Michael Spierig is a German-born Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter best known for working with his twin brother, Peter Spierig, on Predestination and Daybreakers.
He was one of the directors of Jigsaw.
Early Life[]
Peter and Michael Spierig were born on April 29, 1976, in Buchholz, Germany, to parents John and Marianne Spierig. The identical twins were four years old when their parents decided to move to Sydney, Australia, where they spent their childhood. The family then moved to Brisbane in the late 80s, where the twins continued their high school and university education. Peter and Michael earned their bachelor's degrees from Queensland College of Art, where Michael majored in graphic design while Peter majored in film and television.
Career[]
When they were children, Peter and Michael developed a fascination with filmmaking after discovering their father's video camera at the age of 10 years. At age 12, they directed their first short film.
Throughout high school and college, the twins kept directing short films. Many of their projects were featured in local film festivals and ceremonies, earning them over 15 awards. Their work eventually caught the attention of Queensland's foremost commercial director Dick Marks, who hired the brothers to direct television commercials. Peter and Michael worked on over sixty television commercials for numerous clients, including Coke, Universal, Myer, Lend Lease, Energex, and Telstra.
While working in the advertising industry, Peter and Michael continued writing and directing short films. Their final short movie, The Big Picture, went on to screen and won awards at several prestigious national and international film festivals, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
After creating over 15 short films and dozens of television commercials, the brothers ventured into feature film production in early 2000. After they agreed to pool their life savings, Peter and Michael created their first film, Nightbreakers - The Undead, a low-budget zombie horror comedy. The Undead screened at 17 film festivals, including Edinburgh, Montreal, Toronto, Sitges, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Puchon, and won the prestigious Fipresci Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The film was sold to 41 countries and released in the US and Canada by Lions Gate Entertainment, who developed a close relationship with Peter and Michael and backed their second production, Daybreakers.
Daybreakers starred Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan, Vince Colosimo, Michael Dorman, and Isabel Lucas. It was released in the United States on 2,500 screens in January 2010 and has grossed $51.4 million worldwide.
The Spierig brothers' third film was the action sci-fi thriller Predestination, based on the science fiction short story All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein. The story revolves around a detective from a covert government agency who embarks on an intricate series of time-travel journeys to catch a master criminal. The film starred Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook and included an appearance by Noah Taylor. After its premiere at SXSW on March 8, 2014, the film received many positive reviews from Variety, The Guardian, and IGN Movies. The film was released later that year.
In 2016, the brothers directed Jigsaw, the eighth installment of the Saw franchise and the first after a seven-year hiatus. It was released on October 27, 2017.
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2000 | The Big Picture |
| 2003 | Undead |
| 2009 | Daybreakers |
| 2014 | Predestination |
| 2017 | Jigsaw |
| 2018 | Winchester |
Gallery[]
