Michael is the Executive in charge of film & TV finance and development at Cherokee Film. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Film Production and Acquisitions at American Zoetrope for over seven years and a cofounder, along with Roman Coppola, of The Decentralized Pictures Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting independent filmmaking and filmmakers from underserved and underrepresented communities. He continues to serve on its board. He is an attorney, admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina, and received his Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001. He practiced law for 10 years before becoming a Full-Time Creative Film Producer. He has worked closely with such accomplished filmmakers as Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Gia Coppola, Ted Kotcheff, Martha Coolidge, Fred Roos and Richard Chew before and during his time at American Zoetrope. During his tenure at American Zoetrope, he oversaw the development and production of several feature films: Gia Coppola’s “Mainstream” starring Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolfe and Jason Schwartzman; “Fairyland” starring Emilia Jones and Scoot McNairy; as well as the production of “The Outsiders” musical, which debuted on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theater on April 11, 2024.