Miguel Arteta

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Miguel Arteta
Born (1965-08-29) August 29, 1965 (age 59)
Education Harvard University
Wesleyan University (BA)
American Film Institute (MFA)
OccupationDirector
Years active1990-present

Miguel Arteta (born August 29, 1965) is a Puerto Rican filmmaker known for his work in independent cinema and television. [1] His film Chuck & Buck (2000) [2] received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature made for under $500,000, while The Good Girl (2002) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was met with positive critical reception. [3] In television, Arteta has directed episodes for series such as The Office, Succession, and Enlightened. His work on Succession earned him a Directors Guild of America Award nomination. [4]

Contents

Early life

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to a Peruvian father and Spanish mother, [5] Arteta grew up across Latin America due to his father's job as a Chrysler auto parts salesman. He went to high school in Costa Rica but was expelled, and went to live with his sister in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating from The Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts. He then attended Harvard University's documentary program where he learned filmmaking. He eventually left for Wesleyan University, where he met future collaborators Matthew Greenfield and Mike White.

After graduating in 1989, his student film Every Day is a Beautiful Day won a Student Academy Award, which got him a job as a second assistant camera to Jonathan Demme on the documentary Cousin Bobby . Demme then recommended him to the AFI Conservatory, and Arteta received his MFA there in 1993.

Career

Arteta's first film, Star Maps , is a dark tale of a Mexican teenage boy and aspiring actor who is pimped by his father as a male prostitute in Los Angeles. [6] It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. It was a critical hit, receiving five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. He then turned to directing television shows, helming episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street , Freaks and Geeks , and Six Feet Under . He has also since directed episodes of The Office , Ugly Betty , and American Horror Story .

Arteta achieved critical acclaim and won a 2001 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Under $500,000 for Chuck & Buck , which teamed him with his fellow Wesleyan alumni Greenfield (film producer) and White (screenwriter and star). It is a story of male friendship and homoerotic desire, featuring a 27-year-old man who tracks down his former best friend and stalks him, hoping to re-enact their childhood sex games. [6] The trio worked together once more on 2002's The Good Girl , starring Jennifer Aniston, a retelling of Flaubert's Madame Bovary set in the American Midwest. [6]

Arteta's Youth in Revolt , a comedy starring Michael Cera, was released in 2010. Arteta's Cedar Rapids , starring Ed Helms and produced by Alexander Payne, was released in 2011. [7] Most recently he reunited with White and directed four episodes of White's HBO series Enlightened .

Arteta re-teamed with Mike White on Beatriz at Dinner , which starred Salma Hayek and John Lithgow. [8] [9] It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017, and was released in June 2017, by Roadside Attractions. [10] [11] Arteta next directed Duck Butter , which he co-wrote alongside Alia Shawkat who starred in the film alongside Laia Costa, the film was shot over the course of nine days with the majority being shot over the course of 24 hours. [12] It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2018. [13] and was released on April 27, 2018. [14] The film received mixed reviews from film critics. [15]

In 2020, Arteta directed Like a Boss , starring Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne and re-teaming with Hayek, which was released on January 10 by Paramount Pictures. [16] He directed Yes Day , starring Jennifer Garner and Jenna Ortega for Netflix. [17] [18]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
1997 Star Maps YesYesNo
2000 Chuck & Buck YesNoNo
2002 The Good Girl YesNoNo
2009 Youth in Revolt YesNoNo
Chinatown Film ProjectYesNoNo
2011 Cedar Rapids YesNoNo
2014 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day YesNoNo
2017 Beatriz at Dinner YesNoNo
2018 Duck Butter YesYesYes
2020 Like a Boss YesNoNo
2021 Yes Day YesNoYes

Producer

Actor

YearTitleRole
2004 See This Movie Festival Panelist
In Good Company Globecome Technician
2009 Youth in Revolt Illegal Immigrant #2
2015 Digging for Fire Bartender

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
1998Livin' ThingYesYesNo
2008Tess and NanaNoNoYes
2005Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?YesNoNo

Television

YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
Episode(s)
1999 Homicide: Life on the Streets YesNo"Zen and the Art of Murder"
Snoops YesNo"True Believers"
2000 Freaks and Geeks YesNo"Chokin' and Tokin'"
Time of Your Life YesNo"The Time She Made a Temporary Decision"
2004 Cracking Up YesNo"Birds Do It"
2001–2004 Six Feet Under YesNo"The Will"
"The Liar and the Whore"
"Terror Starts at Home"
2006 The Office YesNo"Diwali"
2007 Ugly Betty YesNo"Punch Out"
2009We Are the ModsNoYes
2011 The Big C YesNo"Sexual Healing"
"Boo"
How to Make It in America YesNo"Mofongo"
New Girl YesNo"Thanksgiving"
American Horror Story YesNo"Rubber Man"
Enlightened YesCo-executive"Now or Never"
"Someone Else's Life"
"Comrades Unite!"
"Burn It Down"
2012 House of Lies YesNo"Bareback Town"
2012 Nurse Jackie YesNo"Day of the Iguana"
"Chaud & Froid"
The New Normal YesNo"Nanagasm"
"The Godparent Trap"
2013 The Carrie Diaries YesYes"Pilot"
2013–15 Getting On YesYes"Born on the Fourth of July"
"No Such Thing as Idealized Genitalia"
"Is Soap a Hazardous Substance?"
"This Is About Vomit, People."
"Don't Let It Get in You or On You"
"No, I Don't Want a Fucking Smiley Face"
"Am I Still Me?"
"Please Partake of a Memorial Orange"
"Reduced to Eating Boiled Magazines and Book Paste"
2015 Grace & Frankie YesNo"The Elevator"
2017 Famous in Love YesNo"Pilot"
2018 Succession YesNo"Austerlitz"
Forever YesNo"Another Place"
"Oceanside"
2019 Room 104 YesNo"No Hospital" (Also writer)
2021 The Morning Show YesNo"Testimony"
2022 Florida Man YesYes"Episode #1.1"
"Episode #"1.2"
2025 Poker Face YesNo"Whack-A-Mole"

