Michael Penn
Encyclopedia
Michael Penn is an American
singer, songwriter
and composer. He is the eldest son of actor/director Leo Penn
and actress Eileen Ryan
, and the brother of actors Sean Penn
and the late Chris Penn
.
, Penn was a member of the Los Angeles
band Doll Congress
, and had appeared as an extra
on a few television series, including St. Elsewhere
.
March, particularly the first single, "No Myth
," brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
. Penn's follow-up albums Free-for-All (1992), Resigned (1997) MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident (2000 ) Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 (2005) and Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea (2007) weren't able to match the commercial success of March, although critics continued to praise his songcraft.
It was with Free-for-All
that Penn faced the specter of the one-hit wonder
. The album, while praised by critics, was not as successful as Penn's debut, though it had more than its share of supporters. Rolling Stone called it "stunning" and CMJ wrote that the album "exhausts any doubts" about whether March was a fluke.
In Vox
magazine, critic Gary Leboff acknowledged that Penn could be "pig-headedly uncommercial," but, he conceded, "the payoff is sublime". Leboff continues, "His freeform songwriting creates tracks of startling shape and originality, offering literate reflections on the human condition..."
Penn collaborated with the renowned surrealist animators The Brothers Quay on "Long Way Down (Look What The Cat Drug In)," which found a home not on MTV
but in film festival
s around the country, winning awards along the way.
He has worked extensively creating original music for film; among his first work in this field (if not the first) was for 1993's Tales From the Vienna Woods. He scored two movies released by Paul Thomas Anderson
in 1997, Hard Eight
and Boogie Nights
; he also appears in the latter in a cameo
role playing Nick, a recording engineer. During the editing of the film, Anderson directed a music video with Penn for "Try
" from Resigned (the video can be found on the Boogie Nights DVD). Other films scored by Penn include Alan Cumming
's first two directorial efforts, The Anniversary Party
and Suffering Man's Charity
; American Teen
, Sunshine Cleaning
; the documentary The Comedians of Comedy
; and The Last Kiss
. In 2003, he was nominated for a DVDX Award for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie for Melvin Goes to Dinner
.
In August 2005, Penn released Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947
on his own Mimeograph Records label. Its songs are set against the background of post-World War II
Los Angeles
; Penn said he chose the year because of several notable events that took place then, including the passage of the National Security Act
and the invention of the transistor
. The album was reissue
d by Legacy Recordings
in April 2007 with bonus tracks from a KCRW
session.
The reissue came in conjunction with Legacy's release of Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection, a compilation that includes several alternate versions and previously unreleased songs. Penn said his goal in compiling, ordering tracks for and producing Palms and Runes was to "make it feel like an album" in its own right.
In late 2009, Penn composed the music for the film That Evening Sun
.
, and during the recording of her album I'm With Stupid (to which Penn contributed), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their December 29, 1997 marriage. Together with manager Michael Hausman
they formed United Musicians
, an anti-file-sharing, pro-strict-copyright-law organization also interested in helping artists with the promotion and distribution of their work. Penn and Mann live in Los Angeles
.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and composer. He is the eldest son of actor/director Leo Penn
Leo Penn
Leo Z. Penn was an American actor and director, and father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.-Early life:...
and actress Eileen Ryan
Eileen Ryan
Eileen Ryan is an American actress who has appeared in a number of movies and TV series. She is the widow of actor and director, Leo Penn, and mother of singer, Michael Penn, and actors, Sean and, Chris Penn, who died in January 2006....
, and the brother of actors Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
and the late Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
.
Career
Michael Penn is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and film composer. Prior to the release of his 1989 debut album MarchMarch (Michael Penn album)
March is the debut album of singer-songwriter Michael Penn, released in 1989.It featured the singles "No Myth", "This and That", and "Brave New World". In 1990, "No Myth" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #4 on the Modern...
, Penn was a member of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
band Doll Congress
Doll Congress
Doll Congress was an American 1980s alternative rock band from Los Angeles. Its members were Michael Penn , Gabriele Morgan , Patrick Warren , Larry Rott , and Rafael Gayol...
, and had appeared as an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
on a few television series, including St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
.
March, particularly the first single, "No Myth
No Myth
"No Myth" is a song by rock singer Michael Penn from his debut album March.Released as his debut single in 1989, the song became Penn's first and only top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #13 on the chart.-Track listing:CD single...
," brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
The MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist is one of the four original general categories that have been given out since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984...
