Mike Makowsky

Last updated
Mike Makowsky
Born (1991-05-09) May 9, 1991 (age 33)
Alma mater Brown University
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2017–present

Mike Makowsky (born May 9, 1991) is an American screenwriter and producer. He wrote the true crime dramedy film Bad Education , which premiered on HBO in 2020. [1] He has also written the films Take Me and I Think We're Alone Now. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and career

Makowsky was born in Bayside, New York, and raised in the Long Island suburb of Roslyn. In 2004, while he was in the seventh grade at the Roslyn Union Free School District, school superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone and various administrative colleagues were arrested in what would become the largest public school embezzlement in American history. [4]

Makowsky graduated from Roslyn High School and Brown University, then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as screenwriter. [4] [5] His first feature film credit was the independent dark comedy Take Me , which was produced by the Duplass brothers and distributed by Netflix. He then wrote and produced his second film, I Think We're Alone Now , which was helmed by Reed Morano and starred Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning. [6] The film screened at Sundance Film Festival in 2018.

In 2016, Makowsky returned to his hometown to research the events of the Roslyn school scandal. Makowsky noted that he "outlined the majority of the script out of my high school cafeteria.” [7] The resulting film, Bad Education , starred Hugh Jackman as former Roslyn superintendent Frank Tassone, as well as Allison Janney and Ray Romano. It premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was acquired by HBO Films for a sum close to $20 million. [1] The film went on to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie in 2020, with Makowsky honored as part of the creative team. [8]

Both I Think We're Alone Now and Bad Education were featured on the Black List, an annual survey of popular industry scripts, in 2016. [6] In 2019, Makowsky was recognized as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in the Hollywood & Entertainment category. [9]

Filmography

YearTitleWriterProducer
2017 Take Me YesNo
2018 I Think We're Alone Now YesYes
2019 Bad Education YesYes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Grant</span> English actor (born 1960)

Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. Hallmarks of Grant's comic skills include a nonchalant touch of sarcasm and characteristic physical mannerisms. He has received several accolades including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. He received an Honorary César in 2006. As of 2018, his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Jackman</span> Australian actor (born 1968)

Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, a role that earned him the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel character", until 2022. Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award. Jackman was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dinklage</span> American actor (born 1969)

Peter Hayden Dinklage is an American actor. Portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), Dinklage won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series a record four times. He also received a Golden Globe Award in 2011 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2020 for the role. Dinklage has a common form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia and stands 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) tall. He has used his celebrity status to raise social awareness of dwarfism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike White (filmmaker)</span> American actor, writer and producer (born 1970)

Michael Christopher White is an American writer, actor and producer for television and film. He has won numerous awards, including the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for the 2000 film Chuck & Buck, which he wrote and starred in. He has written the screenplays for films such as School of Rock (2003) and has directed several films that he has written, such as Brad's Status (2017). He was a co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and actor on the HBO series Enlightened. White is also known for his appearances on reality television, competing on two seasons of The Amazing Race and later becoming a contestant and runner-up on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. He created, writes and directs the ongoing HBO satire comedy anthology series The White Lotus, for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Mazin</span> American screenwriter and film director

Craig Mazin is an American filmmaker and producer. He is best known for creating, writing, and producing the HBO historical disaster drama miniseries Chernobyl (2019) and co-creating, co-writing, and executive producing the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023–present), the latter alongside Neil Druckmann. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and Outstanding Limited Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Mangold</span> American filmmaker (born 1963)

James Allen Mangold is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Noted for his versatility in tackling a range of genres, Mangold made his debut as a film director with Heavy (1995), and is best known for the films Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Identity (2003), Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and two films in the X-Men franchise with The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017), the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He then directed the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari (2019), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and directed and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslyn High School</span> Public high school in the United States

Roslyn High School is a public high school in Roslyn Heights, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the only high school in the Roslyn Union Free School District, serving all of the district's students in grades 9 through 12.

<i>The Wolverine</i> (film) 2013 film by James Mangold

The Wolverine is a 2013 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is the sixth installment in the X-Men film series, the second installment in the trilogy of Wolverine films after X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and a spin-off/sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Directed by James Mangold from a screenplay written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, it stars Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, alongside Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen, and Will Yun Lee. Following the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his healing powers, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai while struggling with guilt over Jean Grey's death.

Robert Kolker is an American journalist and contributor to The New York Times Magazine who previously worked as a contributing editor at New York Magazine and projects and investigations reporter for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek.

