Michael James Love

Michael James Love (aka Michael Love) is a screenwriter, producer and director

Love grew up in Mexico City of American parents and attended Cal Arts at Valencia California. In 1987 Love wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award-nominated Gaby: A True Story[1] directed by Luis Mandoki about Gabriela Brimmer, the Mexican poet with cerebral palsy, starring Liv Ullmann, Robert Loggia, and Norma Aleandro.[2][3] In 1993 Love wrote the original screenplays for the ABC movie of the week Shattering the Silence[4] and in 1996 the Spanish-language feature film Extranos Caminos.[5] Love has written many other screenplays, including Mavericks for Playtone, Icon and Universal Studios, and Tina Modotti for Mick Jagger's Jagged Films and Warner Brothers. In 2010 Love wrote the screenplay for the Spanish language film La Leyenda De Las Arcas released in 2011. Most recently, Michael wrote the original screenplay for the English language historical epic Cristiada directed by Dean Wright and produced by NewLand Films about the Cristero War in Mexico (1926–1929), starring Andy García, Peter O'Toole, Bruce Greenwood, Eva Longoria and Rubén Blades.[6][7] "Cristiada" aka "For Greater Glory" was released internationally by Relativity Media and Arc Entertainment and was nominated for five Alma Awards.[8]

As a writer, producer, director, Michael Love made three feature films with his ex-wife Tina Love: Hold it Like a Baby (2009),[9] and the documentaries Last Man in Paradise (2011)[10] and Much Ado About W. (2007),[11] all of which had their world premieres at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

As natural history filmmaker Michael has made two feature documentaries and several shorts: The Santa Ynez River Wilderness (2012), Premiere 2013 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[12] The Santa Ynez River wilderness won the 2013 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival CCF Best Documentary Film Award,[13] and Bringing Back the Wild: Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. Short natural history films by Michael Love include The Snowy Plover and You (2016), Devereux Slough (2017), Breakthrough (2016), The Western Snowy Plover: Natural History and Recovery (2016). Clients include University of California at Santa Barbara, Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration.

From 1992 to 1999 Love was instructor for The American Film Institute's workshop The Final Draft, and Faculty Board Member of the AFI Professional Training Division. He has also been a lecturer in screenwriting at UCSB (2001,2002) and Smith College.

Michael is also a jazz pianist and has a BA degree in music composition from Cal Arts.