Michael Mann is a British and American sociologist, a specialist in historical macrosociology, and a representative of the Neo-Weberian school of social and political research. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge since 2010.
In 1971, Michael Mann returned to the United States, where he began production of the road movie Seventeen Days on the Road. About three years later, he wrote the scripts for four episodes of the TV series Starsky & Hutch and the pilot episode of Vegas. During the same period, together with former law enforcement officer Joseph Wambaugh, the director worked on the series “Police Story”. This project taught him to take seriously the preparatory period – Michael realized that this is where the success of the film is laid. Michael Mann also acted as a producer of the series “Miami Vice” and “Crime Stories”, but, contrary to a common misconception, he was not their creator, although the projects are made on the basis of his film company. However, it can not be said that Mann did not participate in the shooting: his influence is clearly visible in the stylistic and acting and acting components of both series.
The greatest recognition of Michael Mann brought, of course, his full-length films, ensuring that the master was among the best directors in the United States. Mann’s full-length debut was the movie “Thief” (1981) with James Caan in the title role. In 1986, he created the first ever film about Hannibal Lecter “Manhunter”, an adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel “Red Dragon”. The main role in the picture performed Brian Cox. International recognition came to the director in 1992, thanks to the production of Fenimore Cooper’s novel “The Last of the Mohicans. A little later, in the second half of the 1990s, Mann released two pictures that brought him irrelevant recognition of critics: it is a crime drama “The Clash” (1995) and biographical film “His Man” (1999). In both films, the main role played by Al Pacino: in tandem with Robert De Niro in “The Clash” and Russell Crowe in “His Man”.
In 2001, Michael Mann directed the movie “Ali” (about boxer Muhammad Ali) with a young actor Will Smith, who became famous after the premiere. In the movie “Hancock” (2008), which tells the story of a superhero-alcoholic, Mann resumed cooperation with Smith, however, this time as a producer. He also became a co-producer of the drama “The Aviator” with Leonardo DiCaprio, unable because of employment on the set of “Participant” to direct the movie himself and handed the project to Martin Scorsese. By the way, the picture “Complice” was an incredible success, and the U.S. National Board of Film Critics recognized Michael Mann as the best director of the year.
At the moment, Mann is working on the movie “Cyber”, the release of which is scheduled for 2014. Filming is taking place in Los Angeles and Hong Kong.