J.J. Abrams' new movie Star Trek, which is released in the UK today, is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year so far as it does battle to be number one at the summer box office.
Working in the media industry seemed destined for Abrams, real name Jeffrey Jacob Abrams for anyone who is interested, with his father being a television producer and his moth an executive.
And at the age of sixteen he began to follow in their footsteps as he wrote the music for film Nightbeast, directed by cult filmmaker Don Dohler.
But it wasn't long before he had moved into writing and an early draft, which eventually became Taking Care of Business, was snapped up by Touchstone Pictures and went on to star Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin.
Regarding Henry, which starred Harrison Ford, was next before he went on to write and producer Forever Young with Mel Gibson.
By 1998 he was juggling movies with television as he co-creator, writer, executive producer and director on Felicity, which revolved around the college experiences of the title character.
Starring Keri Russell the show ran for four seasons between 1998 - 2002 and was a Golden Globe winning show.
When Abrams kicked off the series he was also working with Jerry Bruckheimer on blockbuster Armageddon penning the script.
In 2001 he was back with television as he brought another new show, in the form of Alias, to the small screen taking on writer, executive producer, director roles.
But 2006 was a huge year for the filmmaker as he directed his first movie Mission Impossible III, which saw Tom Cruise reprise the role of Ethan Hunt. The film was a massive hit grossing over $397 million at the global box office.
He would leave movies behind for two years and for very good reason as he was busy with television show Lost, which he launched in 2004.
The drama focuses on the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, the show is in it's fifth season. Lost has been a major critical and viewing success and has collected a string of awards including Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Baftas.
Away from Lost and Abrams' mysterious 2008 project was gaining momentum as a viral campaign was used to market the film.
Producer on the film Cloverfield followed five young New Yorkers who are attending a leaving party on the night a monster attacks and destroys the city.
Made on a budget of $25 million the film was a hit grossing over $170 million, making it one of the first movies of 2008 to break through the $100 million barrier. A sequel is rumoured to be in the pipeline.
But this week he returns to directing duties as he reboots the longstanding and popular sci-fi franchise Star Trek. having cast a string of young, many virtually unknown actors, in the well known role of Kirk, Spock, Scotty and Sulu as the Starship Enterprise sets off on it's maiden voyage.
Morning Glory is the next film in the schedule for Abrams, as producer, starring Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum and Diane Keaton.
Star Trek is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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