Michael Arndt | |
|---|---|
 Arndt in 2007 | |
| Born | McLean, Virginia, U.S. |
| Pen name | Michael deBruyn |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards | |
Michael Arndt is an American screenwriter, who has written for the filmsLittle Miss Sunshine (2006),Toy Story 3 (2010),The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), andStar Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
Arndt won theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay forLittle Miss Sunshine and was nominated forBest Adapted Screenplay forToy Story 3. This made Arndt the first screenwriter ever to be nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay for his first two screenplays.
He has also been credited under the pseudonymsMichael deBruyn andRick Kerb, which are mainly used for script revisions.[1]
Arndt was born inMcLean, Virginia. Arndt's father was a member of theForeign Service, and as a result he lived in various countries, includingSri Lanka and India; he also lived inVirginia for a time.[2] Arndt graduated fromLangley High School in McLean, and also attendedThe Potomac School. He graduated from theTisch School of the Arts atNew York University.[2] Arndt was ascript reader for some time, and was a personal assistant to actorMatthew Broderick until late 1999,[3] when he chose to beginwriting screenplays full-time.[2][3][4]
"I figured I'd probably write 50 scripts in my life. Out of those 50, I figured maybe five would be produced, and that maybe one or two would be successful. So I always kind of expected I'd write at least one successful film in my life. [...] The way it all came together was kind of likeMurphy's law in reverse—I don't expect that kind of experience again any time soon."
Arndt wrote the first draft ofLittle Miss Sunshine in three days between May 23–26, 2000.[5] From that initial draft, he made approximately 100 revisions over the course of a year, requesting input from friends and family.[2][3] Arndt considered directing the film himself "as ano-budget,DV feature" due to his concern of the story being "just too small and "indie" to get any real attention fromHollywood".[3] After theEndeavor Talent Agency read the script in July 2001, however, producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa subsequently gave the script to commercial and music video directorsJonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who were immediately attracted to the project.[3][4][6] Dayton and Faris were signed on by producer Marc Turtletaub, who purchased the script from Arndt for $250,000, on December 21, 2001.[4][5]
The project was set up atFocus Features, where it was in various stages ofpre-production for approximately three years. During that time, Arndt was fired when he objected to centralizing the story on Richard Hoover (played byGreg Kinnear in the film), only to be re-hired within a month after the new writer hired by Focus left the project.[7] Arndt resumed work on the script, which continued throughproduction and intopost-production: "The final scene of the movie [...] was written and shot about eight weeks before [its premiere at theSundance Film Festival on January 20, 2006]", he said.[3][4] Following its theatrical release on August 18, 2006,Little Miss Sunshinewon many prizes and awards. Arndt won multipleBest Original Screenplay awards forLittle Miss Sunshine, from theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts, and theWriters Guild of America. He was later invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[8]
Arndt began collaborating withLee Unkrich and otherPixar personnel on the screenplay forToy Story 3 in 2006,[9] working from atreatment byAndrew Stanton, who co-wrote the two preceding films in the series.[10][11] He was nominated forBest Adapted Screenplay for his work, and became the first ever screenwriter to be nominated for bothAcademy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay for his first two screenplays.
Arndt was one of several screenwriters brought on to perform script revisions forMen in Black 3.[12][13]
Arndt wrote the script forThe Hunger Games sequel,The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, based on the best-sellingnovel of the same name bySuzanne Collins.[14] Ten years later, he co-wrote the screenplay to theHunger Games prequel,The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
In November 2012, Arndt was announced as the screenwriter forStar Wars: The Force Awakens. In October 2013, it was announced thatLawrence Kasdan and directorJ. J. Abrams were rewriting Arndt's script.[15]
Writer
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Little Miss Sunshine | Jonathan Dayton Valerie Faris | |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Lee Unkrich | |
| 2013 | Oblivion | Joseph Kosinski | Credited as Michael deBruyn |
| The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Francis Lawrence | ||
| 2015 | A Walk in the Woods | Ken Kwapis | Credited as Rick Kerb |
| Star Wars: The Force Awakens | J. J. Abrams | ||
| 2023 | The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | Francis Lawrence |
Assistant
Senior creative team
