Biography
Michael Schwartz is an award-winning writer, director, and producer. A graduate of the USC Schools of Dramatic and Cinematic Arts, Michael mixes heart, smarts, thrills and dark humor before adding a fizz of moral ambiguity to tell topical stories where relatable characters are thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
His short films include the Disney-produced horror comedy hit Snatched for Hulu starring Emmy Winner Tatiana Maslany, the 3x award-winning mystery drama Montana, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and the erotic thriller Strangers On A Beach, produced by Academy Award Winner Andrew Carlberg and featuring music by Grammy Award Winner Andrew Dost of the band fun. He is also the creator of the six-episode Fox-produced thriller comedy audio series Arlo's Type, available worldwide on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Other directing projects include numerous music videos, branded content, and segments for The Tony Awards telecast.
His TV concoctions, filled with sharp cultural commentary and thought-provoking flavors, have been featured on The Red List, and his scripts have placed as finalists at Sundance (2x), SeriesFest (2x), Final Draft (Top 5), and Coverfly (Top 1%.) His half-hour TV comedy series Senior High is in development with producer Danny Rose (Scrubs.)
Michael is also the co-creator of the live variety game show, That's A Gay Ass Live Show, which recently opened The NY Comedy Festival and played Netflix Is A Joke with stars Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Ana Gasteyer, Margaret Cho, and a rotating cast of LGBTQ+ celebrities and allies. Its TV adaptation, Gay Olympics, is in development.
As an award-winning theatre maker, he has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at Lincoln Center, and his debut novel, Project Wild - adapted into his hour-long TV series of the same name - was named by Launch Pad as one of the best unpublished manuscripts in the world. Other projects include the tech sci-fi feature Pay Attention! and the urban fantasy comic book series 8th Deadly Sin. Creative direction for large-scale events include The Tony Awards, The Golden Trailer Awards, and Art Basel Miami.
Additionally, Michael has an extensive background in social impact. In 2013, he launched All Star Code, now the largest tech education non-profit for young men of color nationwide, and in 2008, he co-created, directed, choreographed and produced The Tommy Awards, an annual philanthropic Off-Broadway event that honors the cultural contributions made by USC alumni in New York. His work has been covered by Vanity Fair, Vogue, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Bloomberg and The New York Times.
For more, visit WhoIsMichaelSchwartz.com or find him across socials @BoatAshore.
