David Michôd

David Michôd
Michôd in 2012
Born
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
Years active2000–present

David Michôd (/ˈmɪʃoʊ/ MISH-oh;[1]) is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor.[2][3][4] He is best known for directing the critically acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010) and dystopian drama The Rover (2014). He also co-wrote Hesher (2010).

Education and early career

Michôd was educated at Sydney Grammar School before moving to Melbourne to study arts at the University of Melbourne. After working for the Victorian Department of Education he decided to attend film school while in his mid-20s. He was the editor of Inside Film magazine from 2003 to 2006.[3][5][6]

Career

Early career: Short films and documentaries

Michôd began his directing career in short films, with Ezra White, LL.B. in 2006 being one of the first to make an impact.[7] In 2007, Michôd's short film Crossbow, a coming-of-age drama was premiered at Venice Film Festival and received positive response from critics.[8][9] Afterwards, the film competed at number of film festivals and earned good reviews. The film also screened at Sundance Film Festival and won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Screenplay in a Short Film.[10][11]

In 2008, Michôd directed another short film, Netherland Dwarf, which also screened at Sundance Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival and earned positive reviews from critics.[8][12][13][14] The same year, Michôd co-directed Solo, a documentary film with Jennifer Peedom. It depicts the fatal journey of Australian adventurer Andrew McAuley who went on a solo kayak crossing from Tasmania to New Zealand.[15][16] The documentary received a positive response upon release, with Empire rating the film five stars: "As a tribute to a man – and man's – insatiable search for adventure, it's unforgettable."[17] In 2009, Michôd directed Inside the Square, a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of 2008 film The Square directed by Nash Edgerton.[18][19]

Feature films

Animal Kingdom

In 2010, he released his first feature film, Animal Kingdom. The film was widely acclaimed by critics and received several awards and nominations.[3][5][20][21][22] Dave Calhoun from Time Out compared him to Martin Scorsese saying that "He brings a big dose of Scorsese to Melbourne in telling of a fictional crime family."[23] J.R. Jones of Chicago Reader praised Michôd''s director saying "Writer-director David Michôd creates a densely textured moral universe that makes good on his metaphoric title."[24] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic said that "The naturalistic style Michôd employs adds to the sense of dread. Is there no way out of this existence?"[25] The film became the third highest grossing Australian film at the Australian box office in 2010, with a worldwide box office gross of US$5,775,563.[26]

The Rover

Michôd's next film, The Rover, was a futuristic Western starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson.[27][28] Filming began on 29 January 2013 in Southern Flinders Ranges in Australia and ended on 16 March 2013 in Marree, north of Adelaide.[29][30] The film premiered out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2014.[31][32] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said "David Michod's follow-up to his internationally successful debut with the Melbourne gangster saga Animal Kingdom is equally murderous but more pared down to basics, as desperate men enact a survival-of-the-meanest scenario in an economically gutted world reduced to Old West outlaw behavior."[33] The film had a limited release on 13 June 2014 in New York City and Los Angeles before expanding nationwide on 20 June 2014 in the United States.[34][35][36]

War Machine

On 14 April 2014 it was announced that Michôd would write and direct The Operators, based on the 2011 best seller of the same name by Michael Hastings. The film will be jointly produced by Plan B Entertainment, New Regency and RatPac Entertainment, with Brad Pitt attached to star.[37][38] It was later retitled War Machine. In March 2017, Netflix released a teaser trailer for the film in which Brad Pitt plays a thinly veiled version of Stanley A. McChrystal. Hastings also wrote the Rolling Stone article that revealed the friction between McChrystal's staff and then President Barack Obama's and which ultimately led to McChrystal losing his job.[39] The film was released on Netflix on 26 May 2017 and was met with mixed reviews.

The King

In an interview in 2013, it was revealed that Joel Edgerton and Michôd had co-written The King, an adaptation for Warner Bros. Pictures of three Shakespeare's plays : Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V.[40] In February 2018, it was announced that Timothée Chalamet had been cast in the titular role, with Plan B Entertainment and Blue-Tongue Films, set to produce.[41] Principal photography began on 1 June 2018 in London.[42] The film premiered on Netflix on 1 November 2019.

