FEATURED COLLABORATORS
FEATURED PRESS
”How “Don’t Say Gay” Inspired the Funniest Horror Short of 2022. If you’re looking for the alien-infused queer horror comedy of the year, look no further than Snatched, a ten-minute Hulu short that recently went viral on TikTok.”
THEM
"Michael Schwartz is one of the most exciting up-and-coming filmmakers out there," said legendary movie producer and former President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sid Ganis. "Snatched is both wild and deeply poignant. We got involved because we want to help rebalance the world. Snatched is so off-balance that it's right smack on balance! We need more films like this in the world today."
BROADWAY WORLD
“Tatiana Maslany and Misha Osherovich Are Getting SNATCHED Up By Festivals: From Cinequest to Overlook, Michael Schwartz’s “Disco Horror” is Hitting The Fest Floor.”
FANGORIA
“This is one of those special projects that jumped off the page from the start,” stated the nonbinary actor, Misha Osherovich. “It’s wildly queer, full of the best kind of horror references – everything I dig as an artist. From start to finish, working on it has been a spooky queer joy.”
INTO
“This show, expertly directed by Michael Schwartz, featured all great numbers that were fresh and engaging.”
BROADWAY WORLD
“An adoration for the craft and the community could be felt when Broadway came together for the official post-awards gala Sunday night at the Plaza Hotel…A three floor extravaganza.”
VOGUE MAGAZINE
“Michael Schwartz is directing Snatched, which features the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, herself, Tatiana Maslany, in her first on-screen role with her husband, Brendan Hines – who plays Josh Bennet in Netflix’s Locke & Key. The off-screen couple star alongside the Freaky breakout star Misha Osherovich, who plays their child.”
COLLIDER
“Snatched might be hard to beat as my favorite short film thus far. The satire is on point, though I actually think a feature film exploring this in more depth would be amazing.”
GEEK VIBES NATION
“The result is a wild rollercoaster of a film that will hopefully provoke both outrageous laughter and meaningful conversation, prompting us to question what actions make us the most powerful allies.”
INSTINCT MAGAZINE
“A blast! A smart, entertaining, visually inventive, play-drenched production. Director Michael Schwartz, a Broadway veteran with an eye for spectacle, shows a keen sense of how to use the entire enormous stage area of the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. On a set resembling a summer camp playground in the woods, pirates, natives and lost boys erupt from all corners of the amphitheater, a crocodile is assembled from spare tires and puppets, shadows dance, an invisible fairy knocks things over and pulls hair, magical animals prowl, trampolines are hopped upon, teeters are tottered, and bright-colored balls are bounced out into the crowd.”
BOHEMIAN
“Under Michael Schwartz’ judicious and careful direction, each of these characters (comes) to stunning reality.”
THEATRE REVIEWS LIMITED
“Where can Huck from Scandal and Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block perform a play written by Lena Dunham and directed by the producer of The 100?”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“A good ol’ 85-minute gag-fest, full of sock-o laughs and fun...Under Michael Schwartz’s direction, Corren glides swiftly through contrasting characters with detailed alacrity.”
BROADWAY WORLD
“Montana, Starring Jennifer Mudge, To Premiere At The 21st Annual Brooklyn Film Festival…Through live events and digital campaigns, and in collaboration with The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, the filmmaking process of Montana is being used as a catalyst for dialogue, support, and education around mental health and suicide prevention.”
BROADWAY WORLD
“Four Stars. If you want to believe a boy can fly, there are few better sites than a mountaintop. A feeling of playtime make-believe pervades the staging by director Michael Schwartz. Pirates manipulate the rigging to make people fly, and Lost Boys animate the crocodile that hunts Captain Hook. Even if you do grow up, Peter and Wendy’s adventures may make you feel like a kid again.”
