Simon Kinberg

Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He wrote and produced a number of films in the ''X-Men'' film franchise for 20th Century Fox, and had produced a number of other projects for Fox, such as '' The Martian'', which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Kinberg made his directorial debut in the 2019 ''X-Men'' film '' Dark Phoenix'' from a script he also wrote.

Early life

Kinberg was born in Hammersmith, London, England to American parents Monica Menell-Kinberg and Jud Kinberg, a New York City-born writer and producer. From age six, he was raised in Los Angeles, California. He is Jewish. Kinberg graduated from Brentwood High School, and then from Brown University, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude; in 2003 he received his MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts, where he won the Zaki Gordon Fellowship for Screenwriting.

Career

While still in film school, Kinberg sold a pitch to Warner Bros., then went on to write scripts for Disney, Sony, and DreamWorks, working with Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer, among others. After finishing school, Kinberg moved to Hollywood, where his first screenwriting credit was a sequel to the hit action film '' XXX'' (2002), '' XXX: State of the Union'' (2005). His next screenwriting venture was the screenplay for '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', directed by Doug Liman and starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The script began as Kinberg's thesis project for film school. Kinberg also wrote the pilot episode for a television adaptation of ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' for ABC. He also appears in the movie, in a scene with Brad Pitt.

Kinberg's next screenwriting job was the third movie in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series: '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006), which he co-wrote with Zak Penn. Comic-book writer Chris Claremont, who wrote the Dark Phoenix storyline that served as the primary source material for the film, also wrote the novelization of the film and made Kinberg a character in the book.

Kinberg reunited with director Doug Liman for the film '' Jumper'' (2008). Kinberg wrote and produced the film, which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen, and Diane Lane. The following year, Kinberg was writer of ''Sherlock Holmes'', directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. In April 2010, his production company, Genre Films, signed a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox.

Kinberg was the producer of '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011), and both writer and producer of '' This Means War'' (2012). He was also co-screenwriter and an executive producer of the film '' Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'' in that same year. In 2013, Kinberg produced ''Elysium''.

The following year, Kinberg was the writer and the producer of the film '' X-Men: Days of Future Past''. That same year, he produced ''Let's Be Cops''. In 2015, Kinberg produced the Neill Blomkamp film '' Chappie'' and the live-action version of ''Cinderella'' at Walt Disney Pictures. He also worked on ''Fantastic Four'' as writer and producer. His final film of the year was '' The Martian'', directed by Ridley Scott.

He wrote and produced '' X-Men: Apocalypse'', the next film in the ''X-Men'' franchise following '' X-Men: Days of Future Past''. Kinberg produced 2016's ''Deadpool'', 2017's '' Logan'', 2018's ''Deadpool 2'', 2019's '' Dark Phoenix'' (the latter of which also served as his directorial debut) and ''The New Mutants'', all of which are ''X-Men'' spin-off films. He also produced ''Murder on the Orient Express'', an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.

''The Hollywood Reporter'' initially reported that Lawrence Kasdan, writer of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', and Kinberg would write and produce Episodes VIII and IX of the new ''Star Wars'' films. A week later the publication stated that Kasdan and Kinberg would be working on future ''Star Wars'' projects, but not necessarily on Episodes VIII and IX.

In television, he is an executive producer on ABC's ''Designated Survivor'' starring Kiefer Sutherland, '' Legion'' created by Noah Hawley for FX, and '' The Gifted'' on Fox. He executive produced the third revival of the science fiction anthology series, ''The Twilight Zone'' which premiered in 2019 on CBS All Access (now Paramount+).

In July 2019, it was announced that Kinberg and his production company Genre Films was leaving Fox after 20 years.

On November 7, 2024, it was announced that Kinberg has been hired by Lucasfilm to write and co-produce a new trilogy of ''Star Wars'' films along with Kathleen Kennedy.

Personal life

Kinberg married Mali Heled in a Jewish ceremony on July 26, 2001. They have two sons. The couple separated in 2014, and subsequently divorced in 2017. By November 4, 2019, Kinberg became engaged to writer Cleo Wade. They have two daughters; born in 2020 and 2021.Non-loginwalled link at bibliogram.pussthecat.org
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Filmography

Film

Executive producer
* '' Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'' (2012)
* ''Death on the Nile'' (2022)
* ''Deadpool & Wolverine'' (2024)

Creative consultant
* '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015)

Thanks credit
* ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015)
* ''Rogue One'' (2016)

Television

Awards and nominations

He received a lifetime achievement award from the Saturn Awards in 2016.

He was named #61 on the list of 100 most powerful people in Hollywood by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' in 2016. The same year, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' named Kinberg as the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood with a record for two X-Men scripts, and named him as one of the highest-paid producers in Hollywood with for ''Deadpool'' in their annual Hollywood Salaries issue.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinberg, Simon
1973 births
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American expatriates in England
American film production company founders
American male screenwriters
American male television writers
American television directors
Brown University alumni
Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Film directors from London
Film directors from Los Angeles
Film producers from London
Film producers from Los Angeles
Golden Globe Award–winning producers
Jewish American screenwriters
Jewish American television writers
American television writers
Jews from California
Living people
People from Hammersmith
Screenwriters from Los Angeles
Television producers from California
Television producers from London
American television show creators
Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham