Simon Kinberg Biography

Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is an English-born American screenwriter and film producer. He is best known for his work in the X-Men film franchise, and wrote and/or produced several other box-office successes such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Sherlock Holmes, Cinderella, Deadpool, and The Martian, earning an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe award for the latter. His production company is Genre Films, which has a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox. Kinberg's films have grossed more than five billion dollars worldwide.

Early life

Kinberg was born in London, England, the son of Monica Menell-Kinberg and Jud Kinberg, a New York City-born writer and producer. His father's first wife was French actress Suzanne Dalbert. From age six, he was raised in Los Angeles, California. He is Jewish. He has a brother, Robert, and a half-brother, Steven. Simon 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 Brothers, 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. 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 TV. He also appears in the movie, in a scene with Brad Pitt.

Kinberg's next screenwriting job was the sequel to X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), which he co-wrote with Zak Penn. Comic-book writer Chris Claremont 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 movie, 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. That film won a Golden Globe for Best Actor, and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

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), directed by Matthew Vaughn, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. Kinberg was the writer and producer of the film This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Hardy, released February 17, 2012. He was also an executive producer of the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in that same year. In 2013, Kinberg produced Elysium, directed by Neill Blomkamp, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

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 had four films released. He produced the Neill Blomkamp film Chappie, and the live-action version of Cinderella at Disney. He also worked on Fantastic Four as writer and producer. His final film of the year was The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon. Kinberg and the film won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. The movie won numerous awards, including nominations and awards from AFI, BAFTA, The National Board of Review, Producers Guild, Directors Guild, Writers Guild, and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

In 2016, Kinberg produced Deadpool, which became the highest grossing R-rated film in history. He is the writer and producer of X-Men: Apocalypse, the next film in the X-Men franchise. He is also producing an adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel Murder on the Orient Express, a remake of Logan's Run, and a live-action film of Magic: The Gathering. In addition, Kinberg will produce the upcoming film Gambit, starring Channing Tatum, as well as the final Wolverine film with Hugh Jackman.

The Hollywood Reporter initially reported that Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan, writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, 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. Kinberg is a consultant on the other Star Wars films, and is the creator and Executive Producer of Star Wars: Rebels.

Personal life

Kinberg married Mali Heled on July 26, 2001. The couple divorced in 2016. They have two sons.

Filmography

Year	Title	Credited as		Notes
		Writer	Producer
2005	XXX: State of the Union
	Mr. & Mrs. Smith
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand			co-wrote with Zak Penn
2008	Jumper
2009	Sherlock Holmes
2011	X-Men: First Class
2012	This Means War
	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter			Executive producer
2013	Elysium
2014	Let's Be Cops
	X-Men: Days of Future Past
	Star Wars Rebels (TV series)			Also executive producer
2015	Cinderella
	Chappie
	Fantastic Four
	The Martian
	Star Wars: The Force Awakens			Consultant
2016	Deadpool
	X-Men: Apocalypse
TBA	Gambit