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Miguel Arteta
Puerto Rican film director
Puerto Rican film director
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Miguel Arteta - The Good Girl.jpg |
| caption | Arteta in 2025 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| education | Harvard University |
| Wesleyan University (BA) | |
| American Film Institute (MFA) | |
| occupation | Director |
| yearsactive | 1990-present |
Wesleyan University (BA) American Film Institute (MFA) Miguel Arteta (born August 29, 1965) is a Puerto Rican filmmaker known for his work in independent cinema and television. His film Chuck & Buck (2000) 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. 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.
Early life
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to a Peruvian father and Spanish mother, 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017, and was released in June 2017, by Roadside Attractions. 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. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2018. and was released on April 27, 2018. The film received mixed reviews from film critics.
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. He directed Yes Day, starring Jennifer Garner and Jenna Ortega for Netflix.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | ||||
| 1997 | Star Maps | |||
| 2000 | Chuck & Buck | |||
| 2002 | The Good Girl | |||
| 2009 | Youth in Revolt | |||
| Chinatown Film Project | ||||
| 2011 | Cedar Rapids | |||
| 2014 | Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | |||
| 2017 | Beatriz at Dinner | |||
| 2018 | Duck Butter | |||
| 2020 | Like a Boss | |||
| 2021 | Yes Day |
Producer
- The Motel (2005)
Actor
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | ||||
| 1998 | Livin' Thing | |||
| 2008 | Tess and Nana | |||
| 2005 | Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody? |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Executive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Episode(s) | |||
| 1999 | Homicide: Life on the Streets | "Zen and the Art of Murder" | ||
| Snoops | "True Believers" | |||
| 2000 | Freaks and Geeks | "Chokin' and Tokin'" | ||
| Time of Your Life | "The Time She Made a Temporary Decision" | |||
| 2004 | Cracking Up | "Birds Do It" | ||
| 2001–2004 | Six Feet Under | "The Will" | ||
| "The Liar and the Whore" | ||||
| "Terror Starts at Home" | ||||
| 2006 | The Office | "Diwali" | ||
| 2007 | Ugly Betty | "Punch Out" | ||
| 2009 | We Are the Mods | |||
| 2011 | The Big C | "Sexual Healing" | ||
| "Boo" | ||||
| How to Make It in America | "Mofongo" | |||
| New Girl | "Thanksgiving" | |||
| American Horror Story | "Rubber Man" | |||
| Enlightened | "Now or Never" | |||
| "Someone Else's Life" | ||||
| "Comrades Unite!" | ||||
| "Burn It Down" | ||||
| 2012 | House of Lies | "Bareback Town" | ||
| 2012 | Nurse Jackie | "Day of the Iguana" | ||
| "Chaud & Froid" | ||||
| The New Normal | "Nanagasm" | |||
| "The Godparent Trap" | ||||
| 2013 | The Carrie Diaries | "Pilot" | ||
| 2013–15 | Getting On | "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 | "The Elevator" | ||
| 2017 | Famous in Love | "Pilot" | ||
| 2018 | Succession | "Austerlitz" | ||
| Forever | "Another Place" | |||
| "Oceanside" | ||||
| 2019 | Room 104 | "No Hospital" (Also writer) | ||
| 2021, 2025 | The Morning Show | "Testimony" | ||
| "Person of Interest" | ||||
| "The Parent Trap" | ||||
| 2022 | Florida Man | "Episode #1.1" | ||
| "Episode #"1.2" | ||||
| 2025 | Poker Face | "Whack-A-Mole" |
TV movies
- Criminology 101 (2003)
- Rita (2013) (Also executive producer)
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Enlightened | Flender Fan in Bar | "Follow Me" |
Awards and nominations
Accolades
| Title | Year | Association / Category | Results | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Maps | 1997 | Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Film — International Competition | |||||
| 1998 | ALMA Award for Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film | ||||||
| 1998 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film (shared with Matthew Greenfield) | ||||||
| 1998 | Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay | ||||||
| Time of Your Life | 2001 | ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Drama Series | |||||
| Freaks and Geeks | 2001 | ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Comedy Series | |||||
| Chuck & Buck | 2000 | Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award | |||||
| 2000 | Gijon International Film Festival for Best Feature | ||||||
| 2000 | Sundance Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize — Drama | ||||||
| 2001 | ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Feature Film | title=ALMA Awards (2001) | url=http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000016/2001/1/ | access-date=2021-12-16 | website=IMDb}} | ||
| 2001 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film — Under $500,000 (shared with Mike White & Matthew Greenfield) | ||||||
| 2001 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Director | ||||||
| The Good Girl | 2002 | Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award | |||||
| 2002 | Gijon International Film Festival for Best Feature | ||||||
| Six Feet Under | 2002 | OFTA Television Award for Best Direction in a Drama | |||||
| The Motel | 2007 | Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (shared with Michael Kang / Matthew Greenfield / Gian Kwon / Karin Chien) | |||||
| Youth in Revolt | 2009 | Deauville Film Festival for Grand Prize Award | |||||
| How to Make It in America | 2012 | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series ("Mofongo") | |||||
| Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | 2014 | Heartland Film Award for Truly Moving Picture Award | |||||
| Beatriz at Dinner | 2017 | Imagen Foundation Award for Best Director | |||||
| Duck Butter | 2018 | Tribeca Film Festival for Best Narrative Feature | |||||
| Room 104 | 2020 | Imagen Foundation Award for Best Director — Television |
References
References
- "John Mulaney texted Miguel he had bed bugs instead of 'Poker Face' director".
- "2021 Spirit Awards Nominations Announced".
- Rooney, David. (2002-01-14). "The Good Girl".
- "Sundance Video Interview: 'Cedar Rapids' Director Miguel Arteta". firstshowing.net.
- "Miguel Arteta:Overview". [[MSN]].
- (2006). "Routledge international encyclopedia of queer culture". Routledge.
- Hewitt, Chris. "Cedar Rapids Takes The Helms". Empire.
- McNary, Dave. (August 1, 2016). "Chloe Sevigny, Salma Hayek Join Drama 'Beatriz at Dinner'".
- (2017-06-08). "Film 'Beatriz at Dinner' Serves Up Immigration Conflicts".
- 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".
- Fleming, Mike Jr.. (January 27, 2017). "Salma Hayek-Starrer 'Beatriz At Dinner' Bought By Roadside, FilmNation".
- Song, Sandra. (April 27, 2018). "Alia Shawkat Explains The Kind Of Gross Meaning Of "Duck Butter"".
- (March 7, 2018). "Tribeca 2018 Lineup Includes 'Disobedience,' 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post,' 'The Seagull,' and More". The Film Stage.
- Nolfi, Joey. (March 21, 2018). "Alia Shawkat, Laia Costa explore 'messy' love and sex in Duck Butter trailer". [[Time (magazine).
- "Duck Butter (2018)".
- Pederson, Erik. (March 15, 2019). "Paramount Moves 'Limited Partners' To 2020 & Dates 'The Tiger's Apprentice' Toon".
- Galuppo, Mia. (September 12, 2018). "Netflix Lands Jennifer Garner Comedy 'Yes Day' (Exclusive)".
- D'Alessandro, Anthony. (October 10, 2019). "'Jane The Virgin's Jenna Ortega Joins Jennifer Garner Family Movie 'Yes Day'".
- "ALMA Awards (1998)".
- "Independent Spirit Awards 1998".
- "ALMA Awards (2001)".
- "Independent Spirit Awards 2001".
- "6th Annual TV Awards (2001-02) - Online Film & Television Association".
- "Independent Spirit Awards 2007".
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