J. J. Abrams was born in NewYorkCityin 1966. Growing up, Abrams lovedmysteries and magictricks-anything that was unexpected. His favorite movies and television programs were science fictionones 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 Hollywoodand make movies and TVshows. He soon got his 10 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 Hollywoodproduction company. He started gaining popularity for his work, and his next two dramas-Regarding Henry and Forever 15 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 TVseries Felicity. Some of his shows became huge hits, 20 like the spy drama Alias and the Emmy-winningmystery thriller Lost. Abrams made his movie directing debut almost a decade later in 2006, with Mission: Impossible III. He then went on to direct the science fictionmovie 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 25 they were young.
The Super 8 camera has proved to be very influential in Abrams' life, but there is another special gift that has helpedAbrams becomewho he is today.Notlongafter the camera, Abrams' grandfather gave him a box of magictricks. Abrams calls it a "mystery box,"because he never opened it. He says he wants to preserve the mystery, and remind 30 himself to create unexpected stories. Tohim, the box "represents infinitel 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? Yougoto the theater, you're just so excited to see anything ...mystery boxes are everywhere in what I do."The box remains a source of 35 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 LosAngeles, California, where Abrams runs his own production company called Bad Robot.He keeps busy, usually working on many projects at once,and is always lookingto create 40 more and more mystery boxes.
Read the following sentences. Write true (T) or false (F).
1 …F……….Abrams mostly wrote screenplays in his 20s.
2 ………….Abrams compares the movie theater to his Super 8 camera.
3 ………….Steven Spielberg has worked with Abrams since Abrams' television days.
4 ………….Abrams works for his wife's production company, Bad Robot.
5 ………….Abrams likes to work on more than one project at a time.