Mike Gray

Like several other Hollywood realists, Mike Gray comes from a documentary film background. His Chicago-Based Film Group chronicled the political violence of the 1960's, including the award-winning feature documentaries, AMERICAN REVOLUTION II, and THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON.

Gray grew up in the small farm town of Darlington, Indiana, and after graduating from Purdue University with an engineering degree in 1958, he worked in New York as an editor for AVIATION AGE.

In 1965 he joined with Jim Dennett to form The Film Group, a Chicago based production company. Their work in TV commercials provided the foundation for a series of theatrical and television documentaries. The two men have worked together on more than fifty film and television projects over the last two decades.

After moving to Hollywood in 1973, Gray began writing the screenplay that was to become the eerily prophetic CHINA SYNDROME. His years of research were confirmed less than two weeks after the movie's release by the accident at Three Mile Island.

Gray went to Harrisburg to cover the TMI story for Rolling Stone magazine and collaborated on THE WARNING, (W.W. Norton) a definitive account of the accident based on 200 hours of interviews and 50,000 pages of transcripts from 5 government inquiries.

In 1981 Gray wrote and directed the theatrical feature, WAVELENGTH, a science fiction thriller starring Bobby Carradine and Keenan Wynn (New World).

Gray and John Mason also rewrote the screenplay for CODE OF SILENCE (Orion), and a pilot for ABC based on the film STARMAN. They were hired by Columbia as writer-producers for the STARMAN series (1986-87) and Gray directed the pilot and three of the 22 episodes, with Jim Dennett as Production Manager.

In 1988 Gray and Mason were hired as writer/producers for the Paramount "STAR TREK" series.

Gray's second book, ANGLE OF ATTACK: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon, (W.W. Norton) was a source for Tom Hanks' TV series, From the Earth to the Moon.

After six years of research and writing, Gray’s seminal book, DRUG CRAZY: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out (Random House, ‘98) has already had a major impact on the drug war debate. The paperback was released in the spring of 2000.

With James Hirsch, Gray has just completed two screenplays based on the books, Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon, and Accident at Three Mile Island.

He is currently developing a documentary on the energy crisis calling for a major scientific effort like the Apollo Moon program to save us from impending disaster.

Mike Gray lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Carol, a reporter for public radio. Their son, Lucas, is an animator for The Simpsons.

Chronology

"AMERICAN REVOLUTION II" - 1970 - Documentary

"THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON" - 1971 - Documentary

"THE CHINA SYNDROME" - 1979 - Original story and screenplay

"WAVELENGTH" - 1980 - Feature - director

"THE WARNING" - Accident at Three Mile Island" - 1982 - Book

"CODE OF SILENCE" - 1985 - Feature - screenplay

"STARMAN" - 1986-7 - television series

"STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION" - 1988-9 - TV series - writer producer

"ANGLE OF ATTACK: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon" 1992 - Book

"THE FUGITIVE" -1995 - Feature - second unit director

"CHAIN REACTION" - 1995 - production rewrite

“DRUG CRAZY: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out” - 1998 - Book

“THE DEATH GAME: Capital Punishment and the Luck of the Draw” 2003 - Book

" BUSTED: Stone Cowboys, Narco-Lords and Washington's War on Drugs," 2004 - Anthology editor - Nation Books

"ACCIDENT AT THREE MILE ISLAND" - 2004 - Screenplay

“HARRISON STORMS AND THE RACE TO THE MOON” - 2006 - Screenplay

"THE ZONE" - Screenplay - political action thriller in the Canal Zone - with Ian Masters and director Andy Davis

"GOT ENERGY?" - In development - Documentary on the energy crisis.