Michael PolishBirth Place: El Centro, California, USA Date of Birth: October 30, 1970 Heritage: American Famous for: Director of 'Twin Falls Idaho' (1999) Contact Michael Polish | 
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Twin Falls Idaho Background: "I think audiences like that we do stuff that’s different, so we have a need to fulfill to bring our stories. Our next story’s just bigger. It’s nice to get bigger. We needed a canvas that’s a little bit bigger for the next one so it will be a bigger budget. If the studio said, ‘No, we can’t do it,’ we’d go make a $2 million movie. We’d do that, too. Budgets are not going to dictate our movies. They never had." Michael Polish Award winning filmmaker Michael Polish, who has co-written and co-produced several films with identical twin brother Mark Polish (they are professionally known as The Polish Brothers) made his directional debut with the acclaimed independent drama "Twin Falls Idaho" (1999). He has since continued to add to his resume by directing, co-writing and co-producing such films as "Jackpot" (2001), "Northfork" (2003) and "The Astronaut Farmer" (2006). Michael's upcoming film projects include "Stay Cool," "Manure" and "I.D."
Childhood and Family: In El Centro, California, Michael Polish was born on October 30, 1970. His identical twin brother is Mark Polish, with whom Michael is known as The Polish Brothers. Mark has been Michael's co-writer, producer, and actor in Polish Brothers' films. Michael was married to Jo Strettell from 1998 to 2004. He has one daughter, Jasper Polish, who appears in his movie "The Astronaut Farmer" (2006).
Career: First appearing in film alongside twin brother Mark in the Kevin Yagher and Joe Chappelle directed horror film "Hellraiser: Bloodline" (1996; starring Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, and Doug Bradley), Michael Polish made his directional debut in 1999 with the independent film "Twin Falls Idaho," which he co-wrote and co-starred in alongside his brother Mark. The film won Athens International Film Festival's Audience Award, as well as Deauville Film Festival's CinéLive Award, a Fun Radio Trophy, and a Jury Special Prize. It was also nominated for ALMA Award's Outstanding Director of a Feature Film, Deauville Film Festival's Grand Special Prize, Gotham's Open Palm Award, Independent Spirit Award's Best First Feature - Over $500,000, and Stockholm Film Festival's Bronze Horse. The film was released in limited theaters and earned approximately double its $500,000 budget. "That was a fun movie to make. Financially, you're going through hell. You're sitting there in the Great Plains going, 'Damn, we got no money,' and that's a bad feeling to have. That's just not a good feeling to have, but when you went in and called 'Action!' and you saw what was going on in those moments, that was pretty cool." Michael Polish (on making "Twin Falls Idaho,” 1999) Michael followed it up with his second film, "Jackpot" (2001), a comedy that he produced and co-wrote with his brother Mark. The film, which follows an aspiring country singer (played by Jon Gries) who travels with his road manager to find an audience, won Independent Spirit Awards' John Cassavetes Award and Seattle International Film Festival's New American Cinema Award. After co-starring with his brother as twin thieves Bertram and Albert in director Neil Jordan's thriller "The Good Thief" (2002; starring Nutsa Kukhianidze and Nick Nolte), a remake of a famous 1955 French film "Bob le flambeur" by Jean-Pierre Melville, Michael returned to the director's chair and helmed "Northfork" (2003), a period drama set in 1955 which he also produced and co-wrote with his brother Mark. Starring James Woods, Nick Nolte, Daryl Hannah, and Peter Coyote, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2003, and later received a limited release in the United States. It received mixed reviews from critics, but won several awards at film festivals, including the Best Director award at the Athens International Film Festival, the Golden Fleece award at the Golden Trailer Awards, and the German Independence Award at the Oldenburg Film Festival. It was also nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville Film Festival. "We didn't know we'd have to become producers and we didn't realize that we would have to become writers, two things that are essential. No money to buy property or buy a book to adapt. Why don't we just write a movie we want to see? So we sat down and just started with 'Northfork.’" Michael Polish The following year, Michael acted alongside his brother, Robert De Niro, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel, Kathy Bates, and F. Murray Abraham in Mary McGuckian's ensemble drama film based on Thornton Wilder's acclaimed 1927 novel, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (2004), which was praised for its costume design, but was poorly received by critics. “It interested me in the way that how would I do this? How could I do this? I know that I can’t go in the space shuttle. I’m not an astronaut but if I had an interest, how would I go about it? So it was basically going back to school and learning about rocket science and rockets. Mark found a great parallel between this and making movies. You need the exact same everything. Family, money, you’re going to put yourself through a lot of financial hard times getting yourself out there. It was original, still, to us. It was still an original idea and that idea of just following your dreams relates to all aspects of life. It just wasn’t gonna be about space. It’s going to be a metaphor for the stars and everybody reaching for the stars.” Michael Polish (on making "The Astronaut Farmer,” 2006) 2006 saw Michael direct Billy Bob Thornton in the dramatic film "The Astronaut Farmer," which he co-wrote and co-produced with brother Mark. It was released on February 23 2007, just three days after the 45th anniversary of the United States' first orbital mission, Friendship 7, piloted by John Glenn. About the film, Michael explained, "You have to believe that it can be done. That's why even though there are fantastical elements about a fantasy; I still believe that you can do it because you can build it. I had to believe that they were actually making these vessels and how was it being done. They were actually making these atlas rockets somewhere. There has to be a scrap yard out there full of these things. Some might say that Charles farmer is going through a mid-life crisis. Instead of getting a corvette, he gets a rocket and wants to blast off in outer space." He also said, "We didn't approach ‘The Astronaut Farmer’ as a family film to be honest. We approached it as what inspired us when we were kids. It was family films because we were allowed in to see them because of our age. They made movies for younger kids that had more of an edge to them than what they are now." Michael will soon complete his upcoming film project, "Stay Cool," a comedy which he co-wrote and co-produced with brother Mark, who also stars as a successful author who must face one of his old flames (played by Winona Ryder) when he travels back home to deliver a commencement address. Currently filming in California, the film will also feature Sean Astin, Chevy Chase, and Hilary Duff. He is also directing a comedy titled "Manure," which he co-wrote and produced with brother Mark, who co-stars with Téa Leoni and Billy Bob Thornton. Michael will also direct, co-write and co-produce a science fiction film called "I.D." Asked if he and twin Mark will always be partners, Michael replied, “We enjoy each other’s company. It’s always good to have someone by you that understands. And you know, we’re going from city to city doing this and its real fun to have company.”
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