Michael Greenspan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | York University (BFA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
Occupation(s) | Director, Writer, Producer |
Michael Greenspan is a film director, producer and writer best known for the psychological thriller Wrecked , which debuted at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival and starred Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody and actress Caroline Dhavernas. [1]
Michael was born and raised in Laval, Quebec. From a young age he had a passion for theater, art and the movies. He moved to Toronto to study film and video production at York University and later moved to Los Angeles to study at the American Film Institute.
Michael began his career in Canada where his work was recognized by The National Film Board of Canada, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.
Michael’s films Fishtales and Lost & Found were received with critical acclaim at festivals in Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and Tel Aviv.
The Legend Of Razorback starring Academy Award® nominee Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatcher, Death Of A Salesman, Innerspace), won awards in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Temecula where it won the Audience Choice Award and Houston WorldFest where it received the Eastman Kodak Scholarship Award and the Gold Special Jury Award for Best Dramatic Student Film.
Wrecked starring Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody premiered in 2010 at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and was distributed by IFC Films. In 2012, Michael co-wrote and directed the Kill For Me starring Katie Cassidy and Donal Logue. The film was loosely based on Strangers on a Train and Single White Female , [2] and was released in 2013. [3]
SEAT 23B had its world premiere at the L.A. Shorts International Film Festival in July 2023.
Michael's latest film Something Out There will be released in 2024.
Michael also teaches filmmaking at The Los Angeles Film School and at Chapman University. [4]
Film | Festival | Awards & Nominations | Year |
---|---|---|---|
SEAT 23B | Burbank International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2024 |
Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival | WINNER - Best Thriller | 2024 | |
North Hollywood Cinefest | WINNER - Best Director NOMINATED - Best Actor NOMINATED - Best Thriller | 2023 | |
L.A Shorts International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2023 | |
Torino Underground Cinefest | Official Selection | 2023 | |
Wrecked | Shanghai International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2011 |
Whistler Film Festival | NOMINATED - Best Canadian Feature | 2010 | |
Abu Dhabi Film Festival | Official Selection - New Horizons Competition | 2010 | |
The Legend of Razorback | Temecula Valley Film Festival | WINNER - Audience Choice Award | 2003 |
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Rochester International Film Festival | WINNER - Shoestring Award | 2003 | |
American Society of Cinematographers | NOMINATED - John F. Seitz Heritage Award for Outstanding Cinematography | 2003 | |
Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Milwaukee International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
St. Louis International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Newport Beach International Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Pacific Palisades Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Seh Suchte International Student Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Flicker Film Festival | Official Selection | 2003 | |
Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival | NOMINATED - Best Production NOMINATED - Best Actor | 2003 | |
International Hollywood Student Film Festival | WINNER - Best Cinematography | 2003 | |
Lost & Found | Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival | Official Selection | 2000 |
Canadian Society of Cinematographers | WINNER - Best Cinematography | 2000 | |
Palm Springs International Short Film Festival Market | Official Selection | 2000 | |
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television | Post-Graduate Filmmaker’s Scholarship, Apprenticeship Grant | 2000 | |
Fishtales | TVO Telefest Awards | WINNER - Best Student Short Film HONORABLE MENTION - Best Student Comedy | 1999 |
CANPRO | WINNER - Best Performing Arts and Entertainment Award WINNER - Best Educational Program Award | 1999 | |
Montreal World Student Film Festival | Official Selection | 1999 | |
National Film Board of Canada | AWARDED - Filmmaker Apprenticeship | 1998 |
Year | Title | Role | Distributor |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Something Out There | Producer, Director, Editor | |
2023 | Seat 23B | Producer, Director, Editor | |
2013 | Kill For Me | Co-Writer, Director | Sony |
2010 | Wrecked | Director | IFC Films |
2002 | The Legend of Razorback | Director | Dark Matter Films |
1999 | Lost & Found | Producer, Director | |
1998 | Fishtales | Writer, Producer, Director |
Adrien Nicholas Brody is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29, becoming the youngest actor to win in that category. He also became the second American male actor to win the César Award for Best Actor for the same film. He has starred in several other films and has received several other awards including nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Geneviève Bujold is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film credits include The Trojan Women (1971), Earthquake (1974), Obsession (1976), Coma (1978), Murder by Decree (1979), Tightrope (1984), Choose Me (1984), Dead Ringers (1988), The House of Yes (1997), and Still Mine (2012).
