Michael Shanks (filmmaker)

Last updated

Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival 03.jpg
Shanks at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
Occupations
Years active2006–present
Notable work
  • Together (2025)
  • The Wizards of Aus (2016)
Website michaelshanks.com.au

Michael Shanks is an Australian filmmaker, actor and composer, known for directing Together (2025) and The Wizards of Aus (2016). He also created the YouTube channel timtimfed, which has been active since September 2006. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

As a grade 12 student, Shanks won the 2008 film competition run by The Escapist to produce a web series pilot episode. [1] [3] The pilot developed into Doomsday Arcade, a 25-part web series. Shanks stated he views creating the series "as [his] film school". [1] [2]

In 2013, Shanks wrote and directed the short film Time Trap. [1] He also directed music videos for Guy Pearce. [4] [5] He directed a segment of a 2015 episode of the Adult Swim series Off the Air . [6]

In 2016, he both directed and starred in the SBS comedy-fantasy series The Wizards of Aus. Shanks plays a wizard who emigrates to Melbourne and faces backlash from the local community. [4] [7] Originally devised as a six-part online series, it aired on SBS 2 as a 3 x 30 minute television series. [8] [7] [9]

Shanks directed the sketch comedy series The Slot in 2017. [10] [11] [12] Two years later he directed the short film Rebooted. [13] [14] [15]

His feature directorial debut, Together, screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. [16] Starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple who encounter a supernatural transformation, [17] the body horror film was distributed by Neon, who acquired the film for $17 million. [18] [19] [20]

In September 2025, Shanks is set to direct and produce his script, Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel, which, prior to being picked up by A24, [21] was included in 2021's The Black List of the "most-liked" unproduced screenplays. [22]

Influences

Shanks has named Lord of the Rings, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python as early creative inspirations. He has also named filmmakers Edgar Wright, Ari Aster, [1] David Lynch, Thom Yorke, John Carpenter, Peter Jackson, Bong Joon Ho, and M. Night Shyamalan as influences. [2]

Filmography

Film

YearFilmFunctioned asNotesRoleRef.
DirectorScreenwriterComposerActor
2013Time TrapCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgDark Red x.svgShortN/A [23]
2019RebootedCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgShort10,000 Sandals Director [24]
2019ParkedCheck-green.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svgDark Red x.svgShort [25] [26]
2025 Together Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgDark Red x.svgCheck-green.svgFeature debutSimon [18]

Television

YearFilmFunctioned asNotesRoleRef.
DirectorScreenwriterComposerActor
2015 Off the Air Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgDark Red x.svgCheck-green.svgSeason 5, episode 3: "Stare Down" [6] [27]
2016 The Wizards of Aus Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCheck-green.svgCo-written with Nicholas IssellJack [7]
2018 The Slot Check-green.svgCheck-green.svgDark Red x.svgCheck-green.svgShanks directed episode 5; Co-written with Nicholas Issell [11] [12] [28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brockett, Frazier (21 September 2022). "A Conversation with Writer and Director Michael Shanks". FORTY-FOUR CLOVERS. Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Herndon, Jessica (3 January 2025). "Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Michael Shanks, the Writer-Director of "Together"". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  3. ↑ "Michael Shanks". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 23 March 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 Dale, David (11 January 2016). "Guy Pearce as talk-show host". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Guy Pearce - Broken Bones". www.guypearce.net. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 Adult Swim (24 November 2015). Holes | Off the Air | Adult Swim . Retrieved 18 December 2025– via YouTube.
  7. 1 2 3 Quinn, Karl (1 January 2016). "Wiz-kid Michael Shanks brings fantasy to life with The Wizards of Aus". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  8. ↑ Knox, David (8 December 2015). "Airdate: The Wizards of Aus". TVTonight. Archived from the original on 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Bizzaca, Caris (13 January 2016). "A Footscray fantasy | Screen News". Screen Australia. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Skit happens — Foxtel's new comedy punt". Herald Sun. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  11. 1 2 "The Slot (New)". MICHAEL SHANKS. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 "The Slot (2017) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Rebooted by Michael Shanks". pixflow.net. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "Rebooted (2019) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  15. ↑ timtimfed (23 March 2020). REBOOTED | Short Film . Retrieved 17 October 2025– via YouTube.
  16. ↑ Maddox, Garry (22 April 2025). "How an Australian YouTube star's 'scream-worthy' horror debut sparked a bidding war". The Age. Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  17. ↑ "SUNDANCE CALLING". VicScreen. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  18. 1 2 Lang, Brent; Rubin, Rebecca (29 January 2025). "Sundance Breakout 'Together,' Body Horror Film With Dave Franco and Alison Brie, Sells to Neon". Variety. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  19. ↑ Billington, Alex (19 March 2025). "First Teaser for Body Horror 'Together' with Alison Brie & Dave Franco | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  20. ↑ Laffly, Tomris (1 August 2025). ""This Film is a Celebration and Examination of My Fears and Anxieties about Fully Committing to Somebody": Director Michael Shanks on NEON Body Horror Film, Together". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  21. ↑ Kroll, Justin (29 September 2025). "'Together' Director Michael Shanks Sets Next Film 'Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel' At A24". Deadline. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  22. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (13 December 2021). "The Black List 2021: Daniel Jackson's 'Cauliflower' Tops Heap Of Year's Most-Liked Unproduced Screenplays". Deadline. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "TIME TRAP - Short Film". MICHAEL SHANKS. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  24. ↑ Rebooted (Short 2019) - Full cast & crew - IMDb . Retrieved 18 December 2025– via www.imdb.com.
  25. ↑ Gillies, Scott. "Parked: behind the scenes | Screen News". Screen Australia. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  26. ↑ "Parked (2019) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  27. ↑ "Michael Shanks | Director, Writer, Visual Effects". IMDb. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  28. ↑ The Slot (TV Series 2017– ) - Full cast & crew - IMDb . Retrieved 18 December 2025– via www.imdb.com.
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