Bad Robot

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Bad Robot
Company typePrivate
Industry
FoundedMay 27, 1999; 24 years ago (1999-05-27)
FoundersBryan Burk
J.J. Abrams
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, United States
Key people
J.J. Abrams (Chairman and Co-CEO)
Katie McGrath (Co-CEO)
Brian Weinstein (President and COO)
DivisionsBad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Interactive
Bad Robot Television
Bad Robot Games
Loud Robot
Websitewww.badrobot.com

Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series Alias, Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, Revolution, and Westworld alongside the feature-length films Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Star Wars Episodes VII and IX, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Star Trek Beyond, The Cloverfield Paradox, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Overlord.

History[edit]

The original Bad Robot Productions logo used from 2001 through 2008.

Bad Robot was originally based at Touchstone Television, but was moved by J.J. Abrams to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television, after his contract with ABC expired in 2006. Bad Robot produced Lost in association with ABC Studios, formerly Touchstone Television. The two companies jointly produced Six Degrees and What About Brian. The deal was first recommended and presented in 1999 as part of a presentation deal, with J.J. Abrams being contracted to Disney.[1] In 2004, Thom Sherman joined Bad Robot Television as president of the studio.[2] The company had developed presentation pitches for ABC and The WB, none of them would eventually got to series.[3]

Abrams is Chairman and Co-Chief executive officer of Bad Robot, and Katie McGrath serves as the Company's Co-Chief executive officer. In June 2017, Bad Robot announced that Brian Weinstein would become President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing daily operations and spearhead the company's growth strategy in its existing businesses, while developing new areas of expansion across the entire Bad Robot platform and pursuing alternative financing options.[4] In May 2015, Ben Stephenson left the BBC where he had been head of drama to helm Bad Robot Television. Lindsey Weber leads Bad Robot's feature film division.

The production logo has appeared since 2001, featuring a red rectangular headed robot running through a meadow silhouetted until it appears suddenly in front of the camera, followed by voices provided by two of Abrams's children, Henry and Gracie Abrams, saying "Bad robot!"[5] Although some fans believe that the name comes from a line in the animated film The Iron Giant, Abrams told Entertainment Weekly that it simply came to him during a writers' meeting.[5]

Santa Monica headquarters

In February 2013, it was announced that Bad Robot would be partnering with the Valve Corporation to produce possibly a Half-Life or Portal film in the distant future.[6] In August 2015, Valve released a new beta game mode to Team Fortress 2, PASS Time, which Bad Robot worked on.[7] On July 7, 2016, the PASS Time game mode became official.[8] Bad Robot released a trailer entitled "Stranger" (otherwise known as S.), rumoured to be Abrams' next film or television project, perhaps even a Lost spin-off, but it was finally explained to be promoting S., Abrams and Doug Dorst's new novel, as a new trailer for S. was released.[citation needed] In February 2017, it was announced Julius Avery is attached to direct a Paramount coproduction, the World War II zombie film Overlord, from screenwriter Billy Ray.[9]

Bad Robot Productions is currently based in Santa Monica, California,[10] in a building which is incorrectly labeled on purpose as the home of the fictional "National Typewriter Company" because Abrams "likes typewriters — and misdirection."[11]

In June 2018, the company announced a spin-off venture formed with the Chinese video game publisher Tencent to launch Bad Robot Games for the development of video games on mobile, computer and consoles, with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment as a minority investor. Bad Robot Games will develop and publish new and existing IPs including titles related to Abrams' works and other Bad Robot Production content, with Tencent holding the rights for distribution in China.