. Penn's follow-up albums Free-for-All (1992), Resigned (1997) MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident (2000 ) Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 (2005) and Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea (2007) weren't able to match the commercial success of March, although critics continued to praise his songcraft.
It was with Free-for-All
Free-for-All (Michael Penn album)
Free-for-All was singer-songwriter Michael Penn's second full-length record, released in 1992 on RCA. There were no big hit singles of the strength of his only top 40 hit, 1989's "No Myth", but the album did feature two songs that reached the Top 20 on the Modern Rock Charts; "Long Way Down " ,...
that Penn faced the specter of the one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
. The album, while praised by critics, was not as successful as Penn's debut, though it had more than its share of supporters. Rolling Stone called it "stunning" and CMJ wrote that the album "exhausts any doubts" about whether March was a fluke.
In Vox
Vox (magazine)
Vox was a British music magazine, first issued in October 1990. It was published by IPC Media, and was later billed as a monthly sister-magazine to IPC's music weekly, the NME....
magazine, critic Gary Leboff acknowledged that Penn could be "pig-headedly uncommercial," but, he conceded, "the payoff is sublime". Leboff continues, "His freeform songwriting creates tracks of startling shape and originality, offering literate reflections on the human condition..."
Penn collaborated with the renowned surrealist animators The Brothers Quay on "Long Way Down (Look What The Cat Drug In)," which found a home not on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
but in film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s around the country, winning awards along the way.
He has worked extensively creating original music for film; among his first work in this field (if not the first) was for 1993's Tales From the Vienna Woods. He scored two movies released by Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...
in 1997, Hard Eight
Hard Eight (film)
Hard Eight is a 1996 American crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson...
and Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
; he also appears in the latter in a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
role playing Nick, a recording engineer. During the editing of the film, Anderson directed a music video with Penn for "Try
Try (Michael Penn song)
"Try" is the opening song from the 1997 Michael Penn album Resigned.A music video for the song was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and was shot with the crew of Boogie Nights while the movie was in its editing process...
" from Resigned (the video can be found on the Boogie Nights DVD). Other films scored by Penn include Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
's first two directorial efforts, The Anniversary Party
The Anniversary Party
The Anniversary Party is a 2001 American comedy-drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming.-Plot:...
and Suffering Man's Charity
Suffering Man's Charity
Suffering Man's Charity, also released as Ghost Writer, is a 2007 comedy/horror film directed by Alan Cumming and written by Thomas Gallagher.-Plot:...
; American Teen
American Teen
American Teen is a 2008 documentary film directed by Nanette Burstein and produced by 57th & Irving. It competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Directing Award: Documentary...
, Sunshine Cleaning
Sunshine Cleaning
Sunshine Cleaning is a 2008 comedy-drama film starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Directed by Christine Jeffs and written by Megan Holley, the film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008. It was purchased by Overture Films for distribution and opened in limited release in...
; the documentary The Comedians of Comedy
The Comedians of Comedy
The Comedians of Comedy is an occasional stand-up comedy tour featuring alternative comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden...
; and The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment.The film stars Zach Braff,...
. In 2003, he was nominated for a DVDX Award for Best Original Score in a DVD Premiere Movie for Melvin Goes to Dinner
Melvin Goes to Dinner
Melvin Goes to Dinner is a 2003 American film adaptation of Michael Blieden's stage play Phyro-Giants!, directed by Bob Odenkirk. Blieden wrote the screenplay from his stage play, and he also stars in the film , along with Stephanie Courtney, Matt Price and Annabelle Gurwitch.-Plot:Melvin is a...
.
In August 2005, Penn released Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947
Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947
Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 is the fifth album by Michael Penn, originally released independently in 2005 on Mimeograph Records and distributed through SpinART Records...
on his own Mimeograph Records label. Its songs are set against the background of post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
; Penn said he chose the year because of several notable events that took place then, including the passage of the National Security Act
National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 was signed by United States President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, and realigned and reorganized the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II...
and the invention of the transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
. The album was reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d by Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
in April 2007 with bonus tracks from a KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
session.
The reissue came in conjunction with Legacy's release of Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection, a compilation that includes several alternate versions and previously unreleased songs. Penn said his goal in compiling, ordering tracks for and producing Palms and Runes was to "make it feel like an album" in its own right.
In late 2009, Penn composed the music for the film That Evening Sun
That Evening Sun
"That Evening Sun" is a short story by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1931 on the collection These 13, which included Faulkner's most anthologized story, "A Rose for Emily". "That Evening Sun" is a dark portrait of white Southerners' indifference to the crippling fears of one of...