TV movies

Actor

YearTitleRoleEpisode
2013 Enlightened Flender Fan in Bar"Follow Me"

Awards and nominations

Accolades

TitleYearAssociation / CategoryResultsRef
Star Maps 1997 Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Film — International Competition Nominated
1998 ALMA Award for Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film Nominated [19]
1998 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film (shared with Matthew Greenfield)Nominated [20]
1998 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay Nominated
Time of Your Life 2001 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Drama Series Nominated [21]
Freaks and Geeks 2001 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Comedy Series Nominated
Chuck & Buck 2000 Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award Nominated
2000 Gijon International Film Festival for Best Feature Nominated
2000 Sundance Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize — Drama Nominated
2001 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Feature Film Nominated [21]
2001 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film — Under $500,000 (shared with Mike White & Matthew Greenfield)Won [22]
2001 Independent Spirit Award for Best Director Nominated
The Good Girl 2002 Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award Nominated
2002 Gijon International Film Festival for Best Feature Nominated
Six Feet Under 2002OFTA Television Award for Best Direction in a DramaNominated [23]
The Motel 2007 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (shared with Michael Kang / Matthew Greenfield / Gian Kwon / Karin Chien)Nominated [24]
Youth in Revolt 2009 Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award Nominated
How to Make It in America 2012 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series ("Mofongo")Nominated
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 2014 Heartland Film Award for Truly Moving Picture Award Won
Beatriz at Dinner 2017 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Director Won
Duck Butter 2018 Tribeca Film Festival for Best Narrative Feature Nominated
Room 104 2020 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Director — Television Nominated

References

  1. "John Mulaney texted Miguel he had bed bugs instead of 'Poker Face' director". EW.com. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  2. "2021 Spirit Awards Nominations Announced". filmindependent. Retrieved May 17, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Rooney, David (January 14, 2002). "The Good Girl". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  4. "Sundance Video Interview: 'Cedar Rapids' Director Miguel Arteta". firstshowing.net. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  5. "Miguel Arteta:Overview". MSN. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Routledge international encyclopedia of queer culture . Gerstner, David A., 1963-. London: Routledge. 2006. ISBN   9780415306515. OCLC   62475216.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. Hewitt, Chris. "Cedar Rapids Takes The Helms". Empire.
  8. McNary, Dave (August 1, 2016). "Chloe Sevigny, Salma Hayek Join Drama 'Beatriz at Dinner'". Variety . Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  9. "Film 'Beatriz at Dinner' Serves Up Immigration Conflicts". Voice of America. June 8, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  10. Patten, Dominic (December 5, 2016). "Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, 'Rebel In The Rye' & More On Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  11. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 27, 2017). "Salma Hayek-Starrer 'Beatriz At Dinner' Bought By Roadside, FilmNation". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  12. Song, Sandra (April 27, 2018). "Alia Shawkat Explains The Kind Of Gross Meaning Of "Duck Butter"". Nylon Magazine . Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  13. Raup, Jordan (March 7, 2018). "Tribeca 2018 Lineup Includes 'Disobedience,' 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post,' 'The Seagull,' and More". The Film Stage. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  14. Nolfi, Joey (March 21, 2018). "Alia Shawkat, Laia Costa explore 'messy' love and sex in Duck Butter trailer". Entertainment Weekly . Time . Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  15. "Duck Butter (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  16. Pederson, Erik (March 15, 2019). "Paramount Moves 'Limited Partners' To 2020 & Dates 'The Tiger's Apprentice' Toon". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  17. Galuppo, Mia (September 12, 2018). "Netflix Lands Jennifer Garner Comedy 'Yes Day' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  18. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 10, 2019). "'Jane The Virgin's Jenna Ortega Joins Jennifer Garner Family Movie 'Yes Day'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  19. "ALMA Awards (1998)". IMDb. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  20. "Independent Spirit Awards 1998". MUBI. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  21. 1 2 "ALMA Awards (2001)". IMDb. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  22. "Independent Spirit Awards 2001". MUBI. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  23. "6th Annual TV Awards (2001-02) - Online Film & Television Association" . Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  24. "Independent Spirit Awards 2007". MUBI. Retrieved December 16, 2021.