Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. He is also the former president of production at both

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

and DreamWorks. De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture. De Luca formerly served as the chairman of the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Motion Picture Group and currently serves as a co-chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures Group (now known as Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group).

Early life

De Luca was born and raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. His mother was a German-Jewish immigrant, and his father, who was Italian American and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, worked at ConEdison. De Luca began pursuing a career in show business in 1986. Originally tapped to work as a story editor, he rose fairly quickly through the ranks, thanks in part to his mentor, chairman and co-founder of New Line Cinema

Robert Shaye Robert Kenneth Shaye (born March 4, 1939) is an American businessman, film producer, actor, director, and writer. Shaye is the founder of New Line Cinema, a film production studio that was most successful for distributing ''The Lord of the Rin ...

. De Luca completed his degree from Tisch School of the Arts of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1995.

Career

De Luca began his career in 1988, working as a writer on the TV series '' Freddy's Nightmares''. In 1990, De Luca made his debut in the film industry as an associate producer on '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III,'' which was quickly followed by his writing/producing role on the film '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare''. He wrote the 1994

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' In the Mouth of Madness'', directed by John Carpenter. De Luca co-wrote the story for the 1995 film adaptation of the popular British comic book character Judge Dredd, starring

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

as the eponymous lead. In 1996, De Luca, was approached by the producers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore for '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and pitched an idea which turned into an opportunity to write an episode for the series, ''Threshold''. De Luca is a former President of Production for

. During his tenure at New Line Cinema, he oversaw a variety of films that would come to define the studio, including '' Seven'', '' Friday'', '' Boogie Nights'', '' Austin Powers'', '' Rush Hour'', ''

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

'', '' American History X'', and '' Magnolia''. After New Line Cinema, De Luca became President of Production at DreamWorks, his tenure lasting from 2001 to 2004. After his contract with DreamWorks ended, De Luca signed a production deal with Sony Pictures and started his own production company, Michael De Luca Productions. His first release under his production company was '' Ghost Rider'' (2007) starring Nicolas Cage, followed by '' 21'' and '' The Love Guru'' (both 2008) starring Mike Myers. He was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar two years in a row for '' The Social Network'' (2010) and ''Moneyball'' (2011). He received a third nomination in 2014 for producing '' Captain Phillips by Paul Greengrass''. De Luca also produced the 2011 remake of the cult classic vampire horror film '' Fright Night''. De Luca and Dana Brunetti reunited for '' Fifty Shades of Grey,'' the 2015 film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name. It was a massive financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time. On January 3, 2020, it was announced that De Luca had been appointed Chairman of the MGM Motion Picture Group. In July 2022 he and Pamela Abdy left for Warner Bros. Pictures Group, taking up the roles of co-chairpersons and CEO, respectively.

Personal life

De Luca was previously in a relationship with actress

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...

, star of New Line's '' Boogie Nights''. In 2009, he married actress Angelique Madrid (born 1974) from Ft. Worth, Texas; she had been a contestant on the first season of ABC's '' The Bachelor''. They have two children.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer * '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'' (1990) * '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' (1991) * '' The Mask'' (1994) * '' Don Juan DeMarco'' (1994) * '' In the Mouth of Madness'' (1994) * '' Last Man Standing'' (1996) * '' The Long Kiss Goodnight'' (1996) * '' B.A.P.S.'' (1997) * '' Wag the Dog'' (1997) * '' Dark City'' (1998) * '' Lost in Space'' (1998) * ''

'' (1998) (Uncredited) * '' Pleasantville'' (1998) * '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) * '' Detroit Rock City'' (1999) * '' Body Shots'' (1999) * '' The Bachelor'' (1999) * '' Magnolia'' (1999) * '' Lost Souls'' (2000) * '' Little Nicky'' (2000) * '' Thirteen Days'' (2000) * '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (2001) * '' Blow'' (2001) * '' Town & Country'' (2001) * ''

Storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

'' (2001) * '' Rush Hour 2'' (2001) * '' Knockaround Guys'' (2001) * '' Life as a House'' (2001) * '' I Am Sam'' (2001) * '' Run Ronnie Run!'' (2002) * '' John Q.'' (2002) * '' Blade II'' (2002) * ''

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

'' (2002) * '' Unconditional Love'' (2002) * '' Simone'' (2002) * '' A Man Apart'' (2003) Co-executive producer * '' Deep Cover'' (1992) * '' Loaded Weapon 1'' (1993) * '' One Night Stand'' (1997) * '' Boogie Nights'' (1997) * '' American History X'' (1998) Producer * '' Zathura: A Space Adventure'' (2005) * '' Ghost Rider'' (2007) * '' 21'' (2008) * '' The Love Guru'' (2008) * '' Brothers'' (2009) * '' The Social Network'' (2010) * '' Drive Angry'' (2011) * '' Priest'' (2011) * '' Fright Night'' (2011) * '' Butter'' (2011) * '' Moneyball'' (2011) * '' The Sitter'' (2011) * '' Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance'' (2011) * '' Captain Phillips'' (2013) * '' Dracula Untold'' (2014) * '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' (2015) * '' Fifty Shades Darker'' (2017) * '' Fifty Shades Freed'' (2018) * '' Under the Silver Lake'' (2018) * '' The Sisters Brothers'' (2018) * '' The Kitchen'' (2019) * '' 12 Mighty Orphans'' (2021) * '' Reminiscence'' (2021) * '' Ricky Stanicky'' (2024) * '' The Fire Inside'' (2024) Writer * '' The Lawnmower Man'' (1987) (Short film) * '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' (1991) * '' In the Mouth of Madness'' (1994) * '' Judge Dredd'' (1995) ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

Television

TV specials * 89th Academy Awards (2017) * 90th Academy Awards (2018) Executive producer Writer ;Miscellaneous crew ;As an actor

References

External links

*
DeLuca Interview at ColliderVarietyDeLuca at Hollywood
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Luca, Michael 1965 births Living people American male screenwriters American television writers American male television writers American people of German-Jewish descent American writers of Italian descent Film producers from New York (state) Golden Globe Award–winning producers Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives Primetime Emmy Award winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Tisch School of the Arts alumni Writers from Brooklyn