . He directed and produced , the eleventh film in the " Trek " franchise released on . He also directed and produced the sequel , , which had its world premiere on 23 April 2013 . On the next sequel , , Abrams worked as producer . Abrams is using his production company , Bad Robot Productions , to develop the in collaboration with the film ' s distributor , Paramount Pictures . His production partners on the films are Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk . " Star Trek " was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , who have written for Abrams several times in the past . Abrams signed on as director of the first film in . In 2010 , the Producers Guild of America nominated Abrams and Damon Lindelof for the Darryl F . Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures for " Star Trek " . In addition , Abrams won Best Director at the 2009 Spike Scream Award s . In Abrams has been nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Director for his work on " Star Trek " . The film received five more nominations . Personal . Abrams is the son of Gerald W . Abrams and Carol Abrams , both television and film producers . Abrams Sr . was a friend of writer / director Nicholas Meyer . After being raised in Los Angeles , California , Abrams attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville , New York , from which he graduated in 1988 . Abrams married Katie McGrath in 1996 . The couple have had three children together : Henry , born 1998 ; Gracie , born 1999 ; and August , born 2006 . Abrams and McGrath are partners of charity co - founded by Eric Greitens , which benefits post - 9 / 11 veterans . Career . Abrams ' first foray into films was the 1982 science fiction / horror movie " Nightbeast " , for which he was a composer and sound effects editor . The first film he wrote was 1990 ' s " Taking Care of Business " , which featured performers Gates McFadden and John de Lancie in supporting roles . He next co - wrote 1992 ' s " Forever Young " which co - starred J . D . Cullum , Eric Pierpoint , Richard Ryder , and Nicolas Surovy . Abrams acquired his claim to fame and a huge fan base as the creator of the popular television shows " Felicity " and " Alias " . He also served as executive producer on both of these series . " Star Trek " writers Orci and Kurtzman worked with Abrams on " Alias " . Abrams and fellow " Star Trek " producer Damon Lindelof later became two of the creators and executive producers of the acclaimed , hit ABC television series " Lost " , which stars Terry O ' Quinn , Daniel Dae Kim , and Sam Anderson . He has also written for a number of popular big screen features , including 1998 ' s " Armageddon " co - starring Jeff Austin , Brian Brophy , Jim Fitzpatrick , Googy Gress , Anthony Guidera , John Mahon , J . Patrick McCormack , Marshall Teague , and Lawrence Tierney in his final film role and 2001 ' s " Joy Ride " with Jim Beaver , the latter of which he produced through his newly formed Bad Robot Productions . Other films he wrote include " Gone Fishin " ( featuring Louise Fletcher ) . Abrams directed and co - wrote ( with Kurtzman and Orci ) 2006 ' s " Mission : Impossible III " for Paramount Pictures . Following the release of this film , Abrams signed a five - year contract with Paramount , of which the next " Trek " films are part . He has also signed a six - year contract with Warner Bros . ; both contracts together are worth more than $ 55 million . Tracy Middendorf and Simon Pegg were among the actors Abrams cast in " Mission : Impossible III " ; he later cast Pegg as in " Star Trek " . In addition to " Star Trek " , Abrams produced the hit film " Cloverfield " with " Trek " executive producer Bryan Burk . This film , in which a giant creature attacks New York City , was released in January 2008 . In that film were Margot Farley , Scott Lawrence , Pasha Lychnikoff , and Kelvin Yu . All of those actors were then cast by Abrams for " Star Trek " or " Into Darkness " . It has also been reported that Abrams is attached to direct an adaptation of book series " The Dark Tower " . In October 2007 , it was announced that a pilot for a one - hour comic drama developed by Abrams has been purchased by ABC . The show , called " Boundaries " ( which he executive produced with Bryan Burk and ) , was the first sale made by Abrams as part of his television deal with Warner Bros . Shortly thereafter , it was announced that Abrams had made his first network series sale for Warner Bros . , a science fiction / horror series called " Fringe " , which was subsequently purchased by Fox . Abrams received executive producer credit on the show , along with " Star Trek " executive producers Bryan Burk , Alex Kurtzman , and Roberto Orci . " Fringe " premiered on the Fox network in September 2008 and ended in 2013 after five seasons and a recurring role by Leonard Nimoy . Abrams has created a spy series entitled " Undercovers " , which has been picked up by NBC for a fall 2010 premiere . His next film project was " Super 8 " , which he wrote and direct . He also produced " Super 8 " with acclaimed filmmaker , co - starring Jack Axelrod , Jason Brooks , Michael Giacchino , Bruce Greenwood , Tim Griffin , Greg Grunberg and Marco Sanchez . In addition , Abrams returned to the " Mission : Impossible " franchise as a producer on the fourth film " Ghost Protocol " with Simon Pegg . In September 2011 , it was revealed Abrams had officially agreed to direct the " Star Trek " sequel . Following the cancellation of Abrams ' television series " Undercovers " in 2011 , " Alcatraz " in 2012 , and " Fringe " in 2013 , he worked as executive producer on the action series " Person of Interest " ( 2011 - 2014 ) and the adventure series " Revolution " ( 2012 - 2014 , starring Billy Burke ) . On January 24 , 2013 , " Variety " reported