Simon Kinberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simon Kinberg is a Jewish-American screenwriter. He was born August 2, 1973 in London, England, and his family moved later on to the United States. Kinberg graduated from Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, and received his MFA from Columbia University Film School.
Kinberg moved to Hollywood, where his first big-screenwriting credit was a sequel to the smash hit action film XXX (film) (2002), XXX: State of the Union, which bombed at the box office. His next, much more successful screenwriting venture was the screenplay for the 2005 summer blockbuster Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The script began as his thesis project for film school. The film went on to gross over $475 million worldwide, making it one of the 50 most successful movies of all time. He was also an uncredited script doctor for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Fantastic Four.
Kinberg's next screenwriting job was the highly anticipated sequel to X-Men (2000) and X2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), which he co-wrote with Zak Penn. The film made $123 million on its opening weekend, one of the biggest openings in history. It went on to gross over $460 million worldwide, making it the most successful film in the franchise. Kinberg's films have grossed over a billion dollars worldwide.
In 2005, Simon received the Movieline Magazine award for Screenwriter of the Year, and was named New Power Screenwriter of the Year by Premiere Magazine.
He is currently writing and producing the film Jumper which reunites him with director Doug Liman. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen, and Diane Lane. His future projects include a television version of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," as well as an original feature film with Nicole Kidman.
