MICHAEL PETRONI, a native of Australia, moved to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at the AFI Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1996. During his time at the AFI, he wrote his first feature film script, "Till Human Voices Wake Us", which he directed in 2002. The original script won both the AFI's Screenplay of the Year and the WGA/Scenario Magazine awards for Best New Screenplay of 1996. Petroni also earned a screenwriting nomination from the Film Critics Circle of Australia.
Since that auspicious debut, Petroni has co-written the Jodie Foster production, "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys", "Queen of the Damned" (from the Anne Rice novel) and "Possession". He also wrote "The Rite" directed by Mikael Hafstrom. Other projects include "The Long Green Shore", "The Book Thief" and "Afterlife." Petroni created the ABC-TV series "Miracles," wrote and directed the comedy short "Boys Own Story," and the 1998 short film "Trespasses," the latter produced by Sandra Bullock.
Prior to segueing into the feature film arena, Petroni worked in the early 1990s as a comedy writer and performer on Australian television, appearing as a character called Psycho Bob in the series "The Big Gig" and "DAAS Kapital."
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