MARIN IJ
“Michael Schwartz, All Star Code’s Director of Events, said the benefit’s color palette and theme complemented the organization’s new look. ‘Since All Star Code unveiled all new branding this summer, featuring mischievous mascots and bright red, green, purple, and orange-yellow accent colors, we decided to go more tropical and playful in palette and decor,’ said Schwartz. ‘There were colorful and textural ocean elements on the seaside tablescape, and small arrangements with tropical greens and floral accents in the brand’s signature colors. Too often at galas, the very people the nonprofit are serving are relegated to the sidelines. We unquestionably wanted our students front and center, engaging with guests and showcasing their quickly developing skills and talents,’ said Schwartz. ‘We wanted to help materialize their ideas and make their dreams heard. So the idea of the ‘Maker Fair’ was born, which doubled as cocktail hour. This allowed guests to drink, nibble, and chat, and get to know our students prior to the main program as well.”
BIZ BASH
“Known for dressing celebrities like Beyoncé for the 2016 Grammy Awards and ballerina Misty Copeland for her wedding, Israeli fashion designer Inbal Dror debuted her Fall 2017 bridal collection at the world-renowned and New York City-famous Carnegie Hall. The cosmopolitan collection, which Dror says is inspired by the streets of Paris by day and night, is “elegant, contemporary, and exciting.”
MARTHA STEWART
“There’s an epic, 360-degree, immersive pirate ship battle sequence. The characters fly through the trees and over the audience’s heads. When you’re sitting in this mountain theatre and you see the Bay and the islands and the water in the background, you’re fully immersed in Neverland.”
MARIN IJ
“Breathtaking. Gorgeous and visually compelling.”
FILM THREAT
“Concrete Park was eventually adapted into a successful graphic novel series with fans spanning the globe. And now Alexander is taking the artwork from her graphic novel series into the nascent world of NFTs.”
FORBES
"Cinequest: Snatched is as poignant as it is terrifying, and hilariously executed. It's out of this world."
9.9/10. Schwartz proves his brilliance with this short, because it goes at a cracking pace and covers a lot of horror tropes and satirical ground in its 10-minute runtime. (He's) able to make the day almost as terrifying as most directors make the murky night...The casting is remarkably on-point. Maslany and Hines are clearly having a ball. Any writer, producer, or director worth their salt (as Michael Schwartz, just from this, has already proven to be) would take note of how great they are together....Snatched so thrillingly inverts expectations...Michael Schwartz created a winning shorthand to platform the entire season of shorts. It’s a stroke of genius.
ANDERSON VISION
“Now body snatchers have returned to Marin County with “Snatched,” a short film written and directed by Marin native Michael Schwartz that premiered Oct. 1 as part of the “Bite Size Halloween” series on Hulu. Filmed in Belvedere and El Cerrito, “Snatched” stars Tatiana Maslany, the Emmy-winning star of “Orphan Black” and current Disney+ sensation “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” whose season finale aired Thursday. “Snatched” is Maslany’s first onscreen role with her husband, Brendan Hines of TV’s “Lie to Me,” “Scandal,” “Locke & Key” and “The Tick.”
MERCURY NEWS
“WHAT TO WATCH: Bite Size Halloween: Snatched - Hulu”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“SeriesFest Announces International Pilot Competition Selections. This year’s work features stars like Dan Harmon, Adrian Grenier, Blythe Danner, Laura Linney and James Lafferty.”
VARIETY
“She-Hulk and Disco Horror? First look at Huluween’s SNATCHED.”
FANGORIA
“Featuring She-Hulk’s (and for the true OGs, Orphan Black’s) Tatiana Maslany and real life partner Brendan Hines (Locke & Key), Snatched blends an alien possession storyline with coming out tropes, subverting expectations in the most entertaining and quotable way!
SHORT OF THE WEEK
“Directing is often a thankless task, no doubt. When the director excels, all of the many parts that make up a production seem like they could not possibly have taken any other form. The thousands of choices made in rehearsal fade: every actor seems perfectly cast, the lighting is unobtrusive, the staging is natural. Michael Schwartz achieves this seamless magic.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
“In our Alumni Q&A series, we caught up with Michael Schwartz BA ’06 to get to know about his best USC experience, co-creating the Tommy Awards, working in multiple mediums and more.”
CALLBOARD MAGAZINE
“With its glitzy kind of glamour, this (collection) seemed almost as red carpet worthy as aisle ready. Rock on.”
VOGUE MAGAZINE
“Ghoster’s Paradise Is Every Wronged Woman’s New Anthem.”
