MAY’S SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER:
SIMON KINBERG
RED HOT Writer, Producer, Soon-to-be Director
(X-Men 3, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fantastic Four, and more . . . .)

SIMON KINBERG is on the HOT, SCORCHING HOT LIST in Hollywood right now. His tremendous (and enviable) credits in a short space of time are as follows: He co-wrote the upcoming X-Men 3, which will premiere in May at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and released worldwide; Mr and Mrs Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story, starring Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon; XXX: State of the Union, directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Samuel Jackson, Ice Cube, and Willem Dafoe.

Simon Kinberg was born in London, England. He was raised in Los Angeles, and went to college at Brown University, where he studied film and literature. He entered Columbia University’s Film School in 1998. In his first year, he sold a screenplay to producers Ira Deutchman and Peter Newman (Squid and the Whale). Deutchman was Simon’s professor. That same year, in another class, Simon set up a script with producer Edward Pressman (Wall Street). The attention from these projects garnered Hollywood’s attention. While at Columbia, Simon received the school’s highest screenwriting award, the Zaki Gordon Fellowship.

While still in film school, Simon sold his original pitch Ghost Town to Village Roadshow/Warner Brothers, and worked on scripts for Disney, Sony, and DreamWorks, working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Jonathan Mostow, Stephen Sommers, and McG.

His final thesis project for his MFA was the original screenplay Mr and Mrs Smith. He pitched the concept to Academy-Award winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who became the producer (and Simon’s mentor). They pitched “Mr and Mrs Smith” to every studio – all of whom passed (some twice). Foreign-sales company Summit bought the pitch. After reading the first draft, New Regency became involved. Nicole Kidman and Brad Pitt were attached to play John and Jane Smith, with director Doug Liman at the helm.

In May 2003, Mr. and Mrs. Smith went into pre-production, as Simon was graduating from film school. Kidman’s schedule did not allow her to do the film, so her part was re-cast with Angelina Jolie. Simon spent almost every day on set, working closely with the director, producers, and actors (and even acting in one scene). The film was released June 10, 2005, and went on to gross over $475 million worldwide (making it one of the 50 most successful movies of all time).

That same summer, Simon also had two more films in wide release: XXX: State of the Union, directed by Lee Tamahori, starring Samuel Jackson, Ice Cube, and Willem Dafoe; and Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story, starring Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Julian McMahon (which he rewrote throughout production).

2006 will be another huge year for Simon Kinberg. He co-wrote X-Men 3, which will premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival. And he will finally have the chance to work with Nicole Kidman. The two have partnered on an original spy thriller, which Kidman will star in and produce for Twentieth Century Fox. Simon is also producing and writing Doug Liman’s next film Jumper which starts shooting this summer for Regency and Twentieth Century Fox.

Simon is also currently writing and executive producing the TV show of Mr. and Mrs. Smith for ABC. In addition, he is writing the film Merlin for Paramount/Nickelodeon, and will soon write, produce and first-time direct an adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s best-seller The Osterman Weekend.

In addition, Simon has set up a number of projects as a producer, including: Salem at Sony Pictures, and Invasion at Universal. He also has a blind TV-deal with Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Brothers Television.