Michael J. Prosser movie list
Known primarily for his micro-budget cult hit, The Dividing Hour, Mike Prosser has made a career of telling quirky, original stories. A multifaceted artist, Mike has worked in almost every discipline of film, television, and theater -- both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Mike began acting in grade school in Lake Oswego, Oregon, quickly jumping from school pageants to community theater, both as an actor and budding scenic artist, augmenting his after-school private art lessons. His growing curiosity in the macabre began to show in his creative endeavors around sixth grade when he discovered Fangoria Magazine which led to a new discipline -- Sculpting and Special Make-up Effects. Middle School/Junior High in Forest Grove, Oregon is where Mike started writing down these dark tales, in script form, crafting his first handwritten screenplay for a blatant rip-off of Heavy Metal meets Creepshow with his best friend, Brett.
High School in Forest Grove, Oregon proved to be a fertile combinations of all of his interests in the theater department, writing a number of One-Act Plays, directing for the stage, scenic design, and building severed heads for their production of MacBeth. Mike won the local Charles Trombley Award for writing the One-Act Play, A Single Bullet (which dealt with mature content around teen pregnancy and suicide).
Directly after High School, Mike began working for Will Vinton Studios as the youngest full-time sculptor they had ever hired. Mike worked on a Gravy Dog Food spot, The California Raisin's special -- Meet The Raisins, and the highlight, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. Mike sculpted the only likeness of the King of Pop in the "Speed Demon" sequence of the film. All of this in just one summer before it was time to head to college in the Fall.
Southern Oergon State College (now Southern Oregon University) in Ashland, Oregon was a jump in the quality of his work surrounded by one of the most talented groups of students the college had ever seen including Supernatural's Kim Rhodes, and Ty Burrell of Modern Family (Ty starring in Mike's written, directed, and produced short film, Brett & Dave). His first short, House For Sale, had a cameo from a very famous childhood influence, Emilio Delgado (Luis from Sesame Street), which went on to be a Best of the Year Short at the Cracked Lens Film Festival. He continued his passion for Acting, receiving a BFA with acting emphasis, but continued to develop his sculpting, make-up effects, writing, and directing as well. Mike began writing feature-length screenplays. He completed three before graduating (one written as an independent study course under his creative writing teacher, Lawson Inada, former Poet Laureate of Oregon. That script is currently in pre-production.
Fresh out of school, Mike continued screenwriting and sat down with collaborator, comic book writer, David Walker (Shaft, War For The Planet Of The Apes, Power Man & Iron Fist). Their efforts produced the Reservoir Dogs meets Carnival of Souls mash-up -- The Dividing Hour. Prosser went on to produce and direct the film on a shoestring budget. That film put him on the map with articles in Fangoria Magazine, shout-outs on Aint It Cool News!, a very generous mention as a filmmaker to watch in horror from Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape Of Water) on the Hellboy website, and the biggest feather int eh cap... the film was one of 22 Cult Favorites on an episode of Roger Ebert & The Movies.
Mike has chosen to live in Oregon, never venturing to LA or NYC to pursue his dreams. He instead enjoys continuing his Jack-of-all-Trades creative lifestyle in the Northwest. He was featured in the films, Untraceable, Leave No Trace, and TV's Levereage and Grimm. Mike has written 14 screenplays to date -- 2 produced, 1 optioned to be made in Spanish, and 2 commissioned.
Mike has a Horror-Drama currently seeking distribution titled Recovery -- an Ordinary People meets the J-Horror Classic, Pulse, tale of the loss and safe-keeping of innocence.
Mike is currently in pre-production on his werewolf Urban Crime-Horror-Comedy, Watchdog, but has learned from Guillermo Del Toro to keep all of his screenplays at the ready.
