Career Highlights
- Produced Gentlemen Broncos with director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre). The movie follows a teenage fantasy writer who turns to his imagine to escape the eccentricities of his homeschooled life
- Writer and producer on Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks; wrote and acted in Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl, Orange County, School of Rock and Nacho Libre; wrote and directed Year of the Dog
- Isn't a fan of classic rock music and wrote The School of Rock (2003) specifically so Jack Black could perform his own favorite rock music
- He was a member of the US Dramatic Jury at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
- White and his father Mel appeared on the fourteenth season of The Amazing Race; they were eliminated in sixth place in Thailand
Career Overview
Mike White is a screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. Born in Pasadena, California, White attended Polytechnic School and graduated from Wesleyan University. White made his directorial debut with the self-penned Year of the Dog at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and received an award from animal rights group PETA for his work. He also won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for Chuck & Buck.
White was a writer and producer on Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks and wrote and acted in the films Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl, Orange County, School of Rock and Nacho Libre. He also had a role in the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives. Chuck & Buck, his first movie, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. White says he got his first impulse toward writing scripts from his favorite teacher in second grade, the mother of playwright Sam Shepard. He frequently collaborates with actor Jack Black on projects; they even created the production company Black and White, which closed in 2006.
Our Interview
Mike joined ThinkTalk host Zack Sherwood for a discussion on his career and his movie The Year of the Dog. Mike also took some time to answer questions from students about why he loves working in film and what it's like to work with big stars like Jack Black.
