John Fogelman, J.J. Abrams launch new venture

Former William Morris Endeavor board member John Fogelman has launched the new FactoryMade Ventures, with Lost producer J.J. Abrams as the company's principal investor, FactoryMade announced on Tuesday.

FactoryMade will be a hybrid entertainment, media business development and consulting firm, according to the announcement. Abrams has been a long-time client of Fogelman's.

The company will focus on creating short-form programing in various formats, as well as developing interactive viewing and gaming experiences, according to the announcement. FactoryMade's projects will encompass both the domestic market, as well as developing markets such as Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

Along with Abrams, Michael Bay, Robert Rodriguez, Thom Beers and Whoopi Goldberg are also already developing projects for the company, which has forged partnerships with such companies as Telefonica, Hasbro, RTL Group and Intel.

Also coming aboard for the new venture is WME's former Strategic Planning & Business Development unit, which is moving to FactoryMade under the guidance of former WME department head Cristina Patwa, who will serve as FactoryMade's president.

Abrams, who has been represented by Fogelman since 2006, said of him, I was immediately struck by his ability to identify creative opportunities and his determination and skill to actually realize them ... I felt strongly about continuing to work with John, and this was a chance to support his latest ambitious enterprise, just as he has supported me over the years.

Fogelman, who will serve as FactoryMade's CEO, said, We welcome the industry's most imaginative and inventive minds to strategize new ventures with us and build them into fully fledged media businesses.

Fogelman, who left WME earlier this year, had been with the agency for 18 years. Along with Abrams, Bay and Goldberg, his clients included Kevin Spacey, Eric Bana and Courteney Cox.