Michael Arndt
Michael Arndt
Michael Arndt is an American screenwriter. He is best known as the writer of the films Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3and Star Wars: The Force Awakens...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScreenwriter
Date of Birth22 November 1970
CountryUnited States of America
writing thinking rocks
The number one metaphor I have in my mind for writing a screenplay is that...you're trying to climb a mountain blindfolded. And the funny thing about that is, you think, 'Okay, that's hard because you're climbing up a rock face, and you don't know where you're going, and you don't know where the top is, you can't see what's below you...' But actually the hardest part about climbing a mountain blindfolded is just finding the mountain.
goal want march
You never want your second act or the whole movie to just be this relentless march towards its goal. You want things to take the audience by surprise.
writing successful law
I figured I’d probably write 50 scripts in my life. Out of those 50, I figured maybe five would be produced, and that maybe one or two would be successful. So I always kind of expected I’d write at least one successful film in my life. [...] The way it all came together was kind of like Murphy's law in reverse—I don’t expect that kind of experience again any time soon.
stories mediums good-story
A good story is a good story, whatever the medium.
mediocre screenplays
My God, there are so many mediocre screenplays out there.
adversity challenges self-improvement
Adversity challenges the masks we hide behind, revealing sides of ourselves we have not yet comfortably with the world outside. It is why we dislike adversity, because we have to face what we don't yet understand about ourselves.
world scripts determined
I had read enough mediocre scripts and was determined not to inflict another one on the world.
perception self-improvement process
Failure can only exist from stagnant perceptions. Everything is a process of learning and if you learn something useful, you have success.
self-improvement way knows
If you only know something one way, then you don't really know it.
self-improvement lines action
Line up your thoughts up for potential, take action and success will follow.
empowering self-improvement realization
We have the freedom to excel or inhibit our potential. You are the grand designer of your thoughts and emotions. At some level or another you are the one who chooses which thoughts to accept and which ones to ignore. That can be a very empower realization.
self-improvement world improvement
All thought is created, therefore we are all creators of whatever world we live in.
commitment thinking self-improvement
Changing how you think costs you no money and it takes no special talent. It does take a commitment on your part to be different.