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.
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[edit] Early Career
While still in film school, Kinberg sold an original pitch to Warner Brothers, and then went on to write scripts for Disney, Sony, and Dreamworks, working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Jonathan Mostow, Jerry Bruckheimer, and McG. After finishing 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:
[edit] Mr and Mrs Smith
Doug Liman's 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The script began as Kinberg's thesis project for film school. It went on to gross over $475 million worldwide, making it one of the 50 most successful movies of all time. It won numerous MTV Movie Awards and People's Choice Awards. Kinberg also wrote the pilot episode for a television adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
[edit] X-Men
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. Famous comic-book writer Chris Claremont wrote the novelization of the film, and he made Kinberg a character in the book.
[edit] Jumper
Kinberg reunited with director Doug Liman, writing and producing the film Jumper (2008), which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen, and Diane Lane. The film opened number one at the box office on Presidents Day 2008, and has become a worldwide hit. The film has spawned a comic book, videogame, and potential sequel.
[edit] Other Projects
Kinberg was an uncredited script doctor for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Fantastic Four (2005).
[edit] Future projects
He was a writer on Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian, scheduled for a 2009 release. Other projects include the scripts for Shawn Levy's The Hardy Men, an adaptation of the Hardy Boys featuring Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller, and the sequel to Jumper.[1]. He is also currently writing an original script for Nicole Kidman, based on an idea they created together. And he is adapting Robert Ludlum's novel "The Osterman Weekend" which he will direct.
He is also producing a number of films, including "Rip the Moon" at Dreamworks, directed by Doug Liman starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and an untitled "X-Men" spinoff movie at 20th Century Fox.
[edit] Awards and honors
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. Kinberg's films have grossed over a billion dollars worldwide.
[edit] TV appearances
Kinberg was featured in The Dialogue interview series. In this 90 minute interview with producer Mike DeLuca, Kinberg reveals his inspiration—from breakdancing movies to mentor Akiva Goldsman, and what you do and don’t learn at film school.