that Abrams will be directing and producing the next " Star Wars " film , " Star Wars : Episode VII - The Force Awakens " , set for a release in 2015 . Also announced were an " Untitled Cloverfield Sequel " , the science fiction film " Portal " ( 2016 ) , " Mission : Impossible 5 " ( 2015 ) , and the science fiction film " Half - Life " . Other projects as executive producer include the fantasy series " Believe " ( 2014 ) and the science fiction remake " Westworld " and as producer the thriller " The Cellar " ( 2016 ) and the television mini seires " 11 / 22 / 63 " . Awards and honors . Abrams was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for his work on the pilot of " Alias " . Additionally , he and the producers of " Alias " shared a Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television from the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards . Abrams and the other producers of " Lost " ( including Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk ) received one of television ' s highest honors when their show won the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series . Abrams and the producers of " Lost " also won the 2005 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series and were nominated for a second WGA Award . In addition , they shared a Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic from the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards , received a second nomination from the PGA , and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts TV Award nomination . His direction of " Lost " s pilot episode won Abrams an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama . He also earned a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for directing the pilot . Abrams shared an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series with co - creators Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber for the pilot episode of " Lost " . In addition , he and composer Michael Giacchino shared two American Society of Composers , Authors and Publishers Awards in the category of Top TV Series for their work on " Lost " . " Entertainment Weekly " has named Abrams the 29th Smartest Person in Hollywood . On 5 November 2012 it was announced that Abrams will be honored with the 2013 Norman Lear Achievement Award by the Producers Guild of America . The award ceremony was held on 26 January 2013 . Involvement with " Star Trek " . Abrams is a fan of both and " Star Trek : The Next Generation " and refers to the franchise as " smart television " . Even though he has not followed the other " Trek " spin - offs as closely , Abrams stated prior to its release that his film will be faithful to established " Trek " canon . When Abrams signed on to produce " Star Trek " in April 2006 , he was also given the option to direct the picture . Abrams , however , declined to accept the director ' s position until the script was complete and he was sure he was the man for the job . Abrams worked with Kurtzman and Orci on the story throughout 2006 and early 2007 and finally signed on to direct on 23 February 2007 . Abrams was convinced to direct the film by his wife , who felt the film had strong female characters , and by acclaimed director Steven Spielberg , who was impressed by the script . Of his imminent involvement with " Star Trek " , Abrams stated : Appearing at San Diego ' s Comic - Con International with the writers and producers of " Star Trek " on 26 July 2007 , Abrams admitted that , although he loves " Star Trek " , he was more interested in " Star Wars " while growing up and his favorite television series was " The Twilight Zone . " He also stated that , after reading the script for the new " Trek " film , he would have been jealous if anyone else directed it . He then gave the first official casting news for the new " Star Trek " film , announcing that Zachary Quinto had been cast to play young and that Leonard Nimoy would be coming out of retirement to portray the older Spock , which was met with much enthusiasm . When describing his and his team ' s involvement with " Star Trek " at Comic - Con , Abrams stated : In addition to Orci , Kurtzman , Lindelof and Burk , many other people working on " Star Trek " have worked with Abrams in the past . These include cinematographer Dan Mindel , production designer Scott Chambliss , composer Michael Giacchino , editor Maryann Brandon , casting director April Webster , executive producer and unit production manager Stratton Leopold , previz supervisor David Dozoretz , and actors John Cho , Rachel Nichols , Simon Pegg , and Zoë Saldana . " Star Trek " started shooting on , and wrapped on . In addition to directing and producing " Star Trek " , Abrams also wrote and performed two pieces of music heard in the film : " Awasoruk Jam " , which was played in the Shipyard Bar ( " Awasoruk " is spelled backwards ) , and " Josh Greenstein " , played in the scene with and and named after the head of Paramount ' s marketing department . He was credited as " Cyrano Jones " for both songs . He also voiced the Iowa Cop , portrayed by stuntman Jeremy Fitzgerald , who stops a young James T . Kirk after he crashes the Corvette . ( " Star Trek " DVD commentary ) A sequel was announced as being in development on , with Abrams returning to produce . Abrams chose to direct the 2011 film " Super 8 " : following its release , it was announced he would direct the " Star Trek " sequel , which began filming in January 2012 . He was nominated for a 2014 Saturn Award as Best Director . For " Star Trek Into Darkness " , Abrams co - wrote the songs " The Growl " and " The Rage That ' s In Us All " . It has been reported that Abrams and Bad Robot will continue producing the " Star Trek " films after he chose to direct " Star Wars : Episode VII " in January 2013 .