- Had to quit his job as assistant to Matthew Broderick in order to write his Oscar-winning screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
- Is responsible for making the search for Luke Skywalker the MacGuffin in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He said that he did this while writing because he felt that every time that Luke came in, he believed that the audience wouldn't care about Rey anymore.
- Often credited under the name Michael DeBruyn when collaborating with others on a screenplay.
- Michael was a Semifinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in 1991 and 2001 before his monumental success in 2006 with his Academy Award winning screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine.
- One of 115 people invited to join AMPAS in 2007.
- Has a twin brother, David, who is a professor at Saint Mary's College of California.
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