Michael Greenspan

Written by Dorothy Supri Tuesday, 30 June 2009 13:15

Michael won the very first award at the very first International Student Film Festival Hollywood right here in the NoHo Arts District and he continues to give back to the community by sharing his passion for filmmaking.

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a filmmaker?

In high school, I knew a girl who starred in a movie and I thought I’d like to try that. I auditioned for my high school play, Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution and got the lead as Sir Wilfred Robarts! The night before the production, my friends were calling to ask if I knew my lines. I didn’t know my lines. I made it through the first scene and then I had to make up my lines in front of 300 people! …I still had the bug; I did Fame, The Musical, and a couple of other plays but maybe acting wasn’t for me.

Then at summer camp, I was a Counselor in Training, and they needed someone to write and direct a play – I was hired! The play was Jimbo Goes Limbo and it was set to the music of Queen. I came away feeling good about directing and that I could do this. Then I started writing and directing my own short films and immediately found a comfortable place.

Where did you learn your craft?

In Quebec, we have a pre-college program where I was immersed in the Arts, an intense, two year study of art, drawing, literature and film. Professor and talented playwright, Fred Ward, became my mentor in the second year. He opened my eyes and made me really look at things – at things, at people, how they moved and talked. He made me see what was really there.

Then I attended York University, in Toronto where I got my undergraduate degree in film theory and production. I was again immersed in the study of world cinema. The advantage of studying in Canada is the influence from all of the major countries and the amazing films they produce. Professors come from all over the world to teach and I was exposed not just to Hollywood movies, but many different ways to tell stories. I was very influenced by a couple of European Professors at York who talked of film not as entertainment, but as a form of expression. It opened my eyes to a group of people that had a need to tell stories at any cost. It stuck with me.

In my third year at York, I raised $10,000 and wrote and directed a film called Fishtales, which went on to win all kinds of awards in Toronto and across Canada. Then, in my fourth year, I made Lost And Found, which got me invited to the Directors program at American Film Institute where I earned a Masters degree.

Are there other filmmakers who inspire you?

There are so many…. Scorsese, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Woody Allen, Kurosawa, Coppola, Wilder… I think when you try to emulate your idols and fail, that’s when you end up creating your own style – that’s what they’ve given me.

Robert Wise was a gracious mentor and an incredible source of inspiration; he always found a way to tell big, beautiful stories about real people. The night before we shot The Legend of Razorback, I called Mr. Wise for any last minute advice. He told me to write down three words … Casting. Casting. Casting. I still have that piece of paper.

In 2003, you entered your film, The Legend of Razorback; in the International Student Film Festival Hollywood and won an award. Did it help you in any way?

After the festival someone did come up to me and ask if I wanted to teach filmmaking. Six months later I was teaching elementary school kids about film and am still doing it today.

It’s wonderful that you spend time teaching and inspiring children. Do you find that they inspire you as well?

(Laughter) Yes …They’re kids, there’s no editing system. They love what they know, they know what they love. My job is to really listen to them and understand what they want to do – and not change it.

What advice would you give future filmmakers?

It doesn’t matter what you make. Make it real, make it true and make it the best you can make it.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am set to direct my first feature in September. A very smart psychological thriller called Wrecked. It’s the story about a man trapped in a car at the bottom of the ravine and he can’t remember who he is or how he got there. It stars Adrien Brody. We’ll be shooting deep in the forests just outside of Vancouver where Rambo: First Blood was shot. Then I have plans to direct another script I wrote, a coming of age story called The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green.

For more information about Michael Greenspan visit www.michaelgreenspanfilms.com

Michael will be a keynote speaker at the ISFFH Summer Kick-off on June 27th For more information about The International Student Film Festival Hollywood visit www.isffhollywood.org

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