Sharon Gless handed Michael his first film award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a film he made in the 10th grade. His next Super 8 film stars a young Jack Black. After he graduated from NYU, Brett Ratner made him stand inside a spider-infested wall to get another shot for one of many hip-hop videos shot in and around Harlem. Upon moving back to L.A., Michael got mixed up with the likes of M. Emmet Walsh, Mariette Hartley, Vincent Schiavelli and Daniel Baldwin - not because he owed them money, but to write movies for them. Since his return from directing shoots in Southeast Asia, China and Africa, Michael has had the privilege of working with such talents as Danny Trejo, Michael Biehn and Steve Railsback, not to mention capturing some exclusive comic antics with Jim Carrey on the ice.