Michael William Hogan was a Midwest-born corporate executive-type until one day he awakened to realize that he was working for all the wrong reasons. And all the wrong people.

Alarmed but enlightened, Michael thought about checking himself into one of those outrageously expensive facilities in the hills above Malibu but discovered that none offered corporate executive-typectomies. Undeterred, he bought a tattered volume of Mid-Life Crisis Management for Dummies at a used bookstore in Brentwood only to get home and discover the chapter on transitioning from hell to heaven had been torn out. Left with only self-reliance, Michael rewired his grey matter to finally pursue what matters: happiness, creativity, screenwriting, filmmaking. Unable to fully abandon his entrepreneurial side, he also launched a production company, Motu Productions.

In the time since—and somehow without the help of artificial intelligence or an MFA in Writing for Screen & Television—multiple short and feature scripts began to accumulate on Michael’s hard drive. The quality of his writing has been validated by the accumulation of dozens of screenwriting competition awards, including over 200 in 2020/2021; of which more than 50 were outright "Best Screenplay" wins. Yet, like a cure for cancer or a permanent eradicator of fat cells, he remains “undiscovered”.

Whether a glutton for punishment or a poster child for persistence, Michael continues his quest to prove his value as a writer—and a filmmaker. In 2021 he directed “Breaking & Entering”, a provocative and edgy drama based on his script that garnered 25 “Best Short Screenplay” awards. In just a few short months on the festival circuit, “B&E” has won more than 35 “Best Short Film" and “Best Director” awards.

All that said, Michael is well-grounded in the knowledge that true rewards will come from continued hard work, collaboration with other passionate filmmakers, and engaging with producers, studio executives and production companies that value good stories well told.