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Mike-2692
He gained national attention in 1988 when humorous song parodies he wrote and produced were utilized by NASA to "wake up" astronauts during the famous Return to Flight mission (STS-26 -- the first manned space flight after the loss of the Shuttle Challenger). Mike continued to create parodies and original comedy songs for NASA astronauts and did a limited release of an album titled "MACH 25" in 1994 containing 11 songs. One song, "Denim Blues in Zero-G" was used in the IMAX film "Mission to MIR". Another of Mike's original songs "Another Saturday Night" was performed live on Good Morning America by current Shuttle astronaut/musicians.
Many of Mike's songs have been used repeatedly on numerous Space Shuttle missions and Mike holds the distinction of being the first person ever to create original songs used by NASA for manned space flight.
Mike is also a produced playwright including the musicals "Rahab the Harlot" and "Frankenstein the Monster Musical", as well as the children's play "The Three Treasures of Buccaneer Island", all of which have seen production.
He spent eight years writing for and directing live theatre and corporate and industrial videos in Houston, Texas before moving to Los Angeles in 2000.
Mike is a writer and filmmaker and his latest film "In the Company of Sinners" played at the 168 Film Festival in Los Angeles in March 2010 and enjoyed its European Premiere at the Monaco International Charity Film Festival in Monte Carlo in May 2010. His humorous commercial "Cell Phones In Church" is a YouTube hit.
Mike continues to write and direct short films and has three feature projects currently in development.
Reviews
Cast in Gray (2005)
Handsome effort but far too long.
"Cast In Gray" was a noble effort and has all the earmarks of "looking" like a good film. That is to say it is well shot and the actors deliver workmanlike performances. One gets the impression that the talent here delivered work that was adequate to the material. Had the script been better, then the talent would have had more to deliver. As it was, they were not amateurish, but neither were the performances stellar in any way. About as good as you'll find on a "B" television soap.
The story had the best of intentions. And, though I am a fan of a well-paced character piece in the classic European style, "Cast In Gray" simply did not approach that ideal. It wanted for energy, starting off nicely but quickly becoming lethargic. A seasoned editor could easily take this 39 minute piece and turn it into a fine 20 or 25 minute film without robbing it of any sense of cadence or steadiness for which I'm sure the director was aiming.
I enjoyed very much what the filmmakers were attempting, as I had the opportunity to see this piece at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. The director was in attendance there and announced his intention to turn this piece into a feature. I would urge him to seriously reconsider.
"Cast In Gray" has one dramatic reveal and it takes far too long to play out that element with few surprised along the way. This film should be shortened not elongated.
Despite this shortcoming, the film is a handsome effort and should not be completely dismissed out of hand.