Ross worked as a fisherman, worked on
Ted Kennedy's 1980 Presidential campaign, consulted on both
Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign's and
Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns, and wrote a novel before being hired to write screenplays for
Paramount Pictures.
Big was his first produced screenplay. Co-written with
Anne Spielberg (sister of
Steven), it led to an
Academy Award nomination and a
Writers Guild of America Award. He went on to write several other successful films, including
Dave in 1993. In 1998, he wrote and directed
Pleasantville, and in 2003, he wrote, directed and produced
Seabiscuit, based on
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by
Laura Hillenbrand. The film earned seven
Academy Award nominations. Ross took on the high-profile project of co-adapting and directing
the film adaptation of the first book in
Suzanne Collins's
Hunger Games trilogy. The film was released on March 23, 2012, and earned $672.8 million worldwide. Although the film was financially and critically successful, Ross opted to not adapt or direct the sequels, citing the rushed production schedule (particularly for both writing and directing) as his main reason. Ross also wrote and produced the animated feature
The Tale of Despereaux, based on the
Newbery Medal-winning children's book by
Kate DiCamillo. His first book,
Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind, was published by
Candlewick Press in 2012. A children's book, it is written completely in verse. His next two films as a director and writer were the
period drama Free State of Jones (2016) and the
heist film ''
Ocean's 8'' (2018). ==Filmography==