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More Michael Mann Bios & Profiles

 

The most recent Michael Mann biography is published on the main page.
 


Biography #2 (for Baadasssss!)

A man of extraordinary vision in a career spanning three decades, award-winning producer and director Michael Mann has been an inspiration to generations of filmmakers.

Mann was born in Chicago and educated at the University of Wisconsin. He then moved to England to do graduate work at the London Film School. After completing his degree, he remained in Europe to start a small production company making documentaries, shorts and television commercials. In 1970, his short film, JUANPURI won the Jury Prize at Cannes. He came back to the U.S. in 1971 to shoot and direct 17 DAYS DOWN THE LINE, a documentary about a road trip upon his return to America.

In the mid-1970s, Mann made his theatrical film debut with THE THIEF, a modernist crime story starring James Caan and Jim Belushi that was nominated for the Golden Palm Award at Cannes. He followed this in 1983 with the gothic horror film THE KEEP, starring Gabriel Byrne, Scott Glenn, and Ian McKellen. In 1986, he directed MANHUNTER, a psychological thriller based upon the first of Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter books, Red Dragon, featuring William Petersen and Brian Cox as Lecter.

Throughout the 1980s, Mann continued to work in television with the revolutionary Miami Vice and the acclaimed Chicago and Las Vegas drama Crime Story, starring Dennis Farina. In addition to these efforts, he produced the 1990 Emmy-winning miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story and executive produced the 1992 Emmy-nominated sequel Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel.

In 1992, Mann directed, co-wrote and produced THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe. Following this success, in 1995, he directed HEAT from his own original screenplay that starred Al Pacino and Robert De Niro; in fact, Ashley Judd and Amy Brenneman each had their first major roles in HEAT.

In 1999, Mann earned Oscar nominations for co-writing, directing, and producing THE INSIDER, starring Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. Based upon Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article: The Man Who Knew Too Much, the film tells the true story of Jeffrey Wigand, a tobacco industry executive who blew the whistle on the industry's cover-up of cigarette's known health risks.

In 2001, Mann took audiences into the heart and life of legendary boxer, Muhammed Ali in ALI, starring Will Smith and Jon Voight, both of whom received Oscar nominations.

Most recently, Mann produced Robbery: Homicide Division for CBS, starring Tom Sizemore. He is currently producing and directing COLLATERAL, starring Tom Cruise.

Bio courtesy Sony Classics for "Baadasssss!" (02-Jul-2004)


Biography #3

Michael Mann's most recent film was the 1995 worldwide critical and commercial success, Heat. It was developed from a script first written by him in 1982, and starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer and Jon Voight.

Born in Chicago and educated at the University of Wisconsin, Mann moved to England in the mid 1960s to do graduate work at the London Film School. After graduating, he remained in Europe where he started a small production company making documentaries and commercials for television.

In 1972, he returned to the United States where he directed the documentary 17 Days Down the Line, following a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. Concentrating on developing skills as a writer during the mid 1970s, Mann wrote some early episodes of the television series Starsky and Hutch, Police Story, and wrote the pilot, creating the series Vegas. This television work led him to direct his first feature-length project The Jericho Mile (1979), originally made for TV, but later released theatrically outside the U.S. The film won an Emmy and a Directors Guild of America Award for Mann as Best Director.

Mann's auspicious feature film debut was Thief (1981), a modernist thriller starring James Caan as a high line burglar. The film was shot in Chicago and also featured Chicago Police Detective Dennis Farina, later to become known for his lead in Mann's Crime Story TV series. In 1983, Mann wrote and directed The Keep, mainly filmed at Shepperton Studios in the U.K., a gothic horror film starring Gabriel Byrne, Scott Glenn and Ian McKellen.

Manhunter (1986), Mann's interpretation of Thomas Harris' book Red Dragon, was a menacing psychological drama featuring Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter.

In the mid 1980s, Michael Mann renewed his involvement with television, making Miami Vice which was created by Tony Yerkovich, and Crime Story, set in Chicago and Las Vegas. In 1989, he made the six-hour Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, which won an Emmy for the best miniseries.

In 1992, Mann directed, co-wrote and co-produced the epic 18th century drama set in the frontier wilderness, The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe.

Bio courtesy Touchstone (01-Jan-2000)