Mike Jones (born 1971) is an American filmmaker. He serves as a writer and director at

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney S ...

and has co-written the studio's animated feature films ''

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

'' (2020), ''

Luca Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people * Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people * Luca (surname), including a list of people Places * The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...

'' (2021) and ''

Elio Elio is an Italian male given name. Origin A name of dual origin, Elio is primarily a revival of (Helios), the Greek god of the Sun. derives, through the Latin , from the Ancient Greek (), which is taken from the noun of the same and mean ...

'' (2025). He also wrote and directed ''

Dream Productions ''Dream Productions'' is an American animated television miniseries produced by Pixar Animation Studios for the streaming service Disney+. Developed and created by Mike Jones, it is set between the events of '' Inside Out'' (2015) and '' In ...

'', a 4-part limited series set in the world of ''

Inside Out Inside Out may refer to: * Backwards or inverse Books * '' Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd'', by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason * ''Inside Out'', Christian book by Larry Crabb * ''Inside Out'', espionage thriller by Barry Eisler * ...

''.

Career

Jones was born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

for film. He began his career as an entertainment journalist working as ''

Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Fil ...

''s Managing Editor and IndieWire's Executive Editor. His first screenplay, ''EvenHand'', was produced in 2001 and screened at the

AFI Film Festival The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, and

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. Jones did an uncredited rewrite of '' City of Ghosts'', directed by

Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...

, and has since written scripts for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and found ...

Fox Searchlight Searchlight Pictures, Inc., formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an American arthouse film production and distribution company, which since 2019 is owned by Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the ...

, and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. During the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike he became the Managing Editor of Film Festivals for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', where he covered the film festival and independent film beats in ''Variety'', ''Daily Variety'', and in a blog called The Circuit. In 2011, his script ''In the Event of a Moon Disaster'' was featured on The Black List and optioned by

FilmNation Entertainment FilmNation Entertainment, LLC is an American entertainment company focused on film production, financing, and distribution. History 2008–2012: Founding FilmNation Entertainment is an independent film production and distribution company co-f ...

. In 2013–2014, Jones wrote the English adaptations of

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

films ''

The Wind Rises is a 2013 Japanese animated historical drama film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki based on his 2009 manga of the same name. Produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho, the film stars the voices of Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto, ...

'' and '' The Tale of Princess Kaguya'', as well as a feature adaptation of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''.

Filmography

* 2002: ''Evenhand'' - writer * 2013: '' The Tale of The Princess Kaguya'' - writer (English version) * 2013: ''

'' - writer (English version) * 2020: ''

'' - writer * 2021: ''

'' - writer * 2024: ''

'' - writer, director, showrunner * 2025: ''

'' - writer

Senior creative team

* 2017: ''

Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...

'' * 2018: ''

Incredibles 2 ''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to '' The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second full-length instal ...

'' * 2019: ''

Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' (2010). It was dire ...

'' * 2022: ''

Turning Red ''Turning Red'' is a 2022 American animated coming-of-age fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Domee Shi and produced by Lindsey Collins, from a screenplay written by S ...

'' * 2022: ''

Lightyear A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

'' * 2023: ''

Elemental An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemy, alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsu ...

'' * 2024: ''

Inside Out 2 ''Inside Out 2'' is a 2024 American animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to '' Inside Out'' (2015), it was directed by Kelsey Mann and was produced by Mark Nielsen, from a screen ...

References

External links

*
Mike Jones on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mike 1971 births 21st-century American screenwriters American male screenwriters American male journalists Annie Award winners Living people Pixar people Screenwriters from Texas Tisch School of the Arts alumni