Matthew Michael Carnahan, one of America's most prolific screenwriters, has left a strong mark on the world of cinema, especially with his thriller and drama genres inspired by real events. Throughout his career, he has produced both blockbuster films that were commercially successful and more ambitious projects that carry social messages. The first major project that made Carnahan's name known to large audiences was The Kingdom, released in 2007. Carnahan wrote the script of this thriller directed by Peter Berg and produced by Michael Mann. The production, which is about a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia and questions US-Saudi relations, received positive reactions from both the audience and critics. In the same year, Carnahan, who also wrote the script of Arslanı Lambuzlara, directed by Robert Redford and starring in the title role, made another politically brave work. Continuing his success in the thriller genre with State Plays, directed by Kevin Macdonald in 2009, Carnahan appeared with the most talked-about project of his career in 2013: World War Z, starring Brad Pitt. His contributions to the script of this huge-budget production made him one of the preferred names for major productions in Hollywood. In 2016, he brought the historic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to the screen with Deepwater Horizon: The Great Disaster; The film, starring Mark Wahlberg, attracted attention with its striking narrative that was a true tragedy. The fact that Carnahan made a name for himself with two different projects in 2019 shows that he has never slowed down his pace. While Dark Waters, directed by Todd Haynes, had a great impact both critically and environmentally, the action thriller 21 Bridges also met with the audience in the same year. Carnahan continues to be one of the important writers of contemporary Hollywood with his scripts that have a high sense of reality and skillfully handle political and social themes.