Michael A. Goorjian

Directing

Michael A. Goorjian

Born 1971-02-04 · San Francisco, California, USA

Michael A. Goorjian (born February 4, 1971; San Francisco) is an American filmmaker, writer and actor. Goorjian won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his role as David Goodson in the television film David's Mother (1994). He is also known for his role as Justin, Neve Campbell’s love interest on the series Party of Five (1994–2000), as well as Heroin Bob in the film SLC Punk! (1998) and its sequel, Punk's Dead (2016). As a director, Goorjian achieved recognition for his first major independent film, Illusion (2004), which he wrote, directed and starred in alongside Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas. Goorjian was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His father, Peter, is Armenian, with his paternal grandparents being survivors of the Armenian genocide; his mother, Sarah, is of Scottish-American descent. Goorjian grew up in Oakland, California, and attended Bishop O'Dowd High School, which had a strong drama program. At the age of 14, he decided to audition for a local theatre company, thinking it was a ‘cool way’ to skip class; after successfully landing the lead role in a 'not-so-cool' play called Computer Crazy, Goorjian soon found out that the rest of the cast were all senior citizens and that he would have to perform the play at his own junior high school. Despite this seemingly rather humiliating experience, Goorjian stuck with acting, eventually training at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television. Goorjian’s first big Hollywood break came as a dancer when, in 1992, he was cast as ‘Skittery’ in the Disney film Newsies (starring Christian Bale and Robert Duvall). What followed were roles in numerous subsequent films, including Chaplin (with Robert Downey Jr.), Forever Young (with Mel Gibson), the Oscar-nominated Leaving Las Vegas, Hard Rain (with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater), SLC Punk! (with Devon Sawa), The Invisibles (with Portia de Rossi), Broken (with Heather Graham) and Conversations with God. Goorjian made his first real foray into directing with the mock-documentary Oakland Underground, a comedy about an underground occult music scene in Oakland, CA. From there, Goorjian made Illusion with Kirk Douglas, which was released theatrically in 2006 after racking up over a dozen festival awards, including Best Screenplay at The Hampton’s International Film Festival, Best Feature at the Lake Tahoe International Film Festival and The Audience Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival. With Illusion Goorjian was critically lauded for his ability to blend great filmmaking with philosophical depth. Soon after Illusion, Goorjian began collaborating with the publishing company Hay House to produce and direct a number of films including the documentary You Can Heal Your Life (2007), starring metaphysical author and teacher, Louise L. Hay and The Shift, starring author Dr. Wayne Dyer, along with Michael DeLuise and Portia de Rossi. His most recent work with Hay House is an original film anthology called Tales of Everyday Magic, which explores meaningful philosophical ideas through intimate character-driven stories.

Acting credits

Leaving Las Vegas poster
7.2

Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.

Leaving Las Vegas

1995

Chaplin poster
7.4

An aged Charlie Chaplin narrates his life to his autobiography's editor, including his rise to wealth and comedic fame from poverty, his turbulent personal life and his run-ins with the FBI.

Chaplin

1992

Hard Rain poster
5.9

An armored car driver tries to elude a gang of thieves while a flood ravages the countryside.

Hard Rain

1998

The Wizard of Lies poster
6.6

A look behind the scenes at Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, how it was perpetrated on the public and the trail of destruction it left in its wake, both for the victims and Madoff's family.

The Wizard of Lies

2017

Forever Young poster
6.5

A 1939 test pilot asks his best friend to use him as a guinea pig for a cryogenics experiment. Daniel McCormick wants to be frozen for a year so that he doesn't have to watch his love lying in a coma. The next thing Daniel knows is that he's been awoken in 1992.

Forever Young

1992

Newsies poster
6.7

A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

Newsies

1992

SLC Punk poster
7.1

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.