The division was originally helmed by Dave Baronoff, who previously worked on the Cloverfield franchise and was developing Spyjinx as a joint project between Bad Robot Productions and Epic Games (also partially owned by Tencent), while Tim Keenan, who helped develop Duskers, will serve as the creative director.[12]

In 2020, Anna Sweet was brought on as the CEO of Bad Robot Games.[13] Mike Booth also joined in December 2020, managing the company's newly created in-house development studio.[14] By February 2022, he had taken on the role of chief creative officer.[15]

In 2006, Bad Robot teamed up with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television for a $60 million development deal [16] that lasted through 2018.[17]

In late 2018, it was announced that Bad Robot was leaving Paramount and seeking a new overall deal.[18] In January 2019, it was announced that Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros. were the top three studios battling it out for what could be a record breaking overall deal including theme parks, music labels, TV, merchandising, and streaming services as Bad Robot plans on ramping up production significantly in the coming years.[19] It was also announced that Bad Robot would be co-producing a remake of the British series The Wrong Mans for American network Showtime along with BBC Studios, but Showtime later cancelled the project.[20][21][22]

Bad Robot launched a subsidiary record label called Loud Robot in late 2018,[23] in partnership with Capitol Music Group.[24] Loud Robot is headed by co-general managers McKee Floyd and Nicky Berger along with Charles Scott, who currently heads Bad Robot's music division and has been the leading music supervisor for the company's films. Artists signed to the label include Cleveland-born rapper Nnena,[25] neo soul singer/songwriter UMI,[26] Nashville, Tennessee-based alternative rock artist Chaz Cardigan,[27] and London-based rhythm and blues artist DWY.[28]

On September 12, 2019, Bad Robot officially announced a new five-year overall deal with WarnerMedia. According to The Hollywood Reporter, WarnerMedia agreed to pay Bad Robot at least $250 million (plus various financial incentives) to produce feature films, television shows, video games, and digital content.[29]

On May 25, 2021, Abrams announced that a Portal film adaptation, which has been in development since 2013, was still in production and a script has been written for the film.[30] In November 2021, the company launched its podcast division with a multi-year first-look deal at Spotify.[31]

On April 25, 2022, it was announced that Bad Robot will team up with Mattel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures to produce a live-action Hot Wheels film based on the toy line of the same name.[32]

Productions[edit]

Films[edit]

Year Title Director Co-production with Budget Gross
2001 Joy Ride John Dahl 20th Century Fox $23 million $36.6 million
2008 Cloverfield Matt Reeves Paramount Pictures $25 million $170.8 million
2009 Star Trek J. J. Abrams Paramount Pictures
Spyglass Entertainment 		$150 million $385.7 million
2010 Morning Glory Roger Michell Paramount Pictures $40 million $60 million
2011 Super 8 J. J. Abrams Paramount Pictures
Amblin Entertainment 		$50 million $260.1 million
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Brad Bird Paramount Pictures
TC Productions
Skydance Productions 		$145 million $694.7 million
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness J. J. Abrams Paramount Pictures
Skydance Productions
K/O Paper Products 		$190 million $467.4 million
2014 Infinitely Polar Bear Maya Forbes Sony Pictures Classics $6.7 million $2.1 million
2015 Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Christopher McQuarrie Paramount Pictures
Skydance Productions
China Movie Channel
Alibaba Pictures 		$150 million $682.7 million
Star Wars: The Force Awakens J. J. Abrams Lucasfilm Ltd.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 		$245 million $2.068 billion
2016 10 Cloverfield Lane Dan Trachtenberg Paramount Pictures $15 million $110.2 million
Star Trek Beyond Justin Lin Paramount Pictures
Skydance Media
Alibaba Pictures
Huahua Media
Sneaky Shark Productions
Perfect Storm Entertainment 		$185 million $343.5 million
2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Julius Onah Netflix
Paramount Pictures 		$45 million N/A
Mission: Impossible – Fallout Christopher McQuarrie Paramount Pictures
TC Productions
Skydance Media
Alibaba Pictures 		$178 million $791 million
Overlord Julius Avery Paramount Pictures $38 million $41.7 million
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker J. J. Abrams Lucasfilm Ltd.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 		$275 million $1.074 billion
2022 Lou Anna Foerster Netflix $36 million N/A

Upcoming films[edit]