<i>Logan</i> (film) 2017 film by James Mangold

Logan is a 2017 American superhero film starring Hugh Jackman as the titular character. It is the tenth film in the X-Men film series and the third and final installment in the Wolverine trilogy, following X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013). The film, which takes inspiration from the "Old Man Logan" comics storyline by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, follows an aged Wolverine and an extremely ill Charles Xavier who must defend a young mutant named Laura from the Reavers led by Donald Pierce and Zander Rice. The film is produced by 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment and The Donners' Company, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Green and Scott Frank, from a story by Mangold. In addition to Jackman, the film also stars Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and introducing Dafne Keen in her film debut as Laura.

<i>The Greatest Showman</i> 2017 film by Michael Gracey

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, and a story by Bicks. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and a score composed by John Debney and Joseph Trapanese, the film is a heavily fictionalized depiction of the life of P. T. Barnum, a showman and entertainer, and his creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the lives of its star attractions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Dinklage on screen and stage</span> Filmography

Peter Dinklage is an American actor and producer. He studied acting at the Bennington College where he starred in a number of amateur stage productions. He made his film debut in the 1995 comedy-drama Living in Oblivion. After appearing in a series of supporting parts in much of the 1990s and early 2000s, he made his breakthrough by starring in the Tom McCarthy-directed comedy-drama The Station Agent (2003), which had him play a railroad-obsessed introvert who inherits an abandoned train depot. He was cast in the role by director Tom McCarthy who recalled fondly his appearance in McCarthy's play The Killing Act (1995). For his performance, he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actor and an Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Male Lead. In the same year, Dinklage played the title role in the play Richard III at The Public Theater. He also played a children's book author in the comedy Elf. In 2006, he appeared in the Sidney Lumet-directed crime film Find Me Guilty. He followed with roles in the films Underdog (2007), the British film Death at a Funeral (2007), with its American remake of the same name (2010) and Trumpkin in the high fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).

Reed Morano is an American film director and cinematographer. Morano was the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year for the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Morano is known for her cinematography work on feature films such as Frozen River (2008), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and The Skeleton Twins (2014).

<i>I Think Were Alone Now</i> (film) 2018 American film

I Think We're Alone Now is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic romance drama film directed by Reed Morano, who also acted as cinematographer, and written by Mike Makowsky. It stars Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning as two survivors who learn to live together after a worldwide pandemic wipes out Earth's population.

<i>Bad Education</i> (2019 film) 2019 film directed by Cory Finley

Bad Education is a 2019 American crime drama film directed by Cory Finley and written by Mike Makowsky. It is based on the 2004 New York magazine article "The Bad Superintendent" by Robert Kolker, about the true story of the largest public school embezzlement in American history. It features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Stephen Spinella, Annaleigh Ashford and Ray Romano.

<i>Reminiscence</i> (2021 film) 2021 American sci-fi thriller film by Lisa Joy

Reminiscence is a 2021 American neo-noir science fiction thriller film written, directed and produced by Lisa Joy in her feature directorial debut. Starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina de Tavira and Daniel Wu, it follows a man who uses a machine that can see people's memories to try to find his missing love. Joy co-produced with her husband and creative partner Jonathan Nolan.

Hyperobject Industries is an American film and television production company founded by director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian Adam McKay in October 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslyn Union Free School District</span> School district in the U.S. state of New York

The Roslyn Union Free School District is an American public school district located in Nassau County, on Long Island in New York, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory Finley</span> American film director

Cory Finley is an American screenwriter, playwright, and director. Finley wrote and directed the black comedy film Thoroughbreds, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2017. He also directed the true crime dramedy film Bad Education starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, which premiered on HBO and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan (film character)</span> Film character played by Hugh Jackman

James Howlett, also known as Logan or by his codename Wolverine, is a fictional character originating as the main protagonist of 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, and appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise produced by Marvel Studios. He is portrayed by Hugh Jackman and based on the Marvel Comics character Wolverine, created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr.

References

  1. 1 2 Aurthur, Kate (22 April 2020). "Inside 'Bad Education,' Hugh Jackman's New Scandal-Inspired HBO Movie". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  2. Genzlinger, Neil (3 May 2017). "Review: In 'Take Me,' a Kidnapping Turns Cat-and-Mouse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  3. Jaworowski, Ken (13 September 2018). "Review: 'I Think We're Alone Now' Finds Peter Dinklage at the End of His World". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. 1 2 Aurthur, Kate (22 April 2020). "Inside 'Bad Education,' Hugh Jackman's New Scandal-Inspired HBO Movie". Variety. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. "Mike Makowsky". Forbes. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 Wilson, David. "The Player". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. Guzman, Rafer (17 April 2020). "Bad Education screenwriter, a Roslyn HS grad, talks about the true-crime film". Newsday. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  8. "Bad Education". Television Academy. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  9. "2020 30 Under 30: Hollywood and Entertainment". Forbes. Retrieved May 3, 2020.