.
Personal life
Penn met fellow singer-songwriter Aimee MannAimee Mann
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
, and during the recording of her album I'm With Stupid (to which Penn contributed), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their December 29, 1997 marriage. Together with manager Michael Hausman
Michael Hausman
Michael Hausman is an American percussionist and artist manager in the music industry.He was a former student of Berklee College of Music and played with a Boston band called The Dark before becoming the drummer for the mid-1980s New Wave band 'Til Tuesday; the group's only hit, Voices Carry, is...
they formed United Musicians
United Musicians
United Musicians is an independent music collective founded by Aimee Mann, Michael Penn and Michael Hausman. According to UM's Web site, it is "founded on the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created and that this ownership is the...
, an anti-file-sharing, pro-strict-copyright-law organization also interested in helping artists with the promotion and distribution of their work. Penn and Mann live in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Solo albums
- MarchMarch (Michael Penn album)March is the debut album of singer-songwriter Michael Penn, released in 1989.It featured the singles "No Myth", "This and That", and "Brave New World". In 1990, "No Myth" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #4 on the Modern...
(1989) - Free-For-AllFree-for-All (Michael Penn album)Free-for-All was singer-songwriter Michael Penn's second full-length record, released in 1992 on RCA. There were no big hit singles of the strength of his only top 40 hit, 1989's "No Myth", but the album did feature two songs that reached the Top 20 on the Modern Rock Charts; "Long Way Down " ,...
(1992) - Resigned (1997)
- MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident (2000)
- Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 is the fifth album by Michael Penn, originally released independently in 2005 on Mimeograph Records and distributed through SpinART Records...
(independent release) (2005) - Cinemascope (2005)
- Palms and Runes, Tarot and Tea: A Michael Penn Collection (2007)
- Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 (Legacy reissue) (2007)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Modern Rock | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 1989 | "No Myth No Myth "No Myth" is a song by rock singer Michael Penn from his debut album March.Released as his debut single in 1989, the song became Penn's first and only top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #13 on the chart.-Track listing:CD single... " |
13 | 4 | - | March |
| 1990 | "This & That" | 53 | 10 | - | |
| "Brave New World" | - | 20 | - | ||
| 1992 | "Long Way Down (Look What the Cat Drug In)" | - | 14 | - | Free-For-All |
| "Seen the Doctor" | - | 5 | - | ||
| 1997 | "Try" | - | - | - | Resigned |
| "Me Around" | - | - | - | ||
| "Out Of My Hands" | - | - | - | ||
| 2000 | "Lucky One" | - | - | - | MP4 |
With Gabriele Morgan and Doll Congress/Doll Congress
- Buried Treasure (5-song EP) (1981)
- Doll Congress 12" (1983)
- "Give Up Your Ghost" (sung by Morgan) and "I Will Be Around" (sung by Penn) appear on the soundtrack to Welcome to 18 (1986)
Appearances
- "Retribution" (guitar solo) on Randell KirschRandell KirschRandell Kirsch is an American singer/songwriter and musician.Kirsch received his first guitar lesson in 1962, performed publicly for the first time in 1963 at the Fresno County Fair, won the Wolters Elementary School talent show in 1966 with his band The Scorchers with Jeff Bryon and Perry Hodge,...
, LuAnn Olson and Chris Hickey's Show Of Hands (I.R.S. 1989) - "Body and Soul?" (backing vocals) on Thelonious MonsterThelonious MonsterThelonious Monster is a post-punk rock band from Los Angeles, led by singer-songwriter Bob Forrest. Active from 1983 to 1994, and again since 2004, the band has released five original studio albums...
's Beautiful Mess (1992) - "It's Not Safe" (guitar, solo guitar) on Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
's I'm With StupidI'm With StupidI'm with Stupid is a jovial insult, best known as a popular slogan for novelty T-shirts. It may also refer to:* I'm with Stupid , aired on BBC Three* I'm with Stupid , by Aimee Mann* "I'm with Stupid"...
(1995) - "Christmastime", with Aimee Mann on Just Say Noel (1996)
- "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout LoveAin't Talkin' 'Bout Love"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates....
", with Mark MothersbaughMark MothersbaughMark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
on The Moog CookbookThe Moog CookbookThe Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The duo performs exclusively on analog synthesizers, especially Moog synthesizers...
's Ye Olde Space Bande (1997) - "Macy Day Parade" on Godzilla: The Album (1998)
- "Reason to Believe", with Aimee Mann on Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (2000)
- "Wise Up" (Produced) on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
- "How Am I Different", "Susan" (backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2Bachelor No. 2Bachelor No. 2 is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2000. Its full title is Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo. The album is notable for the fact that Mann was initially without a record company and sold the album through her website, but the...
(2000) - "Red Vines" (slide guitar) on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
- "Satellite" (guitar feedback, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
- "Driving Sideways" (electric guitar, backing vocals) on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
- "Susan" (guitar), on Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
- Co-produced The WallflowersThe WallflowersThe Wallflowers is a rock band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Jakob Dylan. Formed in 1989 and originally known as The Apples, the ensemble has gone through numerous personnel changes with Dylan the only constant....
' (Breach)(Breach)is the third studio album by The Wallflowers.-Track listing:All songs written by Jakob Dylan.# "Letters from the Wasteland" – 4:29# "Hand Me Down" – 3:35# "Sleepwalker" – 3:31# "I've Been Delivered" – 5:01...
(2000) - "Two of Us", with Aimee Mann on I Am SamI Am SamI Am Sam is a 2001 American drama film written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with a developmental disability, Dakota Fanning as his inquisitive seven-year-old daughter, and Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer...
(2001) - "It's Sweet", "Little Digger" (produced, recorded by, guitar, bass) on Liz PhairLiz PhairPhair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
's self-titled fourth albumLiz Phair (album)Liz Phair is the eponymous fourth album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released June 24, 2003 on Capitol Records. "Why Can't I?" and "Extraordinary" were released as a singles...
(2003) - "Red Light Fever", "Take A Look", "Friend Of Mine" (produced, recorded by, guitar) on Liz Phair (2003)
Film Scores
- Tales From The Vienna Woods (1993)
- Hard EightHard Eight (film)Hard Eight is a 1996 American crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson...
(originally titled Sydney), with Jon BrionJon BrionJon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
(1996) - Boogie NightsBoogie NightsBoogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
(1997) - The Anniversary PartyThe Anniversary PartyThe Anniversary Party is a 2001 American comedy-drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming.-Plot:...
(2001) - Melvin Goes to DinnerMelvin Goes to DinnerMelvin Goes to Dinner is a 2003 American film adaptation of Michael Blieden's stage play Phyro-Giants!, directed by Bob Odenkirk. Blieden wrote the screenplay from his stage play, and he also stars in the film , along with Stephanie Courtney, Matt Price and Annabelle Gurwitch.-Plot:Melvin is a...
(2003) - The Comedians of ComedyThe Comedians of ComedyThe Comedians of Comedy is an occasional stand-up comedy tour featuring alternative comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden...
(2005) - The Last KissThe Last KissThe Last Kiss is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment.The film stars Zach Braff,...
(2006) - Suffering Man's CharitySuffering Man's CharitySuffering Man's Charity, also released as Ghost Writer, is a 2007 comedy/horror film directed by Alan Cumming and written by Thomas Gallagher.-Plot:...
(2007) - American TeenAmerican TeenAmerican Teen is a 2008 documentary film directed by Nanette Burstein and produced by 57th & Irving. It competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Directing Award: Documentary...
(2008) - Sunshine CleaningSunshine CleaningSunshine Cleaning is a 2008 comedy-drama film starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Directed by Christine Jeffs and written by Megan Holley, the film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008. It was purchased by Overture Films for distribution and opened in limited release in...
(2008) - That Evening SunThat Evening Sun (film)That Evening Sun is a 2009 film based on a 2002 short story I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down by William Gay. The movie, produced by Dogwood Entertainment, stars Hal Holbrook as Abner Meecham and is directed by Scott Teems who also wrote the screenplay...
(2009) - Bollywood HeroBollywood HeroBollywood Hero is an American television miniseries which aired on the IFC in three parts on August 6-8, 2009. The miniseries was shot in Mumbai and Los Angeles....
(2009) - Solitary ManSolitary Man (film)Solitary Man is a 2009 American film co-directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The film stars Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Danny DeVito.-Plot:...
(2010)
Acting
- St. ElsewhereSt. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
(playing a lab technician, as an extra) (1985) - Boogie Nights (Nick, an engineer) (1997)
External links
- Michael Penn.com official site
- Bunker Hill fan site
- United Musicians
- MySpace page
- Discogs page