[1] He completed his bachelor's degree in English literature at New York University (NYU), where he also undertook a screenwriting workshop.
[1] After taking the NYU workshop, Steinfeld decided to pursue screenwriting with the eleven-page screenplay he had completed: "Even though I only had those 11 pages, my feeling was, 'I'm not sure if I'm any good at it, but I love this.
[1] Steinfeld had been signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2003 to adapt Ben Mezrich's true crime book Bringing Down the House, about the feats of the card counting MIT Blackjack Team, into the film 21, which was released in 2008.
[5] Before filming began in 2005, screenwriter Allan Loeb was brought in to rewrite Steinfeld's script as a former gambling addict.
[7] He has also written and executive produced a number of television pilots, including "Pulse"[7] and "Inspector General",[8] which have not been picked up.