***1***: Feature projects that exist on "the outer fringes of creativity". stories so far away from the norm that no one else could, or would dare to write it aside from you.
2: A stereotypical topic/genre that is approached from a completely new angle, shedding a new form of light on the topic/genre.
3: Independent genre (scifi or horror especially) features in the 300k - 8million dollar range.
4: Independent action genre hybrid features in the 2-10milion dollar range.
5: Hyper-creative or unique animated or animation-hybrid concepts.
6: AAPI focused stories in any format.
7: Genre Projects that use a genre to dissect an important or topically relevant social issue.
We love genre benders and blenders. We prefer the hard WASH genre features (Western, Action, Suspense, Horror) - or if not one of these, then hybridized with one of these.
Television is trickier for our company than features - features make up 80% of our slate, TV makes up about 20%. Our strongest network is in independent genre features.
We focus heavily in the genre film space which is where our network is strongest, making Television something we pick up significantly less of.
Generally, if we are looking at TV it is a streamium or premium cable show with an anti-hero protagonist existing on the fringes of the genre space or of a uniquely detailed world.
Michael K. Dwyer is a hapa-haole Producer-and-Screenwriter with over a decade of film industry experience. A native of San Francisco, California, Michael graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts on the Dean’s List as well as the literary honors program Thematic Option.
In 2012, Michael began working for former Columbia Pictures and Sony Chairman Mark Canton, who he assisted on seasons 2 through series finale of the hit show Power, as well as tentpole films like THE LAST WITCH HUNTER. Michael also worked briefly as an assistant at the film/music/tech crossover company MX Productions for Christina Aguilera and Matthew Rutler, who had a television deal at Lionsgate Television.
Michael returned to working for Mark Canton (300, DEN OF THIEVES) as a Creative Executive at his new independently financed venture Cinelou Films, where he worked on independent films like Robert DeNiro’s THE COMEDIAN, Jennifer Aniston’s THE YELLOW BIRDS, Ridley Scott’s PHOENIX FORGOTTEN, and Joe Dante/Mick Garris’s fan-favorite horror anthology NIGHTMARE CINEMA. During this time, he also managed the active slates of Mark Canton’s multiple film and television ventures.
In 2019, Michael left Cinelou as Director of Development, and found a home as the Head of Screenplay and Business Development at Atlanta’s Blackhall Entertainment Ventures, and then at Los Angeles’s Ravendesk Entertainment.
Michael is currently Head of Screenplay Development and Business Strategy at Ravendesk, where he has set up Comic and Table-top RPG projects in the trans-media spaces. During Michael’s tenure at Ravendesk, he has overseen the company’s growth as it purchased 15+ comic and tabletop-RPG titles, set up an independent first-look development and production deal, as well as secured agency representation for the Company’s slate of IP. Now Ravendesk has a television project fully independently financed for production, and several IPs in deep development across all mediums.
At the end of 2022 Michael formed an independent film production company A GROUP OF FERRETS with his former colleague at Cinelou Films, David Hopwood (POWER, FREAK BROTHERS, DEN OF THIEVES). Michael also screenwrites in the genre hybrid, historical, AAPI, and dark comedy spaces.
AGOF's company bio below:
Founded in 2023 by David Hopwood and Michael K. Dwyer, A GROUP OF FERRETS is a film and television production company with projects focusing in the independent feature genre, animated, unscripted, tentpole, television, podcast, and comic publishing spaces. Formerly production and development executives at Mark Canton's AtmosphereMM (300, DEN OF THIEVES, Power) and Cinelou Films (CAKE, NIGHTMARE CINEMA), David and Michael set out to create a slate of projects designed to break new ground in the genre space by hybridizing and bending the myths and conventions audiences have grown to love.
The company wrapped its first film UNTIL HE'S DESTROYED directed by Josh Lobo (I Trapped The Devil) starring Scott Poythress (I TRAPPED THE DEVIL), Trace Lysette (MONICA), Alexis Louder (VIOLENT NIGHT, Watchmen), and Johnny Sibilly (Hacks, Pose).
The Ferrets are currently collaborating on projects with Startling Inc. (GAME OF THRONES, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON), Frank Miller Co. (300, SIN CITY), 87Eleven South (JOHN WICK), Vince Staples (THE VINCE STAPLES SHOW), Weta Workshop (5x Academy Award practical effects team from LORD OF THE RINGS), North of Now (PEPSI WHERE'S MY JET?), Banc of California, CTRLMovie+ (LATE SHIFT), and more.
With Corey Moosa (MARGIN CALL, ALL IS LOST) joining the Ferrets to kick off 2024, the 'business' is further pushing into new frontiers of creativity, while targeting productions that make sense in the current economic landscape of film-making.
As a screenwriter who operates in the sci-fi/fantasy sphere, Michael is an absolute joy to work with. He understands these genres inside and out, and because of that was able to find exactly where my TV pilot was coming up short. He continued to communicate with me regularly on my rewrite and not only greatly improve the main character thread of the story, but better tie it to the overall setting and mythos and leave me with a pilot that provided a far stronger read. If you like to write science fiction and fantasy stories with loads of myth and world-building, I highly recommend collaborating with him if you can.
~ Daniel McNaught, Screenwriter
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