Michael Patrick Donovan is a Canadian film producer, executive, and screenwriter.

Career

Salter Street Films Michael Donovan co-founded

Salter Street Films Salter Street Films was a Canadian television and film production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History The company was founded by brothers Paul and Michael Donovan in 1983. Paul Donovan was trained as a director at the London Film Sch ...

with his brother Paul Donovan in 1983. Though the company got off to a slow start, Donovan eventually had major success with projects such as the Canadian satirical comedy series ''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics w ...

''. Salter Street Films was acquired by

Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis and commonly shortened to simply Alliance or Atlantis and formerly traded as TSX:AAC) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operato ...

in 2001, and was closed by them two years later, in 2003. Halifax Film Company / DHX Media In May 2004, after Alliance Atlantis closed Salter Street Films, Michael Donovan founded

Halifax Film Company WildBrain Studios is the in-house television studio arm of Canadian entertainment company WildBrain based in Vancouver which was established in 2016 as DHX Studios. History In January 2016, DHX Media announced that they would be building a 60 ...

with many of the former Salter Street employees. In 2006, Halifax Film Company merged with Toronto, Ontario-based Decode Entertainment to become

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...

, where Donovan served as the company's CEO from 2006 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2019, and as Executive Chair of the company from 2014 to 2019. In August 2019, Donovan stepped down from being CEO and Executive Chair of DHX Media, which rebranded as

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children' ...

the following month. He remained as a founding chair on the board of directors until October 17, 2019, when he stepped down from the board of directors and left the company.

Awards and nominations

Donovan won an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

for producing the 2002 documentary ''

Bowling for Columbine ''Bowling for Columbine'' is a 2002 documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of gun ...

.'' He was nominated for a

Genie Award for Best Screenplay The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents one or more annual awards for the Best Screenplay for a Canadian film. Originally presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, from 1980 until 2012 the award continued as part of the Gen ...

for writing the 2007 film '' Shake Hands with the Devil.''

Honours

On December 28th 2019, Governor General Julie Payette announced that Michael Donovan had been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

References

External links

* Living people Canadian film producers Canadian screenwriters WildBrain Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia Year of birth missing (living people) Television show creators {{Canada-film-producer-stub