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Michael H. Weber

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Michael H. Weber
Born (1978-01-13) January 13, 1978 (age 46)
Great Neck, New York, U.S.
OccupationScreenwriter, producer
Years active2009–present
Notable works500 Days of Summer

Michael H. Weber (born January 13, 1978) is an American screenwriter and producer. He and his writing partner, Scott Neustadter, are best known for writing the screenplay for the romantic comedy film 500 Days of Summer. The film is based on two real relationships Neustadter had.[1] They also wrote the screenplays for the film adaptations of the novels The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars, and Paper Towns.

For writing The Disaster Artist, Neustadter and Weber were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They also created the sitcom Friends with Benefits, which lasted one season.

Early life

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Weber grew up in a Jewish family[2] in Great Neck, New York. He attended John L. Miller Great Neck North High School,[3][4] and strongly identified with teen films as he was growing up, particularly those made by John Hughes and Cameron Crowe; he cites Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club as two films he identified with in high school since he often skipped school and spent time in detention.[5] He attended Syracuse University and graduated in 2000.[6]

Career

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Weber met his writing partner Scott Neustadter in 1999 at TriBeCa Productions when Neustadter hired Weber as his development intern. They started writing comedy together in their spare time, and soon after began writing a screenplay based on a failed relationship that Neustadter had experienced.[7][8] They broke out as screenwriters in 2006, when they successfully sold their spec script, titled 500 Days of Summer, to Fox Searchlight Pictures. While 500 Days of Summer was still in pre-production, Sony Pictures Entertainment asked Weber and Neustadter to write The Pink Panther 2, the sequel to The Pink Panther (2006), which in turn was a reboot of the original Pink Panther franchise.[9] They originally declined the job offer from Sony but ended up accepting it and writing the script after their managers stressed how "important [it was] to get a movie made".[10] Both 500 Days of Summer and The Pink Panther 2 were released in 2009; although The Pink Panther 2 was panned by reviewers, 500 Days of Summer was well received by critics and audiences alike, and it was Fox Searchlight's highest grossing film of the year.[9] The latter also received numerous awards and accolades, including an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.[11]

In 2009, Weber and Neustadter began developing a television sitcom for ABC called Friends with Benefits. The project was later moved to NBC and premiered in August 2011. Although it was the most successful of NBC's new comedy series for the 2010–11 season, it was cancelled after one season.[12] They later adapted Tim Tharp's novel The Spectacular Now into a film of the same name, a romantic drama about high school students and alcoholism.[9] They were commissioned to write the screenplay in 2009 by Fox Searchlight, who had produced their first script, 500 Days of Summer, but the film languished in pre-production for several years before it was picked up by director James Ponsoldt. The film was released in August 2013 to almost universally positive critical reviews.[13] Weber and Neustadter's script was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and the film won a National Board of Review award for Best Independent Film.[14]

When Weber and Neustadter heard that 20th Century Fox had purchased the rights to adapt The Fault in Our Stars—a young adult novel written by John Green, about the romantic relationship between two teenagers with cancer—into a film, they campaigned the company's president to hire them to write the screenplay. Weber has said that they won the job by promising not to alter much from the book: "Hello! Please hire us! We want to bring absolutely nothing to the table!"[9] The film, released in 2014, received positive reviews and performed well at the box office.[15] They also adapted another Green book, Paper Towns, into a film of the same name.

Weber and Neustadter have also been hired to write Rosaline, a contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, as well as adaptations of the books Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (the film adaptation was ultimately released in 2016 without their involvement), and Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.[9] They have also sold at least eight spec scripts since 500 Days of Summer; these include Starfish (bought by 20th Century Fox), Underage (bought by Montecito Pictures), and No Relation (bought by Fox Searchlight).[10]

Weber and Neustadter wrote the script for The Disaster Artist (2017), the adaptation of the book of the same name.[16] They also wrote Our Souls at Night, an adaptation of Kent Haruf's final novel of the same name, for Netflix, with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda playing the lead roles, the first movie they have made together since 1979's The Electric Horseman.[17]

Weber and Neustadter will be also adapting another John Green book, Looking for Alaska.[18] They also are adapting The Rosie Project,[19] with Jennifer Lawrence formerly set to star.[20]

In 2019, Weber joined other WGA writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the practice of packaging.[21]

Personal life

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Weber lives in the East Village of Manhattan, New York. He communicates with Neustadter, who lives in Los Angeles, by telephone and email.[9]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Writer Executive
Producer 		Director
2009 500 Days of Summer Yes No Marc Webb
The Pink Panther 2 Yes No Harald Zwart
2013 The Spectacular Now Yes Yes James Ponsoldt
2014 The Fault in Our Stars Yes No Josh Boone
2015 Paper Towns Yes Yes Jake Schreier
2017 The Disaster Artist Yes Yes James Franco
Our Souls at Night Yes No Ritesh Batra
2022 Rosaline Yes No Karen Maine

Television

Year Title Writer Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
2011 Friends with Benefits Yes Yes Yes
2023 Daisy Jones & the Six Yes Yes Developer Miniseries

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result
2009 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Original Screenplay 500 Days of Summer Nominated
Utah Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Breakthrough Screenwriter Won
Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Screenplay Won
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay - Original Won
Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Original Screenplay Won
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Won
Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2013 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Adapted Screenplay The Spectacular Now Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Indiana Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2017 Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay The Disaster Artist Nominated
Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Scott Neustadter". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2009. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  2. ^ Jewish News of Northern California: "Summer romance takes a caustic turn for Jewish screenwriters" August 7, 2009
  3. ^ Heyman, Marshall (May 1, 2014). "Hollywood's Go-To Writing Team". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. ^ Guzman, Rafer (June 5, 2014). "'The Fault in Our Stars' writer returns to Long Island". Newsday. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  5. ^ Hanlon, John (August 16, 2013). "INTERVIEW: The Spectacular Now screenwriter Michael Weber on creating realistic teenagers". The Week. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  6. ^ "Alumnus is screenwriter on new critically acclaimed film". S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. August 5, 2013. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  7. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (June 18, 2008). "Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  8. ^ "Michael H Weber". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Barnes, Brooks (May 30, 2014). "Reviving the Coming-of-Age Movie". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Fienberg, Daniel (July 16, 2009). "HitFix Interview: '500 Days of Summer' screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber". HitFix. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  11. ^ "(500) Days of Summer (2009)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  12. ^ Hale, Mike (August 7, 2011). "Like Ross, Rachel and Company, but With Faster Hook-Ups". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  13. ^ Rosen, Christopher (August 14, 2013). "'The Spectacular Now' Writers Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber On The Film's Long Road To Theaters". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Spectacular Now (2013)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  15. ^ McClintock, Pamela (June 8, 2014). "Box Office: Female-Fueled 'Fault in Our Stars' Conquers Tom Cruise With $48.2 Million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  16. ^ "Fault in Our Stars Scribes Are Disaster Artist Screenwriters -/Film". 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  17. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2015-09-13). "Robert Redford, Jane Fonda Teaming At Netflix On 'Our Souls At Night'". Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  18. ^ "'Fault in Our Stars' Writers, Producers Reuniting for Next John Green Adaptation (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  19. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2014-09-23). "'Rosie Project' Has Lord & Miller Circling To Helm Neustadter & Weber Script". Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  20. ^ Groves, Nancy (2015-07-12). "Jennifer Lawrence to star in film of The Rosie Project". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  21. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (13 April 2019). "Writers Share Signed Termination Letters As Mass Firing Of Agents Begins After WGA-ATA Talks Fail". Deadline.
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