JJ Abrams, Michael Bay and Robert Rodriguez teaming up…but for what?

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

A few months ago, JJ Abrams ditched his agent at WME and sparked a lot of controversy when he never signed with a new agency. Could he be going rogue? Why yes, he could. And he did. Abrams teamed with his former WME agent John Fogelman to launch FactoryMade Ventures, a new firm that will develop filmed content for digital, mobile and television. Abrams has already partnered with fellow directors and moguls-in-the-making Michael Bay and Robert Rodriguez for potential projects as part of the new venture.

So what makes FactoryMade any different than Bad Robot? Whereas Bad Robot is just a production company, this new firm will allow Abrams to outright own any property he launches through the company. Imagine if ten years ago Abrams directed a “Lost” short at this FactoryMade company and then decided to spin it off into a TV show. He’d now completely own all rights to “Lost” (where now ABC owns the property).

It all stems from a clause in an old Abrams contract that dictates he takes ownership of any content less than 10 minutes. That’s basically the gist of this new company. And with backing from major corporations like Intel and Telefonica, he’s got the money to allow directors to launch these new properties. Then Abrams and crew could shop the project to a studio who would only get a distribution fee.

There’s no word on what projects, if any, Abrams, Bay and Rodriguez are currently working on but it could be the next big thing or, if he faces significant struggles from Hollywood partners, it could fizzle out quickly. One thing is for sure – Abrams is positioning himself as Spielberg 2.0; a new-fangled media mogul for the internet generation.