Year Title Director Co-production with Budget Gross
2025 Flowervale Street David Robert Mitchell Warner Bros. Pictures
Jackson Pictures 		N/A
TBA Star Trek 4 TBA Paramount Pictures
Skydance Media 		N/A N/A
Hot Wheels[33][34] TBA Warner Bros. Pictures
Mattel Films
Billy Summers[35] TBA Warner Bros. Pictures
Appian Way Productions
Oh, the Places You'll Go![36] Jon M. Chu Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
Dr. Seuss Enterprises
The Pinkerton[37] Jason Bateman Warner Bros. Pictures
Portal[30] TBA Warner Bros. Pictures
Valve Corporation
Your Name[38][39] Carlos López Estrada Paramount Pictures
Untitled Cloverfield film Babak Anvari
Untitled Elseworlds Superman film[40] TBA Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Studios
Untitled Constantine Sequel Francis Lawrence Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Studios
Di Bonaventura Pictures
The Donners' Company
Weed Road Pictures

TV series[edit]

Year Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Co-production with Notes Network
2001–06 Alias J. J. Abrams Touchstone Television ABC
2004–10 Lost Jeffrey Lieber
J. J. Abrams
Damon Lindelof
2006–07 What About Brian Dana Stevens Sachs/Judah Productions (season 1)
Touchstone Television
Six Degrees Raven Metzner
Stuart Zicherman 		Nosebleed Productions
Touchstone Television
2008–13 Fringe J. J. Abrams
Alex Kurtzman
Roberto Orci 		Warner Bros. Television Fox
2009 Anatomy of Hope Pilot —
2010 Undercovers J. J. Abrams
Josh Reims 		Warner Bros. Television
Good Butter Productions 		NBC
2011–16 Person of Interest Jonathan Nolan Kilter Films
Warner Bros. Television 		CBS
2012 Alcatraz Elizabeth Sarnoff
Steven Lilien
Bryan Wynbrandt 		Warner Bros. Television Fox
Shelter Pilot[41] The CW
2012–14 Revolution Eric Kripke
Jon Favreau 		Kripke Enterprises
Warner Bros. Television 		NBC
2013–14 Almost Human J. H. Wyman Frequency Films
Warner Bros. Television 		Fox
2014 Believe Alfonso Cuarón
Mark Friedman 		Esperanto Filmoj
Warner Bros. Television 		NBC
2015 Dead People Pilot[42] The CW
2016 11.22.63 Bridget Carpenter Carpenter B.
Warner Bros. Television 		Hulu
Moon Shot Web series —
Roadies Cameron Crowe Vinyl Films
Warner Bros. Television
Showtime Networks 		Showtime
2016–22 Westworld Jonathan Nolan
Lisa Joy 		HBO Entertainment
Kilter Films
Jerry Weintraub Productions (season 1)
Warner Bros. Television 		HBO
2018–19 Castle Rock Sam Shaw Old Curiosity Shop
Darkbloom Productions
Warner Bros. Television 		Hulu
2020 Little Voice Jessie Nelson Dear Hope Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		Apple TV+
Lovecraft Country Misha Green Afemme
Monkeypaw Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		HBO
Challenger: The Final Flight Glen Zipper
Steven Leckart 		Zipper Bros Films
Sutter Road Picture Company 		Docuseries Netflix
2021 Lisey's Story Stephen King 40/60 Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		Apple TV+
UFO Glen Zipper Zipper Bros Films
Sutter Road Picture Company 		Docuseries Showtime

Upcoming series[edit]

Year Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Co-production with Notes Network
TBA Duster J. J. Abrams
LaToya Morgan 		TinkerToy Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		[43] Max
Presumed Innocent David E. Kelley David E. Kelley Productions
Old Curiosity Shop Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		[44] Apple TV+
Speed Racer Warner Bros. Television Studios [45]
Untamed Trip the Light Productions
Warner Bros. Television Studios 		[46] TBA
Batman: Caped Crusader Bruce Timm 6th & Idaho
DC Entertainment
Warner Bros. Animation 		[47] Amazon Prime Video[48]

Shorts[edit]

Year Title Co-production with
2013 KRE-O Star Trek Paramount Pictures
Skydance Productions
CBS Consumer Products
Hasbro
2022 The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Apple Studios
BBC
NoneMore Productions

Video games[edit]

Year Title Platform
2011 Action Movie FX iOS
2022 Weird West PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
2022 Moonbreaker PC
2023 Silent Hill: Ascension iOS, Android

Awards and recognition[edit]

Nominations
Wins

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bad_Robot&oldid=1219672607"