SLC Punk

1998

Illusion poster
7.7

A once-powerful, but now ailing movie director nears the end of his life. As he awaits death, he slips into a "dream" and is shown three "snippets" of the movie of his son's life. At first suspicious, then curious, and ultimately captivated, he watches his son's growth from mid-teens to mid-thirties as the son pursues his life-long love, Isabelle. The two constants through these snippets are his pursuit of Isabelle and the imagined voice of his father, telling him that he is worthless and unwanted. It is not until the story reaches its conclusion, that the old man discovers the surprising truth about his son and himself.

Illusion

2004

Do Not Disturb poster
5.0

Combining a family vacation with business, Walter Richmond takes his wife and their 10-year-old, mute daughter, Melissa , to the Netherlands -- where Melissa inadvertently witnesses a murder. Unable to tell anyone what she's seen, the frightened girl vanishes in an attempt to elude the killers. Meanwhile, her parents try desperately to piece together the puzzle leading to Melissa's disappearance.

Do Not Disturb

1999

Conversations with God poster
6.9

"Conversations with God" is the true story of Neale Donald Walsch that inspired and changed the lives of millions. The journey begins after he unexpectedly breaks his neck in a car accident and loses his job.

Conversations with God

2006

Blind Justice poster
5.3

Canaan, a mysterious gunfighter left nearly blind from Civil War combat, roams through Mexico with a baby he has sworn to protect. On his way to a town where a family will supposedly adopt the baby, Canaan passes through a border town where U.S. Cavalry officers assigned to deliver a shipment of silver are under attack from bandits. With some reluctance, Canaan steps in to help the soldiers.

Blind Justice

1994

Amerikana poster
6.6

Peter and Chris, two young American friends in their late 20s, go from South Dakota to California on a scooter, and as they travel across the American landscape they see their country through different eyes, ranging from Peter's cynically nihilistic point of view, to Chris' high expectations and romantic notions of the United States.

Amerikana

2001

Broken poster
5.6

A waitress confronts all the wrong turns she has made in her short life and ultimately ends up facing the biggest wrong turn of all: her dangerous ex-boyfriend who's determined to win back her love or die trying.

Broken

2007

Pin-Up poster
NR

Uninspired and in her forties, celebrated photographer, Lana Freeman, searches for the elusive visual "perfect moment." When a young waitress saves her life, Lana believes she's found the perfect muse. But as she becomes more and more obsessed with the young woman, Lana pulls away from her husband, her work and the people who love her, not realizing that the muse could destroy her life.

Pin-Up

2018

Land of Dreams poster
4.3

Simin is an Iranian woman on a journey to discover what it means to be a free American. She works for the Census Bureau which, in an effort to control its citizens, has begun a program to record their dreams. Unaware of this devious plot, Simin is torn between her compassion for those whose dreams she is recording and a truth she must find within.

Land of Dreams

2022

The Mesmerist poster
4.7

Based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, this film tells the grimly comic tale of a bad-tempered old man (Howard Hesseman) who cheats death, only to go on tormenting the living. When a medical experiment leaves the grouch hovering between life and death (and able to describe the world beyond), things get tricky for his daughter (Jessica Capshaw) and her beau (Neil Patrick Harris, of "Doogie Howser, M.D." fame), who can't get their hands on his estate.

The Mesmerist

2002

Amerikatsi poster
7.2

In 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child, Charlie returns in the hopes of finding a connection to his roots, but what he finds instead is a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window - the home of a prison guard.

Amerikatsi

2022

David's Mother poster
8.3

Sally Goodson has been raising her autistic son David alone since her husband left many years ago. Now a social worker discovers that Sally has been dodging 'The System' to keep her son with her, instead of putting him in an institution. Each feels they know what's best for David. But their opinions are not the same. Sally's developing relationship with John Nils is caught in the middle.

David's Mother

1994

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 poster
4.5

Punk's Dead, the sequel to 1999 cult hit SLC Punk, is a punk romp through the Utah hinterlands. Ross, Penny and Crash, young outsiders from different tribes, embark on a road trip to a huge punk show. Ross, 19, is the love child of Trish and Heroin Bob, who died before Ross was born. During their odyssey, and with the help of a healthy dose of drugs, alcohol and punk music, Ross shreds his darkly Gothic outlook and embraces life. His mother Trish, who raised Ross alone in her steam punk shop, discovers that he is in a crisis. She recruits his 'uncles,' Bob's old SLC gang, to help find him. When all collide at the concert, they are forced to deal with their unresolved relationships with Bob.

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2

2016

The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? poster
6.3

In rural Comfort, Texas, the strict protestant Horizon Bible church community holds its annual, pretty strictly supervised summer camp, with mandatory prayer sessions, for fraternizing teens from all over the States. The day before their departure, storm weather is announced, the busses even ride early to keep ahead, but the wind makes a river rise too fast: the busses are caught, everybody must run on foot. As TV reporters see from their helicopter, the rising water is too fast for one bus after choosing the wrong way, children and staff must climb in trees but can't cling on very long.

The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?

1993

Go for Broke poster
4.7

After their winning lottery ticket was stolen and wound up in a women’s prison, two men hatch a plan to get arrested while in drag to get it back.

Go for Broke

2002

Deal of a Lifetime poster
6.8

The agent for the Devil takes the soul of a high school sophomore in exchange for a date with the most popular girl on campus.

Deal of a Lifetime

2000

Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square poster
8.5

Washed up actor Don Knotts shows up on the back lot of Universal Studios in Hollywood, California in hopes of landing a role in the new Disney movie, Newsies. Unfortunately director Kenny Ortega quickly dismisses Mr. Knotts and has him thrown off the lot. Mr. Knotts is quite upset by the turn of events, so decides to go on a killing spree, believing that if he can't have a role in the movie no one can. He knocks off one newsie after the next, each in a different and unique way.

Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square

1991

Life in a Day poster
5.5

A scientific experiment in rapid-cell growth goes awry when a lab assistant steals the developed serum and injects it into his pregnant girl friend. The result is a child that grows through adulthood and will die within days, if a cure cannot be found.

Life in a Day

1999

Behind the camera

Illusion poster
7.7

A once-powerful, but now ailing movie director nears the end of his life. As he awaits death, he slips into a "dream" and is shown three "snippets" of the movie of his son's life. At first suspicious, then curious, and ultimately captivated, he watches his son's growth from mid-teens to mid-thirties as the son pursues his life-long love, Isabelle. The two constants through these snippets are his pursuit of Isabelle and the imagined voice of his father, telling him that he is worthless and unwanted. It is not until the story reaches its conclusion, that the old man discovers the surprising truth about his son and himself.

Illusion

2004

Illusion poster
7.7

A once-powerful, but now ailing movie director nears the end of his life. As he awaits death, he slips into a "dream" and is shown three "snippets" of the movie of his son's life. At first suspicious, then curious, and ultimately captivated, he watches his son's growth from mid-teens to mid-thirties as the son pursues his life-long love, Isabelle. The two constants through these snippets are his pursuit of Isabelle and the imagined voice of his father, telling him that he is worthless and unwanted. It is not until the story reaches its conclusion, that the old man discovers the surprising truth about his son and himself.

Illusion

2004

Amerikana poster
6.6

Peter and Chris, two young American friends in their late 20s, go from South Dakota to California on a scooter, and as they travel across the American landscape they see their country through different eyes, ranging from Peter's cynically nihilistic point of view, to Chris' high expectations and romantic notions of the United States.

Amerikana

2001

The Shift poster
6.7

From the creators of You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie comes a compelling portrait of three modern lives in need of new direction and new meaning. In his first-ever movie, Wayne Dyer explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world. The powerful shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and society—which promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulation—are shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back. Filmed on coastal California’s spectacular Monterey Peninsula, The Shift captures every person’s mid-life longing for a more purposeful, soul-directed life.

The Shift

2009

The Mesmerist poster
4.7

Based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, this film tells the grimly comic tale of a bad-tempered old man (Howard Hesseman) who cheats death, only to go on tormenting the living. When a medical experiment leaves the grouch hovering between life and death (and able to describe the world beyond), things get tricky for his daughter (Jessica Capshaw) and her beau (Neil Patrick Harris, of "Doogie Howser, M.D." fame), who can't get their hands on his estate.

The Mesmerist

2002

Tales of Everyday Magic poster
NR

Filmed in Vienna against the backdrop of a traveling Russian circus, The Magic Hand of Chance is the true story of a clumsy magician whose life is turned around when two clowns trick him into thinking he has received the highest honor by a fictitious Magicians Society in America. Because he starts to believe he is great . . . he ultimately becomes great.

Tales of Everyday Magic

2012

Tales of Everyday Magic poster
NR

Filmed in Vienna against the backdrop of a traveling Russian circus, The Magic Hand of Chance is the true story of a clumsy magician whose life is turned around when two clowns trick him into thinking he has received the highest honor by a fictitious Magicians Society in America. Because he starts to believe he is great . . . he ultimately becomes great.

Tales of Everyday Magic

2012

Amerikatsi poster
7.2

In 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child, Charlie returns in the hopes of finding a connection to his roots, but what he finds instead is a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window - the home of a prison guard.

Amerikatsi

2022

Amerikatsi poster
7.2

In 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child, Charlie returns in the hopes of finding a connection to his roots, but what he finds instead is a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window - the home of a prison guard.

Amerikatsi

2022

Amerikatsi poster
7.2

In 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child, Charlie returns in the hopes of finding a connection to his roots, but what he finds instead is a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window - the home of a prison guard.

Amerikatsi

2022

Oakland Underground poster
9.0

A documentary filmmaker sets out to reveal the dark underbelly of Oakland, CA. Due to very unexpected discoveries, he and his crew find themselves consumed in a world of contemporary-witchcraft and modern-day black magic.

Oakland Underground

1997

Oakland Underground poster
9.0

A documentary filmmaker sets out to reveal the dark underbelly of Oakland, CA. Due to very unexpected discoveries, he and his crew find themselves consumed in a world of contemporary-witchcraft and modern-day black magic.

Oakland Underground

1997

Oakland Underground poster
9.0

A documentary filmmaker sets out to reveal the dark underbelly of Oakland, CA. Due to very unexpected discoveries, he and his crew find themselves consumed in a world of contemporary-witchcraft and modern-day black magic.

Oakland Underground

1997

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Players' Club

2006

Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square poster
8.5

Washed up actor Don Knotts shows up on the back lot of Universal Studios in Hollywood, California in hopes of landing a role in the new Disney movie, Newsies. Unfortunately director Kenny Ortega quickly dismisses Mr. Knotts and has him thrown off the lot. Mr. Knotts is quite upset by the turn of events, so decides to go on a killing spree, believing that if he can't have a role in the movie no one can. He knocks off one newsie after the next, each in a different and unique way.

Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square

1991

No artwork available
NR

Xander Berkeley stars as Peter Keller, a man who made the surprising choice to walk away from a high-profile career as a particle physicist involved in the search for the Higgs-Bosson (the God particle) to teach high school physics. Now, far from the confinements of the elite scientific establishment, Keller is free to pursue his controversial interpretations of quantum theory and their relationship to ancient sacred teachings on consciousness. One night, Keller's theories are put to the test when a former student shows up claiming to have had a premonition that something tragic is about to happen to his twin brother who is stationed in Afghanistan. Keller is skeptical, but then realizes that perhaps the proof he has long sought has just fallen into his lap. Xander Berkeley's outstanding performance makes real scientific ideas both accessible and engaging. Inspired by the work of Gregg Braden.

Entanglement

2012

No artwork available
NR

Xander Berkeley stars as Peter Keller, a man who made the surprising choice to walk away from a high-profile career as a particle physicist involved in the search for the Higgs-Bosson (the God particle) to teach high school physics. Now, far from the confinements of the elite scientific establishment, Keller is free to pursue his controversial interpretations of quantum theory and their relationship to ancient sacred teachings on consciousness. One night, Keller's theories are put to the test when a former student shows up claiming to have had a premonition that something tragic is about to happen to his twin brother who is stationed in Afghanistan. Keller is skeptical, but then realizes that perhaps the proof he has long sought has just fallen into his lap. Xander Berkeley's outstanding performance makes real scientific ideas both accessible and engaging. Inspired by the work of Gregg Braden.

Entanglement

2012

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Call Waiting

1998

You Can Heal Your Life poster
7.9

In this film, you meet the woman who wakes up every day and proclaims her love for everyone and everything in her path, the woman who popularized “affirmations,” the woman who shakes hands with presidents, dignitaries, celebrities, and who always has an affectionate hug for fans who run up to her at a public appearance or Hay House event to thank her for “saving my life.” And when she embraces them, she’ll insist, “It wasn’t me. It was you.”

You Can Heal Your Life

2007

No artwork available
NR

On the second floor of a low-income apartment complex lives Jonathan Page, a formerly successful artist who stopped painting after the tragic loss of his eyesight (along with myriad irreplaceable trappings of his former of life). Having established himself as the building's resident curmudgeon, the embittered Jonathan is taken by surprise when Lupe, a 10-year-old girl with unflappable optimism, moves into the apartment next door with her grandparents. As an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two, shocking and painful secrets are revealed about both their lives. Ron Marasco's performance as Jonathan Page is, quite simply, acting at its finest. Tanya Ramero as Lupe will break your heart. Based on the writings of Louise Hay and her contributions to the gay community.

Painting the Future

2012

No artwork available
NR

On the second floor of a low-income apartment complex lives Jonathan Page, a formerly successful artist who stopped painting after the tragic loss of his eyesight (along with myriad irreplaceable trappings of his former of life). Having established himself as the building's resident curmudgeon, the embittered Jonathan is taken by surprise when Lupe, a 10-year-old girl with unflappable optimism, moves into the apartment next door with her grandparents. As an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two, shocking and painful secrets are revealed about both their lives. Ron Marasco's performance as Jonathan Page is, quite simply, acting at its finest. Tanya Ramero as Lupe will break your heart. Based on the writings of Louise Hay and her contributions to the gay community.

Painting the Future

2012

The Invisibles poster
7.5

Jude and Joy escape to her Parisian flat for a private detox. A dark comedy of word games, sex, fantasy and pop tarts.

The Invisibles

1999

No artwork available
NR

Patrick Fabian stars as Dr. Ryan Kilgore, a man plagued by an uncontrollable temper that stems from being abandoned by his father as a child. Trying too hard to be the father he never had and tormented by feelings of inadequacy, Kilgore's inner rage boils out of control, affecting his wife and son. With his career and marriage on the brink of collapse, Kilgore resolves to find the father he never knew, and make peace with the anger and resentment he has held inside. What he discovers on his quest is the power to turn his life around...the power of forgiveness. Based on the true-life story of best-selling author Dr. Wayne Dyer, this compelling drama explores the transformational power of forgiveness.

My Greatest Teacher

2012

No artwork available
NR

Patrick Fabian stars as Dr. Ryan Kilgore, a man plagued by an uncontrollable temper that stems from being abandoned by his father as a child. Trying too hard to be the father he never had and tormented by feelings of inadequacy, Kilgore's inner rage boils out of control, affecting his wife and son. With his career and marriage on the brink of collapse, Kilgore resolves to find the father he never knew, and make peace with the anger and resentment he has held inside. What he discovers on his quest is the power to turn his life around...the power of forgiveness. Based on the true-life story of best-selling author Dr. Wayne Dyer, this compelling drama explores the transformational power of forgiveness.

My Greatest Teacher

2012