Michael Arndt

Michael Arndt
Arndt in 2007
Born	McLean, Virginia,U.S.
Pen name	Michael deBruyn
Occupation	Screenwriter
Years active	1997–present
Notable works	Little Miss Sunshine Toy Story 3 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Notable awards	Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Little Miss Sunshine(2006)

Michael Arndtis an American screenwriter, who has written for the filmsLittle Miss Sunshine(2006),Toy Story 3(2010), andStar Wars: The Force Awakens(2015).

Arndt won theAcademy Award for Best Original ScreenplayforLittle Miss Sunshineand was nominated forBest Adapted ScreenplayforToy 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 deBruynandRick Kerb,which are mainly used for script revisions.

Early life and education

Arndt was born inMcLean, Virginia.Arndt's father was a member of theForeign Service,and as a result he lived in various countries, includingSri Lankaand India; he also lived inVirginiafor a time.Arndt graduated fromLangley High Schoolin McLean, and also attendedThe Potomac School.He graduated from theTisch School of the ArtsatNew York University.Arndt was ascript readerfor some time, and was a personal assistant to actorMatthew Broderickuntil late 1999,when he chose to beginwriting screenplaysfull-time.

Screenwriting career

"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 lawin reverse—I don't expect that kind of experience again any time soon. "

—Michael Arndt

Arndt wrote the first draft ofLittle Miss Sunshinein three days between May 23–26, 2000.From that initial draft, he made approximately 100 revisions over the course of a year, requesting input from friends and family.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".After theEndeavor Talent Agencyread 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.Dayton and Faris were signed on by producer Marc Turtletaub, who purchased the script from Arndt for $250,000, on December 21, 2001.

The project was set up atFocus Features,where it was in various stages ofpre-productionfor approximately three years. During that time, Arndt was fired when he objected to centralizing the story on Richard Hoover (played byGreg Kinnearin the film), only to be re-hired within a month after the new writer hired by Focus left the project.Arndt resumed work on the script, which continued throughproductionand intopost-production:"The final scene of the movie [...] was written and shot about eight weeks before [its premiere at theSundance Film Festivalon January 20, 2006] ", he said.Following its theatrical release on August 18, 2006,Little Miss Sunshinewon many prizes and awards.Arndt won multipleBest Original Screenplayawards 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.

Arndt began collaborating withLee Unkrichand otherPixarpersonnel on the screenplay forToy Story 3in 2006,working from atreatmentbyAndrew Stanton,who co-wrote the two preceding films in the series.He was nominated forBest Adapted Screenplayfor his work, and became the first ever screenwriter to be nominated for bothAcademy Awardsfor 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.

Arndt wrote the script forThe Hunger Gamessequel,The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,based on the best-sellingnovel of the same namebySuzanne Collins.Ten years later, he co-wrote the screenplay to theHunger Gamesprequel,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 Kasdanand directorJ. J. Abramswere rewriting Arndt's script.

Filmography

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

• Addicted to Love(1997)
• Inspector Gadget(1999)

Senior creative team

• WALL-E(2008)
• Up(2009) (Uncredited)
• Toy Story 3(2010)
• Cars 2(2011)

Awards and nominations

Year	Title	Award/Nomination
2006	Little Miss Sunshine	Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Writer Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awardfor New Generation Award Palm Springs International Film Festivalfor Chairman's Vanguard Award Nominated–Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–London Critics Circle Film Awardfor Screenwriter of the Year Nominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2010	Toy Story 3	Nominated–Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated–Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production Nominated–BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated–Bradbury Award Nominated–Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated–Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated–Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form Nominated–San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Writing Nominated–Scream Awardfor Best Scream-Play Nominated–Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2013	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire	Nominated–Bradbury Award Nominated–Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Saturn Award for Best Writing Nominated–Bradbury Award Nominated–Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form

Further reading

• Anne Thompson (November 17, 2006)."'Closet screenwriter' Arndt comes into light ".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived fromthe originalon August 15, 2007.RetrievedApril 6,2007.

External links

• Michael ArndtatIMDb
• Interviewwith Michael Arndt about writingLittle Miss Sunshine