Matthew Arnold

Arnold was born in Boston, MA. His family moved coast to coast, with Arnold growing up in Irvine, CA and Columbia, KY. While he dabbled in film as a hobby while attending high school in Irvine, he eventually followed in his father's footsteps when the family moved back to Kentucky and studied physics at Centre College. Before graduation, Arnold proposed his final senior physics project be a film, and with that he returned to his first love of filmmaking. Arnold made his way back out west to Los Angeles and landed by chance an internship working for Quentin Tarantino. Not one to let the opportunity go to waste, he was eventually promoted to production assistant on the film "Jackie Brown" (1997). During his time working under Tarantino's office, Arnold learned every aspect of the movie-making machine, he read scripts, snuck onto sets and grilled Tarantino every chance he had. After gaining first-hand experience of the industry, he decided to also learn the tools of the trade and went on to receive his MFA at USC's graduate film program in 2002. Having written all of the projects he directed at film school, it seemed Arnold was already setting himself up along a path to creative control in the future. While he never considered himself a writer, after graduating he successfully adapted a comic book for a screenplay and was hired on as writer and director by the local production company Circle of Confusion. Continuing his independent streak, Arnold went on to create his own production company, Dark Hall Productions. To supplement his filmmaking, he started teaching directing at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles and eventually raised enough funds to produce his own film, "Shadow People" (2013) in 2007. Initially titled, "The Door," the psychological horror film mixed truth and fiction and was well received by audiences and critics alike for its original concept. After writing and directing "Shadow People," Arnold continued to pursue his interest in found footage and the thriller genre and went on to create "Siberia" with his own production company. Working with longtime "Survivor" (CBS 2000-) producer Doug McAllie, Arnold recreated the look of reality TV. The cast received no scripts; only the writers and producers knew what would happen. His twist on reality gone awry was a hit and proved his show-running capabilities, leading him to sign with ICM and announce a new drama, titled "Emerald City" (NBC 2017), a darker reimagining of L. Frank Baum's original books.