Short answers, pulled from the story.
Michael Arndt was born in McLean, Virginia. His father served as a member of the Foreign Service which meant young Michael lived in various countries during his formative years including Sri Lanka and India.
The first draft of Little Miss Sunshine emerged between May 23 and the 26th of May 2000. Arndt completed this initial version in just three days before spending approximately one year making around 100 revisions to the script.
Marc Turtletaub purchased the script from Arndt on the 21st of December 2001. The deal value reached $250,000.
His adaptation work earned him a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Toy Story 3. This achievement made him the first screenwriter ever nominated for both Academy Awards for his first two screenplays.
Michael Arndt wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire in 2013. The film adapted the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins.