Michael “Mickey” Cohen
In 1994, Michael Cohen wrote the mafia comedy “My Way” and gained the attention of Jack Fisher and Danny Fisher, principles of City Lights Productions in NYC. City Lights is one of the foremost film and television production companies in the country. While agreeing to develop the project, Cohen joined City Lights as an account rep for the new post production division. After just a few years, Cohen was instrumental in the success of City Lights’ post production facility which grew from three Avid suites to over thirty suites. Over that time, Cohen landed such accounts as MTV, VH1, Sci-Fi and many other broadcasters, producers and directors that represented over 90% of the company’s overall revenue.
Soon after, Cohen began producing high end corporate films and videos for clients such as American Express, Morgan Stanley and MetLife and non-profit companies such as The Girl Scouts, The National MS Society and Heartshare. Cohen was the Associate Producer of the nationally acclaimed “Unforgotten: Twenty Five Years after Willowbrook.” The film enjoyed a theatrical run in LA and ran for over 8 weeks at the famed Angelika Theatre in NYC. The documentary was well received by critics including Jeffrey Lyons who called the film “absolutely mesmerizing” and Leonard Maltin who mentioned the doc on Entertainment Tonight as a potential Oscar contender. “Unforgotten” will be released by Warner Home Video later this year and has appeared on PBS in New York and in LA.
As City Lights grew so did the scope Cohen’s position. In 2003, Michael Cohen spearheaded the development and production of “Kosher Sex” with Shmuley Boteach. Based on his best selling book of the same name, Boteach sold over one million copies and the book has been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. Boteach can currently be seen on TLC’s “Shalom in the Home” and Cohen is currently developing other television projects for the prolific author and social commentator. “Kosher Sex” appeared on PBS stations in New York and LA and the DVD will be released by Warner Home Video.
Later in 2003, Cohen was named Vice President of Production and Development and was instrumental in the development of feature films such as John Waters “A Dirty Shame among others. Cohen also served as Co-Executive Producer for the horror movie “Tamara” written by “Final Destination scribe Jeffrey Reddick and is Co-Executive Producer of the upcoming film “Interrupted,” a film about the life of the legendary screen director Nicholas Ray. Phillip Kaufman, who directed “The Right Stuff”, “Unbearable Lightness of Being”, “Henry and June”, “Quills” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is attached as Director and the film is currently in pre-production.
Cohen left City Lights in January 2007 to develop and produce under his new company’s banner - Mickey Cohen Productions. He is currently developing a documentary and feature film about Jonathan Pollard. Pollard, a former Naval Intelligence worker spied for Israel and has the distinction of enduring the longest prison sentence for espionage in the nation’s history even though none of the information he provided to Israel jeopardized the United States in any way. Michael Cohen is developing other film and television projects and is currently writing the screenplay for a romantic comedy he hopes to complete by summer of 2007.