Sarah Ellen Polley is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009).
Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films When a Stranger Calls (2006), as Kelli Presley in Black Christmas (2006) and as Ruby in the third season of the horror series Supernatural (2007–2008). Following a supporting role in the action film Taken (2008), Cassidy played leading roles in the slasher series Harper's Island (2009) and the remake of the drama series Melrose Place (2009–2010). She starred as Kris Fowles in the slasher film remake A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and had a recurring role as Juliet Sharp during the fourth season of the teen drama Gossip Girl (2010–2012).
William Gregory Woodford-Wells is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and audio engineer. He has worked with Grace VanderWaal, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Quincy Jones, Adele, Michael Bublé, Taylor Swift, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Sir George Martin, Dua Lipa, Stephen Schwartz, Missy Elliot, Burt Bacharach, Celine Dion, Timbaland, Selena Gomez, Rufus Wainwright, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ryan Tedder, Weezer, Jazmine Sullivan, Katy Perry, OneRepublic, Carrie Underwood, Deftones, Jamie Cullum, Pink, Theophilus London, Keith Urban, Crash Test Dummies, MIKA, Twenty One Pilots, Aerosmith, Elton John, and the Count Basie Orchestra. Throughout his career, Wells has contributed to projects which have sold a cumulative 130 million units.
Gerald William Abrams is an American television producer who has produced many TV movies starting in the mid-1970s.
Amanda Crew is a Canadian actress. Following her film debut in Final Destination 3 (2006), Crew had lead roles in films such as Sex Drive (2008), Charlie St. Cloud, Repeaters, Charlie Zone (2011), Ferocious (2013), Chokeslam (2016), Tone-Deaf (2019), and Some Other Woman (2023), as well as supporting roles in The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), The Age of Adaline (2015), Freaks (2018) and There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023).
Semi Chellas is a director, writer, producer who has written for film, television and magazines. She was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She is known for her work on the television series Mad Men and her film adaptation of American Woman based on Susan Choi's novel of the same name.
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival, formerly the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF), was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 2015.
Abu Dhabi Media Network is the official media organization of the Government of Abu Dhabi. The organization was established in 2007.
Wrecked is a 2010 Canadian thriller film, directed by Michael Greenspan, written by Christopher Dodd, produced by Kyle Mann and starring Adrien Brody. It was released by IFC Midnight Films on April 1, 2011.
Mahmoud Kaabour is a filmmaker, writer, and public speaker from Beirut.
Tropfest Arabia is an extension of Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival. Tropfest began in 1993 as a screening for 200 people in a cafe in Sydney but has since become the largest platform for short films in the world.
Mynette Louie is an American film producer of Chinese descent. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and Critics Choice Award in 2018 for HBO's The Tale, won the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards John Cassavetes Award for Land Ho!, and won the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards Piaget Producers Award. She was also nominated twice for "Best First Feature" at the Independent Spirit Awards for I Carry You With Me and The Tale. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Third Person is a 2013 romantic drama film directed and written by Paul Haggis and starring an ensemble cast consisting of Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Moran Atias, Kim Basinger, and Maria Bello. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.
Hannah Gross is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Debbie Mitford in the Netflix drama Mindhunter.
Chloe Rose is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence when she portrayed Katie Matlin in the long-running teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, from 2011 to 2013.
Raw is a 2016 coming-of-age body horror drama film written and directed by Julia Ducournau, and starring Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, and Rabah Nait Oufella. The plot follows a young vegetarian's first year at veterinary school, where she tastes meat for the first time and develops a craving for human flesh.
Kill for Me is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Michael Greenspan and starring Katie Cassidy and Tracy Spiridakos. The film was released direct-to-video on February 12, 2013.
twofour54 is a UAE state-owned media and entertainment production company located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Many major Hollywood productions have done production work in twofour54's facilities.