Influences

In the 2012 Sight & Sound Poll of the greatest films of all time Michôd chose Apocalypse Now, Alien, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Funny Games, Magnolia, Network, Sunset Blvd., The Thin Red Line, Taxi Driver and Werckmeister Harmonies as his top ten picks.[43]

Filmography

Film

Directing credits

Short film

Year Title Director Writer
2000 Noise No Yes
2005 The IF Thing No Yes
2006 Ezra White, LL.B. Yes Yes
2007 Crossbow Yes Yes
Spider No Yes
2008 I Love Sarah Jane No Yes
Netherland Dwarf Yes Yes
Solo Yes No
2009 Inside the Square Yes No
2011 Bear No Yes

'Producer'

Feature film

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Director Writer Producer
2010 Animal Kingdom Yes Yes No
Hesher No Yes No
2014 The Rover Yes Yes Yes
2017 War Machine Yes Yes No
2019 The King Yes Yes Yes
TBA Wizards! † Yes Yes No
Untitled Christy Martin film † Yes Yes Yes

Acting roles

Year Title Role
2000 Noise Dave
2005 The IF Thing Editor – IF Magazine
2006 Kenny Nurse 2
2007 Crossbow Narrator / lounge
Spider Hit Driver
Little Deaths Nathan
2008 The List Detective
2010 Animal Kingdom Reporter
2013 The Captain Dead Body

Television

Directing credits

Year Title Director Writer Executive producer Notes
2007 Dangerous No Yes No Episode 5
2013 Enlightened Yes No No Episode "No Doubt"
2015 Flesh and Bone Yes No No Episode "Bulling Through"
2016-2022 Animal Kingdom No No Yes
2017 Doc World Yes No No Episode "Kayak"
2019 Catch-22 No Yes Yes Miniseries

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Eugénie Sandler P.I. Trevor Episode 10
2008 Hammer Bay Missing Persons Detective TV movie
2018 Mr Inbetween Peter

Recurring collaborators

This chart lists every actor who has appeared in more than one film directed by Michôd. Anthony Hayes, Joel Edgerton, and Mirrah Foulkes are Michôd's most frequent collaborators, with Hayes and Edgerton each having appeared in four and Foulkes in five of his films.

Actor Ezra White, LL.B. Crossbow Netherland Dwarf Inside the Square Animal Kingdom The Rover War Machine The King Total
Dan Wyllie ☒N ☒N ☒N 2
Mirrah Foulkes ☒N ☒N ☒N ☒N ☒N 5
Joel Edgerton ☒N ☒N ☒N ☒N 4
Justin Rosniak ☒N ☒N ☒N 3
Anthony Hayes ☒N ☒N ☒N ☒N 4
Nash Edgerton ☒N ☒N 2
Guy Pearce ☒N ☒N 2
Susan Prior ☒N ☒N 2
Ben Mendelsohn ☒N ☒N 2
Scoot McNairy ☒N ☒N 2
Robert Pattinson ☒N ☒N 2

Awards

  • David Michôd was honored along with Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer for their work in international roles with the coveted 2011 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award.[44]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2000 Tropfest Best Screenplay (with Christopher Benz, Peter Curry, Louise Gartland and Sally Isaac) Noise Won [45]
2007 Melbourne International Film Festival Film Victoria Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film Crossbow Won [46]
Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI) Best Screenplay in a Short Film Won [47]
Fitz Best Short film Awards Best Film (with Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford) Won [48]
2008 Flickerfest film festival Best Director Won [49][50]
2009 Best Australian Short Film (with Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford) Netherland Dwarf Won [51][52]
Aspen Shortsfest Best Drama Won [53][54]
Banff Mountain Film Festival Best Film (with Jennifer Peedom) Solo Won [55]
Festival du Film Voyage & Adventure, Montreal Canada Grand Prix (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [56]
Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Grand Jury Prize (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [56]
Hory a Mesto Festival in Slovakia Grand Prize (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [56]
2010 Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival Best Film (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [57]
Prague International film festival Grand Prix (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [56]
Australian Directors Guild Best direction in a stand-alone documentary (with Jennifer Peedom) Won [58][59]
Best Direction in a Feature Film Animal Kingdom Won [59]
Satellite Awards Best Director Nominated [60]
Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Director Won [61]
Best Screenplay (Original) Won [61]
Australian Writers' Guild Major Award Won [62][63]
Feature Film Screenplay (Original) Won [62][63]
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best New Filmmaker Runner-up Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film Won
Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic Won [64]
Stockholm International Film Festival Best Screenplay Won [65]
Inside Film Awards Best Director Won [66]
Best Screenplay Nominated [66]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Filmmaker Nominated [67]
Australian Film Institute Awards Best Direction Won [68]
Best Screenplay Won [68]
2011 ARIA Music Awards Best Video David Michod and Flood Projects for Children Collide - "Loveless" Nominated [69]
2013 Australian Film Institute Awards Best Short Fiction Film (with Mirrah Foulkes and Michael Cody) Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke Nominated [70]
2014 Sydney Film Festival Official Competition Award: Best Film The Rover Nominated [71]
AACTA Awards Best Direction Nominated [72]
Australian Film Critics Association Best Director Nominated [73]

References

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