GLAMOUR MAGAZINE
“I felt that I could, with a light touch, poke fun at my hometown, but also hopefully raise some interesting questions about the ever-clashing ideologies that happen in the Bay Area,” Schwartz says. A lot of roles are played by locals. Marin residents Sid Ganis, a former Lucasfilm and Paramount exec and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and his wife and fellow producer, Nancy Hult Ganis, served as consulting producers for “Snatched” and also play disturbing neighbors in the film, displaying a familiar yard sign boasting of tolerance. “I think San Francisco is so ripe for these stories of clashing ideologies,” Schwartz continued. “There are so many stories by underrepresented voices that haven’t yet had the opportunity to get out to the public.”
MARIN IJ
“Hilarious...Crisp...Smart...Breathtaking. Slices into the disillusions and hysterias of modern society and serves them up with deliciously satirical sauce...A superb hour and a half of theater...Must see.”
THEATREMANIA.COM
“Wonderful...Hilarious...A perfect concoction....Nothing brings quite as much joy as to witness a team of artists that integrate so wonderfully together to create a fantastic evening of theatre...Director Michael Schwartz does excellent work.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
“Why am I trying to authenticate something that had no authenticity to begin with?” thought Schwartz. “In every major production, they have tried to fix the problem by putting a Band-Aid on it. Why not create something brand new from scratch?”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Everyone, even the biggest names, were thrilled and terrified by the challenge,” she told Backstage. Those names include Lena Dunham (“Girls”) and Dan Bucatinsky (“Scandal”) acting as writers, and Ian Harding (“Pretty Little Liars”), Jack Falahee (“How to Get Away With Murder”), Joe Morton (“Scandal”), and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (“The Sopranos”) serving as actors— and that’s just a few.”
BACKSTAGE WEST
“When you get the casts of TV’s biggest shows together in one room, there’s a lot more that breaks loose than just all hell: There’s Jack Falahee receiving psychic readings from Guillermo Diaz, Utkarsh Ambudkar smelling Jamie Lynn Sigler’s tail, and Aja Naomi King getting relationship help from Justin Bieber...as played by Paul Adelstein, and written by Lena Dunham.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“Ghoster’s Paradise combines two of our favorite things: 90’s nostalgia and complaining about jerks.”
HUFFINGTON POST
“We were in the backyard of an oceanfront estate attending a $750-a-ticket fundraiser for All Star Code, a nonprofit that prepares young men of color for careers in technology...”
BLOOMBERG
“Powerful. Mudge shines. Coffey is a revelation. Writer-Director Michael Schwartz knows his subject well and has drawn teenage behavior with sobering accuracy. Montana is a lesson in hope.”
INDIE SHORTS MAG
“After the 2019 Tony Awards red carpet was rolled up, Broadway’s brightest gathered at the Plaza to toast the stars of the Great White Way. From nominees to award-show guests, everyone came dressed to win. Guests filled up on a celebratory glasses of Champagne and a rather decadent spread. Indeed the best looks on Broadway’s biggest night made the move to dancing, as a live jazz band kept the crowd grooving into the early hours.”
VOGUE MAGAZINE
“Snatched” accomplishes a lot in its ten-minute runtime. The use of lighting in the opening scene is exceptional. The story is equally heartfelt and hilarious, mocking gay stereotypes and well-meaning but often misguided, performative ally-ship with intelligent and witty satire. The wildly clever reference to The Shining made me both cheer and laugh out loud. The ending is an absolute chef’s kiss. This is one short that is not to be missed.”
MORBIDLY BEAUTIFUL
“She-Hulk’s Tatiana Maslany stars in queer horror short film Snatched…Disturbing…Too funny.”
ATTITUDE UK
"Hollyshorts Film Festival: Snatched is one of those films that you simply cannot help but smile and laugh along with, just the right levels of absurd with sprinkles of horror homages to light you up even more – a stupendously gleeful time is to be had here in Michael Schwartz’s film...Schwartz’s attention to detail and ensuring that the gag-per-minute ratio is off the charts...There is a high chance that it is the daftest but funniest scene you will see this year."
UPCOMING ON SCREEN
“Shortly after the release of Snatched, a clip from the film went viral on TikTok. A young woman in New Zealand somehow came across it. By day’s end, it clocked 5 million views!”