Michael Schwartz is an award-winning writer, director, and producer - equal parts Queer from San Francisco and Jew from New York City. A graduate of USC film school, Michael mixes heart, smarts, thrills and dark humor, then adds a fizz of moral ambiguity to tell topical stories where relatable characters are thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
Favorite cocktails include the Disney produced SNATCHED, starring Emmy Winner Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), Brendan Hines (Locke & Key), and Misha Osherovich (Freaky), streaming on Hulu, and the 3x award-winning MONTANA, starring Jennifer Mudge (Somebody Somewhere) and Chris Henry Coffey (Trust), streaming on Amazon Prime Video. His latest film, STRANGERS ON A BEACH, produced by Academy Award winning Producer Andrew Carlberg and Gotham Award winning Producer Nilou Safinya, features cinematography from Sundance award winner Matthew Pothier, music by Grammy Award Winner Andrew Dost of fun. and stars Jelani Alladin (Fellow Travelers), Zane Phillips (Fire Island), Juliana Aidén Martinez (Griselda) and Jack Falahee (How To Get Away With Murder.)
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%.) As an award-winning theatre maker, he has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at Lincoln Center, directed large-scale events including The Tony Awards events, The Golden Trailer Awards, and Art Basel Miami, and his debut novel, PROJECT WILD, was named by Launch Pad as one of the best unpublished manuscripts in the world.
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. Upcoming projects include the sci-fi heist comedy feature PAY ATTENTION! and the urban fantasy comic book series 8TH DEADLY SIN.
Additionally, Michael has an extensive background in social impact. In 2013, he helped launch ALL STAR CODE, now the largest tech education non-profit for young men of color nationwide. And in 2008, he created THE TOMMY AWARDS, an evening of celebration, philanthropy and performance that continues to be held annually Off-Broadway in honor of the cultural contributions made by USC alumni.
A lifelong vegetarian and a cultural carnivore, his work has been covered by Vanity Fair, Vogue, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. For all the latest recipes and more, visit WhoIsMichaelSchwartz.com, or find him across socials @BoatAshore.