Michael Arndt

Michael Arndt, Oscar-winner and friend-of-the-show, discusses the shift from rebellion to connection in movies, delves into the flawed nature of Barbie land, and explores the balancing act of plot and emotional storytelling in screenwriting. He also emphasizes the process of uncovering themes and stakes in a story and highlights the importance of having a supportive community of fellow writers in writing an original screenplay.

In this engaging conversation, Michael Arndt, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter behind Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3, discusses the resilience needed in screenwriting, having penned ten scripts over a decade before his breakthrough. He shares insights on crafting great stories by balancing audience feedback with creative vision, and the importance of unconventional endings that surprise viewers. Arndt emphasizes that storytelling is a learned craft that benefits from systematic analysis and revising, making it accessible to anyone eager to improve.

Little Miss Sunshine's script, penned by our guest Michael Arndt, won almost every major industry award, and for good reason. Its warmth, humor, and surefooted commitment to its themes makes it one of the finest scripts written this century. And SO many of those themes show up in Act 1. Michael has become a bit "obsessed" with act 1's lately, because it's our chance to maximize the "rooting interest" around our hero so that our audience has no choice but to keep watching. FOR MICHAEL'S (AMAZING) WEBSITE: https://www.pandemoniuminc.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices